Praise of Caution in two Latin Biographies: Atticus, by Nepos and Agricola, by Tacitus.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30973/esdi.2023.9.1.146Keywords:
biographical genre, epideictic rhetoric, character, history, politicsAbstract
The purpose of this article is to draw a parallel between two biographies of public men, which address convulsive moments of political life in ancient Rome. Atticus, by Cornelius Nepos, illustrates the turbulences of the last decades of the Roman Republic, the civil wars, and the beginning of the long period in which Octavian will control the Roman state. The biography of Agricola, written by his son-in-law, Tacitus, reveals somber aspects of political life in the final years of the principate of Domitian, the last of the princes of the Flavian dynasty. As is usual in the biographical genre, the narration of the characters' actions alternates with a description and analysis of their personality. Both characters stand out for the caution with which they faced adverse situations.
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