The annals of Tacitus

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viii TACITUS, ANNALS IV Vespasian, advanced by Titus, and carried still further by Domitian' {Hist, i 1). This means that he was a candidatus Caesaris in his magistracies ^. He began his career as militftry tribune under Yespasian . Under Titus, he was quaestor. Under Domitian he would have become either tribune or aedile ; for under the Empire the tribunate of the plebs might be held as a substitute for the aedileship in the career of honores. In 88, he becarne pra.etor- He was now about 33. For a nouus homo, he had come to the front rapidly. As a protege of three Emperors, he was by necessity a partisan of the impei'ial regime. Till the year 88 a.d. we may suppose that Tacitus lived in Rome, (i) engaged in his ])ractice at the^bar ; for the younger Pliny speaks of his eminence there, and (ii) perliaps already gathering materials for his historical work s. F{;qm_89^_A.D., i.e. imniediately after his praetorship, tiILS3_ he probably held^ a j^rovincial conimand as legatus pro_ praetore. We may conjecture that it was now that Tacitus gained the knowledge necessary for the writing of his Germania. The only imperial province governed by an ex-praetor in the vicinitv of Germany was Bel g ic Gaul. Almost certainly it was there that he spent the foui" years of his absence from the City. During the last three years of Domitian he was in Rome. The accession of Nerva in 96 was a wonderful relief to all good men : he joined togethei' two elements previously hard to unite, principatus and Ubertas. In 97 Tacitus was constd suffectus (after the death of Verginius Rufus) and colleague in the consulship with Nerva himself. It was about this time that Tacitus wrote the life of his father-in-law Agricola. In the same vear (^) he published the Germania, in whi ch he contrasts tbe^native simplicity of the Germans, with the vices of imperial civi li- 1 Boissier, p. 26.
INTRODUCTION ix sation. For literary history it is impoi'tant to notice that in his preparation for this book he was training himself as a historian. In 100 A.D. Tacitus (along with the younger Pliny) ])rose- cuted in a famous case,—that of Marius Priscus, jiovernor of Africa, who was convicted of extortion and violence. Pliny speaks of the dignity of Tacitus' eloquence. Under Vespasian and Titus the position of Tacitus was easy. During Domitian's reign of terror it was much more difRcidt. He speaks of 'fifteen years—a large slice carved out of human life—during which in silence and inaction young men reached old age, and old men their full term of life' [Agricola 3). This is an exaggeration ; for the reign of terror, during which people hid themselves and held their peace, lasted only four or five years ; but it made such an impression on Tacitus as to colour his memory of the whole of the reign of Domitian (81-96). Tacitus regards the Emperors as enemies of the Senate, which to him is representative of the virtuesof old Rome. He is exceedingly jealous of imperial encroachments on the Senate's functions. So keen is he about the old republican regime that he represents his favourite Trajan as re-establishing the old constitution. But, as to his own political conduct, Tacitus walks circumspectly. He does not court death like the Stoic martyrs. His own point of view is excellently given by the words he puts in the mouth of Marcellus {Hist, iv 8) : meminisse quam eiuitatis formam patres auique instituerint ulteriora mirari, praesentia sequi ; bonos imperatores nolo expetere, qualescu77ique tolerare; i.e. he is an opportunist. It appears from an inscription found in Caria that towards the end of Trajan's reign Tacitus was proconsul of Asia, 113-116 (about)—one of the most important posts in the Empire. There is no evidence as to the time of his death. Since he did not write the life of Augustus, or the history of — ; se
Page 1 and 2: Tacitus Annals IV
Page 4 and 5: .-«^^^ '^^. *>7:o'i'» -
Page 6 and 7: CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS C. F. CL
Page 8 and 9: (iranitriligE PRINTED BY JOHN CLAY,
Page 10 and 11: Introduction CONTENTS I. Life and w
Page 14 and 15: X - TACITUS, ANNALS IV Nerva and Tr
Page 16 and 17: xii TACITUS, ANNALS IV says : — p
Page 18 and 19: xiv TACITUS, ANNALS IV ^''pninitii'
Page 20 and 21: xvi TACITUS, ANNALS IV to defend th
Page 22 and 23: xviii TACITUS, ANNALS IV IV. GERMAN
Page 24 and 25: TACITUS, ANNALS IV V. SIGNIFICANCE
Page 26 and 27: xxii TACITUS, ANNALS IV Tacitus, a
Page 28 and 29: xxiv TACITUS, ANNALS IV See note on
Page 30 and 31: xxvi TACITUS, ANNALS IV See Tarver,
Page 33 and 34: THE ANNALS OF TACITUS: CHAPTERS 1
Page 35 and 36: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 1—5 3 regn
Page 37 and 38: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 5-7 5 honore
Page 39 and 40: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 7—10 7 Dru
Page 41 and 42: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 10—13 9 pr
Page 43 and 44: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 13—16 11 a
Page 45 and 46: CHAPTERS 17—33: EVENTS OF 24 A.D.
