For the classical scholar, the 'Germania' of Tacitus is a minor work,

Question

For the classical scholar, the 'Germania' of Tacitus is a minor work, forming with the 'Agricola' a kind of prelude to the great works of Tacitus, the Annals and the Histories. However, for the student of the Germanic people, Tacitus' ethnographic treatise is a major source of information, mainly reliable, about the German tribes of the first century A.D. Studies of Tacitus have often attempted to clarify the author's purpose in writing the 'Germania' by defining it as an example of a particular literary genre. A few have seen the book primarily as a satire of Roman corruption, which uses the warlike but upright Germans as a stick with which to beat the degeneracy and vice Tacitus observed in his contemporary Rome; others classify the book as an extended political pamphlet whose central purpose is to urge the emperor Trajan to some decisive Roman action, possibly invasion, to destroy the growing threat posed by the German tribes.

Both these themes are present in the 'Germania', but they are not central to its purpose; if they were, Tacitus would certainly have made them more prominent and explicit. The book's real purpose is the obvious one-to explain as fully as possible to a Roman audience what was known of the customs and character of a significant neighboring people. In this task, Tacitus was following the examples of several earlier ethnographers, including Livy, whose Histories included an ethnographic study of the German people, and Seneca, who wrote lost works about the peoples of India and Egypt that may well have resembled the 'Germania'. Such works formed the type to which the 'Germania' belongs, and though most of the examples are lost, it seems to have been a recognized genre of the period. However, as with most ethnographic studies to this day, the 'Germania' reveals as much about the preoccupations of the society to which its author belonged as about the people who are the work's ostensible subject. Thus, the fear of a German threat to the security of Rome is reflected in the largely military orientation of the study. The picture Tacitus paints is of a thoroughly warlike people, a nation of men who will 'transact no business, public or private, without being armed,' a society that regards weapons as 'the equivalent of the man's toga with us' - that is, the Romans-'the first distinction publicly conferred upon a youth, who now ceases to rank merely as a member of a household and becomes a citizen.' The Germans even applaud in assembly, not by clapping, but by clashing their spears. If Tacitus' aim was to arouse the concern of his audience over a German military threat, his choice of details surely advanced his purpose.    1 
 1. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to:

A. discuss the importance of the Germania in relation to the entire body of work by Tacitus
B. explore in detail the usefulness of the Germania as a source of historical information about ancient Germany
C. compare the Germania to other ethnographic studies, including those written in our own time
D. analyze the ways in which the Germania reveals the ancient Roman attitude toward the Germans
E. explain the main purposes for which the Germania was written

2 
 2. According to the passage, the Germania is today of greatest importance to:

A. historians of the politics of imperial Rome
B. classical scholars
C. military historians
D. experts on the work of Tacitus
E. scholars in the field of Germanic culture

3 
 3. It can be inferred from the passage that those who consider the Germania as primarily satirical in purpose would probably regard the most significant feature of the book to be:

A. its emphasis on the military threat posed by the German tribes
B. the contrast it draws between the mores of the Germans and those of the Romans
C. the picture it paints of the German people as warlike and unsophisticated
D. its attack on the political intrigues that characterized imperial Rome
E. its support for the idea of a Roman invasion of Germany

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

3. It can be inferred from the passage that those who consider the Germania as primarily satirical in purpose would probably regard the most significant feature of the book to be:

Explanation

The first half of the second sentence of paragraph 2 provides this answer. According to the 'satire' theory, Tacitus used the uprightness of the Germans as a contrast to the 'degeneracy and vice' of the Romans. This is the meaning of the idiom to use (something) as a stick to beat (something else).

Choices A, C,  and  E  would all apply correctly to the 'political pamphlet' theorists, not the 'satire' theorists.

Choice D  is wrong because 'political intrigues' are not the same as 'degeneracy and vice.'

Answer: B

Anandanwar · Answer

Hello,

Q1: Choice E says "explain the main purposeS"
But only one main purpose is explained. Shouldn't E be rejected?
Regards,
Ankit

guddo · Answer

1. The author's primary purpose in the passage is to:

The passage discusses different views about why Tacitus wrote the Germania. Some scholars see it as satire, others as a political pamphlet, but the author argues that its main purpose was ethnographic: to explain the customs and character of the Germanic peoples to a Roman audience.  The central focus is the purpose of the Germania , not merely its historical value or its picture of Roman attitudes.

A. discuss the importance of the Germania in relation to the entire body of work by Tacitus

Wrong. The passage briefly says the Germania is minor compared with Tacitus’ major works, but that is not the main purpose.

B. explore in detail the usefulness of the Germania as a source of historical information about ancient Germany

Wrong. The passage says the Germania is a useful source, but it does not mainly evaluate its historical reliability.

C. compare the Germania to other ethnographic studies, including those written in our own time

Wrong. Other ethnographic works are mentioned only to place the Germania within a literary genre.

D. analyze the ways in which the Germania reveals the ancient Roman attitude toward the Germans

Tempting, but too narrow. The passage does discuss Roman fears of the Germans, but that point supports the broader discussion of  why Tacitus wrote the work .

E. explain the main purposes for which the Germania was written

Correct. The passage evaluates proposed purposes, rejects them as central, and then states what the author sees as the real purpose: to inform Roman readers about the customs and character of the Germans.

Answer: (E)

BhardwajS · Answer

@Anandanwar-My take on your query 
The passage is mainly about the different purposes people think the  Germania  was written for, and then the author tells us which purpose he believes is the real one. 
In first paragraph -Author mentioned about some scholars views on purpose of the book- it was a satire attacking Roman corruption and other scholars think it was a political warning about the Germans.
In Second Paragraph -Author shared his opinion about the purpose of book- the real purpose was simply to explain German customs and character to Roman readers.  so Correct Answer choice is E 
Now why the other options are wrong: 
 A. discuss the importance of the Germania in relation to the entire body of work by Tacitus 
 This is mentioned only in the first few lines. cannot be the Main idea.
 B. explore in detail the usefulness of the Germania as a source of historical information about ancient Germany 
Inconsistent-Passage did discussed about the Germania as source of historical info but start explaining why Tacitus wrote it.
 C. compare the Germania to other ethnographic studies 
 Other ethnographic works are mentioned only as supporting examples to show that this type of writing already existed. Comparison is not the main focus. 
D.  analyze the ways in which the Germania reveals the ancient Roman attitude toward the Germans  
Only last paragraph talked about ,was not the main idea.
and even after elimination We left with answer choice E and which perfectly reflect the Central idea of the passage and we cannot also reject the answer choice just one "s" is missing.
Hope this helps:)

For the classical scholar, the 'Germania' of Tacitus is a minor work,

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For the classical scholar, the 'Germania' of Tacitus is a minor work,

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