Cornelius Tacitus

Cornelius Tacitus (55?-after 117), Roman historian, born probably in Rome. All that is known of his life comes either from references to himself in his works or from letters written to him by the Roman statesman and orator Pliny the Younger. Tacitus appears to have held the offices of quaestor in 79, praetor in 88, and consul in 97. He is believed to have been proconsul, or governor, of the Roman provinces in Asia, probably in 112-13. The last years of his life were devoted chiefly to the composition of his historical works, of which less than half are extant.

The earliest known work of Tacitus is the Dialogus de Oratoribus (Dialogue on Orators), written probably about 81, which is valuable for its description of Roman education. De Vita Iulii Agricolae (Life of Agricola, c. 98), an account of the life of his father-in-law, the Roman statesman and general Gnaeus Julius Agricola, is an excellent example of Roman biographical writing. The third of Tacitus's short works, all of which have been preserved, is Germania (Germany, c. 98), a monograph on the ethnography of Germany.

The Historiae (Histories), the first of Tacitus's two major works, apparently was published between 104 and 109. It is a history of the Roman Empire from ad69 to the assassination of the emperor Domitian in 96. Of the original work, which was probably in 14 books, only the first 4 books and part of the 5th are extant. His most characteristic work, commonly called Annales (Annals, c. 115-17) but possibly originally titled Ab Excessu Diui Augusti (From the Death of the Divine Augustus), is a history of the Julian emperors from Tiberius to Nero, covering the years ad14 to 68. Originally this work comprised 16 books, but only 9 complete books and some fragments have been preserved.

The great power of Tacitus as a historian lies in his psychological insight and the brilliance of his character portrayals, and his style is an effective combination of terseness and colorful expression. He praised the ideals of the Roman Republic and gave deeply critical portrayals of many of the Roman emperors.