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Tacitus

Publius (or '''Gaius''') '''Cornelius Tacitus''' (ca. 56 – ca. 117) was a Roman Senate|senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ''Annals (Tacitus)|Annals'' and the ''Histories (Tacitus)|Histories''—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those that reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors. These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus in AD 14 to (presumably) the death of emperor Domitian in AD 96. There are significant Lacuna (manuscripts)|lacunae in the surviving texts. Other works by Tacitus discuss oratory (in dialogue format, see ''Dialogus de oratoribus''), Germania (in ''De origine et situ Germanorum''), and biographical notes about his father-in-law Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola, primarily during his campaign in Britannia (see ''De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae''). An author writing in the latter part of the Silver Age of Latin literature, his work is distinguished by a boldness and sharpness of wit, and a compact and sometimes unconventional use of Latin language|Latin.

Life

While Tacitus' works contain much information about his world, details regarding his personal life are scarce. What little is known comes from scattered hints throughout his work, the letters of his friend and admirer Pliny the Younger, an inscription found at Mylasa in Caria,''Orientis Graeci Inscriptionis Selectae|OGIS'' 487, first brought to light in ''Bulletin de correspondance hellénique'', 1890, pp. 621–623 and educated guesswork. Tacitus was born in 56 or 57 to an equestrian (Roman)|equestrian family; Since he was appointed to the quaestorship during Titus's short rule (see # note-quaestor|note below) and twenty-five was the minimum age for the position, the date of his birth can be fixed with some accuracy like many Latin authors of the Golden Age of Latin Literature|Golden and Silver Age of Latin literature|Silver Ages, he was from the provinces, probably either northern Italy, Gallia Narbonensis, or Hispania. The exact place and date of his birth are not known, while his praenomen (first name) is similarly a mystery; 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''.See Oliver, 1951, for an analysis of the manuscript from which the name Publius is taken; see also Oliver, 1977, which examines the evidence for each suggested praenomen (the well-known ''Gaius'' and ''Publius'', the lesser-known suggestions of ''Sextus'' and ''Quintus'') before settling on ''Publius'' as the most likely. (One scholar's suggestion of ''Sextus'' has gained no traction.)Oliver, 1977, cites an article by Harold Mattingly in ''Rivista storica dell'Antichità'', 2 (1972) 169–185

Family and early life

The older aristocratic families were largely destroyed during the proscriptions at the end of the Roman Republic|Republic, and Tacitus is clear that he owes his rank to the Flavian dynasty|Flavian emperors (''Hist.'' 1.1). The theory that he descended from a freedman finds no support apart from his statement, in an invented speech, that many senators and knights were descended from freedmen (''Ann.'' 13.27), and is dismissed by prominent historians.Syme, 1958, pp. 612–613; Gordon, 1936, pp. 145–146 His father may have been the Cornelius Tacitus who was procurator of Belgica and Germania; Pliny the Elder mentions that Cornelius had a son who grew and aged rapidly (Pliny's Natural History|N.H. 7.76), and implies an early death. If Cornelius was Tacitus' father and since there is no mention of Tacitus suffering such a condition in the surviving record, it would likely refer to a brother instead.Syme, 1958, p. 60, 613; Gordon, 1936, p. 149; Martin, 1981, p. 26 This connection, and the friendship between the Pliny the Younger|younger Pliny and Tacitus, led many scholars to the conclusion that the two families were of similar class, means, and background: equestrians, of significant wealth, and from provincial families.Syme, 1958, p. 63 The province of his birth is unknown and has been variously conjectured as Gallia Belgica, Gallia Narbonensis, or even northern Italy.Michael Grant in Introduction to Tacitus, ''The Annals of Imperial Rome'', p. xvii; Herbert W. Benario in Introduction to Tacitus, ''Germany'', p. 1. His marriage to the daughter of the Narbonensian senator Gnaeus Julius Agricola may indicate that he, too, came from Gallia Narbonensis. Tacitus' dedication to Fabius Iustus in the ''Dialogus'' may indicate a connection with Spain, while his friendship with Pliny indicates northern Italy.Syme, 1958, pp. 614–616 None of this evidence is conclusive. No evidence exists that Pliny's friends from northern Italy knew Tacitus, nor do Pliny's letters ever hint that the two men had a common background.Syme, 1958, pp. 616–619 Indeed, the strongest piece of evidence is in Pliny Book 9, Letter 23, which reports that when Tacitus was asked if he were Italian or provincial, upon giving an unclear answer, was further asked if he were Tacitus or Pliny. Since Pliny was from Italy, some historians infer that Tacitus was from the provinces, possibly Gallia Narbonensis.Syme, 1958, p. 619; Gordon, 1936, p. 145 His ancestry, his skill in oratory, and his sympathetic depiction of barbarians who resisted Roman rule (e.g., ''Ann.'' 2.9), have led some to suggest that he was a Celts|Celt; the Celts had occupied Gaul before the Romans, were famous for their skill in oratory, and had been subjugated by Rome.Gordon, 1936, pp. 150–151; Syme, 1958, pp. 621–624

