Agricola never vaunted his actions to augment his own credit. Unless you imagine that Gauls and Germans, and even, to their shame, many Britons, who lend themselves to an alien tyranny, its enemies longer than they have been its slaves, are swayed by loyalty and affection. agricola and germania tacitus au books. The Britons were terrified, caught between two forces, as the Ninth regained their courage, and confident in their safety, fought for glory. He was often denounced, in his absence, to Domitian during that time and, in his absence, acquitted. His troops’ ardour was evident, even while Agricola was still speaking, and his oration ended in wild excitement, as they swiftly formed ranks. Even now, with success, Agricola refrained from boastfulness and talk of campaigns or victories, in controlling a conquered nation; nor did he attach laurels to his despatches; yet his deprecation of his achievements, added to them, considering how great his future hopes must have been given his silence regarding so great an outcome. Often, soldiers, cavalrymen and marines shared their rations in mutual celebration, delighting in their various deeds and disasters, heights of mountain and forest on the one hand, trials of storm and sea on the other; comparing conquest of the foe and the terrain here, of the ocean there, in rival boast. He passed the year between his quaestorship and his tribunate of the plebs in peace and quiet, as well as his year (66AD) of office, skilfully surviving Nero’s reign (54-68AD), when it was wise to remain passive. The Rijksmuseum. He granted him forces for the voyage, and terror ran before them. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c56-c120AD), was a Roman historian and senator. ‘Roman Soldier’ Happy indeed, you were, Agricola! In the meantime this work’s intention is to honour Agricola, my father-in-law: and it will be commended for, or at least excused by, its profession of filial affection. Thus the Germans had cast off their yoke, with only a river and not an ocean to defend them. So weapons and war, virtues to the strong, are also the best refuge of the coward. For the natives, still unbroken by the outcome of previous battles, with the prospect of Roman vengeance or slavery before them, aware by now that mutual danger must be repelled by common alliance, had summoned the tribes in strength, through envoy and treaty. He took hostages from them, and ordered his naval commander to circumnavigate Britain. Cowards, advocating prudence, advised a retreat south of the Forth, ceding the territory rather than being expelled, in the midst of which Agricola learnt that the enemy were about to attack in force. ‘Bronze Gilt Broach. Fearing to be surrounded, since the enemy was superior in numbers and their knowledge of the terrain, he split the army into three divisions and advanced. Information and translations of Tacitus in the most comprehensive … Filled with terror, the enemy did not dare to attack our forces, though these suffered from the atrocious weather, and there was the opportunity to establish forts. Let us rather offer admiration and praise, and if our nature allows it, imitate you: that is true respect, that is the duty of his nearest and dearest. The Rijksmuseum. Tacitus’ Annals set out to cover the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus and the accession of Tiberius to the later part of Nero’s reign. The Getty's Open Content Program. His official duties and his hours of relaxation were carefully partitioned: when judicial business required it, he was serious, focused and severe, yet more often merciful; when the demands of office had been satisfied there was no further show of power; he eschewed moroseness, arrogance and greed. But since Clota (the Firth of Clyde) and Bodotria (the Firth of Forth) carry the tidal waters of opposing seas far inland, and are separated by a short tract of territory, this was then fortified by Roman garrisons, and the whole of the neighbouring area secured, pushing the enemy back into almost a separate island. Few in numbers; fearful in their ignorance; the very sea, sky and forest, all they see around them, unfamiliar to their eyes, the gods have delivered them into our hands like prisoners in a cage. Agricola door Tacitus English Translation. Sadly, large parts of his text are lost including his description of the whole of Caligula’s reign and the early part of that of Claudius, but what remains gives us our most detailed picture of Imperial rule. Please refer to our Privacy Policy. Can anyone recommend the best edition/s (good English translation, notes, etc.) Met een inleiding door Edward Brooks, Jr. 1. Poetry in Translation: The Agricola and Germania, translated by A.S. Kline (2015). We use cookies for social media and essential site functions. And this is its form as far north as Caledonia, a form which tradition extended to the whole; but travelling onwards a vast and irregular tract of land extends to the furthest shores, tapering like a wedge. was merely sighted, as their orders took them only thus far, and winter was approaching. Knowing everything, but not pursuing