Page 47 and 48: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 18—21 15 f
Page 49 and 50: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 21—24 17 n
Page 51 and 52: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 24—28 19 f
Page 53 and 54: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 28—31 21 u
Page 55 and 56: AB EXCESSV AVCxVSTI IV. 31—33 23
Page 57 and 58: AB EXCESSV AVGA^STI IV. 34, 35 25 C
Page 59 and 60: AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 36—39 27 a
Page 61 and 62: AB EXCESSV AVGVvSTI IV. 39-41 29 ne
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AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 41-44 31 Len
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AB EXCESSV AVfiVSTI TV. 44, 45 33 p
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AB BXCKSSV AVCIVSTJ IV. 46-48 35 co
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AB BXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 48—51 37 o
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AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 51-55 39 inp
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AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 55-57 41 nrb
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AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 57-60 43 est
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Chapters 62—67: Events of 27 A.D.
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AB EXCESSV AVCrVRTI IV. 62—67 47
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Chapters 68—75 : Events of 28 A.D
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AB EXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 08—71 51 r
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AB BXCESSV AVGVSTI IV. 71—74 53 a
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NOTES ABBREVIATIONS 'i^. = Nipperde
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ON CHAPTERS 1, 2 57 19. summa apisc
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ON CHAPTERS 2—4 59 construction c
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ON CHAPTERS 4, 5 61 and Virg. Georg
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ON CHAPTERS 5, 6 63 5. apud patres
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ON CHAPTERS 6-8 65 13. precandam...
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ON CHAPTERS 8—11 67 9. eo audacia
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ON CHAPTERS 11, 12 69 7. inultam in
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ON CHAPTERS 12—14 71 bavin}:! hel
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ON CHAPTERS U, 15 73 0. Rbodii sece
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ON CHAPTERS 15, 16 75 snlpmn—r.n^
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8. turn uero, ' now ON CHAPTERS 16
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ON CHAPTERS 18, 19 79 detrimenti ca
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ON CHAPTERS 19—21 81 11. pleraquc
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ON CHAPTERS 21—23 83 interdicto i
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ON CHAPTERS 23—25 85 8. primo sui
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ON CHAPTERS 25—27 87 triremes, fr
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ON CHAPTERS 28, 29 89 4. senectutis
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ON CHAPTERS 29—31 91 14. custodes
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ON CHAPTERS 31—33 93 14. magnarum
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ON CHAPTERS 33, 34 95 34 2. postula
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ON CHAPTERS 34—36 97 aduertit, fo
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' 4. ON CHAPTERS 36—38 99 ualidU3
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// IHIIH ON CHAPTERS 38-40 101 17.
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ON CHAPTERS 40, 41 103 34. quanto u
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ON CHAPTERS 42, 43 105 from the pla
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ON CHAPTERS 43—46 107 15. Beposui
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ON CHAPTERS 46—48 109 10. in loco
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ON CHAPTERS 48—50 111 which were
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14. montis anfractu, ' ON CHAPTERS
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ON CHAPTERS 52—54 115 53 I. penii
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ON CHAPTERS 54—56 117 times for t
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1. medlt3t.n, passive. (I stooping
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ON CHAPTERS 57—60 121 castra quib
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ON CHAPTERS 60—62 123 orationis,
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ON CHAPTERS 62—65 125 9. ignotos.
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ON CHAPTERS 66, 67 127 which lies i
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ON CHAPTERS 67—70 129 II. auonam
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ON CHAPTERS 70, 71 131 71 1. ni des
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ON CHAPTERS 72, 73 133 revolt the F
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ON CHAPTERS 73, 74 135 scuta pro cl
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APPENDIX ON SELECT VARIOUS READINGS
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ON SELECT VARIOUS READINGS 139 ' du
Page 173 and 174:
ON SELECT VARIOUS READINGS 141 Med.
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ON SELECT VARIOUS READINGS 143 once
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Actium, 5 Aegium, 13 Aesculapius, 1
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aestimo, 39 aestuaria, 73 agger, 73
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nurus, 12 ob rem iudicandam, 31 obr
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Casks : Dative (cont.) : Person con
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