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Cornelius Tacitus
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The Annals: The Reigns of Tiberius, Claudius, and Nero Paperback – 1 September 2008

by Tacitus (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 135 ratings
Edition: 1st
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'He was atrocious in his brutality, but his lechery was kept hidden... In the end, he erupted into an orgy of crime and ignominy alike' Such is Tacitus' obituary of Tiberius, and he is no less caustic in his opinion of the weak and cuckolded Claudius and the 'artist' Nero. The Annals is a gripping account of the Roman emperors who followed Augustus, the founder of the imperial system, and of the murders, sycophancy, plotting, and oppression that marked this period in Rome. Tacitus provides the earliest and most detailed account of Boudicca's rebellion in Britain, and his history also relates the great fire of Rome in the reign of Nero, and the persecution of the Christians that followed. He deplores the depravity of the emperors, whose behaviour he sees as proof of the corrupting force of absolute power. J. C. Yardley's translation is vivid and accurate, and Anthony A. Barrett's introduction and notes provide invaluable historical and cultural context. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
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  1. ISBN-10
    019282421X
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0192824219
  3. Edition
    1st
  4. Publisher
    Oxford University Press UK
  5. Publication date
    1 September 2008
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    19.3 x 3.05 x 12.7 cm
  8. Print length
    592 pages
  9. See all details
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Product description

From the Publisher

J. C. Yardley has translated two volumes of Livy for Oxford World's Classics (The Dawn of the Roman Empire and Hannibal's War) and Quintus Curtius Rufus' A History of Alexander for Penguin. He is the author of volumes in the Clarendon Ancient History series, and (with Waldemar Heckel) of Alexander the Great (Blackwell, 2004). Anthony A. Barrett has published books on Livia, Agrippina and Caligula with Yale UP, and is the editor of, and contributor to, Lives of the Caesars (Blackwell, 2007).

About the Author

J. C. Yardley has translated two volumes of Livy for Oxford World's Classics (The Dawn of the Roman Empire and Hannibal's War) and Quintus Curtius Rufus' A History of Alexander for Penguin. He is the author of volumes in the Clarendon Ancient History series, and (with Waldemar Heckel) of Alexander the Great (Blackwell, 2004). Anthony A. Barrett has published books on Livia, Agrippina and Caligula with Yale UP, and is the editor of, and contributor to, Lives of the Caesars (Blackwell, 2007).

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Oxford University Press UK; 1st edition (1 September 2008)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 592 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 019282421X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0192824219
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 19.3 x 3.05 x 12.7 cm
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 135 ratings

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Cornelius Tacitus

Cornelius Tacitus

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Nezanet
5.0 out of 5 stars No one writes history like Tacitus
Reviewed in the United States on 25 June 2013
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Reading Tacitus was a fantastic experience. There is a reason why he has had such a profound impact in European history and literature. If you don't like reading about violence and corruption, this is not the book for you. However I found him to have a huge influence over the way I see the world. Definitely worth the buy! =D
8 people found this helpful
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Luc REYNAERT
5.0 out of 5 stars In Rom the slaughter went on
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2013
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In this uncompromising historical study on the reigns of Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, Tacitus presents us `a series of cruel orders, endless accusations, faithless friendships, and calamities befalling innocent people' in `those times so corrupt and contaminated with sycophancy.' His book reveals not only bloody power struggles among the powerful, but also the main characteristics of the Roman society (political, social, judicial), the fate of its citizens (the aristocracy, the plebeians, the soldiers) and Tacitus, the man.

Politics and laws
In Rome, `the safety of the state depends entirely upon one man exercising power.' `Members of the Senate practicing, some openly, many covertly, the lowest form of delation.' As Tiberius said: `Ah, men ready to be slaves.'
A mighty political weapon was food: Germanicus lowered `the price of grain by opening up the granaries ... food shortages could hold back mighty armies with the flimsiest of forces.'
Concerning the laws, `there was little help to be had from the laws, which were constantly undermined by violence, political engineering, and, most importantly, by graft.' Indeed, `the public good comes second to private interests.'
Rome was infested by informers, denouncers and false accusers, because `Libo's goods were divided amongst his accusers.'

