Tacitus

For the emperor, seeTacitus (emperor).For other uses, seeTacitus (disambiguation).

Cornelius Tacitus
Statue of Tacitus outside theAustrian Parliament Building
Born	c. 56 AD
Died	c. 120 AD(aged approx. 64)
Occupation(s)	Historian,politician
Years active	Silver Age of Latin
Academic background
Influences	Thucydides Fabius Rusticus Sallust Livy Marcus Cluvius Rufus Pliny the Elder Quintilian
Academic work
Discipline	History
Main interests	History,biography,oratory
Notable works	Agricola Annals Dialogus de oratoribus Germania Histories
Influenced	Virtually all of subsequenthistorical inquiryin theWestern World

Publius Cornelius Tacitus,known simply asTacitus(/ˈtæsɪtəs/TAS-it-əs,Latin:[ˈtakɪtʊs];c. AD 56–c. 120), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatestRoman historiansby modern scholars.

The surviving portions of his two major works—theAnnals(Latin:Annales) and theHistories(Latin:Historiae)—examine the reigns of theemperorsTiberius,Claudius,Nero,and those who reigned in theYear of the Four Emperors(69 AD).These two works span the history of theRoman Empirefrom the death ofAugustus(14 AD) to the death ofDomitian(96 AD), although there are substantiallacunaein the surviving texts.

Tacitus's other writings discussoratory(indialogueformat, seeDialogus de oratoribus),Germania(inDe origine et situ Germanorum), and the life of his father-in-law,Agricola(the general responsible for much of theRoman conquestofBritain), mainly focusing on his campaign inBritannia(De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae). Tacitus'sHistoriesoffers insights into Roman attitudes towardsJews,descriptions of Jewish customs, and context for theFirst Jewish–Roman War.HisAnnalsare of interest for providingan early accountof thepersecution of Christiansand one of the earliest extra-Biblical references to thecrucifixion of Jesus.

Life

Details about the personal life of Tacitus are scarce. What little is known comes from scattered hints throughout his work, the letters of his friend and admirerPliny the Younger,and an inscription found atMylasainCaria.

Tacitus was born in 56 or 57 to anequestrianfamily.The place and date of his birth, as well as hispraenomen(first name) are not known. In the letters ofSidonius Apollinarishis name isGaius,but in the major surviving manuscript of his work his name is given asPublius.One scholar's suggestion of the nameSextushas been largely rejected.

Family and early life

Most of the olderaristocraticfamilies failed to survive theproscriptionswhich took place at the end of theRepublic,and Tacitus makes it clear that he owed his rank to theFlavianemperors (Hist.1.1). The claim that he was descended from afreedmanis derived from a speech in his writings which asserts that many senators and knights were descended from freedmen (Ann.13.27), but this is generally disputed.

In his article on Tacitus inPauly-Wissowa,I. Borzsak had conjectured that the historian was related toThrasea Paetusand Etruscan family ofCaecinii,about whom he spoke very highly. Furthermore, some later Caecinii bore cognomen Tacitus, which also could indicate some sort of relationship. It had been suggested that the historian's mother was a daughter ofAulus Caecina Paetus,suffect consul of 37, and sister of Arria, wife of Thrasea.

His father may have been the Cornelius Tacitus who served asprocuratorofBelgicaandGermania;Pliny the Eldermentions that Cornelius had a son who aged rapidly (NH7.76), which implies an early death.

There is no mention of Tacitus's suffering such a condition, but it is possible that this refers to a brother—if Cornelius was indeed his father.

The friendship between the younger Pliny and Tacitus leads some scholars to conclude that they were both the offspring of wealthy provincial families.

The province of his birth remains unknown, though various conjectures suggestGallia Belgica,Gallia Narbonensis,orNorthern Italy.His marriage to the daughter of Narbonensian senatorGnaeus Julius Agricolaimplies that he came from Gallia Narbonensis. Tacitus's dedication toLucius Fabius Justusin theDialogusmay indicate a connection with Spain, and his friendship with Pliny suggests origins in northern Italy.

