Oliver, Revilo P. "The Praenomen of Tacitus". Tacitus appears to hold the fairly strict monogamy (with some exceptions among nobles who marry again) between Germanic husbands and wives, and the chastity among the unmarried to be worthy of the highest praise. Tacitus (full name, Publius Gaius Cornelius Tacitus, ca. Since then you cannot hope for quarter, take courage, I beseech you, whether it be safety or renown that you hold most precious. Like “Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit, because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure” ― Tacitus 205 likes. The Augustan History reports that Emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus (r. 275–276) claimed him for an ancestor and provided for the preservation of his works, but this story may be fraudulent, like much of the Augustan History.[30]. (Ch. Throughout his writing, he is preoccupied with the balance of power between the Senate and the Emperors, and the increasing corruption of the governing classes of Rome as they adjusted to the ever-growing wealth and power of the empire. When he writes about a near-defeat of the Roman army in Ann. Now, however, the furthest limits of Britain are thrown open, and the unknown always passes for the marvellous. 98–99 where the quoted example is used; Further quotes from the book: "…some writers—notably the perverse genius Tacitus—delighted in disappointing the expectations raised by periodic theory." Tacitus quotes Showing 1-30 of 93 “The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws.” ― Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome. [24] The Agricola, chs. – "this monkeying with hard-won stylistic norms…only makes sense if readers knew the rules that Tacitus was breaking. But it is also very individual. The Dialogus is dedicated to Fabius Iustus, a consul in 102 AD. His Latin style is highly praised. [31] Tacitus also uses collections of letters (epistolarium). [13] Pliny Book 9, Letter 23 reports that, when he was asked if he was Italian or provincial, he gave an unclear answer, and so was asked if he was Tacitus or Pliny. He lived in what has been called the Silver Age of Latin literature, and is known for the brevity and compactness of his Latin prose, as well as for his penetrating insights into the psychology of power politics. The chieftain's sentiment can be contrasted to "peace given to the world" which was frequently inscribed on Roman medals. Many characteristics set it apart from the other works of Tacitus, so that its authenticity has at various times been questioned. To our strifes and discords they owe their fame, and they turn the errors of an enemy to the renown of their own army, an army which, composed as it is of every variety of nations, is held together by success and will be broken up by disaster. as a scrupulous historian who paid careful attention to his sources. All the incentives to victory are on our side. They had realized at last that common action was needed to meet the common danger, and had sent round embassies and drawn up treaties to rally the full force of all their states. Note the three different ways of saying and in the first line (-que, et, ac), and especially the matched second and third lines. [32] His style, although it has a grandeur and eloquence (thanks to Tacitus's education in rhetoric), is extremely concise, even epigrammatic—the sentences are rarely flowing or beautiful, but their point is always clear. The forts are ungarrisoned; the colonies in the hands of aged men; what with disloyal subjects and oppressive rulers, the towns are ill-affected and rife with discord. Think, therefore, as you advance to battle, at once of your ancestors and of your posterity. To us who dwell on the uttermost confines of the earth and of freedom, this remote sanctuary of Britain's glory has up to this time been a defence. The Annals by Roman historian and senator Tacitus is a history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, the years AD 14–68. 3.12 and the Senatus Consultum De Cn. To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a solitude and call it peace (ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant). On the one side you have a general and an army; on the other, tribute, the mines, and all the other penalties of an enslaved people. [18] He started his career (probably the latus clavus, mark of the senator)[19] under Vespasian[20] (r. 69–79), but entered political life as a quaestor in 81 or 82 under Titus. He served in the provinces from c.  89 to c.  93, either in command of a legion or in a civilian post. This belief stems from the fact that the Celts who had occupied Gaul prior to the Roman invasion were famous for their skill in oratory, and had been subjugated by Rome.