In conclusion, Strunk’s monograph is a spirited and timely effort to repoliticise Tacitus and to reinstate Tacitus as a strident republican with strong and urgent views about the political future of Rome. In an important article from 1984 (“The rider and the horse: politics and power in Roman poetry from Horace to Statius.” ANRW II 32.1: 40–110) Fred Ahl commented perceptively about the complex and closely intertwined relationship in the ancient world between poetry and politics, between literature and real life, and on modern critics’ unease about the fact that “Roman poetry of the first century b.c. and a.d. has a political soul” (42). That a politician and historian such as Tacitus has a political soul is perhaps less surprising, but it is nonetheless striking that there are such divergent views about the precise nature of that political soul (even if such divergence reflects the tension between Tacitus the conformist politician and “Tacitus” the outspoken historian). It may be that a “Red Tacitus” is intrinsically more attractive than a pink or a black one: where precisely Tacitus is situated on this political spectrum will be up to individuals to decide. Yet as Jim Luce reminds us, we need to acknowledge the challenges involved in retrieving broad Tacitean opinions from his texts (T. J. Luce, “Tacitus’ Conception of Historical Change: The Problem of Discovering the Historian’s Opinions.” In I. S. Moxon, J. D. Smart, and A. J. Woodman (eds.), Past Perspectives: Studies in Greek and Roman Historical Writing. Cambridge, 1986. 143–57). Although my own perception of Tacitus on balance still sees him tinged with pink to a much greater extent than Strunk would be prepared to allow, his important study nonetheless opens up to us all a timely opportunity to recalibrate our sense of Tacitus and to engage with his “Red” manifestation. As Strunk concludes, “By dismissing Tacitus’ republicanism, we risk losing an important voice in the struggle for liberty” (186). Voices from the Classical world can sometimes resonate with unusual clarity: perhaps after all 2017 is the right time to welcome Strunk’s more radical conception of Tacitus back to the wider debate.

中文翻译：

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罗斯伯恩斯《罗马东部城市柱廊街道的起源》

总之，斯特伦克的专着是将塔西佗重新政治化并恢复塔西佗作为一个对罗马的政治未来有强烈而紧迫的看法的强硬共和主义者的积极而及时的努力。在 1984 年的一篇重要文章（“骑手和马：从贺拉斯到斯塔提乌斯的罗马诗歌中的政治和权力。”ANRW II 32.1：40-110）中，弗雷德·阿尔敏锐地评论了古代世界之间复杂而紧密交织的关系诗歌与政治，文学与现实生活之间，以及现代评论家对“公元前一世纪和公元一世纪的罗马诗歌具有政治灵魂”这一事实的不安（42）。像塔西佗这样的政治家和历史学家拥有政治灵魂也许并不令人惊讶，但令人震惊的是，关于政治灵魂的确切性质存在如此不同的观点（即使这种分歧反映了墨守成规的政治家塔西佗与直言不讳的历史学家“塔西佗”之间的紧张关系）。可能“红色塔西佗”本质上比粉红色或黑色更有吸引力：塔西佗在这个政治光谱中的确切位置将由个人决定。然而，正如吉姆·卢斯提醒我们的那样，我们需要承认从他的文本中检索广泛的塔西特观点所涉及的挑战（TJ·卢斯，“塔西佗对历史变化的概念：发现历史学家观点的问题。”在 IS Moxon，JD Smart，和 AJ Woodman (eds.), Past Perspectives: Studies in Greek and Roman Historical Writing. Cambridge, 1986. 143-57)。尽管我自己对塔西佗的总体看法仍然认为他的粉红色比斯特伦克准备允许的要大得多，但他的重要研究仍然为我们所有人提供了一个及时的机会来重新校准我们对塔西佗的感觉并与他的“红”的表现。正如 Strunk 总结的那样，“通过驳回塔西佗的共和主义，我们可能会在争取自由的斗争中失去重要的发言权”（186）。来自古典世界的声音有时会以异常清晰的方式引起共鸣：也许毕竟 2017 年是欢迎 Strunk 更激进的塔西佗概念重返更广泛辩论的合适时机。尽管如此，他的重要研究为我们所有人提供了一个及时的机会来重新校准我们对塔西佗的感觉并参与他的“红色”表现。正如 Strunk 总结的那样，“通过驳回塔西佗的共和主义，我们可能会在争取自由的斗争中失去重要的发言权”（186）。来自古典世界的声音有时会以异常清晰的方式引起共鸣：也许毕竟 2017 年是欢迎 Strunk 更激进的塔西佗概念重返更广泛辩论的合适时机。尽管如此，他的重要研究为我们所有人提供了一个及时的机会来重新校准我们对塔西佗的感觉并参与他的“红色”表现。正如 Strunk 总结的那样，“通过驳回塔西佗的共和主义，我们可能会在争取自由的斗争中失去重要的发言权”（186）。来自古典世界的声音有时会以异常清晰的方式引起共鸣：也许毕竟 2017 年是欢迎 Strunk 更激进的塔西佗概念重返更广泛辩论的合适时机。