The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Volume 02: Augustus

The biography traces the subject's family origins and childhood, then follows his ascent to preeminence as heir to a powerful predecessor and his careful consolidation of authority amid civil turmoil. It surveys military and administrative measures, religious observances, and public-image building, and records personal habits, domestic arrangements, marriages, and scandals alongside episodes of clemency and severity. The narrative mixes chronological account with moralizing commentary and anecdote, drawing on varied source reports to portray both public acts and intimate details, and concludes with descriptions of the ruler's final years, death, and the political and ritual responses to his passing.