La literatura como vía a la gloria en el Dialogus de Tácito

Abstract

In this paper a general interpretation of the Dialogus de oratoribus is presented from the viewpoint of social history. Out of this perspective the Dialogus reveals itself as a rich source of information about the constant adaptation processes of senatorial aristocracy to the consolidation of imperial power. In this sense, it is especially relevant the change in the relative values attached to different traditional activity fields of the roman aristocracy -which Tacitus let us know in this work- and, more precisely, the growing importance of literature as a substitute for other traditional occupations of the roman elite.