Tacitova Sentencioznost. Sentencija – retorski ukras u Tacitovim Analima
Tacitus’ Sententiousness. Sententia - a rhetorical ornament in Tacitus’ Annals

Summary/Abstract: In this paper, we focus on Tacitus’ sententiousness, which is present and highly expressed in his Annals. In his rhetorical style, Tacitus frequently uses sententia as a figure of great stylistic value, thereby continuing the moralistic tendency of Roman historiography. In his own unique way, this master of the written word, and an excellent connoisseur of the circumstances in which he lived, provides a lesson for future generations and those who will read his work. In short and antithetical sentences, Tacitus engraved the moral principles he followed as a persno. Even today, Tacitus’ sayings related to certain human and social events are often quoted. In this paper, we deal with the sententia as a rhetorical ornament and its function in historical text. We will attempt to examine how Tacitus used the sententia when writing Annals, and more omportnantly, how he constructed them, as an enthymeme, in the form of a chria or epiphoneme. As a member of Seneca’s “new style,” he used many rhetorical and stylistic elements, among which the sententia was included. Sententiae themselves were epigrammatic and stylized. For the purposes of this topic, we have selected several sentences as material for a detailed analysis, not only in terms of content but also in terms of language and style.

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