According to the article by Suetonius, Vespasian was a great compassionate ruler. Vespasian showed his compassion in two areas, the law and in his treatment of individual classes. Under his rule if any innocent person was to be punished, he would save them. Except for one account where he was given false information on the death of Helvidius in which he sent a messenger to stop the execution. He created a retirement fund for ex-consuls, this is not what it was necessarily called but it is what it seems to be. Vespasian was not ashamed of where his family came from, and in often times he would flaunt it around as if he were proud of his humble beginnings. When it comes to his military aspects, he did not appreciate it when his soldiers smelt like perfume. This tells me that he was a strict military leader and wanted his soldiers to work hard. Vespasian restored the temple of Peace that was destroyed by Nero and he also started an annual salary for teachers. This says that he cherished religion and education. One of his only flaws was money. He loved money and created burdens for the provinces. …show more content…
This being said, Vespasian could have been a terrible ruler but based on Suetonius’s point of view we see him as a great ruler. He did not comment much on the flaws of Vespasian but rather focused on the achievements and good things by him. Now, that is not to be said that Vespasian was not a great ruler with minimum flaws but, Suetonius is only giving one side of the story with a small toe in the water for the other