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Augustus' last words, as Suetonius tells it

set in 14 CE, Campania. As Suetonius tells it, over a century later.

Where and when

set in 14 CECampania

2,012 years ago

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Augustus

, CampaniaAs Suetonius tells it, over a century later

In plain words, ours

He died suddenly while Livia kissed him: Livia, remember our marriage, and goodbye. It was the easy death he had always wanted.

…he expired suddenly, amidst the kisses of Livia, and with these words: “Livia! live mindful of our union; and now, farewell!” dying a very easy death, and such as he himself had always wished for.

Suetonius, Life of Augustus 99Translated by Alexander Thomson, revised by T. Forester (1889)Read the full passage (Suetonius, Life of Augustus 99, opens gutenberg.org)

What was going on, our summary

Campania, 14 CE: the day Augustus died, at 75, after 41 years in power. As Suetonius tells it, over a century later, he had his hair combed, asked his friends whether he had played his part well, then sent them out.

Checked claim by claim against: Augustus dies at Nola after 41 years in power, the passage around the quote.

Related moments

In time order, with this one in its place. Each says why it is here.

  1. 14 CESame year Augustus dies at Nola after 41 years in power The event behind itAlso in CampaniaAlso about death
  2. 14 CESame year Tiberius succeeds Augustus Same years
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  9. 41 CE27 years later Caligula is killed by his own guards Also about death

Just before and after

The text around the quote, word for word from the same translation.

Show the passageHide the passage

Upon the day of his death, he now and then enquired, if there was any disturbance in the town on his account; and calling for a mirror, he ordered his hair to be combed, and his shrunk cheeks to be adjusted. Then asking his friends who were admitted into the room, “Do ye think that I have acted my part on the stage of life well?” he immediately subjoined, Ei de pan echei kalos, to paignio Dote kroton, kai pantes umeis meta charas ktupaesate. If all be right, with joy your voices raise, In loud applauses to the actor’s praise. After which, having dismissed them all, whilst he was inquiring of some persons who were just arrived from Rome, concerning Drusus’s daughter, who was in a bad state of health,

The quote: he expired suddenly, amidst the kisses of Livia, and with these words: “Livia! live mindful of our union; and now, farewell!” dying a very easy death, and such as he himself had always wished for.

For as often as he heard that any person had died quickly and without pain, he wished for himself and his friends the like euthanasian (an easy death), for that was the word he made use of. He betrayed but one symptom, before he breathed his last, of being delirious, which was this: he was all on a sudden much frightened, and complained that he was carried away by forty men. But this was rather a presage, than any delirium: for precisely that number of soldiers belonging to the pretorian cohort, carried out his corpse.

Suetonius, Life of Augustus 99Translated by Alexander Thomson, revised by T. Forester (1889)Read the full passage (opens gutenberg.org)

When, and whose words

Date
set in 14 CE. Set on the day of his death, 19 August 14 CE (Suetonius, Augustus 100). Suetonius wrote c. 120 CE.
Whose words
As Suetonius tells it, over a century later.
How this post was checked
  • The plain-words line was read against the quote alone by a second, independent pass, which found it adds no claim the quote does not make (2026-10-03).
  • Each claim in the summary was checked by an independent pass against only the material it cites.
  • The quote itself is checked by the build: word for word, once, at the cited section of the stored translation.

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