Suetonius vs. Tacitus

[Marius Romilius]

Salve civii-

 

In the ancient battle of the giants, who do you enjoy most?

 

Tacitus or Suetonius?

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

I'm a big fan of both and have read them many times but I find myself returning to Suetonius more than Tacitus. I think that the Twelve Caesars is fantastic and really entertaining, at times it reads like a tabloid from ancient Rome, giving us all the juicy gossip on the "celebs" of Rome.

[Nephele]

I think that the Twelve Caesars is fantastic and really entertaining, at times it reads like a tabloid from ancient Rome, giving us all the juicy gossip on the "celebs" of Rome.

 

I like Suetonius for that reason, too. Suetonius was a yenta in a toga.

[sylla]

Both historians were contemporary, and from their own lifetime the gossipy biographer seems to have been far more popular than the philosophic annalist.

 

In fact, that may very well have been the main reason on why the XII Caesars were far better preserved than any Tacitean work.

Edited September 2, 2009 by sylla

[Primus Pilus]

I prefer Tacitus from a historical perspective... I get the impression (and one can only get an impression when attempting to analyze the motives of the ancients) that he was more genuine when it came to the reporting of events.

 

However, from a pure enjoyment factor, it's hard to argue with Suetonius.

 

As an aside... I tend to lean towards Cassius Dio and Appian as my personal favorites.

[sylla]

I

[Primus Pilus]

I

[sylla]

... I should emphasize that the reason I consider Dio a favorite is because of the grand sweeping nature of his work; encompassing such a tremendous stretch of time. The "speeches" can be annoying from a historical perspective but they add a certain sentiment relative to the sensibilities of the time period in question that it's hard to ignore.

Arguably, the speeches (like one third of the third of his Histories that is available to us) were the core argument of his opera magna; it's there where he was sending his main lessons for his expected lectors (Alexander Severus and the Imperial aristocracy). The rest of the narrative would have been essentially required for getting the right context. Edited September 2, 2009 by sylla

[cornelius_sulla]

Take Suetonius with a grain of salt, and Tacitus with a grain of sugar, and you should be fine. Tacitus for me though: old Suetonius is just a bit too gossipy and waspish. I like my character assasinations dry and on the rocks, thankyou!