Public life, marriage, and literary career

As a young man, Tacitus studied rhetoric in Rome to prepare for a career in law and politics; like Pliny, he may have studied under Quintilian.That he studied rhetoric and law is known from the ''Dialogus'', ch. 2; see also Martin, 1981, p. 26; Syme, 1958, pp. 114–115 In 77 or 78 he married Julia Agricola, daughter of the famous general Agricola;''Agricola'', 9 little is known of their home life, save that Tacitus loved hunting and the outdoors.Pliny, ''Letters'' 1.6, 9.10; Benario, 1975, pp. 15, 17; Syme, 1958, pp. 541–542 He started his career (probably the ''latus clavus'', mark of the senator)Syme, 1958, p. 63; Martin, 1981, pp. 26–27 under Vespasian,(1.1) but it was in 81 or 82, under Titus, that he entered political life, as quaestor.His debt to Titus is stated in the ''Histories'' (1.1); since Titus's rule was short, these are the only years possible. He advanced steadily through the ''cursus honorum'', becoming praetor in 88 and a quindecemviri sacris faciundis|quindecemvir, a member of the priest college in charge of the Sibylline Books and the Secular games.In the ''Annals'' (11.11) he mentions that, as praetor, he assisted in the Secular Games held by Domitian, which are dated precisely to 88. See Syme, 1958, p. 65; Martin, 1981, p. 27; Benario in his Introduction to Tacitus, ''Germany'', p. 1. He gained acclaim as a lawyer and an orator; his skill in public speaking gave a marked irony to his cognomen: ''Tacitus'' ("silent"). He served in the provinces from ca. 89 to ca. 93 either in command of a Roman legion|legion or in a civilian post.The ''Agricola'' (45.5) indicates that Tacitus and his wife were absent at the time of Julius Agricola's death in 93. For his occupation during this time see Syme, 1958, p. 68; Benario, 1975, p. 13; Dudley, 1968, pp. 15–16; Martin, 1981, p. 28; Mellor, 1993, p. 8 His person and property survived Domitian's reign of terror (93–96), but the experience left him jaded and grim (perhaps ashamed at his own complicity), and gave him the hatred of tyranny evident in his works.For the effects on Tacitus's ideology see Dudley, 1968, p. 14; Mellor, 1993, pp. 8–9 The ''Agricola'', chs. 44–45, is illustrative:

Agricola was spared those later years during which Domitian, leaving now no interval or breathing space of time, but, as it were, with one continuous blow, drained the life-blood of the Commonwealth... It was not long before our hands dragged Helvidius to prison, before we gazed on the dying looks of Manricus and Rusticus, before we were steeped in Herennius Senecio|Senecio's innocent blood. Even Nero turned his eyes away, and did not gaze upon the atrocities which he ordered; with Domitian it was the chief part of our miseries to see and to be seen, to know that our sighs were being recorded...

