Augustus
...t was only in power due to bribery and fear of opposition. Tacitus claims that “Augustus won over the soldiers with gifts” which gave him the army that he needed to be emperor. He also states that the bravest people who would oppose Augustus perished in battle and the nobles that remained would rather stay with the safe present rather than bring back the dangerous past. On the other hand, Suetonius proves his modesty and extreme fairness to the people as their ruler. Examples such as only recommending his sons for office if they truly deserved it and giving the chance to those who have questions or contradictions to speak show his fairness to all. Suetonius shows Augustus’ modesty with examples of walking the streets barefoot, having morning receptions open to all and even exiting or entering a town at night to save a commoner from any obligations of ceremony. These three author’s documents all draw many conclusions of Augustus. The way Augustus is presented by the author is impacted by their identity. Tacitus, a Roman orator and public official, is regarded as perhaps one of the greatest historians ever. He felt that life during the roman republic was more virtuous and longed for that time period to be present. As someone who opposed Augustus, Tacitus is more likely to present him ina negative way. Augustus is presented a little more even sided and balanced by Suetonius. This is not surprising due to the fact that Suetonius was a well-established biographer of that time. His identity impacts the way Augustus is presented largely due to the fact that his work would be free of any bias statements or views. In “memorial to himself”, the presentation of Augustus is greatly impacted by the author’s identity mainly because the author is Augustus himself. This would bring upon an extremely bias view, as for anyone that is writing about themselves surely would not take a negative route in their document. In conclusion, the author’s identity and background play an important part in the way Augustus is presented. Augustus is presented and evaluated differently by each author. Tacitus, a major historian, presents Augustus by telling how he came to be the emperor and showing many negative effects occurring during the regime. He is trying ...