Title: Germania and Agricola
Author: Tacitus, Cornelius
Language: 
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The GERMANIA and AGRICOLA

Of

Caius Cornelius Tacitus


With Notes for Colleges

By W. S. Tyler

Professor of the Greek and Latin Languages in Amherst College



PREFACE.


This edition of the Germania and Agricola of Tacitus is designed to meet
the following wants, which, it is believed, have been generally felt by
teachers and pupils in American Colleges.

1. A Latin text, approved and established by the essential concurrence of
all the more recent editors. The editions of Tacitus now in use in this
country abound in readings purely conjectural, adopted without due regard
to the peculiarities of the author, and in direct contravention of the
critical canon, that, other things being equal, the more difficult
reading is the more likely to be genuine. The recent German editions
labor to exhibit and explain, so far as possible, the reading of the best
MSS.

2. A more copious illustration of the grammatical constructions, also of
the rhetorical and poetical usages peculiar to Tacitus, without
translating, however, to such an extent as to supersede the proper
exertions of the student. Few books require so much illustration of this
kind, as the Germania and Agricola of Tacitus; few have received more in
Germany, yet few so little here. In a writer so concise and abrupt as
Tacitus, it has been deemed necessary to pay particular regard to the
connexion of thought, and to the particles, as the hinges of that
connexion.

3. A comparison of the writer and his cotemporaries with authors of the
Augustan age, so as to mark concisely the changes which had been already
wrought in the language and taste of the Roman people. It is chiefly with
a view to aid such a comparison, that it has been thought advisable to
prefix a Life of Tacitus, which is barren indeed of personal incidents,
but which it is hoped may serve to exhibit the author in his relation to
the history, and especially to the literature, of his age.

4. The department in which less remained to be done than any other, for
the elucidation of Tacitus, was that of Geography, History, and
Archaeology. The copious notes of Gordon and Murphy left little to be
desired in this line; and these notes are not only accessible to American
scholars in their original forms, but have been incorporated, more or
less, into all the college editions. If any peculiar merit attaches to
this edition, in this department, it will be found in the frequent
references to such classic authors as furnish collateral information, and
in the illustration of the private life of the Romans, by the help of
such recent works as Becker's Gallus. The editor has also been able to
avail himself of Sharon Turner's History of the Anglo Saxons, which sheds
not a little light on the manners of the Germans.

5. Many of the ablest commentaries on the Germania and Agricola have
appeared within a comparatively recent period, some of them remarkable
examples of critical acumen and exegetical tact, and others, models of
school and college editions. It has been the endeavor of the editor to
bring down the literature pertaining to Tacitus to the present time, and
to embody in small compass the most valuable results of the labors of
such recent German editors as Grimm, Günther, Gruber, Kiessling, Dronke,
Roth, Ruperti, and Walther.

The text is, in the main, that of Walther, though the other editors just
named have been consulted; and in such minor differences as exist between
them, I have not hesitated to adopt the reading which seemed best to
accord with the usage and genius of Tacitus, especially when sanctioned
by a decided preponderance of critical suffrage. Other readings have been
referred to in the Notes, so far as they are of any considerable
importance, or supported by respectable authority. Partly for
convenience, but chiefly as a matter of taste, I have ventured to follow
the German editions in dispensing entirely with diacritical marks, and in
some peculiarities of less importance, which if not viewed with favor, it
is hoped, will not be judged with severity. The punctuation is the result
of a diligent comparison of the best editions, together with a careful
study of the connexion of language and of thought.

The German editions above mentioned, together with several French,
English, and American works, have not only been constantly before me, but
have been used with great freedom, and credit awarded to them
accordingly. Some may think their names should have appeared less
frequently; others that they should have received credit to a still
greater extent. Suffice it to say, I have never intended to quote the
language, or borrow the thoughts of an author, without giving his name;
and in matters of fact or opinion, I have cited authorities not only when
I have been indebted to them for the suggestion, but whenever, in a case
of coincidence of views, I thought the authorities would be of any
interest to the student.

I have not considered it needful, with German scrupulosity, to
distinguish between my own references and those of others. It may safely
be taken for granted, that the major, perhaps the better, part of them
have been derived from foreign sources. But no references have been
admitted on trust. They have been carefully verified, and it is hoped
that numerous as they are, they will be found pertinent and useful,
whether illustrative of things, or of mere verbal usage. Some, who use
the book, will doubtless find occasion to follow them out either in whole
or in part; and those who do not, will gain a general impression as to
the sources from which collateral information may be obtained, that will
be of no small value.

The frequent references to the Notes of Professor Kingsley, will show the
estimation in which I hold them. Perhaps I have used them too freely. My
only apology is, that so far as they go, they are just what is wanted;
and if I had avoided using them to a considerable extent, I must have
substituted something less perfect of my own. Had they been more copious,
and extended more to verbal and grammatical illustrations, these Notes
never would have appeared.

The editor is convinced, from his experience as a teacher, that the
student of Tacitus will not master the difficulties, or appreciate the
merits, of so peculiar an author, unless his peculiarities are distinctly
pointed out and explained. Indeed, the student, in reading any classic
author, needs, not to be carried along on the broad shoulders of an
indiscriminate translator, but to be guided at every step in learning his
lessons, by a judicious annotator, who will remove his difficulties, and
aid his progress; who will point out to him what is worthy of attention,
and guard him against the errors to which he is constantly exposed; for
first impressions are lively and permanent, and the errors of the study,
even though corrected in the recitation, not unfrequently leave an
impression on the mind which is never effaced.

Besides the aid derived from books, to which the merit of this edition,
if it have any merit, will be chiefly owing, the editor takes this
opportunity to acknowledge his many obligations to those professors and
other literary gentlemen, who have extended to him assistance and
encouragement. To Prof. H. B. Hackett, of Newton Theological Seminary,
especially, he is indebted for favors, which, numerous and invaluable in
themselves, as the results of a singularly zealous and successful
devotion to classical learning, are doubly grateful as the tokens of a
personal friendship, which began when we were members of the same class
in college. The work was commenced at his suggestion, and has been
carried forward with his constant advice and co-operation. His ample
private library, and, through his influence, the library of the Seminary,
have been placed at my disposal; and the notes passed under his eye and
were improved in not a few particulars, at his suggestion, though he is
in no way responsible for their remaining imperfections. I have also
received counsel and encouragement in all my labors from my esteemed
colleague, Prof. N. W. Fiske, whose instructions in the same department
which has since been committed to my charge, first taught me to love the
Greek and Latin classics. I have only to regret that his ill health and
absence from the country have prevented me from deriving still greater
advantages from his learning and taste. An unforeseen event has, in like
manner, deprived me of the expected cooperation of Prof. Lyman Coleman,
now of Nassau Hall College in N. J., in concert with whom this work was
planned, and was to have been executed, and on whose ripe scholarship,
and familiarity with the German language and literature, I chiefly relied
for its successful accomplishment.

I should not do justice to my feelings, were I to omit the expression of
my obligations to the printer and publishers for the unwearied patience
with which they have labored to perfect the work, under all the
disadvantages attending the superintendance of the press, at such a
distance. If there should still be found in it inaccuracies and
blemishes, it will not be because they have spared any pains to make it a
correct and beautiful book.

It is with unfeigned diffidence that I submit to the public this first
attempt at literary labor. I am fully sensible of its many imperfections,
at the same time I am conscious of an ability to make it better at some
future day, should it meet the favorable regard of the classical teachers
of our land, to whom it is dedicated as an humble contribution to that
cause in which they are now laboring, with such unprecedented zeal.
Should it contribute in any measure to a better understanding, or a
higher appreciation by our youthful countrymen of a classic author, from
whom, beyond almost any other, I have drawn instruction and delight, I
shall not have labored in vain.

_Amherst College, June 1, 1847_.



PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION


The text of this edition has been carefully revised and compared with
those of Döderlein, Halle, 1847, Orelli, Zurich, 1848, and Ritter, Bonn
and Cambridge, 1848. The notes also have been re-examined and, to a
considerable extent, re-written; partly to correspond with the progress
of my own mind, partly in accordance with suggestions derived from the
above named editions, and from friendly criticisms either by letter or in
the public journals. Among the journals, I am particularly indebted to
the Bibliotheca Sacra and the New-Englander; and for communications by
letter, I am under especial obligations to Professors Crosby and Sanborn
of Dartmouth College, Robbins of Middlebury, and Lincoln of Brown
University.

In revising the geography of the Germania, I have consulted, without
however entering much into detail, Ukert's invaluable treatise on the
Geography of the Greeks and Romans, whose volume on Germany contains a
translation and running commentary on almost the entire work of Tacitus.
Particular attention has been paid to the ethnology of the tribes and
nations, in reference to whose origin and early history Tacitus is among
the best authorities. In this department the works of Prichard and Latham
have been my chief reliance. Grimm and Zeuss, though often referred to, I
regret to say I have been able to consult only at second hand.

In sending out this revised edition of these most delightful treatises of
an author, in the study of whose works I never tire, I cannot but express
the hope, that it has been not a little improved by these alterations and
additions, while it will be found to have lost none of the essential
features by which the first edition was commended to so good a measure of
public favor.

W. S. Tyler.

_Amherst, May_, 1852



LIFE OF TACITUS.


It is the office of genius and learning, as of light, to illustrate
other things, and not itself. The writers, who, of all others perhaps,
have told us most of the world, just as it has been and is, have told us
least of themselves. Their character we may infer, with more or less
exactness, from their works, but their history is unwritten and must for
ever remain so. Homer, though, perhaps, the only one who has been argued
out of existence, is by no means the only one whose age and birthplace
have been disputed. The native place of Tacitus is mere matter of
conjecture. His parentage is not certainly known. The time of his birth
and the year of his death are ascertained only by approximation, and very
few incidents are recorded in the history of his life; still we know the
period in which he lived, the influences under which his character was
developed and matured, and the circumstances under which he wrote his
immortal works. In short, we know his times, though we can scarcely
gather up enough to denominate his life; and the times in which an author
lived, are often an important, not to say, essential means of elucidating
his writings.

CAIUS CORNELIUS TACITUS was born in the early part of the reign of Nero,
and near the middle of the first century in the Christian Era. The
probability is, that he was the son of Cornelius Tacitus, a man of
equestrian rank, and procurator of Belgic Gaul under Nero; that he was
born at Interamna in Umbria, and that he received a part of his education
at Massilia (the modern Marseilles), which was then the Athens of the
West, a Grecian colony, and a seat of truly Grecian culture and
refinement. It is not improbable that he enjoyed also the instructions of
Quintilian, who for twenty years taught at Rome that pure and manly
eloquence, of which his Institutes furnish at once such perfect rules,
and so fine an example. If we admit the Dialogue de Claris Oratoribus to
be the work of Tacitus, his beau-idéal of the education proper for an
orator was no less comprehensive, no less elevated, no less liberal, than
that of Cicero himself; and if his theory of education was, like
Cicero's, only a transcript of his own education, he must have been
disciplined early in all the arts and sciences--in all the departments
of knowledge which were then cultivated at Rome; a conclusion in which we
are confirmed also by the accurate and minute acquaintance which he
shows, in his other works, with all the affairs, whether civil or
military, public or private, literary or religious, both of Greece and
Rome.

The boyhood and youth of Tacitus did, indeed, fall on evil times.
Monsters in vice and crime had filled the throne, till their morals and
manners had infected those of all the people. The state was distracted,
and apparently on the eve of dissolution. The public taste, like the
general conscience, was perverted. The fountains of education were
poisoned. Degenerate Grecian masters were inspiring their Roman pupils
with a relish for a false science, a frivolous literature, a vitiated
eloquence, an Epicurean creed, and a voluptuous life.

But with sufficient discernment to see the follies and vices of his age,
and with sufficient virtue to detest them, Tacitus must have found his
love of wisdom and goodness, of liberty and law, strengthened by the
very disorders and faults of the times. If the patriot ever loves a
well-regulated freedom, it will be in and after the reign of a tyrant,
preceded or followed by what is still worse, anarchy. If the pure and the
good ever reverence purity and goodness, it will be amid the general
prevalence of vice and crime. If the sage ever pants after wisdom, it is
when the fountains of knowledge have become corrupted. The reigns of Nero
and his immediate successors were probably the very school, of all
others, to which we are most indebted for the comprehensive wisdom, the
elevated sentiments, and the glowing eloquence of the biographer of
Agricola, and the historian of the Roman Empire. His youth saw, and felt,
and deplored the disastrous effects of Nero's inhuman despotism, and of
the anarchy attending the civil wars of Galba, Otho, and Vitellius. His
manhood saw, and felt, and exulted in the contrast furnished by the
reigns of Vespasian and Titus, though the sun of the latter too soon went
down, in that long night of gloom, and blood, and terror, the tyranny of
Domitian. And when, in the reigns of Nerva and Trajan, he enjoyed the
rare felicity of thinking what he pleased, and speaking what he thought,
he was just fitted in the maturity of his faculties, and the extent of
his observation and reflections, "to enroll slowly, year after year, that
dreadful reality of crimes and sufferings, which even dramatic horror, in
all its license of wild imagination, can scarcely reach, the long
unvarying catalogue of tyrants and executioners, and victims that return
thanks to the gods and die, and accusers rich with their blood, and more
mighty as more widely hated, amid the multitudes of prostrate slaves,
still looking whether there may not yet have escaped some lingering
virtue which it may be a merit to destroy, and having scarcely leisure to
feel even the agonies of remorse in the continued sense of the
precariousness of their own gloomy existence." [Brown's Philosophy of the
Mind.]

Tacitus was educated for the bar, and continued to plead causes,
occasionally at least, and with not a little success, even after he had
entered upon the great business of his life, as a writer of history. We
find references to his first, and perhaps his last appearance, as an
advocate, in the Letters of Pliny, which are highly complimentary. The
first was, when Pliny was nineteen, and Tacitus a little older (how much
we are not informed), when Tacitus distinguished himself, so as to awaken
the emulation and the envy, though not in a bad sense, of Pliny. The last
was some twenty years later, when Tacitus and Pliny, the tried friends of
a whole life, the brightest ornaments of literature and of the forum,
were associated by the choice of the Senate, and pleaded together at
the bar of the Senate, and in the presence of the Emperor Trajan, for
the execution of justice upon Marius Priscus, who was accused of
maladministration in the proconsulship of Africa. Pliny says, that
Tacitus spoke with singular gravity and eloquence, and the Senate passed
a unanimous vote of approbation and thanks to both the orators, for the
ability and success with which they had managed the prosecution (Plin.
Epis. ii. 11)

We have also the comments of Pliny on a panegyrical oration, which
Tacitus pronounced, when consul, upon his predecessor in the consular
office, Verginius Rufus, perhaps the most remarkable man of his age,
distinguished alike as a hero, a statesman, and a scholar, and yet so
modest or so wise that he repeatedly refused the offer of the imperial
purple. "Fortune," says Pliny, "always faithful to Verginius, reserved
for her last favor, such an orator to pronounce a eulogium on such
virtues. It was enough to crown the glory of a well spent life" (Plin.
Epis. ii. 1).

The speeches in the historical works of Tacitus, though rather concise
and abstract for popular orations, are full of force and fire. Some of
them are truly Demosthenic in their impassioned and fiery logic. The
speech of Galgacus before the Briton army, when driven into the extremity
of Caledonia by the Romans under Agricola, can hardly be surpassed for
patriotic sentiments, vigorous reasoning, and burning invective. The
address of Germanicus to his mutinous soldiers (in the Annals) is not
less remarkable for tender pathos. The sage and yet soldierlike address
of the aged Galba to his adopted son Piso, the calm and manly speech of
Piso to the body guard, the artful harangue of the demagogue Otho to his
troops, the no less crafty address of Mucianus to Vespasian, the headlong
rapidity of Antonius' argument for immediate action, the plausible plea
of Marcellus Eprius against the honest attack of Helvidius Priscus, and
the burning rebukes of the intrepid Vocula to his cowardly and
treacherous followers--all these, in the Histories, show no ordinary
degree of rhetorical skill and versatility. Indeed, the entire body of
his works is animated with the spirit of the orator, as it is tinged also
with the coloring of the poet. For this reason, they are doubtless
deficient in the noble simplicity of the earlier classical histories; but
for the same reason they may be a richer treasure for the professional
men at least of modern times.

Of his marriage with the daughter of Agricola, and its influence on his
character and prospects, as also of his passing in regular gradation
through the series of public honors at Rome, beginning with the
quaestorship under Vespasian, and ending with the consulship under Nerva,
Tacitus informs us himself (A. 9, His. i. 1), barely alluding to them,
however, in the general, and leaving all the details to mere conjecture.
We learn to our surprise, that he not only escaped the jealousy of the
tyrant Domitian, but was even promoted by him to the office of
Quindecimvir and Praetor (Ann. ii. 11). Beyond these vague notices, we
know little or nothing of his course of life, except that Pliny says
(Epist. iv. 13), he was much esteemed by the learned and the great at
Rome, who went in crowds to his levees. Of the time of his death, we can
only conjecture, that he died before the Emperor Trajan, but after his
friend Pliny--the former, because, had he outlived the Emperor, he would
probably have executed his purpose of writing the history of his reign
(His. i. 1); the latter, because, if he had not survived his friend,
Pliny, who lamented the death of so many others, would not have failed to
pay the last tribute to the memory of Tacitus.

It is generally admitted, though without direct testimony, that Tacitus
died not without issue. That excellent prince, M. Claudius Tacitus,
deduced his pedigree from the historian, and ordered his image to be set
up, and a complete collection of his works to be placed in the public
archives, with a special direction that twelve copies should be made
every year at the public expense. It is greatly to be regretted that such
praiseworthy precautions should have failed to preserve for us that
treasure entire!

The age of Tacitus is usually styled the silver age of Roman Literature;
and it merits no higher title, when compared with the golden age of
Augustus. It was the good fortune of Augustus to gain the supremacy at
Rome, when society had reached its maximum of refinement, and was just
ready to enter upon its stage of corruption and decline. Hence his name
is identified with that proud era in literature, in producing which he
bore at best only an accidental and secondary part. In the literature of
the Augustan age, we admire the substance of learning and philosophy
without the show, the cultivation of taste without the parade of
criticism, the fascination of poetry without its corruption, and the use
of eloquence without its abuse. Grecian refinement was no longer
despised; Grecian effeminacy had not yet prevailed. The camp was not now
the home of the Romans; neither were the theatres and the schools. They
had ceased to be a nation of soldiers, and had not yet become a nation of
slaves. At no other period could Rome have had her Cicero, her Livy, and
her Virgil.

The silver age produced no men who "attained unto these first three." But
there are not wanting other bright names to associate with Tacitus,
though most of them lived a little earlier than he. There was Seneca, the
Philosopher, whose style, with its perpetual antitheses, is the very
worst of the age, but his sentiments, perhaps more or less under the
influence of Christianity, approach nearer to the Christian code of
morals than those of any other Latin author. There were Martial and
Juvenal, whose satires made vice tremble in its high places, and helped
to confer on the Romans the honor of originating one species of literary
composition, unknown to the Greeks. There were Suetonius and Plutarch;
the one natural, simple, and pure in his style, far beyond his age, but
without much depth or vigor of thought; the other involved and affected
in his manner, but in his matter of surpassing richness and incalculable
worth. There was the elder Pliny, a prodigy of learning and industry,
whose researches in Natural History cost him his life, in that fatal
eruption of Vesuvius which buried Herculaneum and Pompeii. There was also
the judicious Quintilian, at once neat and nervous in his language,
delicate and correct in his criticisms, a man of genius and a scholar, a
teacher and an exemplar of eloquence. Finally, there were the younger
Pliny and Tacitus, rival candidates for literary and professional
distinction, yet cherishing for each other the most devoted and
inviolable attachment, each viewing the other as the ornament of their
country, each urging the other to write the history of their age, and
each relying chiefly on the genius of the other for his own immortality
(Plin. Epis. vii. 33). Their names were together identified by their
contemporaries with the literature of the age of Trajan: "I never was
touched with a more sensible pleasure," says Pliny, in one of his
beautiful Letters [Eleven of these are addressed to Tacitus, and two
or three are written expressly for the purpose of furnishing materials
for his history.] (which rival Cicero's in epistolary ease and
elegance), "than by an account which I lately received from Cornelius
Tacitus. He informed me, that at the last Circensian Games, he sat next
a stranger, who, after much discourse on various topics of learning,
asked him whether he was an Italian or a Provincial. Tacitus replied,
'Your acquaintance with literature must have informed you who I am.'
'Aye,' said the man, 'is it then Tacitus or Pliny I am talking with?' I
cannot express how highly I am pleased to find, that our names are not
so much the proper appellations of individuals, as a designation of
learning itself" (Plin. Epis. ix. 23). Critics are not agreed to which
of these two literary friends belongs the delicate encomium of
Quintilian, when, after enumerating the principal writers of the day,
he adds, "There is another ornament of the age, who will deserve the
admiration of posterity. I do not mention him at present; his name will
be known hereafter." Pliny, Tacitus, and Quintilian, are also rival
candidates for the honor of having written the Dialogue de Claris
Oratoribus, one of the most valuable productions in ancient criticism.

As a writer, Tacitus was not free from the faults of his age. The native
simplicity of Greek and Latin composition had passed away. An affected
point and an artificial brilliancy were substituted in their place. The
rhetoric and philosophy of the schools had infected all the departments
of literature. Simple narrative no longer suited the pampered taste of
the readers or the writers of history. It must be highly seasoned with
sentimentalism and moralizing, with romance and poetry. Tacitus,
certainly, did not escape the infection. In the language of Macaulay, "He
carries his love of effect far beyond the limits of moderation. He tells
a fine story finely, but he cannot tell a plain story plainly. He
stimulates, till stimulants lose their power." [See a fine article on
history, Ed. Her., 1828. Also in Macaulay's Miscellanies.] We have taken
occasion in the notes to point out not a few examples of rhetorical
pomp, and poetical coloring, and even needless multiplication of words,
where plainness and precision would have been much better, and which
may well surprise us in a writer of so much conciseness. Lord Monboddo,
in a very able, though somewhat extravagant critique on Tacitus, has
selected numerous instances of what he calls the ornamented dry style,
many of which are so concise, so rough, and so broken, that he says,
they do not deserve the name of composition, but seem rather like the
raw materials of history, than like history itself (Orig. and Prog.
of Lang., vol iii. chap. 12).

Still, few readers can fail to pronounce Tacitus, as Macaulay affirms,
and even Lord Monboddo admits him to be, the greatest of Latin
historians, superior to Thucydides himself in the moral painting of his
best narrative scenes, and in the delineation of character without a
rival among historians, with scarcely a superior among dramatists and
novelists. The common style of his narrative is, indeed, wanting in
simplicity, and sometimes in perspicuity. He does not deal enough in the
specific and the picturesque, the where, the when and the how. But when
his subject comes up to the grandeur of his conceptions, and the strength
of his language, his descriptions are graphic and powerful. No battle
scenes are more grand and terrific than those of Tacitus. Military men
and scholars have also remarked their singular correctness and
definiteness. The military evolutions, the fierce encounter, the doubtful
struggle, the alternations of victory and defeat, the disastrous rout and
hot pursuit, the carnage and blood, are set forth with the warrior's
accuracy and the poet's fire; while, at the same time, the conflicting
passions and emotions of the combatants are discerned, as it were, by the
eye of a seer--their hidden springs of action, and the lowest depths of
their hearts laid bare, as if by the wand of a magician. In the painting
of large groups, in the moral portraiture of vast bodies of men under
high excitement and in strenuous exertion, we think that Tacitus far
surpasses all other historians. Whether it be a field of battle or a
captured city, a frightened senate or a flattering court, a mutiny or a
mob, that he describes, we not only see in a clear and strong light the
outward actions, but we look into the hearts of all the mixed multitude,
and gaze with wonder on the changing emotions and conflicting passions by
which they are agitated.

His delineations of individual character are also marked by the same
profound insight into the human soul. Like the old Latin Poet, he might
have said,

    "Homo sum; nihil _humani_ a me alienum puto."

There is scarcely a landscape picture in his whole gallery. It is full of
portraits of _men_, in groups and as individuals, every grade of
condition, every variety of character, performing all kinds of actions,
exhibiting every human passion, the colors laid on with a bold hand, the
principal features presented in a strong light, the minuter strokes
omitted, the soft and delicate finish despised. We feel, that we have
gained not a little insight into the character of those men, who are
barely introduced in the extant books of Tacitus, but whose history is
given in the books that are lost. Men of inferior rank even, who appear
on the stage only for a short time, develope strongly marked characters,
which are drawn with dramatic distinctness and power, while yet the
thread of history is never broken, the dignity of history never
sacrificed. And those Emperors, whose history is preserved entire,--with
them we feel acquainted, we know the controlling principles, as well as
the leading events of their lives, and we feel sure that we could predict
how they would act, under almost any imaginable circumstances.

In a faithful portraiture of the private and public life of the
degenerate Romans, there was much to call for the hand of a master in
_satire_. And we find in the glowing sketches of our author, all the
vigor and point of a Juvenal, without his vulgarity and obscenity; all
the burning indignation which the Latin is so peculiarly capable of
expressing, with all the vigor and stateliness by which the same language
is equally characterized. Tacitus has been sometimes represented as a
very Diogenes, for carping and sarcasm--a very Aristophanes, to blacken
character with ridicule and reproach. But he is as far removed from the
cynic or the buffoon, as from the panegyrist or the flatterer. He is not
the indiscriminate admirer that Plutarch was. Nor is he such a universal
hater as Sallust. It is the fault of the times that he is obliged to deal
so much in censure. If there ever were perfect monsters on earth, such
were several of the Roman Emperors. Yet Tacitus describes few, if any, of
them without some of the traits of humanity. He gives us in his history
neither demons nor gods, but veritable men and women. In this respect, as
also in his descriptions of battles, Tacitus is decidedly superior to
Livy. The characters of Livy are distinguishable only as classes--the
good all very good, the bad very bad, the indifferent very indifferent.
You discover no important difference between a Fabius and a Marcellus,
further than it lies on the face of their actions. In Tacitus, the
characters are all individuals. Each stands out distinctly from the
surrounding multitude, and not only performs his own proper actions, but
is governed by his own peculiar motives. Livy places before us the
statues of heroes and gods; Tacitus conducts us through the crowd of
living men.

In an attempt to sketch the most striking features of Tacitus, as a
writer, no critic can omit to mention his sage and pithy maxims.
Apothegms abound on every page--sagacious, truthful, and profound in
sentiment, in style concise, antithetic and sententious. Doubtless he is
excessively fond of pointed antithesis. Perhaps he is too much given to
moralizing and reflection. It was, as we have said, the fault of his age.
But no one, who is familiar with Seneca, will severely censure Tacitus.
He will only wonder that he should have risen so far above the faults of
his contemporaries. Indeed, Tacitus interweaves his reflections with so
much propriety, and clothes his apothegms with so much dignity--he is so
manifestly competent to instruct the world by maxims, whether in civil,
social, or individual life, that we are far from wishing he had indulged
in it less. His reflections do not interrupt the thread of his narrative.
They grow naturally out of his incidents. They break forth spontaneously
from the lips of his men. His history is indeed philosophy teaching by
examples; and his pithy sayings are truly lessons of wisdom, embodied in
the form most likely to strike the attention, and impress the memory. We
should love to see a collection of apothegms from the pen of Tacitus. It
would make an admirable book of laconics. No book would give you more
ideas in fewer words. Nowhere could you gain so much knowledge, and lose
so little time. The reader of Tacitus, who will study him with pen in
hand, to mark, or refer to the most striking passages, will soon find
himself master of a text book in moral and political science, we might
say a text book in human nature, singularly concise and sententious, and
what is not always true even of concise and sententious writers, as
singularly wise and profound. In such a book, many of the _speeches_
would find a place entire; for many of them are little else than a series
of condensed, well-timed, and most instructive apothegms. [E.g. the
speech of Galba to Piso. His. i. 15, 16.]

But the scholar, who is on the lookout, will find lurking in every
section, and almost every sentence, some important truth in morals, in
politics, in the individual or social nature of man. Neither the editor
nor the teacher can be expected to develope these sentiments, nor even,
in many instances, to point them out. That labor must be performed by the
scholar; and his will be the reward.

No hasty perusal, no single reading of Tacitus, will give a just
conception of the surpassing richness of his works. They must be studied
profoundly to be duly appreciated. They are a mine of wisdom, of vast
extent and unknown depth, whose treasures lie chiefly beneath the
surface, imbedded in the solid rock which must be entered with mining
implements, explored with strong lights, and its wealth brought up by
severe toil and sweat.



C. CORN. TACITUS

DE SITU, MORIBUS ET POPULIS GERMANIAE



BREVIARIUM LIBELLI.


Cap. 1. Germaniae situs: 2. incolae indigenae: auctores gentis: nominis
origo: Hercules. 3. Baritus: ara Ulixis. 4. Germani, gens sincera:
habitus corporum. 5. Terrae natura: non aurum, non argentum, nec
aestimatum. 6. Germanorum arma, equitatus, peditatus, ordo militiae: 7.
reges, duces, sacerdotes: 8. feminarum virtus et veneratio: Veleda:
Aurinia. 9. dii, sacra, simulacra nulla. 10. Auspicia, sortes: ex equis,
e captivo praesagia. 11. Consultationes publicae et conventus. 12.
Accusationes, poenae, jus redditum. 13. Scuto frameaque ornati juvenes,
principum comites: eorum virtus et fama. 14. Gentis bellica studia. 15.
In pace, venatio, otium: Collata principibus munera. 16. Urbes nullae:
vici, domus, specus suffugium hiemi et receptaculum frugibus. 17.
Vestitus hominum, feminarum. 18. Matrimonia severa: dos a marito oblata.
19. Pudicitia. Adulterii poena: Monogamia: Liberorum numerus non finitus.
20. Liberorum educatio: Successionis leges. 21. Patris, propinqui,
amicitiae, inimicitiaeque susceptae: homicidii pretium: Hospitalitas. 22.
Lotio, victus, ebriorum rixae: consultatio in conviviis. 23. Potus,
cibus. 24. Spectacula: aleae furor. 25. Servi, libertini. 26. Fenus
ignotum: Agricultura: Anni tempora. 27. Funera, sepulcra, luctus.

28. Singularum gentium instituta: Galli, olim valida gens, in Germaniam
transgressi, Helvetii, Boii: Aravisci, Osi, incertum genus: Germanicae
originis populi Treveri, Nervii, Vangiones, Triboci, Nemetes, Ubii. 29.
Batavi, Cattorum proles: Mattiaci: Decumates agri. 30, 31. Cattorum
regio, habitus, disciplina militaris; vota, virtutis incentiva. 32.
Usipii, Tencteri, equitatu praestantes. 33. Bructerorum sedes, a Chamavis
et Angrivariis occupatae. 34. Dulgibini: Chasvari: Frisii. 35. Chauci,
pacis studio, justitia, et virtute nobiles. 36. Cherusci et Fosi, a
Cattis victi. 37. Cimbrorum parva civitas, gloria ingens: Romanorum
clades; Germani triumphati magis quam victi. 38. Suevorum numerus, mores.
39. Semnonum religio, victimae humanae 40. Longobardi: Reudigni: Aviones:
Angli: Varini: Eudoses: Suardones: Nuithones: Herthae cultus communis.
41. Hermunduri. 42. Narisci: Marcomanni: Quadi. 43. Marsigni: Gothini:
Osi: Burii: Lygiorum civitates, Arii, Helvecones, Manimi, Elysii,
Naharvali; horum numen Alcis: Gotones: Rugii: Lemovii. 44. Suiones,
classibus valentes. 45. Mare pigrum: Aestyi, Matris Deum cultores,
succinum legunt: Sitonibus femina imperat. 46. Peucini, Venedi, Fenni,
Germani, an Sarmatae? Eorum feritas, paupertas: Hominum monstra,
Hellusii, Oxiones.



I. Germania omnis a Gallis Rhaetisque et Pannoniis Rheno et Danubio
fluminibus, a Sarmatis Dacisque mutuo metu aut montibus separatur: cetera
Oceanus ambit, latos sinus et insularum immensa spatia complectens, nuper
cognitis quibusdam gentibus ac regibus, quos bellum aperuit. Rhenus,
Rhaeticarum Alpium inaccesso ac praecipiti vertice ortus, modico flexu in
occidentem versus, septentrionali Oceano miscetur. Danubius, molli et
clementer edito montis Abnobae jugo effusus, plures populos adit, donec
in Ponticum mare sex meatibus erumpat: septimum os paludibus hauritur.

II. Ipsos Germanos indigenas crediderim, minimeque aliarum gentium
adventibus et hospitiis mixtos; quia nec terra olim, sed classibus
advehebantur, qui mutare sedes quaerebant, et immensus ultra, utque sic
dixerim, adversus Oceanus raris ab orbe nostro navibus aditur. Quis
porro, praeter periculum horridi et ignoti maris, Asia aut Africa aut
Italia relicta, Germaniam peteret, informem terris, asperam coelo,
tristem cultu aspectuque, nisi si patria sit? Celebrant carminibus
antiquis (quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est) Tuisconem
deum terra editum, et filium Mannum, originem gentis conditoresque. Manno
tres filios assignant, e quorum nominibus proximi Oceano Ingaevones,
medii Hermiones, ceteri Istaevones vocentur. Quidam autem, ut in licentia
vetustatis, plures deo ortos pluresque gentis appellationes, Marsos,
Gambrivios, Suevos, Vandalios, affirmant; eaque vera et antiqua nomina.
Ceterum Germaniae vocabulum recens et nuper additum; quoniam, qui primi
Rhenum transgressi Gallos expulerint, ac nunc Tungri, tunc Germani vocati
sint: ita nationis nomen, non gentis evaluisse paulatim, ut omnes primum
a victore ob metum, mox a seipsis invento nomine Germani vocarentur.

III. Fuisse apud eos et Herculem memorant, primumque omnium virorum
fortium ituri in proelia canunt. Sunt illis haec quoque carmina, quorum
relatu, quem baritum vocant, accendunt animos, futuraeque pugnae fortunam
ipso cantu augurantur: terrent enim trepidantve, prout sonuit acies. Nec
tam voces illae, quam virtutis concentus videntur. Affectatur praecipue
asperitas soni et fractum murmur, objectis ad os scutis, quo plenior et
gravior vox repercussu intumescat. Ceterum et Ulixem quidam opinantur
longo illo et fabuloso errore in hunc Occanum delatum, adisse Germaniae
terras, Asciburgiumque, quod in ripa Rheni situm hodieque incolitur, ab
illo constitutum nominatumque. Aram quin etiam Ulixi consecratam,
adjecto Laertae patris nomine, eodem loco olim repertam, monumentaque et
tumulos quosdam Graecis litteris inscriptos in confinio Germaniae
Rhaetiaeque adhuc exstare: quae neque confirmare argumentis, neque
refellere in animo est: ex ingenio suo quisque demat, vel addat fidem.

IV. Ipse eorum opinionibus accedo, qui Germaniae populos nullis aliis
aliarum nationum connubiis infectos propriam et sinceram et tantum sui
similem gentem exstitisse arbitrantur: unde habitus quoque corporum,
quanquam in tanto hominum numero, idem omnibus; truces et cacrulei
oculi, rutilae comae, magna corpora et tantum ad impetum valida; laboris
atque operum non eadem patientia: minimeque sitim aestumque tolerare,
frigora atque inediam coelo solove assueverunt.

V. Terra, etsi aliquanto specie differt, in universum tamen aut silvis
horrida aut paludibus foeda: humidior, qua Gallias; ventosior, qua
Noricum ac Pannoniam aspicit: satis ferax; frugiferarum arborum
impatiens: pecorum fecunda, sed plerumque improcera; ne armentis quidem
suus honor, aut gloria frontis: numero gaudent; eaeque solae et
gratissimae opes sunt. Argentum et aurum propitii an irati dii
aegaverint, dubito. Nec tamen affirmaverim, nullam Germaniae venam
argentum aurumve gignere: quis enim scrutatus est? possessione et usu
haud perinde afficiuntur. Est videre apud illos argentea vasa, legatis et
principibus eorum muneri data, non in alia vilitate, quam quae humo
finguntur quanquam proximi, ob usum commerciorum, aurum et argentum in
pretio habent, formasque quasdam nostrae pecuniae agnoscunt atque
eligunt: interiores simplicius et antiquius permutatione mercium utuntur.
Pecuniam probant veterem et diu notam, serratos bigatosque. Argentum
quoque, magis quam aurum sequuntur, nulla affectione animi, sed quia
numerus argenteorum facilior usui est promiscua ac vilia mercantibus.

