Tacitus: Agricola And Germany

Tacitus, in his writings of Agricola and Germany, states in chapter thirty-three, page fifty-four, “Long may the barbarians continue, I pray, if not to love us, at least to hate one another, seeing that, as fate bears remorselessly on the empire, fortune can offer no greater boon now than discord among our enemies." (Germ, p. 54) This quote from Tacitus, who was a prominent historical writer back around the first century in the common era, is a major point of discussion within the academic world of ancient Rome. This quote is taken to mean many different things. One point being that Tacitus is writing about how these Germanic tribes are fighting amongst themselves, afterward Rome will come in and eliminate their enemies. Another point being
the neutral ground, where Tacitus writes because of the growing threat of these barbarians to the empire, but if they fight within themselves, Rome has nothing to worry about. The last point being that it is only a matter of time before these separate tribes ally themselves against a common threat, Rome. Although these different points stand on solid evidence, the negative aspect of this quote seems to shine within Tacitus’s writings. Throughout his text, he explains how the further out you get from Roman provinces, the more savage, and warlike, the people become. He goes into explaining them in a way that builds them up to be these warmongering, fierce people that only care about war, but also in a way, better, then the Romans, both in militaristically, and socially. Adding to the previous point, Tacitus also comments on the reality of these German people going up against the vast legions of Rome, and coming out victorious, or defeated by Rome, but inflicting heavy casualties. Hinting at the realization that if they unite, they could stand and fight against Rome. The next point is evidence given to why Rome fears these people and what they have done to instill that fear. Tacitus Gives this very controversial quote about relations with the surrounding people outside of Rome. Within this quote, he is arguing that these fierce, savage, very foreign people of Germany are a huge threat to Rome, and it may only be a matter of time before they set their sights on Rome itself.
Tacitus, all throughout his account of life in Rome, describes these foreign people as being savage and bloodthirsty. In his recollection of his father’s life, titled Agricola, he describes not the German people, but the natives of England when he states on page 10, “in the case of the inhabitants of Caledonia, their red-gold hair and massive limbs proclaim German origin… still the Britons display more ferocity, having not yet been made soft by prolonged peace”. (Agricola, pg. 10) This quotation made by Tacitus, although a few lines apart from each other go to explain very briefly how he, and arguably most Romans viewed these unusual people. When he says “massive limbed” shows that Romans had the idea that these people were giant and were not tainted as the Gauls, and Germans close to Rome, were by peace with Rome. In the separate writings of Germania, Tacitus starts by explaining who and what the people of Germany are to him. On page 39, chapter 4 he states “I myself accept the view of those who judge that the peoples of Germany have never been contaminated by marriage with other nations and that the race remains unique, pure, and unlike any other. Their psychical appearance to, if one may generalize about so large a population, is always the same: fierce blue eyes, red hair and large bodies”. (Germ, pg. 39) as with the description in Agricola, Tacitus’s description of the Germanic people, which were thought to be related to those in Britain, is one of almost envy. Describing a race of people as “pure” and “unlike any other” insinuates that Tacitus saw these people as exceptional. All of these quotes throughout his writings show that he was hinting at the fact that these barbarians. The social aspect of Germanic life also comes to shine within Tacitus. Starting on page 46 the knowledge of their marriage ways come into play. He states “nevertheless, the marriage code is strict there, and there is no aspect of their mortality that deserves higher praise. They are almost the only barbarians that are content with a single wife”. (Germ, pg. 46-47) Tacitus is one step short of praising this practice because, in Rome, faithfulness to your one wife, though many had more, was not seen as a priority in life as it is to the Germans. “Each mother breastfeeds her own child and does not hand them over to maids or nurses”. (Germ, pg. 48) in this quote from chapter 20, page 48, Tacitus is to the point of disbelief in the fact the mother feeds her young in this society, because Rome is not that way. He is criticizing Rome for lack of the mother nursing the young.
Talking about the descriptions of Germans and how they, in some ways, could be better than the Romans, is only one aspect of the growing idea of these people uniting.