Of citizens (food or famine) and soldiers (a mighty lesson for today)
The social inequalities in Rome were enormous; on the one hand, `country houses of immense dimensions'; on the other hand, `the plebeians were complaining about the atrocious cost of food.'
`When war broke out innocent and guilty went down together.'
And what about those who did it ALL for their power-hungry generals: the soldiers? There was `the meagerness of their pay. And anyone surviving all the perils was still hauled off to remote lands where he would be given some boggy marsh or hilly desert, as so-called farmland.'

Power, fate cruelty
Nero's mother confirms the overwhelming importance of power by shouting loudly: `Let him kill me, as long as he comes to power.'
But as Tacitus states: `so capricious are the fortunes of the great. Ambitions have been the downfall of many men.'
A most terrible fate awaited the children of Tiberius' sycophant Sejanus: `the girl so naïve as to ask what she had done wrong and where they were dragging her. She would not repeat her offense, she said. Capital punishment for a virgin being unheard of, she was raped by the executioner with the noose lying beside her.'

Tacitus, the man
Tacitus was a patrician. As A.A. Barrett states in his excellent introduction: he was deeply opposed to the principate and committed to the republican system of senatorial government.' He was also ferociously opposed to power-sharing with the plebs: `the laws more often arose from class struggles and were carried by force with the aim of gaining office illegally. This gave use to rabble rousers like the Gracchi.'

Tacitus' Rome stands out as a mighty example of a naked, bloody fight for absolute power and of an infernal struggle to keep this power under the adage: `kill or be killed'. His book paints a very dark picture of human nature and affairs.
It is a must read for all those interested in human history and for all lovers of classical texts.
9 people found this helpful
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Terry Byrne
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Latin at its best
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 December 2019
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It's fascinating to compare Yardley's and Grant's translations (Oxford/Penguin) of this surpassing Latin text - probably the greatest Latin prose historical work we have. Grant goes for clarity whereas Yardley attempts to capture the magnificence and dynamism of the Tacitus sentence. Both have merit. It's refreshing to read Grant because of his direct & straight forward style. Yardley, however, with precision and attention to detail, often gets to the core of the original text. And reading him you get the wonder and true eloquence of Tacitus. A marvelous work which captures the day to day life of Rome and the internal politics at work at that time. The notes provided by Anthony Barrett are excellent and give invaluable additional information. They are in fact the most informative complimentary notes I have ever read; and they illuminate so many passages. On the down side, this, notwithstanding admiral edition, would benefit from more family trees. Here the Grant (penguin) edition is much more helpful.
8 people found this helpful
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CAM
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Reviewed in the United States on 21 February 2010
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First of all, I purchased this book for a Classic Civilization class that I'm currently enrolled in that is solely dedicated to the Roman Emperor Nero, his reign, and the ultimate fall of the Julio-Claudian empire.

I have not read the book in its entirety (really I've only read sections pertaining to Nero, Agrippina, Octavia, Poppaea and so on), but it's an interesting bit of ancient Roman history. If you're a history buff, it may or may not be for you, depending on how "factual" you like your history. What I mean is that Tacitus' writing is in some, if not many cases unverifiable and sounds a little ridiculous. On other occasions, his information seems to generally agree with other historians who wrote about the same time periods. Always be suspicious of what he writes and always ask what his motives were.
5 people found this helpful
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Reb MacRath
4.0 out of 5 stars Well done but missing just one thing
Reviewed in the United States on 2 September 2017
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Only one thing's missing from J.C. Yardley's beautifully bound, well-annotated translation: the magic of the Tacitean style.

I know, I know, everyone says that Tacitus can't be translated: his style was unique. The same thing's been said about Pushkin's Eugene Onegin, Dante's Divine Comedy, Ovid's Metamorphoses...in fact, most other classics. But some translations come far closer than others--and a few convey some of the magic that's said to get lost in translation.

A few pages into this new translation, one passage struck me because I remembered exactly how Michael Grant had rendered it in his own translation. Compare:
Yardley: 'Agrippa was caught off-guard and unarmed, but a determined centurion still had trouble dispatching him.'
Grant: 'He (Agrippa) was killed by a staff-officer--who found it a hard task, though he was a persevering murderer and the victim was taken by surprise unarmed.'
And one more:
Yardley: Tiberius feared Germanicus 'might prefer to hold power rather than wait for it.'
Grant: 'Tiberius was afraid Germanicus might prefer the throne to the prospect of it.'

Decide for yourself. But Grant's inspired 'persevering murderer' made the case for me.
29 people found this helpful
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