VI. Ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telorum colligitur. Rari
gladiis aut majoribus lanceis utuntur: hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo
frameas gerunt, angusto et brevi ferro sed ita acri et ad usum habili, ut
eodem telo, prout ratio poscit, vel cominus vel eminus pugnent: et eques
quidem scuto frameaque contentus est: pedites et missilia spargunt, plura
singuli, atque in immensum vibrant, nudi aut sagulo leves. Nulla cultus
jactatio; scuta tantum lectissimis coloribus distinguunt: paucis loricae:
vix uni alterive cassis aut galea. Equi non forma, non velocitate
conspicui: sed nec variare gyros in morem nostrum docentur. In rectum,
aut uno flexu dextros agunt ita conjuncto orbe, ut nemo posterior sit. In
universum aestimanti, plus penes peditem roboris: eoque mixti
proeliantur, apta et congruente ad equestrem pugnam velocitate peditum,
quos ex omni juventute delectos ante aciem locant. Definitur et numerus:
centeni ex singulis pagis sunt: idque ipsum inter suos vocantur; et quod
primo numerus fuit, jam nomen et honor est. Acies per cuneos componitur.
Cedere loco, dummodo rursus instes, consilii quam formidinis arbitrantur.
Corpora suorum etiam in dubiis proeliis referunt. Scutum reliquisse,
praecipuum flagitium; nec aut sacris adesse, aut concilium inire,
ignominioso fas; multique superstites bellorum infamiam laqueo finierunt.

VII. Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt. Nec regibus infinita
aut libera potestas: et duces exemplo potius, quam imperio, si prompti,
si conspicui, si ante aciem agant, admiratione praesunt. Ceterum neque
animadvertere neque vincire, ne verberare quidem, nisi sacerdotibus
permissum; non quasi in poenam, nec ducis jussu, sed velut deo imperante,
quem adesse bellantibus credunt: effigiesque et signa quaedam, detracta
lucis, in proelium ferunt. Quodque praecipuum fortitudinis incitamentum
est, non casus nec fortuita conglobatio turmam aut cuneum facit, sed
familiae et propinquitates, et in proximo pignora, unde feminarum
ululatus audiri, unde vagitus infantium: hi cuique sanctissimi testes, hi
maximi laudatores. Ad matres, ad conjuges vulnera ferunt; nec illae
numerare, aut exigere plagas pavent; cibosque et hortamina pugnantibus
gestant.

VIII. Memoriae proditur, quasdam acies, inclinatas jam et labantes, a
feminis restitutas, constantia precum et objectu pectorum et monstrata
cominus captivitate, quam longe impatientius feminarum suarum nomine
timent: adeo ut efficacius obligentur animi civitatum, quibus inter
obsides puellae quoque nobiles imperantur. Inesse quin etiam sanctum
aliquid et providum putant: nec aut consilia earum aspernantur, aut
responsa negligunt. Vidimus sub divo Vespasiano Veledam diu apud
plerosque numinis loco habitam. Sed et olim Auriniam et complures alias
venerati sunt non adulatione, nec tanquam facerent deas.

IX. Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt, cui certis diebus humanis quoque
hostiis litare fas habent. Herculem ac Martem concessis animalibus
placant: pars Suevorum et Isidi sacrificat. Unde causa et origo peregrino
sacro parum comperi, nisi quod signum ipsum, in modum liburnae figuratum,
docet advectam religionem. Ceterum nec cohibere parietibus deos, neque in
ullam humani oris speciem assimulare, ex magnitudine coelestium
arbitrantur: lucos ac nemora consecrant, deorumque nominibus appellant
secretum illud, quod sola reverentia vident.

X. Auspicia sortesque, ut qui maxime, observant. Sortium consuetudo
simplex: virgam, frugiferae arbori decisam, in surculos amputant, eosque,
notis quibusdam discretos, super candidam vestem temere ac fortuito
spargunt: mox, si publice consuletur, sacerdos civitatis, sin privatim,
ipse paterfamiliae, precatus deos coelumque suspiciens, ter singulos
tollit, sublatos secundum impressam ante notam interpretatur. Si
prohibuerunt, nulla de eadem re in eundem diem consultatio; sin
permissum, auspiciorum adhuc fides exigitur. Et illud quidem etiam hic
notum, avium voces volatusque interrogare: proprium gentis, equorum
quoque praesagia ac monitus experiri; publice aluntur iisdem nemoribus ac
lucis candidi et nullo mortali opere contacti: quos pressos sacro curru
sacerdos ac rex vel princeps civitatis comitantur, hinnitusque ac
fremitus observant. Nec ulli auspicio major fides non solum apud plebem,
sed apud proceres, apud sacerdotes; se enim ministros deorum, illos
conscios putant. Est et alia observatio auspiciorum, qua gravium bellorum
eventus explorant; ejus gentis, cum qua bellum est, captivum, quoquo modo
interceptum, cum electo popularium suorum, patriis quemque armis,
committunt: victoria hujus vel illius pro praejudicio accipitur.

XI. De minoribus rebus principes consultant; de majoribus omnes: ita
tamen, ut ea quoque, quorum penes plebem arbitrium est, apud principes
pertractentur. Coeunt, nisi quid fortuitum et subitum inciderit, certis
diebus, cum aut inchoatur luna aut impletur: nam agendis rebus hoc
auspicatissimum initium credunt. Nec dierum numerum, ut nos, sed noctium
computant. Sic constituunt, sic condicunt: nox ducere diem videtur. Illud
ex libertate vitium, quod non simul, nec ut jussi conveniunt, sed et
alter et tertius dies cunctatione coeuntium absumitur. Ut turbae placuit,
considunt armati. Silentium per sacerdotes, quibus tum et coercendi jus
est, imperatur. Mox rex vel princeps, prout aetas cuique, prout nobilitas,
prout decus bellorum, prout facundia est, audiuntur, auctoritate suadendi
magis, quam jubendi potestate. Si displicuit sententia, fremitu
aspernantur; sin placuit, frameas concutiunt. Honoratissimum assensus
genus est, armis laudare.

XII. Licet apud concilium accusare quoque et discrimen capitis intendere.
Distinctio poenarum ex delicto: proditores et transfugas arboribus
suspendunt; ignavos et imbelles et corpore infames coeno ac palude,
injecta insuper crate, mergunt. Diversitas supplicii illuc respicit,
tanquam scelera ostendi oporteat, dum puniuntur, flagitia abscondi. Sed
et levioribus delictis, pro modo poenarum, equorum pecorumque numero
convicti mulctantur: pars mulctae regi vel civitati, pars ipsi, qui
vindicatur, vel propinquis ejus exsolvitur. Eliguntur in iisdem conciliis
et principes, qui jura per pagos vicosque reddunt. Centeni singulis ex
plebe comites, consilium simul et auctoritas, adsunt.

XIII. Nihil autem neque publicae neque privatae rei, nisi armati agunt.
Sed arma sumere non ante cuiquam moris, quam civitas suffecturum
probaverit. Tum in ipso concilio, vel principum aliquis vel pater vel
propinquus scuto frameaque juvenem ornant: haec apud illos toga, hic
primus juventae honos: ante hoc domus pars videntur, mox reipublicae.
Insignis nobilitas, aut magna patrum merita, principis dignationem etiam
adolescentulis assignant: ceteris robustioribus ac jampridem probatis
aggregantur; nec rubor, inter comites aspici. Gradus quin etiam et ipse
comitatus habet judicio ejus, quem sectantur: magnaque et comitum
aemulatio, quibus primus apud principem suum locus, et principum, cui
plurimi et acerrimi comites. Haec dignitas, hae vires, magno semper
electorum juvenum globo circumdari, in pace decus, in bello praesidium.
Nec solum in sua gente cuique, sed apud finitimas quoque civitates id
nomen, ea gloria est, si numero ac virtute comitatus emineat: expetuntur
enim legationibus et muneribus ornantur et ipsa plerumque fama bella
profligant.

XIV. Cum ventum in aciem, turpe principi virtute vinci, turpe comitatui,
virtutem principis non adaequare. Jam vero infame in omnem vitam ac
probrosum, superstitem principi suo ex acie recessisse. Illum defendere,
tueri, sua quoque fortia facta gloriae ejus assignare, praecipuum
sacramentum est. Principes pro victoria pugnant; comites pro principe. Si
civitas, in qua orti sunt, longa pace et otio torpeat plerique nobilium
adolescentium petunt ultro eas nationes, quae tum bellum aliquod gerunt;
quia et ingrata genti quies, et facilius inter ancipitia clarescunt,
magnumque comitatum non nisi vi belloque tuentur: exigunt enim principis
sui liberalitate illum bellatorem equum, illam cruentam victricemque
frameam. Nam epulae et, quanquam incompti, largi tamen apparatus pro
stipendio cedunt: materia munificentiae per bella et raptus. Nec arare
terram, aut expectare annum, tam facile persuaseris, quam vocare hostes
et vulnera mereri. Pigrum quinimmo et iners videtur, sudore acquirere,
quod possis sanguine parare.

XV. Quotiens bella non ineunt, non multum venatibus, plus per otium
transigunt, dediti somno ciboque, fortissimus quisque ac bellicosissimus
nihil agens, delegata domus et penatium et agrorum cura feminis
senibusque et infirmissimo cuique ex familia: ipsi hebent; mira
diversitate naturae, cum iidem homines sic ament inertiam et oderint
quietem. Mos est civitatibus ultro ac viritim conferre principibus vel
armentorum vel frugum, quod pro honore acceptum, etiam necessitatibus
subvenit. Gaudent praecipue finitimarum gentium donis, quae non modo a
singulis, sed publice mittuntur: electi equi, magna arma, phalerae,
torquesque. Jam et pecuniam accipere docuimus.

XVI. Nullas Germanorum populis urbes habitari, satis notum est: ne pati
quidem inter se junctas sedes. Colunt discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut
campus, ut nemus placuit. Vicos locant, non in nostrum morem, connexis et
cohaerentibus aedificiis: suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive
adversus casus ignis remedium, sive inscitia aedificandi. Ne caementorum
quidem apud illos aut tegularum usus: materia ad omnia utuntur informi et
citra speciem aut delectationem. Quaedam loca diligentius illinunt terra
ita pura ac splendente, ut picturam ac lineamenta colorum imitetur.
Solent et subterraneos specus aperire, eosque multo insuper fimo onerant,
suffugium hiemi et receptaculum frugibus: quia rigorem frigorum ejusmodi
locis molliunt: et, si quando hostis advenit, aperta populatur, abdita
autem et defossa aut ignorantur, aut eo ipso fallunt, quod quaerenda
sunt.

XVII. Tegumen omnibus sagum, fibula, aut, si desit, spina consertum:
cetera intecti totos dies juxta focum atque ignem agunt. Locupletissimi
veste distinguuntur, non fluitante, sicut Sarmatae ac Parthi, sed stricta
et singulos artus exprimente. Gerunt et ferarum pelles, proximi ripae
negligenter, ulteriores exquisitius, ut quibus nullus per commercia
cultus. Eligunt feras, et detracta velamina spargunt maculis pellibusque
belluarum, quas exterior Oceanus atque ignotum mare gignit. Nec alius
feminis quam viris habitus, nisi quod feminae saepius lineis amictibus
velantur, eosque purpura variant, partemque vestitus superioris in
manicas non extendunt, nudae brachia ac lacertos: sed et proxima pars
pectoris patet.

XVIII. Quanquam severa illic matrimonia; nec ullam morum partem magis
laudaveris: nam prope soli barbarorum singulis uxoribus contenti sunt,
exceptis admodum paucis, qui non libidine, sed ob nobilitatem, plurimis
nuptiis ambiuntur, Dotem non uxor marito, sed uxori maritus offert.
Intersunt parentes et propinqui, ac munera probant: munera non ad
delicias muliebres quaesita, nec quibus nova nupta comatur: sed boves et
frenatum equum et scutum cum framea gladioque. In haec munera uxor
accipitur: atque invicem ipsa armorum aliquid viro affert: hoc maximum
vinculum, haec arcana sacra, hos conjugales deos arbitrantur. Ne se
mulier extra virtutum cogitationes extraque bellorum casus putet, ipsis
incipientis matrimonii auspiciis admonetur, venire se laborum
periculorumque sociam, idem in pace, idem in proelio passuram ausuramque:
hoc juncti boves, hoc paratus equus, hoc data arma denuntiant; sic
vivendum, sic pereundum: accipere se, quae liberis inviolata ac digna
reddat, quae nurus accipiant rursus, quae ad nepotes referantur.

XIX. Ergo septa pudicitia agunt, nullis spectaculorum illecebris, nullis
conviviorum irritationibus corruptae. Litterarum secreta viri pariter ac
feminae ignorant. Paucissima in tam numerosa gente adulteria; quorum
poena praesens et maritis permissa. Accisis crinibus, nudatam, coram
propinquis, expellit domo maritus, ac per omnem vicum verbere agit:
publicatae enim pudicitiae nulla venia: non forma, non aetate, non opibus
maritum invenerit. Neme enim illic vitia ridet: nec corrumpere et
corrumpi saeculum vocatur. Melius quidem adhuc eae civitates, in quibus
tantum virgines nubunt, et cum spe votoque uxoris semel transigitur. Sic
unum accipiunt maritum, quo modo unum corpus unamque vitam, ne ulla
cogitatio ultra, ne longior cupiditas, ne tanquam maritum, sed tanquam
matrimonium ament. Numerum liberorum finire, aut quenquam ex agnatis
necare, flagitium habetur: plusque ibi boni mores valent, quam alibi
bonae leges.

XX. In omni domo nudi ac sordidi, in hos artus, in haec corpora, quae
miramur, excrescunt. Sua quemque mater uberibus alit, nec ancillis ac
nutricibus delegantur. Dominum ac servum nullis educationis deliciis
dignoscas: inter eadem pecora, in eadem humo degunt; donec aetas separet
ingenuos, virtus agnoscat. Sera juvenum Venus; eoque inexhausta pubertas:
nec virgines festinantur; eadem juventa, similis proceritas: pares
validaeque miscentur; ac robora parentum liberi referunt. Sororum filiis
idem apud avunculum, qui ad patrem honor. Quidam sanctiorem arctioremque
hunc nexum sanguinis arbitrantur, et in accipiendis obsidibus magis
exigunt; tanquam et in animum firmius, et domum latius teneant. Heredes
tamen successoresque sui cuique liberi: et nullum testamentum. Si liberi
non sunt, proximus gradus in possessione fratres, patrui, avunculi.
Quanto plus propinquorum, quo major affinium numerus, tanto gratiosior
senectus, nec ulla orbitatis pretia.

XXI. Suscipere tam inimicitias, seu patris, seu propinqui, quam
amicitias, necesse est: nec implacabiles durant. Luitur enim etiam
homicidium certo armentorum ac pecorum numero, recipitque satisfactionem
universa domus: utiliter in publicum; quia periculosiores sunt
inimicitiae juxta libertatem. Convictibus et hospitiis non alia gens
effusius indulget. Quemcunque mortalium arcere tecto, nefas habetur: pro
fortuna quisque apparatis epulis excipit. Cum defecere, qui modo hospes
fuerat, monstrator hospitii et comes: proximam domum non invitati adeunt:
nec interest; pari humanitate accipiuntur. Notum ignotumque, quantum ad
jus hospitis, nemo discernit. Abeunti, si quid poposcerit, concedere
moris: et poscendi invicem eadem facilitas. Gaudent muneribus: sed nec
data imputant, nec acceptis obligantur. Victus inter hospites comis.

XXII. Statim e somno, quem plerumque in diem extrahunt, lavantur, saepius
calida, ut apud quos plurimum hiems occupat. Lauti cibum capiunt:
separatae singulis sedes et sua cuique mensa: tum ad negotia, nec minus
saepe ad convivia, procedunt armati. Diem noctemque continuare potando,
nulli probrum. Crebrae, ut inter vinolentos, rixae, raro conviciis,
saepius caede et vulneribus transiguntur. Sed et de reconciliandis
invicem inimicis et jungendis affinitatibus et asciscendis principibus,
de pace denique ac bello plerumque in conviviis consultant: tanquam nullo
magis tempore aut ad simplices cogitationes pateat animus, aut ad magnas
incalescat. Gens non astuta nec callida aperit adhuc secreta pectoris
licentia joci. Ergo detecta et nuda omnium mens postera die retractatur,
et salva utriusque temporis ratio est: deliberant, dum fingere nesciunt;
constituunt, dum errare non possunt.

XXIII. Potui humor ex hordeo aut frumento, in quandam similitudinem vini
corruptus. Proximi ripae et vinum mercantur. Cibi simplices; agrestia
poma, recens fera, aut lac concretum. Sine apparatu, sine blandimentis,
expellunt famem. Adversus sitim non eadem temperantia. Si indulseris
ebrietati suggerendo quantum concupiscunt, haud minus facile vitiis, quam
armis vincentur.

XXIV. Genus spectaculorum unum atque in omni coetu idem. Nudi juvenes,
quibus id ludicrum est, inter gladios se atque infestas frameas saltu
jaciunt. Exercitatio artem paravit, ars decorem: non in quaestum tamen
aut mercedem; quamvis audacis lasciviae pretium est voluptas spectantium.
Aleam, quod mirere, sobrii inter seria exercent tanta lucrandi perdendive
temeritate, ut, cum omnia defecerunt, extremo ac novissimo jactu de
libertate ac de corpore contendant. Victus voluntariam servitutem adit:
quamvis juvenior, quamvis robustior, alligari se ac venire patitur: ea
est in re prava pervicacia: ipsi fidem vocant. Servos conditionis hujus
per commercia tradunt, ut se quoque pudore victoriae exsolvant.

XXV. Ceteris servis, non in nostrum morem descriptis per familiam
ministeriis, utuntur. Suam quisque sedem, suos penates regit. Frumenti
modum dominus, aut pecoris aut vestis, ut colono, injungit: et servus
hactenus paret; cetera domus officia uxor ac liberi exsequuntur.
Verberare servum ac vinculis et opere coercere, rarum. Occidere solent,
non disciplina et severitate, sed impetu et ira, ut inimicum, nisi quod
impune. Liberti non multum supra servos sunt, raro aliquod momentum in
domo, nunquam in civitate; exceptis duntaxat iis gentibus, quae
regnantur: ibi enim et super ingenuos et super nobiles ascendunt: apud
ceteros impares libertini libertatis argumentum sunt.

XXVI. Fenus agitare et in usuras extendere, igno tum: ideoque magis
servatur, quam si vetitum esset. Agri pro numero cultorum ab universis in
vices occupantur, quos mox inter se secundum dignationem partiuntur:
facilitatem partiendi camporum spatia praestant. Arva per annos mutant:
et superest ager; nec enim cum ubertate et amplitudine soli labore
contendunt, ut pomaria conserant et prata separent et hortos rigent: sola
terrae seges imperatur. Unde annum quoque ipsum non in totidem digerunt
species hiems et ver et aestas intellectum ac vocabula habent autumni
perinde nomen ac bona ignorantur.

XXVII. Funerum nulla ambitio; id solum observatur, ut corpora clarorum
virorum certis lignis crementur. Struem rogi nec vestibus nec odoribus
cumulant: sua cuique arma, quorundam igni et equus adjicitur. Sepulcrum
caespes erigit; monumentorum arduum et operosum honorem, ut gravem
defunctis, aspernantur. Lamenta ac lacrimas cito, dolorem et tristitiam
tarde ponunt. Feminis lugere honestum est; viris meminisse. Haec in
commune de omnium Germanorum origine ac moribus accepimus: nunc
singularum gentium instituta ritusque, quatenus differant, quae nationes
e Germania in Gallias commigraverint, expediam.

XXVIII. Validiores olim Gallorum res fuisse, summus auctorum divus Julius
tradit: eoque credibile est etiam Gallos in Germaniam transgressos.
Quantulum enim amnis obstabat, quo minus, ut quaeque gens evaluerat,
occuparet permutaretque sedes, promiscuas adhuc et nulla regnorum
potentia divisas? Igitur inter Hercyniam sylvam Rhenumque et Moenum amnes
Helvetii, ulteriora Boii, Gallica utraque gens, tenuere. Manet adhuc
_Boihemi_ nomen, signatque loci veterem memoriam, quamvis mutatis
cultoribus. Sed utrum Aravisci in Pannoniam ab Osis, Germanorum natione,
an Osi ab Araviscis in Germaniam commigraverint, cum eodem adhuc sermone,
institutis, moribus utantur, incertum est: quia, pari olim inopia ac
libertate, eadem utriusque ripae bona malaque erant. Treveri et Nervii
circa affectationem Germanicae originis ultro ambitiosi sunt, tanquam per
hanc gloriam sanguinis a similitudine et inertia Gallorum separentur.
Ipsam Rheni ripam haud dubie Germanorum populi colunt, Vangiones,
Triboci, Nemetes. Ne Ubii quidem, quanquam Romana colonia esse meruerint
ac libentius Agrippinenses conditoris sui nomine vocentur, origine
erubescunt, transgressi olim et experimento fidei super ipsam Rheni ripam
collocati, ut arcerent, non ut custodirentur.

XXIX. Omnium harum gentium virtute praecipui Batavi, non multum ex ripa,
sed insulam Rheni amnis colunt, Chattorum quondam populus et seditione
domestica in eas sedes transgressus, in quibus pars Romani imperii
fierent. Manet honos et antiquae societatis insigne: nam nec tributis
contemnuntur, nec publicanis atterit: exempti oneribus et collationibus
et tantum in usum proeliorum sepositi, velut tela atque arma, bellis
reservantur. Est in eodem obsequio et Mattiacorum gens; protulit enim
magnitudo populi Romani ultra Rhenum, ultraque veteres terminos, imperii
reverentiam. Ita sede finibusque in sua ripa, mente animoque nobiscum
agunt, cetera similes Batavis, nisi quod ipso adhuc terrae suae solo et
coelo acrius animantur. Non numeraverim inter Germaniae populos, quanquam
trans Rhenum Danubiumque consederint, eos, qui Decumates agros exercent.
Levissimus quisque Gallorum et inopia audax, dubiae possessionis solum
occupavere. Mox limite acto promotisque praesidiis, sinus imperii et pars
provinciae habentur.

XXX. Ultra hos Chatti initium sedis ab Hercynio saltu inchoant, non ita
effusis ac palustribus locis ut ceterae civitates, in quas Germania
patescit; durant siquidem colles, paulatim rarescunt, et Chattos suos
saltus Hercynius prosequitur simul atque deponit. Duriora genti corpora,
stricti artus, minax vultus et major animi vigor. Multum, ut inter
Germanos, rationis ac solertiae: praeponere electos, audire praepositos,
nosse ordines, intelligere occasiones, differre impetus, disponere diem,
vallare noctem, fortunam inter dubia, virtutem inter certa numerare:
quodque rarissimum nec nisi ratione disciplinae concessum, plus reponere
in duce, quam exercitu. Omne robur in pedite, quem, super arma,
ferramentis quoque et copiis onerant. Alios ad proelium ire videas,
Chattos ad bellum. Rari excursus et fortuita pugna; equestrium sane
virium id proprium, cito parare victoriam, cito cedere: velocitas juxta
formidinem, cunctatio propior constantiae est.

XXXI. Et aliis Germanorum populis usurpatum rara et privata cujusque
audentia apud Chattos in consensum vertit, ut primum adoleverint, crinem
barbamque submittere, nec, nisi hoste caeso, exuere votivum obligatumque
virtuti oris habitum. Super sanguinem et spolia revelant frontem, seque
tum demum pretia nascendi retulisse, dignosque patria ac parentibus
ferunt. Ignavis et imbellibus manet squalor. Fortissimus quisque ferreum
insuper annulum (ignominiosum id genti) velut vinculum gestat, donec se
caede hostis absolvat. Plurimis Chattorum hic placet habitus. Jamque
canent insignes, et hostibus simul suisque monstrati. Omnium penes hos
initia pugnarum: haec prima semper acies, visu nova; nam ne in pace
quidem vultu mitiore mansuescunt. Nulli domus aut ager aut aliqua cura:
prout ad quemque venere, aluntur: prodigi alieni, contemptores sui donec
exsanguis senectus tam durae virtuti impares faciat.

XXXII. Proximi Chattis certum jam alveo Rhenum, quique terminus esse
sufficiat, Usipii ac Tencteri colunt. Tencteri, super solitum bellorum
decus, equestris disciplinae arte praecellunt: nec major apud Chattos
peditum laus, quam Tencteris equitum. Sic instituere majores, posteri
imitantur; hi lusus infantium, haec juvenum aemulatio, perseverant senes
inter familiam et penates et jura successionum equi traduntur; excipit
filius, non, ut cetera, maximus natu, sed prout ferox bello et melior.

XXXIII. Juxta Tencteros Bructeri olim occurrebant: nunc Chamavos et
Angrivarios immigrasse narratur, pulsis Bructeris ac penitus excisis
vicinarum consensu nationum, seu superbiae odio, seu praedae dulcedine,
seu favore quodam erga nos deorum: nam ne spectaculo quidem proelii
invidere: super sexaginta millia, non armis telisque Romanis, sed, quod
magnificentius est, oblectationi oculisque ceciderunt. Maneat, quaeso,
duretque gentibus, si non amor nostri, at certe odium sui: quando,
urgentibus imperii fatis, nihil jam praestare fortuna majus potest, quam
hostium discordiam.

XXXIV. Angrivarios et Chamavos a tergo Dulgibini et Chasuarii cludunt
aliaeque gentes, haud perinde memoratae. A fronte Frisii excipiunt.
Majoribus minoribusque Frisiis vocabulum est ex modo virium: utraeque
nationes usque ad Oceanum Rheno praetexuntur, ambiuntque immensos insuper
lacus et Romanis classibus navigatos. Ipsum quin etiam Oceanum illa
tentavimus: et superesse adhuc Herculis columnas fama vulgavit; sive
adiit Hercules, seu, quicquid ubique magnificum est, in claritatem ejus
referre consensimus. Nec defuit audentia Druso Germanico: sed obstitit
Oceanus in se simul atque in Herculem inquiri. Mox nemo tentavit;
sanctiusque ac reverentius visum, de actis deorum credere, quam scire.

XXXV. Hactenus in Occidentem Germaniam novimus. In Septentrionem ingenti
flexu redit. Ac primo statim Chaucorum gens, quanquam incipiat a Frisiis
ac partem littoris occupet, omnium, quas exposui, gentium lateribus
obtenditur, donec in Chattos usque sinuetur. Tam immensum terrarum
spatium non tenent tantum Chauci, sed et implent: populus inter Germanos
nobilissimus, quique magnitudinem suam malit justitia tueri: sine
cupiditate, sine impotentia, quieti secretique, nulla provocant bella,
nullis raptibus aut latrociniis populantur. Id praecipuum virtutis ac
virium argumentum est, quod, ut superiores agant, non per injurias
assequuntur. Prompta tamen omnibus arma, ac, si res poscat, exercitus,
plurimum virorum equorumque: et quiescentibus eadem fama.

XXXVI. In latere Chaucorum Chattorumque Cherusci nimiam ac marcentem diu
pacem illacessiti nutrierunt; idque jucundius, quam tutius, fuit: quia
inter impotentes et validos falso quiescas; ubi manu agitur, modestia ac
probitas nomina superioris sunt. Ita, qui olim boni aequique Cherusci,
nunc inertes ac stulti vocantur: Chattis victoribus fortuna in sapientiam
cessit. Tracti ruina Cheruscorum et Fosi, contermina gens, adversarum
rerum ex aequo socii, cum in secundis minores fuissent.

XXXVII. Eundem Germaniae sinum proximi Oceano Cimbri tenent, parva nunc
civitas, sed gloria ingens; veterisque famae lata vestigia manent,
utraque ripa castra ac spatia, quorum ambitu nunc quoque metiaris molem
manusque gentis et tam magni exitus fidem. Sexcentesimum et quadragesimum
annum urbs nostra agebat, cum primum Cimbrorum audita sunt arma, Caecilio
Metello et Papirio Carbone consulibus. Ex quo si ad alterum Imperatoris
Trajani consulatum computemus, ducenti ferme et decem anni colliguntur;
tamdiu Germania vincitur. Medio tam longi aevi spatio, multa invicem
damna: non Samnis, non Poeni, non Hispaniae Galliaeve, ne Parthi quidem
saepius admonuere: quippe regno Arsacis acrior est Germanorum libertas.
Quid enim aliud nobis, quam caedem Crassi, amisso et ipse Pacoro, infra
Ventidium dejectus Oriens objecerit? At Germani, Carbone et Cassio et
Scauro Aurelio et Servilio Caepione, M. quoque Manlio fusis vel captis,
quinque simul consulares exercitus Populo Romano, Varum, tresque cum eo
legiones, etiam Caesari abstulerunt: nec impune C. Marius in Italia,
divus Julius in Gallia, Drusus ac Nero et Germanicus in suis eos sedibus
perculerunt. Mox ingentes C. Caesaris minae in ludibrium versae. Inde
otium, donec occasione discordiae nostrae et civilium armorum, expugnatis
legionum hibernis, etiam Gallias affectavere: ac rursus pulsi, inde
proximis temporibus triumphati magis quam victi sunt.

XXXVIII. Nunc de Suevis dicendum est, quorum non una, ut Chattorum
Tencterorumve, gens: majorem enim Germaniae partem obtinent, propriis
adhuc nationibus nominibusque discreti, quanquam in commune Suevi
vocentur. Insigne gentis obliquare crinem nodoque substringere: sic Suevi
a ceteris Germanis, sic Suevorum ingenui a servis separantur in aliis
gentibus, seu cognatione aliqua Suevorum, seu quod saepe accidit,
imitatione, rarum et intra juventae spatium; apud Suevos, usque ad
canitiem, horrentem capillum retro sequuntur, ac saepe in ipso solo
vertice religant. Principes et ornatiorem habent: ea cura formae, sed
innoxiae: neque enim ut ament amenturve; in altitudinem quandam et
terrorem, adituri bella, compti, ut hostium oculis, ornantur.

XXXIX. Vetustissimos se nobilissimosque Suevorum Semnones memorant.
Fides antiquitatis religione firmatur. Stato tempore in silvam auguriis
patrum et prisca formidine sacram, omnes ejusdem sanguinis populi
legationibus coeunt, caesoque publice homine celebrant barbari ritus
horrenda primordia. Est et alia luco reverentia. Nemo nisi vinculo
ligatus ingreditur, ut minor et potestatem numinis prae se ferens, Si
forte prolapsus est, attolli et insurgere haud licitum: per humum
evolvuntur: eoque omnis superstitio respicit, tanquam inde initia gentis,
ibi regnator omnium deus, cetera subjecta atque parentia. Adjicit
auctoritatem fortuna Semnonum: centum pagis habitantur; magnoque corpore
efficitur, ut se Suevorum caput credant.

XL. Contra Langobardos paucitas nobilitat: plurimis ac valentissimis
nationibus cincti, non per obsequium, sed proeliis et periclitando tuti
sunt. Reudigni deinde et Aviones et Anglii et Varini et Eudoses et
Suardones et Nuithones fluminibus aut silvis muniuntur: nec quidquam
notabile in singulis, nisi quod in commune Nerthum, id est Terram matrem
colunt, eamque intervenire rebus hominum, invehi populis arbitrantur. Est
in insula Oceani castum nemus, dicatumque in eo vehiculum, veste
contectum attingere uni sacerdoti concessum. Is adesse penetrali deam
intelligit, vectamque bubus feminis multa cum veneratione prosequitur.
Laeti tunc dies, festa loca, quaecumque adventu hospitioque dignatur. Non
bella ineunt, non arma sumunt; clausum omne ferrum: pax et quies tunc
tantum nota, tunc tantum amata, donec idem sacerdos satiatam
conversatione mortalium deam templo reddat. Mox vehiculum et vestes, et,
si credere velis, numen ipsum secreto lacu abluitur. Servi ministrant,
quos statim idem lacus haurit; arcanus hinc terror sanctaque ignorantia,
quid sit illud, quod tantum perituri vident.

XLI. Et haec quidem pars Suevorum in secretiora Germaniae porrigitur.
Propior, ut quo modo paulo ante Rhenum, sic nunc Danubium sequar,
Hermundurorum civitas, fida Romanis, eoque solis Germanorum non in ripa
commercium, sed penitus, atque in splendidissima Rhaetiae provinciae
colonia. Passim et sine custode transeunt: et, cum ceteris gentibus arma
modo castraque nostra ostendamus, his domos villasque patefecimus non
concupiscentibus. In Hermunduris Albis oritur, flumen inclitum et notum
olim; nunc tantum auditur.

XLII. Juxta Hermunduros Narisci, ac deinde Marcomanni et Quadi agunt.
Praecipua Marcomannorum gloria viresque, atque ipsa etiam sedes, pulsis
olim Boiis, virtute parta. Nec Narisci Quadive degenerant. Eaque
Germaniae velut frons est, quatenus Danubio peragitur. Marcomannis
Quadisque usque ad nostram memoriam reges manserunt ex gente ipsorum,
nobile Marobodui et Tudri genus: jam et externos patiuntur. Sed vis et
potentia regibus ex auctoritate Romana: raro armis nostris, saepius
pecunia juvantur, nec minus valent.

XLIII. Retro Marsigni, Gothini, Osi, Burii, terga Marcomannorum
Quadorumque claudunt: e quibus Marsigni et Burii sermone cultuque Suevos
referunt Gothinos Gallica, Osos Pannonica lingua coarguit non esse
Germanos, et quod tributa patiuntur. Partem tributorum Sarmatae, partem
Quadi, ut alienigenis, imponunt. Gothini, quo magis pudeat, et ferrum
effodiunt. Omnesque hi populi pauca campestrium, ceterum saltus et
vertices montium jugumque insederunt. Dirimit enim scinditque Sueviam
continuum montium jugum, ultra quod plurimae gentes agunt: ex quibus
latissime patet Lygiorum nomen in plures civitates diffusum.
Valentissimas nominasse sufficiet, Arios, Helveconas, Manimos, Elysios,
Naharvalos. Apud Naharvalos antiquae religionis lucus ostenditur.
Praesidet sacerdos muliebri ornatu: sed deos, interpretatione Romana,
Castorem Pollucemque memorant: ea vis numini; nomen Alcis. Nulla
simulacra, nullum peregrinae superstitionis vestigium: ut fratres tamen,
ut juvenes, venerantur. Ceterum Arii super vires, quibus enumeratos paulo
ante populos antecedunt, truces, insitae feritati arte ac tempore
lenocinantur. Nigra scuta, tincta corpora: atras ad proelia noctes
legunt: ipsaque formidine atque umbra feralis exercitus terrorem
inferant, nullo hostium sustinente novum ac velut infernum aspectum: nam
primi in omnibus proeliis oculi vincuntur. Trans Lygios Gothones
regnantur, paulo jam adductius, quam ceterae Germanorum gentes, nondum
tamen supra libertatem. Protinus deinde ab Oceano Rugii et Lemovii
omniumque harum gentium insigne, rotunda scuta, breves gladii, et erga
reges obsequium.

XLIV. Suionum hinc civitates, ipso in Oceano, praeter viros armaque
classibus valent: forma navium eo differt, quod utrimque prora paratam
semper appulsui frontem agit: nec velis ministrantur, nec remos in
ordinem lateribus adjungunt. Solutum, ut in quibusdam fluminum, et
mutabile, ut res poscit, hinc vel illinc remigium. Est apud illos et
opibus honos; eoque unus imperitat, nullis jam exceptionibus, non
precario jure parendi. Nec arma, ut apud ceteros Germanos, in promiscuo,
sed clausa sub custode et quidem servo: quia subitos hostium incursus
prohibet Oceanus, otiosa porro armatorum manus facile lasciviunt:
enimvero neque nobilem neque ingenuum ne libertinum quidem, armis
praeponere regia utilitas est.

XLV. Trans Suionas aliud mare, pigrum ac prope immotum, quo cingi
cludique terrarum orbem hinc fides, quod extremus cadentis jam solis
fulgor in ortus edurat adeo clarus, ut sidera hebetet; sonum insuper
audiri, formasque deorum et radios capitis aspici persuasio adjicit.
Illuc usque, et fama vera, tantum natura. Ergo jam dextro Suevici maris
littore Aestyorum gentes alluuntur: quibus ritus habitusque Suevorum;
lingua Britannicae propior. Matrem deum venerantur: insigne
superstitionis, formas aprorum gestant; id pro armis omnique tutela:
securum deae cultorem etiam inter hostes praestat. Rarus ferri, frequens
fustium usus. Frumenta ceterosque fructus patientius, quam pro solita
Germanorum inertia, laborant. Sed et mare scrutantur, ac soli omnium
succinum, quod ipsi glesum vocant inter vada atque in ipso littore
legunt. Nec, quae natura quaeve ratio gignat, ut barbaris, quaesitum
compertumve. Diu quin etiam inter cetera ejectamenta maris jacebat, donec
luxuria nostra dedit nomen: ipsis in nullo usu: rude legitur, informe
perfertur, pretiumque mirantes accipiunt. Succum tamen arborum esse
intelligas, quia terrena quaedam atque etiam volucria animalia plerumque
interlucent, quae implicata humore, mox, durescente materia, cluduntur.
Fecundiora igitur nemora lucosque, sicut Orientis secretis, ubi thura
balsamaque sudantur, ita Occidentis insulis terrisque inesse, crediderim;
quae vicini solis radiis expressa atque liquentia in proximum mare
labuntur, ac vi tempestatum in adversa littora exundant. Si naturam
succini admoto igne tentes, in modum taedae accenditur, alitque flammam
pinguem et olentem: mox ut in picem resinamve lentescit. Suionibus
Sitonum gentes continuantur. Cetera similes, uno differunt, quod femina
dominatur: in tantum non modo a libertate, sed etiam a servitute
degenerant.

