De viris illustribus
Quick Summary
De viris illustribus ("On Famous Men") was a work by the Roman historian Cornelius Nepos, written around the 1st century BCE. It comprised brief biographies of distinguished Romans and foreigners, intended to illustrate moral principles through anecdotes. While originally in at least 16 books, only one complete book and parts of others survive. The extant biographies are generally short and focus on ethical lessons, with the lives of Cato and Atticus being among the more notable surviving examples. Nepos wrote in a simple style, aiming to provide moral examples rather than literary elegance.1
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.
