Agricola and Germania [Reprint ed.] 9780140442410, 0140442413

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Penguin (#) Classics

TACITUS

THE AGRICOLA AND TH GERMANIA

)

.

THE PENGUIN CLASSICS FOUNDER EDITOR (1944-64): E. V. RIEU Editor: Betty Radice

Cornelius tacitus was born about

who

vived the emperor Trajan

a.d. 56

and probably sur-

died in 117. In a

appreciative of elegance in the spoken and written distinction as an impressive orator,

monographs, the Dialogue, torical style.

His

Rome

keenly

word he gained

and one of his three surviving

a historical survey of changes in ora-

is

political career as a senator

began under Vespasian

(69-79) and developed under Titus (79-81) and

Domitian

(81-96).

Despite the alleged reign of terror at the end of this period, he sur-

vived to enjoy the consulship in 97 and, fifteen years

later,

the

highest civilian provincial governorship, that of Western Anatolia.

His other monographs, the biographical Agricola and the ethnographical Germania, appeared within a short time of each other in 98.

Of his

later

and major works, the

Histories

were intended to

cover the years from Nero's death in 68 to that of Domitian in 96, and the Annals those from a.d. 14 to 68. Both books have survived,

though mutilated. Tacitus was a friend of Pliny the Younger, who greatly admired him. He was married to the daughter of Julius Agricola, governor of Britain in the seventies and eighties. historian

know

is

generally reticent about himself, and

his place

of origin, though

Italy

we do

But the

not even

and southern France are

possible candidates for this honour.

born in 1884 and died in 1964. A best known for his study of Roman

HAROLD mattingly was distinguished numismatist, he

is

coinage at the British Museum where he worked from 1910 to 1948.

As

a classical scholar

He

and historian

wrote over four hundred

his interests

articles

Imperial Civilization, first published

embodied the

Roman s.

A.

reflections

when he was

his

Roman

seventy-two,

of a lifetime devoted to the study of the

world.

handford was born at Manchester in 1898 and educated at

Bradford Grammar School and

he took a 'double sea,

were wide-ranging.

and books and

first*

and Lecturer and Reader

published several books on Caesar's

at Balliol College,

in classics. at

He has

King's College, London.

classical subjects,

The Conquest of Gaul,

Oxford, where

been a lecturer in Swan-

Sallust's

He

has

and has translated

The Jugurthine War and The

Conspiracy of Cataline (in one volume) and Aesop's Fables for the

Penguin

Classics, besides revising the present

volume.

TACITUS

THE AGRICOLA AND THE GERMANIA TRANSLATED WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY H. MATTINGLY TRANSLATION REVISED BY S. A. HANDFORD

PENGUIN BOOKS

Penguin Books Ltd, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England Penguin Books Inc., 71 10 Ambassador Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21207, U.S.A. Penguin Books Australia Ltd, Ringwood, Victoria, Australia Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 41 Steelcase Road West, Markham, Ontario, Canada Penguin Books (N.Z.) Ltd, 182-190 Wairau Road, Auckland 10, New Zealand

This translation first published 1948 Reprinted 1951, 1954, i960, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967 Revised translation published 1970 Reprinted 1971, 1973, 1975, I9?6

©

Copyright the Estate of H. Mattingly, 1948, 1970 Copyright S. A. Handford, 1970

©

Made and

printed in Great Britain

by Hazell Watson

&

Viney Ltd,

Aylesbury, Bucks Set in

Monotype Bembo

This book is sold subject to the condition that it -hall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circula-ed without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

CONTENTS Prefacb

7

Introduction

9

i

Tacitus

9

n

Agricola, the

Man

m

Agricola, the

Book

IV

Tacitus* s Account

V

13

15

of Britain

Britain before Agricola 9

18

19

Agricola s Governorship

21

vn

Britain after Agricola

22

vm

The Army of Britain

23

Germania, the Book

24

VI

DC

X Germany XI

xn

and Rome

in History

30

The Early Roman Empire

34

The

42

Constitution of the Empire

xm

The Provinces of the Empire

45

XIV

The Army and Fleet of the Empire

47

Agricola

51

Germania Notes Agricola

IOI

142

Germania

153

Select Bibliography

161

Glossary

163

Maps

Roman

Britain

Germany

in the

50

Time of Tacitus

100

The maps on

pages 50 and 100 are

reproduced by the courtesy of the

Clarendon Press from H. Furneaux's edition of Agricola (revised

Anderson) and

J.

by J. G. C.

G. C. Anderson's

edition of Germania respectively

PREFACE It

is

now

twenty-two years since the translation of

Tacitus's Agricola and Germania (under the title

by Harold Mattingly

and Germany)

When

appeared

this translation first

one of the best

translations available

it

On

first

Britain

appeared.

was accepted

as

of these two books;

but in the course of time certain opinions have been revised,

both about translations in general and about the

approach to Tacitus's work. For these reasons,

Handford and Penguins have produced

this

S.

A.

revision,

taking the opportunity to correct a few inaccuracies.

They wish of

to

all classical

acknowledge scholars, to

their indebtedness,

and

that

Harold Mattingly, upon the

foundation of whose original translation

this text has

been prepared. Harold Mattingly 's original Introduction has been preserved substantially as he wrote

it.

INTRODUCTION The

of

Agricola

Tacitus, the biography

famous governor of

and

national story, est.

as

Roman

Britain,

is

of the most part of our

such has a direct claim on our inter-

The Germania, a detailed account of a great people that

had already begun to be a European problem century of our era, should twentieth.

The

countries that

now,

still

in the first

have a message for us

story of the hero and the story

were combined

at a later stage

in

in the

of strange

Homer's Odyssey have

of literature, come to receive separate

treatment.

The general reader may like XI-XIV of this Introduction are

to

know

less

that sections

immediately neces-

sary to the understanding of the text than sections I-X,

and that the bibliography and some of the notes are intended chiefly for

I.

classical students.

Tacitus

Cornelius Tacitus was born, probably in a country

town

of Gallia Narbonensis,

some

time

after 115.

in a.d. 56 or 57

and died

at

The son of a Roman Knight, he himself

rose to senatorial rank senatorial career.

Asia in 11 2-1 13.

and passed through a normal

He was consul in 97 and governor of He was an intimate friend of Pliny the

Younger. Both were successful orators and distinguished

men of letters.

Pliny was proud to be regarded as a pupil

of Tacitus and to be bracketed with him

in popular

INTRODUCTION repute. letters

He

addressed to

him

a

number of his published

- two of them giving a

of the

detailed account

eruption of Vesuvius for the use of Tacitus in his Histories.

Of the private life of Tacitus we know very little indeed. He married the daughter of Agricola in 77, but he never mentions her name.

The

first literary

works of Tacitus, the

Agricola

and the

The Dialogus de Then came the major

Germania, were completed in a.d. 98. Oratoribus historical

of uncertain

is

works - the

date.

Histories,

covering the years 69-96,

and the Annals (completed between 115 and started

from

to the death

which

the death of Augustus in 14 and continued

of Nero

in 68.

to us incomplete. Tacitus his old

120),

Both works have come down us that he

tells

had reserved for

age an account of the happier age that followed

the death of Domitian in 96.

But it was never written. Did

death overtake him, or had he lost the zest to write? Tacitus was one of those Italians of sound old stock who

brought to the service of the Empire a loyalty and devotion that recall the best days

of the Republic.

It

was the

destiny of Rome to rule the world, the destiny of the high-

born

Roman

to share in that great task;

meant not the of Tacitus

as

and

city only, but Italy as well.

something

like

an

officer

Rome now

We may think

of a colonial army

and a colonial administrator rolled into one.

He

has a

passionate belief in the 'career' as the thing that chiefly

matters in

life.

Men like Tacitus continued to pursue that career under emperors good or bad. He had experience of tyrants like 10

INTRODUCTION Nero and Domitian and of constitutional emperors like He reflected much on his

Vespasian, Nerva, and Trajan.

experience, and ended with the sad conclusion that one

must not expect too much. Autocracy and freedom could

The

not finally be reconciled.

was

fact

that imperial

The

tyrant

Domitian had forced the Senate to co-operate

in his

tyranny pressed hardest on the senators.

tyranny, and such

men

as Tacitus,

against their consciences in friends, burst

condemnation of

out into violent denunciations

the tyrant was safely dead. This

but

leads Tacitus

it

unfairly.

constrained to vote

After

all,

soon

as

was natural enough,

to judge the it

own

their as

Empire somewhat

did confer on the world the

great blessings

of peace and order, and to Tacitus and

men

it

like

worth

As

him

opened up

all

that

made

their lives

living.

a historian Tacitus has several obvious defects.

He is

often amazingly careless about geography and military

He is not deeply interested He is not always just, as, for

man in the when he

history.

in the

street.

example,

hints,

on very

Agricola.

He

slight grounds, that

Domitian poisoned

permits himself an occasional sneer at the

enemies of Rome, more suitable to cheap journalism

of any age than to a serious work of

mocks the Britons

for adopting

Roman

history.

He

civilization

-

He gibes at the Bructeri, butchering Roman holiday. He finds it Roman legions should stand safely in

poor, deluded slaves.

and butchered to provide a glorious' that

reserve while their brave auxiliaries bear the brunt

II

of

INTRODUCTION battle.

is

enough

manly and high-minded, and

between

problems.

his

There

against rather trivial objects.

it

common

in

sympathize with fact,

is

He has a lively imagina-

capable of genuine moral indignation, even if he

occasionally directs is

qualities.

and a quick wit, he

tion

he

But he has great

his

age and ours for us to

The Roman Empire

nearer to us spiritually than our

own country

is,

in

in the

Middle Ages.

The

style

of Tacitus grew under the influence of

earlier writers

such

as

Cicero and

something

finally into

distinct

but developed

Sallust,

and unique,

like his

own

Germans. Tacitus period.

is

fond of short sentences and shuns the long

He is terse, fond of variety,

poetic forms

given to inversion and

of expression. His works were probably

designed to be declaimed, in the a chapter so often ends

first place.

with an epigram;

That

it is

applause before the next chapter begins.

is

all

why

a signal for

Many of these

epigrams leave their sting behind them. But occasionally the

form

is

there without the

actually has to say

is

spirit,

quite simple

because what Tacitus

and not

really

epigram-

matic. Tacitus's prose

is

exceptionally hard to render into

He was a great stylist - perhaps Roman Empire - and no translation

another language. greatest

of the

be really least

faithful to the original unless

it

the

can

reproduces at

something of his sombre magnificence and mordant

wit.

12

INTRODUCTION ii.

Agricola, the

Man

The name of Cn. Tacitus, site

is

Julius Agricola, the father-in-law

preserved

of the legionary

on

a lead pipe discovered

fortress at Chester;

of

on the

and a few

letters

which certainly formed part of his name appear on one of the surviving fragments of an inscription found in the

forum of Verulamium. But Tacitus judged was

his

own

Agricola's

To little

story that

to add.

He was born

name and in that of his The

may

father

in a.d. 40.

dates

by Tacitus

The

there

is

'Julius* in his

father suggests a possibility that an

have been enfranchised by Julius Caesar.

wrote on the cultivation of the vine, and that

possibly led to his son's being

The

it

memory.

the details of his career recorded

ancestor

rightly that

would confer immortality on

named

'Agricola* (farmer).

of Agricola's appointments were:

Tribunus Militum in Britain,

c.

a.d. 61.

Quaestor in Asia, 64.

Tribunus Plebis in Rome, 66. Praetor in

Rome,

Legatus Legionis

68.

XX in Britain, 70-73/4.

Legatus Praetorius in Aquitania, 74-77.

Consul in

Rome

for

some months, 77 or

78.

Legatus Praetorius in Britain, 78-84.

Retirement in Rome, 84-93, and death in the latter year.

Agricola, then, during his long and honourable career

of public

service,

had the opportunity of acquiring an 13

INTRODUCTION unrivalled

knowledge of the province of Britain. He had a

good eye

for the site

But

his strategy has

of a

been

fort

and was an able

criticized

and

tactician.

seven years of

his

campaigning did not produce very decisive or permanent His optimistic opinion that Ireland could be

results.

conquered and held by a single legion and a small force of (Chapter 24) might well

auxiliaries

reader gasp. Tacitus's description

Chapter 35) face

of

as

make

a thoughtful

of his father-in-law

(in

'always an optimist and resolute in the

difficulties' is

perhaps a

little

truer than he in-

we cannot refuse some sympathy to the who pleaded for a 'strategic retreat' because

tended; and

'cowards'

they thought that Agricola was asking for trouble by his

bold dash into Caledonia (Chapter

25),

Domitian can

hardly be blamed for recalling him. Agricola had had a

long innings, and troops were urgently needed at more vital spots

on the Rhine and Danube. Tacitus awards very

high praise to the

civil

Aquitania (Chapter Britain too

9)

government of Agricola both and

in

in Britain (Chapter 19). In

much was, perhaps, sacrificed to campaigning;

for Agricola, as Tacitus admits,

glory (Chapter

was

in love

with military

5).

Agricola, like Tacitus, accepted the world as he found it.

A

good man

himself, he

was pained by Domitian's

bad government. But he was

sensible

sacrifice his life in a useless defiance

refusal

and would not

of authority. The

of Domitian to make any use of Agricola's

after his return

services

from Britain was very likely prompted by

jealousy and fear.

But there was no 14

real

evidence that he

'

INTRODUCTION poisoned him, and Tacitus might have acknowledged this

more frankly.

Of Agricola's

personality each reader

himself. Tacitus certainly loved

convinces us that he had there are

few

must judge

good reason

for so doing.

intimate, or even personal, touches.

never told any anecdote of his

for

and honoured him, and

life

But

We are

camp or town, of

in

how he dealt with such and such a troublesome centurion or won over such and such a Scottish chief. We meet rebel Britons, Roman soldiers, Caledonian champions of freedom. But we hardly see them except as masses. One wonders whether Agricola himself Agricola, then, has press,

but

it is

did.

power both to

rather the portrait

The

attract

portrait

of

and to im-

of a career than of a

man. in. Agricola, the

Book

The Agricola belongs to the class 'biography* and - to some extent - to the sub-class 'eulogy'. It is also a tribute to piety, for the object

of the eulogy was

Tacitus's

own

loved and honoured father-in-law. Such tributes to greatness

were paid throughout

classical antiquity.

only mention the works of Xenophon, Plutarch

We

Isocrates,

need

and

among the Greeks, and Cornelius Nepos and among the Romans. There were two other

Suetonius

Latin works - the Bellum Iugurthinum and Catilina of Sallust

- which contributed much

Agricola,

to the plan

even though neither of them

is

of the

exactly

a

biography. Apart from Roman literary works, there were 15

INTRODUCTION also the funeral orations customarily delivered

over the

illustrious dead.

The

Agricola follows the

1-3 the subject

4-9 the

life

is

common

plan. In Chapters

introduced and explained in Chapters ;

and career of Agricola are sketched down to

on the governorship of Britain. Then follows a digression - a description of Britain (Chapters 10-12) and

his entry

a short history

In Chapter 18

of the

early conquest (Chapters 13-17).

we come

back to Agricola and follow

glorious career in Britain

down

to Chapter 38.

cluding Chapters, 39-46, describe his recall to perils in retirement,

and

his

The conRome, his

death - ending with the

his

thought of his undying fame.

The Agricola was probably written in a.d.

97-98, begun

before the death of Nerva and completed afterwards. Tacitus was already planning to write a general history of

the years 69-96, and the account of Britain in the Agricola has been regarded as a preparative study.

biographical interest that

why

the

rative

that

is

is

always

main part of the work simply that Agricola's

to'

consists title

But

the fore.

to

it is

the

The reason

of historical nar-

fame was the

fact

he played an important part in conquering Britain

Roman frontier known world.

and thus extending the extreme north of the

nearer to the

But was the Agricola something more than a biography?

Was is

it

some

a tract in defence

of political moderation? There

truth in the suggestion, but

estimated.

it

must not be over-

Agricola had certainly never opposed the

tyrannical Domitian.

He was

a great

16

man

as far as

he was

INTRODUCTION allowed to be, but he

knew when he must

may be accepted as

Agricola the defence

submit. For

adequate; but the

charge of subservience could equally well be levelled at Tacitus and his friends, and here the defence

They had

ful.

success-

is less

suffered in silence, acquiescing against their

consciences in the

condemnation of

their friends.

believed in the importance of their careers and

felt

They

no

call

martyrdom. But they were trying to make the of both worlds - to survive under a bad emperor and

to fruitless best

good

to resume full rank as patriots under a

own

conscience

shame

as

culture

is

a

little

one. Tacitus's

uneasy. In Chapter 2 there

well as sorrow in the story of Domitian's

is

war on

and merit; and in Chapter 45 - the description of final reign of terror - there is almost a con-

Domitian's fession

of

guilt

- 'we senators watched

who fell victims desperate men rushing to

Those

promptissimus quisque, say. life

There

is,

all

to

their

doom; they

all

included

the ' live wires ', one might almost

therefore, an element

of Tacitus and

shame'.

in

Domitian were not

but

his friends;

of apology for the

it is

only a subordinate

part of the book.

The Agricola has exercised ation after generation history

of our

own

on gener- the early

a steady attraction

of readers. The subject - has a strong natural

island

appeal.