No evidence exists, however, that Pliny's friends from northern Italy knew Tacitus, nor do Pliny's letters hint that the two men had a common background.Pliny Book 9, Letter 23, reports that when asked whether he was Italian or provincial, he gave an unclear answer and so was asked whether he was Tacitus or Pliny. Since Pliny was from Italy, some infer that Tacitus was from the provinces, probably Gallia Narbonensis.

His ancestry, his skill in oratory, and his sympathetic depiction of barbarians who resisted Roman rule (e.g.,Ann.2.9) have led some to suggest that he was aCelt.This belief stems from the fact that the Celts who had occupied Gaul prior to the Roman invasion were famous for their skill in oratory and had been subjugated by Rome.

Public life, marriage, and literary career

As a young man, Tacitus studiedrhetoricin Rome to prepare for a career in law and politics; like Pliny, he may have studied underQuintilian(c. 35 AD–c. 100). In 77 or 78, he married Julia Agricola, daughter of thefamous general Agricola.

Little is known of their domestic life, save that Tacitus lovedhuntingand the outdoors.He started his career (probably thelatus clavus,mark of the senator)underVespasian(r. 69–79), but entered political life as aquaestorin 81 or 82 underTitus.

He advanced steadily through thecursus honorum,becomingpraetorin 88 and aquindecimvir,a member of the priestly college in charge of theSibylline Booksand theSecular Games.He gained acclaim as a lawyer and as anorator;his skill in public speaking ironically counterpoints hiscognomen,Tacitus( "silent" ).

He served in the provinces fromc. 89toc. 93,either in command of alegionor in a civilian post.He and his property survivedDomitian's reign of terror (81–96), but the experience left him jaded and perhaps ashamed at his own complicity, instilling in him the hatred oftyrannyevident in his works.TheAgricola,chs.44–45,is illustrative:

Agricola was spared those later years during which Domitian, leaving now no interval or breathing space of time, but, as it were, with one continuous blow, drained the life-blood of the Commonwealth... It was not long before our hands draggedHelvidiusto prison, before we gazed on the dying looks ofMauricusandRusticus,before we were steeped inSenecio's innocent blood. EvenNeroturned his eyes away, and did not gaze upon the atrocities which he ordered; with Domitian it was the chief part of our miseries to see and to be seen, to know that our sighs were being recorded...

From his seat in theSenate,he becamesuffect consulin 97 during the reign ofNerva,being thefirst of his familyto do so. During his tenure, he reached the height of his fame as an orator when he delivered the funeral oration for the famous veteran soldierLucius Verginius Rufus.

In the following year, he wrote and published theAgricolaandGermania,foreshadowing the literary endeavors that would occupy him until his death.

Afterward, he absented himself from public life, but returned duringTrajan's reign (98–117). In 100, he and his friend Pliny the Younger prosecutedMarius Priscus(proconsulof Africa) for corruption. Priscus was found guilty and sent into exile; Pliny wrote a few days later that Tacitus had spoken "with all the majesty which characterizes his usual style of oratory".

A lengthy absence from politics and law followed while he wrote theHistoriesand theAnnals.In 112 to 113, he held the highest civilian governorship, that of the Roman province ofAsiain westernAnatolia,recorded in the inscription found at Mylasa mentioned above. A passage in theAnnalsfixes 116 as theterminus post quemof his death, which may have been as late as 125 or even 130. It seems that he survived both Pliny (diedc. 113) and Trajan (died 117).

It remains unknown whether Tacitus had any children. TheAugustan Historyreports that EmperorMarcus Claudius Tacitus(r. 275–276) claimed him for an ancestor and provided for the preservation of his works, but this story may be fraudulent, like much of theAugustan History.

Works

See also:List of people mentioned in the works of Tacitus

The title page ofJustus Lipsius's 1598 edition of the complete works of Tacitus, bearing the stamps of theBibliotheca ComunaleinEmpoli,Italy

Five works ascribed to Tacitus have survived (albeit with gaps), the most substantial of which are theAnnalsand theHistories.This canon (with approximate dates) consists of:

• (98)De vita Iulii Agricolae(The Life ofAgricola)
• (98)De origine et situ Germanorum(Germania)
• (102)Dialogus de oratoribus(Dialogue on Oratory)
• (105)Historiae(Histories)
• (117)Ab excessu divi Augusti(Annals)

History of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus

TheAnnalsand theHistories,published separately, were meant to form a single edition of thirty books. Although Tacitus wrote theHistoriesbefore theAnnals,the events in theAnnalsprecede theHistories;together they form a continuous narrative from the death ofAugustus(14) to the death ofDomitian(96). Though most has been lost, what remains is an invaluable record of the era. The first half of theAnnalssurvived in a single manuscript fromCorvey Abbeyin Germany, and the second half in a single manuscript fromMonte Cassinoin Italy; it is remarkable that they survived at all.

