The Lives of the Caesars 2

The Lives of the Twelve Caesars #5-13

by Suetonius, John Carew Rolfe

Volume 2 includes: Lives of the Caesars (Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian); Lives of Illustrious Men (Grammarians and Rhetoricians, Poets-Terence, Vergil, Horace, Tibullus, Persius, Lucan); The Lives of Pliny the Elder and Passienus Crispus.

Genres: History, Classics, Nonfiction, Ancient, Roman History

564 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 120

About the author

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius (ca. 69/75 - after 130), was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum. Other works by Suetonius concern the daily life of Rome, politics, oratory, and the lives of famous writers, including poets, historians, and grammarians. A few of these books have partially survived, but many are entirely lost.

Reviews

[Johannes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a weird book. I really don't trust its author, the wonderful Suetonius. I strongly suspect him of mocking my attentions as a reader and even of deliberately withholding information, just for the fun of it. He is no historian, the great Ronald Syme doesn't like him much and tells us, with a frown, that he decided e.g. to ignore Tacitus' "Historiae". But what a kind of "decision" was this? - There were also those who supposed that Suetonius got bored with his theme. Got bored, my left foot, who will believe this now, in the age of the suspicious reader? Is Suetonius perhaps making fun of us all? Mightn't he be a great novelist, un peu avant la lettre?

[Birgitta Hoffmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not only a good translation of the later Lives of the Caesars, but also of the Lives of the Poets, Grammarians and Rhetoricians. BTW: Suetonius' Life of Horace makes an interesting introduction to translation exercises on Horace, lots of little tidbits about Horace's relationship with Augustus' court.

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If the Caesars of the early empire lived off of the empire's investments, these later versions lived off of the capital.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite salacious at times. Very enjoyable! (except for the not inconsiderable discussions of tax law....)