The style often sparkles, and is never dull or sluggish. Deep in the heart of the book lies an ideal that commands admiration - belief in Rome, in Roman destiny, and in the

Roman ways and

standards of life. There

tragedy in the thought that

is

a note

this ideal has to live in

17

of an

INTRODUCTION which make it impossible And throughout a touch of

unfriendly world, in conditions for

it

to reach perfection.

warmth

added by the true

is

affection that Tacitus

bore

his father-in-law.

9

iv. Tacitus s

Britain

Account of Britain

was already

fairly

known

well

the time Tacitus began to write.

to the

Romans by

Even before 300

B.C.

Pytheas of Marseilles had visited the island; he published

some

precious details about

for his pains. Caesar, Strabo,

had added

their

but was only called a

it,

Pomponius Mela, and others,

quota to the account. Tacitus had the

obvious advantage of close relationship to one Britain as

no Roman had ever known

hard to take him quite seriously put research on a guess-work. taken

more

Tacitus

new

He might

still

held the

between them.

it

He

Britain. Certainly

But

it is

claims to have

solid fact to replace

possibly have

done so had he

false belief that Britain

actually

accepted a

he could

positively that Britain

had confirmed the It is

who knew

before.

when he

with

basis,

it

trouble.

nearer Spain than

before.

liar

false

now

was much

and that Ireland lay

is,

view of the shape of

for the

first

time

state

was an island - Agricola's admiral

fact;

but

it

had been guessed long

hard again to understand

the Orkneys as 'hitherto

how he can speak of

unknown'; 'unexplored' might

be the truer word. Tacitus omits some

details

found in

Caesar about the customs of the Britons - for example, their partiality for geese

and

their collective marriages

18

-

INTRODUCTION without troubling to correct them, tion.

He

if they

needed correc-

never mentions the Druids, never says a

about the native British coinage, though

have been obsolete by

He

his time.

has

it

word

can hardly

good accounts

of the climate and of the deep inland penetrations of the sea in the north. after expedition

But he sends Agricola on expedition

without once mentioning

does not mention

towns, such

as

that

He

London, Verulamium, or York. Writing

for the special purpose

much

his base.

by name any of the chief Roman of biography, he

must have figured

clearly omits

in his Histories.

But the

achievements of Agricola, thrown onto so uncertain a

background,

begin

become blurred

to

themselves.

Tacitus writes as if any province, any provincials, any

army, any enemy might serve equally well to his hero's virtues.

Modern

taste

demands more

illustrate

precision.

v. Britain before Agricola

Modern

archaeologists can

of Britain

in the later Iron

tell

us a

little

about the culture

Age, but detailed knowledge

only begins with Julius Caesar. That great conqueror, during

his victories in Gaul,

conquered Britain on

became aware of an un-

his flank

and decided to reduce

it.

His two expeditions - the one in 55 B.C. a mere reconnaissance in force, the second in 54 B.C. an attempt at a partial

conquest - were not wholly successful. Indeed, had

any account but Caesar's own,

we

should perhaps regard

the second expedition as a definite failure. Britain, ally subject to tribute,

remained in 19

\

we

nomin-

fact independent.

INTRODUCTION Augustus for a short time played with the idea of conquering Britain, but soon abandoned projects.

So our island remained

it

for

more

serious

But intercourse

free.

between Britain and Gaul was active and Roman influence steadily

for

grew. Cunobelinus (Shakespeare's Cymbeline)

most of his long reign was a friend of Rome. Caligula

in a.d. 39 gave a welcome to an exiled British prince and toyed with the idea of an invasion. But it was actually left

to Claudius to carry out the enterprise in a.d. 43. His

chief motive

was the ambition

(iustus triumphus)

by adding to the empire a country which

had invaded without making any very

Julius Caesar serious

to earn a 'proper triumph'

endeavour to annex it.* Britain, though apparently

in a disturbed condition, could hardly

dangerous to

Rome; and

expected from

the

it

The conquest was

if great

hope was

as

mineral wealth was

certainly disappointed.

carried out without a hitch

by Aulus

Claudius himself spent some days with his

Plautius.

victorious

army and was

saluted as 'Imperator'.

south-east of Britain and Vectis

quickly overrun.

The

(Isle

of Wight) were

The next governor,

Ostorius Scapula

(47-52), fought against the Silures in

away

be regarded

South Wales, drove

the patriot leader Caratacus, son of Cunobelinus,

and enforced

his surrender

Brigantes in Yorkshire.

By

when he fled north to the 49 the Romans had probably

reached the Trent, Severn, and Dee, and were masters

of Lincoln, Wroxeter, and

became

Chester. Colchester

a colony.

*

Suetonius, Divus Claudius 17.

20

now

INTRODUCTION Under Didius was no

Gallus (52-58) and Veranius (58) there

serious advance.

Suetonius Paulinus (58/9-61)

ventured out incautiously from

Chester

to

occupy

Anglesey, but was completely surprised by a general rising in his rear. It

Queen of avenge.

The

was

swept

rebels

led

by Boudicca

(Boadicea),

bitter private

wrongs

who had

the Iceni,

all

before

to

them and overran

London, Colchester, and Verulamium. The cause of

Rome

looked desperate. But Paulinus, hastening back,

brought the enemy to battle somewhere in the Midlands

and retrieved everything by a

single decisive victory.

Paulinus was too merciless to the guilty, and the revolt

dragged on. The government of Nero, therefore, showed true nius

wisdom

by the

in replacing Paulinus

He and

Turpilianus.

his

gentler Petro-

successors,

Trebellius

Maximus and Vettius Bolanus, ruled mildly during the years 61-71. The province as a whole was at peace, but the armies

were mutinous.

Petilius Cerealis,

showed

one of Vespasian's

great vigour

ablest generals,

and made good progress with the

conquest of the Brigantes in Yorkshire (71-74).

daunted by

his

great reputation,

his

Un-

successor Julius

Frontinus (74-78) broke the resistance of the Silures in

South Wales. vi. Agricolas Governorship It

was almost

certainly in a.d. 78 that Agricola succeeded

Frontinus in Britain.

His seven campaigns

may be summarized 21

as follows:

INTRODUCTION (i)

a.d. 78. Defeat

of the Ordovices

in

North Wales.

Conquest of Anglesey. (2) a.d. 79.

Advance northwards by western route from

Chester and York. North-west England consolidated by forts and garrisons. (3)

a.d.

80.

Advance northwards by

eastern route,

penetrating, at the farthest, as far north as the Tay. (4)

a.d.

Consolidation of Forth-Clyde line by-

81.

establishment of forts (Camelon,

Croy

Hill,

Bar

Hill, etc.). (5) a.d. 82.

Firth to

Advance along west

coast

from Solway

Galloway peninsula and Ayrshire. Invasion

of Ireland possibly contemplated,

certainly not

carried out. (6) a.d. 83.

Advance through

to the north

coastal areas

around and

of the Tay, with co-operation of fleet.

Caledonians attack forts and try to storm

(7)

ninth legion.

A

round North

Britain.

a.d.

84.

Firth.

camp of

cohort of Usipi mutinies and

Advance

sails

neighbourhood of Moray

to

Crushing defeat of Caledonians

at

Mons

Graupius. Agricola recalled in the same year.

Readers will observe has to be added to

make

how much

geographical detail

Tacitus's account intelligible,

vii. Britain after Agricola

Tacitus

tells

us

(Histories

1,2)

that

Britain had been

'completely conquered and then immediately

let go'.

This refers to the fact that a few years after Agricola's

22

INTRODUCTION was withdrawn from the province, to

recall a legion

help in dealing with troubles elsewhere, and

permanent

in

demolished. But

this

gains to

mean

were abandoned. Some of his

have

still

from

Britain

all

Agricola's

been held early in the reign of Trajan. In

the

Tyne to from

Pius built a wall

in.

that

Scottish forts appear

and the following years Hadrian

a.d. 122

wall

does not

some of his

were evacuated and

Perthshire

forts

famous

built his

the Solway ; and in 142 Antoninus the Forth to the Clyde.

The Army of Britain

was occupied,

four legions -

II

Claudian conquest, by IX Hispana, XIV Gemina, and

after the

Augusta,

XX Valeria - with the usual addition of auxiliary forces. Of these

legions, the following

were

still

in Britain at

the time of Agricola's arrival:

Legio

II

Augusta

(at

Legio DC Hispana Legio

A

(at

York)

XX Valeria

fourth legion,

in a.d. 71,

Caerleon)

Adiutrix, had replaced XIV Gemina now stationed at Chester. Among the in Britain we can identify four cohorts II

and was

auxiliary troops

of Batavi and two of Tungri which fought

Mons

at

Graupius, a cohort of Usipi that deserted and sailed round

North

Britain,

and perhaps one or more cohorts of

Britons. Tacitus does not

mention the name of

one of Agricola's justly famous permanent

number of

these,

careful excavation

a single

forts.

however, have been identified

-

especially those at

23

Fendoch

A

after

(at

the

INTRODUCTION mouth of the Sma' Glen

and

in Perthshire)

at Inchtuthil

(on the north bank of the Tay, eleven miles north of Perth).

When

Legio

II

Adiutrix was withdrawn from

Britain (perhaps as early as a.d. 87), Legio

XX

Valeria

was moved from Scotland into England and some of these forts abandoned.

ix. Germania, the

Tacitus's essay

'

On

Book the Origin and

many* was long ago certainly the best age.

The

of its kind

own; but none

the

less it

Here

as

always

it is

to Greece that

it

follows a

had gradually been developed over many

Hecataeus of Miletus,

It

in antiquity, perhaps in

genius of the author has stamped

character of its that

Geography of Ger-

hailed as a 'golden book'.

is

any

with a

model

centuries.

one must look

first.

Herodotus, the great medical

writer Hippocrates, and Aristotle himself, had found time for the study

of peoples. Coming to

find Posidonius

of Rhodes

(c.

135-50

Roman B.C.)

times,

we

devoting to

Germany the thirtieth of his fifty-two books of histories. First among the Roman authors comes Julius Caesar, who allotted a few invaluable chapters of his Gallic War to the German peoples. Livy devoted the 104th book of his histories to

able to

by

an account of Germany.

draw on

fresh sources

He must

have been

of information, opened up

the campaigns of Augustus's generals in

Germany.

Strabo wrote of Germany in his seventh book; but he

thought to have been

little

is

known or studied in the West. down to about

Pliny the Elder carried his German Wars

24

2

INTRODUCTION the death of Claudius. first

importance, but

served

on the

It it

was obviously a work of the completely

is

personal observation, as well as

on the evidence of friends.

Tacitus certainly

knew and esteemed

Strabo, perhaps,

was unfamiliar

Pliny

would probably prove

assess it exactly.

to

the

work of Caesar.

to him. Tacitus's debt to

How much Tacitus may have own day

we

to be very great, could

add by drawing on the experience of

merchants of his it

Pliny had

lost.

and so could depend on

frontier himself,

been able

and

soldiers

cannot be exactly gauged, but

must have been considerable.

The

date of the Germania

is

second consulship of Trajan. than the Agricola and

may

exactly fixed in a.d. 98, the

only a very

It is

little later

even have overlapped

it

in

composition.

The Germania

is,

character, customs,

as it professes to be, a

study of the

and geography of a people. But

something more than that - a

with a

tract

purpose, or a political pamphlet? ine these questions before going

It is

on

definite

necessary to

to another

is it

moral

exam-

one - is the

Germania, in general, reliable? Tacitus

unmistakably contrasts the virtues of the

Germans, which

Rome, with

recall the

uncorrupted morals of old

think lightly of the precious metals.

Freedmen

profitable career.

is

pure, childlessness

There are no

professional shows,

—

They

love freedom.

are kept in their proper place.

chaste, home-life

a.g.

The Germans

the degeneracy of the Empire.

no pompous 25

is

Women

are

not turned into a

lascivious banquets, funerals.

Many

no

a biting

INTRODUCTION epigram sharpens the contrast: 'No one in Germany " up-to-date' to seduce and be seduced/

calls it

'

On

the

other hand, they are not completely idealized. Their

exposed - their indolence,

characteristic weaknesses are

their

quarrelsomeness,

drunkenness,

their

their

silly

passion for war.

The tendency to moralize,

then,

is

a feature, but not the

main purpose, of the book. The suggestion

mind of the

reader

is

that, if the

to relax in so deep a peace

and

if the

discipline to their valour, they

menace to Rome. Tacitus was

on

left

the

Empire should continue

Germans should add

would become

certainly speaking

a deadly

with the

voice of history herself.

The emperor Trajan spent the first year or so of his two German provinces*, and was still there when the Germania came out. Tacitus obviously took reign in the

advantage of the popular interest in those provinces. But

was he venturing either that

The

to

recommend any

definite policy,

of the emperor himself or an alternative one?

policy of Trajan, possibly not obvious at the time,

became

so as his reign

went

on.

to be firmly held, but there

The German

was

to be

frontier

no conquest of

Germany. The strength of the Roman arms was directed against Dacia and Parthia.

Tacitus say?

- too long. All enemies

may

that

Rome

can

now

be disunited. There

is

is

pray for

is

'

'

26

does

that her

no suggestion of

*

of the Rhine.

be

taking so long

* Upper and Lower Germany, military districts on the '

to

Now, what

The conquest of Germany

was

left

a

bank

INTRODUCTION renewed

offensive.

The one

allusion to the Elbe

of regret over a dream of the

sigh

Germany cannot be

For

past.

is

just a

all

that,

treated lightly: unconquered, she

remains a constant challenge and a constant threat to

Rome. So

far,

the suggestions of Tacitus seem to point in the

same direction with

it all

as

the

but they do not go

official policy,

When

the way.

he speaks of destiny driving

the

Roman

33),

he seems to imply a more pessimistic view than

empire upon

its

appointed path (Chapter

Trajan would have been likely to take. For Tacitus the best

is

gifts.

Rome her choicest

over: fortune has already given

Trajan showed by his actions that he judged the

extension of the empire to be both possible and desirable.

One

passage in the Germania (Chapter 37) reads like a

deliberate criticism

to pursue: the

of the policy which Trajan was

freedom of the Germans, Tacitus

may well prove more

later

implies,

formidable than the despotism of

the Parthian kings. Tacitus, then, realizes the political interest

and gives that

and in any

expression to

fair

governed

official

some of

policy; but he

case the political aspect

is

is

of his subject

the considerations

not a propagandist,

subordinated to the

main theme.

To

the question whether the Germania

is

fault here

is

at

and there: for example, he underrates the

importance of gerates the

we

reliable

can give on the whole an affirmative answer. Tacitus

Roman

German

trade with

Germany and exag-

disregard for gold and silver.

27

But

his

INTRODUCTION many

evidence on dress

- has been

points

- such

German armour and

as

confirmed by archaeological

brilliantly

Germans

evidence. If he sometimes applies to the

applied

by

borrow

slavishly or in ignorance.

differ,

he

is

earlier authors to

Where

The German people it

in the time

Germans

of Tacitus was already

We know to our

has not ceased to be so today.

fairly characterized the

their characteristics live

Tacitus's picture

They have

the

quick to note the difference.

a force to be reckoned with in Europe. cost that

phrases

other peoples, he does not

Germans of on

in the

of the Germans

a strong love

his

Has Tacitus

time?

And do

Germany of today? is

vivid and consistent.

of freedom, a keen sense of

honour, and a regard for the sanctity of home-life. They possess the military virtues, but

what

ridiculous

by wanting

make them look someany or no

to fight for

reason. In peace-time their standards relax abruptly. In fact,

they are like adventurous

up. They need

Roman

lads,

never quite grown

discipline if they are ever to reach

maturity. Tacitus's claim for a unique purity of the race

may

be exaggerated, but

not altogether

is

at fault.

He

never dreamt of the mischievous nonsense that he was

going to suggest to

later theorists.

What might the future of Europe have been if Augustus frontier and made Germany a Roman

had held the Elbe province? strength

made

Modern Germany

from her

a virtue

has claimed to

draw her

ancient barbarian tradition, and has

of her

late

submission to Latin civilization.

She has glorified the natural

man with

28

all his

virtues

and

INTRODUCTION his vices.

The Germania

ment.

has been assiduously taught in

It

has been brought into this

and universities and made into a

sort

German

moveschools

of Bible of German

patriotism.

The population of Germany

has certainly changed

very considerably since the time of Tacitus. The

Nordic race must surely be sought navia, if anywhere.

und Boden' was

The National

real

in

Scandi-

Socialist talk

of 'Blut

first

just nvystical nonsense.

One

cannot

make heroic models out of the boisterous, overgrown boys that the ancient Germans were. All these appeals to ancient history to justify modern policies begin really

with self-deception and proceed to deceive others. Races

do not remain pure over fanatic

of

it.

may

peoples.

say, the disinterested student will

climate does remain

But

millennia,

Whatever the

centuries.

much

have none

the same over

and can profoundly influence the character of

Is it

possible, then, that the

'Germanentum', the i

fierce sense

ics',

of national idiosyncracy, the Furor Teuton-

may be something that really

tends to

grow

in the

various peoples that have successively fallen under the influence

of 'Middle Europe'? Well,

the inevitable causes to fall

of Europe,

On

a

instance,

can save

attribute the

But

we have still

is

to

fall.

more self-knowledge and more Germany and Europe together.

few points Tacitus seems

when he

be one of

which the fatalist will

if Europe really

the right to hope that self-discipline

that will

to be in error

-

for

denies that domestic slavery existed in

Germany. His account of the German 29

chiefs

is

quite

INTRODUCTION correct, if we understand

by

birth

and wealth

as

by

men marked out To make them out

'chiefs' the

natural leaders.

to be magistrates raises unnecessary difficulties.

