TACITUS.
(1) LIFE.
The historian’s full name is uncertain. Other writers, e.g. Pliny the younger, call him Cornelius Tacitus, or simply Tacitus. His praenomen is given as P. in the best Tacitean MS. (Mediceus I.), and as C. in later MSS. and by Sidonius Apollinaris (Ep. iv. 14; 22).[109] His birthplace is unknown. The tradition that he was born at Interamna in Umbria arose from the fact that the emperor Tacitus (A.D. 275-6), who claimed descent from the historian (Vopisc. Tac. 10, 3), was born there.[110] The probable date of his birth is got from a comparison of two passages:
Dial. 1, ‘Disertissimorum ... hominum ... quos eamdem hanc quaestionem pertractantes iuvenis admodum audivi.’
Pliny, Ep. vii. 20, 3, ‘Erit rarum et insigne duos homines aetate dignitate propemodum aequales ... alterum alterius studia fovisse. Equidem adulescentulus, cum iam tu fama gloriaque floreres, te sequi, tibi longo sed proximus intervallo et esse et haberi concupiscebam.’
The dramatic date of the Dialogue is A.D. 75 (Dial. 17), and at that time Tacitus, as iuvenis admodum, must have been between seventeen and twenty. From a consideration of the words of Pliny, who was born A.D. 61 or 62, the later age seems nearer the mark, and we may conclude that Tacitus was born A.D. 55 or 56.
We have no positive information about Tacitus’ family, but his education, political career, and marriage into a distinguished house, prove that he belonged to a family of station. The first person of the name we know of is mentioned by Pliny the elder as an eques, and may have been Tacitus’ father.
Pliny, N.H. vii. 76, ‘Corneli Taciti, equitis Romani, Belgicae Galliae rationes procurantis.’
Tacitus received the regular rhetorical training under the best masters.
Dial. 2, ‘M. Aper et Iulius Secundus, celeberrima tum ingenia fori nostri, quos ego in iudiciis non modo studiose audiebam, sed domi quoque et in publico adsectabar, mira studiorum cupiditate et quodam ardore iuvenili, ut fabulas quoque eorum et disputationes et arcana semotae dictionis penitus exciperem.’
That Tacitus had a very great reputation as a speaker is seen from Pliny, Ep. ix. 23, 2, ‘Numquam maiorem cepi voluptatem, quam nuper ex sermone Corneli Taciti. Narrabat sedisse se cum quodam Circensibus proximis: hunc post varios eruditosque sermones requisisse “Italicus es an provincialis?” se respondisse “nosti me, et quidem ex studiis.” Ad hoc illum “Tacitus es an Plinius?”’
In A.D. 98 (according to others, 97) Tacitus delivered the funeral oration over Verginius Rufus, and in A.D. 100 he and Pliny prosecuted Marius Priscus, proconsul of Africa, for extortion.
Pliny, Ep. ii. 1, 6, ‘Laudatus est [Verginius Rufus] a consule Cornelio Tacito: nam hic supremus felicitati eius cumulus accessit, laudator eloquentissimus.’
Ibid. ii. 11, 2, ‘Ego et Cornelius Tacitus, adesse provincialibus iussi.’ § 17, ‘Respondit Cornelius Tacitus eloquentissime, et quod eximium orationi eius inest, σεμνῶς.’
In A.D. 77 Tacitus was betrothed to the daughter of Agricola, then consul, and in A.D. 78 he married her.
Agr. 9, ‘Consul egregiae tum spei filiam iuveni mihi despondit ac post consulatum collocavit, et statim Britanniae praepositus est.’
Tacitus gives us a clue to his political career in Hist. i. 1.
‘Dignitatem nostram a Vespasiano incohatam, a Tito auctam, a Domitiano longius provectam non abnuerim.’
This probably means that Vespasian granted him the latus clavus, i.e. a place in the ordo senatorius, which was followed by the vigintiviratus given by the Senate, and a commission in the army as tribunus militum laticlavius; that Titus appointed him quaestor A.D. 80-1; and that Domitian made him tribune or aedile (about 84), and in A.D. 88 praetor. For the last office cf. Ann. xi. 11,
‘Is [Domitianus] edidit ludos saeculares, eisque intentius adfui sacerdotio quindecimvirali praeditus ac tunc praetor.’
That Tacitus was absent from Rome A.D. 90-93 we may infer from what he says of Agricola’s death (A.D. 93).
Agr. 45, ‘Nobis tam longae absentiae condicione ante quadriennium amissus est.’
He must have returned to Rome soon afterwards, for he says in the same chapter: ‘Mox nostrae duxere Helvidium in carcerem manus; nos Maurici Rusticique visus, nos innocenti sanguine Senecio perfudit.’
