Book 41: "The Annals of Imperial Rome" by Tacitus
Tuesday, September 28th, 2010 10:22![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kittiwakeNext year, when the consuls were Nero (for the second time) and Lucius Calpurnius Piso (V), little worth recording occurred, except in the eyes of historians who like filling their pages with praise of the foundations and beams of Nero's huge amphitheatre in the Field of Mars.
Tacitus tells the story of Rome under the Caesars, from shortly before the death of Augustus until the end of Nero's reign, although various parts of his book are lost, including the whole of Gaius(Caligula)'s reign. Tacitus was writing long enough afterwards to be able to speak frankly about the emperors' many faults. He seems to be fairly even-handed though, as although he quite obviously hates Tiberius, he comments more than once that Tiberius hated flattery, and did not not accept money left to him in people's wills unless they were personal friends of his. Tacitus is rather sharp tongued comments at times; the translator included a footnote saying that the quotation above is a catty reference to Pliny the Elder.
I think it's a pity that the translator decided to use the less picturesque division (when the auxiliaries are included) or brigade instead of legion, and company commander instead of centurion.
Tacitus tells the story of Rome under the Caesars, from shortly before the death of Augustus until the end of Nero's reign, although various parts of his book are lost, including the whole of Gaius(Caligula)'s reign. Tacitus was writing long enough afterwards to be able to speak frankly about the emperors' many faults. He seems to be fairly even-handed though, as although he quite obviously hates Tiberius, he comments more than once that Tiberius hated flattery, and did not not accept money left to him in people's wills unless they were personal friends of his. Tacitus is rather sharp tongued comments at times; the translator included a footnote saying that the quotation above is a catty reference to Pliny the Elder.
I think it's a pity that the translator decided to use the less picturesque division (when the auxiliaries are included) or brigade instead of legion, and company commander instead of centurion.
