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Complete Works of Tacitus
Translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb, Edited, with an Introduction, Moses Hadas
773 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 120
580 people are currently reading
1715 people want to read
About the author
Tacitus
3,055 books370 followersborn perhaps 55
died perhaps 120
From the death of Augustus in 14 Histories and Annals , greatest works of Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Roman public official, concern the period to Domitian in 96.
Publius Cornelius Tacitus served as a senator of the empire. The major portions examine the reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those four emperors, who reigned in the year. They span the empire to the years of the first Jewish war in 70. One enormous four-books long lacuna survives in the texts.
Publius Cornelius Tacitus discusses oratory in dialogue format in Dialogus de oratoribus , Germania in De origine et situ Germanorum , and biographical notes about Gnaeus Julius Agricola, his father-in-law, primarily during his campaign in Britannia (see De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae ).
died perhaps 120
From the death of Augustus in 14 Histories and Annals , greatest works of Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Roman public official, concern the period to Domitian in 96.
Publius Cornelius Tacitus served as a senator of the empire. The major portions examine the reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those four emperors, who reigned in the year. They span the empire to the years of the first Jewish war in 70. One enormous four-books long lacuna survives in the texts.
Publius Cornelius Tacitus discusses oratory in dialogue format in Dialogus de oratoribus , Germania in De origine et situ Germanorum , and biographical notes about Gnaeus Julius Agricola, his father-in-law, primarily during his campaign in Britannia (see De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae ).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
February 2, 2018
This review is only about The Annals, not the complete works of Tacitus included in this publication.
The Annals is both fascinating and tedious. Fascinating because of its antiquity and reminder that wars and political fights and scandals have always been a feature of the human community. Tedious because of the incredible detail of page after page of these conflicts which made me thankful that not all of the original content of The Annals has survived. I read this because it was selected as the January book for Great Books KC. Otherwise, I would never spend the time required to get through it.
The Annals by Roman historian and senator Tacitus(c.56AD–c.120AD) is a history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, the years 14AD–68AD. It is believed that Annals originally consisted of 16 volumes, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11 and 16 are missing.
Probably the most interesting part of The Annals for the modern reader is the mention of Christians in Rome, which Tacitus does in connection with Nero's persecution of the Christians. It is the first non-Christian writing that indicates the Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilate.
The Annals is both fascinating and tedious. Fascinating because of its antiquity and reminder that wars and political fights and scandals have always been a feature of the human community. Tedious because of the incredible detail of page after page of these conflicts which made me thankful that not all of the original content of The Annals has survived. I read this because it was selected as the January book for Great Books KC. Otherwise, I would never spend the time required to get through it.
The Annals by Roman historian and senator Tacitus(c.56AD–c.120AD) is a history of the Roman Empire from the reign of Tiberius to that of Nero, the years 14AD–68AD. It is believed that Annals originally consisted of 16 volumes, but books 7–10 and parts of books 5, 6, 11 and 16 are missing.
Probably the most interesting part of The Annals for the modern reader is the mention of Christians in Rome, which Tacitus does in connection with Nero's persecution of the Christians. It is the first non-Christian writing that indicates the Jesus was crucified by Pontius Pilate.
November 25, 2008
This really does contain all the extant writings of Tacitus. The bulk of this volume consists of the Annals and the Histories. It also has the Agricola and the Germanica plus one or two sundry writings.
The Annals covers the period from the death of Augustus up to about two years before Nero's demise. There are gaps because some of the books of the Annals have been lost. What is not here is the reign of Caligula, the first few years of Claudius's reign and the last two of Nero's. What there is consists of plots and counterplots amongst the Roman elite at perhaps the most dangerous moment in history to have belonged to such an elite. Paranoia was rife. Tacitus tells it all in a matter-of-fact way without becoming preachy or judgmental.
The History contains an account of the period from early 69 AD to late 70 AD, during which period there were four emperors, and what an extremely interesting time it was as brought to life by Tacitus.
