Conspiracy Theory in Latin Literature

4. Suetonius and Suspicion

89 Suspicion is a recurring theme in Suetonius’ De Vita Caesarum. From Julius Caesar to Domitian, it is inextricably woven into the fabric of the biographies , individually and as a whole. Emperors are objects of suspicion by virtue of their autocracy; however, numerous examples will attest the need to exercise suspicion. Some may have good reason for distrust, but others take it too far. Thus, a spectrum emerges, from judicious mistrust, to dysfunctional suspicion , to unbridled and deadly paranoia. This spectrum is visible only when the twelve biographies are considered as a complete unit, hence my contention that suspicion is a unifying narrative framework for Suetonius’ entire enterprise. My conclusions bear upon our understanding of the Hadrianic context of production. Such conclusions depend in part on chronology. The dates of Suetonius’ birth and death are uncertain and can only be guessed, although some evidence obtains from his works, a letter of Pliny, an inscription, and a notice in the Historia Augusta. Suetonius describes himself as an adulescens when rumors of a false Nero in Parthia reached Rome in 88 c.e. (Nero 57.2). If an adulescens is between eleven and nineteen years old, Suetonius was probably born sometime in the decade between 69 and 79. From his cognomen “Tranquillus ,” Syme infers the year 70 and the tranquility after civil war; however, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill notes that “Tranquillus” need not refer specifically to the peace bestowed by the accession of Vespasian but may only be a pun on the father’s name, Suetonius Laetus “The Happy,” who was tribune of the thirteenth legion in 69 (Otho 10).1 Pliny’s Epistula 3.8, written to Suetonius, dates to 101–103.2 Suetonius declined the post of military tribune in Britain, asking Pliny to recommend another in his stead. If Suetonius was then about thirty years old, he would have been born between 71 and 73. An inscription from the ancient town of Hippo Regius establishes his birthplace and preserves some public distincchapter 4 sueTonius and suspiCion ConspiraCy Theory in LaTin LiTeraTure 90 tions and career highlights.3 Suetonius served under Trajan as minister of libraries (a bibliothecis) and the related post of minister of documents (a studiis ) and under Hadrian as minister of correspondence (ab epistulis).4 Finally, according to the biography of Hadrian in the late antique collection of biographies known as the Historia Augusta, Suetonius was removed from his position as ab epistulis because his (and others’) behavior toward Hadrian’s wife Sabina was more informal than court etiquette tolerated.The incident is generally dated to 122, although some historians have proposed 128.5 Therefore, on the outside estimation, Suetonius was born in 70 and is not attested after 128. The date of composition and publication of the De Vita Caesarum is similarly vexing. According to the late antique Byzantine scholar Johannes Laurentius Lydus, Suetonius dedicated the biographies to Septicius Clarus, praetorian prefect; this would have been between 119 and 122.6 Publication probably overlapped with the Annales of Tacitus, begun under Trajan and continued under Hadrian.7 Yet it is not possible to gauge how many (if any) of the biographies were already written when Hadrian became emperor in 117. Did his accession inspire the DeVita Caesarum or did the events of 117 merely intrude upon work already underway? Surely the accession of Hadrian must have influenced the work in some perceptible way. Based on remarks about things in which Hadrian was known to have taken an interest (e.g., hunting , travel, Greek culture, advancement of provincial interests), T. F. Carney identifies a “deeply felt antipathy to all that Hadrian stood for.” Eugen Cizek maintains that Suetonius slipped in some warnings, examples, and advice for Hadrian, a premise rejected by Wallace-Hadrill: “Hadrian could well have read the Caesars out of interest, but not to be taught lessons.” Ulrich Lambrecht insists that the first two lives reflect Suetonius’ own life experience under Trajan and Hadrian, while Jacques Gascou compares the ideal princeps according to Suetonius with the images of Hadrian available in Dio and the Historia Augusta to conclude that Suetonius neither criticizes nor counsels Hadrian; rather, he supports his public image.8 I argue that Suetonius develops a composite picture of the causes and effects of suspicion that would not have been ignored by the princeps of the day. In addition to chronology, the unity of the twelve lives has been a matter of debate. The first two biographies are copious, the middle four mediocre, the...