XLVI. Hic Sueviae finis. Peucinorum Vene dorumque et Fennorum nationes
Germanis an Sarmatis ascribam, dubito: quanquam Peucini, quos quidam
Bastarnas vocant, sermone, cultu, sede ac domiciliis, ut Germani, agunt.
Sordes omnium ac torpor procerum: connubiis mixtis, nonnihil in
Sarmatarum habitum foedantur. Venedi multum ex moribus traxerunt. Nam
quidquid inter Peucinos Fennosque silvarum ac montium erigitur,
latrociniis pererrant. Hi tamen inter Germanos potius referuntur, quia et
domos figunt et scuta gestant et pedum usu ac pernicitate gaudent; quae
omnia diversa Sarmatis sunt, in plaustro equoque viventibus. Fennis mira
feritas, foeda paupertas: non arma, non equi, non penates: victui herba,
vestitui pelles, cubile humus: sola in sagittis spes, quas, inopia ferri,
ossibus asperant. Idemque venatus viros pariter ac feminas alit. Passim
enim comitantur, partemque praedae petunt. Nec aliud infantibus ferarum
imbriumque suffugium, quam ut in aliquo ramorum nexu contegantur: huc
redeunt juvenes, hoc senum receptaculum. Sed beatius arbitrantur, quam
ingemere agris, illaborare domibus, suas alienasque fortunas spe metuque
versare. Securi adversus homines, securi adversus deos, rem difficillimam
assecuti sunt, ut illis ne vote quidem opus esset. Cetera jam fabulosa:
Hellusios et Oxionas ora hominum vultusque, corpora atque artus ferarum,
gerere: quod ego, ut incompertum, in medium relinquam.



CN. JULII AGRICOLAE VITA.



BREVIARIUM.


Cap. 1. Scribendi clarorum virorum vitam mos antiquus, 2. sub malis
principibus periculosus, 3. sub Trajano in honorem Agricolae repetitus a
Tacito, qui non eloquentiam, at pietatem pollicetur. 4. Agricolae stirps,
educatio, studia. 5. Positis in Britannia primis castrorum rudimentis, 6.
uxorem ducit: fit quaestor, tribunus, praetor: recognoscendis templorum
donis praefectus. 7. Othoniano bello matrem partemque patrimonii amittit.
8. In Vespasiani partes transgressus, legioni vicesimae in Britannia
praepositus, alienae famae cura promovet suam. 9. Redux inter patricios
ascitus Aquitaniam regit. Consul factus Tacito filiam despondet.
Britanniae praeficitur.

10. Britanniae descriptio. Thule cognita: mare pigrum. 11. Britannorum
origo, habitus, sacra, sermo, mores, 12. militia, regimen, rarus
conventus: coelum, solum, metalla, margarita. 13. Victae gentis ingenium.
Caesarum in Britanniam expeditiones. 14. Consularium legatorum res
gestae. 15. Britanniae rebellio, 16. Boadicea duce coepta, a Suet.
Paullino compressa. Huic succedunt ignavi. 17. Rem restituunt Petilius
Cerialis et Julius Frontinus; hic Silures, ille Brigantes vincit; 18.
Agricola Ordovices et Monam. Totam provinciam pacat, et 19, 20.
moderatione, prudentia, abstinentia, aequitate in obsequio retinet, 21.
animosque artibus et voluptatibus mollit.

22, 23. Nova expeditio novas gentes aperit, quae praesidio firmantur.
Agricolae candor in communicanda gloria. 24. Consilium de occupanda
Hibernia. 25-27. Civitates trans Bodotriam sitae explorantur. Caledonii,
Romanos aggressi, consilio ductuque Agricolae pulsi, sacrificiis
conspirationem civitatum sanciunt. 28. Usipiorum cohors miro casu
Britanniam circumvecta. Agricolae filius obit. 29. Bellum Britanni
reparant Calgaco duce, cujus 30-32. oratio ad suos. 33, 34. Romanos
quoque hortatur Agricola. 35-37. Atrox et cruentum proelium. 38. Penes
Romanos victoria. Agricola Britanniam circumvehi praecipit.

39. Domitianus, fronte laetus, pectore anxius, nuntium victoriae excipit.
40. Honores tamen Agricolae decerni jubet, condito odio, donec provincia
decedat Agricola. Is redux modeste agit. 41. Periculum ab accusatoribus
et laudatoribus. 42. Excusat se, ne provinciam sortiatur proconsul. 43.
Obit non sine veneni suspicione, a Domitiano dati. 44. Ejus aetas,
habitus, honores, opes. 45. Mortis opportunitas ante Domitiani
atrocitates. 46. Questus auctoris et ex virtute solatia. Fama Agricolae
ad posteros transmissa.



I. Clarorum virorum facta moresque posteris tradere, antiquitus usitatum,
ne nostris quidem temporibus quanquam incuriosa suorum aetas omisit,
quotiens magna aliqua ac nobilis virtus vicit ac supergressa est vitium
parvis magnisque civitatibus commune, ignorantiam recti et invidiam. Sed
apud priores, ut agere digna memoratu pronum magisque in aperto erat, ita
celeberrimus quisque ingenio ad prodendam virtutis memoriam, sine gratia
aut ambitione, bonae tantum conscientiae pretio ducebatur. Ac plerique
suam ipsi vitam narrare fiduciam potius morum, quam arrogantiam arbitrati
sunt: nec id Rutilio et Scauro citra fidem aut obtrectationi fuit: adeo
virtutes iisdem temporibus optime aestimantur, quibus facillime
gignuntur. At nunc narraturo mihi vitam defuncti hominis, venia opus
fuit: quam non petissem incursaturus tam saeva et infesta virtutibus
tempora.

II. Legimus, cum Aruleno Rustico Paetus Thrasea, Herennio Senecioni
Priscus Helvidius laudati essent, capitale fuisse: neque in ipsos modo
auctores, sed in libros quoque eorum saevitum, delegato triumviris
ministerio, ut monumenta clarissimorum ingeniorum in comitio ac foro
urerentur. Scilicet illo igne vocem populi Romani et libertatem senatus
et conscientiam generis humani aboleri arbitrabantur, expulsis insuper
sapientiae professoribus atque omni bona arte in exilium acta, ne quid
usquam honestum occurreret. Dedimus profecto grande patientiae
documentum: et sicut vetus aetas vidit, quid ultimum in libertate esset,
ita nos, quid in servitute, adempto per inquisitiones et loquendi
audiendique commercio. Memoriam quoque ipsam cum voce perdidissemus, si
tam in nostra potestate esset oblivisci, quam tacere.

III. Nunc demum redit animus: et quanquam primo statim beatissimi saeculi
ortu Nerva Caesar res olim dissociabiles miscuerit, principatum ac
libertatem, augeatque quotidie felicitatem imperii Nerva Trajanus, nec
spem modo ac votum securitas publica, sed ipsius voti fiduciam ac robur
assumpserit; natura tamen infirmitatis humanae tardiora sunt remedia,
quam mala; et, ut corpora nostra lente augescunt, cito exstinguuntur, sic
ingenia studiaque oppresseris facilius, quam revocaveris. Subit quippe
etiam ipsius inertiae dulcedo: et invisa primo desidia postremo amatur.
Quid, si per quindecim annos, grande mortalis aevi spatium, multi
fortuitis casibus, promptissimus quisque saevitia principis
interciderunt? Pauci, et, ut ita dixerim, non modo aliorum, sed etiam
nostri superstites sumus, exemptis e media vita tot annis, quibus juvenes
ad senectutem, senes prope ad ipsos exactae aetatis terminos per
silentium venimus. Non tamen pigebit vel incondita ac rudi voce memoriam
prioris servitutis ac testimonium praesentium bonorum composuisse. Hic
interim liber honori Agricolae soceri mei destinatus, professione
pietatis aut laudatus erit aut excusatus.

IV. Cnaeus Julius Agricola, veteri et illustri Forojuliensium colonia
ortus, utrumque avum procuratorem Caesarum habuit: quae equestris
nobilitas est. Pater Julius Graecinus, senatorii ordinis, studio
eloquentiae sapientiaeque notus, iisque ipsis virtutibus iram Caii
Caesaris meritus: namque M. Silanum accusare jussus et, quia abnuerat,
interfectus est. Mater Julia Procilla fuit, rarae castitatis: in hujus
sinu indulgentiaque educatus, per omnem honestarum artium cultum
pueritiam adolescentiamque transegit. Arcebat eum ab illecebris
peccantium, praeter ipsius bonam integramque naturam, quod statim
parvulus sedem ac magistram studiorum Massiliam habuit, locum Graeca
comitate et provinciali parsimonia mistum ac bene compositum. Memoria
teneo solitum ipsum narrare, se in prima juventa studium philosophiae
acrius, ultra quam concessum Romano ac senatori, hausisse, ni prudentia
matris incensum ac flagrantem animum coercuisset. Scilicet sublime et
erectum ingenium pulchritudinem ac speciem excelsae magnaeque gloriae
vehementius, quam caute, appetebat: mox mitigavit ratio et aetas:
retinuitque, quod est difficillimum, ex sapientia modum.

V. Prima castrorum rudimenta in Britannia Suetonio Paullino, diligenti ac
moderato duci, approbavit, electus, quem contubernio aestimaret. Nec
Agricola licenter more juvenum, qui militiam in lasciviam vertunt, neque
segniter ad voluptates et commeatus titulum tribunatus et inscitiam
retulit: sed noscere provinciam, nosci exercitui, discere a peritis,
sequi optimos, nihil appetere jactatione, nihil ob formidinem recusare,
simulque et anxius et intentus agere. Non sane alias exercitatior
magisque in ambiguo Britannia fuit: trucidati veterani, incensae
coloniae, intercepti exercitus; tum de salute, mox de victoria,
certavere. Quae cuncta, etsi consiliis ductuque alterius agebantur ac
summa rerum et recuperatae provinciae gloria in ducem cessit, artem et
usum et stimulos addidere juveni; intravitque animum militaris gloriae
cupido ingrata temporibus, quibus sinistra erga eminentes interpretatio,
nec minus periculum ex magna fama, quam ex mala.

VI. Hinc ad capessendos magistratus in urbem digressus, Domitiam
Decidianam, splendidis natalibus ortam, sibi junxit; idque matrimonium ad
majora nitenti decus ac robur fuit; vixeruntque mira concordia, per
mutuam caritatem et invicem se anteponendo: nisi quod in bona uxore tanto
major laus, quanto in mala plus culpae est. Sors quaesturae provinciam
Asiam, proconsulem Salvium Titianum dedit: quorum neutro corruptus est;
quanquam et provincia dives ac parata peccantibus, et proconsul in omnem
aviditatem pronus, quantalibet facilitate redempturus esset mutuam
dissimulationem mali. Auctus est ibi filia, in subsidium simul et
solatium: nam filium ante sublatum brevi amisit. Mox inter quaesturam ac
tribunatum plebis atque etiam ipsum tribunatus annum quiete et otio
transiit, gnarus sub Nerone temporum, quibus inertia pro sapientia fuit.
Idem praeturae tenor et silentium; nec enim jurisdictio obvenerat: ludos
et inania honoris medio rationis atque abundantiae duxit, uti longe a
luxuria, ita famae propior. Tum electus a Galba ad dona templorum
recognoscenda, diligentissima conquisitione fecit, ne cujus alterius
sacrilegium respublica, quam Neronis sensisset.

VII. Sequens annus gravi vulnere animum domumque ejus afflixit: nam
classis Othoniana, licenter vaga, dum Intemelios (Liguriae pars est)
hostiliter populatur, matrem Agricolae in praediis suis interfecit:
praediaque ipsa et magnam patrimonii partem diripuit, quae causa caedis
fuerat. Igitur ad solemnia pietatis profectus Agricola, nuntio affectati
a Vespasiano imperii deprehensus ac statim in partes transgressus est.
Initia principatus ac statim urbis Mucianus regebat, juvene admodum
Domitiano et ex paterna fortuna tantum licentiam usurpante. Is missum ad
delectus agendos Agricolam integreque ac strenue versatum, vicesimae
legioni, tarde ad sacramentum transgressae; praeposuit, ubi decessor
seditiose agere narrabatur: quippe legatis quoque consularibus nimia ac
formidolosa erat. Nec legatus praetorius ad cohibendum potens, incertum,
suo an militum ingenio: ita successor simul et ultor electus, rarissima
moderatione maluit videri invenisse bonos, quam fecisse.

VIII. Praeerat tunc Britanniae Vettius Bolanus placidius, quam feroci
provincia dignum est: temperavit Agricola vim suam ardoremque compescuit,
ne incresceret; peritus obsequi eruditusque utilia honestis miscere.
Brevi deinde Britannia consularem Petilium Cerialem accepit. Habuerunt
virtutes spatium exemplorum. Sed primo Cerialis labores modo et
discrimina, mox et gloriam communicabat: saepe parti exercitus in
experimentum, aliquando majoribus copiis ex eventu praefecit: nec
Agricola unquam in suam famam gestis exsultavit; ad auctorem et ducem, ut
minister, fortunam referebat: ita virtute in obsequendo, verecundia in
praedicando, extra invidiam, nec extra gloriam erat.

IX. Revertentem ab legatione legionis divus Vespasianus inter patricios
ascivit, ac deinde provinciae Aquitaniae praeposuit, splendidae in primis
dignitatis, administratione ac spe consulatus, cui destinarat. Credunt
plerique militaribus ingeniis subtilitatem deesse, quia castrensis
jurisdictio secura et obtusior ac plura manu agens calliditatem fori non
exerceat. Agricola naturali prudentia, quamvis inter togatos, facile
justeque agebat. Jam vero tempora curarum remissionumque divisa: ubi
conventus ac judicia poscerent, gravis, intentus, severus, et saepius
misericors; ubi officio satisfactum, nulla ultra potestatis persona:
tristitiam et arrogantiam et avaritiam exuerat: nec illi, quod est
rarissimum, aut facilitas auctoritatem aut severitas amorem deminuit.
Integritatem atque abstinentiam in tanto viro referre, injuria virtutum
fuerit. Ne famam quidem, cui etiam saepe boni indulgent, ostentanda
virtute, aut per artem quaesivit: procul ab aemulatione adversus
collegas, procul a contentione adversus procuratores, et vincere
inglorium, et atteri sordidum arbitrabatur. Minus triennium in ea
legatione detentus ac statim ad spem consulatus revocatus est, comitante
opinione Britanniam ei provinciam dari nullis in hoc suis sermonibus sed
quia par videbatur. Haud semper errat fama, aliquando et elegit. Consul
egregiae tum spei filiam juveni mihi despondit ac post Consulatum
collocavit, et statim Britanniae praepositus est, adjecto pontificatus
sacerdotio.

X. Britanniae situm populosque, multis scriptoribus memoratos non in
comparationem curae ingeniive referam; sed quia tum primum perdomita est.
Ita quae priores nondum comperta eloquentia percoluere, rerum fide
tradentur. Britannia, insularum quas Romana notitia complectitur, maxima,
spatio ac coelo in orientem Germaniae, in occidentem Hispaniae
obtenditur: Gallis in meridiem etiam inspicitur: septemtrionalia ejus,
nullis contra terris, vasto atque aperto mari pulsantur. Formam totius
Britanniae Livius veterum, Fabius Rusticus recentium eloquentissimi
auctores, oblongae scutulae vel bipenni assimulavere: et est ea facies
citra Caledoniam, unde et in universum fama est transgressa: sed
immensunt et enorme spatium procurrentium extremo jam littore terrarum,
velut in cuneum tenuatur. Hanc oram novissimi maris tunc primum Romana
classis circumvecta insulam esse Britanniam affirmavit, ac simul
incognitas ad id tempus insulas, quas Orcadas vocant, invenit domuitque.
Dispecta est et Thule, nam hactenus jussum, et hiems appetebat; sed mare
pigrum et grave remigantibus; perhibent ne ventis quidem perinde attolli:
credo, quod rariores terrae montesque, causa ac materia tempestatum, et
profunda moles continui maris tardius impellitur. Naturam Oceani atque
aestus neque quaerere hujus operis est, ac multi retulere; unum
addiderim: nusquam latius dominari mare, multum fluminum huc atque illuc
ferre, nec littore tenus accrescere aut resorberi, sed influere penitus
atque ambire, et jugis etiam atque montibus inseri velut in suo.

XI. Ceterum Britanniam qui mortales initio coluerint, indigenae an
advecti, ut inter barbaros, parum compertum. Habitus corporum varii:
atque ex eo argumenta; namque rutilae Caledoniam habitantium comae, magni
artus, Germanicam originem asseverant. Silurum colorati vultus et torti
plerumque crines et posita contra Hispania Iberos veteres trajecisse
easque sedes occupasse fidem faciunt. Proximi Gallis et similes sunt; seu
durante originis vi, seu, procurrentibus in diversa terris, positio coeli
corporibus habitum dedit: in universum tamen aestimanti, Gallos vicinam
insulam occupasse credibile est. Eorum sacra deprehendas superstitionum
persuasione: sermo haud multum diversus; in deposcendis periculis eadem
audacia et, ubi advenere, in detrectandis eadem formido. Plus tamen
ferociae Britanni praeferunt, ut quos nondum longa pax emollierit: nam
Gallos quoque in bellis floruisse accepimus: mox segnitia cum otio
intravit, amissa virtute pariter ac libertate; quod Britannorum olim
victis evenit: ceteri manent, quales Galli fuerunt.

XII. In pedite robur: quaedam nationes et curru proeliantur: honestior
auriga, clientes propugnant. Olim regibus parebant, nunc per principes
factionibus et studiis trahuntur: nec aliud adversus validissimas gentes
pro nobis utilius, quam quod in commune non consulunt. Rarus duabus
tribusve civitatibus ad propulsandum commune periculum conventus: ita,
dum singuli pugnant, universi vincuntur. Coelum crebris imbribus ac
nebulis foedum: asperitas frigorum abest. Dierum spatia ultra nostri
orbis mensuram, et nox clara et extrema Britanniae parte brevis, ut finem
atque initium lucis exiguo discrimine internoscas. Quod si nubes non
officiant, aspici per noctem solis fulgorem, nec occidere et exsurgere,
sed transire affirmant. Scilicet extrema et plana terrarum, humili umbra,
non erigunt tenebras, infraque coelum et sidera nox cadit. Solum, praeter
oleam vitemque et cetera calidioribus terris oriri sueta, patiens frugum,
fecundum. Tarde mitescunt, cito proveniunt: eadem utriusque rei causa,
multus humor terrarum coelique. Fert Britannia aurum et argentum et alia
metalla, pretium victoriae: gignit et Oceanus margarita, sed subfusca ac
liventia. Quidam artem abesse legentibus arbitrantur: nam in Rubro mari
viva ac spirantia saxis avelli, in Britannia, prout expulsa sint,
colligi: ego facilius crediderim naturam margaritis deesse, quam nobis
avaritiam.

XIII. Ipsi Britanni delectum ac tributa et injuncta imperii munera
impigre obeunt, si injuriae absint: has aegre tolerant, jam domiti ut
pareant, nondum ut serviant. Igitur primus omnium Romanorum divus Julius
cum exercitu Britanniam ingressus, quanquam prospera pugna terruerit
incolas ac littore potitus sit, potest videri ostendisse posteris, non
tradidisse. Mox bella civilia et in rempublicam versa principum arma, ac
longa oblivio Britanniae etiam in pace. Consilium id divus Augustus
vocabat, Tiberius praeceptum. Agitasse C. Caesarem de intranda Britannia
satis, constat, ni velox ingenio, mobilis poenitentiae, et ingentes
adversus Germaniam conatus frustra fuissent. Divus Claudius auctor
operis, transvectis legionibus auxiliisque et assumpto in partem rerum
Vespasiano: quod initium venturae mox fortunae fuit: domitae gentes,
capti reges, et monstratus fatis Vespasianus.

XIV. Consularium primus Aulus Plautius praepositus, ac subinde Ostorius
Scapula, uterque bello egregius: redactaque paulatim in formam provinciae
proxima pars Britanniae: addita insuper veteranorum colonia: quaedam
civitates Cogiduno regi donatae (is id nostram usque memoriam fidissimus
mansit) ut vetere ac jam pridem recepta populi Romani consuetudine,
haberet instrumenta servitutis et reges. Mox Didius Gallus parta a
prioribus continuit, paucis admodum castellis in ulteriora promotis, per
quae fama aucti officii quaereretur. Didium Veranius excepit, isque intra
annum exstinctus est. Suetonius hinc Paullinus biennio prosperas res
habuit, subactis nationibus firmatisque praesidiis: quorum fiducia Monara
insulam, ut vires rebellibus ministrantem, aggressus, terga occasioni
patefecit.

XV. Namque absentia legati remoto metu, Britanni agitare inter se mala
servitutis, conferre injurias et interpretando accendere: nihil profici
patientia, nisi ut graviora, tanquam ex facili toleratibus, imperentur:
singulos sibi olim reges fuisse, nunc binos imponi: e quibus legatus in
sanguinem, procurator in bona saeviret. Aeque discordiam praepositorum,
aeque concordiam, subjectis exitiosam: alterius manus centuriones,
alterius servos vim et contumelias miscere. Nihil jam cupiditati, nihil
libidini exceptum: in proelio fortiorem esse, qui spoliet; nunc ab
ignavis plerumque et imbellibus eripi domos, abstrahi liberos, injungi
delectus, tanquam mori tantum pro patria nescientibus: quantulum enim
transisse militum, si sese Britanni numerent? sic Germanias excussisse
jugum: et flumine, non Oceano, defendi: sibi patriam, conjuges, parentes,
illis avaritiam et luxuriam causas belli esse. Recessuros, ut divus
Julius recessisset, modo virtutes majorum suorum aemularentur. Neve
proelii unius aut alterius eventu pavescerent: plus impetus, majorem
constantiam, penes miseros esse. Jam Britannorum etiam deos misereri, qui
Romanum ducem absentem, qui relegatum in alia insula exercitum
detinerent: jam ipsos, quod difficillimum fuerit, deliberare: porro in
ejusmodi consiliis periculosius esse deprehendi, quam audere.

XVI. His atque talibus invicem instincti, Boudicea, generis regii femina,
duce (neque enim sexum in imperiis discernunt) sumpsere universi bellum:
ac sparsos per castella milites consectati, expugnatis praesidiis, ipsam
coloniam invasere, ut sedem servitutis: nec ullum in barbaris saevitiae
genus omisit ira et victoria. Quod nisi Paullinus, cognito provinciae
motu, propere subvenisset, amissa Britannia foret: quam unius proelii
fortuna veteri patientiae restituit, tenentibus arma plerisque, quos
conscientia defectionis et propius ex legato timor agitabat, ne, quanquam
egregius cetera, arroganter in deditos et, ut suae quoque injuriae
ultor, durius consuleret. Missus igitur Petronius Turpilianus, tanquam
exorabilior: et delictis hostium novus, eoque poenitentiae mitior,
compositis prioribus, nihil ultra ausus, Trebellio Maximo provinciam
tradidit. Trebellius segnior, et nullis castrorum experimentis, comitate
quadam curandi provinciam tenuit. Didicere jam barbari quoque ignoscere
vitiis blandientibus: et interventus civilium armorum praebuit justam
segnitiae excusationem: sed discordia laboratum, cum assuetus
expeditionibus miles otio lasciviret. Trebellius fuga ac latebris vitata
exercitus ira, indecorus atque humilis, precario mox praefuit: ac velut
pacti, exercitus licentiam, dux salutem; et seditio sine sanguina stetit.
Nec Vettius Bolanus, manentibus adhuc civilibus bellis, agitavit
Britanniam disciplina: eadem inertia erga hostes, similis petulantia
castrorum: nisi quod innocens Bolanus et nullis delictis invisus,
caritatem paraverat loco auctoritatis.

XVII. Sed, ubi cum cetero orbe Vespasianus et Britanniam recuperavit,
magni duces, egregii exercitus, minuta hostium spes. Et terrorem statira
intulit Petilius Cerialis, Brigantum civitatem, quae numerosissima
provinciae totius perhibetur, aggressus. Multa proelia, et aliquando non
incruenta magnamque Brigantum partem aut victoria amplexus est aut bello.
Et, cum Cerialis quidem alterius successoris curam famamque obruisset,
sustinuit quoque molem Julius Frontinus, vir magnus quantum licebat,
validamque et pugnacem Silurum gentem armis subegit, super virtutem
hostium, locorum quoque difficultates eluctatus.

XVIII. Hunc Britanniae statum, has bellorum vices media jam aestate
transgressus Agricola invenit, cum et milites, velut omissa expeditione,
ad securitatem, et hostes ad occasionem verterentur. Ordovicum civitas,
haud multo ante adventum ejus, alam, in finibus suis agentem, prope
universam obtriverat eoque initio erecta provincia: et, quibus bellum
volentibus erat, probare exemplum, ac recentis legati animum opperiri,
cum Agricola, quanquam transvecta aestas, sparsi per provinciam numeri,
praesumpta apud militem illius anni quies, tarda et contraria bellum
inchoaturo, et plerisque custodiri suspecta potius videbatur, ire obviam
discrimini statuit: contractisque legionum vexillis et modica auxiliorum
manu, quia in aequum degredi Ordovices non audebant, ipse ante agmen, quo
ceteris par animus simili periculo esset, erexit aciem: caesaque prope
universa gente, non ignarus instandum famae, ac, prout prima cessissent,
terrorem ceteris fore, Monam insulam, cujus possessione revocatum
Paullinum rebellione totius Britanniae supra memoravi, redigere in
potestatem animo intendit. Sed, ut in dubiis consiliis, naves deerant:
ratio et constantia ducis transvexit. Depositis omnibus sarcinis,
lectissimos auxiliarium, quibus nota vada et patrius nandi usus, quo
simul seque et arma et equos regunt, ita repente immisit, ut obstupefacti
hostes, qui classem, qui naves, qui mare expectabant, nihil arduum aut
invictum crediderint sic ad bellum venientibus. Ita petita pace ac dedita
insula, clarus ac magnus haberi Agricola: quippe cui ingredienti
provinciam, quod tempus alii per ostentationem aut officiorum ambitum
transigunt, labor et periculum placuisset. Nec Agricola, prosperitate
rerum in vanitatem usus, expeditionem aut victoriam vocabat victos
continuisse: ne laureatis quidem gesta prosecutus est: sed ipsa
dissimulatione famae famam auxit, aestimantibus, quanta futuri spe tam
magna tacuisset.

XIX. Ceterum animorum provinciae prudens, simulque doctus per aliena
experimenta parum profici armis, si injuriae sequerentur, causas bellorum
statuit excidere. A se suisque orsus, primum domum suam coercuit; quod
plerisque haud minus arduum est, quam provinciam regere. Nihil per
libertos servosque publicae rei: non studiis privatis nec ex
commendatione aut precibus centurionum milites ascire, sed optimum
quemque fidissimum putare: omnia scire, non omnia exsequi: parvis
peccatis veniam, magnis severitatem commodare: nec poena semper, sed
saepius poenitentia contentus esse: officiis et administrationibus potius
non peccaturos praeponere, quam damnare, cum peccassent. Frumenti et
tributorum auctionem aequalitate munerum mollire, circumcisis, quae, in
quaestum reperta, ipso tributo gravius tolerabantur: namque per ludibrium
assidere clausis horreis et emere ultro frumenta, ac vendere pretio
cogebantur: devortia itinerum et longinquitas regionum indicebatur, ut
civitates a proximis hibernis in remota et avia referrent, donec, quod
omnibus in promptu erat, paucis lucrosum fieret.

XX. Haec primo statim anno comprimendo, egregiam famam paci circumdedit;
quae vel incuria vel intolerantia priorum haud minus quam bellum
timebatur. Sed, ubi aestas advenit, contracto exercitu, multus in agmine
laudare modestiam, disjectos coercere: loca castris ipse capere,
aestuaria ac silvas ipse praetentare; et nihil interim apud hostes
quietum pati, quo minus subitis excursibus popularetur: atque, ubi satis
terruerat, parcendo rursus irritamenta pacis ostentare. Quibus rebus
multae civitates, quae in illum diem ex aequo egerant, datis obsidibus,
iram posuere, et praesidiis castellisque circumdatae tanta ratione
curaque, ut nulla ante Britanniae nova pars illacessita transierit.

XXI. Sequens hiems saluberrimis consiliis absumpta: namque, ut homines
dispersi ac rudes, eoque in bella faciles, quieti et otio per voluptates
assuescerent, hortari privatim, adjuvare publice, ut templa, fora, domus
exstruerent, laudando promptos et castigando segnes: ita honoris
aemulatio pro necessitate erat. Jam vero principum filios liberalibus
artibus erudire, et ingenia Britannorum studiis Gallorum anteferre, ut,
qui modo linguam Romanam abnuebant, eloquentiam concupiscerent. Inde
etiam habitus nostri honor et frequens toga: paulatimque discessum ad
delenimenta vitiorum, porticus et balnea et conviviorum elegantiam: idque
apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset.

XXII. Tertius expeditionum annus novas gentes aperuit, vastatis usque ad
Taum (aestuario nomen est) nationibus: qua formidine territi hostes
quanquam conflictatum saevis tempestatibus exercitum lacessere non ausi;
ponendisque insuper castellis spatium fuit. Annotabant periti non alium
ducem opportunitates locorum sapientius legisse: nullum ab Agricola
positum castellum aut vi hostium expugnatum aut pactione ac fuga
desertum. Crebrae eruptiones: nam adversus moras obsidionis annuis copiis
firmabantur: ita intrepida ibi hiems, et sibi quisque praesidio, irritis
hostibus eoque desperantibus, quia soliti plerumque damna aestatis
hibernis eventibus pensare, tum aestate atque hieme juxta pellebantur.
Nec Agricola unquam per alios gesta avidus intercepit: seu centurio seu
praefectus, incorruptum facti testem habebat. Apud quosdam acerbior in
conviciis narrabatur; ut erat comis bonis, adversus malos injucundus:
ceterum ex iracundia nihil supererat; secretum et silentium ejus non
timeres: honestius putabat offendere, quam odisse.

XXIII. Quarta aestas obtinendis, quae percurrerat, insumpta: ac, si
virtus exercituum et Romani nominis gloria pateretur, inventus in ipsa
Britannia terminus. Nam Clota et Bodotria, diversi maris aestibus per
immensum revectae, angusto terrarum spatio dirimuntur: quod tum
praesidiis firmabatur: atque omnis propior sinus tenebatur, summotis
velut in aliam insulam hostibus.

XXIV. Quinto expeditionum anno, nave prima transgressus, ignotas ad id
tempus gentes crebris simul ac prosperis proeliis domuit: eamque partem
Britanniae, quae Hiberniam aspicit, copiis instruxit in spem magis quam
ob formidinem; si quidem Hibernia, medio inter Britanniam atque Hispaniam
sita et Gallico quoque mari opportuna, valentissimam imperii partem
magnis invicem usibus miscuerit. Spatium ejus, si Britanniae comparetur,
angustius, nostri maris insulas superat. Solum coelumque et ingenia
cultusque hominum haud multum a Britannia differunt: in melius aditus
portusque per commercia et negotiatores cogniti. Agricola expulsum
seditione domestica unum ex regulis gentis exceperat ac specie amicitiae
in occasionem retinebat. Saepe ex eo audivi, legione una et modicis
auxiliis debellari obtinerique Hiberniam posse. Idque etiam adversus
Britanniam profuturum, si Romana ubique arma, et velut e conspectu
libertas tolleretur.

XXV. Ceterum aestate, qua sextum officii annum inchoabat, amplexus
civitates trans Bodotriam sitas, quia motus universarum ultra gentium et
infesta hostilis exercitus itinera timebantur, portus classe exploravit:
quae, ab Agricola primum assumpta in partem virium, sequebatur egregia
specie, cum simul terra, simul mari bellum impelleretur, ac saepe iisdem
castris pedes equesque et nauticus miles, mixti copiis et laetitia, sua
quisque facta, suos casus attollerent: ac modo silvarum ac montium
profunda, modo tempestatum ac fluctuum adversa, hinc terra et hostis,
hinc victus Oceanus militari jactantia compararentur. Britannos quoque,
ut ex captivis audiebatur, visa classis obstupefaciebat, tanquam, aperto
maris sui secreto, ultimum victis perfugium clauderetur. Ad manus et arma
conversi Caledoniam incolentes populi, paratu magno, majore fama, uti mos
est de ignotis, oppugnasse ultro, castella adorti, metum, ut provocantes,
addiderant: regrediendumque citra Bodotriam, et excedendum potius, quam
pellerentur, specie prudentium ignavi admonebant: cum interim cognoscit
hostes pluribus agminibus irrupturos. Ac, ne superante numero et peritia
locorum circumiretur, diviso et ipse in tres partes exercitu incessit.

XXVI. Quod ubi cognitum hosti, mutato repente consilio, universi nonam
legionem, ut maxime invalidam, nocte aggressi, inter somnum ac
trepidationem caesis vigilibus, irrupere. Jamque in ipsis castris
pugnabant, cum Agricola, iter hostium ab exploratoribus edoctus et
vestigiis insecutus, velocissimos equitum peditumque assultare tergis
pugnantium jubet, mox ab universis adjici clamorem; et propinqua luce
fulsere signa: ita ancipiti malo territi Britanni: et Romanis redit
animus, ac, securi pro salute, de gloria certabant. Ultro quin etiam
erupere: et fuit atrox in ipsia portarum angustiis proelium, donec pulsi
hostes; utroque exercitu certante, his, ut tulisse opem, illis, ne
eguisse auxilio viderentur. Quod nisi paludes et silvae fugientes
texissent, debellatum illa victoria foret.

XXVII. Cujus conscientia ac fama ferox exercitus nihil virtuti suae
invium: penetrandam Caledoniam, inveniendumque tandem Britanniae terminum
continuo proeliorum cursu, fremebant: atque illi modo cauti ac sapientes,
prompti post eventum ac magniloqui erant. Iniquissima haec bellorum
conditio est: prospera omnes sibi vindicant, adversa uni imputantur. At
Britanni non virtute, sed occasione et arte ducis rati, nihil ex
arrogantia remittere, quo minus juventutem armarent, conjuges ac liberos
in loca tuta transferrent, coetibus ac sacrificiis conspirationem
civitatum sancirent: atque ita irritatis utrimque animis discessum.

XXVIII. Eadem aestate cohors Usipiorum, per Germanias conscripta, in
Britanniam transmissa, magnum ac memorabile facinus ausa est. Occiso
centurione ac militibus, qui ad tradendam disciplinam immixti manipulis
exemplum et rectores habebantur, tres liburnicas, adactis per vim
gubernatoribus, ascendere: et uno remigante, suspectis duobus eoque
interfectis, nondum vulgato rumore ut miraculum praevehebantur: mox hac
atque illa rapti, et cum plerisque Britannorum, sua defensantium, proelio
congressi, ac saepe victores, aliquando pulsi, eo ad extremum inopiae
venere, ut infirmissimos suorum, mox sorte ductos, vescerentur. Atque
circumvecti Britanniam, amissis per inscitiam regendi navibus, pro
praedonibus habiti, primum a Suevis, mox a Frisiis intercepti sunt: ac
fuere, quos per commercia venumdatos et in nostram usque ripam mutatione
ementium adductos, indicium tanti casus illustravit.

