The Germany and the Agricola of Tacitus Flashcards
Cornelius Tacitus · Public domain edition · 138 cards · 38 chapters
Tacitus's Germany argues that the Germanic tribes, though warlike and uncivilized, possess a moral purity and freedom that contrasts sharply with Rome's corruption. This deck covers the introduction's account of Tacitus's life and the ethnographic details in Germany.
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Chapter 1 · Question
How is Tacitus's birth date estimated, and what is the likely conclusion?
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Chapter 1 · Answer
Only by conjecture. Pliny the Younger calls him about the same age, and Pliny was born in 61. Since Tacitus was quaestor under Vespasian in 78 A.D., he must have been at least twenty-five then, fixing his birth no later than 53 A.D. The introduction concludes he was probably several years older than Pliny.
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Section 14 cards
How is Tacitus's birth date estimated, and what is the likely conclusion?
Only by conjecture. Pliny the Younger calls him about the same age, and Pliny was born in 61. Since Tacitus was quaestor under Vespasian in 78 A.D., he must have been at least twenty-five then, fixing his birth no later than 53 A.D. The introduction concludes he was probably several years older than Pliny.
Chapter 1
What offices and honors did Tacitus hold under Domitian in 88 A.D.?
In 88 he was appointed one of fifteen commissioners to preside at the celebration of the secular games. In the same year he held the office of praetor and was a member of one of the most select old priestly colleges, whose membership required being born of a good family.
Chapter 1
What does the introduction say about the historical value of the 'Germany'?
It states that the 'Germany' contains little of value from a historical standpoint. It describes with vividness the fierce and independent spirit of the German nations, with many suggestions as to the dangers in which the empire stood from these people.
Chapter 1
How does the introduction describe Tacitus's feelings about Rome's judicial murders?
It says that between 93 and 97 he witnessed judicial murders of many of Rome's best citizens, and being a senator he felt not entirely guiltless of the crimes committed. In the 'Agricola' he expresses this: 'Our own hands dragged Helvidius to prison; ourselves were tortured with the spectacle of Mauricus and Rusticus, and sprinkled with the innocent blood of Senecio.'
Chapter 1
Section 24 cards
How does Tacitus describe the origin and purity of the German people?
The author argues the Germans are indigenous and never intermarried with other nations, remaining a race pure, unmixed, and stamped with a distinct character. He reasons that ancient emigrants traveled by water, not land, and few would leave Asia, Africa, or Italy for Germany's rude land and harsh climate. Hence a family likeness pervades the whole people despite their great numbers.
Chapter 2
What does Tacitus say about Germany's land, climate, and natural wealth?
The land is universally shagged with forests or deformed by marshes: moister toward Gaul, bleaker toward Noricum and Pannonia. It produces grain but is unkindly to fruit-trees, and abounds in small-breed flocks and herds, including cattle lacking stateliness of head. Silver and gold, the author says, the gods denied to Germany, though he admits no one has searched for veins.
Chapter 2
What weapons and armor do the Germans use, according to Tacitus?
Iron is not plentiful, inferred from their weapons: swords and broad lances are seldom used. They generally carry a spear called framea, with a short, narrow iron blade usable in close or distant fighting. Cavalry have only this spear and a shield; infantry add several missiles hurled to immense distance. Few have coats of mail, scarcely any a helmet; shields alone are ornamented with choice colors.
Chapter 2
What happens to a German warrior who abandons his shield in battle?
The greatest disgrace is to have abandoned one's shield. A person branded with this ignominy is not permitted to join in religious rites or enter their assemblies. Consequently, many who escaped from battle have put an end to their infamy by the halter. Tacitus also notes they carry off their slain even while the battle remains undecided, and that giving ground while rallying is considered prudence, not cowardice.
Chapter 2
Section 34 cards
How do Germanic kings and generals differ in power and selection?
Kings are chosen for birth, generals for valor. Kings lack absolute or unlimited power, and generals command more by example than by authority. Daring and conspicuous leaders earn obedience through the admiration they inspire. Only priests, however, may judge offenders and inflict bonds or stripes, so punishment appears as divine instigation rather than military discipline.
Chapter 3
What roles do Germanic women play in battle and religion?
Women are revered witnesses of each man's conduct and his most liberal applauders. Warriors bring wounds to mothers and wives, who count and search out the gashes and give food and encouragement. Tradition says women rallied wavering armies by supplications, interposing their bodies, and picturing impending slavery. The Germans also suppose sanctity and prescience in women, honoring counsels and responses, as with Veleda under Vespasian.
Chapter 3
How do the Germans perform divination by lots?
They cut a twig from a fruit tree, divide it into marked pieces, and throw them promiscuously on a white garment. The priest, for public matters, or the master of the family, for private, invokes the gods, lifts his eyes to heaven, and thrice draws out each piece, interpreting by the marks. An unfavorable result ends consultation for that day; a favorable one still requires confirmation by omens.
Chapter 3
How are crimes punished differently, and what principle explains it?
Traitors and deserters are hung on trees; cowards, dastards, and those guilty of unnatural practices are suffocated in mud under a hurdle. The principle is that villainy should be exposed while punished, but turpitude concealed. Slighter offences are fined in horses and cattle, with part going to the king or state and part to the injured person or his relations.
Chapter 3
Section 42 cards
What was disgraceful for a chief and his companions in battle?
Tacitus states it was disgraceful for the chief to be surpassed in valor, and disgraceful for companions not to equal their chief. Worse, it was reproach and infamy for life to retreat from the field and survive him. Companions' sacred duty was to aid and protect the chief, crediting their deeds to his glory.
Chapter 4
How did German chiefs maintain large bands of companions?
Tacitus says companions expected from their chief's liberality a warhorse and a conquering spear, and in place of pay a plentiful though homely table. Funds for this came from war and plunder. Chiefs gained fame by the number and bravery of companions, and young nobles joined wars elsewhere when their own country was peaceful.
Chapter 4
Section 53 cards
How were adulterers punished among the Germans, according to Tacitus?
Tacitus says adultery is extremely rare among so numerous a people, and its punishment is instant, at the pleasure of the husband. He cuts off the offender's hair, strips her, and in presence of her relations expels her from his house, pursuing her with stripes through the whole village. No indulgence is shown to a prostitute: neither beauty, youth, nor riches can procure her a husband.
Chapter 5
How do German mothers and households raise children, per Tacitus?
Tacitus states that in every house children grow up thinly and meanly clad to that bulk of body and limb we behold with wonder. Every mother suckles her own children rather than handing them to servants and nurses. No indulgence distinguishes the young master from the slave; they lie together amidst the same cattle and on the same ground until age separates and valor marks out the free-born.
Chapter 5
What happens to a German who loses everything at dice?
