NOTES Line 1. Tacitus begins the 'Histories' from A. D. 69, 822 years (Tacitus's 820 is a round number) from the date accepted by the Romans for the foundation of the city. 14f. Tacitus may have been appointed tribunus militum laticlavus by Vespasian. This was the lowest step in the senatorial career. He may also have been quaestor under Titus. We know from Ann. xi. II that in A. D. 88 he was quindecimvir and praetor. He became consul in A. D. 97, under Nerva. 17 ff. Tacitus never carried out his plan of continuing the 'Histories' so as to include the principates of Nerva and Trajan. His other project (Ann. iii. 24) of supplementing the 'Annals' by an account of Augustus's principate also remained unfulfilled. The 'Histories', in its complete form, embraced the year of the Four Emperors and the Flavian Dynasty (A.D. 69-96), and consisted of twelve or fourteen books. Of these we only possess the first four and a fragment of the fifth, dealing with the years 69 and 70 A. D. 22. ipsa etiam pace saevum refers to the activity of the delatores in the last years of Domitian. 22f. quattuor principes ferro interempti: Galba (A. D. 69), killed by his soldiers; Otho (A. D. 69), committed suicide after Vitellius's victory at Bedriacum ; Vitellius (A. D. 69), killed in the sack of Rome by the Flavian soldiery; Domitian (A. D. 96), murdered by the freedman Stephanus. Some omit Domitian from the list, on the ground that his death came so long after the others, and substitute Nero. But the death of Nero falls outside the period of the 'Histories'. 23. trina bella civilia. (1) Galba v. Otho A. D. 69. (2) Otho v. Vitellius (3) Vitellius v. Vespasian) Some exclude (1) from the list, and substitute the Revolt of Saturninus under Domitian, A. D. 88, but the other view seems more natural. 24 ff. prosperae in Oriente, adversae in Occidente res. The first part of the clause refers to the Jewish War which ended in the capture of Jerusalem, A. D. 70: the last part to the revolt of Civilis in Lower Germany, and to the Gallic revolt headed by Classicus and Tutor (Galliae nutantes). turbatum Illyricum. The legions of Dalmatia, Pannonia, and Moesia supported Otho (Tac. Hist. i. 76). They afterwards joined Vespasian (ibid. ii. 85). perdomita Britannia et statim omissa. Tacitus naturally exaggerates the results of his father-in-law Agricola's campaign in Britain (A. D. 78-84). The evacuation of Northern Britain on the recall of Agricola was probably due to finance rather than to personal jealousy on the part of Domitian. coortae in nos Sarmatarum ac Sueborum gentes. A war against these races was finished by Domitian in A. D. 92. 27. nobilitatus cladibus mutuis Dacus. The Dacians under Decebalus defeated Oppius Sabinus, the legate of Moesia, in A. D. 86, and Cornelius Fuscus, praetorian prefect, in the following year. In A. D. 89, however, Julianus defeated them at Tapae, and Domitian held a triumph. The conquest of Dacia was not completed till A. D. 105, when the Dacians were crushed by Trajan, and Dacia made a province. mota prope etiam Parthorum arma falsi Neronis ludibrio. From Suet. 57 we learn that twenty years after Nero's death, i. e. in A. D. 88, there arose a man professing to be Nero, who was strongly supported by the Parthians, and only given up with reluctance. 30 f. haustae aut obrutae urbes by the eruption of Vesuvius in A. D. 79, which buried the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. hausta may perhaps refer to a tidal wave accompanying the earthquake. 31. urbs incendiis vastata. The Capitol was burnt by the Vitellians when Flavius Sabinus was besieged there in Dec. 69 A. D. There was another great fire, in which the restored temple of Jupiter Capitolinus was burnt, in A. D. 80, under Titus. 33. plenum exiliis mare. Banishment to islands was common under the Empire. Cf. Juv. i. 73f. ‘Aude aliquid brevibus Gyaris et carcere dignum, si vis esse aliquid'; ib. x. 170 (A. IV. iii. 170) 'ut Gyarae clausus scopulis parvaque Seripho'. 35. omissi gestique honores. Herennius Senecio (Dio Cassius 67, 13) was put to death by Domitian for not having stood for any office higher than the quaestorship. 43. secutae maritos in exilia coniuges: e. g. Fannia, wife of Helvidius Priscus, who 'bis maritum secuta in exilium est, tertio ipsa propter maritum relegata' (Plin. Ep. vii. 19). 44. constantes generi: e.g. Helvidius Priscus himself, who exhibited against Vespasian's government the same untimely ultra-republican opposition which his father-in-law Thrasea had with better reason shown to Nero's. He was put to death by order of Vespasian, who, when it was too late, tried to prevent the execution. 60. evulgato imperii arcano: in the proclamation of Galba as Emperor by the sixth legion in Spain (A. D. 68). iv. The Deification of the Emperor TANDEM Iovi venit in mentem, privatis intra curiam morantibus sententiam dicere non licere nec disputare. 'Ego' inquit 'p. c. interrogare vobis permiseram, vos mera mapalia fecistis. Volo ut servetis disciplinam curiae. Hic qualis5 cunque est, quid de nobis existimabit?' illo dimisso primus interrogatur sententiam Ianus pater. Is designatus erat in kal. Iulias postmeridianus consul, homo quantumvis vafer, qui semper videt ἅμα πρόσσω καὶ ὀπίσσω. Is multa diserte, quod in foro vivat, dixit, quae notarius persequi non potuit Io et ideo non refero, ne aliis verbis ponam, quae ab illo dicta sunt. Multa dixit de magnitudine deorum: non debere hunc vulgo dari honorem. 