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A book by Tacitus, written in AD 98 is dedicated to his father-inlaw and to Germania. The title of his work is translated by Harold Mattingly,1884- 1964 and is known as "The Agricola and the Germania" (Penguin Classics). Harold Mattingly was a distinguished numismatist . He worked at the British Museum from 1910 to 1948 . He studied Roman coinage and as a classical scholar and historian his interests were wide-ranging. A revised translation was undertaken by S.A. Handford , 1898 - 1978, who was educated at Balliol College, Oxford and a lecturer at several places including King's College, London. Both, Mattingly and Hanford published several books and articles. |
Tacitus was primarily concerned with the concentration of power into the hands of the Roman Emperors. His writings are filled with tales of corruption and tyranny, and display a particular hatred for the emperor Tiberius.
His coverage of the Germanic peoples outside the empire is of mixed value to historians. Tacitus uses what he reports of the German character as a kind of '[noble savage]?' to compare to contemporary Romans and their perceived 'degeneracy'. However, he does supply us with many names for tribes. Indeed, this undependability goes so far that contemporary historians debate whether all these tribes were really Germanic in the sense that they spoke a Germanic language - some of them, like the Batavii, may have been Celts.
Tacitus survived a reign of terror and from a senator he advanced to consulship in AD 97 . Fifteen years later he received the highest civilian governorship, that of Western Anatolia. Tacitus was a friend of Pliny the Younger and was greatly admired by him. His wife was the daughter of Julius Agricola, who governed in Britain .
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