Tacitus was appointed consul suffectus under Trajan A.D. 98 (see Pliny, Ep. ii. 1, 6, above quoted).
An inscription found at Mylasa in Caria shows that Tacitus was proconsul of Asia about 112-116 A.D.[111]
Tacitus probably died soon after the publication of the Annals (A.D. 115-7), as he did not live to write his contemplated works on the Augustan age and the reigns of Nerva and Trajan.
Hist. i. 1, ‘Quod si vita suppeditet, principatum divi Nervae et imperium Traiani ... senectuti seposui.’
Ann. iii. 24, ‘Cetera illius aetatis [Augusti] memorabo, si effectis in quae tetendi, plures ad curas vitam produxero.’
Tacitus was on intimate terms with Pliny, eleven of whose letters are addressed to him. From vii. 20 and viii. 7 we see that they were in the habit of “exchanging proof-sheets.” To the same circle belonged Fabius Iustus, to whom the Dialogus is dedicated, and Asinius Rufus.
Pliny, Ep. iv. 15, 1, ‘Asinium Rufum singulariter amo. ... Idem Cornelium Tacitum arta familiaritate complexus est.’
(2) WORKS.
1. Dialogus de Oratoribus, an inquiry into the causes of the decay of eloquence—‘cur nostra potissimum aetas deserta et laude eloquentiae orbata vix nomen ipsum oratoris retineat’ (Dial. 1). Some critics have supposed that Tacitus meant this work to be an apologia pro vita sua, a justification of his preference for a literary to a rhetorical career, but this cannot be proved. That Tacitus is the author is clear from Pliny, Ep. ix. 10, 2, ‘Itaque poemata quiescunt, quae tu inter nemora et lucos commodissime perfici putas’—a reference to Dial. 9, ‘poetis ... in nemora et lucos, id est in solitudinem, secedendum est.’ The dramatic date is given in Dial. 17 as A.D. 75; the statement there and in Dial. 24 that one hundred and twenty years have passed since Cicero’s death (which would give A.D. 77) is made in round numbers. The date of composition is uncertain. It was not under Domitian, as Tacitus remained silent during his reign (Agr. 2). We can hardly suppose it to have been written under Nerva, as its style is so different from that of the Agricola; but it may have been written under Domitian, and published after his death. Some authorities put it as early as A.D. 81.[112]
2. De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae liber, an account of the life of Cn. Iulius Agricola, Tacitus’ father-in-law, and particularly of his career in Britain. It was written early in the reign of Trajan, and therefore after 27th Jan., 98 A.D., and probably in that year.
Agr. 3, ‘quamquam primo statim beatissimi saeculi ortu Nerva Caesar res olim dissociabiles miscuerit, principatum ac libertatem, augeatque cottidie felicitatem temporum Nerva Traianus.’
3. Germania.—The Vatican MSS. give the title as de origine et situ (another MS. adds moribus ac populis) Germanorum. The date of publication, as seen from Germ. 37, was A.D. 98. The book is not mentioned in Agr. 3 among the proposed works of Tacitus; and it has therefore been supposed that the materials were collected for the Histories, and that the work was published separately on account of its length, and also the interest felt in Germany at the time. There is nothing in the theory that the book is a political pamphlet, or that it contains a moral purpose. Tacitus is by no means blind to the faults of the Germans (c. 17 sqq., etc.), though he compares them favourably in many respects with the Romans.
4. Historiae.—The title is guaranteed by Tertull. apol. 16, ‘Cornelius Tacitus in quinta historiarum suarum.’ The work embraced the time from Galba to Domitian, i.e. 69-96 A.D. The first four Books and part of the fifth are extant, and give the history of 69 and most of 70 A.D. In MS. Mediceus II., the only ancient MS. that contains Ann. xi.-xvi. and the Histories, there is no title, but the Books are numbered continuously as belonging to the same work. Cf. Jerome, Comm. on Zacharias, iii. 14, ‘Cornelius Tacitus, qui post Augustum usque ad mortem Domitiani vitas Caesarum triginta voluminibus exaravit.’ If, therefore, the Annals contained sixteen Books, the Histories must have contained fourteen, supposing Jerome’s statement to be correct. Some authorities think the numbers were eighteen and twelve respectively. The work was written under Trajan (cf. Hist. i. 1, ‘principatum divi Nervae et imperium Traiani’), and was probably brought out in instalments. Pliny’s letters (vi. 16; 20; vii. 33), written about A.D. 106-9, contain contributions to it.
5. Annales, or rather Ab excessu divi Augusti, the title given by MS. Med. I. Tacitus often calls his work annales (as in Ann. iv. 32), but uses the word to signify his plan of recording events by their years. Cf. Ann. iv. 71, ‘Ni mihi destinatum foret suum quaeque in annum referre, avebat animus antire,’ etc.
