Tacitus Quotes
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Following Emporer Nero's command, "Let the Christians be exterminated!:" . . . they [the Christians] were made the subjects of sport; they were covered with the hides of wild beasts and worried to death by dogs, or nailed to crosses or set fire to, and when the day waned, burned to serve for the evening lights.
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You might believe a good man easily, a great man with pleasure. -Bonum virum facile crederes, magnum libenter
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The Germans themselves I should regard as aboriginal, and not mixed at all with other races through immigration or intercourse. For in former times, it was not by land but on shipboard that those who sought to emigrate would arrive; and the boundless and, so to speak, hostile ocean beyond us,is seldom entered by a sail from our world.
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Kindness, so far as we can return it, is agreeable.
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It is found by experience that admirable laws and right precedents among the good have their origin in the misdeeds of others.
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Who the first inhabitants of Britain were, whether natives or immigrants, remains obscure; one must remember we are dealing with barbarians.
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Things are not to be judged good or bad merely because the public think so.
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Remedies are more tardy in their operation than diseases.
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Adversity deprives us of our judgment.
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Every great example of punishment has in it some injustice, but the suffering individual is compensated by the public good.
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In seasons of tumult and discord bad men have most power; mental and moral excellence require peace and quietness.
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So as you go into battle, remember your ancestors and remember your descendants.
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Conspicuous by his absence.
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Viewed from a distance, everything is beautiful.
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By general consent, he would have been capable of ruling, had he not ruled.
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Legions and fleets are not such sure bulwarks of imperial power as a numerous family.
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Tacitus has written an entire work on the manners of the Germans. This work is short, but it comes from the pen of Tacitus, who was always concise, because he saw everything at a glance.
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The Romans brought devestation, but they called it peace.
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An honorable death is better than a dishonorable life.
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The grove is the centre of their whole religion. It is regarded as the cradle of the race and the dwelling-place of the supreme god to whom all things are subject and obedient.
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So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most precarious hearsays, others turn facts into falsehood; and both are exaggerated by posterity.
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The desire of glory is the last infirmity cast off even by the wise.
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So obscure are the greatest events, as some take for granted any hearsay, whatever its source, others turn truth into falsehood, and both errors find encouragement with posterity.
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Perdomita Britannia et statim omissa. Britain was conquered and immediately lost.