TheHistories

Main article:Histories (Tacitus)

In an early chapter of theAgricola,Tacitus asserts that he wishes to speak about the years of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. In theHistoriesthe scope has changed; Tacitus says that he will deal with the age of Nerva and Trajan at a later time. Instead, he will cover the period from the civil wars of theYear of the Four Emperorsand end with the despotism of theFlavians.Only the first four books and twenty-six chapters of the fifth book survive, covering the year 69 and the first part of 70. The work is believed to have continued up to the death of Domitian on September 18, 96. The fifth book contains—as a prelude to the account of Titus's suppression of theFirst Jewish–Roman War—a shortethnographicsurvey of the ancientJews,and it is an invaluable record of Roman attitudes towards them.

TheAnnals

Main article:Annals (Tacitus)

TheAnnals,Tacitus's final work, covers the period from the death ofAugustusin AD 14. He wrote at least sixteen books, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11, and 16 are missing. Book 6 ends with the death ofTiberius,and books 7–12 presumably covered the reigns ofCaligulaandClaudius.The remaining books cover the reign of Nero, perhaps until his death in June 68 or until the end of that year to connect with theHistories.The second half of book 16 is missing, ending with the events of 66. It is not known whether Tacitus completed the work; he died before he could complete his planned histories of Nerva and Trajan, and no record survives of the work on Augustus and the beginnings of theRoman Empire,with which he had planned to finish his work. TheAnnalsis one of the earliest secular historical records to mentionJesus of Nazareth,which Tacitus does in connection withNero's persecution of the Christians.

Annals15.44, in the second Medicean manuscript

Monographs

Tacitus wrote three works with a more limited scope:Agricola,a biography of his father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola; theGermania,a monograph on the lands and tribes of barbarian Germania; and theDialogus,a dialogue on the art of rhetoric.

Germania

Main article:Germania (book)

TheGermania(Latintitle:De Origine et situ Germanorum) is an ethnographic work on theGermanic tribesoutside the Roman Empire. TheGermaniafits within a classical ethnographic tradition which includes authors such asHerodotusandJulius Caesar.The book begins (chapters 1–27) with a description of the lands, laws, and customs of the various tribes. Later chapters focus on descriptions of particular tribes, beginning with those who lived closest to the Roman empire, and ending with a description of those who lived on the shores of theBaltic Sea,such as theFenni.Tacitus had written a similar, albeit shorter, piece in hisAgricola(chapters 10–13).

Agricola(De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae)

Main article:Agricola (book)

TheAgricola(writtenc. 98) recounts the life of Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general and Tacitus's father-in-law; it also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancientBritain.As in theGermania,Tacitus favorably contrasts the liberty of the nativeBritonswith the tyranny and corruption of the Empire; the book also contains eloquent polemics against the greed of Rome, one of which, that Tacitus claims is from a speech byCalgacus,ends by asserting,Auferre trucidare rapere falsis nominibus imperium, atque ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.( "To ravage, to slaughter, to usurp under false titles, they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace." —Oxford Revised Translation).

Dialogus

Main article:Dialogus de oratoribus

There is uncertainty about when Tacitus wroteDialogus de oratoribus.Many characteristics set it apart from the other works of Tacitus, so that its authenticity has at various times been questioned. It is likely to be early work, indebted to the author's rhetorical training, since its style imitates that of the foremost Roman oratorCicero.It lacks (for example) the incongruities that are typical of his mature historical works. TheDialogusis dedicated to Fabius Iustus, a consul in 102 AD.

Literary style

Tacitus's writings are known for their dense prose that seldom glosses the facts, in contrast to the style of some of his contemporaries, such asPlutarch.When he writes about a near defeat of the Roman army inAnnalsI,63, he does so with brevity of description rather than embellishment.