Tacitus says they play at dice when sober, as a serious business, with such a desperate venture of gain or loss that when everything else is gone they set their liberties and persons on the last throw. The loser goes into voluntary servitude; though youngest and strongest, he patiently suffers himself to be bound and sold. They call this obstinacy in a bad practice honor, and the winner exchanges the slaves away to escape the scandal of his victory.
Chapter 5
Section 64 cards
How did the Germans' ignorance of usury affect lending practices?
The author states that lending money at interest and increasing it by usury is unknown among the Germans, and that this ignorance more effectively prevents the practice than a prohibition would. Lands are occupied by townships in allotments proportional to the number of cultivators, then parcelled out among individuals according to rank and condition.
Chapter 6
What did Germans do at funerals for eminent persons?
Funerals were without parade. The only care was to burn the bodies of eminent persons with particular kinds of wood. No vestments or perfumes were heaped on the pile; the deceased's arms, and sometimes his horse, were given to the flames. The tomb was a mound of turf, and they contemptuously rejected costly monuments as burdens to the dead.
Chapter 6
Why did the Batavi migrate, and what privileges did they retain?
The Batavi were formerly a tribe of the Catti who, because of an intestine division, removed to their present settlements to become part of the Roman empire. They retained this honor and a memorial of their ancient alliance: they were neither insulted by taxes nor oppressed by farmers of the revenue, exempt from fiscal burdens and kept apart for military use alone, like a magazine of arms for war.
Chapter 6
What vow did Catti warriors make, and how was it ended?
From maturity the Catti let hair and beard grow, not divesting this votive badge, the promise of valor, until they had slain an enemy. Over blood and spoils they unveiled the countenance, proclaiming they had paid the debt of existence and proved worthy of country and parents. The bravest also wore an iron ring, a mark of ignominy, until released by slaughter of a foe.
Chapter 6
Section 73 cards
What distinguished the Tencteri's military reputation, and how were their horses inherited?
The Tencteri were famed for cavalry discipline, their horsemanship practiced from childhood to old age. Horses were bequeathed along with domestics, household gods, and inheritance rights, but unlike other property they passed not to the eldest son but to the bravest and most warlike heir.
Chapter 7
How did the Bructeri meet their end, and what did Tacitus wish for Rome's enemies?
The Chamavi and Angrivarii, migrating in, expelled and extirpated the Bructeri with neighboring nations' concurrence—from hatred of arrogance, love of plunder, or favor toward Rome. Over sixty thousand Germans fell in mutual battle, not by Roman arms. Tacitus wishes the nations keep at least animosity toward each other, since discord among enemies is fortune's highest benefit.
Chapter 7
Why did the Cherusci fall from 'just and upright' to 'cowardice and folly'?
The Cherusci long enjoyed an enfeebling peace for want of an enemy—a state flattering but insecure amid ambitious neighbors. When the sword was appealed to, moderation and probity became names appropriated by the victors. The victorious Catti's good fortune grew into wisdom, and the ruin of the Cherusci also involved the neighboring Fosi, who shared their adversity but had enjoyed less prosperity.
Chapter 7
Section 83 cards
What claim do the Semnones make about themselves among the Suevi?
The Semnones assert themselves to be the most ancient and noble of the Suevi, and Tacitus says their pretensions are confirmed by religion. At a stated time all people of the same lineage assemble by delegates in a wood consecrated by ancestral auguries and ancient terror, where they publicly slaughter a human victim to celebrate the horrid origin of their rites. Their power rests on a hundred cantons, and from their great numbers they consider themselves the head of the Suevi.
Chapter 8
How is the worship of Hertha, or Mother Earth, described?
Tacitus says the neighboring tribes unite in worshipping Hertha, or Mother Earth, believing she interferes in human affairs and visits the nations. In an island of the ocean stands a sacred, unviolated grove containing a veiled consecrated chariot touched only by the priest, drawn by yoked cows. During her season wars cease and arms are untouched; afterward the chariot and, if believed, the goddess undergo ablution in a secret lake, and the slaves performing it are instantly swallowed up.
Chapter 8
What does Tacitus report about the Suiones and their government?
The Suiones are seated in the very Ocean and possess strength in men and arms plus a naval force. Their vessels have a prow at each end, so they are always ready to advance; they use no sails and row without order, sometimes on one side, sometimes the other. They honor wealth, and for that reason are subject to monarchy without limitations. Arms are not kept promiscuously but committed to a keeper, himself a slave, ostensibly because the Ocean defends them and idle armed men become licentious.
Chapter 8
Section 94 cards
What does Tacitus say about the Aestii's language, worship, and amber?
The Aestii share dress and customs with the Suevi, but their language resembles British. They worship the mother of the gods and carry wild boar figures as protection. They cultivate grain more industriously than other Germans and are the only people who gather amber, called Glese, collecting it in shallows and on shore, gathering it rough and wondering at the price.
Chapter 9
How does Tacitus explain the origin of amber?
The author argues amber is an exudation from certain trees, since reptiles and winged animals are often seen enclosed inside it, trapped while liquid and sealed as it hardened. He imagines western woods exuding juices like eastern frankincense and balsam, dropped into the sea and cast onto opposite coasts by storms. He notes amber burns like a torch with an odorous flame and resolves into pitch-like matter.
Chapter 9
How do the Fenni live, according to Tacitus?
The Fenni live in amazing savageness and squalid poverty: no arms, horses, or settled abodes. Their food is herbs, clothing skins, bed the ground. Their only reliance is on bone-tipped arrows for lack of iron, and both women and men hunt and share the prey. Infants get only a covering of twisted branches, yet the Fenni consider this life happier than ploughing, building houses, and alternating hope and fear.
Chapter 9
Why does Tacitus hesitate to classify the Peucini, Venedi, and Fenni?
Tacitus is in doubt whether to count them among Germans or Sarmatians. The Peucini, also called Bastarnae, agree with Germans in language, apparel, and habitations, though intermarriage with Sarmatian chiefs debased their manners. The Venedi borrow much from the Sarmatians but build houses, carry shields, and travel on foot, unlike wagon-and-horse Sarmatians. The Fenni he describes as extremely savage and poor.
Chapter 9
Section 104 cards
Why did Tacitus feel an apology was necessary for writing the Agricola?
Tacitus says he undertook to be historian of a deceased person and that an apology seemed necessary, which he would not have made had his course lain through times less cruel and hostile to virtue. He contrasts earlier ages, when virtue was more candidly estimated, with his own era, in which eminence was unfavorably construed.
Chapter 10
What happened to Arulenus Rusticus and Herennius Senecio for their writings?
Tacitus reports that when Arulenus Rusticus published praises of Paetus Thrasea and Herennius Senecio those of Priscus Helvidius, it was construed as a capital crime. The rage of tyranny fell on authors and writings alike; the monuments were burnt in the forum by triumvirs appointed for the purpose, and professors of wisdom were expelled.
