Tacitus Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Works== {{See also|List of people mentioned in the works of Tacitus}} [[File:Lipsius manuscript.jpg|thumb|right|The title page of [[Justus Lipsius]]'s 1598 edition of the complete works of Tacitus, bearing the stamps of the ''Bibliotheca Comunale'' in [[Empoli]], Italy]] Five works ascribed to Tacitus have survived (albeit with gaps), the most substantial of which are the ''Annals'' and the ''Histories''. This canon (with approximate dates) consists of: * (98) ''[[Agricola (book)|De vita Iulii Agricolae]]'' (''The Life of [[Gnaeus Julius Agricola|Agricola]]'') * (98) ''[[Germania (book)|De origine et situ Germanorum]]'' (''Germania'') * (102) {{Lang|la|[[Dialogus de oratoribus]]}} (''Dialogue on Oratory'') * (105) {{Lang|la|[[Histories (Tacitus)|Historiae]]}} (''Histories'') * (117) ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Ab excessu divi Augusti]]'' (''Annals'') ===History of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus=== The ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'' and the ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'', published separately, were meant to form a single edition of thirty books.<ref>[[Jerome]]'s commentary on the [[Book of Zechariah]] (14.1, 2; quoted in Mendell, 1957, p. 228) says that Tacitus's history was extant ''triginta voluminibus'', "in thirty volumes".</ref> Although Tacitus wrote the ''Histories'' before the ''Annals'', the events in the ''Annals'' precede the ''Histories''; together they form a continuous narrative from the death of [[Augustus]] (14) to the death of [[Domitian]] (96). Though most has been lost, what remains is an invaluable record of the era. The first half of the ''Annals'' survived in a single manuscript from [[Princely Abbey of Corvey|Corvey Abbey]] in Germany, and the second half in a single manuscript from [[Monte Cassino]] in Italy; it is remarkable that they survived at all. ====The ''Histories''==== {{Main|Histories (Tacitus)}} In an early chapter of the ''Agricola'', Tacitus asserts that he wishes to speak about the years of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In the ''Histories'' the scope has changed; Tacitus says that he will deal with the age of Nerva and Trajan at a later time. Instead, he will cover the period from the civil wars of the [[Year of the Four Emperors]] and end with the despotism of the [[Flavian dynasty|Flavians]]. Only the first four books and twenty-six chapters of the fifth book survive, covering the year 69 and the first part of 70. The work is believed to have continued up to the death of Domitian on September 18, 96. The fifth book contains—as a prelude to the account of Titus's suppression of the [[First Jewish–Roman War]]—a short [[ethnography|ethnographic]] survey of the ancient [[Jews]], and it is an invaluable record of Roman attitudes towards them. ====The ''Annals''==== {{Main|Annals (Tacitus)}} The ''Annals'', Tacitus's final work, covers the period from the death of [[Augustus]] in AD 14. He wrote at least sixteen books, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11, and 16 are missing. Book 6 ends with the death of [[Tiberius]], and books 7–12 presumably covered the reigns of [[Caligula]] and [[Claudius]]. The remaining books cover the reign of Nero, perhaps until his death in June 68 or until the end of that year to connect with the ''Histories''. The second half of book 16 is missing, ending with the events of 66. It is not known whether Tacitus completed the work; he died before he could complete his planned histories of Nerva and Trajan, and no record survives of the work on Augustus and the beginnings of the [[Roman Empire]], with which he had planned to finish his work. The ''Annals'' is one of the earliest secular historical records to mention [[Jesus|Christ]], which Tacitus does in connection with [[Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire#Neronian persecution|Nero's persecution of the Christians]]. [[File:MII.png|thumb|''Annals'' 15.44, in the second Medicean manuscript]] ===Monographs=== Tacitus wrote three works with a more limited scope: ''Agricola'', a biography of his father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola; the ''Germania'', a monograph on the lands and tribes of barbarian Germania; and the {{Lang|la|Dialogus}}, a dialogue on the art of rhetoric. ====''Germania''==== {{Main|Germania (book)}} The ''Germania'' ([[Latin]] title: ''De Origine et situ Germanorum'') is an ethnographic work on the [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribe]]s outside the Roman Empire. The ''Germania'' fits within a classical ethnographic tradition which includes authors such as [[Herodotus]] and [[Julius Caesar]]. The book begins (chapters 1–27) with a description of the lands, laws, and customs of the various tribes. Later chapters focus on descriptions of particular tribes, beginning with those who lived closest to the Roman empire, and ending with a description of those who lived on the shores of the [[Baltic Sea]], such as the [[Fenni]].<ref>[[Carl L. Thunberg|Thunberg, Carl L.]] (2012). ''Att tolka Svitjod'' [''To interpret Svitjod'']. University of Gothenburg. p. 44. {{ISBN|978-91-981859-4-2}}.</ref> Tacitus had written a similar, albeit shorter, piece in his ''Agricola'' (chapters 10–13). ====''Agricola'' (''De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae'')==== {{Main|Agricola (book)}} The ''Agricola'' (written {{circa|98}}) recounts the life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general and Tacitus's father-in-law; it also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancient [[Roman Britain|Britain]]. As in the ''Germania'', Tacitus favorably contrasts the liberty of the native [[Celtic Britons|Britons]] with the tyranny and corruption of the Empire; the book also contains eloquent polemics against the greed of Rome, one of which, that Tacitus claims is from a speech by [[Calgacus]], ends by asserting, ''Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.'' ("To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace."—Oxford Revised Translation). ====''Dialogus''==== {{Rhetoric}} {{Main|Dialogus de oratoribus}} There is uncertainty about when Tacitus wrote {{Lang|la|Dialogus de oratoribus}}. Many characteristics set it apart from the other works of Tacitus, so that its authenticity has at various times been questioned. It is likely to be early work, indebted to the author's rhetorical training, since its style imitates that of the foremost Roman orator [[Cicero]]. It lacks (for example) the incongruities that are typical of his mature historical works. The {{Lang|la|Dialogus}} is dedicated to Fabius Iustus, a consul in 102 AD. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page