In several passages Tacitus speaks technical senses

which modern

of 'the hundred'

scholars

have found hard

to understand; but the suggestion that he

the word 'hundreds' - used,

it is

alleged,

in the sense

of subdivisions of German

Neither in

Germany nor

the

word

x.

so used

till

in

in

misunderstood

by

his authorities

- will not do.

states

Anglo-Saxon England was

centuries later.

Germany and Rome

in

History

For long centuries the German peoples were pressed back in

the north-west

masses of Gauls,

The

strength.

from Jutland

who were

Tungri and other

the

Oder by

began to roam westward, and the

tribes established

themselves on the

bank of the Rhine. Rome, however, never

Germans were,

the

until in

east,

upon

in

and

won

Italy.

They

a victory

far

first

over a

realized

left

who

113 B.C. the Cimbri and

Teutoni emigrated from their

broke

the

world confused them with the

civilized

Gauls. In time they

to

then superior to them in

northern homes and

appeared to the north-

Roman

consul; then, after

wandej ng about on the north of the Alps for four years they invaded the

Worse was destroyed

on

Italy,

still

at

to

Rhone

valley and defeated

two

consuls.

come. In 105 two consular armies were

Orange.

Had

the barbarians advanced direct

no one knows what might have happened. As

it

was, they turned aside to conquer Spain, found the

30

INTRODUCTION Spanish resistance unexpectedly tough, and returned to

Gaul three years

later.

Rome

had had time to

her best general, Marius, had given a

new

rally,

and

discipline

and

spirit to the army. The barbarians divided their forces. The Teutoni were destroyed by Marius at Aix-enProvence. The Cimbri, who had crossed over to enter

Italy

from the

year.

The storm

east,

were crushed

died

down

as

at Vercellae in the

suddenly

next

had sprung

as it

up.

For over forty years the Germans remained quiet. But in 58 Julius Caesar encountered a

King of the

them

Suebi.

new menace in

Ariovistus,

He had been invited by Gallic tribes to

against rivals, but soon took hostages

and

exacted tribute from his friends and kept drawing in

new

help

war-bands from Germany. Caesar picked a quarrel with

him and drove him in tus

had been accepted

and Caesar's enemies

rout across the Rhine. But Ariovisas a 'friend'

in

by the Roman

Senate,

Rome accused him of downright

treachery.

Again followed

a long interval

of peace. During the

whole of the great civil wars the Germans made no move. Augustus, attention

Rhine

when he had won supreme power, turned his to the dangerous north. Not satisfied with the

as a frontier,

he decided on an advance to the Elbe.

In a series of campaigns, directed

by the

stepsons

of

Augustus, Nero Drusus and Tiberius, the Germans were defeated in war, and were then gradually inured to

Roman

ways.

years before

It

seemed to be only a matter of a few

Germany would be made 31

a province

of the

INTRODUCTION empire. But the Romans' attention was distracted

dangerous

of Maroboduus,

ambitions

Marcomanni

in the south-east. Close

desperate revolt against

Roman

Pannonia. Germany was

left in

on

this

was often heard legions'.

He was

himself,

enemies

to

kingship,

diverted the

ately resolved on.

From

a

was destroyed by

Romans from

his

diffi-

a plan deliber-

make some amends

of Varus by displaying the

paying honours to the

But

his

14 to 16 Tiberius allowed his

adoptive son Germanicus to disaster

Varus to 'give him back

returned to the defensive. Arminius

home. But he had done something very

He had

cult.

to cry out to

aspiring at

his three legions in the

Augustus, brooding in bitterness,

9).

Rome now

and

charge of P. Quinctilius

by Arminius (Hermann), chief of

Teutoburgiensis Salttis

the Cherusci (a.d.

the

followed a

rule in Illyricum

Varus, a nobleman devoid of military talent.

ambushed and destroyed with

by

of the

king

Roman

dead

Roman

for the

arms and

in the fatal forest.

conquest would obviously cost too much. Tiberius

decided to keep the empire within

its

existing frontiers.

Caligula suddenly conceived, and as suddenly dropped, a

grandiose scheme of

German

with hardly a break. But Batavian nobleman,

conquest. Peace continued

in the civil

Civilis,

wars of 68-69 a

roused his countrymen,

under cloak of loyalty to Vespasian, against

movement was joined by

Roman armies on

other

the Rhine

death of Vitellius in

German

Vitellius.

tribes

became demoralized.

December

69, Civilis

The

and the

On the

should have

placed himself at the disposal of Vespasian. But his head

32

INTRODUCTION was turned. Some of the

Rome

Gallic tribes

broke loose from

and proclaimed an 'Empire of the Gauls'. The

Germans

naturally

knew who would be

But Vespasian struck

if the revolt succeeded.

remorselessly. His general Cerealis soon

able victory; the Gauls tion, to

the real masters

won

swiftly

and

a consider-

of the south decided, on considera-

remain loyal to Rome, and the rebels in the north

began to waver.

Civilis

was content

to accept surrender

on reasonable terms; but Vespasian was inexorable obliterating every trace

He and

of that ominous

in

Gallic Empire.

his sons tried to insure against future troubles.

They narrowed the dangerous gap between Rhine and Danube by occupying the Agri Decumates (see Chapter 29)

and drawing a military frontier for

Domitian fought

bitter

their defence.

wars on the middle Rhine against

the Chatti in 83 and 89.

Though

it

was the fashion

at

Rome to deride his 'sham triumphs', modern archaeology has

shown

that his success

was not

inconsiderable.

command in the Upper German prowhen he was adopted by Nerva, and he adminis-

Trajan was in vince

tered the

two provinces

in 98-99. It

was probably

that the Bructeri

were nearly wiped out by

enemies. Trajan

left

their

in 98

German

the frontier so secure that legions

could be transferred from Rhine to Danube.

So

With

far

we have been

the eastern

and were

less close.

drove the

Boh

speaking of the western Germans.

Germans Rome's In 8 B.C. the

relations

began

later

Marcomanni and Quadi

out of Bohemia. Maroboduus, the great

Marcomannic king, gathered round him 33

so

large a

INTRODUCTION confederacy as to excite Rome's suspicions his

a.d. 6).

(c.

But

glory excited the envy of the other Germans; his

empire collapsed and he

Ravenna

in a.d. 19.

The

finally accepted sanctuary at

troubles

on

Danube under

the

Domitian were caused, not so much by the Germans,

by the Dacians and Sarmatians. The

terrible

Marcus Aurelius against the Quadi and Marcomanni

beyond our present

as

wars of lie

scope.

History in the main has justified the forebodings of Tacitus.

Germany, often triumphed over, was never

conquered.

The time came when no

valour in the

field,

no

not even the discord could

The

avail.

barriers

xi.

in defence,

skill

subtlety in diplomacy

among

Destiny at

- and

no

finally

Germans themselves -

the

pressed the empire too hard.

last

broke and the barbarian

tides

flooded

in.

The Early Roman Empire

The Roman Republic throve was able

to direct

down when

its

policy.

the Senate lost control of

governors and of

its

rapacious armies. In the

last

supreme power under the

of ruling

as

It

broke

provincial

its

generals and their devoted but

wars in which the breakdown

intention

just so long as the Senate

and co-ordinate

and

of the

civil

resulted, Julius Caesar

won

title

deadliest

of Dictator. His

an autocrat led to

his

clear

murder on

the famous Ides of March (15 March, 44 B.C.).

The death of Caesar was followed by thirteen years of chaos. The attempt of Brutus and Cassius to restore the Republic failed. Then the leaders of the Caesarian faction 34

INTRODUCTION partitioned the state between them. Finally life-and-death struggle between

it

young Caesar

grand-nephew and son by adoption of the

came

to a

(Octavian),

dictator,

and

Mark Antony, with his Egyptian wife, Queen Cleopatra. The naval battle of Actium (31 B.C.) decided the issue in favour of the young Caesar.

Octavian was determined to succeed where Julius Caesar had failed: no 1

assassins'

daggers for him.

restored' the Republic, but built into

new

a

it

what we have

for himself, thus founding

He

position

learnt to call the

Empire, tie established peace and order throughout the

Roman

world.

He

soon abandoned the idea of conquer-

ing Britain, but tried long and hard to establish a province

of Germany on the right bank of the Rhine. The

of

this

scheme has been described above. In the

forced the Parthian king to restore the

captured at Carrhae in 53 suzerainty over Armenia. to restore

As

Roman

and he

B.C.,

The mere

('Revered'),

Roman

of war

sufficed

was

still

still

more

title

know

of Augustus

him. His ever-

fully recognized

was named 'Father of work was to outlive him he must

his country' in 2 B.C.

cessor, First

and to

his

he

honour.

by which we

prestige

east

standards

asserted

threat

early as 27 B.C. he received the

growing

Roman

failure

this

nephew

then

But

if his

find a suitable suc-

end he laboured long and Marcellus,

when he

his

earnestly.

great

captain

Agrippa, then Agrippa's sons, Gaius and Lucius Caesar,

who were

adopted by Augustus himself, seemed destined

for the succession. In the end,

35

when

all

the rest had died,

INTRODUCTION it

was

his step-son Tiberius

who

burdens of empire and stood ready to take his

him the them over at

shared with

death in a.d. 14.

The long

reign of Tiberius

was marked by sound

administration and sober foreign policy, based

A

Augustus.

abandoned

renewed attempt

in 17.

to conquer

on

that

of

Germany was

Apart from that war and

local risings

Gaul and Africa, the world enjoyed a golden age of

in

But

peace.

picious

Rome

at

Tiberius was never popular. Sus-

and uncertain of himself, he allowed the charge of

men of

high treason to be abused by informers against

And

mark. sion.

there

was a constant struggle over the

succes-

Germanicus, nephew of Tiberius, died in 19;

own son Drusus in 23.

his

In the following years Sejanus, the

powerful praetorian prefect, succeeded in poisoning Tiberius's

mind

against Agrippina the

nicus and her family.

Her two

widow of Germa-

eldest sons,

Nero and

Drusus, were disgraced and put to death, and she herself died in exile. Tiberius meanwhile had withdrawn to the lovely island of Capri - to live, so

rumour said, a reverse of lovely and Sejanus was left to lord

Rome. the

Still

fell

it

over

not content, he plotted against Tiberius. But

emperor, warned just in time, struck

Sejanus

the

life

(31).

died, unloved

Tiberius never returned to

and despondent,

first,

and

Rome

but

in 37.

Gaius was the youngest son of Germanicus, taken into

favour at the

camp and

last

still

Boot') given

by

his great-uncle.

bears the

him by

He had been

nickname of Caligula

the soldiers.

36

born

in

('Little

Having cringed

to

INTRODUCTION the aged Tiberius, he

now

delighted to play the tyrant,

and not content even with tyranny he

affected to in

Germany

foolish.

He was

on earth. His ambitious schemes of conquest and Britain merely made him look eventually murdered in 41

be a god

by an old army

officer

whom

he had made a practice of insulting. Gaius

left

no obvious successor, and the Senate seriously

debated a restoration of the Republic. But the praetorian guards had found in the palace the middle-aged uncle of Gaius, the eccentric Claudius, and soon decided that he

was not too

eccentric for them.

The

Senate had no choice

but to submit. Claudius was slow and pedantic, a slightly ridiculous character, but nevertheless able tious.

and conscien-

He carried through with complete success the longof Britain (43). He was derided by the

discussed conquest

Romans, not without some justification, as the slave of his wives and freedmen. His third wife - his niece Agrippina the

Younger -

established a complete ascendancy over

him. She induced

him to adopt her own son by a previous

marriage, L. Domitius Ahenobarbus (the future emperor

Nero), to marry prefer

him

him above

to his daughter Octavia,

his

own

son Britannicus.

and to

When

Claudius died suddenly in 54, after eating freely of his favourite dish

of mushrooms, Agrippina was with good

reason regarded as his murderess.

Agrippina intended to govern with her sixteen years old son Nero, but was quietly edged out of power by the

young emperor's

advisers.

To

begin with, Nero was

popular and promised well. But he soon embarked on a

37

INTRODUCTION terrible series

of family murders -

Agrippina, then his wife Octavia,

first

Britannicus, then

whom

he divorced in

order to marry the 'imperial whore' Poppaea.

Under

the

of the infamous praetorian prefect Tigellinus,

influence

he plunged into a career of debauchery, waste, and

'Rome burned while Nero

cruelty.

Christians

fiddled',

were persecuted on the pretence

and the

that they

were

fire. His foreign policy had some - a long war with Parthia carried to a triumphant

responsible for the successes

conclusion,

and the British revolt under Boudicca

suppressed - though a serious rising of the Jews in 66 was

not quite crushed at the end of the reign. The

still

declaration

of the freedom of Greece was

impressive

gesture.

at least

Rome was weary

But

an

of the

emperor's misgovernment and profoundly shocked by that artistic

temperament which drove him to appear on

the public stage. Vindex, governor of Gallia

Lugdunen-

revolted, and Galba The German army under Verginius Rufus crushed Vindex, and the movement looked like collapsing. But Nero, despairing of his own cause, retired from Rome to a suburb and in Spain joined him.

sis,

after

long hesitation - constantly exclaiming 'What an

artist

the world

suicide

is

on hearing

losing in

me!' - he

that the Senate

at last

committed

had declared him a

public enemy.

A secret of empire had now been divulged: an emperor need not necessarily be made in Rome. Galba soon made his

way to

the capital and

But he was

old,

was accepted without

he was mean, and he 38

lost

question.

sympathy by

INTRODUCTION by subservience to unworthy beginning of 69 the German armies

unnecessary cruelties and

At the

friends.

him and found an emperor governor of Lower of their own in the person Germany. Galba tried to prop his falling throne by adopting as his son a young nobleman, Piso. But in so refused to swear allegiance to

of Vitellius,

doing he mortally offended another partisan, Otho,

who

had hoped for promotion himself. Otho bribed the

who promptly murdered

praetorian guard,

Galba and

Piso in the streets of Rome.

For most Romans the choice between Otho and Vitellius

seemed to be simply one between two

was the armies led

that decided;

evils. It

and the armies of Germany,

by Vitellius's lieutenants Valens and Caecina, were too

much

and army of

for Otho's praetorians

troops

serving

the

in

time to intervene; for Otho suicide.

empire.

But

Vitellius

sudden dash on

many of his

his

and the Balkan armies joined him.

Italy

by one of their

German

friends,

Rome

captains,

A

Antonius

Cremona over

the

armies. Vitellius, betrayed

by

wished to

retire;

but bitter fighting

men and friends of and when Primus forced his way into the city

broke out in Vespasian,

and committed

long in enjoyment of

left

Primus, led to a surprise victory at flower of the

The

was proclaimed emperor by

Vespasian

soldiers in Judaea,

lost heart

was not

Italy.

and Judaea had no

Balkans

and decided the

between

issue,

his

Vitellius

was murdered

in the

streets.

Vespasian showed himself master of the situation.

39

He

INTRODUCTION Roman

restored

We

for his pains.

and repaired her shattered

prestige

was hard

finances. It

that he should

have already seen

be called a miser

how

he suppressed

the revolt of Civilis and the 'Empire of the Gauls', and later, in 78, sent

marked out

his

Agricola to Britain.

two

From

sons as his heirs. Titus

to a share in the government,

younger son, received the

of the human

generosity.

But he died

been severely disasters

tested.

- a great

first

he

and even Domitian, the

title

of

'prince'

(Caesar).

was hailed

Titus succeeded his father in 79, and 'darling

the

was admitted

as the

for his friendliness

and

in 81, before his qualities

had

race'

His short reign was marked by two

Rome

fire at

and the eruption of

Vesuvius.

Domitian was a cruel

and

difficult

man of

considerable ability, but of

temperament.

He allowed the charge of

high treason to be revived for use by informers against his

many political

enemies, and

made

the Senate share in the

odium of their condemnation. His wars against the Chatti on the middle Rhine were not the

made them out by long and

failure that his

to be, but his later years

difficult

enemies

were darkened

campaigns on the Danube against

Sarmatians and Dacians, ending in a somewhat inglorious peace. Agricola in 84.

By

was

recalled

from

his victories in Britain

96 Domitian, already hated by most people in

Rome, had become entourage.

To

suspect to his wife

protect their

him and called Nerva, an empty throne.

own

and

lives

elderly lawyer

40

his

immediate

they assassinated

of repute,

to the

INTRODUCTION Nerva showed praiseworthy

good government

Tacitus could hail his succession as the

age of

liberty.

of restoring

intentions

of Domitian.

after the oppressions

dawn of a new

who had

But the praetorian guards,

not

demanded his murderers for Nerva pleaded, wept - and gave way. To

ceased to regret Domitian, execution.

redeem

his fallen prestige

he adopted Trajan, the pride of

the army, as his son, and the disorderly praetorians were

soon brought back to obedience.

On

Nerva's death in

98 Trajan was accepted without question as his successor. Trajan's long reign (98-1 1 7)

was signalized by the conquest

of Dacia and by a long war against Parthia, beginning with

brilliant success,

but compromised at the

last

by

a

general revolt of the Jews throughout the east. Early in the reign

of his successor Hadrian, Tacitus

the high hopes that he

had conceived

Nerva and Trajan stayed with him say.

The gloomy tone of his

gests that

last

died.

Whether

in the first years

to the

last,

we

of

cannot

work, the Annals, sug-

he had ceased to believe

in that reconciliation

of autocracy with freedom of which he had so confidently written.