Chapter 10
How did Agricola conduct himself as a young military tribune in Britain?
Serving under Suetonius Paullinus, Agricola did not use his tribunitial title for pleasure or absence from duty, as many young men did. He learned the country, made himself known to the army, learned from the experienced, and imitated the best, neither pressing for employment through vainglory nor declining it through timidity, performing his duty with equal solicitude and spirit.
Chapter 10
How did Agricola behave during his quaestorship in Asia under Salvius Titianus?
The lot of quaestorship gave Agricola Asia as his province, with the proconsul Salvius Titianus as superior. Tacitus says he was corrupted by neither circumstance, although the province was wealthy and open to plunder and the proconsul, from a rapacious disposition, would readily have agreed to mutual concealment of guilt. His family increased with a daughter's birth.
Chapter 10
Section 113 cards
What happened to Agricola's mother during Otho's fleet's descent on Liguria?
Otho's fleet, roving disorderly along the coast, made a hostile descent on Intemelii, part of Liguria. There Agricola's mother was murdered at her own estate, her lands were ravaged, and much of her property—which had attracted the assassins—was carried off. Hastening to perform filial duties, Agricola then learned of Vespasian's bid for empire and joined his party.
Chapter 11
How did Agricola handle the unruly twentieth legion compared to his predecessor?
Mucianus gave Agricola command of the twentieth legion, which had been slow to swear allegiance and was unmanageable even to consular lieutenants; its previous praetorian-rank commander lacked authority over it. Agricola was appointed successor and avenger, but with uncommon moderation he preferred it to appear that he had found the legion obedient rather than made it so.
Chapter 11
What did Tacitus observe about Agricola's conduct as governor of Aquitania?
Tacitus notes the common supposition that military men lack the subtlety needed for civil jurisdiction. Agricola, by natural prudence, acted with facility among civilians: he separated hours of business from relaxation, was grave yet inclined to lenity, and laid aside the man of power when duties ended. His affability did not impair authority, nor severity lessen affection; he avoided competing with colleagues or contending with procurators.
Chapter 11
Section 133 cards
How did Agricola first respond to the Ordovices' attack on the cavalry?
Though the season was advanced and troops were dispersed expecting inactivity, Agricola gathered legionary detachments and a small body of auxiliaries. When the Ordovices would not descend into the plain, he led an advanced party in person to inspire his troops, and the result was the almost total extirpation of the Ordovices.
Chapter 13
How did Agricola capture Mona without transport vessels?
Lacking ships for an unforeseen expedition, Agricola used a select body of auxiliaries without baggage who knew the fords and were accustomed to swimming with horses and arms. They plunged suddenly into the channel, terrifying the enemy, who expected a fleet and formal sea invasion. The island then sued for peace and surrendered.
Chapter 13
How did Agricola's winter measures Romanize the Britons?
To reclaim the natives from war, Agricola privately and publicly encouraged building temples, courts, and houses, praising the prompt and reprimanding the slow. He provided liberal education for chieftains' sons, preferring British genius to Gallic attainments. Britons began seeking eloquence in Roman language and wearing the toga; the author argues these luxuries, which they called politeness, were really part of their slavery.
Chapter 13
Section 144 cards
What did Agricola's choice of fortified posts achieve, according to experienced observers?
Persons of experience remarked that no general showed greater skill than Agricola in choosing advantageous situations: not one of his fortified posts was taken by storm or surrendered by capitulation. Garrisons, secured by a year's provisions, made frequent sallies and passed the winter without alarm, each sufficient for its own defence, while the enemy—usually compensating for summer losses in winter—was baffled in both seasons.
Chapter 14
What did Agricola reportedly say about conquering Ireland?
Tacitus says he frequently heard Agricola assert that a single legion with a few auxiliaries would suffice to conquer Ireland and keep it in subjection. Agricola also argued such a conquest would restrain the Britons by surrounding them with Roman arms and, as it were, banishing liberty from their sight. Tacitus notes Agricola detained an exiled Irish petty king under the semblance of friendship.
Chapter 14
How did Agricola respond to the night attack on the ninth legion?
Informed by scouts of the enemy's march, Agricola followed close behind and ordered his swiftest horse and foot to charge the enemy's rear. The whole army shouted and the standards glittered at daybreak. The Britons, caught between dangers, were routed by the emulous efforts of both Roman armies—one to assist, the other to appear not to need it. Woods and marshes sheltered the fugitives, or the war would have ended that day.
Chapter 14
What does Tacitus say about the condition of military command after the victory?
Tacitus observes that it is the hard condition of military command that a share in prosperous events is claimed by all, but misfortunes are imputed to one alone. After the victory, soldiers who had urged caution became rash and boastful, demanding a push into the heart of Caledonia. The Britons, attributing defeat to chance and the general's skill rather than Roman bravery, rearmed and renewed their confederacy.
Chapter 14
Section 154 cards
What did the Usipii cohort in Britain do after killing their centurion?
They murdered a centurion and soldiers sent to train them, seized three light vessels, and forced the masters aboard. One master escaped to shore; they killed the other two on suspicion. They sailed off before the affair was publicly known, were driven by waves, fought the Britons with varying success, and were finally reduced to feeding on each other, the weakest first and then those taken by lot.
Chapter 15
How did Agricola respond to the death of his infant son?
Tacitus says Agricola suffered a severe domestic wound in losing a son about a year old. He bore it neither with the ostentatious firmness many affect nor with feminine tears and lamentations; instead he treated war as one of the remedies of his grief, sending his fleet to ravage the coast and marching his army to the Grampian hills where the enemy was encamped.
Chapter 15
According to Calgacus, what do the Romans call empire and peace?
In his speech Calgacus says the Romans are plunderers of the world who, after exhausting the land, rifle the ocean, driven by avarice toward the rich and ambition toward the poor. To ravage, to slaughter, and to usurp under false titles they call empire; and where they make a desert, they call it peace. Tacitus presents this as Calgacus's harangue, not his own verdict.
Chapter 15
What advantages does Calgacus claim the Britons hold over the Roman army?
Calgacus argues the Romans' army is compounded of the most different nations, held together only by success, and that misfortune will dissolve it; terror and dread are its weak bonds, and those who cease to fear will begin to hate. He says the Romans lack wives and parents to urge them on, are few, ignorant of the country, and will find Britons, Gauls, and Germans among their own ranks ready to desert.
Chapter 15
Section 164 cards
How did Agricola deploy his troops before the battle?