From his seat in the Roman Senate|Senate he became suffect consul in 97 during the reign of Nerva, being the novus homo|first of his family to do so. During his tenure he reached the height of his fame as an orator when he delivered the funeral oration for the famous veteran soldier Lucius Verginius Rufus.Pliny, ''Letters'', 2.1 (English); Benario in his Introduction to Tacitus, ''Germany'', pp. 1-2. In the following year he wrote and published the ''Agricola'' and ''Germania'', announcing the beginnings of the literary endeavors that would occupy him until his death.In the ''Agricola'' (3) he announces what must be the beginning of his first great project: the ''Histories''. See Dudley, 1968, p. 16 Afterwards he absented himself from public life, but returned during Trajan's reign. In 100, he, along with his friend Pliny the Younger, prosecuted Marius Priscus (proconsul of Africa) for corruption. Priscus was found guilty and sent into exile; Pliny wrote a few days later that Tacitus had spoken "with all the majesty which characterizes his usual style of oratory".Pliny, ''Letters'' 2.11 A lengthy absence from politics and law followed while he wrote his two major works: the ''Histories'' and the ''Annals''. In 112 or 113 he held the highest civilian governorship, that of the Roman province of Asia (Roman province)|''Asia'' in Western Anatolia, recorded in an inscription found at Mylasa (mentioned above). A passage in the ''Annals'' fixes 116 as the ''terminus post quem'' of his death, which may have been as late as 125 or even 130. At all events it seems certain that he survived both Pliny and Trajan.Grant in his Introduction to Tacitus, ''Annals'', p. xvii; Benario in his Introduction to Tacitus, ''Germania'', p. 2. ''Annals'', 2.61, says that the Roman Empire "now extends to the Red Sea". If by ''mare rubrum'' he means the Persian Gulf, as is possible, then the passage must have been written after Trajan's eastern conquests in 116, but before Hadrian abandoned the new territories in 117. This may indicate only the date of publication for the first books of the ''Annals''; Tacitus himself could have lived well into Hadrian's reign, and there is no reason to suppose that he did not. See Dudley, 1968, p. 17; Mellor, 1993, p. 9; Mendell, 1957, p. 7; Syme, 1958, p. 473; against this traditional interpretation, e.g., Goodyear, 1981, pp. 387-393. It is unknown whether he had any children, though the ''Augustan History'' reports that the emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus claimed him for an ancestor and provided for the preservation of his works—but like so much of the ''Augustan History'', this story may be fraudulent.''Augustan History'', ''Tacitus'' X. Scholarly opinion on this story is divided as to whether it is "a confused and worthless rumor" (Mendell, 1957, p. 4) or "pure fiction" (Syme, 1958, p. 796). Sidonius Apollinaris reports (''Letters'', 4.14; cited in Syme, 1958, p. 796) that Polemius, a 5th century Gallo-Roman aristocrat, descended from Tacitus—but this too, says Syme (ibid.) is of little use.

Works

Five works ascribed to Tacitus have survived (albeit with some lacunae), the largest of which are the ''Annals'' and the ''Histories''. The dates are approximate:
- (98) ''Agricola (book)|De vita Iulii Agricolae'' (''The Life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola'')
- (98) ''Germania (book)|De origine et situ Germanorum'' (''Germania'')
- (102) ''Dialogus de oratoribus'' (''Dialogue on Oratory'')
- (105) ''Histories (Tacitus)|Historiae'' (''Histories'')
- (117) ''Annals (Tacitus)|Ab excessu divi Augusti'' (''Annals'')

Major works

The ''Annals (Tacitus)|Annals'' and the ''Histories (Tacitus)|Histories'', originally published separately, were meant to form a single edition of thirty books. Jerome's commentary on the Book of Zechariah (14.1, 2; quoted in Mendell, 1957, p. 228) says that Tacitus's history was extant ''triginta voluminibus'', 'in thirty volumes'. Although Tacitus wrote the ''Histories'' before the ''Annals'', the events in the ''Annals'' precede the ''Histories''; together they form a continuous narrative from the death of Augustus (14) to the death of Domitian (96). Though most has been lost, what remains is an invaluable record of the era. When it is remembered that the first half of the Annals survived in a single copy of a manuscript from Corvey Abbey, and the second half from a single copy of a manuscript from Monte Cassino, it is remarkable that they survived at all.

The ''Histories''

In an early chapter of the ''Agricola'', Tacitus said he wished to speak about the years of Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan. In the ''Histories'' the scope has changed; Tacitus says that he will deal with the age of Nerva and Trajan at a later time. Instead, he will cover the period from the civil wars of the Year of Four Emperors and end with the despotism of the Flavian Dynasty|Flavians. Only the first four books and twenty-six chapters of the fifth book survive, covering the year 69 and the first part of 70. The work is believed to have continued up to the death of Domitian on September 18, 96. The fifth book contains—as a prelude to the account of Titus's suppression of the Great Jewish Revolt—a short ethnography|ethnographic survey of the ancient Jews and is an invaluable record of the educated Romans' attitude towards that people.

The ''Annals''

The ''Annals'' was Tacitus' final work, covering the period from the death of Augustus Caesar in 14 AD. He wrote at least sixteen books, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11 and 16 are missing. Book 6 ends with the death of Tiberius and books 7–12 presumably covered the reigns of Caligula and Claudius. The remaining books cover the reign of Nero, perhaps until his death in June 68 or until the end of that year, to connect with the ''Histories''. The second half of book 16 is missing (ending with the events of 66). We do not know whether Tacitus completed the work or whether he finished the other works that he had planned to write; he died before he could complete his planned histories of Nerva and Trajan, and no record survives of the work on Augustus Caesar and the beginnings of the Empire with which he had planned to finish his work. The ''Annals'' is also among the first-known secular-historic records to mention Jesus (see Tacitus on Christ), which Tacitus does so in connection with Nero's persecution of the Christians.

