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
blood guilt politics
Seek to make a person blush for their guilt rather than shed their blood.
tears politics feds
Cruelty is fed, not weakened, by tears.
law suffering politics
Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws.
freedom thinking wish
Such being the happiness of the times, that you may think as you wish, and speak as you think.
fear sincerity habit
Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth.
time old-things
Old things are always in good repute, present things in disfavor.
best-friend worst-enemy history
Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. And those will be thy best friends, not to whom thou hast done good, but who have done good to thee.
fear men feelings
Even the bravest men are frightened by sudden terrors.
attitude hatred jew
[The Jews have] an attitude of hostility and hatred towards all others.
punishment suffering example
Every great example of punishment has in it some injustice, but the suffering individual is compensated by the public good.
stronger sides
The gods are on the side of the stronger.
generosity ruins moderation
Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin.
flames lust dominion
The lust of dominion burns with a flame so fierce as to overpower all other affections of the human breast.
fashion laughing vices
No one in Germany laughs at vice, nor do they call it the fashion to corrupt and to be corrupted.