Sallust

C. Sallustius Crispus, more commonly known as Sallust, was a Roman historian of the 1st
century BC, born c. 86 BC in the Sabine community of Amiternum. There is some evidence
that Sallusts family belonged to a local aristocracy, but we do know that he did not belong to
Romes ruling class. Thus he embarked on a political career as a novus homo, serving as a
military tribune in the 60s BC, quaestor from 55 to 54 BC, and tribune of the plebs in 52 BC.
Sallust was expelled from the senate in 50 BC on moral grounds, but quickly revived his
career by attaching himself to Julius Caesar. He served as quaestor again in 48 BC, as praetor
in 46 BC, and governed the new province in the former Numidian territory until 44 BC.
Sallusts political career ended upon his return to Rome and Caesars assassination in 44 BC.
We possess in full two of the historical works that have been convincingly ascribed to Sallust,
the monographs, Bellum Catilinae and Bellum Jugurthinum. We have only fragments of the
third work, the Historiae. There is less agreement about the authorship of some other works
that have, at times, been attributed to him. In Bellum Catilinae, Sallust outlines the
conspiracy of Catiline, a brash and ambitious patrician who tried to seize power in Rome in
63 BC. In his other monograph, Sallust used the Jugurthine War as a backdrop for his
examination of the development of party struggles in Rome in the 1st century BC. The
Historiae describe in general the history of the years 78-67 BC.
Although Sallusts purposes in writing have been debated over the years, it seems logical to
classify him as a senatorial historian who adopted the attitude of a censor. The historical
details outlined in his monographs serve as paradigms for Sallust. In Bellum Catilinae,
Sallust uses the figure of Catiline as a symbol of the corrupt Roman nobility. Indeed, much of
what Sallust writes in this work does not even concern Catiline. The content of Bellum
Jugurthinum also suggests that Sallust was more interested in character studies (e.g. Marius)
than the details of the war itself. With respect to writing style, the main influences on
Sallusts work were Thucydides and Cato the Elder. Evidence of the formers influence
includes emphasis on politics, use of archaisms, character analysis, and selective omission of
details. The use of such devices as asyndeton, anaphora, and chiasmus reflect preference for
the old-fashioned Latin style of Cato to the Ciceronian periodic structure of his own era.
Whether Sallust is considered a reliable source or not, he is largely responsible for our current
image of Rome in the late republic. He doubtless incorporates elements of exaggeration in his
works and has at times been described as more of an artist or politician than historian. But our
understanding of the moral and ethical realities of Rome in the 1st century BC would be
much weaker if Sallusts works did not survive.

Tacitus
Tacitus was born c. 56 AD in, most likely, either Cisalpine or Narbonese Gaul. Upon arriving
in Rome, which would have happened by 75, he quickly began to lay down the tracks for his
political career. By 88, he was made praetor under Domitian, and he was also a member of
the quindecimviri sacris faciundis. From 89 to 93, Tacitus was away from Rome with his
newly married wife, the daughter of the general Agricola. 97 saw Tacitus being named the
consul suffectus under Nerva. It is likely that Tacitus held a proconsulship in Asia. His death
is datable to c. 118.

There is much scholarly debate concerning the order of publication of Tacitus works;
traditional dates are given here.

98 Agricola (De vita Iulii Agricolae). This was a laudation of the authors father-inlaw, the aforementioned general Cn. Iulius Agricola. More than a biography, however,
can be garnered from the Agricola: Tacitus includes sharp words and poignant phrases
aimed at the emperor Domitian.

98 Germania (De origine et situ Germanorum). "belongs to a literary genre,

describing the country, peoples and customs of a race" (Cooley 2007).

c. 101/102 Dialogus (Dialogus de oratoribus). This is a commentary on the state of

oratory as Tacitus sees it.

c. 109 Histories. This work spanned the end of the reign of Nero to the death of
Domitian. Unfortunately, the only extant books of this 12-14 volume work are 1-4 and
a quarter of book 5.

Unknown Annales (Ab excessu divi Augusti). This is Tacitus largest and final work.
Some scholars also regard this as his most impressive work. The date of publication
and whether it was completed at all are unknown. The Annales covered the reigns of
Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. Like the Histories, parts of the Annales are
lost: most of book 5, books 7-10, part of book 11, and everything after the middle of
16. Tacitus familiar invective is also present in this work.

Tacitus style is very much like that of Sallust. Short, sharp phrases cut right to the point, and
Tacitus makes no bones about conveying his point. His claim that he writes history "sine ira
et studio" (without anger and partiality) (Annales I.1) is not exactly one that is true. Many
of his passages ooze with hatred towards the emperors. Despite this seemingly obvious
partisan style of writing, much of what is said can go under the radar, which is as Tacitus
wanted things to be. His skill as an orator, which was praised by his good friend Pliny, no
doubt contributes to his supreme mastery of the Latin language. Not one to mince words,
Tacitus does not waste time with a history of Rome ab urbe condita. Rather, he gives a brief
synopsis of the key points before he begins a lengthier summary of the reign of Augustus.
From there, he launches into his scathing account of history from where Livy would have left
off.

Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (Suetonius) is most famous for his biographies of the JulioClaudian and Flavian emperors and other notable historical figures. He was born around 69 to
an equestrian family.[1] Living during the times of the Emperor Trajan and having a
connection to Pliny the Younger, Suetonius was able to begin a rise in rank in the imperial
administration. In c. 102, he was appointed to a military tribune position in Britain, which he
did not actually accept. He was, though, among the staff for Plinys command in Bithynia.
During the late period of Trajans rule and under Hadrian, he held various positions, until he
was discharged. He had a close proximity to the government as well as access to the imperial
archives, which can be seen in his historical biographies.

Suetonius wrote a large number of biographies on important literary figures of the past (De
Viris Illustribus). Included in the collection were notable poets, grammarians, orators,
historians, and philosophers. This collection, like his other works, was not organized
chronologically. Not all of it has survived to the present day, but there are a number of
references in other sources to attribute fragments to this collection.
His most famous work, though, is the De Vita Caesarum. This collection of twelve
biographies tells the lives of the Julio-Claudian and Flavian Emperors, spanning from Julius
Caesar to Domitian. Other than an introduction genealogy and a short summary of the
subjects youth and death, the biographies do not follow a chronological pattern. Rather than
chronicling events as they happened in time, Suetonius presents them thematically. This style
allowed him to compare the achievements and downfalls of each emperor using various
examples of imperial responsibilities, such as building projects and public entertainment.
However, it makes dating aspects of each emperors life and the events of the early Roman
Empire difficult. It also completely removes the ability to extrapolate a causal sequence from
the works. Suetoniuss purpose was not a historical recount of events, though, but rather an
evaluation of the emperors themselves.
Suetoniuss style is simple; he often quotes directly from sources that were used, and artistic
organization and language does not seem to exist. He addresses points directly, without
flowery or misleading language, and quotes from his sources often. However, he is often
criticized that he was more interested in the interesting stories about the emperors and not
about the actual occurrences of their reigns. The style, with which he writes, primarily stems
from his overarching purpose, to catalogue the lives of his subjects. He was not writing an
annalistic history, nor was he even trying to create a narrative. His goal was the evaluation of
the emperors, portraying the events and actions of the person while they were in office. He
focuses on the fulfillment of duties, criticizing those that did not live up to expectations, and
praising bad emperors for times when they did fulfill their duties.
There are a variety of other lost or incomplete works by Suetonius, many of which describe
areas of culture and society, like the Roman Year or the names of seas. However, what we
know about these is only through references outside the works themselves.