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

verbs. Within the relative clause iactaverit introduces an indirect statement
with se as subject accusative and reconciliatum (esse) as verb. There is an
interesting shift in grammatical position from the relative clause to the
second part of the indirect statement dependent on ferunt: in the relative
clause Nero is the subject of the main verb and the subjective accusative
of the indirect statement (se), whereas Thrasea is in the dative; afterwards
Nero is mentioned in the dative (Caesari), whereas Seneca becomes the
subject accusative. It is another instance in which Tacitus uses evaluative
syntax: he elevates Seneca to a more prominent syntactic position than the
emperor and uses style to reinforce theme: as Furneaux puts it, ‘the answer
of Seneca implies that the friendship of Thrasea was worth more to Nero
than Nero’s to him.’ 116
What we get here is a throw-back to the times when Seneca
(c. 4 BC – AD 65) was Nero’s tutor and tried to guide him in thought and
practice, not least through his treatise de Clementia (‘On Mercy’), which
he addressed to his charge. At Annals 14.53–6, we were treated to an
excruciating interview exchange when Seneca tried to let go his graduate
and retire, only to run into a sample of the fancy rhetoric he had taught his
prince pupil, and be refused.
Tacitus often reports a story in this manner, neither mentioning his
sources nor vouching for the story himself. Here, he tells the little tale to
illustrate aspects of the intertwined characters of three major figures.
egregiis viris refers to
Seneca and Thrasea. Seneca won glory because of the fearless reaction
to the emperor’s vaunting, thus speaking an unwelcome truth to power
(always a dangerous thing to do), whilst Thrasea won glory through the
recognition of his status as a benchmark of political excellence and integrity
– again a worrisome position to be in if the ruler is a tyrant who falls short
of the standards set by some of his subjects. The position of gloria at the
beginning suggests that the outcome of the event was as it should be,
then the delayed and threatening pericula reminds us that the world of
Neronian Rome was not so fair and just, and that something more sinister
was awaiting them. Ultimately, both had to commit suicide. That the same
action simultaneously brings glory as well as danger reveals the perverse
nature of Nero’s regime: qualities that ought to bring renown entail peril.
116 Furneaux (1907) 347.