In most of his writings, he keeps to a chronological narrative order, only seldom outlining the bigger picture, leaving the readers to construct that picture for themselves. Nonetheless, where he does use broad strokes, for example, in the opening paragraphs of theAnnals,he uses a few condensed phrases which take the reader to the heart of the story.

Approach to history

Tacitus's historical style owes some debt toSallust.His historiography offers penetrating—often pessimistic—insights into the psychology of power politics, blending straightforward descriptions of events, moral lessons, and tightly focused dramatic accounts. Tacitus's own declaration regarding his approach to history (AnnalsI,1) is well known:

inde consilium mihi... tradere... sine ira et studio, quorum causas procul habeo.

my purpose is... to relate... without either anger or zeal, motives from which I am far removed.

There has been much scholarly discussion about Tacitus's "neutrality". Throughout his writing, he is preoccupied with the balance of power between the Senate and theemperors,and the increasing corruption of the governingclassesof Rome as they adjusted to the ever-growing wealth and power of the empire. In Tacitus's view, senators squandered their cultural inheritance—that offree speech—to placate their (rarely benign) emperor.

Tacitus noted the increasing dependence of the emperor on the goodwill of his armies. TheJulio-Claudianseventually gave way to generals, who followed Julius Caesar (andSullaandPompey) in recognizing that military might could secure them the political power in Rome. (Hist.1.4)

Welcome as the death of Nero had been in the first burst of joy, yet it had not only roused various emotions in Rome, among the Senators, the people, or the soldiery of the capital, it had also excited all the legions and their generals; for now had been divulged that secret of the empire, that emperors could be made elsewhere than at Rome.

Tacitus's political career was largely lived out under the emperor Domitian. His experience of the tyranny, corruption, and decadence of that era (81–96) may explain the bitterness and irony of his political analysis. He draws our attention to the dangers of power without accountability, love of power untempered by principle, and the apathy and corruption engendered by the concentration of wealth generated through trade and conquest by the empire.

Nonetheless, the image he builds of Tiberius throughout the first six books of theAnnalsis neither exclusively bleak nor approving: most scholars view the image of Tiberius as predominantlypositivein the first books, and predominantlynegativeafter the intrigues ofSejanus.The entrance of Tiberius in the first chapters of the first book is dominated by the hypocrisy of the new emperor and his courtiers. In the later books, some respect is evident for the cleverness of the old emperor in securing his position.

In general, Tacitus does not fear to praise and to criticize the same person, often noting what he takes to be their more admirable and less admirable properties. One of Tacitus's hallmarks is refraining fromconclusivelytaking sides for or against persons he describes, which has led some to interpret his works as both supporting and rejecting the imperial system (seeTacitean studies,Blackvs.RedTacitists).

Prose

His Latin style is highly praised.His style, although it has a grandeur and eloquence (thanks to Tacitus's education in rhetoric), is extremely concise, evenepigrammatic—the sentences are rarely flowing or beautiful, but their point is always clear. The style has been both derided as "harsh, unpleasant, and thorny" and praised as "grave, concise, and pithily eloquent".

A passage ofAnnals1.1,where Tacitus laments the state of the historiography regarding the last four emperors of theJulio-Claudian dynasty,illustrates his style: "The histories of Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius and Nero, while they were in power, were falsified through terror and after their death were written under the irritation of a recent hatred",or in a word-for-word translation:

Latin	Translation
Tiberiī Gāīque et Claudiī ac Nerōnis rēs flōrentibus ipsīs—ob metum—falsae, postquam occiderant—recentibus ōdiīs—compositae sunt.	Tiberius's, Gaius's and Claudius's as well as Nero's acts while flourishing themselves—out of fear—counterfeited, after they came to fall—resulting from new-found hate—related are.
Interpunction and line breaks added for clarity.

Compared to theCiceronian period,where sentences were usually the length of a paragraph and artfully constructed with nested pairs of carefully matched sonorous phrases, this is short and to the point. But it is also very individual. Note the three different ways of sayingandin the first line (-que,et,ac), and especially the matched second and third lines. They are parallel in sense but not in sound; the pairs of words ending "-entibus…-is"are crossed over in a way that deliberately breaks the Ciceronian conventions—which one would, however, need to be acquainted with to see the novelty of Tacitus's style. Some readers, then and now, find this teasing of their expectations merely irritating. Others find the deliberate discord, playing against the evident parallelism of the two lines, stimulating and intriguing.

