The Germany and the Agricola of Tacitus by TACITUS

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THE GERMANY AND THE AGRICOLA OF TACITUS.

THE OXFORD TRANSLATION REVISED, WITH NOTES.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY EDWARD BROOKS, JR.

INTRODUCTION.

Very little is known concerning the life of Tacitus, the historian, except
that which he tells us in his own writings and those incidents which are
related of him by his contemporary, Pliny.

His full name was Caius Cornelius Tacitus. The date of his birth can only
be arrived at by conjecture, and then only approximately. The younger
Pliny speaks of him as _prope modum aequales_, about the same age. Pliny
was born in 61. Tacitus, however, occupied the office of quaestor under
Vespasian in 78 A.D., at which time he must, therefore, have been at least
twenty-five years of age. This would fix the date of his birth not later
than 53 A.D. It is probable, therefore, that Tacitus was Pliny's senior by
several years.

His parentage is also a matter of pure conjecture. The name Cornelius was
a common one among the Romans, so that from it we can draw no inference.
The fact that at an early age he occupied a prominent public office
indicates that he was born of good family, and it is not impossible that
his father was a certain Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman knight, who was
procurator in Belgic Gaul, and whom the elder Pliny speaks of in his
"Natural History."

Of the early life of Tacitus and the training which he underwent
preparatory to those literary efforts which afterwards rendered him a
conspicuous figure among Roman literateurs we know absolutely nothing.

Of the events of his life which transpired after he attained man's estate
we know but little beyond that which he himself has recorded in his
writings. He occupied a position of some eminence as a pleader at the
Roman bar, and in 77 A.D. married the daughter of Julius Agricola, a
humane and honorable citizen, who was at that time consul and was
subsequently appointed governor of Britain. It is quite possible that this
very advantageous alliance hastened his promotion to the office of
quaestor under Vespasian.

Under Domitian, in 88, Tacitus was appointed one of fifteen commissioners
to preside at the celebration of the secular games. In the same year he
held the office of praetor, and was a member of one of the most select of
the old priestly colleges, in which a pre-requisite of membership was that
a man should be born of a good family.

The following year he appears to have left Rome, and it is possible that
he visited Germany and there obtained his knowledge and information
respecting the manners and customs of its people which he makes the
subject of his work known as the "Germany."

He did not return to Rome until 93, after an absence of four years, during
which time his father-in-law died.

Some time between the years 93 and 97 he was elected to the senate, and
during this time witnessed the judicial murders of many of Rome's best
citizens which were perpetrated under the reign of Nero. Being himself a
senator, he felt that he was not entirely guiltless of the crimes which
were committed, and in his "Agricola" we find him giving expression to
this feeling in the following words: "Our own hands dragged Helvidius to
prison; ourselves were tortured with the spectacle of Mauricus and
Rusticus, and sprinkled with the innocent blood of Senecio."

In 97 he was elected to the consulship as successor to Virginius Rufus,
who died during his term of office and at whose funeral Tacitus delivered
an oration in such a manner to cause Pliny to say, "The good fortune of
Virginius was crowned by having the most eloquent of panegyrists."

In 99 Tacitus was appointed by the senate, together with Pliny, to conduct
the prosecution against a great political offender, Marius Priscus, who,
as proconsul of Africa, had corruptly mismanaged the affairs of his
province. We have his associate's testimony that Tacitus made a most
eloquent and dignified reply to the arguments which were urged on the part
of the defence. The prosecution was successful, and both Pliny and Tacitus
were awarded a vote of thanks by the senate for their eminent and
effectual efforts in the management of the case.

The exact date of Tacitus's death is not known, but in his "Annals" he
seems to hint at the successful extension of the Emperor Trajan's eastern
campaigns during the years 115 to 117, so that it is probable that he
lived until the year 117.

Tacitus had a widespread reputation during his lifetime. On one occasion
it is related of him that as he sat in the circus at the celebration of
some games, a Roman knight asked him whether he was from Italy or the
provinces. Tacitus answered, "You know me from your reading," to which the
knight quickly replied, "Are you then Tacitus or Pliny?"

It is also worthy of notice that the Emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus, who
reigned during the third century, claimed to be descended from the
historian, and directed that ten copies of his works should be published
every year and placed in the public libraries.

