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What would Caligula do? What the worst Roman emperors can teach us
about how not to lead If recent history has taught us anything,
it's that sometimes the best guide to leadership is the negative
example. But that insight is hardly new. Nearly 2,000 years ago,
Suetonius wrote Lives of the Caesars, perhaps the greatest negative
leadership book of all time. He was ideally suited to write about
terrible political leaders; after all, he was also the author of
Famous Prostitutes and Words of Insult, both sadly lost. In How to
Be a Bad Emperor, Josiah Osgood provides crisp new translations of
Suetonius's briskly paced, darkly comic biographies of the Roman
emperors Julius Caesar, Tiberius, Caligula, and Nero. Entertaining
and shocking, the stories of these ancient anti-role models show
how power inflames leaders' worst tendencies, causing almost
incalculable damage. Complete with an introduction and the original
Latin on facing pages, How to Be a Bad Emperor is both a gleeful
romp through some of the nastiest bits of Roman history and a
perceptive account of leadership gone monstrously awry. We meet
Caesar, using his aunt's funeral to brag about his descent from
gods and kings-and hiding his bald head with a comb-over and a
laurel crown; Tiberius, neglecting public affairs in favor of wine,
perverse sex, tortures, and executions; the insomniac sadist
Caligula, flaunting his skill at cruel put-downs; and the matricide
Nero, indulging his mania for public performance. In a world
bristling with strongmen eager to cast themselves as the Caesars of
our day, How to Be a Bad Emperor is a delightfully enlightening
guide to the dangers of power without character.
Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus, born ca. 70 CE), son of a
military tribune, was at first an advocate and a teacher of
rhetoric, but later became the emperor Hadrian's private secretary,
119121. He dedicated to C. Septicius Clarus, prefect of the
praetorian guard, his "Lives of the Caesars." After the dismissal
of both men for some breach of court etiquette, Suetonius
apparently retired and probably continued his writing. His other
works, many known by title, are now lost except for part of the
"Lives of Illustrious Men" (of letters).
Friend of Pliny the Younger, Suetonius was a studious and
careful collector of facts, so that the extant lives of the
emperors (including Julius Caesar the dictator) to Domitian are
invaluable. His plan in "Lives of the Caesars" is: the emperor's
family and early years; public and private life; death. We find
many anecdotes, much gossip of the imperial court, and various
details of character and personal appearance. Suetonius's account
of Nero's death is justly famous.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Suetonius is in two
volumes. Both volumes were revised throughout in 1997-98, and a new
Introduction added.
The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, established in 1849, has evolved into
the world's most venerable and extensive series of editions of
Greek and Latin literature, ranging from classical to Neo-Latin
texts. Some 4-5 new editions are published every year. A team of
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advisory board: Gian Biagio Conte (Scuola Normale Superiore di
Pisa) Marcus Deufert (Universitat Leipzig) James Diggle (University
of Cambridge) Donald J. Mastronarde (University of California,
Berkeley) Franco Montanari (Universita di Genova) Heinz-Gunther
Nesselrath (Georg-August-Universitat Goettingen) Dirk Obbink
(University of Oxford) Oliver Primavesi (Ludwig-Maximilians
Universitat Munchen) Michael D. Reeve (University of Cambridge)
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Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus, born ca. 70 CE), son of a
military tribune, was at first an advocate and a teacher of
rhetoric, but later became the emperor Hadrian's private secretary,
119121. He dedicated to C. Septicius Clarus, prefect of the
praetorian guard, his "Lives of the Caesars." After the dismissal
of both men for some breach of court etiquette, Suetonius
apparently retired and probably continued his writing. His other
works, many known by title, are now lost except for part of the
"Lives of Illustrious Men" (of letters).
Friend of Pliny the Younger, Suetonius was a studious and
careful collector of facts, so that the extant lives of the
emperors (including Julius Caesar the dictator) to Domitian are
invaluable. His plan in "Lives of the Caesars" is: the emperor's
family and early years; public and private life; death. We find
many anecdotes, much gossip of the imperial court, and various
details of character and personal appearance. Suetonius's account
of Nero's death is justly famous.
The Loeb Classical Library edition of Suetonius is in two
volumes. Both volumes were revised throughout in 1997-98, and a new
Introduction added.
Donna Hurley has done a sterling job in providing us with both an
Introduction to Suetonius and a translation of The Caesars that we
can confidently recommend to students. Her Introduction summarizes
a complex topic succinctly and is informative without being
overwhelming, set at an ideal level for the student and intelligent
enthusiast. Her translation is accurate and contemporary. Her
primary goal is faithfulness to the original, which she achieves,
but at the same time she recognizes the need to make her text
clear, entertaining, and comprehensible to the modern reader, and
she strikes exactly the right balance. --Anthony Barrett, Emeritus,
University of British Columbia
'Because of his baldness and hairiness, he announced it was a
capital offence for anyone either to look down on him as he passed
or to mention goats in any context.' The biography of the brutal,
crazed and incestuous Roman Emperor Caligula, who tried to appoint
his own horse consul. Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books
for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the
huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from
around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a
balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan,
from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian
steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and
intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have
shaped the lives of millions. Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (c.70-130
CE). Suetonius's The Twelve Caesars is also available in Penguin
Classics.
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The Twelve Caesars (Paperback)
Robert Graves, Suetonius; Edited by James Rives
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'Suetonius, in holding up a mirror to those Caesars of diverting
legend, reflects not only them but ourselves: half-tempted
creatures, whose great moral task is to hold in balance the angel
and the monster within' GORE VIDAL As private secretary to the
Emperor Hadrian, the scholar Suetonius had access to the imperial
archives and used them (along with eyewitness accounts) to produce
one of the most colourful biographical works in history. The Twelve
Caesars chronicles the public careers and private lives of the men
who wielded absolute power over Rome, from the foundation of the
empire under Julius Caesar and Augustus to the decline into
depravity under Nero and the recovery that came with his
successors. This masterpiece of observation, immortalized in Robert
Graves's classic translation, presents us with a gallery of vividly
drawn - and all too human - individuals. Translated by ROBERT
GRAVES Revised with an Introduction and notes by JAMES B. RIVES
La originalidad de la obra de Suetonio Vidas de los Cesares
consiste en haber experimentado para narrar la vida de personajes
de la vida publica (doce emperadores romanos) el modelo de la
biografia alejandrina que solia aplicarse para las personalidades
de la literatura o la cultura.
The Lives of the Caesars include the biographies of Julius Caesar
and the eleven subsequent emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius
Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitelius, Vespasian, Titus,
Domitian. Suetonius composed his material from a variety of
sources, without much concern for their reliability. His
biographies consist of the ancestry and career of each emperor in
turn; however, his interest is not so much analytical or
historical, but anecdotal and salacious which gives rise to a
lively and provocative succession of portraits. For example, the
account of Julius Caesar does not simply mention his crossing of
the Rubicon and his assassination, but draws attention to his dark
piercing eyes and attempts to conceal his baldness. The life of
Caligula presents a vivid picture of the emperor's grotesque
appearance, his waywardness, and his insane cruelties.
The format and style of Suetonius' Lives of the Caesars was to set
the tone for biography throughout western literature--his work
remains thoroughly readable and full of interest. Indeed, it was
Robert Graves's primary reference source when he was writing I,
Claudius, and those who have read his book will enjoy the original
accounts as set down here.
About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has
made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the
globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to
scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of
other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading
authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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