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

of our birth, i.e. by the stars; (iv) ‘fortune’ or ‘chance.’ 94 Not all of these factors
are mutually reconcilable from a theological point of view. 95 More generally
speaking, Tacitus’ narrative universe offers a fractured metaphysics: he brings
into play mutually incompatible conceptions of the gods, invokes their power
and presence in various ways, but only to turn a narrative corner and lament
their inefficaciousness. Here is a look at some representative passages that
are particularly pertinent for an appreciation of 15.23. To begin with, it is
important to stress that Tacitus recognizes the gods as a force in history that
strikes emperors and senators alike. See, for instance, Annals 14.22.4:
Isdem diebus nimia luxus cupido infamiam et periculum Neroni tulit, quia
fontem aquae Marciae ad urbem deductae nando incesserat; videbaturque
potus sacros et caerimoniam loci corpore loto polluisse. secutaque anceps
valetudo iram deum adfirmavit.
[About the same date, Nero’s excessive desire for extravagance brought
him disrepute and danger: he had entered in the spring of the stream that
Quintus Marcius conveyed to Rome to swim; and by bathing his body he
seemed to have polluted the sacred waters and the holiness of the site. The
grave illness that followed confirmed the wrath of the gods.]
The gods, then, go beyond sending signs of warning. They cause havoc,
and not only for the princeps. In the wake of the conspiracy of Piso, the
wrath of the gods somehow encompasses all of Roman society. Annals
16.13.1–2 is particularly striking because it conflates divine anger with the
savagery of the princeps:
Tot facinoribus foedum annum etiam di tempestatibus et morbis
insignivere. vastata Campania turbine ventorum, qui villas arbusta
fruges passim disiecit pertulitque violentiam ad vicina urbi; in qua omne
mortalium genus vis pestilentiae depopulabatur, nulla caeli intemperie
quae occurreret oculis. sed domus corporibus exanimis, itinera funeribus
complebantur; non sexus, non aetas periculo vacua; servitia perinde et
ingenua plebes raptim extingui, inter coniugum et liberorum lamenta,
qui dum adsident, dum deflent, saepe eodem rogo cremabantur. equitum
94 Griffin (2009) 168–69.
95 For instance: in a Stoic universe, in which everything unfolds according to a
predetermined chain of natural causes, gods lose their independent agency and ‘chance’
has no place. (It is therefore important to note that the passage where he seems to allude
to Stoic fate is very obscure: see Martin (2001) 148–49, cited by Griffin (2009) 168 n. 2,
who also points out that Tacitus does not always use fatum in the technical Stoic sense of
the term.)