The historiographical tradition preserved in Nicolaus of Damascus, FGrHist.
90 F 130 ; Velleius 2, 59 ; Appian 3, 28 ; Dio 45, 5 ; and elsewhere knows nothing of Octavian 's residence in Puteoli during April and May, 44 B. C. Only Cicero 's correspondence preserves this information (Att. 14, 5, 3 ; 14, 6, 1 ; 14, 10, 3).
The reason for its absence in the historians is not difficult to discern : Any historian of the earliest days of Octavian 's career must have depended on his « res gestae ».
The retreat to Campania fitted awkwardly with the autobiography 's portrait of a courageous but inexperienced heir.
The evidence suggests an impetuous youth who trusted to rash decision and so encountered embarrassment.