The list of the extant works of Tacitus is as follows: the "Germany;" the
"Life of Agricola;" the "Dialogue on Orators;" the "Histories," and the
"Annals."

The following pages contain translations of the first two of these works.
The "Germany," the full title of which is "Concerning the situation,
manners and inhabitants of Germany," contains little of value from a
historical standpoint. It describes with vividness the fierce and
independent spirit of the German nations, with many suggestions as to the
dangers in which the empire stood of these people. The "Agricola" is a
biographical sketch of the writer's father-in-law, who, as has been said,
was a distinguished man and governor of Britain. It is one of the author's
earliest works and was probably written shortly after the death of
Domitian, in 96. This work, short as it is, has always been considered an
admirable specimen of biography on account of its grace and dignity of
expression. Whatever else it may be, it is a graceful and affectionate
tribute to an upright and excellent man.

The "Dialogue on Orators" treats of the decay of eloquence under the
empire. It is in the form of a dialogue, and represents two eminent
members of the Roman bar discussing the change for the worse that had
taken place in the early education of the Roman youth.

The "Histories" relate the events which transpired in Rome, beginning with
the ascession of Galba, in 68, and ending with the reign of Domitian, in
97. Only four books and a fragment of a fifth have been preserved to us.
These books contain an account of the brief reigns of Galba, Otho and
Vitellius. The portion of the fifth book which has been preserved contains
an interesting, though rather biased, account of the character, customs
and religion of the Jewish nation viewed from the standpoint of a
cultivated citizen of Rome.

The "Annals" contain the history of the empire from the death of Augustus,
in 14, to the death of Nero, in 68, and originally consisted of sixteen
books. Of these, only nine have come down to us in a state of entire
preservation, and of the other seven we have but fragments of three. Out
of a period of fifty-four years we have the history of about forty.

The style of Tacitus is, perhaps, noted principally for its conciseness.
Tacitean brevity is proverbial, and many of his sentences are so brief,
and leave so much for the student to read between the lines, that in order
to be understood and appreciated the author must be read over and over
again, lest the reader miss the point of some of his most excellent
thoughts. Such an author presents grave, if not insuperable, difficulties
to the translator, but notwithstanding this fact, the following pages
cannot but impress the reader with the genius of Tacitus.

A TREATISE ON THE SITUATION, MANNERS AND INHABITANTS OF GERMANY. [1]

1. Germany [2] is separated from Gaul, Rhaetia, [3] and Pannonia, [4] by
the rivers Rhine and Danube; from Sarmatia and Dacia, by mountains [5] and
mutual dread. The rest is surrounded by an ocean, embracing broad
promontories [6] and vast insular tracts, [7] in which our military
expeditions have lately discovered various nations and kingdoms. The
Rhine, issuing from the inaccessible and precipitous summit of the Rhaetic
Alps, [8] bends gently to the west, and falls into the Northern Ocean. The
Danube, poured from the easy and gently raised ridge of Mount Abnoba, [9]
visits several nations in its course, till at length it bursts out [10] by
six channels [11] into the Pontic sea; a seventh is lost in marshes.

2. The people of Germany appear to me indigenous, [12] and free from
intermixture with foreigners, either as settlers or casual visitants. For
the emigrants of former ages performed their expeditions not by land, but
by water; [13] and that immense, and, if I may so call it, hostile ocean,
is rarely navigated by ships from our world. [14] Then, besides the danger
of a boisterous and unknown sea, who would relinquish Asia, Africa, or
Italy, for Germany, a land rude in its surface, rigorous in its climate,
cheerless to every beholder and cultivator, except a native? In their
ancient songs, [15] which are their only records or annals, they celebrate
the god Tuisto, [16] sprung from the earth, and his son Mannus, as the
fathers and founders of their race. To Mannus they ascribe three sons,
from whose names [17] the people bordering on the ocean are called
Ingaevones; those inhabiting the central parts, Herminones; the rest,
Istaevones. Some, [18] however, assuming the licence of antiquity, affirm
that there were more descendants of the god, from whom more appellations
were derived; as those of the Marsi, [19] Gambrivii, [20] Suevi, [21] and
Vandali; [22] and that these are the genuine and original names. [23] That
of Germany, on the other hand, they assert to be a modern addition; [24]
for that the people who first crossed the Rhine, and expelled the Gauls,
and are now called Tungri, were then named Germans; which appellation of a
particular tribe, not of a whole people, gradually prevailed; so that the
title of Germans, first assumed by the victors in order to excite terror,
was afterwards adopted by the nation in general. [25] They have likewise
the tradition of a Hercules [26] of their country, whose praises they sing
before those of all other heroes as they advance to battle.