The Agricola is a mini-autobiography of the man of the same name, the Germanica is an account of Germany and its tribes. Germany at the time was a good deal larger than it is today by the Roman account, extending east to Finland and Lithuania and including what is now Belgium and Holland.
The Annals covers the period from the death of Augustus up to about two years before Nero's demise. There are gaps because some of the books of the Annals have been lost. What is not here is the reign of Caligula, the first few years of Claudius's reign and the last two of Nero's. What there is consists of plots and counterplots amongst the Roman elite at perhaps the most dangerous moment in history to have belonged to such an elite. Paranoia was rife. Tacitus tells it all in a matter-of-fact way without becoming preachy or judgmental.
The History contains an account of the period from early 69 AD to late 70 AD, during which period there were four emperors, and what an extremely interesting time it was as brought to life by Tacitus.
The Agricola is a mini-autobiography of the man of the same name, the Germanica is an account of Germany and its tribes. Germany at the time was a good deal larger than it is today by the Roman account, extending east to Finland and Lithuania and including what is now Belgium and Holland.
February 14, 2025
An excruciatingly boring telling of history that was a real challenge to finish.
History should always entertain and not bore.
Tacitus is not without his moments but they are far and few between. “Rome gives a desert and call it peace,” a great line. The book is not void of entertainment as when Tacitus tells us, “Germans enjoy war,” or believes all but Romans are superstitious while endorsing auguries and Sibyls' prophecies, cites the deified Augustus as a given, documents Vespasian healing miracles, the risen Nero in the east, and explains the Jews as always wrong in theology and sees them as springing from Saturn and worshiping Jove as the true God.
Tacitus said Nero blamed the followers of Christos for the fire. I suspect strongly in the year of the fire, 66 A.D., that the nomenclature for Christians as followers of Christos would have been anachronistic.
If you’re like me, and you finish 99% of all books you start I highly recommend not to start this one.
History should always entertain and not bore.
Tacitus is not without his moments but they are far and few between. “Rome gives a desert and call it peace,” a great line. The book is not void of entertainment as when Tacitus tells us, “Germans enjoy war,” or believes all but Romans are superstitious while endorsing auguries and Sibyls' prophecies, cites the deified Augustus as a given, documents Vespasian healing miracles, the risen Nero in the east, and explains the Jews as always wrong in theology and sees them as springing from Saturn and worshiping Jove as the true God.
Tacitus said Nero blamed the followers of Christos for the fire. I suspect strongly in the year of the fire, 66 A.D., that the nomenclature for Christians as followers of Christos would have been anachronistic.
If you’re like me, and you finish 99% of all books you start I highly recommend not to start this one.
April 11, 2024
I expected to enjoy this one much more than I did. In college I relied heavily on Tacitus while writing a paper on Boudicca's revolt in Britain. He was a major source and I relished the few pages he devoted to that subject. At the time I wasn't tempted to read any more of him. Thus, I was very happy to find this complete collection and excited to read it from cover to cover. What a long, hard slog it turned out to be. Be aware: I'm somewhat of an ancient history geek and have read ancient sources in translation quite extensively. I love Herodotus, Livy and Xenophon's Anabasis. Enjoy Suetonius, Procopius, Cassius Dio, and so on. I found most of this edition of Tacitus to be dry, dry, dry. I appreciated the editor's Preface and Introduction, as well as the glossary of place names at the back of the volume. Those were interesting and useful in understanding Tacitus and the works included. I enjoyed the Agricola and the Germania very much. The Dialogue on Oratory I found boring. Probably not Tacitus' problem, but mine--I find most ancient treatises on rhetoric dull and tiresome. The heart of the volume--The Annals and The History--was, unfortunately, quite disappointing. This collection does not provide any notes, and these two works, replete with personal names and unexplained background events, cry out for extensive annotation. Tacitus' accounts here are incredibly detailed, but without providing background context, such details mostly flew over my head. The lacunae and abrupt terminations of these two works are also a drawback. I was (unreasonably) expecting more of a seamless narrative from Tiberius through Nero, but Tacitus' treatments of many of the most interesting periods of those reigns have been lost. Not his fault. Ancient sources are rarely found complete. Sad, but true. I consider the translations chosen (all by Church and Brodribb from the late 19th C.) to be serviceable but not very exciting. I suspect more modern translations would be more lively. So, most of this volume is not exactly a page-turner. Still, overall I did enjoy making my way through it. Given the drawbacks I've mentioned above, this volume remains a quite serviceable, comprehensive and inexpensive edition of Tacitus. It would be interesting to compare the more expensive Penguin editions with this one. I suspect this one would suffer in the comparison.