From Augustus

to

Nero

the

Empire was,

as it

were, the

inheritance of a single family, the Julio-Claudian. Galba,

Otho, and

Vitellius stand as isolated figures.

The

Flavian

dynasty of Vespasian expired with the death of Domitian.

With Nerva began that great line of emperors,

succeeding

one another by adoption, which gave

Rome good

government

might count -

for a large part

as a substitute for

of a century.

freedom - to quote 41

It

Tacitus's phrase

INTRODUCTION that

emperors

now

began to be chosen with a sense of

responsibility.

xii.

The

Constitution of the Empire

For the Romans themselves the Empire was

Roman

still

'Republic' - the 'Senate and People of

But there was a modification which seems to us

the

Rome vital.

A

number of powers were conferred, on one man sufficient to place him at the head of the state and to make his authority everywhere decisive. In the

first

place the

emperor was

imperator, holder

of

command. The armies no one else. In the second

the supreme right of military

swore allegiance to him and to place, as holder

Roman

people,

of tribunician power, he represented the

was personally

and could

inviolable,

convene the Senate and initiate legislation. Further powers

might be granted to a princeps by

special

enactment or

assumed by him ad hoc to deal with a particular

Some such powers were

was enacted upon Vespasian's he

accession;

also revived the censorship,

continuously for the

situation.

defined in a lex de imperio which

ten or

last

and

in a.d. 73

which Domitian held

more

years

of his

reign.

Those provinces which required armies were administered for the

emperor by

the peaceful provinces

had power to intervene

which

in theory

undertook

his representatives;

which were

left

at discretion. In

and even

Rome

were under the control of the

special duties,

such

as the

in

to the Senate he

and

Italy,

Senate, he

charge of the corn-

supply, of the night-watch, and occasionally of the public

42

;

INTRODUCTION He was

roads.

sometimes specially entrusted with the

He had

supervision of public morals.

own treasury, treasury. He struck

thejiscus, as well as a special military

gold and

own right;

silver coins in his

his

the coinage in base

metal was administered by the Senate, but always under his supervision. as

well as in a

his will,

He

could dispense justice in other courts

High Court of his own. The

given in

more and more

to

expressions of

edicts, dispatches,

and the

have the

of laws. As

force

full

maximus (chief priest) he was head of the

While he lived Rome

only to

sacrificed

consecrated,

pontifex

state religion.

his genius (spirit)

but in the provinces he was actually worshipped After death, unless his

came

like,

as a

god.

memory was condemned, he was

became Divus

(the divine),

and received

full

religious honours.

To

help

society

him

in his great task

- on the Senate

and generals; on the officers

men

and

he drew on

;

on the

of such departments of and

finance, correspondence, epistulis, a libellis);

of

(Knights) for his junior

equites

financial agents (procurators)

for the heads

all classes

for his chief provincial governors

on the

freed-

his court as

petitions (a rationibus, ab

slaves for the

lower posts of his

bureaux. As Senate and Knights were so essential to his service,

he found means of controlling the composition

of both these Orders.

The emperor normally

tried to fix the succession

marking out a son or other

close relative, or a son

adoption, as his political heir. ferred

on the first emperor

in

43

27

The B.C.,

title

by by

Augustus, con-

was borne by

all his

INTRODUCTION successors. Caesar, in origin the family

was taken over used

to

citizen)

by most emperors; but

name of Julius, was sometimes

it

designate an heir or prince. Princeps

was a common, though

(chief

unofficial, designation

of

the emperor.

The It

Senate was taken

by the emperor

had the general control of Rome,

provinces, and, acting

Italy,

and the peaceful

on the emperor's

initiative, trans-

acted a mass of public business consulta).

aerarium to

it

by

its

decrees (senatus

administered the old state treasury,

Satumi.

It

the

even acquired powers unknown

during the Republic.

election It

It

into partnership.

It

of magistrates and

was the Senate alone

took over from the people the sat as a

High Court ofJustice.

make an emperor's The army could sometimes

that could

position fully constitutional.

confer power, but could never legitimize

it.

It

was the

Senate alone that judged the emperor's record after his death.

Yet the partnership - the 'dyarchy', or

two', as

it

has been called

for in the last resort the

'rule of - was always an unequal one:

emperor held the power of the

sword.

The Roman people ceased to It

exercise

its

rights directly.

looked to the emperor to represent and protect

it.

A

Roman satirist bitterly observed that its real requirements were two -pattern

et circenses

(bread and games).

The old Republican magistrates continued to be elected A man would enter the Senate as quaestor, would then become tribune or aedile, next praetor, and finally consul. The quaestors had financial duties in Rome, yearly.

44

INTRODUCTION and the provinces. The

Italy,

aediles

Rome;

buildings and the police in

were

in charge

the tribunes

were

of

still

champions of the people, but were dwarfed by the emperor's tribunician power. a part

of their

The

praetors retained only

original legal functions, but

showy and expensive charge of holding

The

consuls

were

still

the chief magistrates of

and the two regular consuls of each year their

names

The

to it.*

were given the

the public games.

office

now

was

Rome, gave

(ordinarii)

limited to a

few

months, and many extra consuls (suffecti) were appointed. By nominating and commending candidates the emperor kept a firm control of elections. Prominent

new

officers created

by the Empire were

Rome,

a senator

prefect

of the praetorian guard, a Knight.

xiii.

The Provinces of the Empire

spheres of administration or, as

was

in the

The emperors

provinces

we

a

number of

call

them, prov-

into still

main the creation of the Republic.

consolidated

edges, but only rarely

The

it

and rounded

it

off at the

added new provinces.

where armies were required were

governed by deputies appointed by the emperor, legates,

men of either

were other assist

the

nominated by the emperor, and the

The Roman empire was divided inces. It

among

the prefect of

legates to

command

the governor in his duties.

* The emperor would

his

praetorian or consular rank. There

at intervals

consul with a colleague.

45

the legions, others to

A

financial officer

open the year

- the

as 'ordinary'

INTRODUCTION

A few minor provinces

procurator - attended to finance.

had no

legate,

governors

:

but were under procurators

such a one was Pontius

whom

Judaea, under

Pilate,

who were also procurator of

our Lord suffered. Egypt had

its

prefect, or viceroy.

The senatorial provinces - those unarmed - were governed by Senate: Africa and Asia praetors.

The

by

that

were peaceful and

officers

appointed by the

proconsuls, the rest

financial officer here

was the quaestor; the

procurator simply looked after imperial

Every province was divided into istrative districts

the assizes

were

have attained any great

which

do not seem

to

importance. Taxes were

political

lump sums or as quotas levied on natural

produce. Collection was at

become

admin-

districts in

There were provincial councils to

represent provincial interests, but they

assessed either as

interests.

'dioceses' or

and conventus - smaller held.

by pro-

direct as time

went

first indirect,

but tended to

The burden of taxation

on.

was, according to ancient standards, not heavy. But there

were

also levies

cruel

and absurd

Rome cities,

of corn and the

is

often aggravated

by

abuses.

tended to

rest

her rule on the

on the moneyed

munities became

like,

Roman

classes.

Some

cities

and, in the

favoured com-

colonies, others municipia

to say, corporations organized

on the old

Italian

-

that

model.

A few cities - Athens, for example - remained nominally '

free.

The population of

estimated.

It

the empire cannot be closely

may have been 40 or

of Augustus. 46

50 millions in the reign

INTRODUCTION Short notes on the provinces mentioned in the text will

be found in the Glossary. xiv. The

Army and Fleet of the Empire

armies of the empire consisted of the

The

regulars

composing the legions and of auxiliary troops. They

were

stationed chiefly

on the

frontiers,

defence rather than for attack. There was

The legion was

a brigade, consisting

auxiliary services.

and served for

no

army.

field

of foot, horse, and

was divided into ten cohorts; the

It

cohort was divided into three maniples, the maniple into

two

centuries.

5,500 men.

The

The

strength of the legion was about

legate,

or brigadier, was a senator

appointed by the emperor. Under militum - young men trian career.

But the

depended mainly on first

starting

discipline its

on

him were

a Senatorial or Eques-

and

efficiency

centurions, sixty in

of a legion

number. The

centurion in each cohort was called pilus prior; and

the pilus prior of the

first

cohort in each legion - brigade

sergeant-major - was called primipilus. staff

tribuni

The

of office was a cudgel of vinewood

centurions'

(vitis)

The standard of The maniples had

- not

in-

tended only for ornament.

the legion

was

their

a silver eagle (aquila).

standards (signa).

A flag

(vexillum)

own

was used by squadrons

of cavalry, by corps of veterans, and by detachments of infantry

employed on

special duties.

The term of service was years, later raised to

by Augustus at sixteen twenty. The pay - 300 denarii a fixed

year - was raised by one-third under Domitian.

47

A special

INTRODUCTION military treasury, founded in a.d. 6, provided for veterans.

The

were recruited

legions

more widely.

provinces, later

Roman

citizens

at first

were

from

a

few nearby

In theory at least only

Conscription could at any

eligible.

time be applied, but voluntary enlistment usually

Under Augustus

there

were twenty-five

sufficed.

legions;

end of the second century the number had

by

the

risen to thirty-

three.

The

auxiliary troops

chiefly in those that

were

recruited in the provinces,

were new and warlike. They often

used native weapons, but were usually employed away from home. They obtained Roman citizenship on dis-

The

charge.

was organized

auxiliary infantry

in cohorts

of 1,000 or 500 men, commanded by colonels

of Equestrian rank; the cavalry

cohortis)

the

same numbers,

(praefecti alae).

nothing

The

is

The

Its corps d' elite

squadrons of

commanded by

colonels

auxiliaries received their keep,

known of their

garrison of

but

pay.

Rome was composed

of three

parts.

- the praetorian guard, concentrated by

Tiberius in one Italy

similarly

in

(praefecti

camp

at

Rome

- was recruited from

and some of the more Romanized provinces.

consisted praetorio)

of nine cohorts.

Its

commander

It

(praefectus

had under him tribunes and centurions. The pay

and the prestige of the praetorians were higher than those

of the

legionaries,

urban cohorts, four the

command of a

their term,

of service

(later seven) in

senator [praefectus urbi).

cohorts were stationed in

Rome: 48

shorter.

The

number, were under

Not

all

these

one, for example, was at

3

INTRODUCTION Lugdunum

(Lyons) as guard of the imperial mint there.

The watch (vigiles), in seven cohorts, were freedmen commanded by a Knight (praefectus vigilum). Both urban cohorts and watch had their

The fleet was birth but not

tribunes and centurions.

decidedly an inferior service.

and the

(trierarchae)

own

men

(classiarii)

The captains

were usually of

Romans. The admirals

(praefecti

free

classis)

might be Knights, but even freedmen were sometimes

The ships in use were mainly the quinquereme,

appointed.

the trireme, and the fast light Liburnian galley. Italy had

two main

stationed at

fleets,

empire -

fleets

Sea, fleets

Pompey live if

the Great,

non

who

A.G.—

up

to

Britain.

It

was

a

Roman,

invented the slogan navigare

est necesse

we can'. But in

to live

throughout the

fleets

of the Rhine, the Danube, and the Black

of Egypt and of

necesse est, vivere

little

Ravenna and Misenum; but

were many subordinate

there

- 'keep the

seas

we

must,

general his fellow-countrymen did

it.

49

AGRICOLA Famous men

of old often had

their lives

difference to the

the practice.

to attract

a defect of all

men of genius. There was no

or self-seeking.

life's

conceit.

so uphill or so beset

and the task or recording

story

When

it

never

failed

question of par-

The consciousness of an honourable

aim was reward enough.

own

is

small and great alike. In the past, however, the road

obstacles,

tiality

in-

world around it, has not quite abandoned

memorable achievement was not

with

all its

An outstanding personality can still triumph

over that blind antipathy to virtue which states,

to

and characters

on record; and even our generation, with

set

Many even

showed

Rutilius

felt

that to

self-confidence

and Scaurus did

tell

rather

so,

their

than

they were

neither disbelieved nor criticized; for noble character best appreciated in those ages in

develop. But in these times, the

life

which

when

of one no longer with us

gence which

I

So savage and

I

I

it

is

can most readily

planned to recount

had to crave an indul-

should not have sought for an invective. hostile to merit

was the

age.

were written by Arulenus Rusticus and Herennius Senecio - the one, of Thrasea Paetus the other, Eulogies, indeed,

;

5i

TACITUS of Helvidius offences,

Priscus.

But both were

treated as capital

and the savage rage of their enemies was vented

upon the books

as

well as upon their authors.

executioners, under official instructions,

Comitium and Forum of art.

So

much

is

The

public

made a bonfire in

those masterpieces of literary

in the record. In those fires doubtless the

Government imagined

that

it

could silence the voice of

Rome and annihilate the freedom of the Senate and men's knowledge of the

truth.

They even went on

the professors of philosophy and exile

all

to banish

honourable

accomplishments, so that nothing decent might anywhere confront them.

We have indeed set up

a record of sub-

Rome of old explored the utmost limits of freedom; we have plumbed the depths of slavery, robbed as we are by informers even of the right to exchange ideas servience.

in conversation.

We

our memories

as

as easy to forget as to

be

should have

well as our tongues had

it

been

lost

silent.

3

Now at long last our spirit revives. In the first dawn of this blessed age,

Nerva harmonized the old discord between

autocracy and freedom; day by day Trajan

is

enhancing

the happiness of our times; and the national security, instead

of being something to be hoped and prayed

has attained the solid assurance of a prayer

fulfilled.

for,

Yet

human nature is so weak that remedies take longer to work than diseases. Our bodies, which grow so slowly, our

perish in the twinkling

of an eye; so too the mind and 52

AGRICOLA its

pursuits can

life

more

easily

be crushed than brought to

again. Idleness gradually develops a strange fascina-

tion

we

of its own, and

end by loving the

sloth that at

Think of it. Fifteen whole years - no small part of a man's life - taken from us. Many have died first

we

loathed.

by the chance happenings of fate; have

the most energetic

all

And the we once were,

of the emperor.

fallen victims to the cruelty

few of us that survive are no longer what

many of our best years have been taken from us years in which men in their prime have aged and old men since so

have reached the extreme limit of mortality, without ever

word. Yet

uttering a

however

inartistic

I shall still

and unskilled

find

some

satisfaction,

my language, in record-

we once suffered, and in acknowledging we now enjoy. In the meantime, this book,

ing the bondage the blessings

which

sets

out to honour

be commended, or affection to

Gnaeus

which

it

at

least

pardoned, for the loyal

bears witness.

Julius Agricola

colony of Forum

my father-in-law Agricola, will

was born

Julii.

Both

in the old

and famous

grandfathers were

his

procurators in the imperial service

- the crowning

dignity of the Equestrian Order. His father Julius Graecinus

was

a

member of the

Senate and

won fame by his By those very

devotion to literature and philosophy.

accomplishments he incurred the wrath of the emperor Gaius: he received orders to impeach 53

M.

Silanus,

and was

TACITUS afterwards put to death for refusing. Agricola's mother

was Julia

Procilla, a

paragon of feminine

up under her tender

he passed

care,

youth in the cultivation of

from the temptations of

shielded partly

by

his

own

sound

going to school from place

his

boyhood and arts. He was

his

the liberal

all

Brought

virtue.

companions,

evil

by

instincts, partly

very early years

living

and

at Massilia, a

where Greek refinement and provincial puritanism

are happily blended.

us that in his early

I

remember how he would

often

youth he was tempted to drink deeper

of philosophy than was allowable for a

Roman and

One

the fire of his passion.

can well understand

that his lofty, aspiring nature

was

not too wisely, by the

and splendour of fame

its

fairness

a

wisdom,

future senator, but that his mother, in her

damped

tell

attracted strongly, if in

higher and nobler aspects. In time, age and discretion

cooled his ardour; and he always remembered the hardest lesson that philosophy teaches

He

-a

sense

of proportion.

served his military apprenticeship in Britain to the

satisfaction

of Suetonius Paulinus, a hard-working and

sensible officer,

order to

who

assess his

chose

him

for a staff appointment in

worth. Agricola was no loose young

subaltern, to turn his military career into a life

and he would not make

his

of gaiety;

staff-captaincy

and

his

inexperience an excuse for idly enjoying himself and continually going

on

leave. Instead,

54

he got to

know

his

AGRICOLA province and

made himself known

to the troops.

learned

from the experts and chose the

follow.

He

He

models to

best

never sought a duty for self-advertisement,

never shirked one through cowardice.

He

acted always

with energy and a sense of responsibility. Neither before nor since has Britain ever been in a

more

disturbed and perilous

state.

Veterans had been

massacred, colonies burned to the ground, armies cut

off.

They had to fight for their lives before they could think of victory. The campaign, of course, was conducted under the direction and leadership of another - the commander to

whom belonged the decisive success and the credit for

recovering Britain. Yet everything combined to give the

young Agricola

and

his spirit

fresh

skill,

glory - a thankless passion construction was put tion

was

From

as

upon

dangerous

as a

in an age in distinction

for military

which

a sinister

and a great reputa-

bad one.