Rome, in the past had fought Germans, and either lost, or taken heavy casualties. This great history of war between the two, from Tacitus’s usage of writing, is most well-known to the people of Rome. All throughout Chapter 37, page 56, Tacitus lists numerous defeats of the glorious Roman armies at the hands of the Germans. “During this long period there have been great losses”. (Germ, pg. 56) Tacitus goes on to explain the abundance of defeats Rome has encountered with a long history of tried, and failed, domination of all of Germany. Also on page 56, chapter 37, later down the paragraph Tacitus states “taking advantage of our dissentions and the civil wars, they stormed the legions’ winter quarters and even aspired to win”. (Germ, pg. 56). Within this quote, how the Germans took full advantage of the conflict within Rome to forward their agenda and attempt, but failed, the attack Rome. Tacitus may be poking the idea that, if Rome keeps having issues like this, and keeps fighting amongst themselves, then Germany has the capability and intuitiveness to take advantage of any situation like
that.

Fear often presents itself when Tacitus describes the Germanic people.
Whether it is fear of them uniting, or fear of them invading, Rome, for good reason, was terrified because of these people. “The freedom of the Germans does indeed show more aggression than the despotism of the Arsacids. After all, what else can the East taunt us with except the slaughter of Crassus, the East which itself lost Pacorus and was cast down beneath the feet of Ventidius? But the Germans routed or captured Carbo and Cassius and Scaurus Aurelius and Servilius Caepio and Maximus Mallius and robbed the Roman people at a stroke of five consular armies”. (Germania, pg. 56) Tacitus is referring to the problem Rome had been encountering with the Parthian empire in the east. Tacitus is, at this point, shouting the realization that Germany is a massive threat to Rome, saying look at this one battle that killed one major person, with us killing one in return. And then look at these battles with Germany and all the heroes they have taken, and all the armies lost, with no response from Rome. In a sense, saying that this empire in the east, is nowhere near as much of a threat as the Germans are. Going back to Agricola, Agricola had gone to battle with his legions he commanded in Britain against these natives. On page 21, chapter 29 Tacitus includes the line “the Britons, were in fact, no way broken by the outcome of the previous battle” they were awaiting either revenge or enslavement”. (Agricola, pg. 21).
This quote shows that Tacitus realized that these Britons were fighting for their lives and their land, and wanted revenge on Rome or to die trying. Even though these people were not Germanic people, in Tacitus’s eyes, they were related in some way, so the mentality, to him, would likely be the same. To the Romans this had to be a scary realization, they were fighting an enemy that had nothing to lose, they were only there under the orders of Agricola. “They had at last learned that a common danger could only be warded off by a united front. By means of embassies and alliances, they had rallied the forces of all their states”. (Agricola, pg. 21) This quote is included because this is every Romans worst fear. The inevitable fact that this idea of uniting against Rome in Britain, could come to a closer enemy within Germany and attack Rome at its center. The understanding that these barbarians are starting to understand that they should unite.
The Germans, to Rome, were foreign and terrifying. To Tacitus, Germans were in some ways better than Romans militaristically, being very fierce and giant men only wanting to wage war rather than peace. Explaining how these people are the purest of race, untainted by intermarriage. He also goes to explain marriage relations within the tribes and hinting at the way Rome views marriage may be inadequate. Also, questioning the fact of how they raise their young. The author also relies on second hand accounts of the battles of Briton, mostly from Agricola, and earlier historians, to tell how much alike the Germans were with the Britons. Although this generalization may have been farfetched, it showed the mindset of Tacitus, and of Rome. Within Germania he delves in to the fact that Germany has for a long time been at war with Rome, and the fact that they can attack when they have the advantage. Or to attack when the enemy is divided, and Tacitus argues, the way Rome is going, could be a very real problem. The realization of these different tribes uniting into one massive force to take out Rome. The fear factor of Germans, to the Romans, is huge. Tacitus recognizes that, in the past, Rome has battled a power hungry eastern empire and haven’t lost as many leaders and soldiers as when they fight the Germans. All throughout this account of Tacitus on his current Roman state, he faintly hints numerous times about how Germans are equal to the Romans, if not better than the romans. Processing all of this together, Tacitus argues of the ill fate of the Empire with the threat of any of the Germanic tribes coming together and defeating Rome. In his mind, it is just a matter of time until that day comes.