Life
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was born in the middle of the 50s CE to an equestrian family. His exact location of birth is unknown, though some scholars suggest his place of origins was Gallia Narbonensis. Even his praenomen is conjecture, with Publius being favored as it is given in the manuscripts, but as Gaius in certain letters by Sidonius Apollinaris, and even Sextus, although this last one is rejected by most scholars.
He may have belonged to the same family as the Cornelius Tacitus who served as procurator of Belgica and Germania.
Tacitus studied rhetoric in Rome under Quintilian, and his skill as an orator quickly made his reputation. He married Julia Agricola, daughter of the famed general Gnaeus Julius Agricola, which placed him in considerable social standing. He ascended the cursus honorum, having been made a quaestor under Titus, praetor in 88, and the honorary position in the college of the quindecemviri sacris faciundis, the fifteen priests who kept the Sibylline Books and oversaw the rites of the ludi saeculares. He spent the early 90s away from Rome—perhaps on provincial duties—before returning to Rome in 93. He survived Domitian’s purges and was appointed consul by Nerva in 97, a year after Domitian’s death.
He returned to law in 100 in order to, along with Pliny the Younger, prosecute Marius Priscus for corruption for his tenure as proconsul of Asia Minor. If the Mylasa inscription refers to this Cornelius Tacitus, then he was proconsul himself of Asia Minor sometime between 113 and 116 CE.
It is unknown when or how he died.
Works
Five works of Tacitus survive: the Dialogus de Oratoribus, Agricola, Germania, Historiae, and Annales.
There is some debate on the chronology of the works, especially concerning the Dialogus de Oratoribus. As its name suggests, the Dialogus is a dialogue set in the late 70s in which the speakers discuss the decline of oratory and good rhetorical education. It was dedicated to L. Fabius Iustus, who was consul suffectus in 102 CE, which leads some scholars to posit a date around then, though that is by no means a given.
The work differs greatly in style from Tacitus’ other works, which has generated doubt about Tacitean authorship. The work bears the hallmarks of a balanced, periodic Neo-Ciceronian style, and Tacitus’ historical works follow Sallust and Thucydides in its use of inconcinnitas. Others point out that Tacitus was likely a student of Quintilian’s, who strongly advocated for the Neo-Ciceronian style, and the date of publication does not have to match up with the date of composition. Moreover, since the Dialogus and Tacitus’ historical works are in two separate genres, Tacitus could have used different styles to fit different conventions.
In 98, the year after his consulship, Tacitus published De Vita Iulii Agricolae (“On the Life of Julius Agricola”), a biography of his father-in-law, and De Origine et Situ Germanorum (“On the Origin and Location of the Germans,” commonly just called the Germania), a history and ethnography of the German tribes.
He then returned to writing, composing the Historiae (“Histories”) and the Ab Excessu Divi Augusti, commonly referred to as the Annales (“Annals”), in 30 books altogether.
The Historiae are a detailed history in the style of Thucydides covering the year of the four emperors (69 CE) to Domitian’s death (96 CE), though only the first four books and part of the fifth survive. These books narrate events down to the beginning of 70, but at that pace, Tacitus would have only covered roughly four years (up to 74) in 14 books. The attention to just one year in a work of this size is unusual. From the preface of the Agricola, Tacitus had at least intended to cover the period up to the ascension of Nerva, but it is possible that he never finished that project. It is also possible (perhaps more so) that the events of 69 demanded extraordinary attention, and the rest of the books are dedicated to the Flavians.
The Annales cover the events from the death of Augustus up to the death of Nero, though the last years of Nero’s reign are lost. Books 1-6 cover the reign of Tiberius, of which almost all of book 5 and a large chunk of book 6 are missing. Books 7-10 are also missing, but covered the reigns of Caligula and Claudius, the latter of which is finished in 11 and 12. The rest from Book 12 onward covers Nero’s reign.
As a senator himself, Tacitus has no love for the worst excesses of the “bad” emperors like Tiberius, Nero (towards the end of his reign), and Domitian, which hints at some level of factional oppositions between the two “branches” of Roman government. Despite this senatorial bias, Tacitus remains among the most reliable, astute, and penetrating historians of the early Roman empire.
Notable Quotes
- Solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
“They made a desert and called it peace.” Agricola 30
Tacitus Online
Latin: PHI Latin Texts
Latin and English at Perseus: Annales · Historiae · Agricola · Germania · Dialogus
Further Reading
- Ronald Syme 1958. Tacitus. 2 volumes. Oxford University Press.
- Ronald H. Martin 1981. Tacitus. University of California Press.
- Anthony R. Birley 2000. “The Life and Death of Cornelius Tacitus.” Historia 49.2: 230–247.
