Tacitus- style and intro Flashcards
(93 cards)
tacitus who was he
- Roman senator, orator and lawyer
- Bron in ad55
- Public career spanning rule of vesparin to trajan
- Part of literary circle – pliny lots of letters, seutonis (biogrspher- lievs of ceasars) – knew each other and corresponded
tacitus relationshio senator
- Quindecemvi, gives the funeral oration for Lucius Rufus in AD 97.
polubius historian
the reciprocal benefits of history and politics. History helps one to “bear with dignity the vicissitudes of fortune.”
aims as a senatorial historian - tacitus
trying to teach - because few people have the good sense to distinguish what is honourable from what is bad, or what is expedient from what is harmful
or rebellious
tacitus rebellious as senatorial historian
indvid acting against ov that ‘imagined’ ‘it could silence the voice of freedom’ and ‘mens knowledge of the truth
senatorail historians
- Cato, Pollio, Pictor, Caesar, Ammianus, Sallust.
sallust
disatrously worng
whilts livy the exception
perhaps in reltaionto political leanings and methodologies as person, sallust much more moralising
sallust view on leaders
Sallust may have used history to justify Caesar’s actions and criticize the optimates.
His portrayal of figures like Catiline or Jugurtha is often seen as crafted to support a political narrative rather than truth
tacitus is self- interested as a historian
quinitilian
fsmily piety
describes himself
quintillian on tacitus
preserve a memory for posterity and enhance the memory of its author.”
agricola family piety
o Agricola 1- ‘famous men have from time immemorial had their life stories told’ ‘our generaton..ha mot quite abandoned the pratcice’
o The task of recording it never failed to attract the men of genius- self congratulating?
quote perhaps talkig about himself- self interested
great men even under bad emperors”, but has no time for men who “have become famous by an ostentatious death with no benefit to the Commonwealth.”
politicla guilt- tacitus
melllor
background
other historians
danger of principate
politicla guilt tacitus mellor
the guilt of an unwilling collaborator or merely the shame of a survivor?
tacitus quotes own time- politicla guilt
- Histories 1.1: career “started by Vespasian, enhanced by Titus, carried further by Domitian.”
o Acknowledges why people conformed and stayed quite - Nerva and Trajan “blessed and happy age” when you can “think what you want and say what you think.”
other historians politicla guilt
sallust equally hypocritical
political gult- teaching toll
- Writing to his own time: Cremutius Cordus = Hermogenes of Tarsus under Domitian.
- Highlight the dangers of the principate- eg Domitian (Agricola) and tib (annals) esp pertinent tacitus- historical genre under threat w bok burnings at comitium and forum
tacitus self aware
what may be interesting to reader
despite dire period still find good examples
whilst livy talks about big issues
sallust
cicero
thucydiedes
tacitus aware what writing percieved
anals iv- aware what writing ‘may seem unimportant and trivial
o Whilst other historians may teoll of ‘great wars’ or ‘the storming of cities’
o ‘my task is circumscribed and inglorious’
o Not much to write abnout in period – ‘peace was wholly unbroken, or only slightly disturbed’.. ‘the emperor was uninterested in expanding the empire’ ‘there was dismal misery in the capital’
o Themes therefore- ‘curel orders, unremitting accusations, treacherous freindships’ ‘distruction fo innocent men and the rempetitive resons for their desth’
tacitus despite dire period
histories 1 3
‘yet the age was not so barren in nonoblequalities, as not also to exhibit examples of vritue’
o ‘illustrious men driven to the last necessity and enduring it with fortutde’
o ‘there were closing scnes that equaled famous deaths of antiquity’- still is dramatic and exciting
o Annals iii 55- ‘our epoch too has produced moral and inyellectual achievements fit for our descendents to copy’
livy- tacitus seld aware
o History of rome- humble- ‘whetyher I am likely to acmplish anything worthy of labour..i do not know
o Commemorate the deeds of ythe foremost people of the world
o Perhaps less objective?- it is the privilege of antiquity to mingle divine things with human, and so to add dignity to the beginning of cities
o Purpose of study of history – ‘behold the lessons of every kind of experience’
sallust- self aware
seemingly frustrated by critic and perception of writing
o ‘most readers consider that whatever errors you mention with censure, are mentioned trhough aleolence and envy
o Equally if write of ‘great virtue and glory of eminent men’- ‘all beyond his conception he rgards as fictious and increadible
ciccro- self aware
de legibus- character of atticus persuading cicero to writ ehistory of rome- in orde rthst the land which you have saved you may also glorify, for our national lit is deficient in history
o This branch of lit is closer thsn any other to roatory
o De oratore- history ‘sheds light upon reality//guidance to human existance’
thucydides self aware- historicla method
history of the peloponnesan war- ‘events of the war’ ‘made it a principle not to write down the first story that came my way ‘ ‘eyewitneses whose reports I have checked with as much thoroughness as possible ‘
o