November 9, 2007
They created a desert and called it peace
February 25, 2019
Enjoyable. Another book I hadn’t read since school days. One forgets how good they were.
November 4, 2023
Tough listen
August 8, 2019
Love having it all in one edition and Tacitus’ vast panorama never fails to inspire wonder or tickle a funny bone. One big flaw in the translation was that I felt a famous quote out of the History, usually translated: “they leave a desolation and call it peace” is here translated as “solitude”- that seemed a major fumble but perhaps they were trying to be closer to the Latin. Over all though appreciate the experience reading the whole volume brought me.
March 18, 2023
In my Bible studies, when reading about the Roman Empire to better understand the culture, government, and other aspects of the first century, I’ve often seen references to Tacitus. So one of my resolutions for 2023 was to read “The Complete Works Of Tacitus”. I just completed reading his works and I’m so glad I did. Now when I see references to Tacitus I can be sure whether or not the references are accurate and taken in context. This has been enjoyable and richly rewarding.
November 3, 2025
By far the most quotable book I have ever listened to. Although I only really wanted to listen to Germania I ended up listening to his complete works. Thanks to this I think I will be looking into more ancient literature in future.
October 30, 2020
Worthy of the time spent.
March 21, 2021
Good author bad design. No TOC
There's no table of contents to find each books chapter. So this is no bargain. Get Delphi classics version. That's it
There's no table of contents to find each books chapter. So this is no bargain. Get Delphi classics version. That's it
Want to read
August 17, 20218/18/21 Shelby Foote says the Brodribb translation is pretty go at the 29 minute spot in this 1994 interview https://youtu.be/9m5Ma9_9H1w
January 19, 2022
Tacitus is the greatest of all Roman authors.
January 23, 2022
Useful primary source for a history paper. Get for free on Project Gutenberg and use the electronic version so you can do a search for quotes you need.
August 1, 2022
Fascinating exploration of the early Empire. The books on Agricola and Germany were quite interesting examinations of pre-Europe Europe.
March 16, 2023
A tedious and challenging read, I learned much of Roman life and culture. The insights into various emperors, transitions of power and the extra-biblical history were fascinating.
October 27, 2024
I like this guy - I learnt the entire bit on Messalina by heart in latin
February 16, 2023
Educational and exponential. Unwieldy yet icily abstract.
December 17, 2020
Read in parts, and reviewed below accordingly.
Overall: The text is quite readable and the history contained therein is often fascinating and sometimes mundane, perhaps a reversal of history as it actually occurs but certainly a favorable way to relay it as a text. Tacitus steps out from behind the writing at times, and the way he understands his role as an historian is important to understanding what he conveys, and how. As a text, this edition lacks maps and could use a directory. Since Tacitus jumps around the several fronts of the Roman Empire, some kind of historical atlas would have been helpful.
The Annals: The Annals detail the years of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus, through Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, and nearly to the end of the reign of Nero. While I cannot speak to the accuracy or spirit of the text as taken from the Latin, I found this translation to be highly accessible and immensely interesting. I admittedly have no basis for comparison from other volumes of Tacitus, so we will leave it at that I thoroughly enjoyed the examination of how a historian's portrayal influences the history about which he writes. Tacitus, for example, lived through the reign of Nero, and has a particularly unfavorable opinion of him--this is clearly conveyed in The Annals, and has likely influenced the extraordinarily negative legacy still carried by that emperor almost 2 millennia later.
