Erasmus shared with many Renaissance men a more than passing interest in biographical writing. He recommended Plutarch's Lives on several occasions, edited and annotated Suetonius' Lives of the Twelve Caesars, and more importantly, several times tried his own hand at life-writing. In addition to biographical sketches of his contemporaries More, Colet, Vitrier, and Warham, Erasmus wrote lives of Jerome, Ambrose, Augustine, Chrysostom, and other early Church Fathers to serve as introductions to the Froben editions of their works.

The Literary remains of Christophe de Longueil (Longolius, ca. 1490-1522) were published by Junta in Florence in December 1524. The volume had no collective title, but may be listed as Orationes. It included the writing which Longueil did in Padua during his stay there 1520-1522: 'Orationes duae pro defensione sua in crimen lese maiestatis,' or, as the title appeared over the work itself, 'Perduellionis rei defensio,' a third version of his answer to the charge of treason to the Roman people.

The Nineteenth Chapter of the second book of Montaigne's Essais has attracted the interest of critics because of its favorable treatment of Julian the Apostate. The essay is concerned with the problems raised by the Paix de Monsieur in 1576 and it is said that Montaigne's portrait of Julian was influenced by Bodin's remarks in his Méthode de l'Histoire and Ammian Marcellinus' life of the Emperor.