Agricola placed 8,000 auxiliary infantry in the centre and 3,000 horse on the wings, with the legions stationed in the rear before the intrenchments. This arrangement would make victory glorious if won without Roman blood, and ensure support if the rest were repulsed. Fearing flank attack from the enemy's superior numbers, he extended his ranks, and though officers advised bringing up the legions, he dismissed his horse and took his station on foot before the colors.
Chapter 16
Why were the Batavian and Tungrian cohorts effective at close quarters?
Agricola urged three Batavian and two Tungrian cohorts to close with the enemy, a method familiar to these veterans but awkward for the Britons, whose enormous swords were blunt at the point and unfit for grappling in confined space. The Batavians struck with shield bosses and mangled faces, driving the enemy up the ascent while other cohorts joined the charge.
Chapter 16
What happened when Britons on the hills tried to attack the Roman rear?
Britons still disengaged sat on the hilltops, contemptuous of Roman numbers, and began descending to fall on the rear of the conquering troops. Agricola, anticipating this, opposed four reserve squadrons of horse, which drove them back the more furiously they advanced. The squadrons then wheeled from the front to attack the enemy's rear, turning their plan against themselves.
Chapter 16
What were the Roman and British casualties at the battle's end?
Night and satiety of slaughter ended the pursuit. Of the enemy ten thousand were slain; on the Roman side three hundred and sixty fell, among them Aulus Atticus, praefect of a cohort, carried into the midst of the enemy by his juvenile ardor and the fire of his horse.
Chapter 16
Section 174 cards
How did Agricola secure the Horesti and deploy his forces after the battle?
After the enemy's flight left no certain tracks or armed bodies, and the late season made spreading war impractical, Agricola led his army to the Horesti, received hostages, and ordered the fleet commander to circumnavigate the island. He then marched the cavalry and infantry back slowly to impress the newly conquered nations, and distributed his troops into winter-quarters. The fleet returned intact to its former station.
Chapter 17
How did Domitian receive news of Agricola's victory, and why?
Domitian received the account with outward joy but inward anxiety. He was conscious that his mock-triumph over Germany, featuring purchased slaves dressed as captives, was derided, whereas Agricola's victory was real and celebrated with universal applause. His greatest dread was that a private man's name should be exalted above the prince's, so he judged it prudent to suspend his rancor while Agricola still commanded in Britain.
Chapter 17
What honors did Domitian grant Agricola, and what expectation was raised?
Domitian had the senate decree triumphal ornaments—a laurel-crowned statue and the other honors substituting for a real triumph—plus complimentary expressions. He also raised expectation that the province of Syria, vacant by Atilius Rufus's death and usually reserved for the most distinguished, was intended for Agricola. It was commonly believed a freedman was sent with the appointment, but returned to Domitian without accosting Agricola in the straits; whether fact or fiction is uncertain.
Chapter 17
Why was Agricola accused and acquitted in his absence, according to Tacitus?
The source of his danger was not any criminal action or complaint of an injured person, but a prince hostile to virtue, Agricola's own high reputation, and the worst kind of enemies, eulogists. Later disasters in Moesia, Dacia, Germany, and Pannonia led the public to demand Agricola as general, comparing his vigor with others' indolence. Thus his virtues and others' vices alike urged him toward glory.
Chapter 17
Section 184 cards
What did Agricola reportedly wish for before his death?
Tacitus says he heard Agricola express the wish to live to see the dawn of the present auspicious day and behold Trajan on the imperial throne. Tacitus treats these wishes as a kind of presage of what would come. He adds that it is a consolation that Agricola's untimely death spared him the later period of Domitian's destruction of the commonwealth.
Chapter 18
What does Tacitus say about the report that Agricola was poisoned?
Tacitus declines to affirm anything certain about the poisoning report. He notes that during the illness the chief imperial freedman and the most trusted physician were sent more often than was customary at a court whose visits were mostly by message, whether from real concern or state inquisition. He states it is certain that couriers sent reports of Agricola's approaching death to the emperor every instant on the day he died.
Chapter 18
Why does Tacitus call Agricola happy in the timing of his death?
Tacitus calls Agricola happy not only for the splendor of his life but for the seasonableness of his death, because he did not witness the senate-house besieged, senators surrounded by arms, the massacre of consular men, and the exile of honorable women under Domitian. Tacitus says Agricola met his fate with resignation and cheerfulness, as if striving to make the emperor appear guiltless.
Chapter 18
How does Tacitus say Agricola should truly be honored?
Tacitus urges that Agricola be honored by admiration, brief praises, and imitation of his example as far as human nature permits, which he calls true honor to the dead and the piety of every near relation. He advises the wife and daughter to revere his memory by revolving his actions and words in their breasts and retaining the form of his mind rather than his person, since the mind's form is eternal while bronze and marble likenesses perish.
Chapter 18
Section 194 cards
According to the notes, what did the name Danubius originally designate?
The notes state that Danubius was given to the portion of the river between its source and Vindobona (Vienna); throughout the rest of its course the river was called Ister. The editor also notes that the Danube discharges into the Euxine with such force that its course can be traced for miles out to sea, which is why Tacitus's term erumpat is praised as graphic.
Chapter 19
How does the editor criticize Tacitus's account of German origins?
The editor says it is well established that the ancestors of the Germans migrated by land from Asia, and that Tacitus falls into a common error by assuming a local fact — namely how migrations occurred in the Mediterranean basin — to be the expression of a general law. The editor marks this as an editorial correction rather than Tacitus's own claim.
Chapter 19
What does the note say about the name 'Germans' and its derivation?
The note derives German from Wehrmann, meaning a warrior or man of war. It says the appellation was first used by the victorious Cisrhenane tribes, but not by the whole Transrhenane nation, until they gradually adopted it as equally due to them on account of their military reputation. The note cites Caesar's Bell. Gall. ii. 4 on Belgic descent from Germans.
Chapter 19
What does the note say about the word barditum?
The note says barditum is of Gallic origin, from bardi, 'bards,' since Gallic bards accompanied armies and celebrated heroes' deeds. But it argues barditum cannot be correct for the Germans, because the whole army, not an appointed body of men, chanted the war-song. Ritter considers 'quem barditum vocant' a marginal gloss wrongly inserted into the text.
Chapter 19
Section 204 cards
Why did the Germans prefer certain kinds of silver coin?
The author explains that the Germans preferred certain silver coins because they feared being cheated with false money. Roman coinage had been debased over time: Livius Drusus mixed brass into silver, Antony mixed iron into the denarius, and some coined base metal or reduced the pieces. Old coins such as the serrated and bigati denarii were purer silver than those of the emperors.
Chapter 20
What does the author say about the size of the ancient Germans?
The author states that the large bodies of the Germans are noted by Tacitus and other authors, and that it would appear most of them were at that time at least six feet tall. He adds that Germans are still counted among the tallest peoples in Europe.