'Olim' inquit 'magna res erat deum fieri: iam famam mimum fecisti. Itaque ne videar in personam, non in rem dicere sententiam, censeo ne 15 quis post hunc diem deus fiat ex his qui ἀρούρης καρπὸν ἔδουσιν aut ex his quos alit ζείδωρος ἄρουρα. Qui contra hoc senatus consultum deus factus, dictus pictusve erit, eum dedi Larvis et proximo munere inter novos auctoratos ferulis vapulare placet.' Proximus interrogatur sententiam Diespiter Vicae 20 Potae filius, et ipse designatus consul, nummulariolus: hoc quaestu se sustinebat, vendere civitatulas solebat. Ad hunc belle accessit Hercules et auriculam illi tetigit. Censet itaque in haec verba: 'cum divus Claudius et divum Augustum sanguine contingat nec minus divam Augustam 25 aviam suam, quam ipse deam esse iussit, longeque omnes mortales sapientia antecellat, sitque e re publica esse aliquem qui cum Romulo possit "ferventia rapa vorare," censeo uti divus Claudius ex hac die deus sit, ita uti ante eum quis optimo iure factus sit, eamque rem ad Meta30 morphosis Ovidii adiciendam.' Variae erant sententiae, et videbatur Claudius sententiam vincere. Hercules enim, qui videret ferrum suum in igne esse, modo huc modo illuc cur C sabat et aiebat: 'noli mihi invidere, mea res agitur; deinde tu si quid volueris, invicem faciam; manus manum lavat.' Tunc divus Augustus surrexit sententiae suae loco dicendae 35 et summa facundia disseruit: 'ego' inquit 'p. c. vos testes habeo, ex quo deus factus sum, nullum me verbum fecisse: semper meum negotium ago. Et non possum amplius dissimulare et dolorem, quem graviorem pudor facit, continere. In hoc terra marique pacem peperi? ideo civilia bella com- 40 pescui? ideo legibus urbem fundavi, operibus ornavi, ut— quid dicam p. c. non invenio: omnia infra indignationem verba sunt. Confugiendum est itaque ad Messallae Corvini, disertissimi viri, illam sententiam "pudet imperii." Hic, p. c., qui vobis non posse videtur muscam excitare, tam facile 45 homines occidebat, quam canis adsidit. Sed quid ego de tot ac talibus viris dicam? non vacat deflere publicas clades intuenti domestica mala. Itaque illa omittam, haec referam. Iste quem videtis, per tot annos sub meo nomine latens, hanc mihi gratiam rettulit, ut duas Iulias proneptes meas 50 occideret, alteram ferro, alteram fame, unum abnepotem L. Silanum. Videris, Iuppiter, an in causa mala, certe in tua, si aecus futurus es. Dic mihi, dive Claudi, quare quemquam ex his, quos quasque occidisti, antequam de causa cognosceres, antequam audires, damnasti? hoc ubi fieri solet? in 55 caelo non fit. Ecce Iuppiter, qui tot annos regnat, uni Volcano crus fregit, et iratus fuit uxori et suspendit illam : numquid occidit? tu Messalinam, cuius aeque avunculus maior eram quam tuus, occidisti. "Nescio "inquis. Di tibi male faciant: adeo istuc turpius est, quod nescisti, quam 60 quod occidisti. Hunc nunc deum facere vultis? videte corpus eius dis iratis natum. Ad summam, tria verba cito dicat, et servum me ducat. Hunc deum quis colet? quis credet? dum tales deos facitis, nemo vos deos esse credet. Summa rei, p. c., si honeste me inter vos gessi, si nulli clarius re- 65 spondi, vindicate iniurias meas. Ego pro sententia mea hoc censeo' atque ita ex tabella recitavit: quando quidem divus Claudius occidit socerum suum Appium Silanum, uxorem suam Messalinam et ceteros quorum numerus iniri 70 non potuit, placet mihi in eum severe animadverti nec illi rerum iudicandarum vacationem dari eumque quam primum exportari et caelo intra triginta dies excedere, Olympo intra diem tertium.' Pedibus in hanc sententiam itum est. Nec mora, Cyllenius 75 illum collo obtorto trahit ad inferos unde negant redire quemquam. Dum descendunt per viam Sacram, interrogat Mercurius, quid sibi velit ille concursus hominum, num Claudii funus esset? et erat omnium formosissimum et impensa cura, plane ut 80 scires deum efferri: tubicinum, cornicinum, omnis generis aeneatorum tanta turba, tantus concentus, ut etiam Claudius audire posset. Omnes laeti, hilares: populus Romanus ambulabat tanquam liber. Agatho et pauci causidici plorabant, sed plane ex animo. Iurisconsulti e tenebris procedebant, 85 pallidi, graciles, vix animam habentes, tanquam qui tum maxime reviviscerent. Ex his unus cum vidisset capita conferentes et fortunas suas deplorantes causidicos, accedit et ait: 'dicebam vobis: non semper Saturnalia erunt.' Claudius ut vidit funus suum, intellexit se mortuum esse. 90 Ducit illum ad tribunal Aeaci: is lege Cornelia quae de sicariis lata est, quaerebat. Postulat, nomen eius recipiat ; edit subscriptionem occisos senatores XXXV, equites R. CCXXI, ceteros ὅσα ψάμαθός τε κόνις τε. Advocatum non invenit. Tandem procedit P. Petronius, vetus convictor eius, 95 homo Claudiana lingua disertus, et postulat advocationem. Non datur. Accusat Pedo Pompeius magnis clamoribus. Incipit patronus velle respondere. Aeacus, homo iustissimus,“ vetat et illum altera tantum parte audita condemnat et ait : αἴκε πάθοι τά τ ̓ ἔρεξε, δίκη κ ̓ ἰθεῖα γένοιτο. Ingens silentium : |