Tacitus
Tacitus
PubliusCornelius Tacituswas a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors. These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus in AD 14 to the years of the First Jewish–Roman War in AD 70. There are substantial lacunae in the surviving texts,...
NationalityRoman
ProfessionHistorian
struggle adversity affluence
Many who seem to be struggling with adversity are happy; many, amid great affluence, are utterly miserable.
rome empires great-empires
Great empires are not maintained by timidity.
pain valor contempt
Valor is the contempt of death and pain.
memorial-day battle remember
So as you go into battle, remember your ancestors and remember your descendants.
science grace concerned
The sciences throw an inexpressible grace over our compositions, even where they are not immediately concerned; as their effects are discernible where we least expect to find them.
mourning rejoice mourn
None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it [a death].
enemy kind flattery
Flatterers are the worst kind of enemies. [Lat., Pessimum genus inimicorum laudantes.]
grief heart grieving
None grieve so ostentatiously as those who rejoice most in heart. [Lat., Nulla jactantius moerent quam qui maxime laetantur.]
hate disposition humans
It is the nature of the human disposition to hate him whom you have injured.
evil noble deeds
The task of history is to hold out for reprobation every evil word and deed, and to hold out for praise every great and noble word and deed.
ignorance
Everything unknown is magnified. [Lat., Omne ignotum pro magnifico est.]
beautiful style body
Style, like the human body, is specially beautiful when the veins are not prominent and the bones cannot be counted.
marvellous
The unknown always passes for the marvellous.
political ruling consent
By general consent, he would have been capable of ruling, had he not ruled.