Chapter 20
Why were German cattle formerly small, according to the author?
The author argues the former smallness of German cattle was not due to the nature of the climate. Rather, it was owing to want of care in feeding them, protecting them from the inclemencies of winter, and improving the breed by mixtures. He notes that cattle in some parts of Germany are at present remarkably large.
Chapter 20
What does the author say about iron and weapons among the Germans?
The author states that iron was in great abundance in the earth, but this barbarous people had neither patience, skill, nor industry to dig and work it. Besides, they used weapons of stone, great numbers of which are found in ancient tombs and barrows. He adds that later, when iron grew more plentiful, the Germans chiefly used swords.
Chapter 20
Section 214 cards
How were German tribes, cantons, and townships structured, and what were their names?
The Germans were divided into nations or tribes, then into cantons, then into districts or townships. The cantons (Latin pagi) were called gauen by the Germans themselves; the districts or townships (Latin vici) were called hunderte, whence the English "hundreds." The learned Dithmar gives the name die hunderte, meaning hundred men, to the select youth.
Chapter 21
How did the Germans elect a general or king, according to the chapter?
A general was elected by placing him on a shield and lifting him on the shoulders of the bystanders. The same ceremonial was observed in the election of kings. The chapter notes that if kings were equally conspicuous for valor as for birth, they united the regal with the military command; usually several kings and generals assembled in wars, with the most eminent commanding.
Chapter 21
What role did German women play in war and divination, per the chapter?
Women not only interposed to prevent the flight of husbands and sons but in desperate emergencies themselves engaged in battle; bodies of women in armor were found among the slain after Marcus Aurelius defeated the Marcomanni and allies. Matrons also pronounced from divinations whether a battle would be favorable, as when Ariovistus delayed fighting before the new moon.
Chapter 21
Which deity does Tacitus call Mercury, and what evidence links him to Odin?
Tacitus names a German deity Mercury because his attributes resembled the Roman Mercury. According to Paulus Diaconus, this deity was Wodun or Gwodan, also called Odin. White notes traces of Odin's worship survive in the weekday name: Old Norse Odinsdagr, Swedish and Danish Onsdag, Anglo-Saxon Wodenesdaeg, Dutch Woensdag, English Wednesday, rendered in Latin as Dies Mercurii.
Chapter 21
Section 223 cards
Which Germanic god does the commentary identify with the Roman Mars, and why not Thor?
The commentary identifies Tyr, not Thor, as the deity corresponding to the Roman Mars. Thor is said to represent the Roman Jupiter instead, while Tyr is described as a warrior god and protector of champions and brave men. The name of the third day of the week in Teutonic languages, rendered in Latin as Dies Martis, derives from Tyr.
Chapter 22
How did the Germans practice divination with rods, as illustrated by Saxo-Grammaticus?
The commentary notes that the Scythians and Alans also used divining rods. Saxo-Grammaticus describes inhabitants of the Isle of Rugen throwing three pieces of wood, white in one part and black in another, into their laps; they foretold good fortune by the white coming up and bad by the black.
Chapter 22
What does the commentary say about the German reckoning of time by nights?
The commentary traces this reckoning to high antiquity, citing Genesis: 'the evening and the morning were the first day.' Caesar reports the Gauls, following Druid tradition, claimed descent from Father Dis and reckoned time by nights rather than days, observing birthdays and month and year beginnings so the day follows the night. Vestiges remain in English terms se'nnight and fort'night.
Chapter 22
Section 234 cards
According to the chapter, what were the two kinds of solidus in the Saxon law?
The chapter cites the Saxon law (Tit. xviii.) distinguishing two solidi: the lesser contains two tremisses, equal to a twelve-month beeve or a sheep with its lamb, and compounds homicide; the greater contains three tremisses, a sixteen-month beeve, and covers other crimes. Money still bore a fixed proportion to cattle.
Chapter 23
How were the German nations, cantons, and hundreds organized for justice?
The chapter says the Germans were divided into nations, some under kings and others republican with chiefs. Nations were divided into cantons, each superintended by a count who administered justice; cantons into hundreds of a hundred vills, each with a centenary chosen from the people for small causes. All causes, great and small, came before the count, and courts met in the open air under a large tree.
Chapter 23
What does the chapter say about the origin of chivalry and vassalage?
The chapter calls these the rudiments of chivalry, noting kings' sons received arms from foreign princes; Audoin refused to dine with his son Alboin until the son had received arms from another king. It also credits Montesquieu with deriving the origin of vassalage from these customs, tracing benefices becoming hereditary fiefs and thus the feudal system.
Chapter 23
How does the chapter explain the apparent contradiction in German love of war and indolence?
The chapter contrasts Caesar's claim that Germans spend their lives in hunting and war with Tacitus's picture, arguing hunting occupies only a few months, so those with no other occupation must pass much time in indolence. It says this agrees with North American savages and is consistent with human nature: people governed by impulse pursue everything to extremes.
Chapter 23
Section 243 cards
What did the Saxon law require a man to pay if he married a woman without her parents' consent but with hers?
According to the marriage clauses in the Saxon law, a man who espouses a wife pays 300 solidi to her parents; but if the marriage lacks the parents' consent though the damsel consents, he pays 600 solidi. If neither consents, he pays 300 to the parents and 340 to the damsel and restores her.
Chapter 24
How did the Germans regard cutting off a person's hair?
The Germans had a great regard for hair and looked upon cutting it off as a heavy disgrace. It was therefore made a punishment for certain crimes, and was resented as an injury if practiced upon an innocent person.
Chapter 24
What did Tacitus suggest about the Germans' chastity, and how does note 110 interpret the reading 'septae pudicitia'?
Tacitus presents German chastity as innate virtue rather than the product of husbands' watchfulness. Note 110 argues that 'septa pudicitia' (the Arundelian MS reading) better expresses this than 'septae pudicitia,' which would imply the result of care and watchfulness by husbands.
Chapter 24
Section 253 cards
How did the Germans limit blood feuds, and who paid compensation?
The author argues it was a wise provision that among this fierce, warlike people revenge was commuted for a payment. So the offender's intention to avoid payment would not be frustrated by his poverty, his whole family was jointly bound to make compensation. The author adds that all uncivilized nations share this practice, which becomes less necessary as a nation improves in the arts of civil life.
Chapter 25
What does the Salic law say about a killing at a feast?
The Salic law shows both the frequency of bloody quarrels and the legislature's efforts to restrain them. If at a feast with four or five men one is killed, the rest must either convict one as the offender or jointly pay the composition for his death. The law extended to seven persons present at an entertainment.
Chapter 25
How does Tacitus describe German hospitality toward guests?