XXIX. Initio aestatis Agricola, domestico vulnere ictus, anno ante natum
filum amisit. Quem casum neque, ut plerique fortium virorum, ambitiose,
neque per lamenta rursus ac moerorem muliebriter tulit: et in luctu
bellum inter remedia erat. Igitur praemissa classe, quae pluribus locis
praedata, magnum et incertum terrorem faceret, expedito exercitu, cui ex
Britannis fortissimos et longa pace exploratos addiderat, ad montem
Grampium pervenit, quem jam hostis insederat. Nam Britanni, nihil fracti
pugnae prioris eventu, et ultionem aut servitium exspectantes, tandemque
docti commune periculum concordia propulsandum, legationibus et
foederibus omnium civitatum vires exciverant. Jamque super triginta
millia armatorum aspiciebantur, et adhuc affluebat omnis juventus et
quibus cruda ac viridis senectus, clari bello et sua quisque decora
gestantes: cum inter plures duces virtute et genere praestans, nomine
Calgacus, apud contractam multitudinem proelium poscentem, in hunc modum
locutus fertur:

XXX. "Quotiens causas belli et necessitatem nostram intueor, magnus mihi
animus est hodiernum diem consensumque vestrum initium libertatis totius
Britanniae fore. Nam et universi servitutis expertes, et nullae ultra
terrae, ac ne mare quidem securum, imminente nobis classe Romana: ita
proelium atque arma, quae fortibus honesta, eadem etiam ignavis tutissima
sunt. Priores pugnae, quibus adversus Romanos varia fortuna certatum est,
spem ac subsidium in nostris manibus habebant: quia nobilissimi totius
Britanniae eoque in ipsis penetralibus siti, nec servientium littora
aspicientes, oculos quoque a contactu dominationis inviolatos habebamus.
Nos terrarum ac libertatis extremos, recessus ipse ac sinus famae in
hunc diem defendit: nunc terminus Britanniae patet; atque omne ignotum
pro magnifico est. Sed nulla jam ultra gens, nihil nisi fluctus et saxa,
et infestiores Romani: quorum superbiam frustra per obsequium et
modestiam effugeris. Raptores orbis, postquam cuncta vastantibus defuere
terrae, et mare scrutantur: si locuples hostis est, avari; si pauper,
ambitiosi: quos non Oriens, non Occidens, satiaverit. Soli omnium opes
atque inopiam pari affectu concupiscunt. Auferre, trucidare, rapere,
falsis nominibus imperium; atque, ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem
appellant."

XXXI. "Liberos cuique ac propinquos suos natura carissimos esse voluit;
hi per delectus, alibi servituri, auferuntur conjuges sororesque, etsi
hostilem libidinem effugiant, nomine amicorum atque hospitum polluuntur.
Bona fortunasque in tributum egerunt, annos in frumentum: corpora ipsa ac
manus silvis ac paludibus emuniendis inter verbera ac contumelias
conterunt. Nata servituti mancipia semel veneunt, atque ultro a dominis
aluntur: Britannia servitutem suam quotidie emit, quotidie pascit. Ac,
sicut in familia recentissimus quisque servorum et conservis ludibrio
est, sic in hoc orbis terrarum vetere famulatu novi nos et viles in
excidium petimur. Neque enim arva nobis aut metalla aut portus sunt,
quibus exercendis reservemur. Virtus porro ac ferocia subjectorum ingrata
imperantibus: et longinquitas ac secretum ipsum quo tutius, eo
suspectius. Ita, sublata spe veniae, tandem sumite animum, tam quibus
salus, quam quibus gloria carissima est. Trinobantes, femina duce,
exurere coloniam, expugnare castra, ac, nisi felicitas in socordiam
vertisset, exuere jugum potuere: nos integri et indomiti et libertatem
non in poenitentiam laturi, primo statim congressu nonne ostendamus, quos
sibi Caledonia viros seposuerit? An eandem Romanis in bello virtutem,
quam in pace lasciviam adesse creditis?"

XXXII. "Nostris illi dissensionibus ac discordiis clari, vitia hostium in
gloriam exercitus sui vertunt: quem contractum ex diversissimis gentibus,
ut secundae res tenent, ita adversae dissolvent: nisi si Gallos et
Germanos et (pudet dictu) Britannorum plerosque, licet dominationi
alienae sanguinem commodent, diutius tamen hostes quam servos, fide et
affectu teneri putatis: metus et terror est, infirma vincula caritatis
quae ubi removeris, qui timere desierint, odisse incipient. Omnia
victoriae incitamenta pro nobis sunt: nullae Romanos conjuges accendunt;
nulli parentes fugam exprobraturi sunt; aut nulla plerisque patria, aut
alia est. Paucos numero, trepidos ignorantia, coelum ipsum ac mare et
silvas, ignota omnia circumspectantes, clausos quodammodo ac vinctos dii
nobis tradiderunt. Ne terreat vanus aspectus et auri fulgor atque
argenti, quod neque tegit neque vulnerat. In ipsa hostium acie inveniemus
nostras manus: agnoscent Britanni suam causam: recordabuntur Galli
priorem libertatem: deserent illos ceteri Germani, tanquam nuper Usipii
reliquerunt. Nec quidquam ultra formidinis: vacua castella, senum
coloniae, inter male parentes et injuste imperantes aegra municipia et
discordantia: hic dux, hic exercitus: ibi tributa et metalla et ceterae
servientium poenae: quas in aeternum perferre aut statim ulcisci in hoc
campo est. Proinde ituri in aciem et majores vestros et posteros
cogitate."

XXXIII. Excepere orationem alacres, ut barbaris moris, cantu et fremitu
clamoribusque dissonis. Jam que agmina, et armorum fulgores audentissimi
cujusque procursu: simul instruebantur acies: cum Agricola, quanquam
laetum et vix munimentis coercitum militem adhortatus, ita disseruit:
"Octavus annus est, commilitones, ex quo virtute et auspiciis imperii
Romani fide atque opera vestra Britanniam vicistis: tot expeditionibus,
tot proeliis, seu fortitudine adversus hostes seu patientia ac labore
paene adversus ipsam rerum naturam opus fuit, neque me militum neque vos
ducis poenituit. Ergo egressi, ego veterum legatorum, vos priorum
exercituum terminos, finem Britanniae non fama nec rumore, sed castris et
armis tenemus. Inventa Britannia et subacta. Equidem saepe in agmine, cum
vos paludes montesve et flumina fatigarent, fortissimi cujusque voces
audiebam, Quando dabitur hostis, quando acies? Veniunt, e latebris suis
extrusi: et vota virtusque in aperto, omniaque prona victoribus, atque
eadem victis adversa. Nam, ut superasse tantum itineris, silvas evasisse,
transisse aestuaria pulchrum ac decorum in frontem; ita fugientibus
periculosissima, quae hodie prosperrima sunt. Neque enim nobis aut
locorum eadem notitia aut commeatuum eadem abundantia: sed manus et arma
et in his omnia. Quod ad me attinet, jam pridem mihi decretum est, neque
exercitus neque ducis terga tuta esse. Proinde et honesta mors turpi vita
potior; et incolumitas ac decus eodem loco sita sunt: nec inglorium
fuerit, in ipso terrarum ac naturae fine cecidisse."

XXXIV. "Si novae gentes atque ignota acies constitisset, aliorum
exercituum exemplis vos hortarer: nunc vestra decora recensete, vestros
oculos interrogate. Ii sunt, quos proximo anno, unam legionem furto
noctis aggressos, clamore debellastis: ii ceterorum Britannorum
fugacissimi, ideoque tam diu superstites. Quomodo silvas saltusque
penetrantibus fortissimum quodque animal contra ruere, pavida et inertia
ipso agminis sono pelluntur, sic acerrimi Britannorum jam pridem
ceciderunt: reliquus est numerus ignavorum et metuentium, quos quod
tandem invenistis, non restiterunt, sed deprehensi sunt: novissimae res
et extremo metu corpora defixere aciem in his vestigiis, in quibus
pulchram et spectabilem victoriam ederetis. Transigite cum
expeditionibus: imponite quinquaginta annis magnum diem: approbate
reipublicae nunquam exercitui imputari potuisse aut moras belli aut
causas rebellandi."

XXXV. Et alloquente adhuc Agricola, militum ardor eminebat, et finem
orationis ingens alacritas consecuta est, statimque ad arma discursum.
Instinctos ruentesque ita disposuit, ut peditum auxilia, quae octo
millia erant, mediam aciem firmarent, equitum tria millia cornibus
affunderentur: legiones pro vallo stetere, ingens victoriae decus citra
Romanum sanguinem bellanti, et auxilium, si pellerentur. Britannorum
acies, in speciem simul ac terrorem, editioribus locis constiterat
ita, ut primum agmen aequo, ceteri per acclive jugum connexi velut
insurgerent: media campi covinarius et eques strepitu ac discursu
complebat. Tum Agricola superante hostium multitudine veritus, ne simul
in frontem, simul et latera suorum pugnaretur, diductis ordinibus,
quanquam porrectior acies futura erat et arcessendas plerique legiones
admonebant, promptior in spem et firmus adversis, dimisso equo pedes
ante vexilla constitit.

XXXVI. Ac primo congressu eminus certabatur simul constantia, simul arte
Britanni ingentibus gladiis et brevibus cetris missilia nostrorum vitare
vel excutere, atque ipsi magnam vim telorum superfundere: donec Agricola
Batavorum cohortes ac Tungrorum duas cohortatus est, ut rem ad mucrones
ac manus adducerent: quod et ipsis vetustate militiae exercitatum, et
hostibus inhabile parva scuta et enormes gladios gerentibus: nam
Britannorum gladii sine mucrone complexum armorum et in aperto pugnam non
tolerabant. Igitur, ut Batavi miscere ictus, ferire umbonibus, ora
foedare, et stratis qui in aequo obstiterant, erigere in colles aciem
coepere, ceterae cohortes, aemulatione et impetu commistae, proximos
quosque caedere; ac plerique semineces aut integri festinatione victoriae
relinquebantur. Interim equitum turmae fugere, covinarii peditum se
proelio miscuere: et, quanquam recentem terrorem intulerant, densis tamen
hostium agminibus et inaequalibus locis haerebant: minimeque equestris ea
pugnae facies erat, cum aegre diu stantes simul equorum corporibus
impellerentur, ac saepe vagi currus, exterriti sine rectoribus equi, ut
quemque formido tulerat, transversos aut obvios incursabant.

XXXVII. Et Britanni, qui adhuc pugnae expertes summa collium insederant
et paucitatem nostrorum vacui spernebant, degredi paulatim et circumire
terga vincentium coeperant: ni id ipsum veritus Agricola, quatuor equitum
alas, ad subita belli retentas, venientibus opposuisset, quantoque
ferocius accurrerant, tanto acrius pulsos in fugam disjecisset. Ita
consilium Britannorum in ipsos versum: transvectaeque praecepto ducis a
fronte pugnantium alae, aversam hostium aciem invasere. Tum vero
patentibus locis grande et atrox spectaculum: sequi, vulnerare, capere
atque eosdem, oblatis aliis, trucidare. Jam hostium, prout cuique
ingenium erat, catervae armatorum paucioribus terga praestare, quidam
inermes ultro ruere ac se morti offerre; passim arma et corpora et laceri
artus et cruenta humus: et aliquando etiam victis ira virtusque; postquam
silvis appropinquarunt, collecti primos sequentium incautos et locorum
ignaros circumveniebant. Quod ni frequens ubique Agricola validas et
expeditas cohortes indaginis modo, et, sicubi arctiora erant, partem
equitum dimissis equis, simul rariores silvas equitem persultare
jussisset, acceptum aliquod vulnus per nimiam fiduciam foret. Ceterum,
ubi compositos firmis ordinibus sequi rursus videre, in fugam versi, non
agminibus, ut prius, nec alius alium respectantes, rari et vitabundi
invicem, longinqua atque avia petiere. Finis sequendi nox et satietas
fuit: caesa hostium ad decem millia: nostrorum trecenti sexaginta
cecidere: in quis Aulus Atticus praefectus cohortis, juvenili ardore et
ferocia equi hostibus illatus.

XXXVIII. Et nox quidem gaudio praedaque laeta victoribus: Britanni
palantes, mixtoque virorum mulierumque ploratu, trahere vulneratos,
vocare integros, deserere domos ac per iram ultro incendere: eligere
latebras et statim relinquere: miscere invicem consilia aliqua, dein
separare: aliquando frangi aspectu pignorum suorum, saepius concitari:
satisque constabat, saevisse quosdam in conjuges ac liberos, tanquam
misererentur. Proximus dies faciem victoriae latius aperuit: vastum
ubique silentium, secreti colles, fumantia procul tecta, nemo
exploratoribus obvius: quibus in omnem partem dimissis, ubi incerta fugae
vestigia neque usquam conglobari hostes compertum et exacta jam aestate
spargi bellum nequibat, in fines Horestorum exercitum deducit. Ibi
acceptis obsidibus, praefecto classis circumvehi Britanniam praecepit.
Datae ad id vires, et praecesserat terror. Ipse peditem atque equites
lento itinere, quo novarum gentium animi ipsa transitus mora terrerentur,
in hibernis locavit. Et simul classis secunda tempestate ac fama
Trutulensem portum tenuit, unde proximo latere Britanniae lecto omni
redierat.

XXXIX. Hunc rerum cursum, quanquam nulla verborum jactantia epistolis
Agricolae actum, ut Domitiano moris erat, fronte laetus, pectore anxius
excepit. Inerat conscientia derisui fuisse nuper falsum e Germania
triumphum, emptis per commercia, quorum habitus et crines in captivorum
speciem formarentur: at nunc veram magnamque victoriam, tot millibus
hostium caesis, ingenti fama celebrari. Id sibi maxime formidolosum,
privati hominis nomen supra principis attolli: frustra studia fori et
civilium artium decus in silentium acta, si militarem gloriam alius
occuparet: et cetera utcumque facilius dissimulari: ducis boni
imperatoriam virtutem esse. Talibus curis exercitus, quodque saevae
cogitationis indicium erat, secreto suo satiatus, optimum in praesentia
statuit reponere odium, donec impetus famae et favor exercitus
languesceret: nam etiam tum Agricola Britanniam obtinebat.

XL. Igitur triumphalia ornamenta et illustris statuae honorem et quidquid
pro triumpho datur, multo verborum honore cumulata, decerni in senatu
jubet; addique insuper opinionem, Syriam provinciam Agricolae destinari,
vacuam tum morte Atilii Rufi consularis et majoribus reservatam.
Credidere plerique libertum ex secretioribus ministeriis missum ad
Agricolam codicillos, quibus ei Syria dabatur, tulisse cum praecepto, ut,
si in Britannia foret, traderentur: eumque libertum in ipso freto Oceani
obvium Agricolae, ne appellato quidem eo, ad Domitianum remeasse: sive
verum istud, sive ex ingenio principis fictum ac compositum est.
Tradiderat interim Agricola successori suo provinciam quietam tutamque.
Ac, ne notabilis celebritate et frequentia occurrentium introitus esset,
vitato amicorum officio, noctu in urbem, noctu in palatium, ita ut
praeceptum erat, venit: exceptusque brevi osculo et nullo sermone turbae
servientium immixtus est. Ceterum, ut militare nomen, grave inter
otiosos, aliis virtutibus temperaret, tranquillitatem atque otium penitus
auxit, cultu modicus, sermone facilis, uno aut altero amicorum comitatus;
adeo ut plerique quibus magnos viros per ambitionem aestimare mos est,
viso aspectoque Agricola, quaererent famam, pauci interpretarentur.

XLI. Crebro per eos dies apud Domitianum absens accusatus, absens
absolutus est. Causa periculi non crimen ullum aut querela laesi
cujusquam, sed infensus virtutibus princeps et gloria viri ac pessimum
inimicorum genus, laudantes. Et ea insecuta sunt reipublicae tempora,
quae sileri Agricolam non sinerent: tot exercitus in Moesia Daciaque et
Germania Pannoniaque, temeritate aut per ignaviam ducum amissi: tot
militares viri cum tot cohortibus expugnati et capti: nec jam de limite
imperii et ripa, sed de hibernis legionum et possessione dubitatum. Ita,
cum damna damnis continuarentur atque omnis annus funeribus et cladibus
insigniretur, poscebatur ore vulgi dux Agricola: comparantibus cunctis
vigorem, constantiam et expertum bellis animum cum inertia et formidine
ceterorum. Quibus sermonibus satis constat Domitiani quoque aures
verberatas, dum optimus quisque libertorum amore et fide, pessimi
malignitate et livore, pronum deterioribus principem exstimulabant. Sic
Agricola simul suis virtutibus, simul vitiis aliorum, in ipsam gloriam
praeceps agebatur.

XLII. Aderat jam annus, quo proconsulatum Asiae et Africae sortiretur, et
occiso Civica nuper nec Agricolae consilium deerat, nec Domitiano
exemplum. Accessere quidam cogitationum principis periti, qui, iturusne
esset in provinciam, ultro Agricolam interrogarent: ac primo occultius
quietem et otium laudare, mox operam suam in approbanda excusatione
offerre: postremo non jam obscuri, suadentes simul terrentesque,
pertraxere ad Domitianum; qui paratus simulatione, in arrogantiam
compositus, et audiit preces excusantis, et, cum annuisset, agi sibi
gratias passus est: nec erubuit beneficii invidia. Salarium tamen,
proconsulari solitum offerri et quibusdam a se ipso concessum, Agricolae
non dedit: sive offensus non petitum, sive ex conscientia, ne, quod
vetuerat, videretur emisse. Proprium humani ingenii est, odisse quem
laeseris: Domitiani vero natura praeceps in iram, et quo obscurior, eo
irrevocabilior, moderatione tamen prudentiaque Agricolae leniebatur: quia
non contumacia neque inani jactatione libertatis famam fatumque
provocabat. Sciant. quibus moris illicita mirari, posse etiam sub malis
principibus magnos viros esse: obsequiumque ac modestiam, si industria ac
vigor adsint, eo laudis excedere, quo plerique per abrupta, sed in nullum
reipublicae usum, ambitiosa morte inclaruerunt.

XLIII. Finis vitae ejus nobis luctuosus, amicis tristis, extraneis etiam
ignotisque non sine cura fuit. Vulgus quoque et hic aliud agens populus
et ventitavere ad domum, et per fora et circulos locuti sunt: nec
quisquam audita morte Agricolae aut laetatus est aut statim oblitus.
Augebat miserationem constans rumor, veneno interceptum. Nobis nihil
comperti affirmare ausim: ceterum per omnem valetudinem ejus, crebrius
quam ex more principatus per nuntios visentis, et libertorum primi et
medicorum intimi venere: sive cura illud sive inquisitio erat. Supremo
quidem die, momenta deficientis per dispositos cursores nuntiata
constabat, nullo credente sic accelerari, quae tristis audiret. Speciem
tamen doloris animo vultuque prae se tulit, securus jam odii, et qui
facilius dissimularet gaudium, quam metum. Satis constabat, lecto
testamento Agricolae, quo cohaeredem optimae uxori et piissimae filiae
Domitianum scripsit, laetatum eum velut honore judicioque: tam caeca et
corrupta mens assiduis adulationibus erat, ut nesciret a bono patre non
scribi haeredem, nisi malum principem.

XLIV. Natus erat Agricola, Caio Caesare tertium consule, Idibus Juniis:
excessit sexto et quinquagesimo anno, decimo Kalendas Septembris, Collega
Priscoque consulibus. Quod si habitum quoque ejus posteri noscere velint,
decentior quam sublimior fuit; nihil metus in vultu, gratia oris
supererat bonum virum facile crederes, magnum libenter. Et ipse quidem,
quanquam medio in spatio integrae aetatis ereptus, quantum ad gloriam,
longissimum aevum peregit. Quippe et vera bona, quae in virtutibus sita
sunt, impleverat, et consulari ac triumphalibus ornamentis praedito, quid
aliud adstruere fortuna poterat? Opibus nimiis non gaudebat; speciosae
contigerant. Filia atque uxore superstitibus, potest videri etiam beatus;
incolumi dignitate, florente fama, salvis affinitatibus et amicitiis,
futura effugisse. Nam sicuti durare in hac beatissimi saeculi luce ac
principem Trajanum videre, quod augurio votisque apud nostras aures
ominabatur, ita festinatae mortis grande solatium tulit, evasisse
postremum illud tempus, quo Domitianus non jam per intervalla ac
spiramenta temporum, sed continuo et velut uno ictu rempublicam exhausit.

XLV. Non vidit Agricola obsessam curiam, et clausum armis senatum, et
eadem strage tot consularium caedes, tot nobilissimarum feminarum exsilia
et fugas. Una adhuc victoria Carus Metius censebatur, et intra Albanam
arcem sententia Messalini strepebat, et Massa Bebius jam tum reus erat.
Mox nostrae duxere Helvidium in carcerem manus: nos Maurici Rusticique
visus, nos innocenti sanguine Senecio perfudit. Nero tamen subtraxit
oculos jussitque scelera, non spectavit: praecipua sub Domitiano
miseriarum pars erat videre et aspici: cum suspiria nostra
subscriberentur; cum denotandis tot hominum palloribus sufficeret saevus
ille vultus et rubor, quo se contra pudorem muniebat. Tu vero felix,
Agricola, non vitae tantum claritate, sed etiam opportunitate mortis. Ut
perhibent qui interfuerunt novissimis sermonibus tuis, constans et libens
fatum excepisti; tanquam pro virili portione innocentiam principi
donares. Sed mihi filiaeque ejus, praeter acerbitatem parentis erepti,
auget moestitiam, quod assidere valetudini, fovere deficientem, satiari
vultu, complexu, non contigit: excepissemus certe mandata vocesque, quas
penitus animo figeremus. Noster hic dolor, nostrum vulnus: nobis tam
longae absentiae conditione ante quadriennium amissus est. Omnia sine
dubio, optime parentum, assidente amantissima uxore, superfuere honori
tuo: paucioribus tamen lacrimis compositus es, et novissima in luce
desideravere aliquid oculi tui.

XLVI. Si quis piorum manibus locus, si, ut sapientibus placet, non cum
corpore exstinguuntur magnae animae, placide quiescas, nosque, domum
tuam, ab infirmo desiderio et muliebribus lamentis ad contemplationem
virtutum tuarum voces, quas neque lugeri neque plangi fas est:
admiratione te potius, te immortalibus laudibus, et, si natura
suppeditet, similitudine decoremus. Is verus honos, ea conjunctissimi
cujusque pietas. Id filiae quoque uxorique praeceperim, sic patris, sic
mariti memoriam venerari, ut omnia facta dictaque ejus secum revolvant,
formamque ac figuram animi magis quam corporis complectantur: non quia
intercedendum putem imaginibus, quae marmore aut aere finguntur; sed ut
vultus hominum, ita simulacra vultus imbecilla ac mortalia sunt; forma
mentis aeterna, quam tenere et exprimere non per alienam materiam et
artem, sed tuis ipse moribus possis. Quidquid ex Agricola amavimus,
quidquid mirati sumus, manet mansurumque est in animis hominum, in
aeternitate temporum, fama rerum. Nam multos veterum, velut inglorios, et
ignobiles, oblivio obruet: Agricola posteritati narratus et traditus
superstes erit.



NOTES



TABLE OF ABBREVIATIONS.


Several words, which occur most frequently in the Notes, are abbreviated.
Of these the following classes may require explanation. The other
abbreviations are either familiar or sufficiently obvious of themselves.


1. WORKS OF TACITUS.

A. Agricola.
Ann. Annals.
G. Germania.
H. Histories.
T. Tacitus.


2. ANNOTATORS CITED AS AUTHORITIES.

Br. Brotier.
D. or Död. Döderlein.
Dr. Dronke.
E. Ernesti.
Gr. Gruber.
Gün. Günther.
K. Kiessling.
Ky. Kingsley.
Mur. Murphy.
Or. Orelli.
Pass. Passow.
R. Roth.
Rhen. Rhenanus.
Rit. Ritter.
Rup. Ruperti.
W. Walch.
Wr. Walther.


3. OTHER AUTHORITIES.

H. Harkness' Latin Grammar.
Beck. Gall. Becker's Gallus.
Böt. Lex. Tac. Bötticher's Lexicon Taciteun.
For. and Fac. Forcellini and Facciolati's Latin Lexicon.
Tur. His. Ang. Sax. Turner's History of the Anglo-Saxons.
Z. Zumpt's Latin Grammar.



GERMANIA.


The Treatise DE SITU, MORIBUS ET POPULIS GERMANIAE, was written (as
appears from the treatise itself see § 37) in the second consulship of
the Emperor Trajan, A.U.C. 851, A.D. 98. The design of the author in its
publication has been variously interpreted. From the censure which it
frequently passes upon the corruption and degeneracy of the times, it has
been considered as a mere satire upon Roman manners, in the age of
Tacitus. But to say nothing of the ill adaptation of the whole plan to a
satirical work, there are large parts of the treatise, which must have
been prepared with great labor, and yet can have no possible bearing on
such a design. Satires are not wont to abound in historical notices and
geographical details, especially touching a foreign and distant land.

The same objection lies against the _political_ ends, which have been
imputed to the author, such as the persuading of Trajan to engage, or
_not_ to engage, in a war with the Germans, as the most potent and
dangerous enemy of Rome. For both these aims have been alleged, and we
might content ourselves with placing the one as an offset against the
other. But aside from the neutralizing force of such contradictions,
wherefore such an imposing array of geographical research, of historical
lore, of political and moral philosophy, for the accomplishment of so
simple a purpose? And why is the purpose so scrupulously concealed, that
confessedly it can be gathered only from obscure intimations, and those
of ambiguous import? Besides, there are passages whose tendency must have
been directly counter to either of these alleged aims (cf. note § 33).
The author does indeed, in the passage just cited, seem to appreciate
with almost prophetic accuracy, those dangers to the Roman Empire, which
were so fearfully illustrated in its subsequent fall beneath the power of
the German Tribes; and he utters, as what true Roman would not in such
forebodings, the warnings and the prayers of a patriot sage. But he does
this only in episodes, which are so manifestly incidental, and yet arise
so naturally out of the narrative or description, that it is truly
surprising it should ever have occurred to any reader, to seek in them
the key to the whole treatise.

The entire warp and woof of the work is obviously _historical_ and
_geographical_. The satire, the political maxims, the moral sentiments,
and all the rest, are merely incidental, interwoven for the sake of
instruction and embellishment, inwrought because a mind so thoughtful and
so acute as that of Tacitus, could not leave them out. Tacitus had long
been collecting the materials for his Roman Histories. In so doing, his
attention was necessarily drawn often and with special interest to a
people, who, for two centuries and more, had been the most formidable
enemy of the Roman State. In introducing them into his history, he would
naturally wish to give some preliminary account of their origin, manners,
and institutions, as he does in introducing the Jews in the Fifth Book of
his Histories, which happens to be, in part, preserved. Nor would it be
strange, if he should, with this view, collect a mass of materials, which
he could not incorporate entire into a work of such compass, and which
any slight occasion might induce him to publish in a separate form,
perhaps as a sort of forerunner to his Histories. [It has even been
argued by highly respectable scholars, that the Germania of Tacitus is
itself only such a collection of materials, not published by the Author,
and never intended for publication in that form. But it is quite too
methodical, too studied, and too finished a work to admit of that
supposition (cf. Prolegom. of K.).] Such an occasion now was furnished
in the campaigns and victories of Trajan, who, at the time of his
elevation to the imperial power, was at the head of the Roman armies in
Germany, where he also remained for a year or more after his accession to
the throne, till he had received the submission of the hostile tribes and
wiped away the disgrace which the Germans, beyond any other nation of
that age, had brought upon the Roman arms. Such a people, at such a time,
could not fail to be an object of deep interest at Rome. This was the
time when Tacitus published his work on Germany; and such are believed
to have been the motives and the circumstances, which led to the
undertaking. His grand object was not to point a satire or to compass a
political end, but as he himself informs us (§ 27), to treat of the
origin and manners, the geography and history, of the German Tribes.

The same candor and sincerity, the same correctness and truthfulness,
which characterize the Histories, mark also the work on Germany. The
author certainly aimed to speak the truth, and nothing but the truth, on
the subject of which he treats. Moreover, he had abundant means of
knowing the truth, on all the main points, in the character and history
of the Germans. It has even been argued from such expression as _vidimus_
(§ 8), that Tacitus had himself been in Germany, and could, therefore,
write from personal observation. Bnt the argument proceeds on a
misinterpretation of his language (cf. note in _loc. cit_.). And the use
of _accepimus_ (as in § 27), shows that he derived his information from
others. But the Romans had been in constant intercourse and connection,
civil or military, with the Germans, for two hundred years. Germany
furnished a wide theatre for their greatest commanders, and a fruitful
theme for their best authors, some of whom, as Julius Caesar (to whom
Tacitus particularly refers, 28), were themselves the chief actors in
what they relate. These authors, some of whose contributions to the
history of Germany are now lost (e.g. the elder Pliny, who wrote twenty
books on the German wars), must have all been in the hands of Tacitus,
and were, doubtless, consulted by him; not, however, as a servile
copyist, or mere compiler (for he sometimes differs from his authorities,
from Caesar even, whom he declares to be the best of them), but as a
discriminating and judicious inquirer. The account of German customs and
institutions may, therefore, be relied on, from the intrinsic credibility
of the author. It receives confirmation, also, from its general
accordance with other early accounts of the Germans, and with their
better known subsequent history, as well as from its strong analogy to
the well-known habits of our American aborigines, and other tribes in a
like stage of civilization (cf. note, § 15). The geographical details are
composed with all the accuracy which the ever-shifting positions and
relations of warring and wandering tribes rendered possible in the nature
of the case (cf. note, § 28). In sentiment, the treatise is surpassingly
rich and instructive, like all the works of this prince of philosophical
historians. In style, it is concise and nervous, yet quite rhetorical,
and in parts, even poetical to a fault (see notes passim, cf. also,
Monboddo's critique on the style of Tacitus). "The work," says La
Bletterie, "is brief without being superficial. Within the compass of a
few pages, it comprises more of ethics and politics, more fine
delineations of character, more substance and pith (_suc_), than can be
collected from many a ponderous volume. It is not one of those barely
agreeable descriptions, which gradually diffuse their influence over
the soul, and leave it in undisturbed tranquillity. It is a picture in
strong light, like the subject itself, full of fire, of sentiment, of
lightning-flashes, that go at once to the heart. We imagine ourselves
in Germany; we become familiar with these so-called barbarians; we pardon
their faults, and almost their vices, out of regard to their virtues; and
in our moments of enthusiasm, we even wish we were Germans."

The following remarks of Murphy will illustrate the value of the
treatise, to modern Europeans and their descendants. "It is a draught of
savage manners, delineated by a masterly hand; the more interesting, as
the part of the world which it describes was the seminary of the modern
European nations, the VAGINA GENTIUM, as historians have emphatically
called it. The work is short but, as Montesquieu observes, it is the work
of a man who abridged every thing, because he knew every thing. A
thorough knowledge of the transactions of barbarous ages, will throw more
light than is generally imagined on the laws of modern times. Wherever
the barbarians, who issued from their northern hive, settled in new
habitations, they carried with them their native genius, their original
manners, and the first rudiments of the political system which has
prevailed in different parts of Europe. They established monarchy and
liberty, subordination and freedom, the prerogative of the prince and the
rights of the subject, all united in so bold a combination, that the
fabric, in some places, stands to this hour the wonder of mankind. The
British constitution, says Montesquieu, came out of the woods of Germany.
What the state of this country (Britain) was before the arrival of our
Saxon ancestors, Tacitus has shown in the life of Agricola. If we add to
his account of the Germans and Britons, what has been transmitted to us,
concerning them, by Julius Caesar, we shall see the origin of the
Anglo-Saxon government, the great outline of that Gothic constitution
under which the people enjoy their rights and liberties at this hour.
Montesquieu, speaking of his own country, declares it impossible to form
an adequate notion of the French monarchy, and the changes of their
government, without a previous inquiry into the manners, genius, and
spirit of the German nations. Much of what was incorporated with the
institutions of those fierce invaders, has flowed down in the stream of
time, and still mingles with our modern jurisprudence. The subject, it is
conceived, is interesting to every Briton. In the manners of the Germans,
the reader will see our present frame of government, as it were, in its
cradle, _gentis cunabula nostrae_! in the Germans themselves, a fierce
and warlike people, to whom this country owes that spirit of liberty,
which, through so many centuries, has preserved our excellent form of
government, and raised the glory of the British nation:

         ------Genus unde Latinum,
    Albanique patres, atque altae
    moenia Romae."


CHAP. I. _Germania_ stands first as the emphatic word, and is followed by
_omnis_ for explanation. _Germania omnis_ here does not include Germania
Prima and Secunda, which were Roman provinces on the left bank of the
Rhine (so called because settled by Germans). It denotes _Germany
proper_, as a _whole_, in distinction from the provinces just mentioned
and from the several tribes, of which Tacitus treats in the latter part
of the work. So Caesar (B.G. 1,1) uses _Gallia omnis_, as exclusive of
the Roman provinces called Gaul and inclusive of the three _parts_, which
he proceeds to specify.

_Gallis--Pannoniis_. People used for the countries. Cf. His. 5,6:
_Phoenices. Gaul_, now France; _Rhaetia_, the country of the Grisons and
the Tyrol, with part of Bavaria; _Pannonia_, lower Hungary and part of
Austria. Germany was separated from Gaul by the Rhine; from Rhaetia and
Pannonia, by the Danube.--_Rheno et Danubio_. Rhine and Rhone are
probably different forms of the same root (Rh-n). Danube, in like manner,
has the same root as Dnieper (Dn-p); perhaps also the same as Don and
Dwina (D-n). Probably each of these roots was originally a generic name
for river, water, stream. So there are several _Avons_ in England and
Scotland. Cf. Latham's Germania sub voc.

_Sarmatis Dacisque_. The Slavonic Tribes were called Sarmatians by the
ancients. _Sarmatia_ included the country north of the Carpathian
Mountains, between the Vistula and the Don in Europe, together with the
adjacent part of Asia, without any definite limits towards the north,
which was terra incognita to the ancients--in short, Sarmatia was
_Russia_, as far as known at that time. _Dacia_ lay between the
Carpathian mountains on the north, and the Danube on the south, including
Upper Hungary, Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia.

_Mutuo metu_. Rather a poetical boundary! Observe also the alliteration.
At the same time, the words are not a bad description of those wide and
solitary wastes, which, as Caesar informs us (B.G. 6, 23), the Germans
delighted to interpose between themselves and other nations, so that it
might appear that _no one dared to dwell near them.--Montibus_. The
Carpathian.--_Cetera_. Ceteram Germaniae partem.

_Sinus_. This word denotes any thing with a curved outline (cf. 29, also
A. 23); hence bays, peninsulas, and prominent bends or borders, whether
of land or water. Here _peninsulas_ (particularly that of Jutland, now
Denmark), for it is to the author's purpose here to speak of land rather
than water, and the ocean is more properly said to _embrace peninsulas_,
than _gulfs_ and _bays_. Its association with _islands_ here favors the
same interpretation. So Passow, Or., Rit. Others, with less propriety,
refer it to the _gulfs_ and _bays_, which so mark the Baltic and the
German Oceans.--_Oceanus_ here, includes both the Baltic Sea, and the
German Ocean (Oceanus Septentrionalis).

_Insularum--spatia. Islands of vast extent_, viz. Funen, Zealand, &c.
Scandinavia also (now Sweden and Norway) was regarded by the ancients as
an island, cf. Plin. Nat. His. iv. 27: quarum (insularum) clarissima
Scandinavia est, incompertae magnitudinis.

_Nuper--regibus_. Understand with this clause _ut compertum est_. The
above mentioned features of the Northern Ocean had been _discovered_
in the prosecution of the late wars, of the Romans, among the tribes
and kings previously unknown. _Nuper_ is to be taken in a general
sense==recentioribus temporibus, cf. _nuper additum_, § 2, where it goes
back one hundred and fifty years to the age of Julius Caesar.--_Bellum_.
War in general, no particular war.--_Versus_. This word has been
considered by some as an adverb, and by others as a preposition. It is
better however to regard it as a participle, like _ortus_, with which it
is connected, though without a conjunction expressed. Ritter omits _in_.

_Molli et clementer edito. Of gentle slope and moderate elevation_ in
studied antithesis to _inaccesso ac praecipiti, lofty and steep_. In like
manner, _jugo, ridge, summit_, is contrasted with _vertice, peak,
height_, cf. Virg. Ecl. 9, 7: _molli clivo_; Ann. 17, 38: _colles
clementer assurgentes_. The _Rhaetian_ Alps, now the mountains of the
Grisons. _Alp_ is a Celtic word==hill. _Albion_ has the same root==_hilly
country. Mons Abnoba_ (al. Arnoba) is the northern part of the
Schwartzwald, or Black Forest.--_Erumpat_, al. erumpit. But the best MSS.
and all the recent editions have _erumpat_: and Tacitus never uses the
pres. ind. after _donec, until_, cf. Rup. & Rit. in loc. Whenever he uses
the present after _donec, until_, he seems to have conceived the relation
of the two clauses, which it connects, as that of a means to an end, or a
condition to a result, and hence to have used the subj. cf. chap. 20:
_separet_; 31: _absolvat_; 35: _sinuetur_; Ann. 2, 6: _misceatur_. The
two examples last cited, like this, describe the course of a river and
boundary line. For the general rule of the modes after _donec_, see H.
522; Z. 575. See also notes H. 1, 13. 35.--_Septimum_. According to the
common understanding, the Danube had _seven_ mouths. So Strabo, Mela,
Ammian, and Ovid; Pliny makes six. T. reconciles the two accounts. The
_enim_ inserted after _septimum_ in most editions is not found in the
best mss. and is unnecessary. Or. & Rit. omit it.