His historical works focus on the motives of the characters, often with penetrating insight—though it is questionable how much of his insight is correct, and how much is convincing only because of his rhetorical skill.He is at his best when exposing hypocrisy and dissimulation; for example, he follows a narrative recounting Tiberius's refusal of the titlepater patriaeby recalling the institution of a law forbidding any "treasonous" speech or writings—and the frivolous prosecutions which resulted (Annals,1.72). Elsewhere (Annals4.64–66) he compares Tiberius's public distribution of fire relief to his failure to stop the perversions and abuses of justice which he had begun. Although this kind of insight has earned him praise, he has also been criticized for ignoring the larger context.

Tacitus owes most, both in language and in method, to Sallust, andAmmianus Marcellinusis the later historian whose work most closely approaches him in style.

Sources

Tacitus makes use of the official sources of the Roman state: theActa Senatus(the minutes of the sessions of the Senate) and theActa Diurna(a collection of the acts of the government and news of the court and capital). He also read collections of emperors' speeches, such as those of Tiberius and Claudius. He is generally seenas a scrupulous historian who paid careful attention to his sources.

Tacitus cites some of his sources directly, among themCluvius Rufus,Fabius Rusticusand Pliny the Elder, who had writtenBella Germaniaeand a historical work which was the continuation of that ofAufidius Bassus.Tacitus also uses collections of letters (epistolarium). He also took information fromexitus illustrium virorum.These were a collection of books by those who were antithetical to the emperors. They tell of sacrifices by martyrs to freedom, especially the men who committed suicide. While he places no value on theStoictheory of suicide and views suicides as ostentatious and politically useless, Tacitus often gives prominence to speeches made by those about to commit suicide, for exampleCremutius Cordus' speech inAnn.IV, 34–35.

Editions

Teubner

In 1934–36 aTeubner editionof complete works by Tacitus (P. Cornelii Taciti libri qui supersunt) edited byErich Koestermannwas published. Koestermann prepared then a second edition published in 1960–70. It is now outdated. A completely new Teubner edition (with the same title) was published in 1978–83. The most part of it (Annals,HistoriesandDialogue) was edited byHeinz Heubner,withGermaniaedited byAlf ÖnnerforsandAgricolabyJosef Delz.Yet another Teubner edition was prepared byIstván BorzsákandKenneth Wellesleyin 1986–92: Borzsák edited books I–VI of theAnnals,and Wellesley books XI–XVI and theHistories.This edition remains unfinished, as the last volume containing the three minor opuscles was never issued.

Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries

• Goodyear, F. R. D.(1972)The Annals of Tacitus, Books 1–6. Vol. I: Annals I.1—54.Cambridge University Press.
• Goodyear, F. R. D. (1981)The Annals of Tacitus, Books 1–6. Vol. II: Annals I.55—81 and Annals II.Cambridge University Press.
• Woodman, A. J. and Martin, Ronald H. (2004)The Annals of Tacitus, Book 3.Cambridge University Press.
• Woodman, A. J. (2018)The Annals of Tacitus, Book 4.Cambridge University Press.
• Woodman, A. J. (2016)The Annals of Tacitus, Books 5–6.Cambridge University Press.
• Malloch, S. J. V. (2013)The Annals of Tacitus, Book 11.Cambridge Classical Texts and Commentaries. Cambridge University Press.

Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics

• Martin, R. H. and Woodman, A. J. (1989)Tacitus: Annals, Book IV.Cambridge University Press.
• Ash, Rhiannon (2018)Tacitus: Annals, Book XV.Cambridge University Press.
• Damon, Cynthia (2003)Tacitus: Histories Book I.Cambridge University Press.
• Ash, Rhiannon (2007)Tacitus: Histories Book II.Cambridge University Press.
• Woodman, A. J., with Kraus, C. S. (2014)Tacitus: Agricola.Cambridge University Press.
• Mayer, Roland (2001)Tacitus: Dialogus de oratoribus.Cambridge University Press.

