Product Description
This volume presents the Latin text, accompanied by an introduction and a detailed commentary, of the biography of the emperor Claudius written by the early second-century AD author Suetonius. The commentary provides context for the factual and anecdotal information given in the text and also explains the author's method of composition and provides help with difficult grammatical points. The introduction contains sections on Suetonius, Claudius, and the text itself. This is the first English commentary on the Claudius Life to deal with both historical and stylistic issues. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Reason for celebration
A new commentar on anceint Latin source is always a reason for celebration among the lovers of Roman history and culture.

This book of Donna W. Hurley is by far much more than the usual textual comments for students of Latin language. It is a comprehensive review of almost all what is worth knowing about Claudius and about the biograpy written by Suetonius, all this in addition to the very educating learned comments and explanations on the text per-se.

The writer shows great mastery of the relevant research findings, both about the emperor Claudius and Suetonius himself.

The only shortcoming of the book is that it is not a book for the casual educated reader which may find it difficult to encompass. This book shall serve best those who are well acquainted with the history of Rome and the Latin language. Such readers will have endless hours of great pleasure. ... Read more

Product Description
Suetonius, chronicler of the extraordinary personalities of the first dynasties to rule the Roman Empire, was the greatest Latin biographer. His colourful work, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, is, along with Tacitus, the major source for the period from Julius Caesar to Domitian. He sets out in vivid detail a great range of aspects illuminating the emperor's characters, their habits, from table to bedchamber - their intrigues, their loves and their deaths. Himself a court official, he quotes from a variety of sources, from the official and private documents as well as from old anecdotes, gossip, songs and jokes, giving an unparalleled oblique view of his subjects. Long familiar to students of classics, he found a new audience as the main source for Robert Graves' novels and the subsequent television series I, Claudius. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Behind the Scenes View of Roman History
Our human nature drives us to want to know the "real story" behind great historical personalities.Much like "People" or "Us" magazine, Suetonious gives his readers back curtain access to the lives of the rich and famous.No salacious story nor tantalizing scandal is ignored.While many of his portaits are interesting, most of the biographical sketches are ultimately mere fluff.Enjoyable but disjointed if you do not know your Roman history.Finally, the great British actor Derek Jacobi's audio performance really lifts what is really a three star book.

A Glimpse of 12 Caesars
Reading this book is a bit like being on scene in ancient Rome.The style is not what we are used to in contemporary biographies and that adds to the charm of this volume.The Caesars are exposed for inspection, warts and all.Suetonius breathes life into them as they strut across the stage of the Roman Empire.

If ancient Rome had tabloids...
Not much is known about the life of Gaius Suetonius Tranquillis. He was probably born in A.D. 69--the famous 'year of four Emperors'--when his father, a Roman knight, served as a colonel in a regular legion and took part in the Battle of Baetricum.

Suetonius became a scribe and noted secretary to the military set, eventually ending up in the service of Hadrian, who was emperor from A.D. 117-138. He was dismissed for 'indiscreet behaviour' with Hadrian's empress, Sabina, but not before doing sufficient research to complete many books of a historical nature. His attempts at philosophy were much less well received, and most of his history has been overlooked by all but classical scholars, but this work, 'The Twelve Caesars' has held the imagination of more than just the scholarly set since it was first written.

Suetonius had the good fortune of speaking to eyewitnesses from the time of the early Caesars. Much of his information about Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero in fact comes from those who observed and/or participated in their lives. Suetonius is in many ways more of a reporter than an historian--he would record conflicting statements without worrying about the reconciliation (this set him apart from Tacitus and other classical historians who tried to find a consistency in stories and facts.

Suetonius has been described as the tabloid journalist of ancient Rome, because not only did he not appear to check facts (which in fact is not true--he did check, he just didn't try to smooth over the conflicting facts), but he choose to concentrate on the private lives, motivations and personality quirks of his subjects rather than their grand plans, policies and military/political victories. Thus, many details of the lurid scene appear. Suetonius, and this volume in particular, formed much of the basis for Robert Graves as he wrote 'I, Claudius' and 'Claudius the God', which in turn pulled up the popularity of Suetonius in this generation.

Suetonius had first hand knowledge of many of the Caesars who followed the Claudians, and ready access to the archives of the imperial family and the Senate, given his imperial posting.

This translation is not intended to be a faithful rendering of the language (which might well result in a stilted English construct) but rather a faithful account of the stories Suetonius tells. Graves has taken the liberty of changing monetary, date, and technical terms into standard English measurements of close kinship of meaning.

For the record, the twelve Caesars, about whom Suetonius writes, are:

+ Julius Caesar
+ Augustus
+ Tiberius
+ Gaius Caligula
+ Claudius
+ Nero
+ Galba
+ Otho
+ Vitellius
+ Vespasian
+ Titus
+ Domitian

Suetonius held nothing back in writing about the personal habits of the emperors and their families, nor did he hold back in his moral judgement of them. Of Tiberius, for instance, he wrote that Tiberius did so many other wicked deeds under the pretext of reforming public morals--but in reality to gratify his lust for seeing people suffer--that many satires were written against the evils of the day, incidentally expressing gloomy fears about the future.... At first Tiberius dismissed these verses as the work of bilious malcontents who were impatient with his reforms and did not really mean what they said. He would remark: 'Let them hate me, so long as they fear me!' But, as time went on, his conduct justified every line they had written.

Graves' edition of Suetonius is available under many covers, from hard-back study editions to Penguin paperbacks, including a wonderful, finely printed edition by the Folio Society. Take a step back into the seemier side of ancient Rome, the side most history courses overlook in favour of more traditional historical events, and hie thee to the bookstore for this work.