 II. _Ipsos_ marks the transition from the country to the people--_the
Germans themselves_. So A. 13: _Ipsi Britanni_.

_Crediderim_. Subj. attice. A modest way of expressing his opinion, like
our: I should say, I am inclined to think. H. 486, I. 3; Z. 527.

_Adventibus et hospitiis. Immigrants and visitors. Adventibus_ certae
sedes, _hospitiis_ preregrinationes significantur. Gün. Both abstract for
concrete. Död. compares [Greek: epoikoi] and [Greek: metoikoi].

_Terra--advehebantur_. Zeugma for _terra adveniebant_, classibus
advehebantur. H. 704, I. 2; Z. 775.

_Nec--et_. These correlatives connect the members more closely than
et--et; as in Greek oute-te. The sentiment here advanced touching
colonization (as by sea, rather than by land), though true of Carthage,
Sicily, and most _Grecian_, colonies, is directly the reverse of the
general fact; and Germany itself is now known to have received its
population by land emigration, from western Asia. The Germans, as we
learn from affinities of languages and occasional references of
historians and geographers, belonged to the same great stock of the human
family with the Goths and Scythians, and may be traced back to that hive
of nations, that primitive residence of mankind, the country east and
south of the Caspian Sea and in the vicinity of Mount Ararat: cf. Tur.
His. Ang. Sax. B. II. C. 1; also Donaldson's New Cratylus, B. I. Chap. 4.
Latham's dogmatic skepticism will hardly shake the now established faith
on this subject. The science of ethnography was unknown to the ancients.
Tacitus had not the remotest idea, that all mankind were sprung from a
common ancestry, and diffused themselves over the world from a common
centre, a fact asserted in the Scriptures, and daily receiving fresh
confirmation from literature and science. Hence he speaks of the Germans
as _indigenas_, which he explains below by _editum terra_, sprung from
the earth, like the mutum et turpe pecus of Hor. Sat. 1. 3, 100. cf.
A. 11.

_Mutare quaerebant. Quaerere_ with inf. is poet. constr., found, however,
in later prose writers, and once in Cic. (de Fin. 313: quaeris scire,
enclosed in brackets in Tauchnitz's edition), to avoid repetition of
_cupio_. _Cupio_ or _volo mutare_ would be regular classic prose.

_Adversus_. That the author here uses _adversus_ in some unusual and
recondite sense, is intimated by the clause: _ut sic dixerim_. It is
understood by some, of a sea _unfriendly to navigation_. But its
connexion by _que_ with _immensus ultra_, shows that it refers to
_position_, and means _lying opposite_, i.e., belonging, as it were, to
another hemisphere or world from ours; for so the Romans regarded the
Northern Ocean and Britain itself, cf. A 12: ultra _nostri orbis_
mensuram; G. 17: _exterior_ oceanus. So Cic. (Som. Scip. 6.) says:
Homines partim obliquos, partim aversos, partim etiam _adversos_, stare
vobis. This interpretation is confirmed by _ab orbe nostra_ in the
antithesis. On the use of _ut sic dixerim_ for _ut sic dicam_, which is
peculiar to the silver age, see Z. 528.

_Asia_, sc. Minor. _Africa_, sc. the Roman Province of that name,
comprising the territory of Carthage.--_Peteret_. The question implies a
negative answer, cf. Z. 530. The subj. implies a protasis understood: if
he could, or the like. H. 502.

_Sit_. Praesens, ut de re vera. Gün. _Nisi si_ is nearly equivalent to
_nisi forte: unless perchance_; unless if we may suppose the case. Cf.
Wr. note on Ann. 2, 63, and Hand's Tursellinus, 3, 240.

_Memoriae et annalium_. Properly opposed to each other as _tradition_ and
_written history_, though we are not to infer that written books existed
in Germany in the age of Tacitus.

_Carminibus_. _Songs, ballads_ (from cano). Songs and rude poetry have
been, in all savage countries, the memorials of public transactions,
e.g. the runes of the Goths, the bards of the Britons and Celts, the
scalds of Scandinavia, &c.

_Tuisconem_. The god from whom Tuesday takes its name, as Wednesday from
Woden, Thursday from Thor, &c., cf. Sharon Turner's His. of Ang. Sax.
app. to book 2. chap. 3. Some find in the name of this god the root of
the words Teutonic, Dutch (Germ. Deutsche or Teutsche &c.,) Al. Tuistonem,
Tristonem, &c. More likely it has the same root as the Latin divus,
dius, deus, and the Greek theios, dios, theos, cf. Grimm's _Deutsche
Mythologie_, sub v.

_Terra editum==indigena_ above; and gaegenaes and autochthon in Greek.

_Originem_==auctores. It is predicate after _Mannum_.

_Ut in licentia vetustatis. As in the license of antiquity_, i.e. since
such license is allowed in regard to ancient times.

_Ingaevones_. "According to some German antiquaries, the _Ingaevones_ are
die _Einwohner_, those dwelling inwards towards the sea; the _Istaevones_
are die _Westwohner_, the inhabitants of the western parts; and the
_Hermiones_ are the _Herumwohner_, midland inhabitants," Ky. cf.
Kiessling in loc. Others, e.g. Zeuss and Grimm, with more probability,
find in these names the roots of German words significant of _honor_
and _bravery_, assumed by different tribes or confederacies as epithets
or titles of distinction. Grimm identifies these three divisions with
the Franks, Saxons, and Thuringians of a later age. See further, note
chap. 27.

_Vocentur_. The subj. expresses the opinion of others, not the direct
affirmation of the author. H. 529; Z. 549.

_Deo_==hoc deo, sc. Mannus--Germ. Mann, Eng. Man.

_Marsos, Gambrivios_. Under the names of Franci and Salii these tribes
afterwards became formidable to the Romans. Cf. Prichard's Researches
into the Physical History of Mankind, Vol. III. chap. 6, sec. 2.--
_Suevos_, cf. note, 38.--_Vandalios_. The Vandals, now so familiar in
history.

_Additum_, sc. esse, depending on _affirmant_.

_Nunc Tungri_, sc. vocentur, cf. His. 4, 15, 16. In confirmation of the
historical accuracy of this passage, Gr. remarks, that Caes. (B.G. 2, 4)
does not mention the Tungri, but names four tribes on the left bank of
the Rhine, who, he says, are called by the common name of _Germans_;
while Pliny (Nat. His. 4, 31), a century later, gives not the names of
these four tribes, but calls them by the new name _Tungri_.

_Ita--vocarentur_. Locus vexatissimus! exclaim all the critics. And so
they set themselves to amend the text by conjecture. Some have written
_in nomen gentis_ instead of _non gentis_. Others have proposed _a
victorum metu_, or _a victo ob metum_, or _a victis ob metum_. But these
emendations are wholly conjectural and unnecessary. Günther and Walch
render _a victore, from_ the victorious tribe, i.e. _after the name of_
that tribe. But _a se ipsis_ means _by_ themselves; and the antithesis
doubtless requires _a_ to be understood in the same sense in both
clauses. Grüber translates and explains thus: "In this way the name of a
single tribe, and not of the whole people, has come into use, so that
all, at first by the victor (the Tungri), in order to inspire fear, then
by themselves (by the mouth of the whole people), when once the name
became known, were called by the name of Germans. That is, the Tungri
called all the kindred tribes that dwelt beyond the Rhine, Germans, in
order to inspire fear by the wide extension of the name, since they gave
themselves out to be a part of so vast a people; but at length all the
tribes began to call themselves by this name, probably because they were
pleased to see the fear which it excited." This is, on the whole, the
most satisfactory explanation of the passage, and meets the essential
concurrence of Wr., Or. and Död.--_Germani_. If of German etymology,
this word==gehr or wehr (Fr. guerre) and mann, _men of war_; hence the
_metus_, which the name carried with it. If it is a Latin word
corresponding only in _sense_ with the original German, then==_brethren_.
It will be seen, that either etymology would accord with Grüber's
explanation of the whole passage--in either case, the name would
inspire fear. The latter, however, is the more probable, cf. Ritter in
loc. A people often bear quite different names abroad from that by which
they call themselves at home. Thus the people, whom we call _Germans_,
call themselves _Deutsche_ (Dutch), and are called by the French
_Allemands_, cf. Latham. _Vocarentur_ is subj. because it stands in a
subordinate clause of the oratio obliqua, cf. H. 531; Z. 603.

_Metum_. Here taken in an _active_ sense; oftener passive, but used in
both senses. Quintilian speaks of _metum duplicem_, quem patimur et quem
facimus (6, 2, 21). cf. A. 44: nihil metus in vultu, i.e., nothing to
inspire fear in his countenance. In like manner admiratio (§ 7) is used
for the admiration which one excites, though it usually denotes the
admiration which one feels. For _ob_, cf. Ann. 1, 79: _ob moderandas
Tiberis exundationes_.

_Nationis--gentis. Gens_ is often used by T. as a synonym with _natio_.
But in antithesis, _gens_ is the whole, of which _nationes_ or _populi_
are the parts, e.g. G. 4: populos--gentem; § 14: nationes--genti. In
like manner, in the civil constitution of Rome, a _gens_ included several
related _families_.


III. _Herculem_. That is, Romana interpretatione, cf. § 34. The Romans
found _their_ gods everywhere, and ascribed to Hercules, quidquid ubique
magnificum est, cf. note 34: _quicquid--consensimus_. That this is a
Roman account of the matter is evident, from the use of _eos_, for if
the Germans were the subject of _memorant_, _se_ must have been used. On
the use of _et_ here, cf. note 11.

_Primum_--ut principem, fortissimum. Gün.

_Haec quoque_. _Haec_ is rendered _such_ by Ritter. But it seems rather,
as Or. and Död. explain it, to imply nearness and familiarity to the mind
of the author and his readers: _these_ well known songs. So 20: _in haec
corpora, quae miramur_. _Quoque_, like _quidem_, follows the emphatic
word in a clause, H. 602, III. 1; Z. 355.

_Relatu_, called _cantus trux_, H. 2, 22. A Tacitean word. Freund. Cf. H.
1, 30.

_Baritum_. Al. barditum and barritum. But the latter has no ms.
authority, and the former seems to have been suggested by the bards of
the Gauls, of whose existence among the Germans however there is no
evidence. Död. says the root of the word is common to the Greek, Latin,
and German languages, viz. _baren_, i.e. _fremere_, a verb still used by
the Batavians, and the noun _bar_, i.e. carmen, of frequent occurrence
in Saxon poetry to this day.

_Terrent trepidantve. They inspire terror or tremble with fear, according
as the line_ (the troops drawn up in battle array) _has sounded_, sc. the
_baritus_ or battle cry. Thus the Batavians perceived, that the _sonitus
aciei_ on the part of the Romans was more feeble than their own, and
pressed on, as to certain triumph. H. 4, 18. So the Highlanders augured
victory, if their shouts were louder than those of the enemy. See Murphy
in loco.

_Repercussu_. A post-Augustan word. The earlier Latin authors would have
said _repercussa_, or _repercutiendo_. The later Latin, like the English,
uses more abstract terms.--_Nec tam--videntur. Nor do those carmina seem
to be so much voices_ (well modulated and harmonized), _as acclamations_
(unanimous, but inarticulate and indistinct) _of courage_. So Pliny uses
_concentus_ of the acclamations of the people. Panegyr. 2. It is often
applied by the poets to the concerts of birds, as in Virg. Geor. 1, 422.
It is here plural, cf. Or. in loc. The reading _vocis_ is without MS.
authority.

_Ulixem_. "The love of fabulous history, which was the passion of ancient
times, produced a new Hercules in every country, and made Ulysses wander
on every shore. Tacitus mentions it as a romantic tale; but Strabo seems
willing to countenance the fiction, and gravely tells us that Ulysses
founded a city, called Odyssey, in Spain. Lipsius observes, that Lisbon,
in the name of Strabo, had the appellation of Ulysippo, or Olisipo. At
this rate, he pleasantly adds, what should hinder us inhabitants of the
Low Countries from asserting that Ulysses built the city of Ulyssinga,
and Circe founded that of Circzea or Ziriczee?" Murphy.

_Fabuloso errore. Storied, celebrated in song_, cf. fabulosus Hydaspes.
Hor. Od. 1, 227. Ulysses having _wandered westward_ gave plausibility to
alleged traces of him in Gaul, Spain and Germany--_Asciburgium_. Now
Asburg.

_Quin etiam_, cf. notes, 13: _quin etiam_, and 14: _quin immo.--Ulixi_,
i.e. ab Ulixe, cf. Ann. 15,41: Aedes statoris Jovis Romulo vota, i.e. by
Romulus. This usage is especially frequent in the poets and the later
prose writers, cf. H. 388, II. 3; Z. 419; and in T. above all others, cf.
Böt. Lex. Tac. sub _Dativus_. Wr. and Rit. understand however an altar
(or monument) consecrated to Ulysses, i.e. erected in honor of him by the
citizens.

_Adjecto_. Inscribed with the name of his father, as well as his own,
i.e. [Greek: Laertiadae].

_Graecis litteris. Grecian characters_, cf. Caes. B.G. 1, 29: In castris
_Helvetiorum_, tabulae repertae sunt _litteris Graecis_ confectae; and
(6, 14): _Galli_ in publicis privatisque rationibus _Graecis utuntur
litteris_. T. speaks (Ann. 11, 14) of alphabetic characters, as passing
from Phenicia into Greece, and Strabo (4, 1) traces them from the Grecian
colony at Marseilles, into Gaul, whence they doubtless passed into
Germany, and even into Britain.


IV. _Aliis aliarum_. The Greek and Latin are both fond of a repetition
of different cases of the same word, even where one of them is redundant,
e.g. [Greek: oioden oios] (Hom. II. 7, 39), and particularly in the
words [Greek: allos] and _alius_. _Aliis_ is not however wholly
redundant; but brings out more fully the idea: _no intermarriages, one
with one nation, and another with another_. Walch and Ritter omit
_aliis_, though it is found in all the MSS.

_Infectos_. Things are said _infici_ and _imbui_, which are so penetrated
and permeated by something else, that that something becomes a part of
its nature or substance, as inficere colore, sanguine, veneno, animum
virtutibus. It does not necessarily imply corruption or degeneracy.

_Propriam--similem_. Three epithets not essentially different used for
the sake of emphasis==_peculiar, pure, and sui-generis. Similis_ takes
the gen., when it expresses, as here, an internal resemblance in
character; otherwise the dat., cf. Z. 411, H. 391, 2. 4.

_Habitus_. Form and features, external appearance. The physical features
of the Germans as described by Tacitus, though still sufficient to
distinguish them from the more southern European nations, have proved
less permanent than their mental and social characteristics.

_Idem omnibus_. Cf. Juv. 13, 164:

    _Caerula_ quis stupuit _Germani lumina? flavam
    Caesariem_, et madido torquentem cornua cirro?
    Nempe quod haec illis natura est _omnibus una_.

_Magna corpora_. "Sidonius Apollinaris says, that, being in Germany and
finding the men so very tall, he could not address verses of six feet to
patrons who were seven feet high:

    Spernit senipedem stilum Thalia,
    Ex quo septipedes vidit patronos."    Mur.

Skeletons, in the ancient graves of Germany, are found to vary from 5 ft.
10 in. to 6 ft. 10 in. and even 7 ft. Cf. Ukert, Geog. III. 1. p. 197.
These skeletons indicate a _strong_ and _well formed_ body.

_Impetum. Temporary exertion_, as opposed to _persevering toil and
effort, laboris atque operum_.

_Eadem_. Not so much _patientia_, as _ad impetum valida_. See a like
elliptical use of _idem_ § 23: eadem temperantia; § 10: iisdem nemoribus.
Also of totidem § 26.

_Minime--assueverunt_. "Least of all, are they capable of sustaining
thirst and heat; cold and hunger, they are accustomed, by their soil and
climate, to endure." Ky. The force of _minime_ is confined to the first
clause, and the proper antithetic particle is omitted at the beginning of
the second. _Tolerare_ depends on _assueverunt_, and belongs to both
clauses. _Ve_ is distributive, referring _coelo_ to _frigora_ and _solo_
to _inediam_. So _vel_ in H. 1, 62: strenuis _vel_ ignavis spem metumque
addere==strenuis spem, ignavis metum addere.


V. _Humidior--ventosior. Humidior_ refers to _paludibus, ventosior_ to
_silvis_; the mountains (which were exposed to sweeping _winds_) being
for the most part covered with forests, and the low grounds with marshes.
_Ventosus_==Homeric [Greek: aenemoeis], windy, i.e. lofty. H. 3, 305:
[Greek: Ilion aenemoessan].

_Satis ferax. Satis==segetibus_ poetice. _Ferax_ is constructed with
abl., vid. Virg. Geor. 2, 222: ferax oleo.

_Impatiens_. Not to be taken in the absolute sense, cf. § 20, 23, 26,
where fruit trees and fruits are spoken of.

_Improcera_ agrees with _pecora_ understood.

_Armentis. Pecora_--flocks in general. _Armenta_ (from _aro_, to plough),
larger cattle in particular. It _may_ include horses.

_Suus honor_. Their proper, i.e. usual size and beauty.

_Gloria frontis_. Poetice for _cornua_. Their horns were small.

_Numero_. Emphatic: _number_, rather than _quality_. Or, with Ritter,
_gaudent_ may be taken in the sense of enjoy, possess: _they have a good
number of them_. In the same sense he interprets _gaudent_ in A. 44:
_opibus nimiis non gaudebat_.

_Irati_, sc. quia _opes_ sunt _irritamenta malorum_. Ov. Met. 1, 140.--
_Negaverint_. Subj. H. 525; Z. 552--_Affirmaverim_. cf. note, 2:
_crediderim_.

_Nullam venam_. "Mines of gold and silver have since been discovered in
Germany; the former, indeed, inconsiderable, but the latter valuable."
Ky. T. himself in his later work (the Annals), speaks of the discovery of
a silver mine in Germany. Ann. 11, 20.

_Perinde. Not so much as might be expected_, or as the _Romans_, and
other civilized nations. So Gronovius, Död. and most commentators. See
Rup. in loc. Others, as Or. and Rit. allow no ellipsis, and render: _not
much_. See Hand's Tursellinus, vol. IV. p. 454. We sometimes use _not so
much, not so very, not so bad_, &c., for _not very, not much_, and _not
bad_. Still the form of expression strictly implies a comparison. And the
same is true of _haud perinde_, cf. Böt. Lex. Tac.

_Est videre. Est_ for _licet_. Graece et poetice. Not so used in the
earlier Latin prose. See Z. 227.

_Non in alia vilitate_, i.e. eadem vilitate, aeque vilia, _held in the
same low estimation.--Humo_. Abl. of material.

_Proximi_, sc. ad ripam. Nearest to the Roman border, opposed to
_interiores_.

_Serratos_. Not elsewhere mentioned; probably coins with serrated edges,
still found. The word is post-Augustan.

_Bigatos_. Roman coins stamped with a biga or two-horse chariot. Others
were stamped with a quadriga and called quadrigati. The bigati seem to
have circulated freely in foreign lands, cf. Ukert's Geog. of Greeks and
Romans, III. 1: Trade of Germany, and places cited there. "The serrati
and bigati were old coins, of purer silver than those of tho Emperors."
Ky. Cf. Pliny, H. N. 33, 13.

_Sequuntur_. Sequi==expetere. So used by Cic., Sal., and the best
writers. Compare our word _seek_.

_Nulla affectione animi. Not from any partiality for the silver in
itself_ (but for convenience).

_Numerus_. Greater number and consequently less relative value of the
silver coins. On _quia_, cf. note, H. 1, 31.


VI. _Ne--quidem_. _Not even_, i.e. iron is scarce as well as gold and
silver. The weapons found in ancient German graves are of _stone_, and
bear a striking resemblance to those of the American Indians. Cf. Ukert,
p. 216. Ad verba, cf. note, His. 1, 16: _ne--fueris_. The emphatic word
always stands between _ne_ and _quidem_. H. 602, III. 2; Z. 801.--
_Superest_. Is over and above, i.e. _abounds_. So superest ager, § 26.

_Vel_. Pro _sive_, Ciceroni inauditum. Gün. Cf. note, 17.

_Frameas_. The word is still found in Spain, as well as Germany.
_Lancea_. is also a Spanish word, cf. Freund.

_Nudi_. Cf. § 17, 20, and 24. Also Caes., B.G. 6, 21: magna corporis
parte nuda.

_Sagulo_. Dim. of sago. A small short cloak.--_Leves_==Leviter induti.
The clause _nudi--leves_ is added _here_ to show, that their dress is
favorable to the use of missiles.

_Missilia spargunt_. Dictio est Virgiliana. K.

_Coloribus_. Cf. nigra scuta, § 43. "Hence coats of arms and the origin
of heraldry." Mur.

_Cultus_. Military equipments. Cultus complectitur omnia, quae studio et
arte eis, quae natura instituit, adduntur. K.

_Cassis aut galea_. _Cassis_, properly of metal; _galea_ of leather (Gr.:
galen); though the distinction is not always observed.

_Equi--conspicui_. Cf. Caes. B.G. 4, 2, 7, 65.

_Sed nec variare_. _But_ (i.e. on the other hand) _they are not even_
(for _nec_ in this sense see Ritter in loc.) _taught to vary their
curves_ (i.e. as the antithesis shows, to bend now towards the right and
now towards the left in their gyrations), _but they drive them straight
forward or by a constant bend towards the right in so connected a circle_
(i.e. a complete ring), _that no one is behind_ (for the obvious reason,
that there is neither beginning nor end to such a ring). Such is on the
whole the most satisfactory explanation of this difficult passage, which
we can give after a careful examination. A different version was given in
the first edition. It refers not to battle, but to equestrian exercises,
cf. Gerlach, as cited by Or. in loc.

_Aestimanti_. Greek idiom. Elliptical dative, nearly equivalent to the
abl. abs. (nobis aestimantibus), and called by some the dat. abs. In A.
II. the ellipsis is supplied by _credibile est_. Cf. Bötticher's Lex.
Tac. sub _Dativus_.

_Eoque mixti. Eo_, causal particle==for that reason. Caesar adopted this
arrangement in the battle of Pharsalia. B.C. 3, 84. The Greeks also had
[Greek: pezoi amippoi]. Xen. Hellen. 7, 5.

_Centeni_. A hundred is a favorite number with the Germans and their
descendants. Witness the hundred _pagi_ of the Suevi (Caes. B.G. 4, 1),
and of the Semnones (G. 39), the _cantons_ of Switzerland, and the
_hundreds_ of our Saxon ancestors in England. The _centeni_ here are a
military division. In like manner, Caesar (B.G. 4, 1) speaks of a
_thousand_ men drafted annually from each _pagus_ of the Suevi, for
military service abroad.

_Idque ipsum_. Predicate nominative after a verb of calling, H. 362,
2. 2; Z. 394. The division was called a _hundred_, and each man in it a
_hundreder_; and such was the estimation in which this service was held,
that to be a hundreder, became an honorable distinction, _nomen et
honor_==honorificum nomen.

_Cuneos_. A body of men arranged in the form of a wedge, i.e. narrow in
front and widening towards the rear; hence peculiarly adapted to break
the lines of the enemy.

_Consilii quam formidinis_. Supply _magis_. The conciseness of T.
leads him often to omit one of two correlative particles, cf. note on
_minime_, 4.

_Referunt. Carry into the rear_, and so secure them for burial.

_Etiam in dubiis proeliis_. Even while the battle remains undecided. Gün.

_Finierunt_. In a present or aorist sense, as often in T. So
_prohibuerunt_, § 10; _placuit_ and _displicuit_, 11. cf. Lex. Tac. Böt.


VII. _Reges_, civil rulers; _duces_, military commanders. _Ex_==
secundum. So _ex ingenio_, § 3. The government was elective, yet not
without some regard to hereditary distinctions. They _chose (sumunt)_
their sovereign, but chose him from the royal family, or at least one of
noble extraction. They chose also their commander--the king, if he was
the bravest and ablest warrior; if not, they were at liberty to choose
some one else. And among the Germans, as among their descendants, the
Franks, the authority of the commander was quite distinct from, and
sometimes (in war) paramount to, that of the king. Here Montesquieu and
others find the original of the kings of the first race in the French
monarchy, and the _mayors of the palace_, who once had so much power in
France. Cf. Sp. of Laws, B. 31, chap. 4.

_Nec_ is correlative to _et. The kings on the one hand do not possess
unlimited or unrestrained authority, and the commanders on the other, &c.
Infinita_==sine modo; _libera_==sine vinculo. Wr. _Potestas_==rightful
power, authority; _potentia_==power without regard to right, ability,
force, cf. note, 42. Ad rem, cf. Caes. B.G. 5, 27. Ambiorix tells Caesar,
that though he governed, yet the people made laws for him, and the
supreme power was shared equally between him and them.

_Exemplo--imperio_. "_Dative_ after _sunt==are to set an example, rather
than to give command_." So Grüber and Död. But Wr. and Rit. with more
reason consider them as ablatives of means limiting a verb implied in
_duces: commanders_ (command) _more by example, than by authority_
(official power). See the principle well stated and illustrated in
Döderlein's Essay on the style of Tacitus, p. 15, in my edition of the
Histories.

_Admiratione praesunt. Gain influence, or ascendency, by means of the
admiration which they inspire_, cf. note on metus, § 2.

_Agant_. Subj., ut ad judicium admirantium, non mentem scriptoris
trahatur. Gün.

_Animadvertere_==interficere. Cf. H. 1, 46. 68. _None but the priests are
allowed to put to death, to place in irons, nor even_ (ne quidem) _to
scourge_. Thus punishment was clothed with divine authority.

_Effigies et signa. Images and standards_, i.e. images, which serve for
standards. Images of wild beasts are meant, cf. H. 4, 22: depromptae
silvis lucisve ferarum imagines.--_Turmam_, cavalry. _Cuneum_, infantry,
but sometimes both. _Conglobatio_ is found only in writers after the
Augustan age and rarely in them. It occurs in Sen. Qu. Nat. 1, 15, cf.
Freund.

_Familiae_ is less comprehensive than _propinquitates. Audiri_, sc.
solent. Cf. A. 34 _ruere_. Wr. calls it histor. inf., and Rit. pronounces
it a gloss.

_Pignora_. Whatever is most dear, particularly mothers, wives, and
children.--_Unde_, adv. of place, referring to _in proximo_.

_Vulnera ferunt_, i.e. on their return from battle.

_Exigere. Examine_, and compare, to see who has the most and the most
honorable, or perhaps to soothe and dress them.--_Cibos et hortamina_.
Observe the singular juxtaposition of things so unlike. So 1: _metu aut
montibus_; A. 25: _copiis et laetitia_; 37: _nox et satietas_; 38:
_gaudio praedaque_.


VIII. _Constantia precum==importunate entreaties_.

_Objectu pectorum. By opposing their breasts_, not to the enemy but to
their retreating husbands, praying for death in preference to captivity.

_Monstrata--captivitate_. _Cominus_ limits _captivitate_, pointing to
captivity as just before them.--_Impatientius_. _Impatienter_ and
_impatientia_ (the adv. and the subst.) are post-Augustan words. The adj.
(impatiens) is found earlier. Cf. Freund.

_Feminarum--nomine_, i.e. propter feminas suas. Gün. So Cic.: tuo nomine
et reipublicae==on your account and for the sake of the republic. But it
means perhaps more than that here, viz. in the person of. They dreaded
captivity more for their women than for themselves. _Adeo==insomuch
that_.

_Inesse_, sc. feminis. _They think, there is in their women something
sacred and prophetic_. Cf. Caes. B.G. 1, 50, where Caesar is informed by
the prisoners, that Ariovistus had declined an engagement because the
_women_ had declared against coming to action before the new moon.--
_Consilia, advice_ in general; _responsa, inspired answers_, when
consulted.

_Vidimus_, i.e. she lived in our day--under the reign of Vespasian.--
_Veledam_. Cf. H. 4, 61. 65.

_Auriniam_. Aurinia seems to have been a common name in Germany for
prophetess or wise woman. Perhaps==Al-runas, women knowing all things. So
_Veleda_==wise woman. Cf. Wr. in loc.

_Non adulatione_, etc. "Not through adulation, nor as if they were
raising mortals to the rank of goddesses." Ky. This is one of those
oblique censures on Roman customs in which the treatise abounds. The
Romans in the excess of their adulation to the imperial family _made_
ordinary women goddesses, as Drusilla, sister of Caligula, the infant
daughter of Poppaea (Ann. 15, 23), and Poppaea herself (Dio 63, 29). The
Germans, on the other hand, really thought some of their wise women to be
divine. Cf. His. 4, 62, and my note ibid. Reverence and affection for
woman was characteristic of the German Tribes, and from them has diffused
itself throughout European society.


IX. _Deorum_. T. here, as elsewhere, applies Roman names, and puts a
Roman construction (Romana interpretatione, § 43), upon the gods of other
nations, cf. § 3.

_Mercurium_. So Caes. B.G. 6, 17: Deum maxime Mercurium colunt. Probably
the German _Woden_, whose name is preserved in our Wednesday, as that of
Mercury is in the French name of the same day, and who with a name
slightly modified (Woden, Wuotan, Odin), was a prominent object of
worship among all the nations of Northern Europe. _Mars_ is perhaps the
German god of war (Tiw, Tiu, Tuisco) whence Tuesday, French Mardi, cf.
Tur. His. Ang. Sax. App. to B. 2. chap. 3. _Herculem_ is omitted by
Ritter on evidence (partly external and partly internal) which is
entitled to not a little consideration. Hercules is the god of strength,
perhaps Thor.

_Certis diebus_. Statis diebus. Gün.

_Humanis--hostiis_. Even _facere_ in the sense of _sacrifice_ is
construed with abl. Virg. Ec. 3, 77. _Quoque_==even. For its position in
the sentence, cf. note, 3.

_Concessis animalibus_. Such as the Romans and other civilized nations
offer, in contradistinction to _human_ sacrifices, which the author
regards as _in_-concessa. The attempt has been made to remove from the
Germans the stain of human sacrifices. But it rests on incontrovertible
evidence (cf. Tur. His. Ang. Sax., App. to B. 2. cap. 3), and indeed
attaches to them only in common with nearly all uncivilized nations. The
Gauls and Britons, and the Celtic nations generally, carried the practice
to great lengths, cf. Caes. B.G. 6, 15. The neighbors of the Hebrews
offered human victims in great numbers to their gods, as we learn from
the Scriptures. Nay, the reproach rests also upon the Greeks and Romans
in their early history. Pliny informs us, that men were sacrificed as
late as the year of Rome 657.

_Isidi_. The Egyptian Isis in Germany! This shows, how far the Romans
went in comparing the gods of different nations. Gr. Ritter identifies
this goddess with the Nertha of chap. 40, the Egyptian Isis and Nertha
being both equivalent to Mother Earth, the Terra or Tellus of the Romans.

_Liburnae_. A light galley, so called from the Liburnians, a people of
Illyricum, who built and navigated them. The _signum_, here likened to a
galley, was more probably a rude crescent, connected with the worship of
the moon, cf. Caes. B.G. 6, 21: Germani deorum numero ducunt Solem et
_Lunam_.

_Cohibere parietibus_==aedificiis includere, K. T. elsewhere speaks of
temples of German divinities (e.g. 40: templum Nerthi; Ann. 1, 51:
templum Tanfanae); but a consecrated grove or any other sacred place was
called _templum_ by the Romans (templum from [Greek: temno], cut off, set
apart).

_Ex magnitudine_. _Ex_==secundum, cf. _ex nobilitate_, _ex virtute_ § 7.
_Ex magnitudine_ is predicate after _arbitrantur: they deem it unbecoming
the greatness_, etc.

_Humani--speciem_. Images of the gods existed at a later day in Germany
(S. Tur. His. of Ang. Sax., App. to B. 2. cap. 3). But this does not
prove their existence in the days of T. Even as late as A.D. 240 Gregory
Thaumaturgus expressly declares, there were no images among the Goths. No
traces of temple-walls or images have been discovered in connection with
the numerous sites of ancient altars or places of offering which have
been exhumed in _Germany_, though both these are found on the _borders_,
both south and west, cf. Ukert, p. 236.

_Lucos et nemora_. "Lucus (a [Greek: lukae], crepusculum) sylva densior,
obumbrans; nemus ([Greek: nemos]) sylva rarior, in quo jumenta et pecora
pascuntur." Bredow.

_Deorumque--vident. They invoke under the name of gods that mysterious
existence, which they see_ (not under any human or other visible form,
but) _with the eye of spiritual reverence alone_. So Gr. and K. Others
get another idea thus loosely expressed: They give to that sacred recess
the name of the divinity that fills the place, which is never profaned by
the steps of man.

_Sola reverentia_, cf. _sola mente_ applied by T. to the spiritual
religion of the Jews, H. 5, 5. The religion of the Germans and other
northern tribes was more spiritual than that of southern nations, when
both were Pagan. And after the introduction of Christianity, the Germans
were disinclined to the image-worship of the Papists.


X. _Auspicia sortesque_. _Auspicia_ (avis-spicia) properly divination by
observing the flight and cry of birds; _sortes_, by drawing lots: but
both often used in the general sense of omens, oracles.

_Ut qui maxime_, sc. _observant_. Ellipsis supplied by repeating
_observant_==to the greatest extent, none more.

_Simplex_. Sine Romana arte, cf. Cic. de Div. 2, 41, K. The Scythians had
a similar method of divining, Herod. 4, 67. Indeed, the practice of
_divining_ by _rods_ has hardly ceased to this day, among the descendants
of the German Tribes.

_Temere_, without plan on the part of the diviner.--_Fortuito_, under the
direction of chance. Gr.

_Si publice consuletur_. If the question to be decided is of a public
nature. _Consuletur_, fut., because at the time of drawing lots the
deliberation and decision are future. Or it may refer to the consultation
of the gods (cf. Ann. 14, 30: _consulere deos_): _if it is by the state
that the gods are to be consulted_. So Ritter in his last edition.

_Ter singulos tollit_. A three-fold drawing for the sake of certainty.
Thus Ariovistus drew lots three times touching the death of Valerius
(Caes. B.G. 1, 53). So also the Romans drew lots three times, Tibul. 1,
3, 10: sortes ter sustulit. Such is the interpretation of these disputed
words by Grüber, Ritter and many others, and such is certainly their
natural and obvious meaning: _he takes up three times one after another_
all the slips he has _scattered_ (_spargere_ is hardly applicable to
_three_ only): if the signs are twice or thrice favorable, the thing is
permitted; if twice or thrice unfavorable it is prohibited. The language
of Caesar (in loc. cit.) is still more explicit: _ter sortibus
consultum_. But Or., Wr. and Död. understand simply the taking up of
three lots one each time.

_Si prohibuerunt_ sc. sortes==dii. The reading _prohibuerunt_ (aL
prohibuerint) is favored by the analogy of _si displicuit_, 11, and other
passages. _Sin (==si--ne)_ is particularly frequent in antithesis with
_si_, and takes the same construction after it.

_Auspiciorum--exigitur. Auspiciorum_, here some other omens, than lots;
such as the author proceeds to specify. _Adhuc_==ad hoc, praeterea, i.e.
in addition to the lots. The sense is: _besides drawing lots, the
persuasion produced by auspices is required_.

_Etiam hic_. In Germany also (as well as at Rome and other well known
countries). _Hic_ is referred to Rome by some. But it was hardly needful
for T. to inform the Romans of that custom at Rome.

_Proprium gentis. It is a peculiarity of the German race_. It is not,
however, exclusively German. Something similar prevailed among the
Persians, Herod. 1, 189. 7, 55. Darius Hystaspes was indebted to the
neighing of his horse for his elevation to the throne.

_Iisdem memoribus_, § 9.--_Mortali opere_==hominum opere.--_Contacti_.
Notio contaminandi inest, K.--_Pressi curru_. Harnessed to the sacred
chariot. More common, pressi jugo. Poetice.

_Conscios_ sc. deorum. _The priests consider themselves the servants of
the gods, the horses the confidants of the same_. So Tibullus speaks of
the _conscia_ fibra _deorum_. Tibul. 1, 8, 3.

