In many respects we can look at Tacitus' historiographical career, as represented by Histories and Annals, as the working out, in greater variety and detail, of the central concerns of Agricola. An important difference stands out, and it is from that difference that this chapter takes its cue. In Agricola and Histories alike, his writing is occasioned by a political problem, but it is a different problem in each case. In the biography he positions his project against Domitian's legacy. It was the late tyrant who caused the silence Tacitus now breaks, who suppressed Agricola's glory, who uncoupled representation from reality. As we have seen, by taking this position in Agricola, Tacitus aligns himself with the current regime: he and Trajan become partners in the labor of erasing the last Flavian and restoring the world. The preface of the biography does, significantly, establish that Tacitus has not written the book for Trajan, but the real antagonist of the book, for Tacitus as for Agricola, is Domitian. The recent coup made him an ideal opponent in 98 ce: everyone hated him (or at least that was the story now) and his memory was fresh, but he was powerless to retaliate.

His appeal as a target could only wane with time. It is true that attacks on Domitian remained an important element in praise of Trajan.