Caesar says the Germans think it unlawful to offer violence to guests, who on whatever occasion they come are protected from injury and considered sacred; every house is open and provision set before them. Mela says they make right consist in force yet are kind only to guests and merciful to suppliants. The Salic law, however, forbids harboring atrocious criminals, such as one who dug up the dead, until he satisfies the relations.
Chapter 25
Section 264 cards
Under Germanic law described here, what penalty applied to killing one's own slave versus another's?
A private enemy could not be slain with impunity, since a fine was fixed for homicide. However, a man might kill his own slave without any punishment. If he killed another person's slave, he was obliged to pay the slave's price to the owner.
Chapter 26
According to Caesar as quoted, why did German chiefs annually reassign land to tribes and clans?
Caesar lists several reasons: lest familiarity with one spot lead them to prefer agriculture to war; lest they desire extensive domains and the stronger dispossess the weaker; lest they build with excessive art; lest love of money breed faction; and so that ordinary people, seeing their holdings equal to the most powerful, might be held by equity and moderation.
Chapter 26
What does the note say about the Germans' language and autumn, and how does it contrast with Roman funerals?
The Germans, not planting fruit-trees, were ignorant of autumn's proper products; their language still has no term for the season but Herbst, meaning harvest of corn alone. In funerals they contrasted sharply with Romans: Pliny mentions C. Caecilius Claudius Isidorus spending about 10,000 pounds sterling on his funeral, and spices burned at Poppaea's obsequies.
Chapter 26
What evidence does the note cite for the Osi not being a German nation?
Tacitus seems to decide the point himself near the end of the treatise, observing that their use of the Pannonian language and their acquiescence in paying tribute prove the Osi not to be a German nation. They were settled beyond the Marcomanni and Quadi, occupying northern Transdanubian Hungary. The learned Pelloutier, however, contends they were Germans, but with less probability.
Chapter 26
Section 274 cards
Why were the Decumates so called, and how did Adrian defend them?
The Decumates were apparently so named because the inhabitants, exposed to German incursions, paid a tithe of their products to be received under Roman protection. Adrian defended them by a rampart running from Neustadt on the Danube near the mouth of the Altmühl to the Neckar near Wimpfen, a space of sixty French leagues.
Chapter 27
What does Pliny's description of the Hercynian forest claim about its trees?
Pliny describes vast trees untouched for ages and as old as the world, whose almost immortal destiny exceeds common wonders. He claims hills are raised by the repercussion of their meeting roots, and where the earth does not follow, arches form as high as the branches, bent into open gates wide enough for troops of horse to ride under.
Chapter 27
Which tribes joined the Francic league, and what does the chapter say descended from the Catti?
The Catti, about 150 years later, united with the remains of the Cherusci on this side the Weser, the Attuarii, Sicambri, Chamavi, Bructeri, and Chauci, entered the Francic league, conquered the Romans, and seized Gaul. From the Catti are derived the name, manners, and laws of the French.
Chapter 27
How did Vestricius Spurinna subdue the Bructeri, and what reward followed?
The Bructeri were under regal government and waged many wars against the Romans, hence their arrogance and power. Before they were destroyed by their countrymen, Vestricius Spurinna terrified them into submission without an action, and on that account had a triumphal statue decreed him, a fact Pliny the younger mentions.
Chapter 27
Section 284 cards
What did Drusus impose on the Frisians, and how is he related to Tiberius and Germanicus?
Drusus was the brother of Tiberius and father of Germanicus. He imposed a tribute on the Frisians, as mentioned in the Annals iv. 72, and performed other eminent services in Germany; he himself was styled Germanicus.
Chapter 28
How does Pliny describe the maritime Chauci's way of life?
Pliny describes the Chauci living without trees or fruit, where the ocean floods twice daily, leaving doubt whether land or sea. They build cottages on hilltops or turf mounds, use flags and seaweed for cordage, burn dried mud for fuel, and drink rainwater from ditches. He notes that if conquered by Rome, this miserable people would still call themselves slaves.
Chapter 28
Who were the Cherusci, where did they dwell, and who was their famous chief?
In the reign of Augustus the Cherusci dwelt between the Weser and the Elbe, occupying a more extensive tract than later, reaching even this side of the Weser per Dio and Velleius Paterculus. Their celebrated chief was Arminius, whose brave actions Tacitus relates in the 1st and 2nd books of the Annals.
Chapter 28
What does the chapter say about the Cimbri's numbers, migrations, and later descendants?
Plutarch relates the Cimbri's fighting men numbered 300,000, with far more women and children. Though greatly reduced by migrations, inundations, and wars, they later revived; from this storehouse of nations came the Franks, Saxons, Normans, and other tribes that brought all Europe under Germanic sway. Their fame spread as far as the Sea of Azoph.
Chapter 28
Section 294 cards
According to the chapter, what happened to L. Cassius and his army among the Allobroges?
L. Cassius the consul, in the year of Rome 647, was cut off with his army in the confines of the Allobroges by the Tigurine Gauls, a canton of the Helvetians who had migrated from their settlements. The surviving soldiers gave hostages for payment of half their worth in order to be dismissed with safety. Caesar also relates that the Tigurini passed the Roman army under the yoke.
Chapter 29
How did M. Aurelius Scaurus meet his death among the Cimbri?
Scaurus, the consul's lieutenant (or rather consul, as he appears to have served that office in the year of Rome 646), was defeated and taken by the Cimbri. When asked his advice, he dissuaded them from passing the Alps into Italy, assuring them the Romans were invincible. He was then slain by a furious youth named Boiorix.
Chapter 29
What did Augustus do after the Varus disaster, according to Suetonius?
The catastrophe affected Augustus so deeply that, as Suetonius informs us, he was said to have let his beard and hair grow for several months, during which he at times struck his head against the doors, crying out, 'Varus, restore my legions!' and ever after kept the anniversary as a day of mourning. Tacitus's description of Germanicus's army visiting the battlefield six years later is praised as a fine history piece.
Chapter 29
How did Marius defeat the Teutoni and Cimbri, and what resistance did the women offer?
In his fourth consulate, in the year of Rome 652, Marius engaged the Teutoni beyond the Alps near Aquae Sextiae, killing above 150,000 on the day of battle and the following day, cutting off the Teutonic nation. The next year he defeated the Cimbri in the Raudian plain. Florus says he had to fight the women too, who fought from wagons as from towers; when refused liberty and admission to the vestal priesthood, they strangled their infants and killed themselves.
Chapter 29
Section 304 cards
According to the notes, where did the Angles settle and what name did they give?
The notes locate the Angles in what is now part of Holstein and Sleswig, in a district still called Angeln between Flensborg and Sleswig. In the fifth century, the Angles, together with the Saxons, migrated into Britain and perpetuated their name by giving their appellation to England.
Chapter 30
What does the note say about the island sacred to the goddess Herth?
