historical and political thought in the seventeenth - RePub - Erasmus ...

Chapter 7. The mistress of life
199
Only the annals lay out an easy and royal way for anyone and to anything.
Thus, as often and in any way he pleases, every private citizen
is admitted to the sanctuaries themselves, to the more hidden corners
of deliberations and councils, and even to the mysteries of command
and of the household themselves, without scornful contempt, without
any pangs of conscience, [and] without any risk or danger, to whom
the attendants of the courts are commonly subjected. 23
However, the authors of historical works should also be prudent. Not everything
that happens at the courts or in the senates should be revealed: sometimes
the historian must keep silent if this is in the interest of his ‘commonwealth
or the times’. 24
The best author available to reveal the mysteries of command is Tacitus,
the ‘most reliable writer of Roman history and all civic prudence’. 25 Boxhorn
thinks very highly of Tacitus. In an oration on the Roman author he describes
Tacitus as the ‘most important and accurate writer of Roman history’. According
to Boxhorn, ‘no people has ever extended its empire wider than the people
of Rome, and no one describes the very large commonwealth of the Roman
people, that during the time of those first Caesars was indeed very, very large,
more accurate or with more evidence and honesty than Tacitus’. 26
Tacitus was able to deliver the most evidence because he himself had held
high positions within Rome’s governmental body and because he had a direct
access ‘to the letter boxes and the writings of the Caesars themselves’. 27 Thus,
23 Ibidem, p. 6. ‘Addite enim, quod, cum vix obvia sit principum comitas, vix prompti ad eos aditus,
& difficillimae admissiones, quae nunc pene omnium superbia aularum est, cujus caussa ianitores
etiam, & saepe frustra, coluntur, soli Annales facilem & regiam, ac cuivis, & ad quidvis, viam sternant;
quo fit, ut ad ipsa sacraria, ad interiores deliberationum consiliorumque recessus, ipsaque adeo arcana
imperii ac domus, sine fastidio, sine ulla animi querela, sine periculo ullo aut discrimine, cui plerumque
obnoxij sunt asseclae aularum, & quoties, ac quomodo lubet, privatorum quisque admittatur.’
24 Boxhorn, Historia obsidionis Bredae, p. 34. ‘Quae enim alia, inter haec consiliorum arcana, mihi,
rerum tantum quae evenerint fidem professo, scrutari aut prodere non visum, dum Reipublicae & tempori
servata adhuc teguntur.’
25 Idem, Theatrum, p. 126. ‘Ita Coloniae Agrippinae, celeberrimo Vbiorum opido, nomen inditum
ex vocabulo Agrippinae Augustae; ut diserte testatur Historiae Romanae, atque civilis omnis prudentiae
certissimus author Cornelius Tacitus lib. Annal. XII.’
26 Idem, “Oratio, cum Cornelii Taciti interpretationem aggrederetur”, p. 381. ‘Circumspicienti vero
id, & Romanorum florentissimae ac per tot passim totius terrarum orbis nationes, ac plurima sparsae
saecula diffusaeque res, earumque gravissimus & accuratissimus auctor CORNELIUS TACITUS,
imprimis mihi offeruntur. Neque enim gens ulla sum latius olim exporrexit imperium, quam Romana,
neque res ejus amplissimas, ut profecto sub primis illis Caesaribus longe fuere amplissimae, diligentius
quisquam, aut majore indicio ac fide, persequitur, quam ille.’ Sallust and Livy are also praised as ‘very
important writers’ (maximorum auctorum). Ibidem, p. 384.
27 Ibidem, p. 386. ‘… cum & ex praecipuis ipse, & summis dignitatibus functus, hujus etiam Belgicae
nostrae Procurator, ac maximi Consulis gener, & ad scrinia scripturasque ipsorum Caesarum, ut
passim indicat ipse, admissus, recondita quaeque & clausa aliis, penitus habuerit explorata.’