3. A peculiar kind of verses is also current among them, by the recital of
which, termed "barding," [27] they stimulate their courage; while the
sound itself serves as an augury of the event of the impending combat.
For, according to the nature of the cry proceeding from the line, terror
is inspired or felt: nor does it seem so much an articulate song, as the
wild chorus of valor. A harsh, piercing note, and a broken roar, are the
favorite tones; which they render more full and sonorous by applying their
mouths to their shields. [28] Some conjecture that Ulysses, in the course
of his long and fabulous wanderings, was driven into this ocean, and
landed in Germany; and that Asciburgium, [29] a place situated on the
Rhine, and at this day inhabited, was founded by him, and named
_Askipurgion_. They pretend that an altar was formerly discovered here,
consecrated to Ulysses, with the name of his father Laertes subjoined; and
that certain monuments and tombs, inscribed with Greek characters, [30]
are still extant upon the confines of Germany and Rhaetia. These
allegations I shall neither attempt to confirm nor to refute: let every
one believe concerning them as he is disposed.

4. I concur in opinion with those who deem the Germans never to have
intermarried with other nations; but to be a race, pure, unmixed, and
stamped with a distinct character. Hence a family likeness pervades the
whole, though their numbers are so great: eyes stern and blue; ruddy hair;
large bodies, [31] powerful in sudden exertions, but impatient of toil and
labor, least of all capable of sustaining thirst and heat. Cold and hunger
they are accustomed by their climate and soil to endure.

5. The land, though varied to a considerable extent in its aspect, is yet
universally shagged with forests, or deformed by marshes: moister on the
side of Gaul, more bleak on the side of Norieum and Pannonia. [32] It is
productive of grain, but unkindly to fruit-trees. [33] It abounds in
flocks and herds, but in general of a small breed. Even the beeve kind are
destitute of their usual stateliness and dignity of head: [34] they are,
however, numerous, and form the most esteemed, and, indeed, the only
species of wealth. Silver and gold the gods, I know not whether in their
favor or anger, have denied to this country. [35] Not that I would assert
that no veins of these metals are generated in Germany; for who has made
the search? The possession of them is not coveted by these people as it is
by us. Vessels of silver are indeed to be seen among them, which have been
presented to their ambassadors and chiefs; but they are held in no higher
estimation than earthenware. The borderers, however, set a value on gold
and silver for the purpose of commerce, and have learned to distinguish
several kinds of our coin, some of which they prefer to others: the
remoter inhabitants continue the more simple and ancient usage of
bartering commodities. The money preferred by the Germans is the old and
well-known species, such as the _Serrati_ and _Bigati_. [36] They are also
better pleased with silver than gold; [37] not on account of any fondness
for that metal, but because the smaller money is more convenient in their
common and petty merchandise.

6. Even iron is not plentiful [38] among them; as may be inferred from the
nature of their weapons. Swords or broad lances are seldom used; but they
generally carry a spear, (called in their language _framea_, [39]) which
has an iron blade, short and narrow, but so sharp and manageable, that, as
occasion requires, they employ it either in close or distant fighting.
[40] This spear and a shield are all the armor of the cavalry. The foot
have, besides, missile weapons, several to each man, which they hurl to an
immense distance. [41] They are either naked, [42] or lightly covered with
a small mantle; and have no pride in equipage: their shields only are
ornamented with the choicest colors. [43] Few are provided with a coat of
mail; [44] and scarcely here and there one with a casque or helmet. [45]
Their horses are neither remarkable for beauty nor swiftness, nor are they
taught the various evolutions practised with us. The cavalry either bear
down straight forwards, or wheel once to the right, in so compact a body
that none is left behind the rest. Their principal strength, on the whole,
consists in their infantry: hence in an engagement these are intermixed
with the cavalry; [46] so Well accordant with the nature of equestrian
combats is the agility of those foot soldiers, whom they select from the
whole body of their youth, and place in the front of the line. Their
number, too, is determined; a hundred from each canton: [47] and they are
distinguished at home by a name expressive of this circumstance; so that
what at first was only an appellation of number, becomes thenceforth a
title of honor. Their line of battle is disposed in wedges. [48] To give
ground, provided they rally again, is considered rather as a prudent
strategem, than cowardice. They carry off their slain even while the
battle remains undecided. The, greatest disgrace that can befall them is
to have abandoned their shields. [49] A person branded with this ignominy
is not permitted to join in their religious rites, or enter their
assemblies; so that many, after escaping from battle, have put an end to
their infamy by the halter.