Britain Agricola returned to

his career

child

experience, and ambition;

was possessed by a passion

Rome

to enter

on

of office, and married Domitia Decidiana, the

of an

illustrious house. It

was

a union that

brought

him social distinction and aid to his ambition for advancement. They lived in rare accord, maintained by mutual affection

ever, a as a

and

unselfishness; in such a partnership,

good wife deserves more than half the

praise, just

bad one deserves more than half the blame. 55

how-

On being

TACITUS him

elected quaestor, the ballot assigned

province and Salvius Titianus

Asia

as

his

proconsul. Neither

as his

the one nor the other corrupted him, though the province

with

its

wealth invited abuses, and the proconsul, an

abject slave to greed,

was prepared

'You wink

ordinate to any extent: will

wink

at

to indulge his sub-

at

my

and

I

yours/ While he was in Asia a daughter was

born to him, which both strengthened

him

consoled

offences

his position

for the loss, shortly afterwards,

born previously.

He

and

of a son

passed the interval between his

quaestorship and his tribunate of the people, and also his

year of office as tribune, in quiet retirement; for he under-

stood the age of Nero, in which inactivity was tanta-

mount

to

wisdom. His praetorship ran the same quiet

course, since

no

judicial duties

had

fallen to his lot. In

ordering the public games and the other vanities associated with his office, he

and to

compromised between economy

excess, steering clear

of extravagance but not

failing

win popular approval. He was afterwards chosen by

Galba to check over the

gifts in

diligently tracing stolen objects inflicted

on the

State

by

all

the temples; and

he repaired the

by

losses

the temple-robbers except

Nero. 7

The following year and to

his

marauding

dealt a grievous

blow

to his heart

The men of Otho's fleet, made a savage raid on the neighbour-

family fortunes. at large,

hood of Intimilium

in

Liguria,

56

murdered Agricola's

AGRICOLA mother on her estate

own

and plundered both the

estate,

and a large part of her fortune - which was what

had tempted them to commit the crime. Agricola had accordingly

set

out to pay the

last

dues of affection,

when

he was overtaken by the news of Vespasian's bid for Empire, and without a moment's hesitation joined

his

party. Mucianus was directing the inauguration of the

new

reign and the government of

was

a very

young man,

to

whom

ment meant nothing but

in

that task

command of the

transfer

to

with conscientious

and

its

advance-

enjoy himself.

recruits,

twentieth legion.

allegiance,

its

Domitian

for

his father's

licence

Mucianus sent Agricola to enrol

had performed

Rome;

It

retiring

and when he zeal

put him

had been slow

to

commander was

reported to be disloyal. Actually, since even governors of consular rank found this legion

manage and were

commander well

afraid

more than they could

of it, the

fact that a praetorian it

may

than

his.

lacked sufficient authority to control

have been the

soldiers'

fault

rather

Appointed, therefore, not merely to take over command, but also to mete out punishment, Agricola took disciplinary measures, but, with rare modesty, did his best to give the impression that

no such measures had been necessary.

Britain at that time

was governed by Vettius Bolanus

with a hand too gentle for a warlike province. Agricola

moderated

his

energy and restrained 57

his enthusiasm, for

TACITUS fear

of taking too much upon himself.

lesson

He had learned the

of obedience and schooled himself to subordinate

ambition

Shortly

propriety.

to

afterwards

Petilius

man of consular rank, was appointed governor. now had scope to display his good qualities.

Cerealis, a

Agricola

But

at first

was merely hard work and danger

it

Cerealis shared

with him. The glory came

It

to

when he had passed the test, he command of larger forces. Yet he never

in

sought to glorify himself by bragging of ments.

army

eventually,

test his ability;

was placed

Several

later.

times he was entrusted with a detachment of the

that

was

his

chief,

successful operations,

he

said,

who

his achieve-

planned

all

his

who

and he was merely the agent

executed them. Thus by his efficiency in carrying out his orders,

and by

done, he

won

his

modesty

distinction

in speaking

of what he had

without arousing jealousy.

On

Agricola's return

late

emperor Vespasian granted him the

patrician,

from

his military

and afterwards placed him

command status

in charge

the

of a

of the

province of Aquitania - a splendid promotion to an

important administrative post that was a stepping-stone to the consulship, for

which the emperor had

marked him

common

the

out.

It is

power of fine

a

in fact

belief that soldiers lack

discrimination, because the

proceedings of a court martial - tending,

as

summary

they do, to

be rough and ready, and often, indeed, high-handed 58

AGRICOLA no scope to forensic skill. But Agricola had the natural good sense, even in dealing with civilians, to give

show himself both division ation.

agreeable and just.

He made

a clear

between hours of business and hours of relax-

When

he was dignified,

attention,

demanded and austere - though

the judicial duties of the assizes serious,

merciful whenever he could be.

When

duty had been

discharged, he completely dropped his official

air.

As

to

or arrogance, he had long overcome any

sullenness

tendency to such

faults;

and he had the rare faculty of

being familiar without weakening his authority and austere without forfeiting people's affection. incorruptibility

would

and

man of his

honesty in a

strict

be to insult his virtues.

To mention calibre

Even fame, which often

tempts the best of men, he would not seek by advertisement or intrigue. colleagues

and

considered

it

all

He

avoided

all

rivalry

self-

with

his

bickering with the procurators; for he

undignified to

minious to be beaten.

win such

battles

and igno-

He was kept in his post for less than called home to the immediate

and then

three years

prospect of the consulship. Public opinion insisted that the province

of Britain was being offered to him, not

because he said anything himself to suggest

he was obviously the right man. at fault:

it

may

consulship, while

trothed to

me

rare promise

me

his

even prompt a I

was

in

my

daughter - a

- and

after his

in marriage. His

Rumour

it,

but because

is

not always

selection.

early girl

During

his

manhood, he be-

who

already

showed

term of office he gave her to

appointment to the 59

command of

TACITUS of

a pontifex,

Although the geographical position and the

inhabitants

Britain, coupled

with the

priestly office

followed immediately. 10

of Britain have been described by many authors, describe

them once

again, not to

ability against theirs,

completed in

on

graces

style

shall

my industry and

but because the conquest was only

this period.

of

match

I

to

Where my predecessors relied make their guesswork sound

attractive, I shall offer ascertained fact. Britain, the largest

of the islands known to us Romans, situated as to east it

run

is

parallel to the coast

of such

a size

and so

of Germany on the

and to that of Spain on the west, while to the south

actually

lies

within sight of Gaul.

Its

northern shores,

with no land facing them, are beaten by a wild and open sea.

The

general shape of Britain has been

Livy and by Fabius Rusticus - the

modern

writers respectively

-

finest

compared by

of ancient- and

to an elongated

or a double-headed axe. Such indeed

is its

diamond

shape south of

Caledonia, and so the same shape has been attributed to the whole.

huge and

what

is

But when you go

shapeless tract

actually the

farther north

you

find a

of country, jutting out to form

most

distant coastline

and

finally

tapering into a kind of wedge. These remotest shores

now circumnavigated, for the first Roman fleet, which thus established the fact

were

was an

island.

At the same time

it

time,

by

a

that Britain

discovered and sub-

jugated the Orkney Islands, hitherto unknown. Thule,

60

AGRICOLA too,

was

sighted, but

no more;

their orders

took them no

farther, and winter was close at hand. But report has

it

and even

in

that this sea

a high

is

sluggish

wind does not

suppose,

is

and heavy to the

rise as

that the lands

other seas do.

mass of an unbroken expanse of sea

To

motion.

outside

cussed.

I

investigate the nature

sea hold

wider sway:

is

and the deep

more slowly its

set in

tides

often been dis-

it

carries to its

and

fro in

pushing

way even among its own domain.

its

as if in

motion a

its

ebb and flow

stop at the coast, but penetrates deep inland

mountains,

I

add just one observation. Nowhere does the

mass of tidal currents, and in

about,

reason,

of Ocean and

my subject and the matter has

will

The

and mountains, which produce

sustain storms, are farther apart there,

and

lies

oar,

it

does not

and winds

highlands and

ii

Who

the

first

remember we

is

open to question: one must

are dealing with barbarians.

physical characteristics vary, tive.

The

Silures, the lies

and the variation

But

their

sugges-

is

reddish hair and large limbs of the Caledonians

proclaim a

Spain

of Britain were, whether

inhabitants

natives or immigrants,

German

origin; the swarthy faces

tendency of their hair to

opposite,

all

lead

one

curl,

and the

of the

fact that

to believe that Spaniards

crossed in ancient times and occupied that part of the

country.

The

resemble them.

peoples nearest to It

the Gauls likewise

may be that they still show the effect of 61

TACITUS a

common origin;

or perhaps

it is

climatic conditions that

have produced this physical type in lands that converge so

from north and

closely it

south.

On

the whole, however,

seems likely that Gauls settled in the island lying so close

both countries you find the same

to their shores. In

and

religious

There

beliefs.

language, and there

is

is

no

the same hardihood in challenging

danger, the same cowardice in shirking

But the Britons show more

close.

yet been enervated that the Gauls too

ritual

great difference in

by protracted had

their

when

it

it

comes

they have not

spirit:

peace. History

tells

us

hour of military glory; but

since that time a life

of ease has made them unwarlike:

their valour perished

with

their

freedom.

The same

happened to those Britons who were conquered rest are still

has

early; the

what the Gauls once were.

12

Their strength

from

chariots.

in his defence.

is

in their infantry.

Some

tribes also fight

The nobleman drives, his dependants fight Once they owed obedience to kings; now

they are distracted between the warring factions of rival chiefs.

Indeed, nothing has helped us

more

in fighting

against their very powerful nations than their inability to

but seldom that two or three

co-operate.

It is

to repel a

common

groups,

are conquered.

its

all

The

climate

frequent rains and mists, but there

Their day

is

states unite

danger; thus, fighting in separate

is

is

wretched, with

no extreme

longer than in our part of the world.

62

cold.

The

AGRICOLA and

nights are light,

in the

extreme north so short that

evening and morning twilight are scarcely distinguish-

block the view, the sun's glow,

able. If no clouds

can be seen

all

night long:

it

does not

set

and

it is

rise,

said,

but

The reason must be that cast low shadows and do

simply passes along the horizon.

of the earth

the

flat

not

raise the darkness to

extremities

to reach the sky

and

any height; night therefore

its stars.

crops, except olives, vines,

grow

warmer

in

lands.

The

soil will

fails

produce good

and other plants which usually

They

are slow to ripen,

though

they shoot up quickly - both facts being due to the same cause, the

extreme moistness of the

Britain yields gold, silver,

worth conquering. are

Its seas,

soil

and atmosphere.

and other metals, to make too,

produce

pearls,

it

but they

of a dark, bluish-grey colour. Some think that the

natives are unskilful in gathering

Indian

them; for whereas

in the

Ocean the oysters are torn alive and breathing from

the rocks, in Britain they are collected as the sea throws

them

up.

I

find

it

easier to believe that the pearls are

inferior quality than that people miss a

of

chance of making a

larger profit.

13

The Britons readily submit to military service, payment of tribute,

and other obligations imposed by government,

provided that there for they are

is

broken

no

abuse.

That they

in to obedience,

slavery. Julius Caesar, the first

bitterly resent;

but not

Roman

as

yet to

to enter Britain

with an army, did indeed intimidate the natives by a 63

TACITUS victory and secure a grip

on the

coast.

But he may

fairly

be said to have merely drawn attention to the island

was not

his to bequeath. After

men of Rome

with the leading country.

it

of

:

it

the civil wars,

fighting against their

Even when peace returned,

neglected. Augustus spoke called

him came

Britain

was long Tiberius

this as 'policy',

an 'injunction'. The emperor Gaius unquestion-

ably planned an invasion of Britain; but his impulsive ideas shifted like a weathercock,

against

Germany had come

emperor Claudius

He

who

sent over legions

his grandiose efforts

to nothing.

It

was the

late

initiated the great undertaking.

and

to share in the enterprise greatness. Tribes

and

auxiliaries

- the first

and chose Vespasian

step

towards

his future

were subdued and kings captured, and

the finger of destiny began to point to Vespasian.

14

The

first

governor of consular rank to be appointed was

Aulus Plautius, and soon

after

him came Ostorius Not only were the

Scapula - both of them fine soldiers. nearest parts ince,

of Britain gradually organized into a prov-

but a colony of veterans also was founded. Certain

domains were presented to King Cogidumnus,

own

who

down

to our

times - an example of the long-established

Roman

maintained his unswerving loyalty right

custom of employing even kings to make others

slaves.

Didius Gallus, the next governor, merely held what predecessors

had won,

establishing a

64

few

forts in

his

more

AGRICOLA advanced positions, so that he could claim the credit of

made some

having

annexations.

Veranius succeeded

Didius, only to die within the year. After him, Suetonius

Paulinus enjoyed tribes

two

years

and strengthening

attack the island

of success, conquering

forts.

fresh

Emboldened thereby

to

of Anglesey, which was feeding the

native resistance, he exposed himself to attack in the rear.

15

For the Britons, their fears allayed by the absence of the dreaded legate, began to canvass the woes of slavery, to

compare telling.

their

'We

wrongs and sharpen

gain nothing

burdens for willing shoulders.

now two

at a time;

wreak

his

property.

We used to have one king

are set over us

curator, slaves;

war

to

quarrel with each other is

equally ruinous.

governor has centurions to execute

In

- the governor

fury on our life-blood; the procurator, on our

Whether our masters

or agree together, our bondage

Nothing

their sting in the

by submission except heavier

is

it is

and both of them add

any longer at least a

things stand with us, that seize our

from

safe

braver it is

his will; the

The pro-

insults to violence.

their greed

man who

and

lust.

takes the spoil; as

mostly cowards and shirkers

homes, kidnap our children, and conscript

men - as though it were only for our own country that we would not face death. What a mere handful our invaders are, if we reckon up our own numbers! Such thoughts our

prompted the Germans

to

throw off the yoke; and they 65

TACITUS have only a river, not the Ocean, to shield them. country, wives, and parents to fight for; the

We have

Romans have

nothing but greed and self-indulgence. Back they will go, as their deified Julius

went back,

valour of our fathers.

if

we will but emulate the

We must not be scared by the loss of may

army more dash, but the greater staying-power comes from defeat. The gods themselves are at last showing mercy to us Britons in keeping the Roman general away, with his army exiled in one or two

battles; success

another island. For ourselves,

most

difficult step:

we

enterprise like this there

give an

we

have already taken the

have begun to plan. is

more danger

And

in an

in being caught

planning than in taking the plunge/

16

Egged on by such mutual encouragements, the whole island rose

under the leadership of Boudicca, a lady of

royal descent their

the

for Britons

make no

distinction

of sex

appointment of commanders. They hunted

Roman

forts,

-

in

down

troops in their scattered posts, stormed the

and assaulted the colony itself, which they saw as the

citadel

of their servitude; and there was no form of savage

cruelty that the angry victors refrained from. In fact, had

not Paulinus, on hearing of the revolt, help, Britain it

to

its

action.

would have been

former

state

lost.

As

of submission by

But many of the

it

made

speed to

was, he restored

a single successful

rebels did not lay

down

their

arms, conscious of their guilt and of the special reasons

66

AGRICOLA they had for dreading what the governor might do. Excellent officer though he was,

would abuse with undue

severity, as if

government

therefore

Turpilianus.

They hoped

it

repentance,

further

since

was feared

that he

The him by Petronius he would be more inclined

were

a personal injury.

replaced that

to listen to pleas in extenuation

crimes.

it

and punish every offence

their surrender

of guilt or protestations of

he had not witnessed the enemy's

He dealt with the existing troubles, but risked no move before handing over his post to Trebellius

Maximus. Trebellius was

deficient in

energy and without

of the province

military experience, but he kept control

by an easy-going kind of administration. The barbarians

now vices,

any Romans, to condone seductive

learned, like

while the intervention of the

him with

civil

a valid excuse for inactivity.

ever, a serious

wars provided

There was, how-

mutiny; for the troops, accustomed to

campaigns, got out of hand

when they had nothing to

do.

his

angry army. His

honour and dignity compromised, he

now commanded

Trebellius fled

and hid to escape

merely on sufferance.

had licence to do

as

By a kind of tacit bargain the troops

they pleased, the general had his

life;

and so the mutiny stopped short of bloodshed. Vettius Bolanus likewise,

as

the

civil

declined to disturb the province

There was

still

the

same

same insubordination

in

wars

by enforcing

paralysis in face

won

affection

continued, discipline.

of the

foe, the

the camp - only Bolanus was an

upright man, with no misdeeds to

had

still

where he lacked 67

make him authority.

hated, and

TACITUS

17

But when Vespasian,

in the course

government

restored stable

succession of great generals

to Britain,

struck terror into their hearts Brigantes,

which

is

said to

.by

by

actually conquered, the

came

a

Petilius Cerealis at

once

attacking the state of the

be the most populous

a series

no means bloodless -

there

and splendid armies, and the

hopes of our enemies dwindled.

whole province. After

of his general triumph,

in the

of battles - some of them

Petilius

had overrun,

major part of their

would indeed have completely

if

not

territory.

He

eclipsed the record

and

reputation of any ordinary successor. But Julius Frontinus

was equal to shouldering the heavy burden, and rose high as a man then could

rise.

as

He subdued by force of arms

the strong and warlike nation of the Silures, after a hard struggle, not only against the valour

against the difficulties

of the

of

his

enemy, but

terrain.

18

Such was the condition to which Britain had been brought by the ups and downs of warfare when Agricola crossed the Channel with the

The

soldiers

summer

already half over.

thought they had done with campaigning

for the present

and were relaxing, while the enemy were

looking for a chance to profit thereby. Shortly before arrival the tribe

his

of the Ordo vices had almost wiped out

squadron of cavalry stationed in their 68

territory,

and

a

this

AGRICOLA initial

stroke had excited the province.

war welcomed the

new

the temper of the

test

Those who wanted

and only waited to

lead thus given,

governor.

