The Cremutius episode provides a way of approaching a couple of thoughts that I would like to set down in conclusion, both of which touch on ways in which modern readers are affected by the self that Tacitus' work constructs.

THE DEATH OF THE AUTHOR

In the episode intersect the “programmatic” and “representational” aspects of Tacitean historiography around which I have organized my discussion: “programmatic” because the section focuses continuously on what Annals, and historiography, are for; “representational” because it is about the role of historians and histories within history and about the relations of historical actors to past or future works of history. The intersection is only especially evident here, however, and not unique. In fact, Tacitus' mode of representation, as we have seen, also regularly serves as an implicit argument about its own function and purpose: it is supposed to say something about the historian, and about his work, that he presents the city, or the empire, or the trial of Cremutius as he does and not otherwise. Conversely, his programmatic discussions of his own activity always situate his writing historically, within the peculiar set of political conditions within which it was produced, even if only to deny his work has been affected by those political conditions in any way.