C Suetonius Tranquillus was the son of a Roman knight who commanded a legion on the side of Otho at the battle which decided the fate of the empire in favour of Vitellius From incidental notices in the following History we learn that he was born towards the close of the reign of Vespasian who died in the year 79 of the Christian era He lived till the time of Hadrian under whose administration he filled the office of secretary until with several o...