Caius
Cornelius Tacitus, the Historian, was living under those Emperors, who
reigned from the year 54 to the year 117, of the Christian era; but the
place and the date of his birth are alike uncertain, and the time of his
death is not accurately known. He was a friend of the younger Pliny, who
was born in the year 61; and, it is possible, they were about the same
age. Some of Pliny's letters were written to Tacitus: the most famous,
describes that eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which caused the death of old
Pliny, and overwhelmed the cities of Pompeii and of Herculaneum. The
public life of Tacitus began under Vespasian; and, therefore, he must have
witnessed some part of the reign of Nero: and we read in him, too, that he
was alive after the accession of the Emperor Trajan. In the year 77,
Julius Agricola, then Consul, betrothed his daughter to Tacitus; and they
were married in the following year. In 88, Tacitus was Praetor; and at the
Secular Games of Domitian, he was one of the _Quindecimviri_: these were
sad and solemn officers, guardians of the Sibylline Verse; and
intercessors for the Roman People, during their grave centenaries of
praise and worship.
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