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De Casibus Virorum Illustribus ( "On the Fates of Famous Men" ) is a work of Latin prose composed by the Florentine figure Giovanni Boccaccio of Certaldo about moral stories of the falls of famous people. It was part of a classical tradition of historiography dealing with the fortunes and calamities of ancient famous people. Boccaccio's perspective focuses on the disastro awaiting all who are too favored by luck and on the inevitable catastrophes awaiting them. It was written by Boccaccio from 1355 to 1375 and for almost four hundred years the better known of his works and far more widely read then the now famous vernacular Tuscan/Italian work Decameron.[1] In this tale, drawing mainly on examples from classical history, with brief forays into direct moral commentary, the narrator seeks to inspire rulers to a virtuous life. De casibus stems from the tradition of exemplary literature works about famous people.

Contents

[edit] Lives Recounted

In order, directly translated from Latin edition.[2]

[edit] Book One

[edit] Book Two

[edit] Book Three

[edit] Book Four

[edit] Book Five

  • Seleucus and Anthiocus, Kings of Asia and Syria
  • Marcus Attilus Regulus
  • Syphace, King of Numidia
  • Anthiocus the Greater, King of Asia and Syria
  • Hannibal, leader of Carthage
  • Prusia, King of Bithynia
  • Perseus, King of Macedonia
  • Pseudo-Philip of Macedonia
  • Alexander Bala, King of Syria
  • Demetrius, King of Syria
  • Alxander Zebenna, King of Syria
  • Jugurtha, King of the Numidians

[edit] Book Six

[edit] Book Seven

[edit] External links

Boccaccio De Casibus Virorum Illustrium - Chaucer influences]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Louis Brewer Hall, "Introduction," De casibus illustrium virorum (Gainesville: Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, 1962), v.
  2. ^ Giovanni Boccaccio, Tutte le opere Vol. 9: De casibus virorum illustrium ed. trans. V. Zaccarria (La Scuola: Mondadori, 1983).