See also

• The Republic(Plato):Tacitus' critique of "model state" philosophies
• Tacitus on Christ:a well-known passage from theAnnalsmentions the death of Jesus of Nazareth (Ann.,xv 44)
• Claude Fauchet:the first person to translate all of Tacitus's works into French
• Justus Lipsius:produced an extremely influential early modern edition of Tacitus (1574)

Bibliography

• Benario, Herbert W.An Introduction to Tacitus.(Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1975)ISBN0-8203-0361-5
• Birley, Anthony R. (2000). "The Life and Death of Cornelius Tacitus".Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte.49(2): 230–247.ISSN0018-2311.JSTOR4436577.
• Burke, P. "Tacitism" in Dorey, T.A., 1969, pp. 149–171
• Damon, Cynthia. "Relatio vs. Oratio: Tacitus, Ann. 3.12 and the Senatus Consultum De Cn. Pisone Patre."The Classical Quarterly,vol. 49, no. 1, (1999), pp. 336–338
• Damon, Cynthia."The Trial of Cn. Piso in Tacitus' Annals and the 'Senatus Consultum De Cn. Pisone Patre': New Light on Narrative Technique".The American Journal of Philology,vol. 120, no. 1, (1999), pp. 143–162.Archived2018-07-19 at theWayback Machine.
• Damon, Cynthia.Writing with Posterity in Mind: Thucydides and Tacitus on Secession.InThe Oxford Handbook of Thucydides.(Oxford University Press, 2017).
• Dudley, Donald R.The World of Tacitus(London: Secker and Warburg, 1968)ISBN0-436-13900-6
• Goodyear, F.R.D.The Annals of Tacitus,vol. 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981). Commentary onAnnals1.55–81 andAnnals2.
• Gordon, Mary L. "The Patria of Tacitus".The Journal of Roman Studies,Vol. 26, Part 2 (1936), pp. 145–151.
• Martin, Ronald.Tacitus(London: Batsford, 1981)
• Mellor, Ronald.Tacitus(New York / London: Routledge, 1993)ISBN0-415-90665-2,0415910021,978-0415910026
• Mellor, Ronald.Tacitus’ Annals(Oxford/New York: Oxford University Press, 2010) (Oxford Approaches to Classical Literature)ISBN0198034679,978-0198034674
• Mellor, Ronald (ed.).Tacitus: The Classical Heritage(New York: Garland Publishing, 1995)ISBN0-8153-0933-3,978-0815309338
• Mendell, Clarence.Tacitus: The Man and His Work.(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957)ISBN0-208-00818-7
• Oliver, Revilo P."The First Medicean MS of Tacitus and the Titulature of Ancient Books".Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association,Vol. 82 (1951), pp. 232–261.
• Oliver, Revilo P. "The Praenomen of Tacitus".The American Journal of Philology,Vol. 98, No. 1 (Spring, 1977), pp. 64–70.
• Ostler, Nicholas.Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin.HarperCollins in the UK, and Walker & Co. in the US: London and New York, 2007.ISBN978-0-00-734306-5;2009 edition:ISBN080271840X,978-0802718402–2010 e-book:ISBN0007364881,978-0007364886
• Pagán, Victoria Emma (2023).The Tacitus encyclopedia.Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell.ISBN9781444350258.
• Syme, Ronald.Tacitus,Volumes 1 and 2. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1958) (reprinted in 1985 by the same publisher, with theISBN0-19-814327-3) is the definitive study of his life and works.
• ten Berge, Bram L.H. (2023).Writing imperial history: Tacitus from Agricola to Annales.Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.ISBN9780472133437.
• Taylor, John W.Tacitus and the Boudican Revolt.(Dublin, Ireland: Camuvlos, 1998)

External links

Works by Tacitus

• Works by TacitusatProject Gutenberg
• Works by or about TacitusatInternet Archive
• Works by TacitusatLibriVox(public domain audiobooks)
• Works by Tacitus at Perseus Digital Library
• Comprehensive links to Latin text and translations in various languagesat ForumRomanum
• Complete works, Latin and English translationat "The Internet Sacred Text Archive" (not listed above)
• AgricolaandAnnals 15.20–23, 33–45atDickinson College Commentaries