7. In the election of kings they have regard to birth; in that of
generals, [50] to valor. Their kings have not an absolute or unlimited
power; [51] and their generals command less through the force of
authority, than of example. If they are daring, adventurous, and
conspicuous in action, they procure obedience from the admiration they
inspire. None, however, but the priests [52] are permitted to judge
offenders, to inflict bonds or stripes; so that chastisement appears not
as an act of military discipline, but as the instigation of the god whom
they suppose present with warriors. They also carry with them to battle
certain images and standards taken from the sacred groves. [53] It is a
principal incentive to their courage, that their squadrons and battalions
are not formed by men fortuitously collected, but by the assemblage of
families and clans. Their pledges also are near at hand; they have within
hearing the yells of their women, and the cries of their children. These,
too, are the most revered witnesses of each man's conduct, these his most
liberal applauders. To their mothers and their wives they bring their
wounds for relief, nor do these dread to count or to search out the
gashes. The women also administer food and encouragement to those who are
fighting.

8. Tradition relates, that armies beginning to give way have been rallied
by the females, through the earnestness of their supplications, the
interposition of their bodies, [54] and the pictures they have drawn of
impending slavery, [55] a calamity which these people bear with more
impatience for their women than themselves; so that those states who have
been obliged to give among their hostages the daughters of noble families,
are the most effectually bound to fidelity. [56] They even suppose
somewhat of sanctity and prescience to be inherent in the female sex; and
therefore neither despise their counsels, [57] nor disregard their
responses. [58] We have beheld, in the reign of Vespasian, Veleda, [59]
long reverenced by many as a deity. Aurima, moreover, and several others,
[60] were formerly held in equal veneration, but not with a servile
flattery, nor as though they made them goddesses. [61]

9. Of the gods, Mercury [62] is the principal object of their adoration;
whom, on certain days, [63] they think it lawful to propitiate even with
human victims. To Hercules and Mars [64] they offer the animals usually
allotted for sacrifice. [65] Some of the Suevi also perform sacred rites
to Isis. What was the cause and origin of this foreign worship, I have not
been able to discover; further than that her being represented with the
symbol of a galley, seems to indicate an imported religion. [66] They
conceive it unworthy the grandeur of celestial beings to confine their
deities within walls, or to represent them under a human similitude: [67]
woods and groves are their temples; and they affix names of divinity to
that secret power, which they behold with the eye of adoration alone.

10. No people are more addicted to divination by omens and lots. The
latter is performed in the following simple manner. They cut a twig [68]
from a fruit-tree, and divide it into small pieces, which, distinguished
by certain marks, are thrown promiscuously upon a white garment. Then, the
priest of the canton, if the occasion be public; if private, the master of
the family; after an invocation of the gods, with his eyes lifted up to
heaven, thrice takes out each piece, and, as they come up, interprets
their signification according to the marks fixed upon them. If the result
prove unfavorable, there is no more consultation on the same affair that
day; if propitious, a confirmation by omens is still required. In common
with other nations, the Germans are acquainted with the practice of
auguring from the notes and flight of birds; but it is peculiar to them to
derive admonitions and presages from horses also. [69] Certain of these
animals, milk-white, and untouched by earthly labor, are pastured at the
public expense in the sacred woods and groves. These, yoked to a
consecrated chariot, are accompanied by the priest, and king, or chief
person of the community, who attentively observe their manner of neighing
and snorting; and no kind of augury is more credited, not only among the
populace, but among the nobles and priests. For the latter consider
themselves as the ministers of the gods, and the horses, as privy to the
divine will. Another kind of divination, by which they explore the event
of momentous wars, is to oblige a prisoner, taken by any means whatsoever
from the nation with whom they are at variance, to fight with a picked man
of their own, each with his own country's arms; and, according as the
victory falls, they presage success to the one or to the other party. [70]