_Committunt_. Con and mitto, send together==_engage in fight_. A
technical expression used of gladiators and champions.

_Praejudicio. Sure prognostic_. Montesquieu finds in this custom the
origin of the duel and of knight-errantry.


XI. _Apud--pertractentur. Are handled_, i.e. discussed, among, i.e. _by
the chiefs_, sc. before being referred to the people.

_Nisi_ refers not to _coeunt_, but to _certis diebus_.

_Fortuitum_, casual, unforeseen; _subitum_, requiring immediate action.

_Inchoatur--impletur_. Ariovistus would not _fight_ before the new moon,
Caes. B.G. 1, 50.

_Numerum--noctium_. Of which custom, we have a relic and a proof in our
seven-_night_ and fort-_night_. So also the Gauls. Caes. B.G. 6, 18.

_Constituunt_==decree, determine; _condicunt_==proclaim, appoint. The
_con_ in both implies _concerted_ or public action. They are forensic
terms.

_Nox--videtur_. So with the Athenians, Macrob. Saturn. 1, 3.; and the
Hebrews, Gen. 1, 5.

_Ex libertate_, sc. _ortum, arising from_. Gün.

_Nec ut jussi. Not precisely at the appointed time_, but a day or two
later, if they choose.

_Ut turbae placuit. Ut_==simul ac, as soon as, _when_. It is the _time of
commencing their session_, that depends on the will of the multitude; not
their sitting _armed_, for that they always did, cf. _frameas concutiunt_
at the close of the section; also § 13: nihil neque publicae neque
privatae rei nisi armati agunt. To express this latter idea, the order of
the words would have been reversed thus: _armati considunt_.

_Tum et coercendi_. When the session is commenced, _then (tum)_ the
priests have the right not merely to command silence, but _also (et) to
enforce it_. This use of _et_ for _etiam_ is very rare in Cic., but
frequent in Livy, T. and later writers. See note, His. 1, 23.

_Imperatur. Imperare_ plus est, quam _jubere_. See the climax in Ter.
Eun. 2, 3, 98; jubeo, cogo atque impero. _Impero_ is properly military
command. K.

_Prout_ refers, not to the order of speaking, but to the degree of
influence they have over the people. Gr.--_Aetas_. Our word _alderman_
(elderman) is a proof, that office and honor were conferred on _age_ by
our German ancestors. So _senator_ (senex) among the Romans.

_Armis laudare_, i.e. armis concussis. "Montesquieu is of opinion that
in this Treatise on the manners of the Germans, an attentive reader may
trace the origin of the British constitution. That beautiful system, he
says, was formed in the forests of Germany, Sp. of Laws 11, 6. The
_Saxon_ Witena-gemot (Parliament) was, beyond all doubt, an improved
political institution, grafted on the rights exercised by the people in
their own country." Murphy, cf. S. Tur. His. of Ang. Sax. B. 8. cap. 4


XII. _Accusare--intendere. To accuse and impeach for capital crimes_.
Minor offences were tried before the courts described at the end of the
section.--_Quoque_. In addition to the legislative power spoken of in the
previous section, the council exercised _also_ certain judicial
functions. _Discrimen capitis intendere_, lit. _to endeavor to bring one
in danger of losing his life_.

_Ignavos--infames. The sluggish, the cowardly, and the impure_; for so
_corpore infames_ usually means, and there is no sufficient reason for
adopting another sense here. _Infames_ foeda Veneris aversae nota. K. Gr.
understands those, whose persons were disfigured by dishonorable wounds,
or who had mutilated themselves to avoid military duty. Gün. includes
both ideas: _quocunque_, non tantum _venereo_, corporis abusu contempti.

_Insuper_==superne. So 16: multo _insuper_ fimo onerant.

_Diversitas_ is a post-Augustan word, cf. Freund, sub v.

_Illuc respicit. Has respect to this principle. Scelera==crimes;
flagitia==vices, low and base actions. Scelus_ poena, _flagitium_
contemptu dignum. Gün.

_Levioribus delictis_. Abl. abs.==_when lighter offences are committed_;
or abl. of circum.==_in case of lighter offences_.

_Pro modo poenarum_. Such is the reading of all the MSS. _Pro modo,
poena_ is an ingenious _conjecture_ of Acidalius. But it is unnecessary.
Render thus: _in case of lighter offences, the convicted persons are
mulcted in a number of horses or cattle, in proportion to the severity of
the sentence adjudged to be due_.

_Qui vindicatur. The injured party_, or _plaintiff_. This principle
of pecuniary satisfaction was carried to great lengths among the
Anglo-Saxons. See Turner, as cited, 21.

_Qui reddunt_. Whose _business_ or _custom_ it is to administer justice,
etc. E. proposes _reddant_. But it is without authority and would give a
less appropriate sense.

_Centeni_. Cf. note, § 6: centeni ex singulis pagis. "Sunt in quibusdam
locis Germaniae, velut Palatinatu, Franconia, etc. Zentgericht
(hundred-courts)," cf. Bernegger.

_Consilia et auctoritas_. Abstract for concrete==_his advisers and the
supporters of his dignity_.


XIII. _Nihil nisi armati_. The _Romans_ wore arms only in time of war or
on a journey.

_Moris_, sc. est. A favorite expression of T. So 21: concedere moris
(est). And in A. 39.

_Suffecturum probaverit. On examination has pronounced him competent_
(sc. to bear arms). Subj. after _antequam_. H. 523, II.; Z. 576.

_Ornant. Ornat_ would have been more common Latin, and would have made
better English. But this construction is not unfrequent in T., cf. 11:
rex vel princeps audiuntur. Nor is it without precedent in other authors.
Cf. Z. 374. Ritter reads _propinqui_. The attentive reader will discover
here traces of many subsequent usages of _chivalry_.

_Haec toga_. This is the badge of manhood among the Germans, as the toga
virilis was among the Romans. The Romans assumed the toga at the age of
seventeen. The Athenians were reckoned as [Greek: Ephaeboi] at the same
age, Xen. Cyr, 1, 2, 8. The Germans (in their colder climate) not till
the 20th year. Caes. B.G. 6, 21.

_Dignationem. Rank, title_. It differs from _dignitas_ in being more
external. Cf. H. 1, 19: _dignatio Caesaris_; 8, 80: _dignatio viri_.
Ritter reads _dignitatem_.

_Assignant. High birth or great merits of their fathers assign_ (i.e.
mark out, not consign, or fully confer) _the title of chief even to young
men_.

_Gradus--habet_. Observe the emphatic position of _gradus_, and the force
of _quin etiam ipse: Gradations of rank, moreover the retinue itself
has_, i.e. the retainers are not only distinguished as a body in
following such a leader, _but_ there are _also distinctions_ among
_themselves. Quin etiam_ seldom occupies the second place. T. is fond of
anastrophe. Cf. Böt. Lex. Tac.

_Si--emineat. If he_ (cuique) _stands pre-eminent for the number and
valor of his followers. Comitatus_ is gen. _Emineat_, subj. pres. H. 504
et 509; Z. 524.

_Ceteris--aspici_. These noble youth, thus designated to the rank of
chieftains, _attach themselves_ (for a time, with some followers perhaps)
_to the other_ chiefs, who are _older and already distinguished, nor are
they ashamed to be seen among their attendants_.

_Quibus--cui_, sc. sit==_who shall have_, etc.

_Ipsa fama. Mere reputation_ or _rumor_ without coming to arms.

_Profligant_==ad finem perducunt. So Kiessling, Bötticher and Freund.
Ritter makes it==_propellunt_, frighten away. _Profligare bella,
proelia_, &c., is Tacitean. _Profligare hostes_, etc., is the common
expression.


XIV. _Jam vero_==porro. Cf. Böt. Lex. Tac. It marks a transition to a
topic of special importance. Cf. H. 1, 2. See Död, in loc.

_Recessisse_. All the best Latin writers are accustomed to use the
preterite after pudet, taedet, and other words of the like signification.
Gün. The cause of shame is prior to the shame.

_Infame_. "When Chonodomarus, king of the Alemanni, was taken prisoner by
the Romans, his military companions, to the number of two hundred, and
three of the king's most intimate friends, thinking it a most flagitious
crime to live in safety after such an event, surrendered themselves to be
loaded with fetters. Ammian. Marcell, 16, 12, 60. There are instances of
the same kind in Tacitus." Mur. Cf. also Caes. B.G. 3, 22. 7, 40.

_Defendere, to defend him_, when attacked; _tueri, to protect him_ at all
times.

_Praecipuum sacramentum. Their most sacred duty_, Gün. and K.; _or the
chief part of their oath_, Gr.--_Clarescunt--tuentur_. So Ritter after
the best MSS. Al. _clarescant--tueantur_, or _tueare_.

_Non nisi_. In Cic. usually separated by a word or a clause. In T.
generally brought together.

_Exigunt. They expect.--Illum--illam_. Angl. _this--that_, cf.
_hinc--hinc_, A. 25.--_Bellatorem equum_. Cf. Virg. G. 2, 145.

_Incompti--apparatus. Entertainments, though inelegant yet liberal.
Apparatus_ is used in the same way, Suet. Vitel. 10 and 13.--_Cedunt_==
iis dantur. Gün.

_Nec arare_, etc. The whole language of this sentence is poetical, e.g.
the use of the inf. after _persuaseris_, of _annum_ for annuam mensem,
the sense of _vocare_ and _mereri_, &c. _Vocare_, i.e. provocare, cf. H.
4, 80, and Virg. Geor. 4, 76. _Mereri, earn, deserve_, i.e. by bravery.

_Pigrum et iners_. Piger est natura ad laborem tardus; iners, in quo
nihil artis et virtutis. K. Render: _a mark of stupidity and incapacity_.

_Quin immo. Nay but, nay more_. These words connect the clause, though
not placed at the beginning, as they are by other writers. They seem to
be placed after _pigrum_ in order to throw it into an emphatic position.
So _gradus quin etiam_, 13, where see note.--_Possis_. You, i.e., any one
can. Z. 524. Cf. note II. 1, 10: _laudares_. So _persuaseris_ in the
preceding sentence. The subj. gives a contingent or potential turn==_can
procure_, sc. if you will _would persuade_, sc. if you should try. An
indefinite person is always addressed in the subj. in Latin, even when
the ind. would be used if a definite person were addressed. Z. 524.

In the chieftains and their retainers, as described in the last two
sections, the reader cannot fail to discover the germ of the feudal
system. Cf. Montesq. Sp. of Laws, 30, 3, 4; also Robertson's Chas. V.


XV. _Non multum_. The common reading (multum without the negative) is a
mere conjecture, and that suggested by a misapprehension of the meaning
of T. _Non multum_ is to be taken comparatively. Though in time of peace
they hunt often, yet they spend _so much more time in eating, drinking,
and sleeping_, that the former is comparatively small. Thus understood,
this passage of T. is not inconsistent with the declarations of Caesar,
B.G. 6, 21: Vita Germanorum omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei
militaris consistit. Caesar leaves out of account their periods of
inaction, and speaks only of their active employments, which were war and
the chase. It was the special object of Tacitus, on the contrary, to give
prominence to that striking feature of the German character which Caesar
overlooks; and therein, as Wr. well observes, the later historian shows
his more exact acquaintance with the Germans. _Non multum_, as opposed to
_plus_, is nearly equivalent to _minus_.

_Venatibus, per otium_. Enallage for _venatibus, otio_, H. 704, III. This
figure is very frequent in T., e.g. § 40: per obsequium, proeliis; A. 9:
virtute aut per artem; A. 41: temeritate aut per ignaviam, &c. Seneca,
and indeed most Latin authors, prefer a _similar_ construction in
antithetic clauses; T. seems rather to avoid it. In all such cases
however, as the examples just cited show, _per_ with the acc. is not
precisely equivalent to the abl. The abl. is more active and implies
means, agency; the acc. with _per_ is more passive and denotes manner or
occasion.

_Delegata, transferred_.

_Familiae. Household_, properly of servants (from famel, Oscan for
servant), as in chapp. 25 and 32: but sometimes the whole family, as here
and in chap. 7: _familiae et propinquitates_.

_Ipsi_. The men of middle life, the heads of the _familiae_.

_Diversitate. Contrariety.--Ament_. Subj. H. 518, I.; Z. 577.--
_Oderint_. Perf. in the sense of the pres. H. 297, I. 2; Z. 221.

_Inertiam. Inertiam==idleness_, freedom from business and care (from _in_
and _ars_); _quietem==tranquillity_, a life of undisturbed repose without
action or excitement. Cf. 14: _ingrata genti quies_. In this account of
the habits of the Germans, one might easily fancy, he was reading a
description of the manner of life among our American Indians. It may be
remarked here, once for all, that this resemblance may be traced in very
many particulars, e.g. in their personal independence, in the military
chieftains and their followers, in their extreme fondness for the
hardships and dangers of war, in their strange inactivity, gluttony and
drunkenness in peace, in their deliberative assemblies and the power of
eloquence to sway their counsels, in their half elective, half hereditary
form of government, in the spirituality of their conceptions of God, and
some other features of their religion (Robertson has drawn out this
comparison in his history of Charles V). All tribes in a rude and savage
state must have many similar usages and traits of character. And this
resemblance between the well-known habits of our wandering savages and
those which T. ascribes to the rude tribes of Germany, may impress us
with confidence in the truthfulness of his narrative.

_Vel armentorum vel frugum_. Partitive gen. Supply aliquid.--
_Vel--vel==whether--or_, merely distinctive; _aut--aut==either--or_,
adversative and exclusive. _Vel--vel_ (from _volo_) implies, that one
may _choose_ between the alternatives or particulars named; _aut--aut_
(from [Greek: au, autis]), that if one is affirmed, the other is denied,
since both cannot be true at the same time. Cf. note, A. 17: _aut--aut.
--Pecuniam_. An oblique censure of the Romans for purchasing peace and
alliance with the Germans, cf. H. 4, 76. Herodian 6, 7: [Greek: touto
gar (sc. chrusio) malista Germanoi peithontai, philargyroi te
ontes kai taen eiraenaen aei pros tous Romaious chrusiou kapaeleuontes].
On _et_, cf. note 11.

XVI. _Populis_. Dative of the agent instead of the abl. with _a_ or _ab_.
Cf. note 3: _Ulixi_.

_Ne--quidem_. These words are always separated, the word on which the
emphasis rests being placed between them. H. 602, III. 2; Z. 801. Here
however the emphasis seems to belong to the whole clause--_Inter se_, sc.
_sedes junctas inter se_.

_Colunt_==in-colunt. Both often used intransitively, or rather with an
ellipsis of the object,==_dwell_.

_Discreti ac diversi. Separate and scattered_ in different directions,
i.e. without regular streets or highways. See Or. in loc.

_Ut fons--placuit_. Hence to this day, the names of German towns often
end in bach (brook), feld (field), holz (grove), wald (wood), born
(spring). On the permanence of names of places, see note H. 1, 53.

_Connexis_, with some intervening link, such as fences, hedges, and
outhouses; _cohaerentibus_, in immediate contact.

_Remedium--inscitia. It may be as a remedy_, etc.--_or it may be through
ignorance_, etc. _Sive--sive_ expresses an alternative conditionally,
or contingently==it may be thus, or it may be thus. Compare it with
_vel--vel_, chap. 15, and with _aut--aut_, A 17. See also Ramshorn's
Synonyms, 138. _Remedium_ is acc. in app. with the foregoing clause.
_Inscitia_ is abl. of cause==per inscitiam.

_Caementorum_. Properly _hewn_ stone (from caedo), but in usage any
building stone.--_Tegularum_. Tiles, any materials for the _roof_ (tego),
whether of brick, stone, or wood.

_Citra_. Properly this side of, hence short of, or _without_, as used by
the _later_ Latin authors. This word is kindred to _cis_, i.e. _is_ with
the demonstrative prefix _ce_. Cf. Freund sub v.

_Speciem_ refers more to the _eye, delectationem_ to the _mind_. Taken
with _citra_, they are equivalent to adjectives, connected to _informi_
and limiting _materia_ (citra speciem==non speciosa, Gün.). Render:
_rude materials, neither beautiful to the eye nor attractive to the
taste_. _Materia_ is distinctively wood for building. Fire-wood is
_lignum_.

_Quaedam loca_. Some parts of their houses, e.g. the walls.

_Terra ita pura_. Probably red earth, such as chalk or gypsum.

_Imitetur. Resembles painting and colored outlines_ or figures.

_Aperire_. Poetice==_excavate_. Cellars under ground were unknown to the
Romans. See Beck. Gal., and Smith's Dict. Ant.

_Ignorantur--fallunt. They are not known to exist, or else_ (though known
to exist) _they escape discovery from the very fact that they must be
sought_ (in order to be found). Gün. calls attention to the multiform
enallage in this sentence: 1. in number (_populatur, ignorantur,
fallunt_); 2. of the active, passive, and deponent verbs; 3. in the
change of cases (_aperta_, acc.; _abdita_ and _defossa_, nom.).


XVII. _Sagum_. A short, thick cloak, worn by Roman soldiers and
countrymen.

_Fibula_==figibula, any artificial fastening; _spina_==natural.

_Si desit_. Observe the difference between this clause, and _si quando
advenit_ in the preceding chapter. This is a mere supposition without
regard to fact; that implies an expectation, that the case will sometimes
happen.

_Cetera intecti. Uncovered as to the rest of the body_, cf. 6: nudi aut
sagulo leves.

_Totos dies_. Acc. of duration of time.--_Agunt_==vivunt. K.

_Fluitante_. The flowing robe of the southern and eastern nations;
_stricta_, the close dress and short clothes of the northern nations.

_Artus exprimente_. Quae tam arte artus includit, ut emineant, earumque
lineamenta et forma appareant, K. K. and Gr. understand this of coat and
vest, as well as breeches; Gün. of breeches only.

_Proximi ripae_. Near the banks of the Rhine and the Danube, so as to
have commercial intercourse with the Romans. These having introduced the
cloth and dress of the Romans, attached little importance to the manner
of wearing their _skins_. But those in the interior, having no other
apparel, valued themselves on the nice adjustment of them.

_Cultus_, artificial refinement. Cf. note, 6.

_Maculis pellibusque_, for maculatis pellibus or maculis pellium, perhaps
to avoid the concurrence of genitives.

_Belluarum--gignit. Oceanus_==terrae, quas Oceanus alluit; and
_belluae_==lutrae, mustelae, erminiae, etc., so K. But Gr. says _belluae_
cannot mean such small creatures, and agrees with Lipsius, in
understanding by it marine animals, seadogs, seals, &c. Freund connects
it in derivation with [Greek: thaer], fera (bel==ber==ther==fer), but
defines it as properly an animal remarkable for size or wildness.
_Exterior Oceanus_==Oceanus extra orbem Romanum, further explained by
_ignotum mare_. Cf. note, 2: adversus Oceanus.

_Habitus_, here==vestitus; in § 4.==forma corporis.

_Saepius, oftener_ than the _men_, who also wore linen more or less. Gün.

_Purpura_. Facta e succo plantis et floribus expresso. Gün.

_Nudae--lacertos_. Graece et poetice. Brachia a manu ad cubitum; lacerti
a cubito ad humeros.


XVIII. _Quanquam_==sed tamen, i.e. notwithstanding the great freedom in
the dress of German women, yet the marriage relation is sacred. This use
of _quanquam_ is not unfrequent in T., and sometimes occurs in Cic.,
often in Pliny. See Z. 341, N.

_Qui ambiuntur_. This passage is construed in two ways: _who are
surrounded_ (ambiuntur==circumdantur, cf. II. 5, 12.) _by many wives not
to gratify lust, but to increase their rank and influence_ (_ob_ in the
sense _for the sake of_, cf. ob metum, 2). Or thus: _who_ (take many
wives) _not to gratify lust, but on account of their rank they are
solicited to form many matrimonial alliances_. For _ambio_ in this sense
and with the same somewhat peculiar construction after it, see H. 4, 51:
_tantis sociorum auxiliis ambiri_; also Virg. Aen. 7, 333: connubiis
ambire Latinum. The latter is preferable, and is adopted by Wr., K., Gr.,
&c. The former by Gün. and others. Ariovistus had two wives. Caes. B.G.
1, 53.

_Probant_, cf. probaverit, 13, note.--_Comatur_. Subj. denoting the
intention of the presents _with which she is to be adorned_. H 500, 1; Z.
567.

_Frenatum_, bridled, _caparisoned==paratus_ below.

_In haec munera_==[Greek: epi toutois tois dorois]. _In_==upon the basis
of, _on condition of_. So Liv.: in has leges, in easdem leges.

_Hoc--vinculum_, So, § 13: haec apud illos toga. In both passages the
allusion is to Roman customs (for which see Becker's Gallus, Exc. 1.
Scene 1). In Germany, _these presents_ take the place of the
_confarreatio_ (see Fiske's Manual, p. 286. 4. ed.), and the various
other methods of ratifying the marriage contract at Rome; _these_, of
the religious rites in which the parties mutually engaged on the wedding
day (see Man., p. 287).--_Conjugales deos_. Certain gods at Rome
presided over marriage, e.g. Jupiter, Juno, Venus, Jugatinus, Hymenaeus,
Diana, &c.

_Extra_. Cic. would have said _expertem_ or _positum extra_. But T. is
fond of the adv. used elliptically.

_Auspiciis==initiatory rites_.

_Denuntiant, proclaim, denote.--Accipere_ depends on _denuntiant_ or
_admonetur_.

_Rursus, quae--referantur_. Rhenanus conjectured; rursusque--referant,
which has since become the common reading. But _referantur_ is the
reading of all the MSS., and needs no emendation; and _quae_, with as
good authority as _que_, makes the construction more natural and the
sense more apposite. The passage, as Gr. well suggests, consists of two
parts (_accipere--reddat_, and _quae--accipiant--referantur_), _each_ of
which includes the _two_ ideas of _receiving_ and _handing down_ to the
next generation. Render thus: _she is reminded that she receives gifts,
which she is to hand over pure and unsullied to her children; which her
daughters-in-law are to receive again_ (sc. from her sons, as she did
from her husband), _which are to be transmitted by them to her
grand-children_.

_Referantur_. In another writer, we might expect _referant_ to correspond
in construction and subject with _accipiant_. But Tacitus is fond of
varying the construction. Cf. Bötticher's Lex Tac., and note, 16:
_ignorantur_.


XIX. _Septa_. So the MSS. for the most part. Al. _septae_. Meaning: _with
chastity guarded_, sc. by the sacredness of marriage and the excellent
institutions of the Germans.

_Nullis--corruptae_. Here, as every where else in this treatise, T.
appears as the censor of Roman manners. He has in mind those fruitful
sources of corruption at Rome, public shows, (cf. Sen. Epist. 7: _nihil
vero est tam damnosum bonis moribus, quam in aliquo spectaculo
desidere_), convivial entertainments (cf. Hor. Od. 3, 6, 27), and
epistolary correspondence between the two sexes.

_Litterarum secreta_==litteras secretas, _secret correspondence_ between
the sexes, for this limitation is obvious from the connexion.--
_Praesens. Immediate_.

_Maritis permissa_, sc. as a _domestic_ crime, cf. Caes. B.G. 6, 19: Viri
in uxores, sicut in liberos, vitae necisque habent potestatem. Cf. Beck.
Gall., Exc. 1. Sc. 1.

_Accisis crinibus_, as a special mark of _disgrace_, cf. 1 Cor. 11, 6. So
in the laws of the Lombards, the punishment of adulteresses was
_decalvari et fustigari.--Omnem vicum, the whole village_, cf. Germania
omnis, § 1.--_Aetate==juventa_.

_Non--invenerit. She would not find, could not expect to find_. This use
of the perf. subj., for a softened fut., occurs in negative sentences
oftener than in positive ones. Cf. Arnold's Prose Comp. 417, Note.

_Saeculum_==indoles et mores saeculi, _the spirit of the age, the
fashion_.

_Adhuc_ (==ad-hoc) is generally used by Cicero, and often by Tacitus, in
the sense either of _still_ (to this day), or _moreover_ (in addition to
this). From these, it passed naturally, in Quintilian and the writers
after him, into the sense of _even more, still more, even_, especially in
connection with the comparative degree; where the authors of the Augustan
age would have used _etiam_. See Z. 486; Bötticher's Lex. Tac. sub. voce;
and Hand's Tursellinus, vol. 1. I. 165. _Melius quidem adhuc==still
better even_. For a verb, supply _sunt_ or _agunt_. Cf. note A. 19:
_nihil_.

_Eae civitates_. Such as the Heruli, among whom the wife was expected to
hang herself at once at the grave of her husband, if she would not live
in perpetual infamy. At Rome, on the contrary, divorces and marriages
might be multiplied to any extent, cf. Mart. 6, 7: _nubit decimo viro_;
also Beck, as above cited.

_Semel_, like [Greek: apax], _once for all_.

_Transigitur_. Properly a business phrase. The business is _done up,
brought to an end_. So A. 34: transigite cum expeditionibus.

_Ultra_, sc. primum maritum. So the ellipsis might be supplied. _Ultra_
here is equivalent to _longior_ in the next clause, as T. often puts the
adverb in place of the adjective, whether qualifying or predicate.

_Ne tanquam--ament_, sc. maritum: _that they may not love_ a husband
_merely as a husband but as_ they love _the married state_. See this and
similar examples of _brachylogy_ well illustrated in Döderlein's Essay on
the style of Tacitus, H. p. 14. Since but one marriage was allowed, all
their love for the married state must be concentrated in one husband.

_Numerum--finire_. In any way contrary to nature and by design. Gün. _Quod
fiebat etiam abortus procuratione_. K.

_Ex agnatis. Agnati_ hoc loco dicuntur, qui _post familiam constitutam_,
ubi haeres jam est, _deinde nascuntur_. Hess. To put such to death was a
barbarous custom among the Romans. Cf. Ann. 3, 25; see Beck. Gall. Exc.
2. scene 1.

_Alibi_, e.g. at Rome.--_Boni mores_ vs. _bonae leges_. These words
involve a sentiment of great importance, and of universal application.
Good habits wherever they exist, and especially in a republic, are of far
greater value and efficacy than good laws.


XX. _Nudi_. Cf. 6: nudi aut sagulo leves. Not literally naked, but
slightly clad, cf. Sen. de benef. 5, 13: qui _male vestitum_ et pannosum
vidit, _nudum_ se vidisse dicit.

_Sordidi_. Gün. understands this of personal filth. But this is
inconsistent with the daily practice of bathing mentioned, § 22. It
doubtless refers to the _dress_, as Gr. and K. understand it: _nudi ac
sordidi==poorly and meanly clad_. So also Or.

_Quae miramur_. Cf. 4: _magna corpora_. See also Caes. B.G. 1, 39, 4, 1.
On _haec_, see note, 3: _haec quoque_.

_Ancillis ac nutricibus_. So in the Dial. de Clar. Orat., T. animadverts
upon the custom here obliquely censured: nunc natus infans delegatur
Graeculae alicui ancillae. In the early ages of Roman History it was not
so, see Becker's Gall. Exc. 2. scene 1.--_Delegantur. Delegamus_, quum,
quod _ipsi_ facere debebamus, id per _alterum_ fieri curamus. E.

_Separet_. For the use of the subj. pres. after _donec_, see note, 1.
_erumpat.--Agnoscat_==faciat ut agnoscatur. So Död., Gün. and K. But it
is better with Gr., to regard the expression as poetical, and _virtus_,
as personified: _and valor acknowledge_ them, sc. as brave men and
therefore by implication free born.

_Venus_==concubitus.--_Pubertas_==facultas generandi. Gr. Cf. Caes, B.G.
6, 21: qui diutissime impuberes permanserunt maximam inter suos ferunt
laudem.

_Virgines festinantur_==nuptiae virginum festinantur, poetice. The words
properare, festinare, accelerare are used in both a trans. and intrans.
sense, cf. Hist. 2, 82: festinabantur; 3, 37: festinarentur. Among the
Romans, boys of fourteen contracted marriage with girls of twelve. Cf.
Smith's Dic. Ant.

_Eadem, similis, pares_. The comparison is between the youth of the two
sexes at the time of marriage; they marry at the same age, equal in
stature and equal in strength. Marriages unequal in these respects, were
frequent at Rome.--_Pares--miscentur_. Plene: pares paribus, validae
validis miscentur. On this kind of brachylogy, see further in Död. Essay
on style of T., H. p. 15. _Miscentur_ has a middle sense, as the passive
often has, particularly in Tacitus. Cf. note 21: _obligantur_.

_Referunt_. Cf. Virg. Aen. 4, 329: parvulus Aeneas, qui te tamen ore
_referret_. See note, 39: auguriis.

_Ad patrem_. _Ad_ is often equivalent to _apud_ in the best Latin
authors; e.g. Cic. ad Att. 10, 16: ad me fuit==apud me fuit. Rhenanus by
conjecture wrote _apud_ patrem to correspond with apud avunculum. But
Passow restored _ad_ with the best reason. For T. prefers _different_
words and constructions in antithetic clauses. Perhaps also a different
sense is here intended from that which would have been expressed by
_apud_. Wr. takes _ad_ in the sense, _in respect to: as in respect to a
father_, i.e. as they would have, if he were their father.

_Exigunt_, sc. hunc nexum==sororum filios.

_Tanquam_. Like Greek os to denote the views of others, not of the
writer. Hence followed by the subj. H. 531; Z. 571.

_Et in animum_. _In_==quod attinet ad, _in respect to_. The commonly
received text has _ii et animum_, which is a mere conjecture of Rhen.
According to K., _teneant_ has for its subject not _sororum filii_, but
the same subject as _exigunt_. Render: _Since, as they suppose, both in
respect to the mind_ (the affections), _they hold it more strongly, and
in respect to the family, more extensively_.

_Heredes_ properly refers to property, _successores_ to rank, though the
distinction is not always observed.--_Liberi_ includes both sons and
daughters.

_Patrui_, paternal uncles; _avunculi_, maternal.

_Propinqui_, blood relations; _affines_, by marriage.

_Orbitatis pretia_. _Pretia==proemia_. _Orbitatis==childlessness_. Those
who had no children, were courted at _Rome_ for the sake of their
property. Vid. Sen. Consol. ad Marc. 19: in civitate nostra, plus gratiae
orbitas confert, quam eripit. So Plutarch de Amore Prolis says: the
childless are entertained by the rich, courted by the powerful, defended
gratuitously by the eloquent: many, who had friends and honors in
abundance, have been stripped of both by the birth of a single child.


XXI. _Necesse est_. It is their duty and the law of custom. Gün.--
_Nec_==non tamen.--_Homicidium_. A post-Augustan word.

_Armentorum ac pecorum_. For the distinction between these words, see
note, § 5. The high value which they attached to their herds and flocks,
as their _solae et gratissimae opes_, may help to explain the law or
usage here specified. Moreover, where the individual was so much more
prominent than the state, homicide even might be looked upon as a private
wrong, and hence to be atoned for by a pecuniary satisfaction, cf. Tur.
Hist. Ang. Sax., App. No. 3, chap. 1.

_Juxta libertatem_, i.e. _simul cum libertate_, or inter liberos homines.
The form of expression is characteristic of the later Latin. Cf. Hand's
Tursellinus, vol. III. p. 538. Tacitus is particularly partial to this
preposition.

_Convictibus_, refers to the entertainment of countrymen and friends,
_hospitiis_ to that of strangers.

_Pro fortuna. According to his means_. So Ann. 4, 23: fortunae inops.

_Defecere_, sc. epulae. Quam exhausta sint, quae apparata erant, cf. 24:
omnia defecerunt.

_Hospes_. Properly _stranger_; and hence either _guest_ or _host_. Here
the latter.--_Comes. Guest_. So Gün. and the common editions. But most
recent editors place a colon after _comes_, thus making it _predicate_,
and referring it to the _host_ becoming the guide and _companion_ of his
guest to another place of entertainment.

_Non invitati_, i.e. etiam si non invitati essent. Gün.

_Nec interest_, i.e. whether invited or not.

_Jus hospitis. The right of the guest_ to a hospitable reception, So Cic.
Tus. Quaes., 1, 26: jus hominum.

_Quantum ad_ belongs to the silver age. In the golden age they said:
_quod attinet ad_, or simply _ad_. Gr. Cicero however has _quantum in_,
N. D. 3, 7; and Ovid, _quantum ad_, A. A. 1, 744. Cf. Freund sub voce.

_Imputant. Make charge or account of_. Nearly confined to the later
Latin. Frequent in T. in the reckoning both of debt and credit, of praise
and blame. Cic. said: _assignare_ alicui aliquid.

_Obligantur_, i.e. obligatos esse putant. Forma passiva ad modum medii
verbi Graeci. Gün. Cf. note, 20: _miscentur_.

_Victus--comis. The mode of life between host and guest is courteous_. For
_victus_==manner of life, cf. Cic. Inv. 1, 25, 35.


XXII. _E_ is not exactly equivalent here to _a_, nor does it mean simply
_after_, but immediately on awaking _out of_ sleep.--_Lavantur_, wash
themselves, i.e. bathe; like Gr. louomai. So aggregantur, 13;
_obligantur_, 21, et passim.

_Calida_, sc. aqua, cf. in Greek, thermo louesthai, Aristoph. Nub. 1040.
In like manner Pliny uses _frigida_, Ep. 6, 16: semel iterumque
_frigidam_ poposcit transitque. Other writers speak of the Germans as
bathing in their rivers, doubtless in the summer; but in the winter they
use the warm bath, as more agreeable in that cold climate. So in Russia
and other cold countries, cf. Mur. in loco.

_Separatae--mensa_. Contra Romanorum luxuriam, ex more fere _Homerici_
aevi. Gün.

_Sedes_, opposed to the triclinia, on which the Romans used to _recline_,
a practice as unknown to the rude Germans, as to the _early_ Greeks and
Hebrews. See Coler. Stud. of Gr. Poets, p. 71 (Boston, 1842).

_Negotia_. Plural==_their_ various _pursuits_. So Cic. de Or. 2, 6:
_forensia negotia. Negotium==nec-otium_, C. and G. being originally
identical, as they still are almost _in form.--Armati_. Cf. note, 11: _ut
turbae placuit_.

_Continuare_, etc. est diem noctemque jungere potando, sive die nocteque
perpotationem continuare. K.

_Ut_, sc. solet fieri, cf. ut in licentia, § 2. The clause limits
_crebrae_; it is the _frequent occurrence_ of brawls, that is customary
among those given to wine.

_Transiguntur_. See note on transigitur, § 19.

_Asciscendis_. i.e. assumendis.

_Simplices_ manifestly refers to the _expression_ of thought; explained
afterwards by _fingere_ nesciunt==_frank, ingenuous_. Cf. His. 1, 15:
_simplicissime loquimur_; Ann. 1, 69: _simplices curas_.

_Astuta--callida. Astutus_ est natura, _callidus_ multarum rerum peritia.
Rit. _Astutus_, cunning; _callidus_, worldly wise. Död.

_Adhuc. To this day_, despite the degeneracy and dishonesty of the age.
So Död. and Or. Rit. says: quae adhuc pectore clausa erant. Others still
make it==_etiam, even_. Cf. note, 19.

_Retractatur_. Reviewed, _reconsidered_.

_Salva--ratio est. The proper relation of both times is preserved_, or the
advantage of both is secured, as more fully explained in the next member,
viz. by _discussing when they are incapable of disguise, and deciding,
when they are not liable to mistake_. Cf. Or. in loc., and Bötticher,
sub v.

Passow well remarks, that almost every German usage, mentioned in this
chapter, is in marked contrast with Roman manners and customs.


XXIII. _Potui_==pro potu, or in potum, dat. of the end. So 46: Victui
herba, vestitui pelles. T. and Sallust are particularly fond of this
construction. Cf. Böt. Lex. Tac., sub _Dativus_.

_Hordeo aut frumento. Hordeo==barley; frumento_, properly fruit
(frugimentum, fruit [Greek: kat exochaen], i.e. grain), grain of any
kind, here _wheat_, cf. Veget. R.M. 1, 13: et milites pro frumento
hordeum cogerentur accipere.

_Similitudinem vini. Beer_, for which the Greeks and Romans had no name.
Hence Herod. (2, 77) speaks of [Greek: oinos ek kritheon pepoiaemenos],
among the Egyptians.

_Corruptus_. Cum Tacitea indignatione dictum, cf. 4: _infectos_, so Gün.
But the word is often used to denote mere change, without the idea of
being made worse, cf. Virg. Geor. 2, 466: Nec casia liquidi _corrumpitur_
usus olivi. Here render _fermented_.

_Ripae_, sc. of the Rhine and Danube, i.e. the Roman border, as in 22:
proximi ripae.