Historiae: The Historiae detail the Roman empire after the death of Nero, through an intense period of 4 different emperors in A.D. 69 (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian). The works are supposed to have covered A.D. 69-96, but only parts remain. The histories of Tacitus meld artful storytelling with historical fact, and as Moses Haades shared in the introduction, being a historian was at once an art and a science when this was written, circa 100-110 A.D.. These books (1-4, and a small part of 5) detail a spectacularly tumultuous time of civil war, with constant betrayal, chaos, mutiny, and battles between regions and ethnicities within the Roman empire. Unlike the sometimes plodding chronicling of The Annals, the account of the Year of Four Emperors contains so much action, it's often difficult to follow who is fighting whom, and on what side. The books cover many battles and other events in quick succession.
The Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola: A quite flattering eulogistic account of the life and accolades of Agricola, Tacitus's father-in-law.
Germany And Its Tribes: Another mostly flattering account of the culture Germanic tribes from the account of this Roman historian.
Dialog on Oratory: This recount of a lively (and seemingly timeless!) debate about whether the best orators are in the past or the "present" is also a good-natured and amusing trade of witty banter among rhetorical combatants.
Overall: The text is quite readable and the history contained therein is often fascinating and sometimes mundane, perhaps a reversal of history as it actually occurs but certainly a favorable way to relay it as a text. Tacitus steps out from behind the writing at times, and the way he understands his role as an historian is important to understanding what he conveys, and how. As a text, this edition lacks maps and could use a directory. Since Tacitus jumps around the several fronts of the Roman Empire, some kind of historical atlas would have been helpful.
The Annals: The Annals detail the years of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus, through Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, and nearly to the end of the reign of Nero. While I cannot speak to the accuracy or spirit of the text as taken from the Latin, I found this translation to be highly accessible and immensely interesting. I admittedly have no basis for comparison from other volumes of Tacitus, so we will leave it at that I thoroughly enjoyed the examination of how a historian's portrayal influences the history about which he writes. Tacitus, for example, lived through the reign of Nero, and has a particularly unfavorable opinion of him--this is clearly conveyed in The Annals, and has likely influenced the extraordinarily negative legacy still carried by that emperor almost 2 millennia later.
Historiae: The Historiae detail the Roman empire after the death of Nero, through an intense period of 4 different emperors in A.D. 69 (Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian). The works are supposed to have covered A.D. 69-96, but only parts remain. The histories of Tacitus meld artful storytelling with historical fact, and as Moses Haades shared in the introduction, being a historian was at once an art and a science when this was written, circa 100-110 A.D.. These books (1-4, and a small part of 5) detail a spectacularly tumultuous time of civil war, with constant betrayal, chaos, mutiny, and battles between regions and ethnicities within the Roman empire. Unlike the sometimes plodding chronicling of The Annals, the account of the Year of Four Emperors contains so much action, it's often difficult to follow who is fighting whom, and on what side. The books cover many battles and other events in quick succession.
The Life of Cnaeus Julius Agricola: A quite flattering eulogistic account of the life and accolades of Agricola, Tacitus's father-in-law.
Germany And Its Tribes: Another mostly flattering account of the culture Germanic tribes from the account of this Roman historian.
Dialog on Oratory: This recount of a lively (and seemingly timeless!) debate about whether the best orators are in the past or the "present" is also a good-natured and amusing trade of witty banter among rhetorical combatants.
April 15, 2014
Bad form to start with a disclaimer -- but I only finished the Annals of Tacitus., rather than his entire works. That out of the way, the Annals are a reminder of the importance of old books and what they tell us about the relatively unchanging nature of humans when given power over others. The technology and the names for oppressive political systems may change, but the principle features of those who are corrupted by power do not -- unlimited cruelty in those who have power, base servility to those supporting the despot.
