--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Suetonius, the gossip columnist of…" description: "\"“Suetonius, the gossip columnist of ancient Rome, says that Caesar wrote to Cicero and other friends in a cipher in which the plaintext letters were re..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2a/david-kahn-13896_ancient-rome_suetonius-the-gossip-columnist-of-ancien_1850474.jpg" --- # Suetonius, the gossip columnist of ancient Rome, says that… ![“Suetonius, the gossip columnist of ancient Rome, says that Caesar wrote to Cicero and other friends in a cipher in which the plaintext letters were replaced by letters standing three places further down the alphabet, D for a, E for b, etc.” quote by David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2a/david-kahn-13896_ancient-rome_suetonius-the-gossip-columnist-of-ancien_1850474.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2a/david-kahn-13896_ancient-rome_suetonius-the-gossip-columnist-of-ancien_1850474.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f2a/david-kahn-13896_ancient-rome_suetonius-the-gossip-columnist-of-ancien_1850474.jpg) > ““Suetonius, the gossip columnist of ancient Rome, says that Caesar wrote to Cicero and other friends in a cipher in which the plaintext letters were replaced by letters standing three places further down the alphabet, D for a, E for b, etc.”” [David Kahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kahn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Caesar used a simple Caesar cipher shifting letters three places to hide messages from friends. **In simple terms:** Caesar hid letters by shifting them three spots. Key Takeaway Understand basic substitution ciphers. Themes cryptography history communication Mood educational historical Type cryptographic informative When to use this quote - ancient Rome - military correspondence - educational puzzles Key Concepts cipher alphabet shift secret writing Questions to Reflect On - Can you decode a message using this shift? - Why might Caesar have chosen such a simple method? A Different Perspective Simple ciphers are easy to break with modern analysis. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ancient rome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ancient-rome/) ## Related quotes > [“Petrarch sometimes wrote letters to long-dead authors. He was also a dedicated hunter of classic manuscripts. 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