Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. Tacitus is considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians. He is known for the brevity and compactness of his Latin prose, as well as for his penetrating insights into the psychology of power politics. Thought-provoking Tacitus quotes will encourage you to think a little deeper than you usually would and broaden your perspective.
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Most Famous Tacitus Quotes
It is always easier to requite an injury than a service: gratitude is a burden, but revenge is found to pay. – Tacitus
Old things are always in good repute, present things in disfavor. – Tacitus
The more numerous the laws, the more corrupt the government. – Tacitus
The lust for power, for dominating others, inflames the heart more than any other passion. – Tacitus
Things forbidden have a secret charm. – Tacitus
Christianity is a pestilent superstition. – Tacitus
Neglected, calumny soon expires, show that you are hurt, and you give it the appearance of truth. – Tacitus
None make a greater show of sorrow than those who are most delighted. – Tacitus
We extol ancient things, regardless of our own times. [Lat., Vetera extollimus recentium incuriosi.] – Tacitus
The most detestable race of enemies are flatterers. – Tacitus
None grieve so ostentatiously as those who rejoice most in heart. [Lat., Nulla jactantius moerent quam qui maxime laetantur.] – Tacitus
Nature gives liberty even to dumb animals. – Tacitus
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. – Tacitus
The worst crimes were dared by a few, willed by more and tolerated by all. – Tacitus
Modern houses are so small we’ve had to train our dog to wag its tail up and down and not sideways. – Tacitus
So as you go into battle, remember your ancestors and remember your descendants. – Tacitus
This I regard as history’s highest function, to let no worthy action be uncommemorated, and to hold out the reprobation of posterity as a terror to evil words and deeds. – Tacitus
An honorable death is better than a dishonorable life. [Lat., Honesta mors turpi vita potior.] – Tacitus
The most seditious is the most cowardly. – Tacitus
If you would know who controls you see who you may not criticise. – Tacitus
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. – Tacitus
The Romans brought devestation, but they called it peace. – Tacitus
Auctor nominis eius Christus,Tiberio imperitante, per procuratorem Pontium Pilatum, supplicio affectus erat. Christ, the leader of the sect, had been put to death by the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius. – Tacitus
An eminent reputation is as dangerous as a bad one. – Tacitus
Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit, because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure – Tacitus
In valor there is hope. – Tacitus
A man in power, once becoming obnoxious, his acts, good or bad, will work out his ruin. – Tacitus
Remedies are more tardy in their operation than diseases. – Tacitus
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. – Tacitus
Who the first inhabitants of Britain were, whether natives or immigrants, remains obscure; one must remember we are dealing with barbarians. – Tacitus
Reason and judgment are the qualities of a leader. – Tacitus
More faults are often committed while we are trying to oblige than while we are giving offense. – Tacitus
I am my nearest neighbour. – Tacitus
Bottling up his malice to be suppressed and brought out with increased violence. – Tacitus
The gods are on the side of the stronger. – Tacitus
Falsehood avails itself of haste and uncertainty. – Tacitus
The injustice of a government is proportional to the number of its laws. – Tacitus
Whatever is unknown is magnified. – Tacitus
The lust of fame is the last that a wise man shakes off. – Tacitus
A bad peace is even worse than war. – Tacitus
The hatred of those who are near to us is most violent. – Tacitus
No one in Germany laughs at vice, nor do they call it the fashion to corrupt and to be corrupted. – Tacitus
Secure against the designs of men, secure against the malignity of the Gods, they have accomplished a thing of infinite difficulty; that to them nothing remains even to be wished. – Tacitus
The persecution of genius fosters its influence. – Tacitus
Conspicuous by his absence. – Tacitus
Cassius and Brutus were the more distinguished for that very circumstance that their portraits were absent. [Lat., Praefulgebant Cassius atque Brutus eo ipso, quod effigies eorum non videbantur.] – Tacitus
Flatterers are the worst kind of enemies. [Lat., Pessimum genus inimicorum laudantes.] – Tacitus
It is common, to esteem most what is most unknown. – Tacitus
The sciences throw an inexpressible grace over our compositions, even where they are not immediately concerned; as their effects are discernible where we least expect to find them. – Tacitus