Minor works

Tacitus wrote three minor works on various subjects: the ''Agricola'', a biography of his father-in-law Gnaeus Julius Agricola; the ''Germania'', a monograph on the lands and tribes of barbarian Germania; and the ''Dialogus'', a dialogue on the art of rhetoric.

''Germania''

The ''Germania'' (Latin title: ''De Origine et situ Germanorum'') is an ethnographic work on the diverse set of people Tacitus believed to be Germanic tribes outside the Roman Empire. Ethnography had a long and distinguished heritage in classical literature, and the ''Germania'' fits squarely within the tradition established by authors from Herodotus to Julius Caesar. Tacitus had written a similar, albeit shorter, piece in his ''Agricola'' (chapters 10–13). The book begins with a description of the lands, laws, and customs of the tribes (chapters 1–27); it then segues into descriptions of individual tribes, beginning with those dwelling closest to Roman lands and ending on the uttermost shores of the Baltic Sea, with a description of the primitive and savage Fenni and the unknown tribes beyond them.

''Agricola'' (''De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae'')

The ''Agricola'' (written ca. 98) recounts the life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general and Tacitus' father-in-law; it also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancient Roman Britain|Britain. As in the ''Germania'', Tacitus favorably contrasts the liberty of the native Britons (historic)|Britons with the corruption and tyranny of the Empire; the book also contains eloquent and vicious polemics against the rapacity and greed of Rome, in one of which Tacitus says is from a speech by Calgacus and ends with ''Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.'' (To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace. — Oxford Revised Translation).

''Dialogus''

There is uncertainty about when Tacitus wrote ''Dialogus de oratoribus'' , but it was probably after the ''Agricola'' and the ''Germania''. Many characteristics set it apart from the other works of Tacitus, so that its authenticity has been questioned, although it is still grouped with the ''Agricola'' and the ''Germania'' in the manuscript tradition. The way of speaking in the ''Dialogus'' seems closer to Cicero's proceedings, refined but not prolix, which inspired the teaching of Quintilian; it lacks the incongruities that are typical of Tacitus' major historical works. It may have been written when Tacitus was young; its dedication to Fabius IustusA consul of AD 102. Grant in his Introduction to Tacitus, ''Annals'', p. xviii. would thus give the date of publication, but not the date of writing. More probably, the unusually classical style may be explained by the fact that the ''Dialogus'' is a work dealing with rhetoric. For works in the ''rhetoric'' genre, the structure, the language, and the style of Cicero were the usual models.

The sources of Tacitus

Tacitus used the official sources of the Roman state: the ''acta senatus'' (the minutes of the session of the Senate) and the ''acta diurna populi Romani'' (a collection of the acts of the government and news of the court and capital). He read collections of emperors' speeches, such as Tiberius and Claudius. Generally, Tacitus was a scrupulous historian who paid careful attention to his historical works. The minor inaccuracies in the ''Annals'' may be due to Tacitus dying before finishing (and therefore final proofreading) of this work. He used a variety of historical and literary sources; he used them freely and he chose from sources of varied opinions. Tacitus cites some of his sources directly, among them Cluvius Rufus, Fabius Rusticus and Pliny the Elder, who had written ''Bella Germaniae'' and a historical work which was the continuation of that of Aufidius Bassus. Tacitus used some collections of letters (''epistolarium'') and various notes. He also took information from ''exitus illustrium virorum''. These were a collection of books by those who were antithetical to the emperors. They tell of the sacrifice of the martyr to freedom, especially the men who committed suicide, following the theory of the Stoicism|Stoics. While he placed no value on the Stoic theory of suicide, Tacitus used accounts of famous suicides to give a dramatic tone to his stories. These suicides seemed, to him, ostentatious and politically useless; however, he gives prominence to the speeches of some of those about to commit suicide, for example Cremutius Cordus' speech in ''Ann.'' IV, 34-35.