All the Dirty Laundry!
Seutonius did the world a great service when he wrote his "The Lives of the Twelve Caesars". This was one of the first primary sources that I read, and it remains a favourite of mine.

Seutonius tackles each of the first twelve Caesars in chronological order, with a section on each one. He claims he has used many sources, and has even included some hearsay or otherwise unconfirmed information. He certainly was not shy about airing their dirty laundry.

Unlike a lot of ancient authors that get translated into English, Suetonius' style is very relaxed and very easy to get absorbed into. Even in translation, the book maintains a brisk pace and has enough to keep one interested until the last page.

Suetonius' "The Lives of the Twelve Caesars" is a fascinating book, written with access to sources long lost to us. This is a great book to read and enjoy, simultaneously being good for those interested in serious study of the period.

Fascinating insights into 12 first century leaders
Suetonius book covers the lives and works of the 12 leading Romans of the periode from ca. 70BC to 96AD: Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasianus, Titus and Domitianus. He describes their commendable achievements first an then goes in depth into their not so nice qualities too. The account he gives is lively and alive with quite private details of the 12 men. It's a fascinating read that also gives the reader an insight into Roman live in the first century AD ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
The Julio-Claudian dynasty is an enduring source of interest in the study of Roman history. Seutonius' life of Tiberius is an important source for any analysis of that emperor's reign and one of the biographer's most controversial portraits. This edition provides an introduction, Latin text and commentary with an emphasis on literary and historical issues. It aims to provide guidance on the reliability of the historical tradition about Tiberius. The introduction situates the career of Suetonius and his biographical interest in their 2nd-century Roman context. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Seutonius, a Roman historian, was the author of "The Lives of the Caesars". This biography sets the historian's career and his method of dealing with his subject matter in the context of Roman society in the early Empire, and draws a picture of the coherence of Suetonius's life, appointments, scholarship and literary activities. Seutonius is presented as a man of learning, rather than as a failed narrative historian. This portrait takes account of recent evidence concerning his life and seeks to clarify the character of "The Lives of the Caesars" as a description of emperors and Roman imperial society by a scholarly biographer who himself was in the service of a scholarly Caesar - the Emperor Hadrian. ... Read more

Product Description
It is reported that he was immoderately addicted to venery. [For he is said to have had obscene pictures so disposed in a bedchamber lined with mirrors, that, whichever way he looked, lascivious images might present themselves to his view.] [971] He lived for the most part in the retirement of his farm [972], on the confines of the Sabine and Tiburtine territories, and his house is shewn in the neighbourhood of a little wood not far from Tibur. Some Elegies ascribed to him, and a prose Epistle apparently written to commend himself to Mecaenas, have been handed down to us; but I believe that neither of them are genuine works of his; for the Elegies are commonplace, and the Epistle is wanting in perspicuity, a fault which cannot be imputed to his style. ... Read more

Product Description
XIV. CURTIUS NICIA was the intimate friend of Cneius Pompeius and Caius Memmius; but having carried notes from Memmius to Pompey's wife [878], when she was debauched by Memmius, Pompey was indignant, and forbad him his house. He was also on familiar terms with Marcus Cicero, who thus speaks of him in his epistle to Dolabella [879]: "I have more need of receiving letters from you, than you have of desiring them from me. For there is nothing going on at Rome in which I think you would take any interest, except, perhaps, that you may like to know that I am appointed umpire between our friends Nicias and Vidius. The one, it appears, alleges in two short verses that Nicias owes him (517) money; the other, like an Aristarchus, cavils at them. I, like an old critic, am to decide whether they are Nicias's or spurious." ... Read more

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Written primarily in Latin, 1908/1993 edition.
... Read more

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A contemporary biography of the first twelve Caesars of the Roman Empire, including Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Vespasian, Titus and Domitian.The author Suetonius was personal secretary to the Emperor Hadrian. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Interesting
Not just a list of dates and places, this series of biographies gives portraits of the Roman Emperors as real people, describing their personal quirks and follies.The writer, Suetonius, actually knew some of these Emperors personally.The book also includes biographies of some of the lesser-known Emperors like Galba and Otho, not just the famous Emperors like Nero and Caligula.A very interesting read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Caesar revisited
What can I say? I was impressed. Suetonius was a Hadrian historian with an eye to the scandalous. Throughout his writing, he paints a consise history while insinuating certain rumors via the elusive ablative absolute. He is the source of many famous stories such as Nero singing as Rome burns in his Life of Divus Nero or Caesar's final words to Brutus in Divus Julius: "kai soi teknon;". Butler and Cary's commentary in this volume offers great historical background. If you want grammatical help though, you should seek out the Westcott commentary. Overall though, I have enjoyed this account of the first Caesar's life greatly. Vini Vidi Vici! ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Henry John Roby (1830-1915) was a Cambridge-educated classicist whose influential career included periods as a schoolmaster, professor of Roman law, businessman, educational reformer and Member of Parliament. His two-volume Grammar of the Latin Language went through seven editions during his lifetime. It provides in-depth analysis of Latin phonetics, noun and verb construction, and syntax and morphology, taking a descriptive approach. Drawing examples from the corpus of classical writings dating from circa 200 BCE. to 120 CE, this first volume (1872) discusses sounds and syllable quantities, noun and verb inflexions, and the basic elements of word formation, organized according to noun and verb stems. Appendices include pronoun tables, lists of weights and measures, and a chronological compilation of inscriptions from the republican era. A work of remarkable breadth and depth, Roby's book remains an essential resource for both historical linguistics and the study of Latin grammar. ... Read more