_Poma_. Fruits of any sort, cf. Pliny, N.H. 17, 26: arborem vidimus omni
genere _pomorum_ onustum, alio ramo _nucibus_, alio _baccis_, aliunde
_vite, ficis, piris_, etc.

_Recens fera. Venison_, or other game _fresh_, i.e. _recently taken_, in
distinction from the tainted, which better suited the luxurious taste of
the Romans.

_Lac concretum_. Called _caseus_ by Caes. B.G. 6, 22. But the Germans,
though they lived so much on milk, did not understand the art of making
cheese, see Pliny, N.H. 11, 96. "De caseo non cogitandum, potius quod
nostrates dicunt dickemilch" (i.e. _curdled milk_). Gün.

_Apparatu. Luxurious preparation.--Blandimentis. Dainties_.

_Haud minus facile_. Litotes for multo facilius.

_Ebrietati_. Like the American Aborigines, see note, § 15.


XXIV. _Nudi_. See note, § 20.

_Quibus id ludicrum. For whom it is a sport_; not whose business it is to
furnish the amusement: that would be _quorum est_ K. and Gr.

_Infestas_==porrectas contra saltantes. K.--_Decorem_. Poetic.

_Quaestum_==quod quaeritur, _gain_.--_Mercedem_, stipulated pay, _wages_.

_Quamvis_ limits _audacis_==_daring as it is_ (as you please).

_Sobrii inter seria_. At Rome gaming was forbidden, except at the
Saturnalia, cf. Hor. Od. 3, 24, 68: vetita legibus alea. The remarkable
circumstance (_quod mirere_) in Germany was, that they practised it not
merely as an amusement at their feasts, but when sober among (_inter_)
their ordinary every-day pursuits.

_Novissimo. The last_ in a series. Very frequently in this sense in T.,
so also in Caes. Properly newest, then latest, _last_. Cf. note, His. 1,
47. _Extremo_, involving the greatest hazard, like our _extreme: last and
final_ (decisive) _throw_. This excessive love of play, extending even to
the sacrifice of personal liberty, is seen also among the American
Indians, see Robertson, Hist. of America, vol. 2, pp. 202-3. It is
characteristic of barbarous and savage life, cf. Mur. in loco.

_De libertate ac de corpore_. Hendiadys==_personal liberty_.

_Voluntariam_. An earlier Latin author would have used _ipse, ultro_, or
the like, limiting the subject of the verb, instead of the object. The
Latin of the golden age prefers _concrete_ words. The later Latin
approached nearer to the English, in using more _abstract_ terms. Cf.
note on _repercussu_, 3.

_Juvenior. More youthful_, and therefore more vigorous; not merely
younger (_junior_). See Död. and Rit. in loc. Forcellini and Freund cite
only two other examples of this full form of the comparative (Plin. Ep.
4, 8, and Apul. Met. 8, 21), in which it does not differ in meaning from
the common contracted form.

_Ea_==talis or tanta. _Such_ or _so great_. Gr.

_Pervicacia. Pervicaces_ sunt, qui in aliquo certamine _ad vincendum_
perseverant, Schol. Hor. Epod. 17, 14.

_Pudore_. Shame, _disgrace_. So also His. 3, 61; contrary to usage of
earlier writers, who use it for sense of shame, _modesty_.


XXV. _Ceteris_. All but those who have gambled away their own liberty, as
in § 24.--_In nostrum morem_, &c., with specific duties distributed
through the household (the slave-household, cf. note, 15), as explained
by the following clause. On the extreme subdivision of office among
slaves at _Rome_, see Beck. Gall. Exc. 2. Sc. 2; and Smith's Dic. Antiq.
under Servus.

_Descripta_==dimensa, distributa. Gün.

_Familiam_. Here the entire _body of servants_, cf. note, § 15.

_Quisque_. Each _servant_ has his own house and home.

_Ut colono_. Like the _tenant_ or _farmer_ among the Romans; also the
vassal in the middle ages, and the serf in Modern Europe.

_Hactenus. Thus far_, and _no farther_, i.e. if he pays his rent or tax,
no more is required of him.

_Cetera_. The _rest of the duties_ (usually performed by a _Roman
servant_), viz. those of the _house, the wife and children_ (sc. of the
master) _perform_. Gr. strangely refers _uxor et liberi_ to the wife and
children of the servant. Passow also refers _domus_ to the house of the
servant, thus making it identical with the _penates_ above, with which it
seems rather to be contrasted. With the use of _cetera_ here, compare
His. 4, 56: _ceterum vulgus_==the rest, viz. the common soldiers, and see
the principle well illustrated in Döderlein's Essay, His. p. 17.

_Opere. Hard labor_, which would serve as a punishment. The Romans
punished their indolent and refractory domestics, by sending them to
labor in the _country_, as well as by heavy chains (_vinculis_) and cruel
flagellations (_verberare_). They had also the power of life and death
(_occidere_). Beck. Gall. Exc. 2. Sc. 2; Smith's Dic. Ant. as above.

_Non disciplina--ira_. Hendiadys==non disciplinae severitate, sed irae
impetu. Cf. His. 1, 51: _severitate disciplinae_.

_Nisi--impune_, i.e. without the pecuniary penalty or satisfaction, which
was demanded when one put to death an enemy (_inimicum_). Cf. 21.

_Liberti--libertini_. These words denote the same persons, but with this
difference in the idea: _libertus_==the freedman of some particular
master, _libertinus_==one in the _condition_ of a freedman without
reference to any master. At the time of the Decemvirate, and for some
time after, liberti==emancipated slaves, libertini==the descendants of
such, cf. Suet. Claud. 24.

_Quae regnantur. Governed by kings_. Ex poetarum more dictum, cf. Virg.
Aen. 6, 794: regnata per arva. So 43: Gothones regnantur, and 44:
Suiones. Gün.

_Ingenuos_==free born; _nobiles_==high born.

_Ascendunt_, i.e. ascendere possunt.

_Ceteros_. By synesis (see Gr.) for ceteras, sc. gentes.

_Impares_, sc. ingenuis et nobilibus.

_Libertatis argumentum_, inasmuch as they value liberty and citizenship
too much to confer it on freedmen and slaves. This whole topic of
freedmen is an oblique censure of Roman custom in the age of the
Emperors, whose freedmen were not unfrequently their favorites and prime
ministers.


XXVI. _Fenus agitare. To loan money at interest_.

_Et in usuras extendere. And to put out that interest again on interest_.
The other explanation, viz. that it means simply to put money at
interest, makes the last clause wholly superfluous.

_Servatur. Is secured_, sc. abstinence from usury, or the non-existence
of usury, which is the essential idea of the preceding clause.

_Ideo--vetitum esset_, sc. ignoti nulla cupido! Cf. 19: boni mores, vs.
bonae leges. Gün. The reader cannot fail to recognize here, as usual, the
reference to Rome, where usury was practised to an exorbitant extent. See
Fiske's Manual, § 270, 4. and Arnold's His. of Rome, vol. 1, passim.

_Universis. Whole clans_, in distinction from individual owners.

_In vices. By turns_. Al vices, vice, vicis. Död. prefers in vicis; Rit.
in vicos==for i.e. by villages. But whether we translate by turns or by
villages, it comes to the same thing. Cf. Caes. B.G. 6, 22.

_Camporum, arva, ager, soli, terrae_, &c. These words differ from each
other appropriately as follows: _Terra_ is opposed to mare et coelum,
viz. _earth_. _Solum_ is the substratum of any thing, viz. _solid ground
or soil_. _Campus_ is an extensive plain or level surface, whether of
land or water, here _fields_. _Ager_ is distinctively the territory that
surrounds a city, viz. _the public lands_. _Arvum_ is ager _aratus_, viz.
_plough lands_. Bredow.

_Superest_. There is enough, and more, cf. § 6, note.

_Labore contendunt_. They do not strive emulously to equal the fertility
of the soil by their own industry. Passow.

_Imperatur_. Just as frumentum, commeatus, obsides, etc., _imperantur,
are demanded or expected_. Gün.

_Totidem_, sc. quot Romani, cf. idem, 4, note. Tacitus often omits one
member of a comparison, as he does also one of two comparative particles.

_Species. Parts_. Sometimes the logical divisions of a genus; so used by
Cic. and Quin. (§ 6, 58): cum genus dividitur in species.

_Intellectum_. A word of the silver age, cf. note on voluntariam, 24.
Intellectum--habent==_are understood and named_. "Quam distortum
dicendi genus!" Gün.

_Autumni--ignorantur_. Accordingly in English, spring, summer and winter
are Saxon words, while autumn is of Latin origin (Auctumnus). See Dübner
in loc. Still such words as Härfest, Herpist, Harfst, Herbst, in other
Teutonic dialects, apply to the autumnal season, and not, like our word
harvest, merely to the fruits of it.


XXVII. _Funera_, proprie de toto apparatu sepulturae. E. Funeral rites
were performed with great pomp and extravagance at Rome; cf. Fiske's
Man., § 340; see also Mur. in loco, and Beck. Gall. Exc. Sc. 12.

_Ambitio_. Primarily the solicitation of office by the candidate; then
the parade and display that attended it; then _parade_ in general,
especially in a bad sense.

_Certis_, i.e. rite statutis. Gün.

_Cumulant_. Structura est poetica, cf. Virg. Aen. 11, 50: _cumulatque_
altaria donis. K.

_Equus adjicitur_. Herodotus relates the same of the Scythians (4, 71);
Caesar, of the Gauls (B.G. 6, 19). Indeed all rude nations bury with the
dead those objects which are most dear to them when living, under the
notion that they will use and enjoy them in a future state. See
Robertson's Amer. B. 4, &c., &c.

_Sepulcrum--erigit_. Still poetical; literally: _a turf rears the comb_.
Cf. His. 5, 6: Libanum _erigit_.

_Ponunt_==deponunt. So Cic. Tusc. Qu.: ad ponendum dolorem Cf. A. 20:
posuere iram.

_Feminis--meminisse_. Cf. Sen. Ep.: Vir prudens meminisse perseveret,
lugere desinat.

_Accepimus_. Ut ab aliis tradita audivimus, non ipsi cognovimus. K. See
Preliminary Remarks, p. 79.

_In commune_. Cic. would have said, universe, or de universa origine. Gr.
Cic. uses _in commune_, but in a different sense, viz. for the common
weal. See Freund, sub voc.

_Instituta_, political; _ritus_, religious.

_Quae nationes. And what tribes_, etc.; _quae_ for _quaeque_ by
asyndeton, or perhaps, as Rit. suggests, by mistake of the copyist.--
_Commigraverint_. Subj. of the indirect question. Gr. 265, Z. 552.

German critics have expended much labor and research, in defining the
locality of the several German tribes with which the remainder of the
Treatise is occupied. In so doing, they rely not only on historical data,
but also on the traces of ancient names still attached to cities,
forests, mountains, and other localities (cf. note, § 16). These we shall
sometimes advert to in the notes. But on the whole, these speculations of
German antiquarians are not only less interesting to scholars in other
countries, but are so unsatisfactory and contradictory among themselves,
that, for the most part, we shall pass them over with very little
attention. There is manifestly an intrinsic difficulty in defining the
ever changing limits of uncivilized and unsettled tribes. Hence the
irreconcilable contradictions between _ancient authorities_, as well as
modern critiques, on this subject. Tacitus, and the Roman writers
generally, betray their want of definite knowledge of Germany by the
frequency with which they specify the names of mountains and rivers. The
following geographical outline is from Ukert, and must suffice for the
_geography_ of the remainder of the Treatise: "In the corner between the
Rhine and the Danube, are the Decumates Agri, perhaps as far as the
Mayne, 29. Northward on the Rhine dwell the Mattiaci, whose neighbors on
the east are the Chatti, 30. On the same river farther north are the
Usipii and the Tencteri; then the Frisii, 32-34. Eastward of the Tencteri
dwell the Chamavi and the Angrivarii (earlier the Bructeri), and east or
southeast of them the Dulgibini and Chasuarii, 34. and other small
tribes. Eastward of the Frisii Germany juts out far towards the north,
35. On the coast of the bay thus formed, dwell the Chauci, east of the
Frisii and the above mentioned tribes; on the south, they reach to the
Chatti. East of the Chauci and the Chatti are the Cherusci, 36. whose
neighbors are the Fosi. The Cherusci perhaps, according to Tacitus, do
not reach to the ocean; and in the angle of the above bay, he places the
Cimbri, 37. Thus Tacitus represents the western half of Germany. The
eastern is of greater dimensions. There are the Suevi, 38. He calls the
country Suevia, 41. and enumerates many tribes, which belong there.
Eastward of the Cherusci he places the Semnones and Langobardi; north of
them are the Reudigni, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suardones and
Nuithones; and all these he may have regarded as lying in the interior,
and as the most unknown tribes, 41. He then mentions the tribes that
dwell on the Danube, eastward from the Decumates Agri: the Hermunduri, in
whose country the Elbe has its source; the Narisci, Marcomanni and Quadi,
41-42. The Marcomanni hold the country which the Boii formerly possessed;
and northward of them and the Quadi, chiefly on the mountains which run
through Suevia, are the Marsigni, Gothini, Osi and Burii, 43. Farther
north are the Lygii, consisting of many tribes, among which the most
distinguished are the Arii, Helvecones, Manimi, Elysii and Naharvali, 43.
Still farther north dwell the Gothones, and, at the Ocean, the Rugii and
Lemovii. Upon islands in the ocean live the Suiones, 44. Upon the
mainland, on the coast, are the tribes of the Aestyi, and near them,
perhaps on islands, the Sitones, 45. Perhaps he assigned to them the
immense islands to which he refers in his first chapter. Here ends
Suevia. Whether the Peucini, Venedi and Fenni are to be reckoned as
Germans or Sarmatians, is uncertain, 46. The Hellusii and Oxonae are
fabulous."

The following paragraph from Prichard's Researches embodies some of the
more general conclusions of _ethnographers_, especially of Zeuss, on whom
Prichard, in common with Orelli and many other scholars, places great
reliance. "Along the coast of the German Ocean and across the isthmus of
the Cimbric peninsula to the shore of the Baltic, were spread the tribes
of the Chauci and Frisii, the Anglii, Saxones and the Teutones or Jutes,
who spoke the _Low-German_ languages, and formed one of the four
divisions of the German race, corresponding as it seems with the
_Ingaevones_ of Tacitus and Pliny. In the higher and more central parts,
the second great division of the race, that of the _Hermiones_, was
spread, the tribes of which spoke _Upper_ or _High-German_ dialects.
Beginning in the West with the country of the Sigambri on the Rhine,
and from that of the Cherusci and Angrivarii near the Weser and the
Hartz, this division comprehended, besides those tribes, the Chatti, the
Langobardi, the Hermunduri, the Marcomanni and Quadi, the Lugii, and
beyond the Vistula the Bastarnae, in the neighborhood of the Carpathian
hills. To the eastward and northward of the last mentioned, near the
lower course of the Vistula and thence at least as far as the Pregel,
were the primitive abodes of the Goths and their cognate tribes, who are
perhaps the _Istaevones_." The fourth division of Prichard embraced the
Scandinavians, who spoke a language kindred to the Germans and were
usually classed with them. Those who would examine this subject more
thoroughly, will consult Adelung, Zeuss, Grimm, Ritter, Ukert, Prichard,
Latham, &c., who have written expressly on the geography or the
ethnography of Germany.


XXVIII. _Summus auctorum_, i.e. omnium scriptorum is, qui plurimum
_auctoritatis fideique_ habet. K. Cf. Sueton. Caes. 56. Though T.
commends so highly the _authority_ of Caesar as a writer, yet he differs
from him in not a few matters of fact, as well as opinion; owing chiefly,
doubtless, to the increased means of information which he possessed in
the age of Trajan.

_Divus Julius. Divus_==deified, _divine_; an epithet applied to the Roman
Emperors after their decease.--_Tradit_. Cf. Caes. B.G. 6, 24: fuit
antea tempus, cum _Germanos Galli_ virtute _superarent_, ultro bella
inferrent, propter hominum multitudinem agrique inopiam trans Rhenum
colonias mitterent. Livy probably refers to the same events, when he says
(Lib. 5, 34), that in the reign of Priscus Tarquinius, two immense bodies
of Gauls migrated and took possession, the one of the Hercynian Forest,
the other of Upper Italy.

_Amnis. The Rhine.--Promiscuas. Unsettled, ill defined_.

_Quo minus_ after a verb of hindering is followed by the subj. H. 499;
Z. 543.

_Nulla--divisas_, i.e. _not distributed among different and powerful
kings_.

_Hercyniam silvam_. A series of forests and mountains, stretching from
Helvetia to Hungary in a line parallel to the Danube, and described by
Caesar (B.G. 6, 25), as nine day's journey in breadth and more than
sixty in length. The name seems to be preserved in the modern _Hartz_
Forest, which is however far less extensive.

_Igitur--Helvetii_==igitur _regionem_, inter, etc. See note on _colunt_,
16. _Igitur_ seldom stands as the first word in a sentence in Cicero. Cf.
Z. 357; and Kühner's Cic. Tusc. Qu. 1, 6, 11. Here it introduces a more
particular explanation of the general subject mentioned at the close of
the previous chapter. So in A. 13. When so used, it sometimes stands
first in Cic., always in T. Cf. Freund sub v. Touching the Helvetii, see
Caes. B.G. 1, 1; T. His. 1, 67.

_Boihemi nomen_. Compounded of Boii and heim (home of the Boii), now
Bohemia. _Heim==ham_ in the termination of so many names of towns, e.g.
Framing_ham_, Notting_ham_. The Boii were driven from their country by
the Marcomanni, 42. The fugitives are supposed to have carried their name
into Boioaria, now Bavaria. Cf. Prichard's Physical Researches, Vol. III.
Chap. 1, Sec. 6; and Latham's Germany of Tacitus in loco.

_Germanorum natione_, i.e. German in situation, not in origin, for this
he expressly denies or disproves in 43, from the fact that they spoke
the Pannonian language, and paid tribute. The doubt expressed here has
reference only to their original _location_, not to their original stock,
and is therefore in no way inconsistent with the affirmation in chapter
43.

_Cum==since_. Hence followed by subj. H. 518, I.; Z. 577.

_Utriusque ripae_. Here of the _Danube_, the right or Pannonian bank of
which was occupied by the Aravisci, and the left or German bank by the
Osi. So elsewhere of the _Rhine_, 37, and of both, 17, and 23.

_Treveri_. Hence modern _Treves_.

_Circa_. _In respect to_. A use foreign to the golden age of Latin
composition, but not unfrequent in the silver age. See Ann. 11, 2. 15.
His. 1, 43. Cf. Z. 298, and note, H. 1, 13.

_Affectationem_. _Eager desire_ to pass for native Germans. Ad verbum,
cf. note, II. 1, 80.

_Ultro_. Radically the same with _ultra_==beyond. Properly beyond
expectation, beyond necessity, beyond measure, beyond any thing mentioned
in the foregoing context. Hence unexpectedly, freely, cheerfully, very
much, even more. Here _very_, _quite_. Gr.

_Inertia Gallorum_. T., says Gün., is an everlasting persecutor of the
Gauls, cf. A. 11.

_Haud dubie_==haud dubii. It limits Germanorum populi. _Undoubtedly
German tribes_.

_Meruerint_. Not merely deserved, but _earned_, _attained_. For the subj.
after _quanquam_, cf. note, 35.

_Agrippinenses_. From Agrippina, daughter of Germanicus and wife of
Claudius. Ann. 12, 27. Now Cologne.

_Conditoris_. _Conditor_ with the earlier Latins is an epicene, conditrix
being of later date. Here used of Agrippina. Of course _sui_ cannot agree
with _conditoris_. It is a reflexive pronoun, the objective gen. after
_conditoris_==the founder of _themselves_, i.e. of their state, cf.
_odium sui_, 33.

_Experimento_. Abl. _on_ trial, not _for_; i.e. in consequence of being
found faithful. In reference to the Ubii, cf. His. 4, 28.


XXIX. _Virtute_ sc. bellica.

_Non multum ex ripa_. _A small tract on the bank, but chiefly an island
in the river_. Cf. His. 4, 12: extrema Gallicae orae, simulque insulam,
occupavere.

_Chattorum quondam_. The very name Batavi is thought by some to be a
corrupted or modified form of Chatti. See Rit. in loc.

_Transgressus. When_ is not known, but Julius Caesar found them already
in possession of their new territory. B.G. 4, 10.

_Fierent_. Subj. after _eas--quibus==such that_. H. 500, 2; Z. 556.

_Nec--contemnuntur. Are neither dishonored_. So in His. 4, 17. the
Batavians are called _tributorum expertes_.

_Oneribus. The burdens of regular taxation.--Collationibus. Extraordinary
contributions_.

_Tela_, offensive; _arma_, defensive armor.

_In sua ripa_. On the right or eastern bank of the Rhine. _Agunt_ is to
be taken with _in sua ripa_, as well as with _nobiscum_, which are
antithetic to each other. Meaning: in situation Germans, in feeling
Romans.

_Mente animoque. In mind and spirit. Mens_ is properly the understanding,
_animus_ the feeling part, and both together comprehend the whole soul.

_Acrius animantur. Made more courageous by the influence of their very
soil and climate even_ (_adhuc_, cf. note, 19).

_Numeraverim_. Subj. cf. note, 2: _crediderim_.

_Decumates--exercent. Exercent_==colunt, So Virg. tellurem, terram, humum,
solum, &c., _exercere_.

_Decumates_==decumanos. Occurs only here. Tithe-paying lands. For their
location, see note, 27.

_Dubiae possessionis_, i.e. _insecure_, till confirmed by _limite acto
promotisque praesidiis_, i.e. _extending the boundary and advancing the
garrisons or outposts_.

_Sinus. Extreme bend_ or _border_. Cf. note, 1. So Virg. (Geor. 2 123)
calls India extremi _sinus_ orbis.

_Provinciae_. A province, not any particular one.


XXX. _Initium inchoant_. Pleonastic. So initio orto, His. 1, 76; initium
coeptum, His. 2, 79; perferre toleraverit, Ann. 3, 3. _Ultra_ is farther
back from the Rhine. Chattorum sedes ubi nunc magnus ducatus et
principatus _Hassorum_, quorum nomen a Chattis deductum. Ritter.
Cha_tt_i==He_ss_ians, as Germ. wa_ss_er==Eng. wa_t_er, and [Greek:
prasso==pratto].

_Effusis. Loca effusa_ sunt, quae _latis campis_ patent. K. This use
belongs to the later Latin, though Horace applies the word with _late_ to
the sea: effusi late maria. Gr.

_Durant siquidem_, etc. On the whole, I am constrained to yield to the
authority and the arguments of Wr., Or., Död., and Rit., and place the
pause before _durant_, instead of after it as in the first edition.
_Durant_ precedes _siquidem_ for the sake of emphasis, just as _quin
immo_ (chap. 14) and _quin etiam_ (13) yield their usual place to the
emphatic word. These are all departures from established usage. See notes
in loc. cit. _Que_ must be understood, after _paulatim_: it is inserted
in the text by Ritter.

_Rarescunt_. _Become fewer_ and farther apart. So Virg. Aen. 3, 411:
_Angusti rarescent claustra Pelori_.

_Chattos suos_. As if the Chatti were the children of the Forest, and the
Forest emphatically their country. Passow.

_Prosequitur, deponit_. Begins, continues, and ends with the Chatti.
Poetical==is coextensive with.

_Duriora_, sc. solito, or his, cf. Gr. 256, 9.--_Stricti, sinewy,
strong_, which has the same root as _stringo_.

_Ut inter Germanos_, i.e. pro ingenio Germanorum, Gün. So we say
elliptically: _for Germans_.

_Praeponere_, etc. A series of infinitives without connectives, denoting
a hasty enumeration of particulars; elsewhere, sometimes, a rapid
succession of events. Cf. notes, A. 36, and H. 1, 36. The particulars
here enumerated, all refer to _military_ proceedings.

_Disponere--noctem_. _They distribute the day_, sc. as the period of
various labors; _they fortify the night_, sc. as the scene of danger.
Still highly poetical.

_Ratione_. _Way, manner_. Al. _Romanae_.

_Ferramentis_. _Iron tools_, axes, mattocks, &c.--_Copiis_. _Provisions_.

_Rari_. Predicate of _pugna_, as well as _excursus_.--_Velocitas_ applies
to cavalry, _cunctatio_ to infantry; _juxta_==connected with, allied to,
cf. juxta libertatem, 21.


XXXI. _Aliis--populis_. Dat. after _usurpatum_, which with its adjuncts
is the subject of _vertit_. See same construction, His. 1, 18: observatum
id antiquitus comitiis dirimendis non terruit Galbam, etc., cf. also A.
1.--_Audentia_ occurs only thrice in T. (G. 31. 34. Ann. 15, 53), and
once in Pliny (Ep. 8, 4). It differs from _audacia_ in being a _virtue_.

_Vertit_. Intrans. Not so found in Cic., but in Liv., Caes., and Sall.,
not unfrequent. Gr. Cic. however uses _anno vertente_.

_In consensum vertit_. _Has become the common custom_.

_Ut primum_. _Just as soon as_. A causal relation is also implied; hence
followed by the subj.

_Crinem--submittere_. We find this custom (_of letting the hair and beard
grow long_) later among the Lombards and the Saxons, cf. Turn. His. Ang.
Sax., App. to B. 2.

_Super--spolia_, i.e. _over the bloody spoils_ of a slain enemy.

_Revelant_, i.e. they remove the hair and beard, which have so long
_veiled_ the face.

_Retulisse==repaid, discharged their obligations to those who gave them
birth_.

_Squalor_. This word primarily denotes roughness; secondarily and usually
filth: here the deformity of unshorn hair and beard.

_Insuper_, i.e. besides the long hair and beard. The proper position of
_insuper_ is, as here, between the adj. and subs., cf. 34: immensos
_insuper_ lacus; see also _insuper_, 12.

_Absolvat_. Subj. after _donec_. So _faciat_ below. See note, 1.

_Hic--habitus_, sc. _ferreum annulum_, cf. 17. _Plurimis_==permultis,
Rit.

_Placet_. Antithetic to _ignominiosum genti_. Very many of the Chatti are
_pleased_ with that which is esteemed a disgrace by most Germans, and so
pleased with it as to retain it to old age, and wear it as a badge of
distinction (_canent insignes_).

_Nova_. Al. _torva. Strange, unusual_. Placed in the _van_ (_prima
acies_), because as the author says, § 43: primi in omnibus proeliis
_oculi_ vincuntur.

_Mansuescunt_. Primarily said of wild beasts, _accustomed to the hand of
man_ or _tamed_. So _immanis_, _not_ handled, wild, savage. The clause
introduced by _nam_ illustrates or enforces _visu nova_, and may be
rendered thus: _for not even in time of peace do they grow gentle_ and
put on _a milder aspect_.

_Exsanguis_. Usually lifeless or pale. Here _languid, feeble_.


XXXII. _Alveo_==quoad alveum. Abl. of respect, H. 429; Z. 429.

_Certum. Fixed, well defined_, i.e. not divided and diffused, (so as to
form of itself no sufficient border or boundary to the Roman Empire) as
it was nearer its source among the Chatti. So this disputed word seems to
be explained by the author himself in the following clause; _quique
terminus esse sufficiat==and such that it suffices to be a boundary_.
_Qui==talis ut_; hence followed by the subj. H. 500, I.; Z. 558. So Mela
(3, 2) contrasts _solidus et certo alveo lapsus_ with _huc et illuc
dispergitur_.

_Tencteris_==apud Tencteros, by _enallage_, cf. note on _ad patrem_, 20,
and other references there. The Tencteri and Usipii seem to have been at
length absorbed into the mass of people, who appear under the later name
of Alemanni. Cf. Prichard.

_Familiam. Servants_, cf. note on same word, 15. See also Beck Gall.,
Exc. 1. Sc. 1.--Penates==our _homestead_.

_Jura succesionum==heir looms_, all that goes down by hereditary
descent.

_Excipit_. Here in the unusual sense of _inherits.--Cetera_, sc. _jura
successionum_.

_Bello_. Abl. and limits both _ferox_ and _melior_. Meaning: _The horses
are inherited, not, like the rest of the estate, by the eldest son, but
by the bravest_.


XXXIII. _Occurrebant. Met the view, presented themselves_. Almost the
sense of the corresponding English word. The structure of _narratur_
(as impers.) is very rare in the earlier authors, who would say:
_Chamavi narrantur_. Cf. His. 1, 50. 90. The _Chamavi_, &c., were
joined afterwards to the Franks. Cf. Prichard. The present town of
_Ham_ in Westphalia probably preserves the name and gives the
_original_ locality of the _Chamavi_, the present _Engern_ that of the
_Angrivarii_. The termination varii or uarii probably==inhabitants of.
Thus angrivarii==inhabitants of Engern. Chasuarii==Inhabitants of the
river Hase. The same element is perhaps contained in the termination of
Bruct_eri_ and Tenct_eri_. See Latham in loco.

_Nos, se_. Romanos. _Erga_==inclined to (cf. vergo), _towards_.

_Spectaculo_. Ablative. Invidere is constructed by the Latins in the
following ways: invidere alicui aliquid, alicui alicujus rei, alicui
aliqua re, alicui in aliqua re. Hess. The construction here (with the
abl. of the thing, which was the object of envy) belongs to the silver
age. Cf. Quint. (Inst. 9, 3, 1) who contrasts it with the usage of
Cicero, and considers it as illustrating the fondness of the age for
_figurative_ language.

_Oblectationi oculisque_. Hendiadys for ad oblectationem oculorum. The
author here exults in the promiscuous slaughter of the German Tribes by
each other's arms, as a brilliant spectacle to Roman eyes--a feeling
little congenial to the spirit of Christianity, but necessarily nurtured
by the gladiatorial shows and bloody amusements of the Romans, to say
nothing of the habitual hostility which they waged against all other
nations, that did not submit to their dominion.

_Quaeso_, sc. _deos_. Though _fortune_ is spoken of below, as controlling
the destiny of nations. This passage shows clearly that Tacitus, with all
his partiality for German manners and morals, still retains the heart of
a Roman patriot. He loves his country with all her faults, and bears no
good-will to her enemies, however many and great their virtues. The
passage is important, as illustrating the spirit and design of the whole
Treatise. The work was not written as a blind panegyric on the Germans,
or a spleeny satire on the Romans. Neither was it composed for the
purpose of stirring up Trajan to war against Germany; to such a purpose,
such a clause, as _urgentibus imperii fatis_, were quite adverse. Least
of all was it written for the mere pastime and amusement of Roman
readers. It breathes the spirit at once of the earnest patriot, and the
high-toned moralist.

_Odium sui_. Cf. note, 28: _conditor. Hatred of themselves_; i.e. of one
another. So in Greek, the reflexive pronoun is often used for the
reciprocal.

_Quando==since_; a subjective reason. Cf. note, His. I, 31; and Z. 346.
--_Urgentibus--fatis_, sc. to discord and dissolution, for such were the
forebodings of patriotic and sagacious minds ever after the overthrow of
the Republic, even under the prosperous reign of Trajan.


XXXIV. _A tergo_, i.e. further back from the Rhine, or towards the East--
_A fronte_, nearer the Rhine or towards the West. Both are to be referred
to the Angrivarii and Chamavi, who had the Dulgibini and the Chasuarii in
their rear (on the east), and the Frisii on their front (towards the west
or northwest).--_Frisii_, the Frieslanders.

_Majoribus--virium. They have the name of Greater or Less Frisii,
according to the measure of their strength_. For this sense of _ex_
see note 7. For the case of _majoribus minoribusque_ see Z. 421, and
H. 387, 1.

_Praetexuntur. Are bordered by the Rhine_ (hemmed, as the toga
_praetexta_ by the purple); or, as Freund explains, are covered by it,
i.e. lie behind it--_Immensos lacus_. The bays, or arms of the sea, at
the mouth of the Rhine (Zuyder Zee, etc.), taken for lakes by T. and
Pliny (Ann. 1, 60. 2, 8. N.H. 4, 29). They have been greatly changed by
inundations. See Mur. in loco.

_Oceanum_, sc. Septentrionalem.--_Sua_, sc. parte.--_Tentavimus,
explored_.

_Herculis columnas_. "Wherever the land terminated, and it appeared
impossible to proceed further, ancient maritime nations feigned pillars
of Hercules. Those mentioned in this passage some authors have placed at
the extremity of Friesland, and others at the entrance of the Baltic."
Ky. cf. note, 3.

_Adiit_, i.e. vere adiit, _actually_ visited that part of the world.

_Quicquid--consensimus_. This passage is a standard illustration of the
_Romana interpretatione_ (§ 43), the Roman construction, which the Romans
put upon the mythology and theology of other nations. It shows that they
were accustomed to apply the names of their gods to the gods of other
nations on the ground of some resemblance in character, history, worship,
&c. Sometimes perhaps a resemblance in the _names_ constituted the ground
of identification.

_Druso Germanico_. Some read Druso _et_ Germanico; others Druso,
Germanico, as a case of asyndeton (Gr. 323, 1 (1.)); for both Drusus and
Germanicus sailed into the Northern Ocean, and it is not known that
Germanicus (the son of Drusus and stepson of Tiberius, who is by some
supposed to be meant here) is ever called _Drusus Germanicus_. But
Drusus, the father of Germanicus, is called Drusus Germanicus in the
Histories (5, 19), where he is spoken of as having thrown a mole or dam
across the Rhine; and it is not improbable that he is the person here
intended. So K., Or. and Wr.

_Se_, i.e. the Ocean. See H. 449, II.; Z. 604.

_Inquiri_. Impersonal==_investigation to be made. E_. suggests
_inquirenti_, agreeing with _Germanico_. But T., unlike the earlier Latin
authors, not unfrequently places an infin. after a verb of hindering.

_Credere quam scire_. T. perhaps alluded to the precept of the
Philosopher, who said: Deum cole, atque crede, sed noli quaerere.
Murphy.


XXXV. _In Septentrionem_, etc. _On the North, it falls back_, sc. into
the Ocean, _with_ an immense _bend_ or peninsula. The _flexus_ here
spoken of is called _sinus_ in chap. 37, and describes the Cimbric
Chersonesus, or Danish Peninsula. See Död., Or. and Rit. in loc.--_Ac
primo statim. And first immediately_, sc. as we begin to trace the
northern coast.--_Lateribus_, sc. the eastern.

_Quanquam_ followed by the subj., seldom in Cic., but usually in T.,
Z. 574, Note. Cf. note, His. 5, 21.--_Sinuetur_, sc. southwards.
_Donec--sinuetur_. Cf. note, 1: _erumpat_.

_Inter Germanos_. Considered among the Germans, _in the estimation of the
Germans_.

_Quique--tueri_. A clause connected to an _adj_. (nobilissimus), cf.
certum, quique, 32. _Qui_ in both passages==talis, ut. Hence followed by
subj. H. 501, I.; Z. 558.

_Impotentia, ungoverned passion, [Greek: akrateia]. Impotentia_ seldom
denotes want of power, but usually that unrestrained passion, which
results from the want of ability to control one's self.

_Ut--agant_ depends on _assequuntur_. Subj. H. 490; Z. 531, _a_.

_Si res poscat_. Some copies read: si res poscat _exercitus_. But posco
and postulo seldom have the object expressed in such clauses, cf. 44: ut
res poscit; 6: prout ratio poscit. So also Cic. and Sall., pass.
_Exercitus_ is subject nom., _promptus_ being understood, as pred.; and
_plurimum virorum equorumque_ explains or rather enforces _exercitus:
and, if the case demand, an army, the greatest abundance of men and
horses_.

_Quiescentibus_, i.e. bellum non gerentibus; _eadem_, i.e. the same, as
if engaged in war.


XXXVI. _Cherusci_. It was their chief, Arminius (Germ. Hermann), who,
making head against the Romans, was honored as the Deliverer of Germany,
and celebrated in ballad songs, which are preserved to this day. See his
achievements in Ann. B. 1, and 2. This tribe became afterwards the head
of the Saxon confederacy.

_Marcentem. Enervating_. So _marcentia pocula_, Stat. Silv. 4, 6, 56. It
is usually intransitive, and is taken here by some in the sense of
languid, enervate (literally withered).--_Illacessiti_ is a post-Augustan
word. Cf. Freund.

_Impotentes_. Cf. impotentia, 35.

_Falso quiescas_. Falleris, dum quiescis. Dilthey. Cf. note, 14:
_possis_.

_Ubi manu agitur_. Where matters are decided by might rather than right.
Cf. _manu agens_, A. 9.

_Nomina superioris. Virtues_ (only) _of the stronger party_, the
conqueror. They are deemed vices in the weaker.

_Chattis--cessit: while to the Chatti_, who were _victorious, success
was imputed for wisdom_. The antithetic particle at the beginning of the
clause is omitted. Cf. note, 4: _minime_.

