[1] Ōlim quidem nōn modo praetor aut cōnsul sed prīvātī etiam mittēbantur quī prōvinciās vīserent et quid dē cuiusque obsequiō vidērētur referrent; trepidābantque gentēs dē aestimātiōne singulōrum: at nunc colimus externōs et adūlāmur, et quō modo ad nūtum alicuius grātēs, ita prōmptius accūsātiō dēcernitur. [2] dēcernāturque et maneat prōvinciālibus potentiam suam tālī modō ostentandī: sed laus falsā et precibus expressa perinde cohibeātur quam malitia, quam crūdēlitās. [3] plūra saepe peccantur, dum dēmerēmur quam dum offendimus. quaedam immō virtūtēs odiō sunt, sevēritās obstināta, invictus adversum grātiam animus. [4] inde initia magistrātuum nostrōrum meliōrā fermē et fīnis inclīnat, dum in modum candidātōrum suffrāgia conquīrimus: quae sī arceantur, aequābilius atque cōnstantius prōvinciae regentur. nam ut metū repetundārum īnfrācta avāritia est, ita vetita grātiārum āctiōne ambitiō cohibēbitur.

Essay

21.1

Thrasea proceeds by drawing a sharp contrast between ‘back then’ (olim) and ‘nowadays’ (nunc). Word order underscores the strength of feeling: the key adverbs [full essay]

Study Questions

21.1:

  • privati: to what does this refer?
  • Explain the mood of viserent and referrent.
  • Discuss the contrast Thrasea draws between olim and nunc: what has changed?

21.2:

  • Explain the mood of decernatur, maneat, and cohibeatur.
  • What type of verb is ostento (whence ostentandi)?
  • Why does Thrasea regard dishonest praise (laus falsa) as worse than malice (malitia) and cruelty (crudelitas)? Do you agree?

21.3:

  • Explain the syntax and analyse the design of severitas obstinata, invictus adversum gratiam animus.

21.4:

  • aequabilius atque constantius: the phrase recalls a passage in Sallust (cited in the commentary). Briefly discuss the effect of this literary echo.
  • Explain the significance of the moods and tenses of regentur and cohibebitur.

Stylistic Appreciation:

Look back over the entirety of Thrasea’s speech (usu ... cohibebitur, 20.3 – 21.4). How does Tacitus make this a powerful piece of persuasive oratory?

Discussion Point:

Is Thrasea right that some virtues inspire hatred? Can you think of instances when this point has been made, or ought to have been made, to our leaders today? What do you make of Thrasea’s scorn for those who seek popularity ‘like electoral candidates’? What does it tell us about Thrasea? He seems to link the pursuit of popular approval with instability and poor governance: does he have a point? (You could consider this from a modern perspective, or from that of first-century Rome at the head of an empire.)

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Suggested Citation

Mathew Owen and Ingo Gildenhard, Tacitus, Annals, 15.20–23, 33–45. Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2013. ISBN: 978-1-78374-003-1. DCC edition, 2016. https://dcc.dickinson.edu/tr/tacitus-annals/15-21