Sacred
rites were grossly profaned, and there were scandals in high
places.
rites were grossly profaned, and there were scandals in high
places.
Tacitus
69.
] I propose to begin my narrative with the second 1
consulship of Servius Galba, in which Titus Vinius was his colleague.
Many historians have dealt with the 820 years of the earlier period
beginning with the foundation of Rome, and the story of the Roman
Republic has been told with no less ability than truth. After the
Battle of Actium, when the interests of peace were served by the
centralization of all authority in the hands of one man, there
followed a dearth of literary ability, and at the same time truth
suffered more and more, partly from ignorance of politics, which were
no longer a citizen's concern, partly from the growing taste for
flattery or from hatred of the ruling house. So between malice on one
side and servility on the other the interests of posterity were
neglected. But historians find that a tone of flattery soon incurs the
stigma of servility and earns for them the contempt of their readers,
whereas people readily open their ears to the criticisms of envy,
since malice makes a show of independence. Of Galba, Otho, and
Vitellius, I have known nothing either to my advantage or my hurt. I
cannot deny that I originally owed my position to Vespasian, or that I
was advanced by Titus and still further promoted by Domitian;[5] but
professing, as I do, unbiassed honesty, I must speak of no man either
with hatred or affection. I have reserved for my old age, if life is
spared to me, the reigns of the sainted Nerva and of the Emperor
Trajan, which afford a richer and withal a safer theme:[6] for it is
the rare fortune of these days that a man may think what he likes and
say what he thinks.
The story I now commence is rich in vicissitudes, grim with 2
warfare, torn by civil strife, a tale of horror even during times of
peace. It tells of four emperors slain by the sword, three several
civil wars, an even larger number of foreign wars and some that were
both at once: successes in the East, disaster in the West, disturbance
in Illyricum, disaffection in the provinces of Gaul, the conquest of
Britain and its immediate loss, the rising of the Sarmatian and Suebic
tribes. It tells how Dacia had the privilege of exchanging blows with
Rome, and how a pretender claiming to be Nero almost deluded the
Parthians into declaring war. Now too Italy was smitten with new
disasters, or disasters it had not witnessed for a long period of
years. Towns along the rich coast of Campania were submerged or
buried. The city was devastated by fires, ancient temples were
destroyed, and the Capitol itself was fired by Roman hands.
Sacred
rites were grossly profaned, and there were scandals in high
places. [7] The sea swarmed with exiles and the island cliffs[8] were
red with blood. Worse horrors reigned in the city. To be rich or
well-born was a crime: men were prosecuted for holding or for refusing
office: merit of any kind meant certain ruin. Nor were the Informers
more hated for their crimes than for their prizes: some carried off a
priesthood or the consulship as their spoil, others won offices and
influence in the imperial household: the hatred and fear they inspired
worked universal havoc. Slaves were bribed against their masters,
freedmen against their patrons, and, if a man had no enemies, he was
ruined by his friends.
However, the period was not so utterly barren as to yield no 3
examples of heroism. There were mothers who followed their sons, and
wives their husbands into exile: one saw here a kinsman's courage and
there a son-in-law's devotion: slaves obstinately faithful even on the
rack: distinguished men bravely facing the utmost straits and matching
in their end the famous deaths of older times. Besides these manifold
disasters to mankind there were portents in the sky and on the earth,
thunderbolts and other premonitions of good and of evil, some
doubtful, some obvious. Indeed never has it been proved by such
terrible disasters to Rome or by such clear evidence that Providence
is concerned not with our peace of mind but rather with vengeance for
our sin.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] To Vespasian Tacitus probably owed his quaestorship and a
seat in the senate; to Titus his tribunate of the people; to
Domitian the praetorship and a 'fellowship' of one of the
great priestly colleges, whose special function was the
supervision of foreign cults. This last accounts for Tacitus'
interest in strange religions.
[6] This project, also foreshadowed in _Agricola_ iii, was
never completed.