Many suppose the island was Rugen in the Baltic, but the editor argues it is more probable that it was an island near the mouth of the Elbe, now called Helgeland or Heiligeland (Holy Island). Besides the proof from the name, the editor says its situation agrees better with that of the nations previously enumerated.
Chapter 30
What does the note say about the temple where the goddess Herth was worshipped?
The note explains that templo here means merely "the consecrated place," that is, the grove mentioned earlier, since according to chapter 9 the Germans built no temples. The editor thus clarifies that the worship of Herth took place in a sacred grove rather than in a constructed building.
Chapter 30
How does the note explain Tacitus on the source of the Elbe?
The editor says Tacitus is greatly mistaken if he confounds the source of the Egra, in the country of the Hermunduri, with that of the Elbe, which rises in Bohemia. The Elbe was once well known to the Romans through the victories of Drusus, Tiberius, and Domitius, but later only indistinctly heard of, so its source was probably inaccurately laid down in Roman geographical tables.
Chapter 30
Section 314 cards
What does Tacitus say is the most universal custom among uncivilized peoples?
Tacitus states that no custom has been more universal among uncivilized people than painting the body, done either for ornament or to inspire terror. The chapter presents this as a general observation about barbarian peoples rather than a practice limited to one tribe.
Chapter 31
Which Germanic peoples does the chapter credit with founding a kingdom in Italy and later ruining Rome?
The Heruli are described as the first of the Germans to found a kingdom in Italy under Odoacer. The Goths, Visigoths, and Ostrogoths are named as the nations who accomplished the ruin of the Roman empire. The chapter notes that Visigothic laws still survive but depart from the usual simplicity of German law.
Chapter 31
What does the chapter say about the Suiones' naval power and its results?
The chapter says the Suiones' naval power remained so great that they had the glory of framing the nautical code, first written at Wisby, capital of Gothland, in the eleventh century. It also cites Adam of Bremen on their wealthy temple at Upsal, treating opulence as proof of wealth that attends naval dominion.
Chapter 31
How does the chapter explain the origin of amber and its presence in northern islands?
The chapter cites Pliny on amber being produced in the islands of the Northern Ocean and called gless by the Germans, with one island named Glessaria by Germanicus's fleet. It also quotes Goeppert and Berendt, who argue amber came from resinous trees in a sunken forest, explaining insects trapped inside it.
Chapter 31
Section 324 cards
How does Tacitus distinguish the Peucini from the Sarmatians in their way of living?
The Peucini had fixed habitations, whereas the Sarmatians wandered about in their wagons. The commentary also notes that Pliny counts the Peucini among the German nations, placing them with the Bastarnae on the borders of the Dacians, and that Strabo locates part of the Bastarnae about the mouths of the Danube and the island Peuce.
Chapter 32
What later peoples and places does the commentary connect to the Venedi?
The commentary says the Venedi extended beyond the Peucini and Bastarnae to the Baltic, where the Sinus Venedicus is now the Gulf of Dantzig; their name survives in Wenden in Livonia. It adds that, also called Winedi, they later occupied vacated German settlements between the Vistula and Elbe, crossed the Danube, seized Dalmatia, Illyricum, Istria, Carniola and the Noric Alps, and were also called Slavi.
Chapter 32
How does the commentary defend Tacitus against charges of mixing fable into his account?
The commentator argues Tacitus shows true judgment in refusing to intermix fabulous narrations with his subject, since such a mixture might impeach the fidelity of the whole account. He claims the treatise contains nothing contrary to truth and nature, and that Tacitus's picture of the Germans resembles the savage tribes of North America and is confirmed by later Germanic law codes.
Chapter 32
What does Walther say Tacitus means by asking venia at the start of the Agricola?
Walther explains venia as an apology, in the language of modesty, for the justification Tacitus has just offered: he appeals to the usage of both remote antiquity and later times to justify writing a distinguished man's biography. In other times no such apology would be needed; but after a long servile silence, being the first to hand down deeds and manners again, he seems to venture on something so new and bold that it requires apology.
Chapter 32
Section 334 cards
Why did Domitian execute Arulenus Rusticus and Herennius Senecio, according to Dio?
Dio says Domitian put Rusticus to death because he studied philosophy and had called Thrasea holy, and Senecio because, though he lived many years after serving as quaestor, he sought no other post and had written the Life of Helvidius Priscus. Suetonius less accurately says Rusticus published panegyrics of Thrasea and Priscus, styling them most holy, and that Domitian then expelled all philosophers from the city and Italy.
Chapter 33
What was Julius Graecinus ordered to do, and what happened when he refused?
From Tacitus's passage it seems some legal forms were taken in the case of Silanus, and Julius Graecinus was ordered to be his accuser. That noble-minded man refused to take part in such cruel and iniquitous proceedings and was himself put to death. Seneca praises Graecinus as an example of a great mind, whom Caius Caesar killed for being a better man than a tyrant could tolerate.
Chapter 33
What was the office of a tent-companion, and what example does the chapter give?
It was usual for generals to admit young men of promising character to this honorable companionship, which resembled the office of an aide-de-camp in modern service. Suetonius informs us that Caesar made his first campaign in Asia as tent-companion to Marcus Thermus the praetor. The chapter also notes that quaestors and their secretaries were assigned by lot to provinces so they would have no prior connections with governors and could serve as checks on each other.
Chapter 33
What did Tacitus propose to write besides his History and Annals?
The chapter states that at this time Tacitus proposed to write not only the books of his History and Annals, which contain the memorial of past servitude, but also an account of the present blessings exemplified in the occurrences under Nerva and Trajan. This happy period began when, after Domitian's death and the rescission of his acts, imperial authority devolved on Nerva, whose virtues were emulated by Trajan, Hadrian, and both Antonines.
Chapter 33
Section 344 cards
What did Tacitus report about the northern sea and the length of northern nights?
Tacitus reports that the northern sea was described as thick and almost solid, so oars could scarcely move, though he prefers to explain it by lack of winds. He also says that in the far north the summer nights are so light that evening and morning are hard to distinguish, and that this brightness comes from the sky above rather than the earth.
Chapter 34
What did Agricola accomplish regarding the circumnavigation of Britain?
According to the chapter, Agricola's fleet sailed around Britain and confirmed it to be an island. The first circumnavigators reportedly exaggerated the dangers of the northern sea, describing it as half-solid. Tacitus, however, explains its stillness by the absence of winds and the difficulty of moving so great a body of water, a claim the editor Aiken calls erroneous.
Chapter 34
How does the chapter describe the Orkney Islands and Thule?
The Orkneys were first thoroughly known to the Romans in this period, though earlier authors mentioned them: Mela counted thirty, Pliny forty. Under Claudius, reports about them were current, and flattery turned this into news of a victory. Thule is identified variously by later writers as Shetland, Iceland, Norway, or Foula, and Pliny calls it the most remote known island.
