A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

SU ETONIUS. SUFENAS. 93
Praetorio, Suetonius Tranquillus, and many others, suppress those anecdotes which he believed to be
on the ground of associating with Sabina the true, that is no imputation on his veracity. As a
emperor's wife, without his permission, and ap- great collection of facts of all kinds, the work on
parently during the emperor's absence in Britain, the Caesars is invaluable for the historian of this
on terms of more familiarity than was consistent period. His judgment and his honesty have both
with respect to the imperial household. (Spartian. been attacked by some modern critics; but we
Hadrian. c. 11). are of the same opinion as Krause that on both
Suetonius wrote many works, a list of which is grounds a careful study of his work will justify
given in Suidas (s. v. Tpd'ycvhAos), De Ludis him. The friendship of the younger Plinius is
Graecorum, lib. i.; De Spectaculis et Certamini- evidence in favour of the integrity of Suetonius,
bus Romanorum, libri ii.; De Anno Romano, lib. i.; and Vopiscus, no great authority, it is true, calls
De Notis, on the notae or marks used in writing, him a most accurate and impartial writer (Flav.
which may have been a treatise on the Roman short Vopisc. Firmus, c. 1; compare the Life of Probus,
hand; De Ciceronis Republica; De Nominibus c. 2). Those who attack the credit of Suetonius
propriis et de Generibus Vestium; De Vocibus mali must conduct the assault with more ability and
ominis; De Roma ejusque Institutis et Moribus, judgment than H. Heisen in his absurd essay,
libri ii.; Historiae Caesarum, libri Octo; Stem- entitled "Dissertatio de Imperatoria majestate a
ma illustrium Romanorum. He also wrote some primis Historiae Augustae conditoribus indignisother works of which fragments have been dis- sime habita." (Symbol. Lilt. Bremnen. tom. ii. iii.)
covered: De Regibus, libri iii.; De Institutione The treatise De Illustribus Grammaticis and
Officiorum; De Rebus Variis;and others. There that De Claris Rhetoribus are probably only parts
are still extant, and attributed to Suetonius, Vitae of a larger work, for Hieronymus says in a letter
Duodecim Caesarum, or the twelve Imperators, of to Desiderius, "I have written a treatise on illuswhom the first is C. Julius Caesar and the last is trious men from the time of the Apostles to our
Domitian; Liber de illustribus Grammaticis; and own age, imitating therein Tranquillus and the
Liber de claris Rhetoribus; neither of which is Greek Apollonius." (Casaubon's note on the
contained in the list of Suidas; Vita Terentii, Ho- title of the work De Illustribus Grammaticis.)
ratii, Persii, Lucani, Juvenalis, Plinii Majoris, These two treatises contain a few biographical and
which also are not included in the catalogue of other notices, that are occasionally useful. It has
Suidas. been conjectured that the few scanty lives of the
The chief work of Suetonius is his lives of the Latin poets, already enumerated, belonged to a
Caesars which, as it appears, were sometimes distri- larger work De Poetis. If this conjecture be true,
buted in eight books,as they are in some manuscripts. the short notice of the elder Plinius may not be by
The authorities which he followed for the several Suetonius, and Casaubon will not allow it to be
lives have beep diligently examined by Augustus his. But the opinion as to the book De Poetis is
Krause (De Suetonii Tranquilli Fontibus et Auctori- merely a conjecture. A work entitled De Viris
tate, Berlin, 1841). Krause gives some reasons Illustribus, which has been attributed both to
for supposing that Suetonius consulted the historical Suetonius and the younger Plinius, is now unaniwritings of Tacitus, and he argues, that as Tacitus mously assigned to Aurelius Victor.
did not write his annals before A. D. 117, in which The editions of Suetonius are very numerous.
year Hadrian succeeded Trajan, Suetonius did not Before A. D. 1500, fifteen editions had appeared,
write the lives of the Caesars before A. D. 120. a proof that the Lives of the Caesars were favourite
This is not very satisfactory, though it must be ad- reading. The oldest edition with a date is that of
mitted that there are many expressions in Suetonius, Rome, 1470, folio. The best of the early editions
which closely resemble the expressions in Tacitus; is that of I. Casaubon, Geneva, 1595, and Paris,
and Suetonius, a grammarian (grammaticus), was 1610. A small edition by J. Schild, Leiden,
likely enough to copy particular phrases. Indeed 1647, contains a selection of useful notes. One of
Suetonius often quotes Senatusconsulta and other the most useful editions is that by P. Burmann,
documentary evidence in the very words, which Amsterdam, 1736, 2 vols. 4to., with a selection of
Tacitus as a general rule did not. These lives of notes from the principal commentators, thefragments
Suetonius are not and do not affect to be historical: of Suetonius, inscriptions relating to the Caesars,
they are rather anecdotical, and in the nature of tables of the coins of the Caesars, and a copious
Memoires pour servir. His authorities are the index. One of the latest editions is that of Baumwritings of the Roman emperors themselves and garten-Crusius, Leipzig, 1816, 3 vols. 8vo., which
those of theirfreedmen, Epistolae, Orationes, Testa- was again edited by C. B. Hase, Paris, 1828, 2
ments, and other documents of that kind; public vols. 8vo.
documents, as Senatusconsulta, Fasti, inscriptions, There is an English translation of the Twelve
and the Acta of the Senate and the people; also Caesars by the industrious translator, Philemon
the Greek and Roman writers on Roman history. Holland, London, 1606, folio. Besides these there
He also learned much from conversation with those are four other English translations, the last of which
who were older than himself, and he would know is by A. Thomson, London, 1796, 8vo., "with
something of Titus and Domitian at least, as he annotations and a review of the government and
was a young man during their reign. Suetonius literature of the different periods." There are transdoes not follow the chronological order in his Lives, lations in Italian, French, Spanish, Dutch, German,
but he groups together many things of the same and Danish.
kind, as he says himself (Augustus, c. 9). His Bihr's Geschiclte der RMmischen Literatur conlanguage is very brief and precise, sometimes ob- tains the chief references for the literature of Suescure, without any affectation of ornament. He tonius. [G. L.]
certainly tells a prodigious number of scandalous SUFE'NAS, M. NOtNIUS, was tribune of
anecdotes about the Caesars, but there was plenty the plebs in B. c. 56, and in conjunction with his
to tell about them; and if he did not choose to colleagues C. Cato and Procilius, prevented the
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