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

But one could turn this around if one reads 14.12.2 as an anticipation of the
fire: there Tacitus reports that in AD 59 there were several eclipses of the
sun and all fourteen administrative districts of Rome were hit by lightning
(iam sol repente obscuratus et tactae de caelo quattuordecim urbis regiones). Since
no disaster happened immediately Tacitus goes on to dismiss the idea that
this striking coincidence was a genuine prodigy (i.e. a meaningful sign of
advanced warning of pending disaster sent by the gods): quae adeo sine cura
deum eveniebant, ut multos post ea annos Nero imperium et scelera continuaverit.
By taking an oblique look back to 14.12.2 here, by means of repeating basic
information about the administrative layout of the city, Tacitus almost
asks his readers to re-assess his own earlier (already ironic, in view of the
upcoming, if somewhat belated, fire?) evaluation of divine efficaciousness.
quattuor [sc. regiones] It is not entirely certain which
four districts are meant. Here is Miller: ‘these would be the districts
farthest from the centre of the city and the fire, and would certainly
include XIV (Transtiberina): as the fire stopped apud imas Esquilinas §1,
V (Esquiliae) may have been another: the other possibilities are I (Porta
Capena), VI (Alta Semita) and VII (Via Lata).’ 167 Koestermann agrees
on regio XIV Transtiberina, but disregards V Esquiliae and considers I
Porta Capena, VI Alta Semita, and VII Via Lata as the other most likely
candidates. 168
tres [sc. regiones] solo tenus deiectae [sc. erant]tenus is a preposition that
takes, and follows, the ablative (solo). Again, the districts in question are
in dispute: ‘Of the three wholly destroyed, two must have been the 11th
and 10th (Circus and Palatium), and the other is thought to have been the
3rd (Isis et Serapis, the Subura).’ 169 Koestermann opts for regio XI Circus
Maximus, X Palatium and IV Templum Pacis. 170
septem reliquis [sc. regionibus] pauca tectorum vestigia supererant,
The systematic account of the destruction continues:
the dramatic description of pauca vestigia being left paints the picture of
the unrecognizable wreckage of buildings. The adjective lacer, -era, -erum,
which means ‘mutilated’ or ‘mangled’ tends to be used of corpses and
167 Miller (1973) 91.
168 Koestermann (1968) 242.
169 Furneaux (1907) 367.
170 Koestermann (1968) 242.