Tacitus' Use of Columella's 'De re rustica'

Abstract

This article argues that Tacitus used Columella’s De re rustica as a source text across his oeuvre. Probable allusions to De re rustica appear in each of Tacitus’ five texts, including in important digressions and methodological chapters in Annals. Setting out these allusions and drawing out their narrative significance, the article draws attention to a hitherto unrecognised source of influence on the Roman historian. It further proposes directions for future scholarly analysis of Tacitus’ engagement with technical texts and of how such texts participate in wider conversations about politics, power, and nature.