Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56/57-117)

"As our bodies, which grow so slowly, perish in a flash, so too the mind and its interests can be more easily crushed than brought again to life. Idleness gradually becomes sweet, and we end by loving the sloth that at first we loathed."

• From the Agricola (section 3) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117)

"Let it be clear to those inclined to admire unlawful acts that even under bad emperors men can be great, and that a sense of duty and discretion, if backed by ability and energy, can reach that peak of honour that many have stormed by precipitous paths, winning fame, without serving country, through an ostentatious death."

• From the Agricola (section 42) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56/57-117+)

"It seems to me a historian's foremost duty [is] to ensure that merit is recorded, and to confront evil deeds and words with the fear of posterity's denunciations."

• The Annals of Imperial Rome (Book III, section 65), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"When the strong hand decides, restraint and integrity are words that belong to the victor."

• Germania (section 36) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"This is the crowning injustice of war; all claim credit for success, while defeat is laid to the account of one."

• From the Agricola (section 27) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"Long, I pray, may foreign peoples persist, if not in loving us, at least in hating one another; for the imperial destiny drives hard, and fortune now has no better gift than the discord of our foes."

• Germania (section 33) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009. 

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"Apprehension and terror are weak bonds of affection; just break them, and, where fear has ended, hatred will begin."

• Tacitus wrote this quote from the point of view of Calgacus, said to have been a tribal leader in Britannia. It is part of a larger pre-battle speech supposedly made by Calgacus before the Battle of Mons Graupius (83 CE), where he ultimately lost to the forces of Julius Agricola. Tacitus was Julius Agricola's son-in-law, and he wrote a eulogy/biography in his honor, which he simply titled the Agricola. This quote can be found in section 31 of that work. The translation quoted here was by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives (Penguin Classics, 2009).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"Robbery, butchery, rapine, these liars call 'empire': they create desolation and call it peace."

• Tacitus wrote this quote from the point of view of Calgacus, said to have been a tribal leader in Britannia. It is part of a larger pre-battle speech supposedly made by Calgacus before the Battle of Mons Graupius (83 CE), where he ultimately lost to the forces of Julius Agricola. Tacitus was Julius Agricola's son-in-law, and he wrote a eulogy/biography in his honor, which he simply titled the Agricola. This quote can be found in section 30 of that work. The translation quoted here was by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives (Penguin Classics, 2009).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"Defeat in battle always begins with the eyes."

• Germania (section 43) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"It is true indeed that noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop."

• Agricola (section 1) by Tacitus, translated by Harold Mattingly and edited by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56/57-117+)

"Perhaps not only the seasons but everything else, social history included, moves in cycles."

• The Annals of Imperial Rome (Book III, translator chaptor 6), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56/57- 117+)

"Primitive man had no evil desires. Being blameless and innocent, his life was free of compulsions or penalties. He also needed no rewards; for he was naturally good."

• The Annals of Imperial Rome (Book III, translator chaptor 6), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tiberius

Emperor Tiberius (r. 14-37)

"Rulers die; the country lives for ever."

• A quote attributed to Tiberius in The Annals of Imperial Rome (Book II, translator chapter 5), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56/57-117)

"Command and planning count more than weapon-wielding and physique."

• From The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 11), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"Impatience has ruined many excellent men who, rejecting the slow, sure way, court destruction by rising too quickly."

• From The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 6), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996). 

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"To oblige is often as harmful as to offend."

• From The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 13), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996). 

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Tacitus

"Influence is rarely lasting. Such is its fate."

• From The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 6), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"Numbers encourage prejudice and hostile emotion."

• From The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 5), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56-117+)

"Important events are obscure. Some believe all manner of hearsay evidence; others twist truth into fiction; and both sorts of error are magnified by time."

• From The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 5), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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Tacitus

Tacitus (c. 56/57-117+)

"All that tyrannical conquerors, and imitators of their brutalities, achieve is their own disrepute and their victims' renown."

• From The Annals of Imperial Rome (Chapter 7), by Tacitus, translated by Michael Grant (Penguin Classics, 1996).

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