everything, he showed indulgence to small sins, severity towards the greatest, content often with a show of penitence, rather than forever exacting punishment; advancing to office and position those unlikely to offend rather than condemning those who did. Then began a great and bloody spectacle, wherever there was open ground: of pursuit, injury and capture, and as other fugitives crossed their path, slaughter of the captives. Had Suetonius Paulinus not learned of the uprising in his province and rushed to the rescue, Britain would have been lost. Een vertaling van de Agricola van Tacitus, door The Oxford Translation Revised, With Notes. With An Introduction by Edward Brooks, Jr. Description of text New, complete English translation of Tacitus' Agricola and Germania with selected illustrations by various artists. It is rare for two or three tribes to unite against a mutual danger; thus, fighting singly, they are universally defeated. But there are no tribes beyond us, nothing indeed but waves and rocks, and the yet more terrible Romans, from whose oppression escape is vainly sought by obedience and submission. Domitian greeted this series of events, though Agricola’s despatches were free of boastful language, with inner disquiet despite, as was his way, showing visible pleasure: he was conscious of the derision that his recent false triumph (83AD), celebrated over the Germans, had met with: for which in truth he had rented in the market-place a crowd whose clothes and hair simulated those of captives. He placed his inspired and eager troops so that the auxiliary foot-soldiers, eight thousand strong, formed a powerful centre, with three thousand cavalry on the wings. Beginning with himself and his entourage, he set his own house in order, which is as difficult a thing for most as to rule a province. Conditions and Exceptions apply. Had the woods and marshes not saved the fugitives, that victory would have ended the campaign. Internet Archive Book Images, Translated by A. S. Kline © Copyright 2015 All Rights Reserved. Tacitus, Publius Cornelius (c.56–c.120) - The Agricola Publius Cornelius Tacitus - The Agricola - in a new freely downloadable translation Saved by Poetry in Translation Whatever we have loved in Agricola, whatever we have admired, remains, and will remain, in men’s hearts, for all time, a glory to this world; for many a great name will sink to oblivion, as if unknown to fame, while Agricola, here recorded and bequeathed to posterity, shall endure. Various armies in Moesia, Dacia, Germany and Pannonia were destroyed by the rashness or inattention of their generals (84-94AD) many battalions and their officers, were defeated and taken captive. The Britons will acknowledge our cause is theirs, the Gauls will remember their former freedom: as the Usipii recently deserted them, so will the rest of the Germans. Such are the Britons who were conquered some time ago; the rest remain as the Gauls once were. Complete Works of Tacitus. The Emperor, ready with his usual dissimulation, assumed a calm demeanour, listened to Agricola’s request to be excused, nodded in approval, and allowed himself to be thanked, unashamed of granting such a plea out of envy. He was approached by certain of those aware of the Leader’s intentions, who were to inquire, as if of their own accord, as to whether Agricola would accept a province. He attributed his good fortune, as the inferior, to his leader and commander. Already in excess of thirty thousand men were in evidence, and still the warriors streamed in, those whose years were still fresh and green, noted in war, some wearing badges of honour, among whom the chieftain pre-eminent by courage and birth was named Calgacus. So the fiercest of the Britons have already fallen, only a collection of timorous cowards remain. Laurens Eillarts, Antonio Tempesta, 1616 - 1620 Though at first Cerialis only offered him effort and risk, he later granted him his portion of glory, often allowing him a share of command to test him, sometimes increasing his allotted forces based on success. On the battlefield the stronger force plundered its enemy, but now it was mainly unwarlike cowards who raided their homes, abducted their children, and demanded levies, as though they would face death except for their country. Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c56-c120AD), was a Roman historian and senator. They even sallied forth, and there was fierce fighting in the narrow gateway itself, until the enemy were repelled as the two Roman divisions fought to display, the one that they brought aid, the other that they had no need of rescue. The deterioration of senatorial freedom and of the moral character of the aristocracy under Tiberius, whose reign starts well but ultimately descends into quasi-tyranny, is well-portrayed, and his detailed portrait of Tiberius is memorable. But the Britons are spirited, not yet emasculated by years of peace. His speech they received with excitement, in the way barbarians will, with shouting, chanting and raucous cries. The Caledonian tribes resorted to armed warfare, appearing formidable, though more