Tacitus, Annals, 15.20­-23, 33­-45. Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary, 2013a

‘tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento
(hae tibi erunt artes), pacique imponere morem,
parcere subiectis et debellare superbos.’
[You, Roman, be mindful of ruling the people with your power of command
(be these your arts), to impose custom upon peace, to spare the vanquished,
and to squash the proud.]
Thrasea draws a stark, idealised antithesis between the provincials
(provincialium) and the Romans (Romana), the former exhibiting arrogance
(superbiam), the latter more noble qualities (fide constantiaque).
dignum ... consilium forms
an impressive hyperbaton. The attribute (in predicative position) and the noun
it modifies encase two key Roman values. fides is a key concept in how the
Romans thought about social relations, and dictionary entries (‘confidence’,
‘loyalty’, ‘trustworthiness’, ‘credibility’) convey only a limited sense of the
full semantic range and force of the qualities at issue: fides underwrites socioeconomic
exchanges, defines political interactions, and justifies Roman rule.
In relationships that were both reciprocal (with party rendering some, but not
necessarily the same, kind of service to the other) and asymmetrical (with one
party being much more powerful than the other), a commitment to fides
on both sides operated as a (partial) counterweight to steep inequalities in
power. 81 constantia – often paired with gravitas and the opposite of fickleness
(‘steadfastness’) – is one of the republican virtues that Cicero likes to bring
into play when talking about the moral fibre of his clients or the Roman
ancestors. 82 But it was not an entirely unproblematic quality, especially in
a political system such as republican and imperial Rome that depended
much on compromise and consensus. An unwavering (‘obstinate’) attitude
of adversaries could paralyse the political process. At pro Sestio 77, for
instance, Cicero identifies obstinate persistence (pertinacia aut constantia) on
the part of a tribune as a frequent source of riots. And as we have seen in our
discussion of Thrasea Paetus’ behaviour in the context of Atilius’ treason
trial (see Introduction, section 6), haughty disregard for the social scripts of
imperial politics, while perhaps soliciting approval as an admirable display
81 Hölkeskamp (2004)
82 See e.g. pro Quinto Roscio 7, pro Cluentio 197, de Domo Sua 39, pro Balbo 13 with Schofield
(2009) 201–4.