He occasionally apologises (as in xii. 40) for departing from this order for the sake of clearness. The Books, the division into which was made by Tacitus himself (cf. vi. 27, ‘in prioribus libris’), usually, however, end with some important event.
The Annals deal with the time from the death of Augustus to that of Nero, i.e. from 14 to 68 A.D. There are extant Books i.-iv. and a part of v. and vi., and Books xi.-xvi., except the beginning of xi. and the end of xvi. We have thus lost the whole of the reign of Caligula and the reign of Claudius from 41-47 (part), and Nero’s reign from the close of 66 to 68. The work was published between A.D. 115 and 117. This is settled by Ann. ii. 61, ‘Exin ventum Elephantinen ac Syenen, claustra olim Romani imperii, quod nunc rubrum ad mare patescit.’
The conquest here spoken of was made by Trajan A.D. 115, and his successor Hadrian, soon after coming to the throne (August, A.D. 117), gave up the regions beyond the Euphrates and Tigris (Spartianus, Hadri. 5).[113]
Tacitus’ views on politics, philosophy, and religion.—
(1) The ideal mixed form of government Tacitus considers to be impracticable.
Ann. iv. 33, ‘Cunctas nationes et urbes populus aut primores aut singuli regunt: delecta ex eis et consociata rei publicae forma laudari facilius quam evenire, vel si evenit, haud diuturna esse potest.’
Tacitus is essentially a conservative. Thus he always uses antiquus and priscus in a good sense (H. ii. 5; 64; Ann. vi. 32).
In Ann. iii. 60 he speaks with pride of the republic: ‘Magna eius diei species fuit, quo senatus maiorum beneficia, sociorum pacta, regum etiam, qui ante vim Romanam valuerant, decreta ipsorumque numinum religiones introspexit, libero, ut quondam, quid firmaret mutaretve.’
See also the speech of C. Cassius in Ann. xiv. 43. As an aristocrat Tacitus is sometimes unjust to men of low birth, as in Ann. iv. 3, where he sneers at Seianus as ‘municipali adultero,’ and attaches great value to high birth (cf. vi. 27). He is prejudiced against slaves and barbarians.
Tacitus theoretically prefers a republic (cf. Ann. vi. 42, ‘Populi imperium iuxta libertatem, paucorum dominatio regiae libidini propior est’), but admits the impossibility of a restitution of the free state (H. ii. 37-8) and the necessity of empire. H. i. 1 (of Augustus), ‘omnem potentiam ad unum conferri pacis interfuit.’
Cf. also Galba’s speech in H. i. 16. The problem is to reconcile the empire with freedom (see Agr. 3 quoted [p. 341]). One’s duty is to steer one’s course inter abruptam contumaciam et deforme obsequium (Ann. iv. 20). Tacitus gives only modified approval to patriots like Paetus Thrasea (Ann. xiv. 12; 49) and Helvidius Priscus (H. iv. 6), and on the other hand gives praise for moderation to men like Agricola (Agr. 42), M. Lepidus (Ann. iv. 20), L. Piso (Ann. vi. 10).
Ann. xiv. 12, ‘Thrasea Paetus ... sibi causam periculi fecit, ceteris libertatis initium non praebuit.’
Agr. 42, ‘Non contumacia neque inani iactatione libertatis famam fatumque provocabat.’
Tacitus blames those who despair of their own times. Ann. ii. 88, ‘dum vetera extollimus recentium incuriosi.’ He thinks that the emperors, from their irresponsible position, were often gradually led into wickedness, their downward career being helped by flatterers and satellites, and draws a moral lesson from the servile Senate and the delatores, who, like the emperors themselves, received punishment for their conduct (Ann. i. 74; iii. 65 sqq.).
Ann. vi. 48, ‘Cum Tiberius post tantam rerum experientiam vi dominationis convulsus et mutatus sit.’
Ann. iv. 33, ‘Pauci prudentia honesta ab deterioribus utilia ab noxiis discernunt, plures aliorum eventis docentur.’
Ann. vi. 6, ‘Adeo facinora atque flagitia sua ipsi quoque in supplicium verterant ... Quippe Tiberium non fortuna, non solitudines protegebant, quin tormenta pectoris suasque ipse poenas fateretur.’
(2) Tacitus attaches himself to no particular school of philosophy, and deprecates too close an attention to the subject.
Agr. 4, ‘Memoria teneo solitum ipsum [Agricolam] narrare se prima in iuventa studium philosophiae acrius, ultra quam concessum Romano ac senatori, hausisse, ni prudentia matris incensum ac flagrantem animum coercuisset.’
He cannot make up his mind as to freewill and predestination, but in spite of this doubt expressly states his desire to find out the causes of events.