formidable in report, as is common with scarce known enemies. He has left an historical monument highly interesting to every Briton, who wishes to know the manners of his ancestors, and the spirit of liberty that from the earliest time distinguished the natives of Britain. Agricola had given sanctuary to a minor chieftain driven from home by faction, and held him, under the cloak of friendship, until occasion demanded. Not only in the brilliance of your life, but even in your timeliness in dying. ‘A Map of Scotland According to Ptolemy's Geography Rectified’ In an early chapter of the Agricola, Tacitus asserts that he wishes to speak about the years of Domitian, Nerva and Trajan.In the Histories the scope has changed; Tacitus says that he will deal with the age of Nerva and Trajan at a later time. Though it is still in the nature of human frailty that the remedy acts more slowly than the disease, and just as the body is slow to grow, swift to decay, so it is easier to destroy wit and enthusiasm than it is to revive them, while inertia has a certain charm, and the apathy we hate at first we later love. wishes to say that ‘Agricola made no fatuous parade of independence to challenge public attention and provoke his doom’: he prefers to express the idea by means of alliteration and zeugma combined: neque inani iactatione libertatis famam fatumque provocabat. But when the army, accustomed to fighting, became riotous in their idleness, there was trouble and discord. As for the games and other vanities of office, he held the mean between lavishness and thrift, far from extravagance on the one hand, closer to public opinion on the other. Agricola, both successor and judge, with rare leniency preferred it known that he found the men loyal, rather than forcing them to behave so. He studied rhetoric in Rome, and was a close friend of the younger Pliny. To be sure, the flat extremities of the land, with their low shadows, project no darkness, and night never falls beneath the sky and stars. Once they each had one master: now two were imposed on them – a governor to extract their blood, a procurator their possessions. For example the game had been to force the natives to visit locked granaries, and buy grain to be left inside yet pay the price; or difficult roads and distant districts were nominated, so that tribes wintering nearby were forced to deliver in far off and out of the way places, until what should have been local to all produced profit for a few. Hij wordt vaak gezien als de grootste historicus van Rome, van het Romeinse Rijk.Tacitus' sympathie ging duidelijk uit naar een republikeinse staatsvorm, eerder dan naar de willekeur van sommige keizers. Those with experience noted that no general was more knowledgeable in their placement: no fort founded by Agricola was stormed by the enemy, or abandoned through capitulation and flight. Such was the state of Britain, such the military situation which Agricola found in the midsummer of his arrival when the troops, assuming campaigning was over, were seeking rest, and the enemy were seeking an opportunity. Internet Archive Book Images, ‘If fresh tribes and unknown forces confronted you, I would exhort you with the examples of other armies: as it is, simply recall your own efforts, use your own eyes. Further translations from Tacitus', of the Annals and Histories, will be started this winter. The weather in Britain is foul, with dense cloud and rain; but the cold is not severe. There, a daughter (Julia, later wife to Tacitus) was born to him, a help and consolation, since he lost the son he had briefly carried in his arms. Andrea Mantegna, 1486 - 1492 He himself, travelling slowly, so that the very leisureliness of his passage might strike fear into fresh tribes, reached winter quarters. agricola and germania penguin classics. 56-117) was een Romeins consul, historicus, schrijver en redenaar. Our goods, our wealth are lost to tribute; our land and harvest to requisitions of grain; life and limb themselves in forging roads through marsh and forest, to the accompaniment of curses and blows. Our discords and dissensions bring them success, their enemy’s errors bring their armies glory. Had not Agricola ranged everywhere and ordered his strong, lightly-armed battalions to beat the woods, in the manner of huntsmen, along with cavalry, mounted where the woods were less dense, dismounted where they were thicker, over-confidence might have caused untold damage. Antoine Caron (French, 1521 - 1599) Addeddate 2007-02-15 16:40:31 Call number srlf_ucla:LAGE-3274618 The red-haired, large-limbed inhabitants of Caledonia suggest a Germanic origin; while the dark colouration of the Silures (of South Wales), their plentiful curls, and the relative position of Spain, attests to immigrant Iberians in former times, who occupied the area; again, those nearest the Gauls are like them, whether because of the enduring power of heredity, or because the common climate of two projecting lands that face each other moulds the physique. He concentrated detachments of several legions, plus a small force of auxiliaries, and when the Ordovices refused to