De viris illustribus
Petrarch conceived his first plan for "De viris illustribus" of biographies of illustrious men of Jewish, oriental, Greek and Roman famous figures in 1337 before that of the "Africa". Scholars say Petrarch more than likely conceived "Africa" in 1338 based on this initial research of Lives for "De viris illustribus". He wrote up his list of "Illustrious Men" from Adam to Julius Caesar and Romulus to Titus in 1337-38, about the same time as he was writing his "Africa" (1338–39). Petrarch's earliest reference to writing a series of biographies of Lives can be found in the third book of his work "Secretum" which was originally written up around 1337. St. Augustine speaks to Petrarch