Suétone vu par un contemporain. Les débuts de l’historien dans la correspondance de Pline le Jeune

Abstract

Six letters of Pliny the Younger refer to Suetonius. Their unity does not rest on Suetonius but on Pliny himself. So they are not to be considered as documents for studying the historian's personality or career. Instead they can offer an important testimony about the period of their redaction. During the beginning of the Antonine era, having a high level of education and culture becomes more important than the past social hierarchy. The relations between Suetonius and Pliny such as depicted in the latter's letters both result of and illustrate this social and intellectual evolution and change.