Chapter 34
What does the chapter say about Britain's climate and soil?
Caesar is quoted saying Britain's climate is more temperate than Gaul's, with less severe cold, which the editor attributes to its insular situation and moist atmosphere. Pliny notes the longest day in Britain is seventeen hours. Pennant adds that Britain's clouded skies produce an abundance of wholesome vegetables, a fertility he credits to that very gloom.
Chapter 34
Section 354 cards
What did Augustus think about conquering and keeping Britain?
The author notes that Augustus deliberately chose not to extend the empire's limits, and regarding Britain specifically, he judged that conquest and preservation would cost more than the island could repay. Tiberius, who professed full deference to Augustus's maxims and injunctions, was probably convinced of their propriety in this instance.
Chapter 35
Who invaded Britain in A.D. 43, and in what year of Rome?
Claudius invaded Britain in the year of Rome 796, which corresponds to A.D. 43. The chapter's notes also record that Caesar's two expeditions into Britain occurred in the years of Rome 699 and 700, and that Caesar himself described them, with Strabo and Dio also mentioning them.
Chapter 35
What does Pliny say about British pearls and Julius Caesar?
Pliny states that small and discolored pearls are certainly produced in Britain, and that the deified Julius gave evidence of this by dedicating to Venus Genitrix a breastplate made of British pearls, which he placed in her temple. Origen separately describes the British pearl as next in value to the Indian, gold-colored on the surface but cloudy and less transparent.
Chapter 35
According to the notes, what caused the Britons to be forced into war?
The notes state that Tacitus, in the Annals xiv. 32, mentions the avarice of Catus Decidianus the procurator as the cause by which the Britons were forced into this war. The note adds that Julius Classicianus, who succeeded Decidianus, was at variance with the governor but was no less oppressive to the province.
Chapter 35
Section 364 cards
What does Tacitus note about the number of years since Claudius's invasion of Britain?
The chapter states that Claudius's expedition into Britain occurred in the year of Rome 796, and only forty-two years elapsed from then to the period of this engagement. The number fifty, therefore, is given oratorically rather than accurately, according to the annotation.
Chapter 36
How does Caesar describe the British method of fighting from essedae, according to the chapter?
Caesar describes drivers wheeling along the line throwing javelins to disorder ranks by the horses and rattling wheels, then leaping from chariots to fight on foot while drivers withdraw for retreat. He notes they train to hold horses at full speed downhill, stop suddenly, turn in a short compass, run on the pole, and stand on the cross-tree.
Chapter 36
What does the chapter say about the wall later built between the Clyde and Forth?
About fifty-five years after Agricola left the island, Lollius Urbicus, governor of Britain under Antoninus Pius, erected a rampart from Old Kirkpatrick on the Clyde to Caeridden near Abercorn on the Forth, nearly thirty-seven miles long, defended by twelve or thirteen forts, supposed to be on the sites of Agricola's. It is usually called Graham's dike.
Chapter 36
What happened to the Usipian deserters who sailed around Britain, according to the chapter?
According to Dio, they set out from the western side of the island, coasted Scotland, passed through the Hebrides and the dangerous Pentland Firth, rounded to the eastern side, and were driven to the mouth of the Baltic Sea. There they lost their ships; attempting to return home by land, they were seized as pirates, part by the Suevi and the rest by the Frisii.
Chapter 36
Section 374 cards
What did Domitian's expedition into Germany accomplish?
According to the chapter, Domitian made a pompous expedition into Germany and returned without ever seeing the enemy. The chapter compares this to Caligula, who dyed tall men's hair red to give credit to a pretended victory over the Germans. Both are presented as empty displays rather than genuine military achievements.
Chapter 37
How did Domitian try to recall Agricola from Britain?
Domitian feared Agricola might refuse the recall or hold his post by force. He sent a confidential freedman with an autograph letter granting Agricola the province of Syria, but this was a ruse. The freedman was to deliver it only if Agricola had not already left; finding him en route to Rome, the freedman returned to Domitian.
Chapter 37
What was the 'triumphal ornaments' honor after 740 AUC?
The chapter notes that the triumph itself, after the year of Rome 740, was no longer granted to private persons but reserved for the imperial family. The 'triumphal ornaments' still bestowed were a peculiar garment, statue, and other insignia that had distinguished the person of the triumphing general. This new piece of adulation was invented by Agrippa to gratify Augustus.
Chapter 37
Why did testators make the emperor co-heir with their children?
The chapter explains that making the emperor co-heir with the testator's children was not uncommon and was done to secure the remainder to the family. It cites Prasutagus, king of the Iceni in Britain, who made Nero co-heir with his two daughters, and Lucius Vetus, whose friends urged him to leave part of his property to the emperor so his grandsons might enjoy the rest.
Chapter 37
Section 384 cards
What does Tacitus mean by "our own hands" in this passage?
The notes explain that by "our own hands" Tacitus means one of our own body, a senator. Since Publicius Certus seized Helvidius and led him to prison, Tacitus imputes the crime to the whole senatorian order. Pliny makes the same point, calling it atrocious that in the senate-house one senator should lay hands on another, a praetorian on a consular man, a judge on a criminal.
Chapter 38
Who was Massa Baebius, and how does Pliny's letter connect him to Tacitus?
Tacitus, in his History, mentions Massa Baebius as a person most destructive to all men of worth and constantly engaged on the side of villains. From a letter of Pliny's to Tacitus, it appears that Herennius Senecio and Pliny himself were joined as counsel for the province of Boetica in a prosecution of Massa Baebius, and that Massa, after his condemnation, petitioned the consuls for liberty to prosecute Senecio for treason.
Chapter 38
What textual problem does note 156 discuss regarding Mauricus and Rusticus?
Note 156 states there is some defect in the manuscripts, which critics have tried to supply in different ways. Brotier seems to prefer, though he does not adopt it in the text, the reading "nos Mauricum Rusticumque divisimus," meaning "we parted Mauricus and Rusticus," by the death of one and the banishment of the other. The prosecution and crime of Rusticus (Arulenus) is mentioned at the beginning of the piece, c. 2; Mauricus was his brother.
Chapter 38
How do Pliny and Seneca describe Domitian's and Sylla's appearance when angry?
Pliny, in his Panegyric on Trajan, describes Domitian as terrible even to behold: pride in his brow, anger in his eyes, a feminine paleness in the rest of his body, and in his face shamelessness suffused in a glowing red. Seneca remarks in Epist. xi. that some are never more to be dreaded than when they blush, as if they had effused all their modesty, and that Sylla was always most furious when the blood had mounted into his cheeks.
Chapter 38
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