11. On affairs of smaller moment, the chiefs consult; on those of greater
importance, the whole community; yet with this circumstance, that what is
referred to the decision of the people, is first maturely discussed by the
chiefs. [71] They assemble, unless upon some sudden emergency, on stated
days, either at the new or full moon, which they account the most
auspicious season for beginning any enterprise. Nor do they, in their
computation of time, reckon, like us, by the number of days, but of
nights. In this way they arrange their business; in this way they fix
their appointments; so that, with them, the night seems to lead the day.
[72] An inconvenience produced by their liberty is, that they do not all
assemble at a stated time, as if it were in obedience to a command; but
two or three days are lost in the delays of convening. When they all think
fit, [73] they sit down armed. [74] Silence is proclaimed by the priests,
who have on this occasion a coercive power. Then the king, or chief, and
such others as are conspicuous for age, birth, military renown, or
eloquence, are heard; and gain attention rather from their ability to
persuade, than their authority to command. If a proposal displease, the
assembly reject it by an inarticulate murmur; if it prove agreeable, they
clash their javelins; [75] for the most honorable expression of assent
among them is the sound of arms.

12. Before this council, it is likewise allowed to exhibit accusations,
and to prosecute capital offences. Punishments are varied according to the
nature of the crime. Traitors and deserters are hung upon trees: [76]
cowards, dastards, [77] and those guilty of unnatural practices, [78] are
suffocated in mud under a hurdle. [79] This difference of punishment has
in view the principle, that villainy should he exposed while it is
punished, but turpitude concealed. The penalties annexed to slighter
offences [80] are also proportioned to the delinquency. The convicts are
fined in horses and cattle: [81] part of the mulct [82] goes to the king
or state; part to the injured person, or his relations. In the same
assemblies chiefs [83] are also elected, to administer justice through the
cantons and districts. A hundred companions, chosen from the people,
attended upon each of them, to assist them as well with their advice as
their authority.

13. The Germans transact no business, public or private, without being
armed: [84] but it is not customary for any person to assume arms till the
state has approved his ability to use them. Then, in the midst of the
assembly, either one of the chiefs, or the father, or a relation, equips
the youth with a shield and javelin. [85] These are to them the manly
gown; [86] this is the first honor conferred on youth: before this they
are considered as part of a household; afterwards, of the state. The
dignity of chieftain is bestowed even on mere lads, whose descent is
eminently illustrious, or whose fathers have performed signal services to
the public; they are associated, however, with those of mature strength,
who have already been declared capable of service; nor do they blush to be
seen in the rank of companions. [87] For the state of companionship itself
has its several degrees, determined by the judgment of him whom they
follow; and there is a great emulation among the companions, which shall
possess the highest place in the favor of their chief; and among the
chiefs, which shall excel in the number and valor of his companions. It is
their dignity, their strength, to be always surrounded with a large body
of select youth, an ornament in peace, a bulwark in war. And not in his
own country alone, but among the neighboring states, the fame and glory of
each chief consists in being distinguished for the number and bravery of
his companions. Such chiefs are courted by embassies; distinguished by
presents; and often by their reputation alone decide a war.

14. In the field of battle, it is disgraceful for the chief to be
surpassed in valor; it is disgraceful for the companions not to equal
their chief; but it is reproach and infamy during a whole succeeding life
to retreat from the field surviving him. [88] To aid, to protect him; to
place their own gallant actions to the account of his glory, is their
first and most sacred engagement. The chiefs fight for victory; the
companions for their chief. If their native country be long sunk in peace
and inaction, many of the young nobles repair to some other state then
engaged in war. For, besides that repose is unwelcome to their race, and
toils and perils afford them a better opportunity of distinguishing
themselves; they are unable, without war and violence, to maintain a large
train of followers. The companion requires from the liberality of his
chief, the warlike steed, the bloody and conquering spear: and in place of
pay, he expects to be supplied with a table, homely indeed, but plentiful.
[89] The funds for this munificence must be found in war and rapine; nor
are they so easily persuaded to cultivate the earth, and await the produce
of the seasons, as to challenge the foe, and expose themselves to wounds;
nay, they even think it base and spiritless to earn by sweat what they
might purchase with blood.

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