Lives Of The Twelve Caesars
The Lives of Twelve Caesars (in Latin is a work of Suetonius , author of Latin empire top.
These are the biographies of the first twelve imperatores Rome who wore the name and title of Caesar from Julius Caesar to Domitian.
Summary |
Each biography does not follow a timeline, but is organized into a series of topics: family background, birth and career before the advent, His coming and omens herald his coming, performed magistrates, military campaigns, legislative and judicial work, generosity towards the people, physical description and character, death omens and harbingers of death, etc. .. It generally emphasizes the richness and sometimes the information quality of Suetonius, who had access to the imperial archives in his function. The succession of biographies give a continuous history of the Roman Empire , the end of the Republic at the end of the Flavian dynasty.
The fact remains that Suetonius proves sometimes uncritical and does not hesitate to peddle rumors and slanders. In doing so it also expresses the views of some of the senate and knights who were associated with him, and often presents the imperial regime in its darkest day. His biographies should be read knowing: they are portraits oriented biased. The seed of this work was immense and contributed greatly to create the snapshot of Roman emperors bloodthirsty, debauched, decadent or mad, especially for some key figures: Tiberius and debauchery on the island of Capri , Caligula and his follies, Nero etc..
In the Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Suetonius also reveals the operation of one of the first methods of cryptography history, the Code of Caesar , used for secret correspondence of the emperor Julius Caesar.
Suetonius was the model of a historical genre, the series of imperial biographies, which was continued by his successors ( Herodian , Aurelius Victor , the Historia Augusta , etc.).
Cutting work
The first quaternion of this work was lost, that is to say the title, the dedication and the first chapter in the life of Caesar. The book was published between 119 and 122 and corresponds to the biographies of those who took power in Rome of Julius Caesar to Domitian.
The work consists of:
- Book I to VI: Caesar , Augustus , Tiberius , Caligula , Claude , Nero.
- Book VII to IX: Galba , Otho , Vitellius.
- Book X to XII: Vespasian , Titus , Domitian.
Each biography is organized not chronologically but by species, that is to say by category: description of family background, career before the ascent to power, public actions, privacy, physical appearance, death, miracles different.
Modern editions
- The Lives of Twelve Caesars, The paperback, 1961. Translation of Henri Ailloud.
- Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Bartillat, et al. "Omnia", 2009. Translation of Pierre Klossowski. Preface by Patrick Amstutz.
Bibliography
- Regis F. Martin, The Twelve Caesars, Perrin, 1991 ( ISBN 978-2-262-02637-0 )
- Roger Vailland , the immortal pages of Suetonius , Buchet-Chastel, 1962, reprinted by Editions du Rocher, Monaco, 2002
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