Perdomita Britannia et statim omissa. Britain was conquered and immediately lost. – Tacitus
Custom adapts itself to expediency. – Tacitus
Rumor is not always wrong – Tacitus
Benefits received are a delight to us as long as we think we can requite them; when that possibility is far exceeded, they are repaid with hatred instead of gratitude. – Tacitus
Everything unknown is magnified. [Lat., Omne ignotum pro magnifico est.] – Tacitus
Traitors are hated even by those whom they prefer. – Tacitus
Such being the happiness of the times, that you may think as you wish, and speak as you think. – Tacitus
It is a part of the nature of man to resist compulsion. – Tacitus
It is found by experience that admirable laws and right precedents among the good have their origin in the misdeeds of others. – Tacitus
He (Tiberius) was wont to mock at the arts of physicians, and at those who, after thirty years of age, needed counsel as to what was good or bad for their bodies. – Tacitus
It is the rare fortune of these days that one may think what one likes and say what one thinks. – Tacitus
Power acquired by guilt was never used for a good purpose. [Lat., Imperium flagitio acquisitum nemo unquam bonis artibus exercuit.] – Tacitus
When a woman has lost her chastity she will shrink from nothing. – Tacitus
Candor and generosity, unless tempered by due moderation, leads to ruin. – Tacitus
Valor is of no service, chance rules all, and the bravest often fall by the hands of cowards. – Tacitus
Be assured those will be thy worst enemies, not to whom thou hast done evil, but who have done evil to thee. And those will be thy best friends, not to whom thou hast done good, but who have done good to thee. – Tacitus
There was more courage in bearing trouble than in escaping from it; the brave and the energetic cling to hope, even in spite of fortune; the cowardly and the indolent are hurried by their fears,’ said Plotius Firmus, Roman Praetorian Guard. – Tacitus
Flattery labors under the odious charge of servility. – Tacitus
To rob, to ravage, to murder, in their imposing language, are the arts of civil policy. When they have made the world a solitude, they call it peace. – Tacitus
They make solitude, which they call peace. – Tacitus
Neglected, calumny soon expires, show that you are hurt, and you give it the appearance of truth. – Tacitus
Indeed, the crowning proof of their valour and their strength is that they keep up their superiority without harm to others. – Tacitus
Wise Cornelius Tacitus Quotes
Posterity will pay everyone their due. – Tacitus
A shocking crime was committed on the unscrupulous initiative of few individuals, with the blessing of more, and amid the passive acquiescence of all. – Tacitus
Abuse if you slight it, will gradually die away; but if you show yourself irritated, you will be thought to have deserved it. – Tacitus
When the State is corrupt, then the laws are most multiplied. – Tacitus
A desire to resist oppression is implanted in the nature of man. – Tacitus
Other men have acquired fame by industry, but this man by indolence. – Tacitus
Truth is confirmed by inspection and delay; falsehood by haste and uncertainty. – Tacitus
A woman once fallen will shrink from no impropriety. – Tacitus
The most detestable race of enemies are flatterers. – Tacitus
Cruelty is fed, not weakened, by tears. – Tacitus
That cannot be safe which is not honourable. – Tacitus
No one would have doubted his ability to reign had he never been emperor. – Tacitus
The unknown always passes for the marvellous. – Tacitus
Great empires are not maintained by timidity. – Tacitus
He (Tiberius) was wont to mock at the arts of physicians, and at those who, after thirty years of age, needed counsel as to what was good or bad for their bodies. – Tacitus
In a state where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous. – Tacitus
Viewed from a distance, everything is beautiful. – Tacitus
The wicked find it easier to coalesce for seditious purposes than for concord in peace. – Tacitus
People flatter us because they can depend upon our credulity. – Tacitus
It is less difficult to bear misfortunes than to remain uncorrupted by pleasure. – Tacitus
Many who seem to be struggling with adversity are happy; many, amid great affluence, are utterly miserable. – Tacitus
The worst hatred is that of relatives. – Tacitus
The hatred of those who are near to us is most violent. – Tacitus
To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have deserved it. – Tacitus
Formerly we suffered from crimes; now we suffer from laws. – Tacitus
Fear is not in the habit of speaking truth. – Tacitus
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges. – Tacitus
To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness, they call it peace. – Tacitus
When men are full of envy they disparage everything, whether it be good or bad. – Tacitus
Crime, once exposed, has no refuge but in audacity. – Tacitus
