Tacitus - Publius Cornelius Tacitus

A politician and historian from the Roman Empire. He was born in the province of Belgica (now Belgium) but spent his childhood in Rome, where he devoted himself to mastering the arts and sciences. He became a high-ranking military officer under the rule of Emperor Vespasian, marking his first steps as a public figure. He married in 77. Around 81 he was elected quaestor, and at the same time a member of the senate. After serving as a tribune, he became praetor in 88, and was elected consul in 97. He went to Asia Minor as governor of the province of Asia from 112 to 113. His exact year of death is unknown.

While he rose through the ranks as a politician, he wrote many works. There is debate as to whether "Dialogues," which explains the reasons for the decline of oratory at the end of the Republic, was written by him. He then wrote "Agricola," a biography of his father-in-law who died in 93, in 98. This book conveys much information to the present day about the people, climate, and customs of the province of Britannia (now England). In the same year, he published "Germania," which introduces the customs of the Germanic people. In this work, he reveals that a simple, strong, and noble spirit still lived among a people despised as barbarians, and sounds a warning to the Romans of his time, who were at the height of decadence. He then wrote his great work, "History of the Ages," in the early 2nd century. Although only a small part of this work, which covers the 28 years from the suicide of Emperor Nero (68) to the beginning of the era of the Five Good Emperors, has been passed down, it describes in detail the ugly struggle for the throne and exposes the vices of the rulers. His last historical work, the Annals, chronicles the events of the 50 years from Emperor Tiberius to Emperor Nero. In writing it, he referred to the minutes of the Senate, inscriptions containing various decrees, and historical books that came before his time. Although he rarely mentions the contradictions between the historical sources he used, he examines them to a certain extent and takes them critically.

His ideal was the "free" state of the Republic, which was incompatible with a principality. He argued that under a principality where power was concentrated in a single person, the rulers would become arrogant, the ruled would fall into servility and subservience, and even the senators, who should have shown virtus (virtue, courage), would end up in a deplorable state of merely fawning on the principality. He saw Rome as becoming weak and weaker, and in contrast, he saw the surrounding tribes, who maintained a pure and simple spirit, and his writings were often full of harsh satire and irony. Although he was a first-rate historian, his works were not widely read, and only one copy of the first six volumes of the Annals has been handed down.

[Tamura Takashi]

"Kunihara Yoshinosuke's translation of "Chronicles" in two volumes (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Izumi Hisanosuke's translation and commentary of "Germania" (Iwanami Bunko)" ▽ "Kunihara Yoshinosuke's translation of "Complete Collection of World Classical Literature 22 Tacitus" (1983, Chikuma Shobo)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ローマ帝政期の政治家、歴史家。属州のベルギカ（現ベルギー）に生まれたが、幼年期をローマに過ごし、学芸の修得に努めた。ウェスパシアヌス帝の治下で軍団付高級将校となり、公人としての第一歩を記した。77年結婚。81年ごろ財務官に選ばれ、同時に元老院議員となる。護民官を経て88年法務官となり、97年コンスル（統領）に選ばれた。112～113年属州アシア総督として小アジアに赴く。没年は正確にはわからない。

　彼は、政治家として位階を上り詰めるかたわら多くの著作を書いた。共和政末期に弁論術が衰退した原因を述べた『対話』については、彼の筆になるものか否か論争がある。続いて93年に没した岳父の伝記『アグリコラ』を98年に著す。この書物は、属州ブリタニア（現イギリス）の民族、風土、習俗について多くの情報を現代に伝えている。同年ゲルマン人の習俗を紹介した『ゲルマニア』を出版。ここでは蛮族とさげすまれている民族のなかに質実剛健で高潔な精神が息づいていることを明らかにし、退廃の極みにあった同時代のローマ人に警鐘を鳴らしている。ついで2世紀初めに大作『同時代史』を著す。ネロ帝の自殺（68）後から五賢帝時代の始まりまでの28年間を扱ったこの作品はごく一部が伝わるにすぎないが、帝位をめぐる醜い争いを余すところなく描き、支配者の悪徳を暴露している。最後の史書『年代記』は、ティベリウス帝からネロ帝までの50年余の事件を綴(つづ)っている。著述にあたり、元老院議事録、各種の告示などを刻んだ碑文のほか、彼以前の歴史書を参照している。用いた史料間の矛盾に言及することは少ないが、ある程度史料の吟味もなされ、それなりに批判的に摂取している。

　彼の理想は共和政期の「自由な」国制であって、元首政とは相いれない。唯一人に権力が集中する元首政下では、支配者は慢心し、被支配者はへつらいと隷従に堕してしまい、もっともウィルトゥス（徳、勇気）を示さなければならぬ元老院議員ですら元首におもねるばかりの嘆かわしい状態となる、と説く。彼は軟弱に堕していくローマをとらえ、これとの対比のうえで純粋・素朴の気風を保っている周辺諸部族を眺めており、その筆はしばしば辛辣(しんらつ)な風刺や皮肉に満ちている。第一級の歴史家であったが、その史書は広く読み継がれたとはいいがたく、『年代記』の1～6巻まではただ1種類の写本しか伝わっていない。

［田村　孝］

『国原吉之助訳『年代記』全2冊（岩波文庫）』▽『泉井久之助訳註『ゲルマーニア』（岩波文庫）』▽『国原吉之助訳『世界古典文学全集22　タキトゥス』（1983・筑摩書房）』

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