[7] Referring in particular to the scandals among the Vestal
Virgins and to Domitian's relations with his niece Julia.
[8] i. e.
consulship of Servius Galba, in which Titus Vinius was his colleague.
Many historians have dealt with the 820 years of the earlier period
beginning with the foundation of Rome, and the story of the Roman
Republic has been told with no less ability than truth. After the
Battle of Actium, when the interests of peace were served by the
centralization of all authority in the hands of one man, there
followed a dearth of literary ability, and at the same time truth
suffered more and more, partly from ignorance of politics, which were
no longer a citizen's concern, partly from the growing taste for
flattery or from hatred of the ruling house. So between malice on one
side and servility on the other the interests of posterity were
neglected. But historians find that a tone of flattery soon incurs the
stigma of servility and earns for them the contempt of their readers,
whereas people readily open their ears to the criticisms of envy,
since malice makes a show of independence. Of Galba, Otho, and
Vitellius, I have known nothing either to my advantage or my hurt. I
cannot deny that I originally owed my position to Vespasian, or that I
was advanced by Titus and still further promoted by Domitian;[5] but
professing, as I do, unbiassed honesty, I must speak of no man either
with hatred or affection. I have reserved for my old age, if life is
spared to me, the reigns of the sainted Nerva and of the Emperor
Trajan, which afford a richer and withal a safer theme:[6] for it is
the rare fortune of these days that a man may think what he likes and
say what he thinks.
The story I now commence is rich in vicissitudes, grim with 2
warfare, torn by civil strife, a tale of horror even during times of
peace. It tells of four emperors slain by the sword, three several
civil wars, an even larger number of foreign wars and some that were
both at once: successes in the East, disaster in the West, disturbance
in Illyricum, disaffection in the provinces of Gaul, the conquest of
Britain and its immediate loss, the rising of the Sarmatian and Suebic
tribes. It tells how Dacia had the privilege of exchanging blows with
Rome, and how a pretender claiming to be Nero almost deluded the
Parthians into declaring war. Now too Italy was smitten with new
disasters, or disasters it had not witnessed for a long period of
years. Towns along the rich coast of Campania were submerged or
buried. The city was devastated by fires, ancient temples were
destroyed, and the Capitol itself was fired by Roman hands.
Sacred
rites were grossly profaned, and there were scandals in high
places. [7] The sea swarmed with exiles and the island cliffs[8] were
red with blood. Worse horrors reigned in the city. To be rich or
well-born was a crime: men were prosecuted for holding or for refusing
office: merit of any kind meant certain ruin. Nor were the Informers
more hated for their crimes than for their prizes: some carried off a
priesthood or the consulship as their spoil, others won offices and
influence in the imperial household: the hatred and fear they inspired
worked universal havoc. Slaves were bribed against their masters,
freedmen against their patrons, and, if a man had no enemies, he was
ruined by his friends.
However, the period was not so utterly barren as to yield no 3
examples of heroism. There were mothers who followed their sons, and
wives their husbands into exile: one saw here a kinsman's courage and
there a son-in-law's devotion: slaves obstinately faithful even on the
rack: distinguished men bravely facing the utmost straits and matching
in their end the famous deaths of older times. Besides these manifold
disasters to mankind there were portents in the sky and on the earth,
thunderbolts and other premonitions of good and of evil, some
doubtful, some obvious. Indeed never has it been proved by such
terrible disasters to Rome or by such clear evidence that Providence
is concerned not with our peace of mind but rather with vengeance for
our sin.
FOOTNOTES:
[5] To Vespasian Tacitus probably owed his quaestorship and a
seat in the senate; to Titus his tribunate of the people; to
Domitian the praetorship and a 'fellowship' of one of the
great priestly colleges, whose special function was the
supervision of foreign cults. This last accounts for Tacitus'
interest in strange religions.
[6] This project, also foreshadowed in _Agricola_ iii, was
never completed.
[7] Referring in particular to the scandals among the Vestal
Virgins and to Domitian's relations with his niece Julia.
[8] i. e.
