Ideology and Humor in Suetonius' Life of Vespasian 8

In chapter eight of his biography of Vespasian, Suetonius recounts two odd episodes that demonstrate the emperor's old-fashioned sternness in exercising military discipline: the revocation of a prefecture and the refusal of a shoe allowance for marines. Located in a passage about the restoration of the empire, these stories seem out of place, but their deft mixture of humor and ideology appropriately highlights the contrast between the destructive toll of Julio-Claudian misrule and the rejuvenating effects of Vespasian's regime. The biographer uses the humor of the unexpected to portray Vespasian's rise to the Principate as truly unanticipated, yet salutary.