"On the famous people" or On the famous husbands ( lat. De viris illustribus ) - a work by Cornelius Nepos , written in the second half of the 1st century BC. er
| About famous people | |
|---|---|
| lat De viris illustribus | |
| Genre | biography |
| Author | Cornelius Nepot |
| Original language | Latin |
| Date of writing | I century BC. er |
Content
Structure
De viris illustribus consists of 16 books divided into sections. Based on the fragments mentioned by later authors, the following work structure can be outlined:
- Foreign rulers / Roman rulers;
- Foreign Warlord / Roman Warlords;
- Greek orators / Roman orators
- Greek poets / Roman poets
- Greek historians / Roman historians
- Greek Grammar / Roman Grammar
Thus, the books were divided into categories (statesmen, commanders, philosophers, etc.) and arranged in pairs: the Romans and foreigners.
The book dedicated to foreign military leaders (De excellentibus ducibus exterarum gentium) has come down to us completely. Nepos writes about a person according to the “birth - family - childhood - education” scheme and completes it with vices, virtues and deeds.
Presented personalities
- Miltiades
- Themistoclus
- Aristide
- Pausanias
- Cimon
- Lysander
- Alkiviad
- Frasybul
- Konon
- Dion
- Ifikrat
- Habry
- Timofey
- Yes, there
- Epaminondas
- Pelopid
- Agesilaus
- Eumenes
- Phocion
- Timoleon
- Hamilcar Barca
- Hannibal
- Mark Portia Caton
- Tit Pomponius Atticus
Style
The text, written clearly without any literary ambitions, caused controversial judgments. The philologist Gottfried Bernhardi notes Nepot's “natural, almost random style” without careful adherence to the rules of syntax. The author's lexicon goes back to the spoken language of the Roman upper class (sermo famisis) [1] .
The writing was part of an elementary school program for Latin lessons.
Notes
- ↑ Vgl. Gottfried Bernhardy: Grundriss der römischen Literatur . CA Schwetschke & Sohn, Braunschweig 1872, S. 708.