The summer was

now far spent, the auxiliary units were scattered all over the province, and the soldiers assumed that there

would be no

more fighting

combined

that year. Everything, in fact,

new campaign, and many were

hinder or delay a

to in

favour of simply watching the points where danger threatened. In spite of all, Agricola decided to

He

the peril.

go and meet

concentrated the legionaries serving on

detachment duties and a small force of auxiliaries. As the Ordovices did not venture to descend into the plain, he led his as to

men up

impart

into the

his

own

hills,

marching

courage to the

in front himself so

rest

by sharing

their

danger, and cut to pieces almost the whole fighting force

of the

up

tribe.

But he

and that the outcome of

would determine how much

enterprises

sequent operations

live

his first

fear his sub-

would inspire. So he decided to reduce

the island of Anglesey,

from the occupation of which

Paulinus had been recalled I

he must continue to

realized that

to his reputation,

by the

described in an earlier chapter.

conceived, there was no

revolt

of all

Britain, as

As the plan was

fleet at

hastily

hand; but Agricola's

resource and resolution found means of getting troops across.

He

who had trained at

carefully picked out

his auxiliaries

men

experience of shallow waters and had been

home

their horses their

from

to

swim

carrying their arms and keeping

under control, and made them discard

equipment.

He

all

then launched them on a surprise

TACITUS attack;

and the enemy,

a fleet

of

ships

nonplussed.

who had been thinking in terms of

and naval operations, were completely

What

could embarrass or defeat a foe

who

attacked like that? So they sued for peace and surrendered the

island;

governor,

and Agricola was extolled

as

a

brilliant

who immediately on his arrival - a time usually

devoted to pageantry and a round of ceremonial

visits

-

had chosen to undertake an arduous and dangerous enterprise.

Yet he did not use

He would

self.

not represent

his success to glorify

his action as a

him-

campaign of

conquest, when, as he said, he had merely kept a defeated tribe

under control.

dispatches to

He

did not even use laurel-wreathed

announce

his

achievement. But his very

title to fame won him even greater men gauged his splendid hopes for the future by

reluctance to admit his

fame: for

his reticence

about an exploit so remarkable.

19 Agricola, however, understood the feelings of the province

and had learned from the experience of others

arms can

effect little if injustice follows in their train.

that

He

resolved to root out the causes of rebellion. Beginning

with himself and

own the

establishment

his staff, first

-

he enforced discipline

a task often

found

in his

as difficult as

government of a province. He made no use of fireed-

men

or slaves for

fluenced

by

official business.

He would

his personal preference,

tions or petitions, in choosing centurions

70

not be in-

or by recommenda-

and men

for

AGRICOLA The He knew

he was

would best justify his went on, but did not

sure,

staff duties.

best,

trust.

everything that

He would condone

always act upon his knowledge.

minor

offences,

but dealt severely with major crimes.

However, he did not always pronounce sentence: offender was

more

truly repentant,

content with that. positions and

duties

He preferred men whom

transgress, rather than

if

an

often than not he was to appoint to official

he could

trust

not to

He

have to punish transgressions.

made the contributions of corn and tribute less onerous by distributing the burdens fairly,

of

tricks

profiteers,

than the tax

itself.

and put a stop to the

which were more

bitterly resented

For the provincials were made to wait

go through the farce the governor - thus being

outside locked granaries in order to

of 'buying' corn to deliver to in fact

compelled to discharge their obligations by

payments.

way

Or

delivery

would be ordered

which had permanent camps

told to send supplies to

Thus the rendering of a easy for

all

close

remote and service

was obstructed

to out-of-the-

end of the country, so

destinations at the other

states

money that

by them were

inaccessible spots.

which should have been

in order to line a

few men's

pockets.

20

By

checking these abuses in

Agricola

made

his

very

first

year of office

the Britons appreciate the advantages of

peace, which, through the negligence or arbitrariness

previous governors, had been as 71

much

of

feared as war.

TACITUS But when summer came he concentrated took the

field in person.

the march, praising

up to the mark.

He was

army and

his

present everywhere

on

good discipline and keeping stragglers

He

himself chose

for

sites

reconnoitred estuaries and forests and ;

all

camps and

the time he gave

enemy no rest, but constantly launched plundering raids. Then, when he had done enough to inspire fear, he the

tried the effect

of clemency and showed them the

of peace. As a

tions

result,

many states which till

attrac-

then had

maintained their independence gave hostages and aban-

doned

their resentful attitude.

A ring

was placed round them; and so

was the operation ever

made

from

of garrisoned

no

carried through that

their first submission

with so

forts

and thoroughly

skilfully

British tribes

little

interference

their neighbours.

21

The following winter was

spent

on schemes of

social

betterment. Agricola had to deal with people living in isolation

and

and ignorance, and therefore prone

his object

quiet

was

to

accustom them to a

by the provision of

life

He

amenities.

to fight;

of peace and

therefore gave

private encouragement and official assistance to the build-

ing of temples, public squares, and praised the energetic tion

for

and scolded the

honour proved

as

good

slack;

effective

as

houses.

He

and competicompulsion.

Furthermore, he educated the sons of the chiefs in the liberal arts, as

and expressed a preference for

compared

with the trained

skills

72

British ability

of the Gauls. The result

AGRICOLA was

of loathing the Latin language they

that instead

became eager

to speak

national dress

came

where

to be seen.

it

effectively. In the

into favour

And

same way, our

and the toga was every-

so the population

was gradually

led into the demoralizing temptations of arcades, baths,

and sumptuous banquets. The unsuspecting Britons spoke of such novelties

as 'civilization',

when

in fact they

were

only a feature of their enslavement.

22

The

third year

of Agricola's campaigns brought him into

contact with fresh peoples; for the territory of tribes was

ravaged

as far

army was

now

north

buffeted

too terrified to molest

experts that

storms, but the it.

No

fort

was ever taken by storm, ever

On

has been observed

on

a better eye for

a site of his choosing

capitulated, or

was ever

the contrary, the garrisons could fre-

quently venture upon protracted siege

It

no general ever showed

ground than Agricola. abandoned.

There was even time to

of forts.

spare for the establishment

by

Tay. Our enemy were

as the estuary called the

by furious

sallies

by having

;

for they were secured against

supplies sufficient for a

whole

And

so winter in these forts held no terrors and commandant could look after himself. The enemy were baffled and in despair. They could no longer retrieve the losses of the summer by successes in the winter, but

year.

every

were equally hard pressed

at

both seasons.

Agricola was not greedy of fame and never tried to 73

steal

TACITUS the credit for other men's work. Every centurion and

him an honest witness to his merit. According to some accounts he was harsh in reprimand; and certainly he could make himself as unpleasant to the wrong kind of man as he was agreeable to the right kind. prefect

found

But

anger

his

in

left

had no need to

no hidden malice

in his heart,

He

fear his silence.

and you

thought

it

more

honourable to hurt than to hate.

23

The

fourth

summer was

spent in securing the districts

already overrun; and if the valour of our

army and

the

glory of Rome had permitted such a thing, a good place

was found

for halting the advance

in Britain

Clyde and the Forth, carried inland to

the tides of opposite seas, are separated only

neck of land. This isthmus was garrisons,

was

The

by

a

on

narrow

firmly held by

and the whole expanse of country

safely in

what was

now

itself.

a great depth

to the south

our hands. The enemy had been pushed into

virtually another island.

24 Agricola started his

fifth

campaign by crossing the

river

Annan, and in a series of successful actions subdued nations hitherto

unknown. The

was lined with his fear. Ireland,

forces.

side

of Britain

that faces Ireland

His motive was rather hope than

lying between Britain and Spain, and easily

accessible also

from the

Gallic sea,

74

might serve

as a

very

AGRICOLA valuable link between the provinces forming the strongest

part of the empire.

It is

small in comparison with

Britain, but larger than the islands

of the Mediterranean.

In soil and climate, and in the character and civilization of its

inhabitants,

it is

much

and harbours have merchants

who

like Britain;

and

its

approaches

now become better known from An Irish prince, expelled

trade there.

from his home by a rebellion, was welcomed by Agricola,

who

detained him, nominally as a friend, in the hope of

being able to

make use of him. I have often heard Agricola by a single

say that Ireland could be reduced and held

legion with a fair-sized force of auxiliaries; and that

would be

easier to

Roman

surrounded by banished from

hold Britain

if

armies,

it

so

it

were completely that

liberty

was

sight.

its

25 In the

summer

in

which

his sixth

year of office began,

Agricola enveloped the tribes beyond the Forth. Fearing a general rising

of the northern nations and threatening

movements by

the

enemy on

reconnoitre the harbours.

It

land,

was

first

cola to increase his striking-power,

he used

his fleet to

employed by Agriand

its

continued

attendance on him

made an excellent impression. The war was pushed forward simultaneously by land and sea; and infantry, cavalry,

and marines, often meeting

in the

same

camp, would mess and make merry together. They boasted, as soldiers will,

of

their several exploits

adventures, and matched the perilous depths of

75

and

woods

TACITUS and ravines against the hazards of storms and waves, victories

on land

against the conquest

Britons for their part, as was learned

dismayed by the appearance of the secret places

of

their sea

fleet;

- though the

unknown always

some of our

felt

that

facts

forts,

on

resistance

were exaggerated,

by rumour. They went

is,

that the

was closed against them. The

of Caledonia turned to armed

large scale

now

were opened up, they

their last refuge in defeat

natives

attack

of the ocean. The

from prisoners, were

a

as the

so far as to

and inspired alarm by

their

challenging offensive. There were cowards in the council

who

pleaded for a

*

strategic retreat'

behind the Forth,

maintaining that 'evacuation was preferable to expulsion'.

But just then Agricola learned

that the

enemy was

about to attack in several columns. For fear that their superior

enable

numbers and knowledge of the country might

them

to surround him,

forward in three

he

moved

his

own army

divisions.

26

enemy got

As soon

as

changed

their plans

the

to

know of this

and massed for

they suddenly

a night attack

on the

ninth legion. That seemed to them the weakest point. Striking panic into the sleeping camp, they ait

down

the

and broke in. The fight was already raging inside camp when Agricola was warned by his scouts of

sentries

the

the enemy's march.

He

followed close on their tracks,

ordered the speediest of his cavalry and infantry to harass

76

AGRICOLA made

the assailants' rear, and finally

his

whole force

raise

Dawn was now

breaking, and the gleam of the

legions' standards could

be seen. Caught thus between

a shout.

two

fires,

the Britons

were dismayed, while the men of

the ninth took heart again;

now that their lives were safe

they could fight for honour. a

grim

the the

They even made

struggle ensued in the

a sally,

and

narrow gateways. At

last

enemy were routed by the efforts of the two armies one striving to make it plain that they had brought

relief;

the other, that they could have done without

Had not

marshes and woods covered the enemy's

that victory

would have ended

it.

retreat,

the war.

27 This success inspired with confidence

had taken part

in

it

or heard about

nothing could stop

men

it.

all

the troops

They

who

declared that

them, that they ought to

like

drive deeper into Caledonia and fight battle after battle till

they reached the farthest limits of Britain. Even the

cautious strategists of yesterday

That

were forward and boastful the crowning injustice of

enough

after the event.

war

claim credit for success, while defeat

:

all

account of one.

had not

Roman

lost

The

is

Britons,

is

laid to the

their part, felt that they

through any lack of courage, but through the

general's skilful use

unbroken

on

spirit

of a lucky chance. With

they persisted in arming their whole

fighting force, putting their wives

and children

of safety, and assembling together to 77

in places

ratify their league

by

TACITUS sacrificial rites.

Thus the campaign ended with angry

feelings excited

on both

sides.

28

That same summer a cohort of the Usipi

Germany and

enrolled in

that

had been

transferred to Britain ventured

They murdered a centurion them discipline, were serving in their ranks as models and instructors. Then they

upon

a

memorable

and some

exploit.

who,

soldiers

to teach

boarded three small warships, forcing the pilots to do

their

will;

but one of these escaped and went back, and the

other

two were then looked on with such

they were

killed.

News of these

suspicion that

events had not yet got

about, and the ships seemed like a ghostly apparition as

they coasted along. But the time came

when

they had to

put in to land to get water and other supplies. This

brought them into

collision

with

tried to protect their property.

the raiders

parties

Though

were sometimes driven

off;

of Britons

who

often successful,

and

in the

end

they were so near starvation that they began to eat one another; lots.

first

they

lost their ships

for pirates,

by

they picked out the weakest, then they drew

In this fashion they sailed round

the

Britain; then

through bad seamanship, were taken

and were cut off first by the Suebi and then

Frisii.

from hand

North

Some of them were sold to

hand

till

as slaves

and passed

they reached our bank of the

Rhine, where they gained notoriety by telling the story of their

wonderful adventure. 78

AGRICOLA

29

At the beginning of the next summer Agricola a grievous personal loss in the death

He

been born a year before.

suffered

who

of a son

had

blow without

accepted this

of a stoic or giving way to woman. The conduct of the war was one means he used to distract his mind from its either parading the fortitude

passionate grief like a

sorrow.

He sent his fleet ahead to plunder at various points

and thus spread uncertainty and

army marching

light,

of the bravest of the Britons loyalty

by long

with an

terror; then,

which he had reinforced with some

who had

proved

their

Mount enemy. The

years of submission, he reached

Graupius, which he found occupied

by

the

Britons were, in fact, undaunted

by

the loss of the

previous battle, and were ready for either revenge or enslavement.

They had

realized at last that the

common

danger must be warded off by united action, and had sent

round embassies and drawn up force

of

all

their states.

could be seen, and all

the

was

still

treaties to rally the full

Already more than 30,000

young men, and famous warriors whose

fresh

and green', every

man wearing

he had earned. At that point one of the a

man of

outstanding

valour

'old age

the decorations

many

leaders,

and nobility named

Calgacus, addressed the close-packed multitude of

clamouring for

battle.

men

they came flocking to the colours -

This

is

reported to have said:

79

men

the substance of what he

is

TACITUS

30

'When

we

consider the motives

I

the critical position

you

the united front

dawn of

we are in,

have for fighting and

have

a strong feeling that

showing today

are

liberty for the

mustered to a man, and

I

whole of

all

will

Britain.

of you are

free.

mean

You

the

have

There are no

on the sea we are menaced by Roman fleet. The clash of battle - the hero's glory has now actually become the safest refuge for a coward. Battles against Rome have been lost and won before; but hope was never abandoned, since we were always here in reserve. We, the choicest flower of Britain's

lands behind us, and even

the

manhood, were hidden away

Out of sight of subject

from the defilement of dwellers shielded

upon till

obscurity in farthest

earth,

in her

most

secret places.

we kept even our eyes free tyranny. We, the most distant

shores,

the

last

of the

free,

have been

today by our very remoteness and by the

which

it

has shrouded our name.

bounds of Britain

lie

open

Now,

to our enemies ;

what men know nothing about they always assume a valuable prize.

nothing

is

still

than these - for in them

is

an arrogance escape.

of the world, they have exhausted the land by

their indiscriminate plunder, sea.

us

Romans,

which no submission or good behaviour can Pillagers

and

to be

But there are no more nations beyond

there but waves and rocks, and the

more deadly

the

and

now

they ransack the

A rich enemy excites their cupidity; a poor one, their 80

AGRICOLA lust for

power. East and West alike have

failed to satisfy

them. They are the only people on earth to whose covetousness both riches and poverty are equally tempt-

To

ing.

robbery, butchery, and rapine, they give the *

name of government

lying

'

'

'

;

they create a desolation and

call it peace,

31

man

'Nature has ordained that every

children and his other relatives above

now

should love his

all else.

These are

by Our wives and sisters, even if they are not raped by enemy soldiers, are seduced by men who are supposed to be our friends and guests. Our goods and money are being torn from us

conscription to slave in other

lands.

consumed by to

fill

taxation; our land

their granaries;

stripped of its harvest

is

our hands and limbs are crippled by

building roads through forests and

swamps under the lash

of our oppressors. Creatures born to be once for owners.

all,

and,

what

is

more, get

their

slaves are sold

keep from their

We Britons are sold into slavery anew every day;

we have

to

pay the purchase-price ourselves and feed our

masters into the bargain. In a private household the latest arrival this

is

made

the butt even of his fellow-slaves ; so, in

establishment

where

all

mankind have long been

new acquisitions, who are marked out for destruction. For we have no fertile lands, no mines, no ports, which we might be spared to work in. Our courage, too, and our martial spirit are against us: slaves,

it

is

we, the cheap

masters do not like such qualities in their subjects. Even 81

TACITUS our remoteness and tion, are

chief

bound

we

are

to

up

isolation,

make

Since

to.

while they give us protec-

Romans wonder what misyou cannot hope for mercy,

the

therefore, take courage before

what you hold most

dear,

too late to strive for

it is

whether

it

be

life

or honour.

The Brigantes, with only a woman to lead them, burned a Roman colony and stormed a camp and if success had not ;

tempted them to relax off the yoke.

their efforts, they

might have

cast

We, who have never been forced to feel that

yoke, shall be fighting to preserve our freedom, and not, like

them, merely to avenge past

at the

very

first

injuries.

