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.
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.
Tacitus
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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six
Annals of Tacitus, by Tacitus
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www. gutenberg. org
Title: The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus
Author: Tacitus
Editor: Arthur Galton
Translator: Thomas Gordon
Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7959]
This file was first posted on June 5, 2003
Last Updated: May 30, 2013
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REIGN OF TIBERIUS ***
Produced by Anne Soulard, Tiffany Vergon, Charles Aldarondo,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
THE REIGN OF TIBERIUS, OUT OF THE FIRST SIX ANNALS OF TACITUS
WITH HIS ACCOUNT OF GERMANY, AND LIFE OF AGRICOLA
By Tacitus
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 genealogy to the Historian. "If we can prefer personal
merit to accidental greatness," Gibbon here observes, "we shall esteem
the birth of Tacitus more truly noble than that of Kings. He claimed his
descent from the philosophic historian, whose writings will instruct the
last generations of mankind. From the assiduous study of his immortal
ancestor, he derived his knowledge of the Roman Constitution and of
human nature. " This Emperor gave orders, that the writings of Tacitus
should be placed in all the public libraries; and that ten copies should
be taken annually, at the public charge. Notwithstanding the Imperial
anxiety, a valuable part of Tacitus is lost: indeed we might argue, from
the solicitude of the Emperor, as well as from his own "distinction,"
that Tacitus could not be generally popular; and, in the sixteenth
century, a great portion of him was reduced to the single manuscript,
which lay hidden within a German monastery. Of his literary works, five
remain; some fairly complete, the rest in fragments. Complete, are "The
Life of Julius Agricola," "The Dialogue on Orators," and "The Account
of Germany": these are, unfortunately, the minor works of Tacitus. His
larger works are "The History," and "The Annals. " "The History" extended
from the second Consulship of Galba, in the year 69, to the murder of
Domitian, in the year 96; and Tacitus desired to write the happy times
of Nerva, and of Trajan: we are ignorant, whether infirmity or death
prevented his design. Of "The History," only four books have been
preserved; and they contain the events of a single year: a year, it is
true, which, saw three civil wars, and four Emperors destroyed; a year
of crime, and accidents, and prodigies: there are few sentences more
powerful, than Tacitus' enumeration of these calamities, in the opening
chapters. The fifth book is imperfect; it is of more than common
interest to some people, because Tacitus mentions the siege of Jerusalem
by Titus; though what he says about the Chosen People, here and
elsewhere, cannot be satisfactory to them nor gratifying to their
admirers. With this fragment, about revolts in the provinces of Gaul
and Syria, "The History" ends. "The Annals" begin with the death of
Augustus, in the year 14; and they were continued until the death of
Nero, in 68.
This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six
Annals of Tacitus, by Tacitus
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www. gutenberg. org
Title: The Reign of Tiberius, Out of the First Six Annals of Tacitus
Author: Tacitus
Editor: Arthur Galton
Translator: Thomas Gordon
Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7959]
This file was first posted on June 5, 2003
Last Updated: May 30, 2013
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REIGN OF TIBERIUS ***
Produced by Anne Soulard, Tiffany Vergon, Charles Aldarondo,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
THE REIGN OF TIBERIUS, OUT OF THE FIRST SIX ANNALS OF TACITUS
WITH HIS ACCOUNT OF GERMANY, AND LIFE OF AGRICOLA
By Tacitus
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 genealogy to the Historian. "If we can prefer personal
merit to accidental greatness," Gibbon here observes, "we shall esteem
the birth of Tacitus more truly noble than that of Kings. He claimed his
descent from the philosophic historian, whose writings will instruct the
last generations of mankind. From the assiduous study of his immortal
ancestor, he derived his knowledge of the Roman Constitution and of
human nature. " This Emperor gave orders, that the writings of Tacitus
should be placed in all the public libraries; and that ten copies should
be taken annually, at the public charge. Notwithstanding the Imperial
anxiety, a valuable part of Tacitus is lost: indeed we might argue, from
the solicitude of the Emperor, as well as from his own "distinction,"
that Tacitus could not be generally popular; and, in the sixteenth
century, a great portion of him was reduced to the single manuscript,
which lay hidden within a German monastery. Of his literary works, five
remain; some fairly complete, the rest in fragments. Complete, are "The
Life of Julius Agricola," "The Dialogue on Orators," and "The Account
of Germany": these are, unfortunately, the minor works of Tacitus. His
larger works are "The History," and "The Annals. " "The History" extended
from the second Consulship of Galba, in the year 69, to the murder of
Domitian, in the year 96; and Tacitus desired to write the happy times
of Nerva, and of Trajan: we are ignorant, whether infirmity or death
prevented his design. Of "The History," only four books have been
preserved; and they contain the events of a single year: a year, it is
true, which, saw three civil wars, and four Emperors destroyed; a year
of crime, and accidents, and prodigies: there are few sentences more
powerful, than Tacitus' enumeration of these calamities, in the opening
chapters. The fifth book is imperfect; it is of more than common
interest to some people, because Tacitus mentions the siege of Jerusalem
by Titus; though what he says about the Chosen People, here and
elsewhere, cannot be satisfactory to them nor gratifying to their
admirers. With this fragment, about revolts in the provinces of Gaul
and Syria, "The History" ends. "The Annals" begin with the death of
Augustus, in the year 14; and they were continued until the death of
Nero, in 68.
