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This is a Literature Review study.

August 17, 2025

In Search of Suetonius’ Illustrious Men

Key Points

This exploration reveals that reexamining assumptions allows for a clearer understanding of Suetonius’ consistent interests.
Key evidence includes a critical review of the 15th-century scholarly reconstruction and its lasting impact on perceptions.
The study employs a fresh examination of potential content in the suggested work, de philosophis, enhancing insights into Suetonius' approach.
These findings emphasize the importance of questioning long-held beliefs to uncover the true nature of historical texts.

Abstract

Abstract In this paper I argue that the accepted reconstruction of Suetonius’ De viris illustribus has been shaped by unexamined assumptions that have been allowed to take on the appearance of fact. I begin by surveying the scholarly reconstruction of this work from the fifteenth century until today. I then examine two key underlying assumptions: that Suetonius planned and published his series of literary lives as a single compendious work and that it excluded men who were not writers or wrote in Greek; in both cases I propose alternative hypotheses. I lastly test these alternatives by sketching a new approach to a possible Suetonian book De philosophis . I conclude that the more we rid ourselves of a priori assumptions about De viris illustribus , the more clearly we can see that Suetonius’ interests and approach were remarkably consistent throughout all his lives.

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