Ann. vi. 22, ‘Sed mihi haec ac talia audienti in incerto iudicium est, fatone res mortalium et necessitate immutabili an forte volvantur’ (and the rest of the chapter, where the Stoic and Epicurean views are mentioned). On the other hand, H. i. 4, ‘Ut non modo casus eventusque rerum, qui plerumque fortuiti sunt, sed ratio etiam causaeque noscantur.’
He expresses his belief in divine agency, particularly in the Annals, but sometimes adopts the pessimistic view that the gods take little interest in mankind.
Ann. xiv. 5, ‘Noctem sideribus inlustrem et placido mari quietam, quasi convincendum ad scelus, di praebuere.’
H. v. 5, ‘Pessimus quisque spretis religionibus patriis.’
H. i. 3, ‘Nec enim umquam atrocioribus populi Romani cladibus magisve iustis indiciis adprobatum est non esse curae deis securitatem nostram, esse ultionem.’
Ann. xvi. 33, ‘Aequitate deum erga bona malaque documenta.’
He believes in the science of divination (see especially Ann. iv. 58), but speaks contemptuously of the impostors found among soothsayers and astrologers.
H. i. 22, ‘Mathematicis ... genus hominum potentibus infidum, sperantibus fallax, quod in civitate nostra et vetabitur semper et retinebitur.’
Prodigies are recognized, but mentioned only in the Histories and the last books of the Annals (from A.D. 51 onwards). See especially H. ii. 50.
Tacitus as a historian.—As regards his sources, Tacitus makes more use of his predecessors than he does of original documents. Among the latter he mentions acta diurna (Ann. iii. 3) and commentarii or acta senatus (Ann. xv. 74); but these he did not make much use of, as they were apt to be falsified. He also refers to publica acta, probably inscriptions (Ann. xii. 24); Tiberius’ speeches (Ann. i. 81); memoirs of Agrippina, Nero’s mother (Ann. iv. 53); and of Domitius Corbulo on his campaigns in Parthia (Ann. xv. 16). He also refers by name to several historians, especially in dealing with the times after Nero, as C. Plinius (Ann. i. 69, quoted [p. 284]), Vipstanus Messalla (H. iii. 25), Fabius Rusticus,[114] and Cluvius Rufus[115] (Ann. xiii. 20).
Other writers are sparingly mentioned, as Sisenna (H. iii. 51), Caesar (Germ. 28). It is certain that Tacitus made use of other historians, but he generally refers to his sources without mentioning names (as Ann. i. 29, ‘tradunt plerique’). He sometimes weighs the value of two conflicting accounts, or mentions a story only to reject it.
Ann. iv. 11, ‘Haec vulgo iactata, super id quod nullo auctore certo firmantur, prompte refutaveris.’
Tacitus’ credibility has been attacked, particularly as regards his representation of the characters of Tiberius and Nero, but not very successfully. He has, however, made mistakes, the most striking of which are his view of the Christians (Ann. xv. 44) and his account of the Jews (H. v. 2 sqq.). The explanation is that he held the view current in the upper classes, and did not take the trouble to investigate these matters, as the Jews and Christians belonged mostly to the lower orders.
Tacitus is not free from superstition (Ann. xi. 21; H. ii. 50, etc.), but one must not suppose he believes the fables he relates (as Ann. vi. 28; H. iv. 83) simply because he expresses no opinion of them.
Tacitus is free from party spirit (Ann. i. 1, ‘sine ira et studio, quorum causas procul habeo’; cf. H. i. 1) and just in his judgment, except in a few passages in the Histories, where he is rather unfair (i. 42, ii. 95). He is milder in the Annals through advancing years, and from the better times he lived in. Generally he takes a lenient view of things, except (1) in offences against the state (cf. the character of Tiberius); (2) when the religious element comes in; cf. what he says of Claudius’ marriage with his brother’s daughter Agrippina: Ann. xiv. 2, ‘Agrippina ... exercita ad omne flagitium patrui nuptiis.’
He shows a somewhat lax morality occasionally, as in Ann. xiii. 17 sqq., when speaking of Nero’s murder of his brother Britannicus. In Ann. xi. 19 he approves of compassing a barbarian’s death by treachery.
For Tacitus’ conception of history as dealing with great events cf. Ann. xiii. 31, ‘pauca memoria digna evenere, nisi cui libeat laudandis fundamentis et trabibus, quis molem amphitheatri apud campum Martis Caesar extruxerat, volumina implere, cum ex dignitate populi Romani repertum sit res inlustres annalibus, talia diurnis urbis actis mandare.’
His complaints as to his subject-matter in Ann. iv. 32, ‘Nobis in arto et inglorius labor,’ must not be taken too seriously.