Upon the death of Galba, Tacitus discusses Galba's life and character and ends Chapter 49 with this sentence: Maior privato visus dum privatus fuit, et omnium consensu capax imperii nisi imperasset ("He seemed too great to be a citizen so long as he was a citizen and all would have agreed that he was worthy to the imperial office, if he had never held it").[1]
It has been said that the phrase is used by Tacitus to sum up Galba's character, as one who seemed to hold all the values of a good leader but failed when he became leader.[2] In modern times, the phrase has been used to describe leaders who have failed to live up to their expectations.[3]Jeremy Paxman has quoted the phrase to describe Boris Johnson becoming prime minister,[4] and it has also been used to describe Gordon Brown.[5]
^Pigoń, Jakub (1990). "THE EMPEROR GALBA AND THE FOUR VIRTUES: A Note on Tac. Hist. 1,49,3—4". Rheinisches Museum für Philologie. 133 (3/4): 370–374. JSTOR 41233784.
^"Divisive Brexit vote has unleashed something very ugly | Brief letters". July 7, 2017 – via www.theguardian.com.
^Kidd, Patrick. "Paxman's risk assessment" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
^Howse, Christopher (October 21, 2008). "Poetry - and pain - of the perfect put-down" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
January 06, 2023
capax, imperii, nisi, imperasset, latin, phrase, written, tacitus, chapter, histories, galba, upon, death, galba, tacitus, discusses, galba, life, character, ends, chapter, with, this, sentence, maior, privato, visus, privatus, fuit, omnium, consensu, capax, i. Capax imperii nisi imperasset is a Latin phrase written by Tacitus in Chapter 1 49 of his Histories Galba Upon the death of Galba Tacitus discusses Galba s life and character and ends Chapter 49 with this sentence Maior privato visus dum privatus fuit et omnium consensu capax imperii nisi imperasset He seemed too great to be a citizen so long as he was a citizen and all would have agreed that he was worthy to the imperial office if he had never held it 1 It has been said that the phrase is used by Tacitus to sum up Galba s character as one who seemed to hold all the values of a good leader but failed when he became leader 2 In modern times the phrase has been used to describe leaders who have failed to live up to their expectations 3 Jeremy Paxman has quoted the phrase to describe Boris Johnson becoming prime minister 4 and it has also been used to describe Gordon Brown 5 See also Edit Ancient Rome portalList of Latin phrasesReferences Edit Tacitus Histories 1 49 Latin text in the Perseus Project Pigon Jakub 1990 THE EMPEROR GALBA AND THE FOUR VIRTUES A Note on Tac Hist 1 49 3 4 Rheinisches Museum fur Philologie 133 3 4 370 374 JSTOR 41233784 Divisive Brexit vote has unleashed something very ugly Brief letters July 7 2017 via www theguardian com Kidd Patrick Paxman s risk assessment via www thetimes co uk Howse Christopher October 21 2008 Poetry and pain of the perfect put down via www telegraph co uk Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Capax imperii nisi imperasset amp oldid 1073914378, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