[15]. Nonetheless, where he does use broad strokes, for example, in the opening paragraphs of the Annals, he uses a few condensed phrases which take the reader to the heart of the story. (To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace. Book XV, 53Annals (117)Original: (la) cupido dominandi cunctis adfectibus flagrantior est. We have neither fruitful plains, nor mines, nor harbours, for the working of which we may be spared. Discover interesting quotes and translate them. Former contests, in which, with varying fortune, the Romans were resisted, still left in us a last hope of succour, inasmuch as being the most renowned nation of Britain, dwelling in the very heart of the country, and out of sight of the shores of the conquered, we could keep even our eyes unpolluted by the contagion of slavery. Michael Grant in Introduction to Tacitus, Gordon, 1936, pp. [4], Tacitus was born in 56 or 57 to an equestrian family;[5] but the exact place and date of his birth are not known, and his praenomen (first name) is also unknown; in the letters of Sidonius Apollinaris his name is Gaius, but in the major surviving manuscript of his work his name is given as Publius. [9] The friendship between the younger Pliny and Tacitus leads some scholars to conclude that they were both the offspring of wealthy provincial families. Though most has been lost, what remains is an invaluable record of the era. [25], In the following year, he wrote and published the Agricola and Germania, foreshadowing the literary endeavors that would occupy him until his death. Book XIV, 44Annals (117)Original: (la) Habet aliquid ex iniquo omne magnum exemplum, quod contra singulos, utilitate publica rependitus. 1.1). [35] He is at his best when exposing hypocrisy and dissimulation; for example, he follows a narrative recounting Tiberius's refusal of the title pater patriae by recalling the institution of a law forbidding any "treasonous" speech or writings—and the frivolous prosecutions which resulted (Annals, 1.72). Robbers of the world, having by their universal plunder exhausted the land, they rifle the deep. Book I, 10; Church-Brodribb translationAnnals (117)Original: (la) Ne Tiberium quidem caritate aut rei publicae cura successorem adscitum, sed quoniam adrogantiam saevitiamque eius introspexerit, comparatione deterrima sibi gloriam quaesivisse. ". [12] No evidence exists, however, that Pliny's friends from northern Italy knew Tacitus, nor do Pliny's letters hint that the two men had a common background. / My words aroused his wrath; thence evil's earliest blight. Lord Byron for instance uses the phrase (in English) as follows,Agricola (98)Original: (la) Auferre, trucidare, rapere, falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant. It was not long before our hands dragged Helvidius to prison, before we gazed on the dying looks of Mauricus and Rusticus, before we were steeped in Senecio's innocent blood. http://www.unrv.com/tacitus/tacitus-agricola-12.phpOriginal: (la) Tu vero felix, Agricola, non vitae tantum claritate, sed etiam opportunitate mortis.Source: Agricola (98), Chapter 45. [11] His marriage to the daughter of Narbonensian senator Gnaeus Julius Agricola implies that he came from Gallia Narbonensis. Book 6 ends with the death of Tiberius and books 7 to 12 presumably covered the reigns of Caligula and Claudius. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/tacitus-germ-latin.html#19. Welcome as the death of Nero had been in the first burst of joy, yet it had not only roused various emotions in Rome, among the Senators, the people, or the soldiery of the capital, it had also excited all the legions and their generals; for now had been divulged that secret of the empire, that emperors could be made elsewhere than at Rome. As translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/tacitus-agricola.aspAgricola (98)Original: (la) Idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset. In an early chapter of the Agricola, Tacitus asserts that he wishes to speak about the years of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. Tacitus' dedication to Lucius Fabius Justus in the Dialogus may indicate a connection with Spain, and his friendship with Pliny suggests origins in northern Italy. Pisone Patre. But there are no tribes beyond us, nothing indeed but waves and rocks, and the yet more terrible Romans, from whose oppression escape is vainly sought by obedience and submission. The Julio-Claudians eventually gave way to generals, who followed Julius Caesar (and Sulla and Pompey) in recognizing that military might could secure them the political power in Rome.(Hist.1.4). I, 63 he does so with brevity of description rather than embellishment. Causes of Boudicca’s Revolt. In 77 or 78, he married Julia Agricola, daughter of the famous general Agricola. Yet these are torn from us by conscriptions to be slaves elsewhere. He also took information from exitus illustrium virorum. "Relatio vs. Oratio: Tacitus, Ann. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (/ ˈ t æ s ɪ t ə s / TASS-it-əs, Classical Latin: [ˈtakɪtʊs]; c. 56 – c. 120 AD) was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire.Tacitus is considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians. Tacitus is considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians. Tacitus Quotes. There is uncertainty about when Tacitus wrote Dialogus de oratoribus. Tacitus's political career was largely lived out under the emperor Domitian. en "Nor in my madness kept my purpose low, / but vowed, if e'er should happier chance invite, / and bring me home a conqueror, even so / my comrade's death with vengeance to requite. The entrance of Tiberius in the first chapters of the first book is dominated by the hypocrisy of the new emperor and his courtiers. What little is known comes from scattered hints throughout his work, the letters of his friend and admirer Pliny the Younger, and an inscription found at Mylasa in Caria. Book I, 1Histories (100-110)Original: (la) Rara temporum felicitate, ubi sentire quae velis, et quae sentias dicere licet.