Rather than paraphrase or summarize, I will let this insightful historian speak for himself, and remind us of what we should be looking for in our own time:
“Meanwhile at Rome people plunged into slavery—consuls, senators, knights. The higher a man’s rank, the more eager his hypocrisy… For Tiberious would inaugurate everything with consuls, as though the ancient constitution remained and he hesitated about being emperor.” I.7
“…now bills were passed, not only for national objects but for individual cases, and laws were most numerous when the commonwealth was most corrupt.” III.27
“So now, after a revolution, when Rome is nothing but the realm of a single despot, there must be good in carefully noting and recording this period.” iv.33
“The force of terror had utterly extinguished the sense of human fellowship, and, with the growth of cruelty, pity was thrust aside.” vi.19
“Never did a more filthy rabble add a worse licentiousness to our long corrupted morals. Even with virtuous training, purity is not easily upheld; far less amid rivalries in vice could modesty or propriety or any trace of good manners preserved.” xiv.15 (referring to Nero and his companions’ behavior)
“Nero after having butchered so many illustrious men, at last aspired to extirpate virtue itself by murdering Thrasea Paetus and Barea Soranus.” xvi.21
Rather than paraphrase or summarize, I will let this insightful historian speak for himself, and remind us of what we should be looking for in our own time:
“Meanwhile at Rome people plunged into slavery—consuls, senators, knights. The higher a man’s rank, the more eager his hypocrisy… For Tiberious would inaugurate everything with consuls, as though the ancient constitution remained and he hesitated about being emperor.” I.7
“…now bills were passed, not only for national objects but for individual cases, and laws were most numerous when the commonwealth was most corrupt.” III.27
“So now, after a revolution, when Rome is nothing but the realm of a single despot, there must be good in carefully noting and recording this period.” iv.33
“The force of terror had utterly extinguished the sense of human fellowship, and, with the growth of cruelty, pity was thrust aside.” vi.19
“Never did a more filthy rabble add a worse licentiousness to our long corrupted morals. Even with virtuous training, purity is not easily upheld; far less amid rivalries in vice could modesty or propriety or any trace of good manners preserved.” xiv.15 (referring to Nero and his companions’ behavior)
“Nero after having butchered so many illustrious men, at last aspired to extirpate virtue itself by murdering Thrasea Paetus and Barea Soranus.” xvi.21
January 19, 2011
The "Annales" are quite fascinating to read, and very dramatic -- they read more like historical fiction than history. The "Historiae" has a few good moments, but a lot is taken up with troop movements and battles -- a bit tedious. The "Germania" is interesting. The "Agricola" is an excellent panegyric of Tacitus' father-in-law. The "Dialogus de Oratoribus" is a rather peculiar work. Church and Broadribb's translation is the translation to have!
March 8, 2012
I just read the Germany section - a short but very interesting view of the "barbarians" from a Roman point of view. He shows respect for the Germanic people and writes it in a easily read style. Much easier to read than Caesar's writings on the Gauls. He mentions many aspects of their lives - family, politics, religion, women, etc. I am disappointed that this view of the Germanic people is not incorporated into school history classes!
February 26, 2014
Took me a year and a half, but I made it through. This would be made much better if it were given the Landmark treatment. I spent many pages simply overwhelmed by the number of people and places which were too much for me to comprehend. There are some great bits though. My favorite was book 5 of the history.
November 12, 2013
"To spoil, to butcher, and to commit every kind of violence, they style by a lying name, Government; and when they have spread a general desolation, they call it Peace." Two thousand years later... not much has changed.
July 17, 2013
the histories, the annals, and a few essays. not uniformly engaging, but really glad to have read it all.
June 7, 2014
Tacitus was truly an epic historian in the same vein as Herodotus.
August 13, 2007
So sinister! Love him.
July 14, 2008
history and well developed
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews