Despite the injury, this soldier still managed to board an enemy ship and subdue its crew. One of Caesar's soldiers had his hand cut off. Suetonius describes an incident during a naval battle. Suetonius mentions Caesar commonly referring to them as "comrades" instead of "soldiers." When one of Caesar's legions took heavy losses in a battle, Caesar vowed not to trim his beard or hair until he had avenged the deaths of his soldiers. Suetonius describes Caesar's gift at winning the loyalty and admiration of his soldiers. When asked what was wrong, Caesar sighed, and said that by the time Alexander was his (Caesar's) age, Alexander had conquered the whole world. Upon viewing this statue, Suetonius reports that Caesar fell to his knees, weeping. ![]() While serving as governor in Hispania, Caesar once visited a statue of Alexander the Great. It is from Suetonius that we first learn of another incident during the life of Julius Caesar. Just as he had promised, after being released, Caesar captured the pirates and crucified them. When told by the pirates that he would be held for a ransom of 20 talents of gold, Caesar laughed, and said that he must be worth at least 50 talents. He also promised that one day he would find them and crucify them (this was the standard punishment for piracy during this time). Caesar engaged in debate and in philosophical discussion with the pirates while in captivity. Caesar was captured by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea. Suetonius describes an incident that would become one of the most memorable of the entire book. In discussing Caesar's war against Pompey the Great, Suetonius quotes Caesar during a battle that Caesar nearly lost, "That man (Pompey) does not know how to win a war." Suetonius includes Caesar's famous decree, " Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered). Suetonius begins this section by describing Caesar's conquests, especially in Gaul and his Civil War against Pompey the Great. The first few chapters of this section are missing. Like many of his contemporaries, Suetonius took omens seriously and carefully includes reports of omens portending Imperial births, accessions and deaths. During the book on Nero, Suetonius mentions a sect known as the Christians (see Historicity of Jesus). Suetonius made a reference in this work to "Chrestus", which may refer to " Christ". ![]() For example, Suetonius is the main source on the life of Caligula, his uncle Claudius, and the heritage of Vespasian (the relevant sections of the Annals by his contemporary Tacitus being lost). It mentions details that other sources do not. He was forced to rely on second-hand accounts when it came to Claudius (with the exception of Augustus' letters which had been gathered earlier) and does not quote the emperor.ĭespite this, it provides valuable information on the heritage, personal habits, physical appearance, lives and political careers of the first Roman Emperors. Suetonius lost access to the official archives shortly after beginning his work. This resulted in biases, both conscious and unconscious. Though he was never a senator, Suetonius took the side of the Senate in most conflicts with the princeps, as well as the senators' views of the emperor. There are times the author subjectively expresses his opinion and knowledge. ![]() The book can be described as very racy, packed with gossip, dramatic and sometimes amusing. However, critics say the book is founded on gossip and citations of historians who had lived in the time of the early emperors, rather than on primary sources of that time. Suetonius used the imperial archives to research eyewitness accounts, information, and other evidence to produce the book.
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