Literary style

Tacitus' writings are known for their deep-cutting and dense prose, seldom glossy, in contrast to the more placable style of some of his contemporaries, like Plutarch. Describing a near defeat of the Roman army in ''Ann.'' I, 63 Tacitus does apply gloss, but does so by the ''brevity'' with which he describes the end of the hostilities, than by embellishing phrases. In most of his writings he keeps to a chronological ordering of his narration, with only seldom an outline of the "bigger picture", and leaves the reader to construct that picture for himself. Nonetheless, when he does sketch the bigger picture, for example, in the opening paragraphs of the ''Annals'' - summarizing the situation at the end of the reign of Augustus - he uses a few condensed phrases to take the reader to the heart of the story.

Approach to history

Tacitus' historical style combines various approaches to history into a method of his own (owing some debt to Sallust): seamlessly blending straightforward descriptions of events, pointed moral lessons, and tightly-focused dramatic accounts, his historiography contains deep, and often pessimistic, insights into the workings of the human mind and the nature of power. Tacitus' own declaration regarding his approach to history is famous (''Annals (Tacitus)|Ann.'' I,1): : Tacitus is remembered first and foremost as Rome's greatest historian, the superior of Thucydides, the ancient Greeks' foremost historian; the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' opined that he "ranks beyond dispute in the highest place among men of letters of all ages". His influence extends far beyond the field of history. His work has been read for its moral instruction, its gripping and dramatic narrative, and its inimitable prose style; it is as a political theorist, though, that he has been, and remains, most influential outside the field of history.Mellor, 1995, p. xvii The political lessons taken from his work fall roughly into two camps, as identified by Giuseppe Toffanin: the "red Tacitists", who used him to support republicanism|republican ideals, and the "black Tacitists", those who read him as a lesson in Machiavellian ''realpolitik''.Burke, 1969, pp. 162–163 Though his work is the most reliable source for the history of his era, its factual accuracy is occasionally questioned: the ''Annals'' are based in part on secondary sources of unknown reliability, and there are some obvious minor mistakes, for instance confusing the two daughters of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, both named Antonia).Suetonius, working from sources likewise often not now known, makes an occasional slip as well. The ''Histories'', written from primary source|primary documents and intimate knowledge of the Flavian period, is thought to be more accurate, though Tacitus' hatred of Domitian seemingly colored its tone and interpretations.

Notes

References

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- Rutland, L. "The Tacitean Germanicus. Suggestions for a re-evaluation". ''Rheinisches Museum'', Vol. 130 (1987), pp. 153–163.
- Sage, M.M. "Tacitus and the accession of Tiberius". ''The Ancient Society'', Vol. 13/14 (1982/83), pp. 293–321.
- Schellhase, Kenneth C. ''Tacitus in Renaissance Political Thought'' (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1976) ISBN 0-226-73700-4
- Shatzman, I. "Tacitean rumours". ''Latomus'', Vol. 33 (1974), pp.549–578.
- Shotter, D.C.A. "Tacitus, Tiberius and Germanicus". ''Historia'', Vol. 17 (1968), pp. 194–214.
- Sinclaire, Patrick. ''Tacitus the Sententious Historian: A sociology of rhetoric in Annales 1-6'' (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995) ISBN 0-271-01333-8
- Ronald Syme|Syme, Ronald. "How Tacitus Wrote ''Annals'' I-III", in Idem, ''Roman Papers'', Vol. 3 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984), pp. 1014–1042.
- Syme, Ronald. ''Tacitus'', Volumes 1 and 2. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958) (reprinted in 1985 by the same publisher, with the ISBN 0-19-814327-3) is the definitive study of his life and works.
- Syme, Ronald. ''Ten Studies in Tacitus''. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970) ISBN 0-19-814358-3
- Tacitus, ''The Annals of Imperial Rome''. Translated by Michael Grant and first published in this form in 1956. (London: The Folio Society, 2006)
- Tacitus, ''Germany''. Translated by Herbert W. Benario. (Warminster, UK: Aris & Phillips Ltd., 1999. ISBN 0-85668-716-2)
- Talbert, R.J.A. "Tacitus and the Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone patre". ''The American Journal of Philology'', Vol. 120, No. 1 (1999), pp. 89–97.
- Townend, G.B. "Cluvius Rufus in the ''Histories'' of Tacitus". ''The American Journal of Philology'', Vol. 85 (1964), pp. 337–377.
- Walker, B. ''The Annals of Tacitus: A study in the writing of history'' (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1952)
- Wharton, D.B. "Tacitus' Tiberius: The State of the Evidence for the Emperor’s ''Ipsissima Verba'' in the Annals". ''The American Journal of Philology'', Vol. 118 (1997), pp. 119–125.
- Woodman, Anthony John. ''Tacitus Reviewed'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) ISBN 0-19-815258-2