Publius cornelius tacitus biography

From Stuart, Duane Reed. 1909. Tacitus: The Agricola. New York: Macmillan. Pp. ix-xiv.

The books of Tacitus show vividly what manner of man he was. The works of no other ancient historian are so impregnated with the author's personality. By reading the writings of Tacitus between the lines it is easy to find out what he thought of the world in which he lived, what his convictions and what his prejudices were.

On the other hand, the information that he gives us directly about his life is very meager. No biography of Tacitus has come down to us from ancient times. It is possible, therefore, to reconstruct his career only in a bare outline in which much rests upon conjecture and surmise.

According to the more reliable tradition our author's full name was Publius Cornelius Tacitus. The year of his birth was probably 55 A.D. His boyhood thus coincided closely with the reign of Nero, 54-68 A.D. We do not know whether Tacitus was a native of Rome or whether he was born outside of the city, as were the other great figures of Roman literature. As to his station in the world there is good reason to believe that his father was a Cornelius Tacitus of the preceding generation, a Roman knight who served as procurator in Belgic Gaul. If this identification be correct, Tacitus came from equestrian stock — an inference which fits what we know about his education, his marriage, and his social connections. As he himself tells us, he was a disciple of M. Aper and Julius Secundus, the (x) leaders of the bar in the time of Vespasian, 69-79 A.D. He thus had a place as a youth in that distinguished coterie of literary men of whose intercourse he gives a typical sketch in the Dialogus de Oratoribus. In the year 78 he married the daughter of Julius Agricola, one of the consuls of the previous year and a man who had already made his mark as a soldier and an administrator. Evidently this match bespeaks for Tacitus the approval of social position and

Name: Cornelius Tacitus
Dates: c. A.D. 56 - c. 120
Occupation: Historian
Importance: Source on Imperial Rome, Roman Britain, and Germanic Tribes

"It is the rare fortune of these days that a man may think what he likes and say what he thinks."
Histories I.1

Biography

Little is known for certain about the origins of Tacitus, although he is believed to have been born, around A.D. 56, into a provincial aristocratic family in Gaul (modern France) or nearby, in the Roman province of Transalpine Gaul. We don't even know if his name was "Publius" or "Gaius Cornelius" Tacitus. He had a successful political course, becoming a senator, consul, and eventually governor of the Roman province of Asia. He probably lived and wrote into Hadrian's reign (117-38) and may have died in A.D. 120.

Despite a political situation that had provided for his personal success, Tacitus was unhappy with the status quo. He lamented the previous century's reduction of aristocratic power, which was the price of having a princeps 'emperor'.

A Challenge to Latin Students

As an iconoclastic Latin student, I thought it a blessing that so much of the prolific historian Livy's Roman history, Ab Urbe Condita 'From the Founding of the City', had been lost. Tacitus poses an even greater challenge than volume to the Latin student because his prose is difficult to translate. Michael Grant acknowledges this when he says, "the more prudent translators have prefaced their efforts by apologetic reminders that 'Tacitus has never been translated and probably never will be'...."

Tacitus comes from the Greco-Roman tradition of history writers whose purpose is as much to promote a rhetorical flourish-filled moral agenda as it is to record facts. Tacitus studied oratory at Rome, including the writing of Cicero, and may have written oratorical treatises before his 4 best-known writings, the historical/ethnographic pieces.

Major

Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. 56 C.E. – c. 117 C.E.) was one of the important historians of Roman antiquity. The surviving portions of his two major works, the Annals and the Histories, deal with the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors. These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus in 14 C.E. to (presumably) the death of emperor Domitian in 96 C.E. Other surviving works by Tacitus include Oratory (Dialogus de oratoribus), Germania (in De origine et situ Germanorum) and biographical notes about his father-in-law Agricola, primarily during his campaign in Britannia (De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae).

Tacitus’ work has been read for centuries for its moral instruction, gripping and dramatic narrative, and inimitable prose style. It is as a political theorist, though, that he has been most influential outside the field of history. While recognizing the need for a leader with strong, centralized control to maintain political harmony, Tacitus illustrated the dangers of a tyrannical leader and a weak hypocritical Senate. Because Tacitus refused to take a firm position, scholars have interpreted his work both in support of republican ideals ("red Tacitists" ) and as a lesson in Machiavellianrealpolitik ("black Tacitists").

Tacitus' style in his major works is annalistic. An author of the latter part of the Silver Age of Latin literature, his writing is characterized by an uncompromising boldness and sharpness of wit, and a compact and sometimes unconventional use of the Latin language.

Life

Although Tacitus' works contain a wealth of information about the society in which he lived, details of his own life are scarce. What little is known comes from scattered hints throughout the corpus of his work, the letters of his friend and admirer Pliny the Younger, an inscription found at Mylasa in Caria^[1

Roman historian and senator (56–120)

For the emperor, see Tacitus (emperor). For other uses, see Tacitus (disambiguation).

Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus (TAS-it-əs,Latin:[ˈtakɪtʊs]; c. AD 56 – c. 120), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.

The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals (Latin: Annales) and the Histories (Latin: Historiae)—examine the reigns of the emperorsTiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors (69 AD). These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus (14 AD) to the death of Domitian (96 AD), although there are substantial lacunae in the surviving texts.

Tacitus's other writings discuss oratory (in dialogue format, see Dialogus de oratoribus), Germania (in De origine et situ Germanorum), and the life of his father-in-law, Agricola (the general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain), mainly focusing on his campaign in Britannia (De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae). Tacitus's Histories offers insights into Roman attitudes towards Jews, descriptions of Jewish customs, and context for the First Jewish–Roman War. His Annals are of interest for providing an early account of the persecution of Christians and one of the earliest extra-Biblical references to the crucifixion of Jesus.

Life

Details about the personal life of Tacitus are scarce. What little is known comes from scattered hints throughout his work, the letters of his friend and admirer Pliny the Younger, and an inscription found at Mylasa in Caria.

Tacitus was born in 56 or 57 to an equestrian family. The place and date of his birth, as well as his praenomen (first name) are not known. In the letters of S