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
hatred bitter relation
No hatred is so bitter as that of near relations.
neighbour
I am my nearest neighbour.
fallen shrinks
A woman once fallen will shrink from no impropriety.
sin
One who is allowed to sin, sins less
rumor always-wrong
Rumor is not always wrong
peace wilderness
Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant. They make a wilderness and they call it peace.
haste falsehood uncertainty
Falsehood avails itself of haste and uncertainty.
flattery labor servility
Flattery labors under the odious charge of servility.
passion justice lust
Lust of power is the most flagrant of all the passions
army pay arms
The repose of nations cannot be secure without arms, armies cannot be maintained without pay, nor can the pay be produced without taxes
bear last learned love men
Love of fame is the last thing even learned men can bear to be parted from.
easier found injury
It is always easier to requite an injury than a service: gratitude is a burden, but revenge is found to pay.
atrocity calling lay peace waste
When monarchs through their bloodthirsty commanders lay waste a country, they dignify their atrocity by calling it "Making Peace