Gaius Suetonius, De viris illustribus [On Illustrious Men]

Remy Poignault (Université de CLERMONT-FERRAND 2)
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Suetonius’

De uiris illustribus

(a title given to the work by common agreement among critics, since the exact title, along with the exact content, of the work is debated, for it is uncertain whether originally there were many

Virorum illustrium libri

or just one

Virorum illustrium liber

) has survived only partially, and as such, reconstruction is possible only by conjecture. This is a book about the men who had distinguished themselves in Latin literature.

The book is known from quotations or allusions to it in the works of later authors. The dictionary Suidas offers a catalogue of works by Suetonius, perhaps only those that were available in Greek (Della Corte 1967). Suidas mentions as part of this catalogue a Στέμμα ‘Ρωμαίων ἀνδρῶν ἐπισήμων, which could

2104 words

Citation: Poignault, Remy. "De viris illustribus". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 February 2014 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=13470, accessed 14 December 2024.]

13470 De viris illustribus 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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