Rome and Tacitus

Tacitus once wrote sharp criticism of the Germanic tribes. However, deeply disguised within is actually a criticism of the Roman government, beliefs, and way of life. Tacitus believed that the Romans could learn from their enemies. For example, Tacitus points out that the German’s had a real justice system, where justice was blind and fair, opposed to the corruption that lay deep within the Roman government. Furthermore, he pointed out the fact that German kings were by blood, but their generals were determined by merit. The German kings also had limited power, as they had exercised a primitive form of democracy. The Roman Emperor had unlimited power and were determined by an asinine way.

The Germans were also perceived by Tacitus as being pure people, and had inhabited plenty of land to live on. Compared to Rome, he thought the Romans were impure as a race of people, and lived in a very dense population center, in other words the city of Rome was their boundaries. Tacitus also believes that according to the Romans, God’s were confined to walls, but yet to the Germans the God’s were always with them, and they were always mindful of them. This also helps justify the German’s constant use of human sacrifices to their Gods, compared to the Romans who had many less sacrifices. Overall, Tacitus was a proud Roman, but like all good citizens, always urged for higher standards as a people.