Let us then show,

of arms, what manner of men Cal-

clash

edonia has kept in reserve. 32

'Do you imagine

that the

quarrels

war our

and disunion that have given them fame. The

reputation of the its

in It is

Romans' bravery

matches their dissoluteness in time of peace? No!

enemies.

Look

nations, that will

now held

Roman army is it,

up on the

by

faults

of

a motley conglomeration of

be shattered by defeat

together

that those Gauls

at

built

success.

as surely as it

is

Or can you seriously think

and Germans - and, to our

bitter

shame,

are bound to Rome by genuine They may be lending their life-blood

many Britons too loyalty or affection?

now to the foreign tyrant, but they were enemies of Rome for

more years than they have been her

slaves.

Terror and

intimidation are poor bonds of attachment: once break

them, and where fear ends hatred will begin. All that can 82

AGRICOLA men on

spur

no wives

them

if

to victory

is

on our

to fire their courage,

parents ready to taunt

they run away. Most of them either have no

fatherland they can

remember, or belong to one other

Rome. See them,

than

no

The enemy have

side.

scanty

a

band,

many

sea,

around them. The gods have given them,

forests

prisoners

bound hand and

foot, into

and

scared

bewildered, staring blankly at the unfamiliar sky,

and

like so

our hands. Be

not afraid of the outward show that means nothing, the glitter

of gold and

silver

inflict a

wound. Even

in the ranks

find willing hands to help us.

our cause

as their

own;

lost liberty; the rest

you

forts

see there

we shall

Britons will recognize

the Gauls will

remember

their

of the Germans will desert them

And beyond

this

as

army

nothing to be frightened of - only

without garrisons, colonies of greybeards, towns

and

sick

is

of our enemies

The

surely as the Usipi did recently. that

nor

that can neither avert

masters.

distracted

Which

will

subjects

and tyrant

to follow

your leader

between rebel

you choose -

into battle, or to submit to taxation, labour in the mines,

and

all

the other tribulations of slavery?

Whether you are

to endure these for ever or take quick vengeance, this field

must

decide.

On,

think of those that shall

come

then, into action;

and

as

you

went before you and of those

go, that

after/

33

This speech was received with enthusiasm, expressed, in

barbarian fkshion,

by singing and 83

yelling

and by

TACITUS discordant

cries.

Bodies of troops began to

most adventurous ran out

flashed as the

was taking

the time their battle-line soldiers

were

high

in such

spirits that

be kept within their defences. For

edge on

desirable to put the final

addressed 'This service

is

them

my own

- yours and

and endurance

all

that,

he

felt

their courage,

by

- you

started to

it

and

campaigns and

in fighting, as

it

general.

loyal

conquer

divinely guided

battles,

which have

of the enemy but for were, against Nature

have had no complaint to make of my

limits reached

all

they could scarcely

name of imperial Rome's

greatness. In all these

you of your

and

thus

called not only for courage in face toil

in front,

shape. Agricola's

the seventh year, comrades, since

Britain in the

herself, I

move and arms

men nor

Thus we have advanced beyond the

by previous armies under

my

predeces-

The farthest boundary of this land, which they knew only by report or rumour, we hold in our grasp sors.

with arms and

fortresses.

conquered Britain.

Many

We

have both explored and

a time

on the march,

as

trudged wearily over marshes, mountains, and

have

I

shall

we meet

heard the bravest

fight us?"

the

They

are

among you

enemy?

When

coming now,

out of their hiding-places. The

exclaim:

you

rivers,

"When

come and we have dug them

will they

for

fair field for

our valour

we desired is granted to us. An easy path awaits us we win, but if we lose the going will be hard indeed. The long road that we have travelled, the forests we have threaded our way through, the estuaries we have crossed that

if

84

AGRICOLA -

redound to our

all

credit

and honour

keep our eyes to the front. But in

if

long

as

we turn tail,

we

as

our success

surmounting these obstacles will put us in the deadliest

We have not

peril.

knowledge of the country

the exact

that our

enemy

we have

our hands, and swords in them, and these are

that matters. For myself, that neither an

abundant

has, or his

army nor

I

a

supplies.

However, all

made up my mind long ago commander can avoid danger

by running away. So - although an honourable death would be lives

better than a disgraceful attempt to save our

- our best chance of safety does

our duty.

he in doing

And there would be glory, too, in dying - if die

we must come

in fact

here where the world and

all

created things

to an end.

34 'If

you were

confronted

unfamiliar troops,

I

by

strange

you need only

battle-honours, only question your

recall

your

eyes.

These are the

and

would quote the examples of other

armies to encourage you. As things are,

own

nations

men who

last

own

year attacked a single

legion like robbers in the night, and acknowledged defeat

when

they heard your battle-cry. These are the greatest

runaways of all the Britons - which is the reason why they have survived so long.

When we plunged into woods and

gorges on the march,

all

the brave beasts used to charge

straight at us, while the timid

and

slothful ones slunk

away at the mere sound of our tread. It is the same now. The most courageous of the Britons have fallen long 85

TACITUS

who remain are just You have overtaken them

those

since;

cowards.

so

many

at last,

spiritless

not because

they have chosen to stand at bay, but because they are cornered.

It is

only their desperate plight and deadly fear

army where

that

have paralysed

win

a great and brilliant victory over

their

campaigning; crown

stands, for

it.

you

to

Have done with

with one glorious day,

Rome that her soldiers were never to blame

and prove to if wars

fifty years

it

have been allowed to drag on or the seeds of fresh

rebellion

sown/ 35

Even while Agricola was

still

speaking the troops showed

and the end of his speech was greeted

intense eagerness,

with a wild burst of enthusiasm. Without delay they went off to

arm themselves. The men were so

were ready to rush marshalled in

them with

number, formed

were

distributed

in front

more

care.

The

auxiliary infantry, 8,000

legions

were stationed

of the camp rampart: victory would be vastly

auxiliaries

it

cost

no Roman blood, while

if the

come to The British army was posted on higher manner calculated to impress and intimidate

should be repulsed the legions could

their rescue.

its

they

a strong centre, while 3,000 cavalry-

on the flanks. The

glorious if

ground

thrilled that

straight into action; but Agricola

in a

enemy. Their front

other ranks seemed to

close-packed

tiers.

The

line

was on the

mount up flat

plain,

but the

the sloping hillside in

space between the

two armies

was taken up by the noisy manoeuvring of the charioteers. 86

AGRICOLA now saw that he was

Agricola

fearing that the

enemy might

fall

simultaneously on

front and flanks, he opened out his ranks.

looked

like

and

being dangerously

up the

to bring

legions.

resolute in the face

and

greatly outnumbered,

thin,

The

line

his

now

and many urged him

But he was always an optimist of

difficulties.

horse and took up his position

He

on foot

sent

away

in front

his

of the

colours.

36

The

showed both

with

spears

their

little shields,

At

of missiles, and the

fighting began with exchanges

Britons

last

skill in

These old

to close

soldiers

and fight

it

us.

out at the sword's

had been well

drilled in

enemy were awkward

and unwieldy swords,

at

sword-

it,

with

especially as the

having no points, were quite unsuitable for a cut-

and-thrust struggle at close quarters. raining

blow

of their

shields,

after

Britons posted

The

Batavians,

blow, striking them with the bosses

and stabbing them

on the

plain

in the face, felled the

and pushed on up the

hill-

This provoked the other cohorts to attack with

vigour and

were

their

Agricola called upon four cohorts of Batavians and

their small shields

sides.

parrying our

huge swords or catching them on

fighting, while the

latter,

and

while they themselves rained volleys on

two of Tungrians point.

steadiness

left

kill

the nearest of the enemy.

Many

Britons

behind half dead or even un wounded, owing to

the very speed of our victory.

Our

cavalry squadrons,

meanwhile, had routed the war chariots, and 87

now

TACITUS plunged into the infantry terrifying,

battle.

Their

first

onslaught was

but the solid ranks of the enemy and the rough-

of the ground soon brought them to a

ness

and made the

battle quite unlike a cavalry action.

Our

had only a precarious foothold and were being

infantry jostled

standstill

by the horses'

flanks;

and often a runaway

chariot,

or riderless horses careering about wildly in their terror,

came plunging

from the

into the ranks

side or in

head-on

collision.

37

The

Britons

on the

hill-tops

had so

far

taken no part in

the action and had leisure to note with contempt the smallness

of our numbers. They were

now

starting to

descend gradually and envelop our victorious Agricola, their

in

who had

rear.

But

expected just such a move, threw in

path four squadrons of cavalry which he was keeping

hand

and turned

for emergencies

The

into a disorderly rout.

recoiled

tactics

their spirited charge

of the Britons

now

on themselves. Our squadrons, obedient

to

orders, rode round from the front ofthe battle and fell upon

the

enemy

grim,

in the rear.

awe-inspiring

The open spectacle.

plain

now

presented a

Our horsemen

kept

pursuing them, wounding some, making prisoners of others,

and then

killing

On the British side, his character.

their hands,

each

as new enemies appeared. man now behaved according to

them

Whole groups, though they had weapons in fled

unarmed men

before inferior numbers; elsewhere,

deliberately charged to face certain death.

5

AGRICOLA Equipment, bodies, and mangled limbs lay

all

around on

now and When they

the bloodstained earth; and even the vanquished

then recovered their fury and their courage.

reached the woods, they rallied and profited by their local

knowledge

to

ambush

the

rash pursuers.

first

Our

men's over-confidence might even have led to serious

But Agricola was everywhere

disaster.

once.

at

He

ordered strong cohorts of light infantry to ring the woods like hunters.

troopers

Where

went

the thickets were denser, dismounted

in to scour

the cavalry did the work. troops, re-formed

them; where they thinned out,

At

length,

when

they saw our

and steady, renewing the

Britons turned and ran.

pursuit, the

They no longer kept formation

or looked to see where their comrades were, but scattering and deliberately keeping apart

The pursuit went on till

penetrated far into trackless wilds.

night

fell

and our

emy some

10,000

soldiers fell;

were

on our

from each other they

tired

side,

Of the en-

of killing.

360

men -among them

Aulus Atticus, the prefect of a cohort, whose youthful impetuosity and mettlesome horse carried

him deep

into

the ranks of the enemy.

38

For the victors

triumph and

women

it

was

their booty.

The

of rejoicing over

wounded

or called to the survivors.

hiding-places, only to

abandon them 89

away

Many

their rage actually set fire to

their

men and

Britons dispersed,

wailing together, as they carried

homes and in

A.G.—

a night

left

their their

them, or chose

at once.

At one

TACITUS they would try to concert plans, then suddenly

moment

break off their conference. Sometimes the sight of their

more

dear ones broke their hearts; to fury;

and

often

goaded them

it

we had proof that some of them laid violent

hands on their wives and children in a kind of pity. The next day revealed the

An

effects

of our victory more

awful silence reigned on every hand; the

deserted, houses

smoking

in the distance,

fully.

hills

were

and our scouts

did not meet a soul. These were sent out in

all

and made

random and

sure that the

were not massing over, a

it

at

enemy had

fled at

directions

any point. As the summer was almost

was impossible for operations

wider area; so Agricola led

his

to be extended over

army into

the territory of

the Boresti. There he took hostages and ordered his

admiral to

sail

round the north of Britain.

A

detachment

of troops was assigned to him, and the terror of

Rome

had gone before him. Agricola himself, marching slowly in order to

overawe the recently conquered

tribes

very deliberateness of his movements, placed

and cavalry the

fleet,

At about

in winter-quarters.

by the

his infantry

the same time

which aided by favourable weather had com-

pleted a remarkable voyage, reached Trucculensis Portus. It

had

started the

voyage from

that harbour,

and

after

coasting along the adjacent shore of Britain had returned intact.

39 Agricola's

dispatch

reported

this

series

of events

language of careful moderation. But Domitian reacted

90

in as

AGRICOLA he often did: he pretended to be pleased

was deeply disturbed. that his

made up

slaves in the

to look

a genuine victory

were reckoned immense.

him

for

on the grand

in thousands,

He knew

as to

silencing

market to have

like prisoners

in fact

he

when

excited,

and

their dress

of war. But now came

enemy dead

scale: the

and the popular acclaim was

that there

was nothing

so dangerous

have the name of a subject exalted above

of the emperor.

that

when

conscious of the ridicule

sham triumph over Germany had

he had bought hair

He was

forensic

He had

only wasted

his

eloquence and suppressing

standing accomplishment in civil to snatch military glory

from

life, if

another

time in all

out-

man was

his grasp. Talents in other

directions could at a pinch be ignored; but the qualities

of a good general should be the monopoly of the emperor. Harassed by these anxieties, he brooded over secret

till

malevolent purpose. In the end he decided that

be best to store up

in

his hatred for the present

it

would

and wait for

burst of popular applause and the enthusiasm of

the

first

the

army

in

them

he was tired - a sure sign in him of some

to die

down. For

at that

time Agricola was

still

command of Britain. 40

Domitian therefore directed that the customary decorations

and

of a triumph, the honour of a complimentary

all

statue,

the other substitutes for a triumphal procession,

should be voted to Agricola in the Senate, coupled with a highly flattering address; further, the impression was to 91

TACITUS be conveyed that the province of Syria, then vacant

through the death of Atilius Rufus, an ex-consul, and

men of seniority, was intended was commonly believed that one of

for

always reserved for Agricola.

It

in Domitian's closest confidence

freedmen

is

it

met

said,

even

only

if

he was

an

of peace and

may

be true, or

it

may have

security.

To

friends

to

been

his successor

avoid publicity, he did

not want to be met by a crowd of people returned to

it

being characteristic of Domitian. Agricola,

meanwhile, had handed over the province to in a state

to

The freedman,

him returned

with

interview

Domitian. The story as

the

with

Agricola's ship in the Channel, and without

seeking

invented

in Britain.

still

sent

with orders

a letter offering Syria to Agricola, but

deliver

was

Rome. So he evaded

and entered the

by

city

when he

the attentions of his

night.

By

night, too, he

went, in accordance with instructions, to the palace.

was greeted with

He

and then dismissed,

a perfunctory kiss

without a word of conversation, to join the crowd of courtiers dancing attendance

divert attention

from

to offend civilians,

on the emperor. Wishing

his military repute,

by displaying other

devoted himself completely to a

He was modest versation, friends.

great

in his

to

which was apt

qualities,

Agricola

of quiet retirement.

life

manner of life, courteous

in

con-

and never seen with more than one or two

who

always measure

their self-advertisement,

after carefully

Consequently, the majority

men by

observing Agricola, were

left

asking

why

he was so

famous. Very few could read his secret aright.

92

AGRICOLA 41

Often during

this

Domitian behind

period Agricola was denounced to

his back,

His danger did not

arise

and acquitted behind

from any charge

any complaint from a victim of

deadliest type

of enemy, the

against

injustice,

emperor's hatred of merit, Agricola's singers

his back.

him or

but from the

own fame, and that of his praises. And

indeed the fortunes of Rome in those ensuing years were such as would not allow Agricola's

One after in

were

name

to be forgotten.

lost in

Moesia and Dacia,

Germany and Pannonia, through

the rash folly or

another, armies

cowardice of their generals enced

officers

captured with frontier

;

one

were defeated all

after another, experi-

and

in fortified positions

their troops.

It

was no longer the

and the Danube line that were threatened, but the

permanent quarters of the legions and the maintenance of the empire. So, as one loss followed another and year after year

was

signalized

by death and

disaster, public

opinion began to clamour for Agricola to take

command.

His energy and resolution, and his proven courage in war,

were universally contrasted with the general cowardice. stung

by

It is

known

that Domitian's

the lash of such talk.

The

best

slackness

own

ears

and

were

of his freedmen

spoke out of their loyal affection, the worst out of malice

and spleen; but

all

alike

goaded on an emperor

always inclined to pursue evil courses.

by

his

own virtues and by the

faults

And

who was

so Agricola,

of others, was carried

straight along the perilous path that led to glory.

93

TACITUS

42

At length the year arrived for the proconsulship

which he was due

in

to ballot

of Africa or Asia; and the recent

execution of Civica was both a warning for Agricola and

Domitian. Agricola was approached by

a precedent for

some

of the emperor's confidants,

instructed to ask

him

They began by

province.

peaceful retirement, his excuses

who had

been

outright whether he meant to take a hinting at the attractions of

went on

to offer their help in getting

accepted if he wished to decline, and

finally,

throwing off the mask, prevailed on him by persuasions

and

threats to

go

to Domitian.

He

hypocrite's part prepared.

listened to Agricola's request to

granting

it

The emperor had

put on a majestic

be excused, and

him

did not, however, assign

salary,

after

allowed Agricola to thank him, without even

a blush for such an odious pretence

He

his air,

of granting a favour. the usual proconsular

which he himself had granted

in

some

- per-

cases

haps from annoyance that Agricola had not asked for

it,

perhaps from an uneasy conscience, not wishing people to think he

him

forbidden to

had bribed him to decline when

hate a

to accept.

It is

an

man whom you

instinct

in fact

have injured. Yet even

Domitian, though he was quick to anger, and

ment all the more implacable because he hide

it,

was softened by the

Agricola,

who

declined to court,

by a

his resent-

generally tried to

self-restraint

94

he had

of human nature

and wisdom of

defiant

and

futile

AGRICOLA parade of independence, the renown that must inevitably destroy him. Let

be clear to those

it

who

on

insist

men

admiring disobedience that even under bad emperors

can be great, and that a decent regard for authority,, if

backed by industry and energy, can reach that peak of distinction

which most men

perilous course,

country,

by an

attain

only by following a

winning fame, without benefiting

their

ostentatious self-martyrdom.

