SUETONIUS AND HIS BIOGRAPHIES. 

 By JOHN C. ROLFE. 

 (Read April 17, 1913.) 



Suetonius' " Lives of the Cfesars " is a work which is less well 

 known to us than it ought to be. Its frequent citation in historical 

 writings and in treatises on Roman antiquities might seem to make 

 this statement a questionable one, but it is justified both by the rarity 

 of the appearance of the author in our college courses of study, and 

 by the publication of so few editions of the " Caesars " or of indi- 

 vidual lives in English ; while no full and satisfactory commentary 

 exists in any language, so far as I know. 



The work has the unusual distinction of three editiones principes, 

 of which two appeared in Rome in 1470 within a few months, and 

 one in Venice the year following. Between that date and 1820 

 more than forty editions were issued, including some reprints, under 

 the names of such scholars as Erasmus, Stephanus, Casaubon. Bur- 

 mann and Ernesti. Bentley commenced an epoch-making edition 

 which was never finished, and between 1606 and 1796 three transla- 

 tions into English were made. 



Since 1820 the publications dealing with the " Casars " have been 

 relatively few. In 1858 C. L. Roth issued a text which was the 

 standard until 1906, when L. Preud'homme published a new recen- 

 sion, followed the next year by that of M. Ihm. No commentary 

 on the entire work has been made since that of Baumgarten-Crusius 

 in 1816, several times reprinted and with some additions by Hase 

 (Paris, 1826). This is naturally not up to date, besides being far 

 from complete. In English we have had editions of the " Julius 

 and Augustus,"^ the " Augustus,"- and " Tiberius-Nero,"^ and com- 



' H. T. Peck, New York, 1893". 



- E. S. Shuckburgh, Cambridge (England), 1896. 



^J. B. Pike, Boston, 1903. 



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