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I urge you. When i received it, i had already got my grade C+.:( I frequnetly shop for books from amazon,it usually takes not more that a week. if you decide to buy books, you have to order it at least a month an advance. I ordered the book for my school paper. But, this is the worst shipping experience i have ever had. The good part is that they sent the right book with decent condition
Even if you didn't know you were interested in Roman history, you're still going to be glued to the page. Nero left the palace at night to stalk the dark streets of Rome. Suetonius was a master historian, and the material he has to work with here--the insanity, sheer brutality, and fabulous riches of the Roman emperors--falls into the category of: nobody could make this stuff up. Also, those people who have seen the PBS series "I, Claudius" will be fascinated to learn that Robert Graves used history here as background for that series (albeit with a good deal of fictionalizing of Livia). This prediction, as the event later proved, referred to a Roman Emperor, but the rebellious Jews, who read it as referring to themselves" (p 242) and not Vespasian. Robert Graves, the translator, does a brilliant job. Even if you've read them before, it is simply staggering to read it all again and revel in the lunacy of their reigns.
The emperor was a serial killer.Suetonius shows every evidence of weighing the facts carefully. It's that strange. Then, finding innocent men on their way "home from dinner, stab them if they offered resistance, and then drop their bodies in the sewers" (p 195)). I found it far superior to anything else I have read. The biographies of Nero and Caligula are frankly superb. Take, for example, "An ancient superstition was current in the East that out of Judaea would come the rulers of the world. Hmm.
The service was fine- but there are various editions of this work with relatively minor changes in the introduction and other minor matters. There was no way of determining the date of this edition or any of the others from the listings. This was in fact from 1979 rather than 2003
it made an awesome gift for my love who is always expanding his vast knowledge.
Many portents are given that are said to predict winning, losing, dying, and becoming a Caesar. He tried to kill her in many different ways that seem cartoonish and comical, including pretending that he had forgiven her and inviting her to a party so that he could kill her. Eventually, he did kill her, though he felt guilty about it afterwards. They would enforce morality, but were not necessarily moral themselves. He was a primadonna with no talent. He sniffed her breasts one last time before seeing her off.
He also invented a torture of tying the genitals of a victim after tricking them into drinking a lot of wine. I got a good chuckle out of it. Entertainment on a colossal scale frequently occurred. Later on, he turned against her because of her controlling ways and her inability to keep her mouth shut. Incest, pedophilia, prostitution, homosexuality, and adultery were all practiced and there seems to be just mild disapproval against such things.
They had a sensitive side that the others lacked which made them better rulers. Supernatural events are recorded as factual. Suetonius gives us several characteristics of Roman society and the Caesars themselves.He gives us the vices and virtues of the Caesars. When he fell asleep, servants would try to induce vomiting. Violence was a way of life and occurred frequently. Nero also lusted after his mother. Caesars were above the law.
They did not hide their immorality they way politicians do today. Julius Caesar was referred to as "Every woman's man, and every man's woman". When Nero married a boy and turned him into a girl, a joke was made that the world would have been a better place, if Nero's father had done the same. For example, a law was made to keep noble women from becoming prostitutes by choice.
At his death, he mentioned amusingly, "Dead, and such a great artist.", mourning his own passing. Like most Caesars, he was known for lust, greed, and cruelty. But the Caesar would not set a good moral example by remaining chaste or faithful. He would then administer an enema on himself.Everything was done on a grand scale.
No one could do decadence with such artistry as Nero. Tiberius was a good general, but he was remembered more for his greed, cruelty and lust. (Nero would not have been born in a homosexual relationship). After ordering torture, a Caesar might read or write a good book. Roman society was nearly pansexual. He took up singing, although he was not very good at it. But she got out of his trap that time too.
The captive audience would often fall asleep or try to escape somehow. One Caesar ate to the point of puking. With their great power, great was their good and great was their evil. He was jealous of anyone who had a better voice than him. And some were bad rulers with bad morals such as Nero and Caligula.Nero's chapter is the most entertaining. Only assassination was a punishment that they could not avoid.
This made it impossible to urinate.Vespian and Titus were remarkable in that they did not knowingly put innocent people to death, unlike the other Caesars. The greatness of a Caesar was determined by building colossal buildings, winning wars and territory, ruling justly, providing good entertainment, reducing taxes, and being generous with the public treasury, Caesars were often judged by how generous or stingy they were with the public purse or how much they taxed or cheated the populace. Caesars used astrologers. Added to this, he was also mad. Nero was also the vainest Caesar. Laws were made, enforced, and broken by the Caesars. Some were good rulers with some vices such as Julius Caesar and Augustus.
Caesars had to be careful that they were not killed by those around him. He turned into a dirty old man and was sexually interested in men, women, boys, and babies. A chef was set in irons for serving the wrong kind of bread. One could easily be killed by the Caesar over trivialities, even though there was supposedly rule of law. Some were good rulers with good morals, such as Titus and Vespian. Sort of proves that being highly literate does not make you ethical. But just because Caesars might torture people, does not mean that were not students of the liberal arts. There were many instances of torture and killing innocent people.
Chariot races, plays, gladiator shows, fake battles, feasts, and wild beast hunts were some of the entertainments. There was a lot of arbitrary cruelty and violence in Roman society. He entered and won all the contests because no one wanted to offend him. Gluttony was on display. Tiberius raped two young men and then broke their legs for complaining about it. Caesars took omens and the way the entrails lay seriously. Romans loved a good show. Caesars were artists who painted with bold strokes and their canvass was their empire.
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