The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus; - With His Account of Germany, and Life of Agricola
Tacitus, Caius Cornelius, 56-120
English
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Below is a summary of The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus; - With His Account of Germany, and Life of Agricola
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THE REIGN OF TIBERIUS, OUT OF THE FIRST SIX ANNALS OF TACITUS;
WITH HIS ACCOUNT OF GERMANY, AND LIFE OF AGRICOLA
TRANSLATED BY THOMAS GORDON,
AND EDITED BY ARTHUR GALTON.
"Alme Sol, curru nitido diem qui
Promis et celas, aliusque et idem
Nasceris, possis nihil urbe Roma
Visere maius."
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
THE ANNALS, BOOK I
THE ANNALS, BOOK II
THE ANNALS, BOOK III
THE ANNALS, BOOK IV
THE ANNALS, BOOK V
THE ANNALS, BOOK VI
A TREATISE OF THE SITUATION, CUSTOMS, AND PEOPLE OF GERMANY
THE LIFE OF AGRICOLA; WITH AN ACCOUNT OF THE SITUATION, CLIMATE, AND
PEOPLE OF BRITAIN
INTRODUCTION
"I am going to offer to the publick the Translation of a work, which, for
wisdom and force, is in higher fame and consideration, than almost any
other that has yet appeared amongst men:" it is in this way, that Thomas
Gordon begins The Discourses, which he has inserted into his rendering of
Tacitus; and I can find none better to introduce this volume, which my
readers owe to Gordon's affectionate and laborious devotion. Caius
Cornelius Tacitus, the Historian, was living under those Emperors, who
reigned from the year 54 to the year 117, of the Christian era; but the
place and the date of his birth are alike uncertain, and the time of his
death is not accurately known. He was a friend of the younger Pliny, who
was born in the year 61; and, it is possible, they were about the same
age. Some of Pliny's letters were written to Tacitus: the most famous,
describes that eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which caused the death of old
Pliny, and overwhelmed the cities of Pompeii and of Herculaneum. The
public life of Tacitus began under Vespasian; and, therefore, he must have
witnessed some part of the reign of Nero: and we read in him, too, that he
was alive after the accession of the Emperor Trajan. In the year 77,
Julius Agricola, then Consul, betrothed his daughter to Tacitus; and they
were married in the following year. In 88, Tacitus was Praetor; and at the
Secular Games of Domitian, he was one of the _Quindecimviri_: these were
sad and solemn officers, guardians of the Sibylline Verse; and
intercessors for the Roman People, during their grave centenaries of
praise and worship.
_Quaeque Aventinum tenet Algidumque,
Quindecim Diana preces virorum
Curet; et vobis pueorum amicas
Applicet aures._
From a passage in "The Life of Agricola," we may believe that Tacitus
attended in the Senate; for he accuses himself as one of that frightened
assembly, which was an unwilling participator in the cruelties of
Domitian. In the year 97, when the Consul Virginius Rufus died, Tacitus'
was made _Consul Suffectus_; and he delivered the funeral oration of his
predecessor: Pliny says, that "it completed the good fortune of Rufus, to
have his panegyric spoken by so eloquent a man." From this, and from other
sayings, we learn that Tacitus was a famous advocate; and his "Dialogue
about Illustrious Orators" bears witness to his admirable taste, and to
his practical knowledge of Roman eloquence: of his own orations, however,
not a single fragment has been left. We know not, whether Tacitus had
children; but the Emperor Tacitus, who reigned in 275, traced his
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