Augustus gradually increased his powers, taking over those of the senate, the executives and the laws. The aristocracy received wealth and position in proportion to their willingness to accept slavery. The state had been transformed, and the old Roman character gone for ever. Equality among citizens was completely abandoned. All now waited on the imperial command. – Tacitus
They have plundered the world, stripping naked the land in their hunger… they are driven by greed, if their enemy be rich; by ambition, if poor… They ravage, they slaughter, they seize by false pretenses, and all of this they hail as the construction of empire. And when in their wake nothing remains but a desert, they call that peace. – Tacitus
One who is allowed to sin, sins less – Tacitus
Things are not to be judged good or bad merely because the public think so. – Tacitus
Every recreant who proved his timidity in the hour of danger, was afterwards boldest in words and tongue. – Tacitus
It belongs to human nature to hate those you have injured. – Tacitus
Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit, because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure –
Tacitus
The customs of the Jews are base and abominable and owe their persistence to their depravity. Jews are extremely loyal to one another, always ready to show compassion, but towards every other people they feel only hate and enimity. As a race (the Jews are not a race, because they have mingled with the other races to the point that they are only a people, not a race), they are prone to lust; among themselves nothing is unlawful. – Tacitus
Power won by crime no one ever yet turned to a good purpose. – Tacitus
He that fights and runs away, May turn and fight another day; But he that is in battle slain, Will never rise to fight again. – Tacitus
All things atrocious and shameless flock from all parts to Rome. – Tacitus
Prosperity is the measure or touchstone of virtue, for it is less difficult to bear misfortune than to remain uncorrupted by pleasure. – Tacitus
All enterprises that are entered into with indiscreet zeal may be pursued with great vigor at first, but are sure to collapse in the end. – Tacitus
We see many who are struggling against adversity who are happy, and more although abounding in wealth, who are wretched. – Tacitus
The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise. – Tacitus
The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws. – Tacitus
It is human nature to hate the man whom you have hurt. – Tacitus
An eminent reputation is as dangerous as a bad one. – Tacitus
Noble character is best appreciated in those ages in which it can most readily develop. – Tacitus
Victor and vanquished never unite in substantial agreement. – Tacitus
Greater things are believed of those who are absent. – Tacitus
Those in supreme power always suspect and hate their next heir. – Tacitus
Love of fame is the last thing even learned men can bear to be parted from. – Tacitus
Legions and fleets are not such sure bulwarks of imperial power as a numerous family – Tacitus
A cowardly populace which will dare nothing beyond talk. [Lat., Vulgus ignavum et nihil ultra verba ausurum.] – Tacitus
All those things that are now field to be of the greatest antiquity were at one time new; what we to-day hold up by example will rank hereafter as precedent. – Tacitus
Nothing mortal is so unstable and subject to change as power which has no foundation. – Tacitus
In stirring up tumult and strife, the worst men can do the most, but peace and quiet cannot be established without virtue. – Tacitus
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. – Tacitus
Seek to make a person blush for their guilt rather than shed their blood. – Tacitus
What is today supported by precedents will hereafter become a precedent. – Tacitus
The images of twenty of the most illustrious families the Manlii, the Quinctii, and other names of equal splendour were carried before it [the bier of Junia]. Those of Brutus and Cassius were not displayed; but for that very reason they shone with pre-eminent lustre. – Tacitus
To abandon your shield is the basest of crimes; nor may a man thus disgraced be present at the sacred rites, or enter their council; many, indeed, after escaping from battle, have ended their infamy with the halter. – Tacitus
Benefits are acceptable, while the receiver thinks he may return them; but once exceeding that, hatred is given instead of thanks. [Lat., Beneficia usque eo laeta sunt dum videntur exsolvi posse; ubi multum antevenere pro gratia odium redditur.] – Tacitus
Posterity gives to every man his true honor. [Lat., Suum cuique decus posteritas rependet.] – Tacitus
Our magistrates discharge their duties best at the beginning; and fall off toward the end. [Lat., Initia magistratuum nostrorum meliora, ferme finis inclinat.] – Tacitus
The brave and bold persist even against fortune; the timid and cowardly rush to despair through fear alone.
