The works of Tacitus are too great for a Camelot volume; and, therefore, I
have undertaken a selection of them. I give entire, "The Account of
Germany" and "The Life of Agricola": these works are entertaining, and
should have a particular interest for English readers. I have added to
them, the greater portion of the first six books of "The Annals"; and I
have endeavoured so to guide my choice, that it shall present the history
of Tiberius. In this my volume, the chapters are not numbered: for the
omission, I am not responsible; and I can only lament, what I may not
control. But scholars, who know their Tacitus, will perceive what I have
left out; and to those others, who are not familiar with him, the omission
can be no affront. I would say briefly, that I have omitted some chapters,
which describe criminal events and legal tragedies in Rome: but of these,
I have retained every chapter, which preserves an action or a saying of
Tiberius; and what I have inserted is a sufficient specimen of the
remainder. I have omitted many chapters, which are occupied with wearisome
disputes between the Royal Houses of Parthia and Armenia: and I have
spared my readers the history of Tacfarinas, an obscure and tedious rebel
among the Moors; upon whose intricate proceedings Tacitus appears to have
relied, when he was at a loss for better material.
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