venture from the hills, directed the army to them, leading his men, to inspire others to face danger with equal courage. For though he did not live to see the light of this most fortunate age, with Trajan as our leader, which he foretold with prophecy and prayer in our hearing, nevertheless he was compensated, by a premature death, in evading those final days when Domitian, no longer fitfully or with pause for breath but in one single unremitting stroke, exhausted the life-blood of the state. To this day, on the last frontier of freedom, we have been protected by our very remoteness and obscurity; now the furthest shores of Britain lie exposed, and while the unknown is always magnified, now there are no more tribes, nothing but sea and stone, for these fatal Romans, whose arrogance you will not escape by humility and restraint. 9, His. Accordingly, Domitian directed that whatever substituted for a triumph, including triumphal decorations, and the distinction of a public statue, should be accorded Agricola by a Senate vote, and enhanced by many fine phrases: and that a hint should be added that the province of Syria was destined for him, the governorship having been left vacant by the death of Atilius Rufus, of consular rank, and being reserved for mature candidates. When you penetrate the woodland glades, the creatures that are bravest charge at you, the timid and placid are driven off by the mere sound of your passing. Inexperienced as they were, they called these aspects of their subjugation, civilisation. As Tacitus’ final and most mature work, the Annals exhibit his strong grasp of power politics and his lucid insight into imperial psychology. The Agricola of Tacitus. Taking the wider view, it is certainly credible that the Gauls might occupy a neighbouring island; you find the same ceremonies and religious beliefs there; their languages are not too dissimilar, they have the same recklessness in courting danger, and the same anxiety to escape it, when it comes. He could not boast of excessive riches, but had ample wealth. Please refer to our Privacy Policy. Thus I have exceeded the governors before me, and you the armies who preceded you; we mark Britain’s bounds not by rumour and report, but with fortresses and arms: Britain is known, and conquered. Shortly before his arrival, the Ordovices (of North Wales) had almost destroyed one wing of the army, and this initiative had roused the province. Their physical traits vary, and lead to speculation. Of which mutterings sufficient reached Domitian’s ears also; with his freedmen seeking, the best out of love and loyalty, the worst out of malice and jealousy, to influence a leader inclined to prefer the inferior. It was evident that when Agricola’s will was read, naming Domitian alongside the best of wives and the most dutiful of daughters, Domitian was delighted at the tactful offering. The consul (suffectus, 77AD) betrothed his daughter Julia, a girl of great promise, to me, then a mere youth, and on conclusion of his office gave her to me in marriage. Pride and courage, moreover, in a subject displeases their rulers: our distance from them and obscurity, even as they protect us, make us more suspect. He married Julia Agricola, the daughter of the famous general Agricola, and later wrote a biography of his father-in-law. A History of all Nations from the Earliest Times - John Henry Wright (p225, 1905) Tacitus: Agricola and Germania New translations of two works by Tacitus, the Agricola and the Germania, have been added to the website, and a combined printed book is also available. Agricola was neither slapdash, in the manner of those young men who treat soldiering as a game, nor traded idly on his tribune’s role and inexperience to win leave for pleasure; rather he gained knowledge of the province, made himself known to the men, learnt from the experts, followed the best, sought nothing in ostentation, but shrank from nothing in fear, behaving as one eager but cautious. Wikisource: The Life and Death of Julius Agricola, translated by Alfred John ‘Think you the Romans, then, are as brave in war as they are lascivious in peace? Tacitus, James Rives (ed. Rumour is not always in error; sometimes it even determines the choice. Vettius Bolanus was then a milder governor of Britain than a troublesome province requires, and Agricola, being skilled in diplomacy and used to blending his sense of honour with that of expediency, tempered his own ardour, and restrained his enthusiasm, lest it become over-strong. Indeed, Cerialis might well have eclipsed the efforts and fame of any other successor but Julius Frontinus, a great man, insofar as that was permitted, who accepted and sustained the burden, subduing by military force the powerful and warlike tribe of the Silures; overcoming the daring of the enemy, as well as the difficulties of the terrain. Claudius, since deified, took on the great task: legions and auxiliaries were shipped across (43AD), and Vespasian was there to play a part, the first of the distinctions that later came his way: tribes were conquered, chieftains captured, and Vespasian was revealed by destiny.