Augustus

The Lives of the Twelve Caesars #2

by Suetonius

Edited with Introduction and Commentary by John M. Carter

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

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1883

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

[Olethros · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Fuente principal de buena parte de lo que sabemos sobre Augusto y modelo narrativo para muchos otros.-

Género. Biografía.

Lo que nos cuenta. El libro Augusto (publicación original: Divus Augustus, comienzos del siglo II de nuestra era) es el segundo de los ocho libros del autor dedicados a las vidas de los once primeros emperadores romanos más Julio César, que narra la biografía de Augusto desde una óptica aparentemente ensalzadora y cuyos valores servirán como referencia para definir a otros protagonistas de sus biografías mediante la contraposición.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Olethros · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Fuente principal de buena parte de lo que sabemos sobre Augusto y modelo narrativo para muchos otros.-

Género. Historia.

Lo que nos cuenta. Segundo de los ocho libros del autor dedicados a las vidas de los once primeros emperadores romanos más Julio César, que narra la biografía de Augusto desde una óptica aparentemente ensalzadora y cuyos valores servirán como referencia para definir a otros protagonistas de sus biografías mediante la contraposición.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Olethros · Rating 4 out of 5]

-Fuente principal de buena parte de lo que sabemos sobre Augusto y modelo narrativo para muchos otros.-

Género. Historia.

Lo que nos cuenta. Segundo de los ocho libros del autor dedicados a las vidas de los once primeros emperadores romanos más Julio César, que narra la biografía de Augusto desde una óptica aparentemente ensalzadora y cuyos valores servirán como referencia para definir a otros protagonistas de sus biografías mediante la contraposición.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Marcos Ibáñez Gordillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Los trapos sucios de los césares mezclados con lo más relevante de su historia. Está gracioso, literalmente xD
El primer emperador era a su vez el más republicano de su tiempo, un moralista del "pueblo que viste la toga" pero también un mujeriego adúltero, aparte de tremendamente supersticioso.

[J.P. Harker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again, a nice intro to the figure in question, though a few more fun facts in this than in the previous volume. Made a lot more notes in this one.

Hard not to picture him as Brian Blessed though!

[Benjamin Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of My Favorite Emperors

[A.B. Sheridan · Rating 4 out of 5]

