There was no need for the imperial court to respond Tacitus'
views. He expressed his views on the reign of Domitian after
Domitian was assassinated and condemned to damnatio memoriae
(erasure of memory). Tacitus expressed the hatred for tyranny which
the reign of Domitian had created for him and shame about having
been complicit to Domitian's persecution of individuals through his
silence. Although Nerva had been an advisor of Domitian's and a
supporter of his Flavian dynasty, when he was designated as the
successor to the hated emperor, he was the one who issued the
damnatio memoriae and had his coins and statues melted, his arches
torn down and his name erased from all public records. Nerva would
not/could not have contemplated a response to Tacitus' popular
views.