[Lat., Fortes et strenuos etiam contra fortunam insistere, timidos et ignoros ad desperationem formidine properare.] – Tacitus
This I hold to be the chief office of history, to rescue virtuous actions from the oblivion to which a want of records would consign them, and that men should feel a dread of being considered infamous in the opinions of posterity, from their depraved expressions and base actions. – Tacitus
It is the nature of the human disposition to hate him whom you have injured. – Tacitus
Experience teaches. [Lat., Experientia docet.] – Tacitus
Crime succeeds by sudden despatch; honest counsels gain vigor by delay. – Tacitus
Bodies are slow of growth but are rapid in their dissolution. [Lat., Corpora lente augescent, cito extinguuntur.] – Tacitus
They even say that an altar dedicated to Ulysses , with the addition of the name of his father, Laertes , was formerly discovered on the same spot, and that certain monuments and tombs with Greek inscriptions, still exist on the borders of Germany and Rhaetia . – Tacitus
Miseram pacem vel bello bene mutari. Even war is preferable to a shameful peace. – Tacitus
None mourn more ostentatiously than those who most rejoice at it [a death]. – Tacitus
Even honor and virtue make enemies, condemning, as they do, their opposites by too close a contrast. – Tacitus
War will of itself discover and lay open the hidden and rankling wounds of the victorious party. – Tacitus
Even the bravest men are frightened by sudden terrors. – Tacitus
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. – Tacitus
Lust of power is the most flagrant of all the passions – Tacitus
The repose of nations cannot be secure without arms, armies cannot be maintained without pay, nor can the pay be produced without taxes – Tacitus
Style, like the human body, is especially beautiful when the veins are not prominent and the bones cannot be counted. – Tacitus
Deos fortioribus adesse. The gods support those who are stronger. – Tacitus
Solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant. They make a wilderness and they call it peace. – Tacitus
The word liberty has been falsely used by persons who, being degenerately profligate in private life, and mischievous in public, had no hope left but in fomenting discord. – Tacitus
Reckless adventure is the fool’s hazard. – Tacitus
The love of fame is a love that even the wisest of men are reluctant to forgo. – Tacitus
Rumor does not always err; it sometimes even elects a man. – Tacitus
It is of eloquence as of a flame; it requires matter to feed it, and motion to excite it; and it brightens as it burns. – Tacitus
In the struggle between those seeking power there is no middle course. – Tacitus
By general consent, he would have been capable of ruling, had he not ruled. – Tacitus
All ancient history was written with a moral object; the ethical interest predominates almost to the exclusion of all others. – Tacitus
They terrify lest they should fear. – Tacitus
Zealous in the commencement, careless in the end. – Tacitus
The love of dominion is the most engrossing passion. – Tacitus