43

The end of Agricola's sorrow to circle

his friends

and complete

make

life

-

a grievious

affected even

strangers.

so absorbed in their

to

-

enquiries;

own

The

blow

men

and a

to us

outside his

own

general public, usually

concerns, flocked to his house

and

in

the

public

squares,

and

wherever people met for conversation, he was talked

When his death was

of.

announced, no one was glad and no

one quickly forgot him. Sympathy was increased by persistent

rumour

own

I

part,

had been poisoned. For

that he

would not venture

to assert that there

is

a

my any

positive evidence.

However, throughout

were more

from prominent freedmen and court

visits

physicians than

is

usual with emperors

by proxy. This could have it

may have

last

his illness there

when paying

calls

indicated genuine concern, or

been spying. All accounts agreed that on the

day, as he lay dying, every change in his condition

was reported by

relays

of

couriers,

and no one could

believe that tidings need have been brought so quickly

95

TACITUS they were unwelcome to the emperor. However,

if

Domitian made a decent show of sorrow;

his

hatred of

made him uneasy, and he could always more convincingly than fear. It was no

Agricola no longer hide satisfaction

on the reading of Agricola's

that

secret

named Domitian 'loving

taking

as

daughter', it

as

which

will,

co-heir with his 'good wife' and his

the

Emperor was much

pleased,

compliment. His mind was so

a sincere

blinded and vitiated by incessant flattery that he did not realize that

no good

emperor except

a

would

father

leave property to any

bad one.

44 Agricola was born on 13 June in the third consulship of the emperor Gaius and died in his fifty-fourth year

on

23 August in the consulship of Collega and Priscinus.

As

to his personal appearance - in case the interest

of posterity

should extend to such a matter - he was good-looking rather than striking.

His features did not indicate a

passionate nature: the prevailing impression

charm. There was no a

difficulty

good man, and one could

great his

willingly believe

man. Though he was taken from us

vigorous manhood,

was one of

about recognizing him

him

in the

yet, so far as glory

the longest span of years could not have

is

as

to be a

prime of

concerned,

made

his life

more complete. He had fully attained those true blessings which depend upon a man's own character. He had held the consulship and bore the decorations of triumph: what 96

AGRICOLA more could

fortune have added?

vast wealth,

and he had

while

and his

He had no

handsome

a

desire for

fortune.

He

died

wife and daughter yet lived to comfort him;

his

we may justly

count him even fortunate who, with

honours unimpaired,

kinsmen and friends

at the

height of his fame, leaving

what was soon

secure, escaped

to

come. Though he was not permitted to see the dawn of this blessed

age and the principate of Trajan - a consum-

mation of which he often spoke to us

- yet

in wishful

was no small compensation

it

cutting off that he

to recover

for his untimely

was spared those

Domitian, instead of giving the

last

them upon

its

as

head so thick and

though by a

days

when

state a breathing-space

from one blow before the next

was drained

prophecy

fell,

rained

fast that its life-blood

single mortal

wound.

45 Agricola did not live to see the senate-house under siege, the senators surrounded

one

fell

stroke

death, so

Only

which

many

by

a

cordon of troops, and

sent so

many

noble ladies into banishment or

a single victory

was credited

as

Baebius was

still

from reaching our

a prisoner in the dock.

exile.

yet to Carus

Mettius; the four walls of the Alban fortress Messalinus's bellow

that

consulars to their

ears;

still

kept

and Massa

But before long

we senators led Helvidius to prison, watched in shame the sufferings

of Mauricus and Rusticus, and stained ourselves

with Senecio's innocent blood. Even Nero used to avert 97

TACITUS though he ordered abominations, forbore

his eyes and,

The worst of our torments under Domitian was to see him with his eyes fixed upon us. Every sigh was registered against us; and when we all turned pale, he did not scruple to make us marked men to

witness them.

by

a glance

of his savage countenance -

that blood-red

countenance which saved him from ever being seen to blush with shame.

Happy indeed were you, glorious

but in your timely death.

life,

testimony of those

met your to

fate

do your

Agricola, not only in your

who

heard your

with a cheerful courage.

best to acquit the

We

have the that

you

You seemed

glad

last

words

emperor of blood-guiltiness.

But your daughter and I have suffered more than the pang of a

father's loss:

sick-bed, sustain

we grieve that we could not sit by your your

failing strength,

and

yearning for your fond looks and embraces. surely have received

some

last

our

commands, some words

be engraved for ever on our special

satisfy

We should

hearts. It

was our

to

own

sorrow and pain that through the accident of our

long absence

more than you by

we

all,

lost

him

four years before his death. All,

dear father, was assuredly done to honour

the devoted wife at your side.

Yet some

tears that

should have been shed over you were not shed; and, at the

last,

there

was something

looked in vain.

98

for

which your dying eyes

AGRICOLA

46 If there

is

any mansion for the

spirits

of the

just,

if,

as

philosophers hold, great souls do not perish with the

body,

may you from

family,

feeble regrets

contemplate your

mourn

May you

rest in peace!

your

and unmanly mourning to

virtues, for

which

it

May we honour you

or lament!

call us,

by our admiration and our

a sin to

in better

and

praise,

were

if

permit by following your example! That

ways -

our powers is

the true

To

honour, the true affection of souls knit close to yours.

widow I would suggest that they memory of a father and a husband by continu-

your daughter and revere the ally

pondering

their hearts the

his

deeds and sayings, and by treasuring in

form and

those of his body.

Not

features

that

of his mind, rather than

would

I

forbid likenesses of

marble or of bronze. But representations of the face, like that face itself, are subject to

everlasting,

material

decay and

whereas the essence of man's mind

solution,

human

is

dis-

something

which you cannot preserve or express

wrought by another's

we

character. All that

skill,

of the ages

of great renown. With many

;

it

of

men through

is

set

will be as

on record

will live.

99

the

for his achievements are

with

had no name or fame: they will be buried

But Agricola's story

in

own

loved and admired in Agricola

abides and shall abide in the hearts endless procession

but only in your

men who

in oblivion.

for posterity,

and he

GERMANIA

The

various peoples of Germany are separated

from the

Gauls by the Rhine, from the Raetians and Pannonians by the Danube, and

mountains fear. sea,

a

or,

from the Sarmatians and Dacians by

where there

are

no mountains, by mutual

The northern parts of the country

are girdled

by

the

flowing round broad peninsulas and vast islands where

campaign of the present century has revealed

existence

to us the

of some nations and kings hitherto unknown.

The Rhine

rises in a

remote and precipitous height of the

Raetian Alps and afterwards turns slightly westward to

flow into the North Sea. slope

The Danube issues from a

of moderate height

passing

more peoples than

gentle

Black Forest, and

in the

the Rhine in

its

after

course dis-

charges itself into the Black Sea through six channels - a

seventh

As

mouth being

to the

lost in

marshlands.

Germans themselves,

I

they are indigenous and that very

think little

it

probable that

foreign blood has

been introduced either by invasions or by friendly dealings with neighbouring peoples. For in former times it

was not by land but on shipboard 101

that

would-be

TACITUS immigrants arrived; and the

beyond the intruders,

world.

coasts

seldom

is

And

unknown

of Germany, and

by

visited

to say nothing

sea,

who would

Minor, North Africa, or

ocean that

limitless

of the

go

defies

part of the

of that wild and

perils

have been

Italy, to

were

as it

from our

ships

lies

likely to leave Asia

to

Germany with

its

forbidding landscapes and unpleasant climate - a country that

is

thankless to

who was

and dismal to behold for anyone

till

not born and bred there?

In the traditional songs

which form

their

only record

of the past the Germans celebrate an earth-born god

Mannus

called Tuisto. His son

is

supposed to be the

fountain-head of their race and himself to have begotten three sons tribes

who

in the interior; rest.

gave their names to three groups of

- the Ingaevones, nearest the

Some

and the

authorities,

Istaevones,

sea; the

who

Herminones,

comprise

all

the

with the freedom of conjecture

permitted by remote antiquity, assert that Tuisto had

more numerous descendants and mention more groups such

as

names which they affirm

The name

tribal

Marsi, Gambrivii, Suebi, and Vandilii to be both genuine

Germania, however,

is

recently applied to the country.

said to

The

and

ancient.

have been only

first

people to cross

the Rhine and appropriate Gallic territory, though they are

known nowadays

as

Tungri, were at that time called

Germani; and what was at

not of the entire the wider sense.

first

the

race, gradually

It

name of this one

came

tribe,

into general use in

was first applied to the whole people by

the conquerors of the Gauls, to frighten them;

102

later, all*

GERMANIA the

Germans adopted

it

and

by

called themselves

the

new name.

The Germans,

like

many

other peoples, are said to have

Hercules, and they sing of

been visited by

foremost of all the heroes

when

as the

they are about to engage

in battle.* Ulysses also, in all those fabled his, is

him

wanderings of

supposed by some to have reached the northern sea

and visited German lands, and to have founded and named Asciburgium, a town on the Rhine inhabited to

They even add

that

an

inscribed also with the

altar consecrated

name of

this day.

by Ulysses and

his father Laertes

was

discovered long ago at this same place, and that certain

barrows with monuments upon them bearing Greek inscriptions

Raetia.

I

on the borders of Germany and

exist

still

do not intend

to argue either for or against these

man must

them

as

he

have the well-known kind of chant that they

call

assertions; each

accept or reject

feels inclined.

* They baritus.

but,

By

also

the rendering of this they not only kindle their courage,

merely by listening to the sound, they can forecast the

issue

of an

approaching engagement. For they either terrify their foes or them-

become frightened, according to the character of the noise they make upon the battlefield; and they regard it not merely as so many selves

voices chanting together but as a unison of valour. ticularly

aim

at

shields in front

is

a harsh, intermittent roar;

of

their

iuto a deeper crescendo

What

mouths, so that the sound

by the reverberation.

103

they par-

and they hold is

their

amplified

TACITUS

For myself,

I

accept the view that the peoples of Germany

have never contaminated themselves by intermarriage

with foreigners but remain of pure blood,

One

unlike any other nation.

result

of

this

distinct is

and

that their

physical characteristics, in so far as one can generalize

about such a large population, are always the same: fierce-looking blue eyes, reddish hair, and big frames -

which, however, can exert their strength only by means

of violent

effort.

They

are less able to endure toil or

fatiguing tasks and cannot bear thirst or heat, their climate has inured

poverty of their

soil to

The appearance of

them

the country differs considerably in

by

side that faces Gaul,

Pannonia.

A

fruit-trees. It

good is

though and the

hunger.

different parts; but in general bristling forests or

to cold spells

foul

it

is

swamps.

covered either by It is

wetter on the

windier on the side of Noricum and

soil for cereal crops, it will

not grow

well provided with live-stock; but the

animals are mostly undersized, and even the cattle lack the

handsome heads

that are their natural glory.

mere number of them

that the

prized. Silver

the in;

form of wealth they have, and are and gold have been denied them -

for these are the only

much

It is

Germans take pride

104

GERMANIA whether cannot are

no

as a sign

say.

Yet

deposits

I

of divine favour or of divine wrath,

would not

positively assert that there

of silver or gold

The

has prospected for them.

I

in

Germany,

since

no one

natives take less pleasure

than most people do in possessing and handling these metals; indeed, one can see in their houses silver vessels,

which have been presented

to chieftains or to ambassadors

put to the same everyday uses

travelling abroad,

earthenware. Those

who

on the

live

however, do value gold and

as

frontiers nearest us,

silver for their use in

com-

merce, being quick to recognize and pick out certain of

our coin-types.* They

like old-fashioned coins because

they have been long familiar with them - especially those

which have notched edges and sentations

gold, not

of two-horse

from any

chariots.

are

stamped with repre-

They also prefer silver to

special liking for the metal, but

because a quantity of silver coins

is

more convenient

for

buying ordinary cheap merchandise.

Even iron sort

is

not plentiful;

this has

been inferred from the

of weapons they have. Only a few of them use

swords or large lances: they carry spears - called frameae in their language

- with short and narrow

blades, but so

sharp and easy to handle that they can be used, as required, either at close quarters or in long-range fighting.

* The practice

tribes

of the

interior stick to the simpler

of barter.

105

Their

and more ancient

TACITUS horsemen are content with

a shield

foot-soldiers also rain javelins carries several,

on

and a spear; but the

their foes: each

and they hurl them

to

immense

of them

distances,

being naked or lightly clad in short cloaks. There

is

nothing ostentatious about their equipment: only their shields are picked out in the colours

have

breastplates,

of their choice. Few

and only one here and there

a

helmet of

metal or hide. Their horses are not remarkable for either

beauty or speed, and are not trained to execute various evolutions as ours are; they ride

with just a single wheel to the

man

well that not a speaking, cavalry.

their

falls

strength

them

right,

straight ahead, or

keeping their line so

behind the

lies

in

rest.

infantry

Generally

rather

than

So foot-soldiers accompany the cavalry into

action, their speed

of foot being such that they can

keep up with the charging horsemen. The best

easily

men

are

chosen from the whole body of young warriors and placed with the cavalry in front of the main battle-line.

The number of these is precisely fixed a hundred are drawn from each district, and 'The Hundred' is the name they bear among their fellow-countrymen. Thus what was originally a mere number has come to be a title of distinction. The battle-line is made up of wedge-shaped formations. To give ground, provided that you return to :

the attack, ice.

considered good tactics rather than coward-

when a shield away one's throw To hangs in the balance. supreme disgrace, and the man who has thus dis-

They bring back

battle is

is

the

the bodies of the fallen even

honoured himself is debarred from attendance 106

at sacrifice

GERMANIA or assembly.

have ended

Many

their

such survivors from the battlefield

shame by hanging themselves.

They choose their kings for their noble birth, their commanders for their valour. The power even of the kings is not absolute or arbitrary. The commanders rely on example rather than on the authority of their rank - on the admiration they

win by showing conspicuous energy

and courage and by pressing forward

own

flogging, are allowed to inflicted

merely

orders, but as

Germans

it

as

of

their

none but the

were

in obedience to the

whom the

god

on the field of battle. They

their sacred groves.

powerful incitement to valour divisions are not

made up

chance-comers, but are family or clan. Close dearest, so that

is

A

specially

that the squadrons

and

random by the mustering of each composed of men of one at

by them,

too, are their nearest

they can hear the shrieks of their

and the wailing of

praise

and are not

with them into the fight certain figures and

emblems taken from

witnesses

priests,

punishments or on the commanders'

believe to be present

actually carry

folk

in front

troops. Capital punishment, imprisonment, even

their children.

and

women-

These are the

whom each man reverences most highly, whose

he most

desires. It

they go to have their

is

to their mothers

wounds

treated,

and wives that

and the

women

are

not afraid to count and compare the gashes. They also carry supplies

of food to the combatants and encourage them. 107

TACITUS

8

stands

It

on record

that armies already

wavering and on

the point of collapse have been rallied

by

women,

the

pleading heroically with their men, thrusting forward

bared bosoms, and making them realize the immi-

their

nent prospect of enslavement - a fate which the Germans fear

more

selves.

if

desperately for their

Indeed,

you compel them

hostages

some

girls

than for them-

to include

among

a

these nations

consignment of

of noble family. More than

believe that there resides in

and a

women

you can secure a surer hold on

this,

they

women an element of holiness

of prophecy; and so they do not scorn to ask

gift

their advice, or lightly disregard their replies. In the reign

of the emperor Vespasian

by many Germans

we saw

as a divinity;

Veleda long honoured

and even

earlier

they

showed a similar reverence for Aurinia and a number of others - a reverence untainted by servile flattery or any pretence of turning

women

into goddesses.

9

Above all no

sin,

other gods they worship Mercury, and count

on

certain feast-days, to include

in the sacrifices offered to

human

it

victims

him. Hercules and Mars they

appease by offerings of animals, in accordance with

ordinary civilized custom. also to Isis^

forei gn cult ;

Some ofjhe

Suebi sacrifice

do not know the origin or explanatio iLQ£this_ but the goddess's emblem, being 108

made in the

6

GERMANIA form of

a light warship, itself proves that her worship

came

fronfabroad. The Germans do not think

in

km

keeping with the divine majesty to confine gods within "walls or to

portraythem

in the likeness

countenance. Their lioly places are

of any human

woods and

groves,

and theyapply the names of deities to that hidden presence which

is

by the eye of reverence.

seen only

10

For omens and the casting of lots they have the highest regard. Their procedure in casting lots

They

is

always the same.

cut off a branch of a nut-bearing tree and slice

into strips; these they

them completely of the

priest

at

random onto

a

white cloth. Then the

state, if the c onsultation is

lather of the family if it

is

a public one, or the N

private, offers a prayer

gods,anxnookingji£^ at a time,

and reads

viously scored there it

is

no

t heir

on them.

meaning from the

it,

to>

the

strips ^

one

signs pre>-

If the lots forbid an enterprise,

deliberation that day

they allow

required.

on the matter Tn question;

confirmation by the taking oFauspices

Although the

familiar

try F6 obtain

known

is

Germans, they^lf^alsol^^

ownT^o

is

method of seeking

information from the cries and theHightofbirds to the

it

mark with different signs and throw

of their

omens and warnings from

horses.

These horses are kept afthepublic expense in the sacred

woods and groves

that

I

have mentioned; they are pure

white and undefiled by any A.G.

toil in

the service of man.

—

TWa