Background
He was born about a. d. 55, probably in southern Gaul. It is still uncertain whether his praenomen was Gaius or Publius. He came from a family of good standing.
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He was born about a. d. 55, probably in southern Gaul. It is still uncertain whether his praenomen was Gaius or Publius. He came from a family of good standing.
He had the usual education of those intended for public life.
He served his first political assignment under Vespasian and was successively quaestor, praetor (in the year 88, when he served on the board of officials in charge of the secular games commemorating the birth of the city of Rome), and finally consul in 97. He held a minor colonial governorship (89-93) and the major post of governor of the province of Asia (probably in 112-113).
In his youth Tacitus seems to have been somewhat attracted to the newer and more flamboyant rhetoric of the day but even then with considerable reservation. Probably at about the age of 26 he wrote what we know as the Dialogue on Oratory. It is a dramatic essay in the manner of Cicero, in which several of the leading lawyers of Vespasian's day discuss the changes in rhetorical style and legal procedure from the time of Cicero to their own. The literary style of the dialogue is basically Ciceronian but without heaviness or pomposity. The dramatic presentation of the characters as well as an occasional phrase of ironic brilliance indicate a writer of marked individuality and maturity of style. Not long after the appearance of the Dialogue began the period of censorship and suppression under Domitian.
A biography of Agricola by Tacitus was published in 98 when Nerva and Trajan had put an end to the oppression of Domitian. Tacitus believed that Agricola had been unjustly treated and finally poisoned by Domitian, and this belief, added to his resentment at the suppression of free speech and action in the senate, had developed in him a burning indignation against the emperor and the imperial form of government. The Life of Agricola conforms with the accepted type of eulogistic biography, but there is introduced most skillfully into the familiar framework an account of the land and people of Britain with a history of the Roman conquest of the island. These are evidently introduced to enhance the glory of the not-too-brilliant Agricola and to give color to the essay, but today they are a valuable source of information about early Britain. Striking characteristics of the essay are the bitterness of the writer and the new and impressive style developed to express it.
In 98 Tacitus published another short essay, the Germania, an account of the country, people, and customs of Germany. While naturally less fiery, less filled with ironic bitterness than the Agricola, the Germania is of great interest not only for its information but as an example of Tacitus' new style when applied to normal description.
Between 98 and 116 Tacitus was occupied with the writing of his two great historical works, the Histories and the Annals. The former covered the years from the death of Nero to the accession of Nerva, the latter, those from the death of Augustus to that of Nero. Together they give a continuous story of the years 14 to 96. While engaged on this work Tacitus was not only consul and governor of Asia but also counsel in highly important lawsuits. It is therefore clear that he had employed the years of silence under Domitian in collecting the material for his great histories. The two are cited by Jerome two centuries later as one work in 30 books. They have reached us in mutilated form. Of the Histories, published first, we have, out of a total of 14 books, four and a portion of the fifth. These give a vivid account of the great civil wars of 68-69 and the beginning of the capture of Jerusalem by Titus. Of the Annals, which was presumably in 16 books, we have most of the first six and most of 11 through 14. These cover the reign of Tiberius, that of Claudius in part, and most of Nero's. It is this history of the first century by Tacitus that largely determined the traditional picture of the early Roman emperors, especially the grim, morbid, and cruel Tiberius and the innately vicious Nero. Modern criticism has modified these pictures, but the powerful pen of Tacitus has left its indelible effect. It is impossible to question Tacitus' integrity. As the leader of the Roman bar and a highly respected member of the senate, no scandal ever attached itself to his name and the facts of his histories have successfully withstood all questioning. But this does not tell the whole story. As the first lawyer of his day, he knew how to present his case without factual misrepresentation but in such a way as completely to convince the jury of his readers that his own interpretation of those facts was the correct one. This was accomplished by shrewd selection of subject matter and by dramatic presentation, but most of all the use of a dignified and forceful prose which combined extreme conciseness of expression with no little poetic coloring. The effect was and is overpowering and at the same time lasting. Tacitus' works were never wholly forgotten.
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The church fathers resented his attitude toward the Christians in his account of the great fire of 64 for which Nero, to save himself, punished the small sect of Jewish dissenters who furnished a convenient scapegoat. The violent attacks of the church fathers helped to preserve the work of Tacitus. His books seem to have been read and copied through the centuries down to the 11th and rediscovered in the 15th.
Tacitus vents all his stored-up hatred of imperialism and tyranny in a style which, with great dignity, is concise, vigorous, and compelling. It is marked by such pungent epigrams as the famous characterization of Roman conquest: "Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant" ("When they have made a solitude they call it peace"). His bitter antagonism toward the imperial regime was expressed with a power of persuasive irony and innuendo which has scarcely an equal in any literature.
Tacitus had already married, in 78, the daughter of Julius Agricola, who was governor of Britain for seven years. It remains unknown whether Tacitus had any children.