The Twelve Caesars Suetonius Alexander Thomson 9781542437622 Books
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The Twelve Caesars is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius, at that time Hadrian's personal secretary, and is the largest among his surviving writings. It was dedicated to a friend, the Praetorian prefect Gaius Septicius Clarus.
The Twelve Caesars Suetonius Alexander Thomson 9781542437622 Books
I wanted the Penguin Graves translation, which is marvelous and was left on a train. I accidentally bought the preposterous edition with 12 photos on the cover (see my attached photo). The error is easy to make, since the 180 Amazon reviews refer not to various editions but to the work itself. The edition I accidentally chose is by an obscure translator, produced Print-0n-Demand, and in fact available free at Gutenberg Project. The format is that of "Suetonious for Dummies." The font is absurdly small and each line run 15-18 words, making it impossible to read. Just a disaster of book design. To survive Amazon policy of conflating reviews, use "Look Inside the Book" to confirm the intended publisher.Product details
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Tags : The Twelve Caesars [Suetonius, Alexander Thomson] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Twelve Caesars is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The work,Suetonius, Alexander Thomson,The Twelve Caesars,CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform,1542437628,HISTORY Ancient General
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The Twelve Caesars Suetonius Alexander Thomson 9781542437622 Books Reviews
I have always enjoyed Roman history and reading the classical historians, but I had not yet found time to read Suetonius's De vita Caesarum. In Donna Leon's Brunetti series, the Commissario often reads The Twelve Caesars, and I thought it was about time I read the book.
I do not read Latin, so I read the updated Robert Graves translation. Suetonius has a reputation for scandalous writing, the kind of writing seen in the more outlandish celebrity coverage. "Emperor Nero caught burning down Rome" with associated paparazzi photographs.
Suetonius compared to Tacitus and other Roman historians is certainly more that way, though I think his reputation here is a bit overblown. In general, he proceeds along a calm if interesting path. Suetonius begins his brief biographies with Julius Caesar and ends with Domitian. Both Julius Caesar and Augustus receive the longest biographies, with the short reigns of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius are appropriately short. Each biography follows a set structure (mostly) Background with omens of eventually becoming emperor, primary "accomplishments" during the reign, physical description, death, and omens regarding the death. Suetonius makes much use of letters and quotes the emperors and others, which is not a common practice. Suetonius provides a lot of information about what these emperors were like along with interesting details of daily Roman life along the way.
Enjoyable, humorous at times, and engaging, for those interested in the early principate, read Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars.
Readers should be aware that this edition includes commentary by an 18th Century translator following each chapter with no clear demarcation of where Suetonius ends and the translator begins. As the preface notes "Of the English translations, that of Dr. Alexander Thomson, published in 1796, has been made the basis of the present. He informs us in his Preface, that a version of Suetonius was with him only a secondary object, his principal design being to form a just estimate of Roman literature, and to elucidate the state of government, and the manners of the times; for which the work of Suetonius seemed a fitting vehicle. Dr. Thomson's remarks appended to each successive reign, are reprinted nearly verbatim in the present edition." It's kind of an irritating thing for a translator to do--as if we're as interested in his 1,700-year-after-the-fact opinions as in those of Suetonius--and kind of an inexplicable choice on the part of the compiler of this edition not to set them off more clearly...or, better yet, eliminate them entirely. You might want to choose a different edition of this book, but if you do read this one, be aware that the musings on Latin literature are not part of the original work and may be skipped over with little loss.
First read it when I was fifteen (If I remember correctly). Re-read it almost sixty years later, enjoing it even more. Keen as a straight razor, objective, insightful, honest ,laconic yet not dry - this is a real masterpiece of historical biography. Suetonius concisely relates all known facts (and also some occurences that were not unanimously reported or unambiguously documented) about the first twelve Caesars, starting with Julius. Even when viewed by his contemporary (70-126 AD) set of moral, social, and judicial principles, the first dozen present less than admirable god-like figures. All (with the possible exception of Claudius) were power-hungry, ambitious, and totally ruthless. All would bribe, threaten, swindle, murder - to pave their way to power. On this universally repulsive background, only three seem worthy of admiration as just and conscientious rulers - Julius, Vespasianus, and Titus (The latter two much abhorred by the Jews for putting down the 70 AD Great Rebellion, burning down the Temple, and leading the captives in a triumphal procession in Rome. When viewed in the context of the first century AD world, their actions were actually just routine). All the rest were mosters even by the pretty lax standard of the Roman world, culminating with Caligula and Nero, who were plainly blood-thirsty fiends. It is however extremely interesting to realize that the Roman Empire enjoyed expansion, success, and thrived despite the utter lack of restraint of its rulers and their entourage. What comes to mind is the feelings of duty to the state and the personal and civic orderly conduct permeating the Roman citizens society. Enthralling
I wanted the Penguin Graves translation, which is marvelous and was left on a train. I accidentally bought the preposterous edition with 12 photos on the cover (see my attached photo). The error is easy to make, since the 180 reviews refer not to various editions but to the work itself. The edition I accidentally chose is by an obscure translator, produced Print-0n-Demand, and in fact available free at Gutenberg Project. The format is that of "Suetonious for Dummies." The font is absurdly small and each line run 15-18 words, making it impossible to read. Just a disaster of book design. To survive policy of conflating reviews, use "Look Inside the Book" to confirm the intended publisher.
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