All my fun Octavian facts come from this baby right here

[Ian Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I was reading this book – and it took me a while – I had several things going on in my head. The BBC’s I Claudius series from the 1970s with Brian Blessed playing Augustus. HBO’s Rome series from 2005. The Sky series Domina (I was watching Season 2 recently). Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra. Mix all those ingredients together and I’ve always found Octavius/Augustus a fairly unappealing character. I can only think of a couple of redeeming anecdotes from Adrian Goldsworthy’s Augustus: From Revolutionary to Emperor and I was disappointed to find that neither of them come from Suetonius. They must come from later historians so possibly have no basis in fact. As it is, Suetonius was writing more than a century after Augustus’ death in an environment where imperial rule was more or less accepted and it was dangerous to express any republican sympathies. It’s no surprise therefore to find that Suetonius is keen to present Augustus in the best possible light. That doesn’t contradict what I said earlier. What Suetonius finds admirable about Augustus is not what I would call admirable.
Right, so enough about my prejudices.
Suetonius is often referred to as “gossipy” and that’s certainly the impression I got. This is not serious history and there is little attempt to place Augustus in context. That’s not unusual with ancient historians. The “great man plus divine providence” school of history was very much in vogue when Suetonius was around and historians and biographers rarely showed much understanding of economic or demographic forces. When they do it’s a pleasant surprise. You won’t get that here. Suetonius mentions the spurious (?) allegations made about Augustus’ humble roots (with rope makers and – even worse – bankers in his ancestry) but is at pains to point out that various portents showed that he was marked out for greatness. However, he can’t avoid the fact that Augustus’ stunning military and naval victories were entirely due to his lieutenants, especially Marcus Agrippa.
Suetonius also can’t resist telling us about his hero’s weaknesses: his delicate constitution, which meant he was extra careful about catching a chill, and his hypocritical attitudes towards adultery (which he excuses on the grounds that Livia turned a blind eye). That doesn’t explain why he exiled his daughter and granddaughter, apparently for indulging themselves. We also hear about Augustus’ spartan diet and his fondness for gambling.
What Augustus had in far larger quantities than his contemporaries was political nous. Call it cunning, shrewdness or emotional intelligence, he had an enormous ability to shape events and people to suit his own ends, starting from his response to the murder of his great uncle, Julius Caesar, when he was only 18 years old. When he turned up in Rome demanding his inheritance and vengeance for the old dictator, everyone underestimated him, including the man often referred to as “Rome’s greatest politician”, Marcus Tullius Cicero, who thought the young Octavius could be used and disposed of fairly quickly. Little did he know that the schoolboy would keep his hands on the reins of power for the next fifty-eight years. It’s fascinating to see how he managed it, even though my sympathies have always been with Cleopatra and Antony.
Suetonius’ text is not that long as he doesn’t present a detailed picture of Augustus’ life and times. What bulks out this edition is John M Carter’s introduction and commentary. In the introduction Mr Carter explains why Suetonius wrote biographies of the first twelve Roman emperors (that includes Julius Caesar who was never emperor) and why this one is about the best in terms of the quality of the writing and the way information is presented. It’s not the first life for me as I read Suetonius’ Nero several years ago but I can’t compare the two.
Mr Carter gives a very full commentary which focuses on historical issues rather than the language. It’s useful because he compares Suetonius’ treatment of events with the accounts given by other historians – and by Augustus himself in his surviving autobiography, Res Gestae. I think he wrote another one later as he was very keen on controlling his legacy, like Winston Churchill. Given the focus on history, this edition doesn’t have a vocabulary, unlike some other Bristol Classical Press editions. However, it does have a useful chronology of Augustus’ life. My only gripe is that it was first published in 1982 and hasn’t been updated since. I’m sure classical scholarship has advanced in the last four decades and I think the publishers should commit to trying to update these volumes at least every twenty years, if not every decade.
Gripes aside I would recommend this edition to anyone who wants to learn more about Augustus or is tempted to dip into the gossipy Suetonius’ oeuvre.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note to translators, revisors, and publishers:

I know I do not read Latin, that is why I look for a translation. I further know that you do, as you translated the book. So why, in the name of all sense, leave passages - one more than a page long - in Latin? It is rude and disrespectful to those who spend their time, effort, and maybe even money on your book.

[Alison Zoccola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a class on the Roman Empire. I finally know why the classics are called the classics; the writing is excellent and lucid, and it's frankly amazing that it survived for this long. If you want to get to know Ancient Rome, Suetonius and his colleague, Tacitus, are the best way in my opinion. Highly recommended.

[Isaac McIntyre]

Augustus' 40-year reign slowly turning the Roman Republic into an empire is one of the most fascinating 'takeovers' ever; genuinely managed to have the entire way of life in Rome change "to thunderous applause" and by basically wielding peace. Augustus and Aggripa are also easily one of the greatest duos of all time.

[Nick Meyer]

I wouldn't normally include a single Life as a book read, but Suetonius' Augustus is the length of a short book, at around 30,000 words, and this edition has an extended roundup of the age of Augustus at its conclusion, making it even longer.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Caesar Augustus is an interesting figure to read about.

[Lily]

read an english version

[Kevin Nobel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Often difficult Latin that's not much fun, but a useful commentary nonetheless

[Kıymetlimiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

the life of one of the most remarkable man has ever lived, the first citizen..

[Adhoc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Gutenberg version translated by Alexander Thomson, M.D. This translation was difficult to follow at times. I'd like to get hold of the Graves translation to compare, maybe the Graves version is more readable. Alternately it may just be Suetonius that is hard to follow. Overall this is an interesting read but I had a difficult time figuring out where Suetonius ends and the comments begin. The comments and footnotes do go on and on. The real advantage of reading the electronic version is that the footnotes are easy to read.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short and pretty readable as far as the classics go.