_Fuissent_. Subj. after _cum_ signifying _although_. H. 516, II.


XXXVII. _Sinum. Peninsula_, sc. the Cimbric. Cf. note, 35: _flexu_; 81:
_sinus_.

_Cimbri_. The same with the Cimmerii, a once powerful race, who,
migrating from western Asia, that hive of nations, overran a large part
of Europe, but their power being broken by the Romans, and themselves
being overrun and conquered by the Gothic or German Tribes, they were
pushed to the extreme western points of the continent and the British
Isles, where, and where alone, distinct traces of their language and
literature remain to this day. They have left their name indelibly
impressed on different localities in their route, e.g. the Cimmerian
Bosphorus, the Cimbric Chersonesus (now Jutland, occupied by the Cimbri
in the days of T.), Cumberland (Cumbria, from Cimbri) &c. The ancient
name of the Welsh was also Cymri, cf. Tur. His. Ang. Sax. 1. 2.

_Gloria_ is abl. limiting _ingens_.

_Castra ac spatia_. In apposition with _lata vestigia_==spatiosa castra
or castrorum spatia, H. 704, II. 2; Z. 741.

_Utraque ripa_, sc. of the Rhine, _the_ river and river bank by eminence.

_Molem manusque. The mass of their population, and the number of their
armies_. Observe the alliteration, as if he had said: measure the mass
and might.

_Exitus_, i.e. _migrationis_. Often used in this sense, cf. Caes. B.C.
3, 69: Salutem et _exitum_ sibi pariebant.--_Fidem, proof_.

_Sexcentesimum--annum_. T. follows the Catonian Era. According to
the Varronian Era, received by the moderns, the date would be A.U.C.
641 = A.C. 113.

_Alterum--consulatum_. The second consulship of Trajan (when he was also
Emperor) was, after the reckoning of Tacitus, A.U.C. 850, according to
modern computation, 851 = A.D. 98. This year doubtless marks the time when
this treatise was written, else why selected?

_Vincitur_. So long is Germany in being conquered. (The work was never
completed.) Cf. Liv. 9, 3: quem per annos jam prope _triginta vincimus_.

_Medio--spatio. In the intervening period_, sc. of 210 years.

_Samnis--Galliaeve_. The Romans had fought bloody, and some times
disastrous battles with the Samnites (at the Caudine Forks, Liv. 9, 2.),
with the Carthaginians (in the several Punic Wars), with the Spaniards
under Viriathus and Sertorius (Florus, Lib. 2.), with the Gauls (Caes.
B.G. pass.). But none of these were so sanguinary as their wars with the
Germans.

_Admonuere_, sc. vulneribus, cladibus==castigavere.

_Regno--libertas_. Liberty and monarchy in studied antithesis. T. means to
imply that the former is the stronger principle of the two.

_Arsacis_. The family name of the Parthian kings, as Pharaoh and Ptolemy
of the Egyptian, Antiochus of the Syrian, &c.

_Amisso et ipse_, sc. _oriens_; the East _itself also lost_ its prince
(Pacorus), in the engagement, as well as the Romans their leader
(Crassus).--_Objecerit, reproach us with_. Subj. Cf. n. G. 2: _peteret_.

_Ventidium_. Commander under Anthony, and conqueror of the Parthians in
three battles, A.U.C. 715. He was raised from the lowest rank and the
meanest employment, hence perhaps the expression, _dejectus infra,
humbled beneath Ventidius_.

_Carbone--Manlio_, Cneius Papirius Carbo defeated at Noreja, A.U. 641
(Liv. Epit. 63.), L. Cassius Longinus defeated and slain, 647 (Caes. B.G.
1, 7. 12.), M. Aurelius Scaurus defeated and taken captive, 648 (Liv.
Epit. 67.), Servilius Caepio and M. Manlius defeated with great slaughter
at Tolosa, 649 (Liv. Epit. 67.), Quintilius Varus defeated and slain, 762
(Suet. Oct. 23.)--all these victories over the Romans in their highest
strength and glory--either in the time of the _Republic (Populo Romano)_,
or of the _Empire_ under Augustus (_Caesari_)--all these attested the
courage and military prowess of the Germans; and they were still, for the
most part, as free and as powerful as ever.

_Caius Marius_ almost annihilated the Cimbri at Aquae Sextiae, A.U.C.
652.

_Drusus_. Claudius Drusus invaded Germany four times, 742-3, and finally
lost his life by falling from his horse on his return, cf. Dio. Libb. 54.
55.

_Nero_, commonly known as Tiberius (brother of Drusus and stepson of
Augustus), had the command in Germany at three different times, 746-7,
756-9, 764-5, cf. Suet. Tib. 9. seq.

_Germanicus_, son of Drusus, made four campaigns in Germany, A.D. 14-16,
cf. Ann. B. 1. and 2.

_C. Caesaris_. Caligula, cf. Suet. Calig.; T. His. 4, 15.

_Discordiae--armorum_. The civil wars after the death of Nero under
Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.

_Expugnatis--hibernis_. By the Batavians under Civilis. His. 4, 12 seq.;
A. 41.

_Affectavere. Aspired to the government of_, cf. note on affectationem,
28. After _donec_, T. always expresses a single definite past action by
the perf. ind., cf. A. 36: _donec--cohortatus est_; a repeated, or
continued past action by the imp. subj. cf. note, A. 19: _donec--fieret_;
and a present action, which is in the nature of the case also a continued
action, by the pres. subj. cf. note, 1: _separet_.

_Triumphati_. Poetice, cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 837: Triumphata Corintho; Hor.
Od. 3, 3, 43: Triumphati Medi. The reference here is to the ridiculous
triumph of Domitian, A. 39, in which slaves, purchased and dressed out
for the purpose, were borne as captives through the streets.


XXXVIII. _Suevis_. In the time of T. a powerful confederacy, embracing
all the tribes enumerated in 39-45, and covering all the eastern and
larger half of Germany. But the confederacy was soon dissolved and seldom
appears in subsequent history. We still have a trace of their name in the
Modern _Suabia_. The name is supposed by some philologists (e.g. Zeuss)
to denote _unsettled wanderers_ (Germ. Schweben, to wave, to hover, cf.
Caes. B.G. 4, 1: Suevis non longius anno remanere uno in loco, etc.); as
that of the Saxons does settlers, or _fixed residents_ (Germ. Sassen),
and that of the Franks, _freemen_. See Rup. in loc. An ingenious Article
in the North American Review (July, 1847), makes the distinction of Suevi
and non-Suevi radical and permanent in the religion and the language of
the Germans; the Suevi becoming Orthodox Catholics, and the non-Suevi
Arians in Ecclesiastical History, and the one High-Dutch and the other
Low-Dutch in the development of their language.

_Adhuc_. Cf. note on it, 19. As to position, cf. _insuper_ 31, and 34.
The Suevi are _still (adhuc)_ divided into distinct tribes bearing
distinct names, though united in a confederacy. Cf. Hand's Tursellinus,
1, 163. Död. renders _besides_, sc. the general designation of Suevi.

_In commune. In common_. Not used in this sense by Cic., Caes. and Liv.,
though frequent in T. Gr. Cf. note on the same, 27.

_Obliquare. To turn the hair back, or comb it up_ contrary to its natural
direction--and then fasten it in a knot on the top of the head
(_substringere nodo_); so it seems to be explained by the author himself
below: _horrentem capillum retro sequuntur ac in ipso solo vertice
religant_. Others translate _obliquare_ by _twist_. Many ancient writers
speak of this manner of tying the hair among the Germans, cf. Sen. de
Ira. 3, 26.; Juv. 13, 164.

_A servis separantur. Separantur_==distinguuntur. Servants among the
Suevi seem to have had their hair shorn. So also it was among the Franks
at a later date. Vid. Greg. Tur. 3, 8.

_Rarum et intra_, etc. Enallage, cf. note _certum quique_, 32.

_Retro sequuntur_, i.e. _follow it back_, as it were, in its growth, and
_tie it up on the very crown of the head only_, instead of letting it
hang down, as it grows (submittere crinem). So K., Or. and many others.
Passow and Död. take sequuntur in the sense of _desire, delight in_ (our
word _seek_). The word bears that sense, e.g. 5: argentum magis quam
aurum _sequuntur_. But then what is _retro_ sequuntur? for _retro_ must
be an adjunct of _sequuntur_ both from position, and because there is no
other word which it can limit. _Saepe_ implies, that sometimes they made
a knot elsewhere, but _often they fasten_ it there, and there _only_. See
Or. in loc. This whole passage illustrates our author's disposition to
avoid technical language. Cf. note, II. 2, 21.

_Innoxiae. Harmless_, unlike the beauty cultivated among the _Romans_ to
dazzle and seduce.

_In altitudinem_, etc. _For the sake of_ (increased) _height and terror_,
i.e. to appear tall and inspire terror. Cf. note, A, 5: _in
jactationem_; A. 7: _in suam famam_. The antithetic particle is omitted
before this clause as it often is by our author.

_Ut hostium oculis_, to strike with terror the eyes of the enemy, for
primi in omnibus proeliis _oculi_ vincuntur, 43.


XXXIX. _Vetustissimos. Oldest_. _Vetus_ is _old_, of long _duration_
([Greek; etos], aetas). _antiquus, ancient_, belonging to a _preceding_
age (ante). _Recens_ (fresh, young) is opposed to the former: _novus_
(new, modern), to the latter. See Ramshorn and Freund.

_Fides antiquitatis. Antiquitatis_ is objective gen.==_the belief, or
persuasion of their antiquity_.

_Auguriis--sacram_. The commentators all note the hexameter structure of
these words, and many regard them as a quotation from some Latin poet.
The words themselves are also poetical, e.g. _patrum_ for _majorum_, and
_formidine_ for _religione_. The coloring is Virgilian. Cf. Aen. 7, 172;
8, 598. See Or. in loc. and Preliminary Remarks to the Histories, p. 234.

_Legationibus coeunt_. Just as we say: _convene by their delegates_, or
_representatives_.

_Publice_==publica auctoritate, cf. same word, 10.

_Primordia_. Initiatory rites.

_Minor_, sc. numine. _Inferior to the god_.

_Prae se ferens. Expressing in his external appearance, or bearing in his
own person an acknowledgment of the power of the divinity_.

_Evolvuntur_==se evolvunt, cf. Ann. 1, 13: cum Tiberii genua
advolveretur; also _lavantur_, 22.

_Eo--tanquam. Has reference to this point, as if_, i.e. to this opinion,
viz. that thence, etc. Cf. _illuc respicit tanquam_, 12.--_Inde_ From the
grove, or the god of the grove. Cf. 3: _Tuisconem ... originem gentis_.

_Adjicit auctoritatem_, sc. isti superstitioni.

_Magno corpore_==reipublicae magnitudine. _Corpore_, the body politic. So
His. 4, 64: redisse vos in corpus nomenque Germanorum.--_Habitantur_. Al.
habitant and habitantium, by conjecture. The subject is the Semnonian
_country_ implied in _Semnonum: the Semnonians inhabit a hundred
villages_, is the idea.


XL. _Langobardos_. The Lombards of Mediaeval history; so called probably
from their long beards (Germ, lang and bart). First mentioned by
Velleius, 2, 106: gens etiam Germana feritate ferocior. See also Ann. 2,
45, 46, 62-64.--_Paucitas_ here stands opposed to the _magno corpore_ of
the Semnones in 39.

_Per--periclitando_. Three different constructions, cf. notes 16, 18.

_Reudigni_. Perhaps the Jutes, so intimately associated with the Angles
in subsequent history. See Or. in loc. In like manner, Zeuss identifies
the _Suardones_ with the Heruli, and the _Nuithones_ with the Teutones.
_Suardones_ perhaps==_sword_-men.

_Anglii_. The English reader will here recognize the tribe of Germans
that subsequently invaded, peopled, and gave name to England
(==_Angl-land_), commonly designated as the Anglo-Saxons. T. does not
mention the _Saxons_. They are mentioned by Ptolemy and others, as
originally occupying a territory in this same part of Germany. They
became at length so powerful, as to give their name to the entire
confederacy (including the Angles), which ruled northern Germany, as the
Franks (the founders of the French monarchy) did southern. The Angles
seem to have dwelt on the right bank of the Elbe, near its mouth, in the
time of T.

_Nerthum_. This is the reading of the MSS. and the old editions. It
cannot be doubted that T. speaks of Hertha (see Turn. His. Ang. Sax.,
App. to B. 2. chap. 3). "But we must take care not to correct our author
himself." Passow. Grimm identifies this deity with Niördhr of the Edda,
and derives the name from Nord (North).--_Terram matrem_. The Earth is
worshipped by almost all heathen nations, as the mother of men and the
inferior gods. See Mur. in loco. Cf. 2: Tuisconem Deum, _terra editum_;
also note, 9. Isidi.

_Insula_. Scholars differ as to the Island. Probabilities perhaps are in
favor of Rugen, where the _secretus lacus_ mentioned below is still
shown, still associated with superstitious legends.

_Castum. Polluted by nothing profane_. So Hor: _castis lucis_.

_Penetrali_, viz. _the sacred vehicle_.

_Dignatur_. _Deems worthy_ of her visits.

_Templo_, sc. the sacred grove. Templum, like [Greek: temenos], denotes
any place _set apart_ (from [Greek: temno]) for sacred purposes, cf. 9.

_Numen ipsum. The goddess herself_, not an image of her; for the Germans
have no images of their gods, 9. _Abluitur_, as if contaminated by
intercourse with mortals.

_Perituri_, etc. _Which can be seen only on penalty of death_.


XLI. _Propior_, sc. to the Romans.--_Hermundurorum_. Ritter identifies
the name (_Hermun_ being omitted, and _dur_ being==_thur_) and the people
with the _Thur_ingians. Cf. note 2: _Ingaevones_.

_Non in ripa. Not only_ (or _not so much_) _on the border_ (the
riverbank), but also within the bounds of the Roman Empire.

_Splendidissima--colonia_. This flourishing colony had no distinctive
name in the age of T.; called afterwards Augusta Vindelicorum, now
Augsburg.

_Passim_. Wherever they chose--_Sine custode_. Not so others. Cf. His. 4,
64: ut inermes ac prope nudi, _sub custode_ et pretio coiremus.

_Cum--ostendamus. Cum==while, although_. Hence the subj.

_Non concupiscentibus. Since they were not covetous_, Gün. Gr renders:
_though they were not equally desirous of it_.

_Notum--auditur_. The Elbe had been _seen_ and _crossed_ by Drusus
Domitius, and Tiberius. But now it was known only by _hearsay_. See a
like patriotic complaint at the close of 37.


XLII. _Marcomanni_==men of the marches. See Latham in loc--_Sedes_, sc.
Bohemia.--_Pulsis olim Boiis_, cf. 28.

_Degenerant_, sc. _a reliquorum virtute_, i.e. the Narisci and Quadi
_are not unworthy, do not fall short_ of the bravery of their neighbors.
the Marcomanni.

_Peragitur_. Al. _protegitur, porrigitur_, &c. Different words are
supplied as the subject of _peragitur_, e.g. Passow _iter_.; Rit.
_cursus_; K. _frons_. The last is preferable. The meaning is: _This
country_ (sc. of these tribes) _is the front_, so to speak (i.e. the
part _facing the Romans_) _of Germany, so far as it is formed by the
Danube_, i.e. so far as the Danube forms the boundary between Germany
and the Roman Empire.

_Marobodui_. Cf. Ann. 2, 62; Suet. Tib. 37.

_Externos_, sc. reges, viz. the kings of the Hermunduri. Ann. 2, 62.--
_Potentia. Power_ irrespective of right. _Potestas_ is lawful
_authority_. See note, 7

_Nec minus valent_, sc. being aided by our money, than they would be if
they were reinforced by our arms. This clause in some copies stands at
the beginning of 43.


XLIII. _Retro. Back_ from the Danube and the Roman border.--_Referunt.
Resemble_. Poetical, cf. 20.

_Et quod patiuntur_, sc. proves that they are not of German origin. They
paid tribute as _foreigners_. The Gothini were probably a remnant of the
expelled Boii. Cf. note, 28, and Prichard, as there cited. Hence their
Gallic language.

_Quo magis pudeat_. They have iron beyond even most of the Germans (cf.
6), but (shame to tell) do not know how to use it in asserting their
independence. Subj. H. 497; Z. 536.

_Pauca campestrium_. Poetical, but not uncommon in the later Latin. So
41: secretiora Germaniae; His. 4, 28: extrema Galliarum. H. 396, III.
2. 3; Z. 435.

_Jugum. A mountain chain.--Vertices. Distinct summits_.

_Insederunt_. This word usually takes a dat., or an abl., with _in_. But
the poets and later prose writers use it as a transitive verb with the
acc.==_have settled, inhabited_. Cf. H. 371, 4; Z. 386; and Freund sub
voce. Observe the comparatively unusual form of the perf. 3d plur. in
_-erunt_ instead of _-ere_. Cf. note, His. 2, 20.

_Nomen_==gens. So nomen Latinum==Latins. Liv. pass.

_Interpretatione Romana_. So we are every where to understand Roman
accounts of the gods of other nations. They transferred to them the names
of their own divinities according to some slight, perhaps fancied
resemblance. Cf. note, 34: _quicquid consensimus_.

_Ea vis numini_, i.e. these gods render the same service to the Germans,
as Castor and Pollux to the Romans.

_Alcis_, dat. pl. Perhaps from the Slavonic word holcy==kouros, Greek
for Castor and Pollux. Referable to no German root.

_Peregrinae_, sc. Greek or Roman.--_Tamen_. Though these gods bear no
visible trace of Greek or Roman origin, _yet_ they are worshipped as
brothers, as youth, like the _Greek_ and _Roman Twins_.--
_Superstitionis_==religionis. Cf. notes, His. 3, 58; 5, 13.

_Lenocinantur. Cherish_, increase. Used rhetorically; properly, _to
pander_.--_Arte_, sc. nigra scuta, &c.--_Tempore_, sc. atras noctes, &c.
--_Tincta==tattooed_.

_Ipsaque formidine_, etc. _And by the very frightfulness and shadow of
the deathlike army. Umbra_ may be taken of the literal _shadows_ of the
men in the night, with Rit., or with Död. and Or., of the general _image_
or _aspect_ of the army. _Feralis_, as an adj., is found only in poetry
and post-Augustan prose. See Freund.

_Gothones_. Probably the Getae of earlier, and the Goths of later
history. See Or. in loc. and Grimm and other authorities as there cited.
The _Rugii_ have perpetuated their name in an island of the Baltic
(Rugen).

_Adductius_. Lit. with tighter rein, _with more absolute power_ cf. His.
3, 7: adductius, quam civili bello, imperitabat. The adv. is used only in
the comp.; and the part. adductus is post-Augustan. _Jam_ and _nondum_
both have reference to the writer's progress in going over the tribes of
Germany, those tribes growing less and less free as he advances eastward:
_already_ under more subjection than the foregoing tribes, but _not yet_
in such abject slavery, as some we shall soon reach, sc. in the next
chapter, where see note on _jam_.

_Supra_. So as to _trample down_ liberty and destroy it.

_Protinus deinde ab_, etc. _Next in order, from the ocean_, i.e. with
territory beginning from or at the ocean.


XLIV. _Suionum. Swedes_. Not mentioned under this name, however, by any
other ancient author.

_Ipso_. The Rugii, &c., mentioned at the close of the previous section,
dwelt _by_ the ocean (_ab_ Oceano); but the _Suiones in_ the ocean (_in_
Oceano). _Ipso_ marks this antithesis.

_In Oceano_. An island in the Baltic. Sweden was so regarded by the
ancients, cf. 1, note.

_Utrimque prora. Naves biprorae_. Such also had the Veneti, Caes. B.G.
3, 13. Such Germanicus constructed, His. 3, 47. So also the canoes of the
N. Am. Indians.

_Ministrantur_, sc. naves==_the ships are not furnished with sails_, cf.
His. 4, 12: _viros armaque ministrant_. Or it may be taken in the more
literal sense: are served, i.e. worked, mannged. Cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 302:
velisque ministrat.--_In ordinem. For a row_, i.e. so as to form a row,
cf. Z. 314: also Rit. and Död. in loc. The northmen (Danes and Swedes)
became afterwards still more famous for navigation and piratical
excursions, till at length they settled down in great numbers in France
and England.

_In quibusdam fluminum_. Rivers with steep banks require the oars to be
removed in order to approach the bank.

_Est--honos_. Contrary to the usual fact in Germany, cf. 5.

_Exceptionibus_. _Limitations_.--_Jam_. Now, i.e. _here_, opposed to the
_foregoing_ accounts of _free states_ and _limited monarchies_.

_Precario_. Properly: _obtained by entreaty_. Hence: _dependent on the
will of another_, cf. A. 16.--_Parendi_. A gerund with passive sense,
lit. _with no precarious right of being obeyed_. So Pass., K., Wr. and
Gün.

_In promiscuo_. The privilege of wearing arms is not conceded to the mass
of the people.--_Et quidem_==et eo, _and that too_.

_Otiosa--manus_. Al. _otiosae_ by conjecture. But _manus_, a collective
noun sing. takes a pl. verb, cf. H. 461, 1; Z. 366.

_Regia utilitas est_==regibus utile est.


XLV. _Pigrum_. Cf. A. 10: pigrum et grave. The Northern or Frozen Ocean,
of which T. seems to have heard, though some refer it to the northern
part of the Baltic. See Ky. in loc.

_Hinc_. _For this reason_, viz. _quod extremus_, etc.

_In ortus_. _Till the risings_ (pl.) _of the sun_, i.e. from day to day
successively. It was known in the age of T. that the longest day grew
longer towards the north, till at length it became six months (cf. Plin.
N.H. 2, 77), though T. supposed it to be thus long at a lower latitude
than it really was, cf. A. 12.

_Sonum--aspici_. The aurora borealis, some suppose.

_Persuasio adjicit_. _The common belief adds_, i.e. _it is further
believed_, cf. His. 5, 5. 13: persuasio inerat.

_Illuc--natura_. _Tantum_ is to be connected with _illuc usque_. _Thus far
only nature extends_. So thought the ancients. Cf. A. 33: _in ipso
terrarum ac naturae fine_. _Et vera fama_ is parenthetic. The _author_
endorses this part of the story.

_Ergo_ marks a return from the above digression.

_Suevici maris_. _The Baltic_.

_Aestyorum_==eastern men, modern Esthonians. Their language was probably
neither German nor Briton, but Slavonic.

_Matrem Deum_. Cybele, as the Romans interpreted it, cf. 43.

_Insigne--gestant_. Worn, as _amulets_.

_Frumenta laborant_, i.e. labor _for_, or _to produce_, corn. Cf. Hor.
Epod. 5, 60. _Laborare_ is transitive only in poetry and post-Augustan
prose. _Elaborare_ would imply too much art for the author's purpose. See
Rit. in loc.

_Succinum_. _Amber_, an important article of commerce in early ages,
combining some vegetable juice (hence the Latin name, from _succus_) with
some mineral ingredients.--_Glesum_. This name was transferred to
_glass_, when it came into use. The root is German. Compare [Greek:
chalaza.] Död.

_Nec_==non tamen. _Yet it is not_, etc.

_Ut barbaris_. Cf. ut inter barbaros, A. 11. _Barbaris_ is dative in
apposition with _iis_, which is understood after _compertum_.

_Quae--ratio_. _What power or process of nature_.

_Donec--dedit_. Cf. note, 87: _affectavere_.

_Plerumque_. _Often_; a limited sense of the word peculiar to
post-Augustan Latin. Cf. G. 13: _ipsa plerumque fama bella profligant_;
and Freund ad v.

_Quae--expressa_==quorum _succus_ expressus, etc.

_In tantum_. _To such a degree_. Frequent only in late Latin.

_A servitute_. They fall short of liberty in not being free, like most of
the Germans; and they fall below slavery itself, in that they are slaves
to a woman.


XLVI. _Venedorum et Fennorum_. Modern _Vends and Finns_, or Fen-men. Cf.
Latham in loc.--_Ac torpor procerum_. _The chief men are lazy and
stupid_, besides being filthy, like all the rest.

_Foedantur_. Cf. infectos, 4.--_Habitum_, here personal appearance, cf.
note, 17.--_Ex moribus_, sc. Sarmatarum.

_Erigitur_. Middle sense. _Raise themselves_, or _rise_, cf. evolvuntur,
39.

_Figunt_. Have _fixed habitations_, in contrast with the Sarmatians, who
lived in carts. Cf. Ann. 13, 54: _fixerant domos Frisii_. Al. _fingunt_.

_Sarmatis_. The stock of the modern Russians, cf. 1. note.

_Cubile_. We should expect _cubili_ to correspond with _victui_ and
_vestituti_. But cf. note 18: referantur; 20: ad patrem, &c.

_Comitantur_, i.e. feminae comitantur viris.

_Ingemere--illaborare_. _Toil and groan upon houses and lands_, i.e. _in
building and tilling them_; though some understand _domibus_ and _agris_
as the places in which they toil.

_Versare_. _To be constantly employed_ in increasing the fortune of
themselves and others, agitated meanwhile by hope and fear.

_Securi_. Because they have nothing to lose.

_Illis_. Emphatic. _They_, unlike others, have no need, &c. Cf. _apud
illos_, 44.

_In medium relinquam_. Leave for the public, i.e. undecided.

_Relinquere in medio_ is the more common expression. Bötticher in his
Lex. Tac. explains it, as equivalent by Zeugma to _in medium vocatum
relinquam in medio_. So in Greek, _en_ and _eis_ often interchange.



AGRICOLA.


The Biography of Agricola was written early in the reign of Trajan (which
commenced A.U.C. 851. A.D. 98), consequently about the same time with the
Germania, though perhaps somewhat later (cf. notes on Germania). This
date is established by inference from the author's own language in the 3d
and the 44th sections (see notes). In the former, he speaks of the dawn
of a better day, which opened indeed with the reign of Nerva, but which
is now brightening constantly under the auspices of Trajan. The use of
the past tense (_miscuerit_) here in respect to Nerva, and of the present
(_augeat_) in respect to Trajan, is quite conclusive evidence, that at
the time of writing, the reign of Nerva was past, and that of Trajan had
already begun.

The other passage is, if possible, still more clearly demonstrative of
the same date. Here in drawing the same contrast between past tyranny and
present freedom, the author, without mentioning Nerva, records the desire
and hope, which his father-in-law expressed in his hearing, that he might
live to see Trajan elevated to the imperial throne--language very proper
and courtly, if Trajan were already Emperor, but a very awkward
compliment to Nerva, if, as many critics suppose, he were still the
reigning prince.

It is objected to this date, that if Nerva were not still living, Tacitus
could not have failed to attach to his name (in § 3.) the epithet
_Divus_, with which deceased Emperors were usually honored. And from the
omission of this epithet in connection with the name of _Nerva_, together
with the terms of honor in which _Trajan_ is mentioned, it is inferred
that the piece was written in that brief period of three months, which
intervened between the adoption of Trajan by Nerva, and Nerva's death
(see Brotier and many others). But the application of the epithet in
question, was not a matter of necessity or of universal practice. Its
omission in this case might have been accidental, or might have proceeded
from unknown reasons. And the bare absence of a single word surely cannot
be entitled to much weight, in comparison with the obvious and almost
necessary import of the passages just cited.

The primary object of the work is sufficiently obvious. It was to honor
the memory of the writer's excellent father-in-law, Agricola (cf. § 3:
honori Agricolae, mei soceri, destinatus). So far from apologizing for
writing the life of so near a friend, he feels assured that his motives
will be appreciated and his design approved, however imperfect may be its
execution; and he deems an apology necessary for having so long delayed
the performance of that filial duty. After an introduction of singular
beauty and appropriateness (cf. notes), he sketches a brief outline of
the parentage, education, and early life of Agricola, but draws out more
at length the history of his consulship and command in Britain, of which
the following summary, from Hume's History of England, may not be
unprofitable to the student in anticipation: "Agricola was the general,
who finally established the dominion of the Romans in this island. He
governed it in the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. He carried
his victorious arms northward; defeated the Britons in every encounter,
pierced into the forests and the mountains of Caledonia, reduced every
state to subjection in the southern parts of the island, and chased
before him all the men of fiercer and more intractable spirits, who
deemed war and death itself less intolerable than servitude under the
victors. He defeated them in a decisive action which they fought under
Galgacus; and having fixed a chain of garrisons between the friths of
Clyde and Forth, he cut off the ruder and more barren parts of the island
and secured the Roman province from the incursions of the more barbarous
inhabitants. During these military enterprises, he neglected not the arts
of peace. He introduced laws and civility among the Britons; taught them
to desire and raise all the conveniences of life; reconciled them to the
Roman language and manners; instructed them in letters and science; and
employed every expedient to render those chains which he had forged both
easy and agreeable to them." (His. of Eng. vol. 1.)

The history of Agricola during this period is of course the history of
Britain. Accordingly the author prefaces it with an outline of the
geographical features, the situation, soil, climate, productions and, so
far as known to the Romans, the past history of the island. Tacitus
possessed peculiar advantages for being the historian of the early
Britons. His father-in-law was the first to subject the whole island to
the sway of Rome. He traversed the country from south to north at the
head of his armies, explored it with his own eyes, and reported what he
saw to our author with his own lips. He saw the Britons too, in their
native nobleness, in their primitive love of liberty and virtue; before
they had become the slaves of Roman arms, the dupes of Roman arts, or the
victims of Roman vices. A few paragraphs in the concise and nervous style
of Tacitus, have made us quite acquainted with the Britons, as Agricola
found them; and on the whole, we have no reason to be ashamed of the
primaeval inhabitants of the land of our ancestry. They knew their
rights, they prized them, they fought for them bravely and died for them
nobly. More harmony among themselves might have delayed, but could not
have prevented the final catastrophe. Rome in the age of Trajan was
irresistible; and Britain became a Roman province. This portion of the
Agricola of Tacitus, and the Germania of the same author, entitle him to
the peculiar affection and lasting gratitude of those, whose veins flow
with Briton and Anglo-Saxon blood, as the historian, and the contemporary
historian too, of their early fathers. It is a notable providence for us,
nay it is a kind providence for mankind, that has thus preserved from the
pen of the most sagacious and reflecting of all historians an account,
too brief though it be, of the origin and antiquities of the people that
of all others now exert the widest dominion whether in the political or
the moral world, and that have made those countries which were in his day
shrouded in darkness, the radiant points for the moral and spiritual
illumination of our race. "The child is father to the man," and if we
would at this day investigate the elements of English law, we have it on
the authority of Sir William Blackstone, that we must trace them back to
their founders in the customs of the Britons and Germans, as recorded by
Caesar and Tacitus.

With the retirement of Agricola from the command in Britain, the author
falls back more into the province of biography. The few occasional
strokes, however, in which the pencil of Tacitus has sketched the
character of Domitian in the background of the picture of Agricola are
the more to be prized, because his history of that reign is lost.

In narrating the closing scenes of Agricola's life, Tacitus breathes the
very spirit of an affectionate son, without sacrificing the impartiality
and gravity of the historian, and combines all a mourner's simplicity and
sincerity with all the orator's dignity and eloquence.

How tenderly he dwells on the wisdom and goodness of his departed father;
how artlessly he intersperses his own sympathies and regrets, even as if
he were breathing out his sorrows amid a circle of sympathizing friends!
At the same time, how instructive are his reflections, how noble his
sentiments, and how weighty his words, as if he were pronouncing an
eulogium in the hearing of the world and of posterity! The sad experience
of the writer in the very troubles through which he follows Agricola,
conspires with the affectionate remembrance of his own loss in the death
of such a father, to give a tinge of melancholy to the whole biography;
and we should not know where to look for the composition, in which so
perfect a work of art is animated by so warm a heart. In both these
respects, it is decidedly superior to the Germania. It is marked by the
same depth of thought and conciseness in diction, but it is a higher
effort of the writer, while, at the same time, it gives us more insight
into the character of the man. It has less of satire and more of
sentiment. Or if it is not richer in refined sentiments and beautiful
reflections, they are interwoven with the narrative in a manner more easy
and natural. The sentiments seem to be only the language of Agricola's
virtuous heart, and the reflections, we feel, could not fail to occur to
such a mind in the contemplation of such a character. There is also more
ease and flow in the language; for concise as it still is and studied as
it may appear, it seems to be the very style which is best suited to the
subject and most natural to the author. In another writer we might call
it labored and ambitious. But we cannot feel that it cost Tacitus very
much effort. Still less can we charge him with an attempt at display. In
short, an air of confidence in the dignity of the subject, and in the
powers of the author, pervades the entire structure of this fine specimen
of biography. And the reader will not deem that confidence ill-grounded.
He cannot fail to regard this, as among the noblest, if not the very
noblest monument ever reared to the memory of any individual.

"We find in it the flower of all the beauties, which T. has scattered
through his other works. It is a chef-d'oeuvre, which satisfies at once
the judgment and the fancy, the imagination and the heart. It is justly
proposed as a model of historical eulogy. The praises bestowed have in
them nothing vague or far-fetched, they rise from the simple facts of the
narrative. Every thing produces attachment, every thing conveys
instruction. The reader loves Agricola, admires him, conceives a passion
for him, accompanies him in his campaigns, shares in his disgrace and
profits by his example. The interest goes on growing to the last. And
when it seems incapable of further increase, passages pathetic and
sublime transport the soul out of itself, and leave it the power of
feeling only to detest the tyrant, and to melt into tenderness without
weakness over the destiny of the hero." (La Bletterie.)

       *       *       *       *       *

I. _Usitatum_. A participle in the acc. agreeing with the preceding
clause, and forming with that clause the object of the verb omisit.--
_Nequidem_. Cf. G. 6, note.

_Incuriosa suorum_. So Ann. 2, 88: dum vetera extollimus, recentium
incuriosi. _Incuriosus_ is post-Augustan.

_Virtus vicit--vitium_. Alliteration, which is not unfrequent in T. as
also homoeoteleuta, words ending with like sounds. Dr.

_Ignorantiam--invidiam_. The gen. _recti_ limits both subs., which
properly denote different faults, but since they are usually associated,
they are here spoken of as one (_vitium_).

_In aperto_. Literally, _in the open_ field or way; hence, _free from
obstructions_. Sal. (Jug. 5) uses it for _in open_ day, or clear light.
But that sense would be inappropriate here. _Easy_. Not essentially
different from _pronum_, which properly means _inclined_, and hence
_easy_. These two words are brought together in like manner in other
passages of our author, cf. 33: vota virtusque _in aperto_, omniaque
_prona_ victoribus. An inelegant imitation may be thus expressed in
English: down-hill and open-ground work.

_Sine gratia aut ambitione. Without courting favor or seeking preferment.
Gratia_ properly refers more to the present, _ambitio_ to the future. Cf.
Ann. 6, 46: Tiberio non perinde gratia praesentium, quam in posteros
ambitio. _Ambitio_ is here used in a bad sense (as it is sometimes in
Cic.) For still another bad sense of the word, cf. G. 27.

_Celeberrimus quisque_. Such men as Pliny the elder, Claudius Pollio,
and Julius Secundus, wrote biographies. Also Rusticus and Senecio. See
chap. 2.

_Plerique_. Not most persons, but _many_, or _very many_. Cf. His. 1, 86,
and 4, 84, where it denotes a less number than _plures_ and _plurimi_, to
which it is allied in its root (ple, ple-us, plus, plerus. See Freund ad
v.)

_Suam ipsi vitam. Autobiography_. Cic. in his Epist. to Lucceius says: If
I cannot obtain this favor from you, I shall perhaps be compelled to
write my own biography, _multorum exemplo et clarorum virorum_. When
_ipse_ is joined to a possessive pronoun in a reflexive clause, it takes
the case of the subject of the clause. Cf. Z. 696, Note; H. 452, 1.

_Fiduciam morum_. _A mark of conscious integrity_; literally confidence
of, i.e. in their morals. _Morum_ is objective gen. For the two
accusatives (one of which however is the clause _suam--narrare_) after
_arbitrati sunt_, see Z. 394; H. 373. A gen. may take the place of the
latter acc., _esse_ being understood, Z. 448.

_Rutilio_. Rutilius Rufus, consul A.U.C. 649, whom Cic. (Brut. 30, 114.)
names as a profound scholar in Greek literature and philosophy, and
Velleius (2, 13, 2.) calls the best man, not merely of his own, but of
any age. He wrote a Roman history in Greek. Plut. Mar. 28. His
autobiography is mentioned only by Tacitus.

_Scauro_. M. Aemilius Scaurus, consul A.U.C. 639, who wrote an
autobiography, which Cic. (Brut. 29, 112.) compares favorably with the
Cyropaedia of Xenophon.

_Citra fidem_. Cf. note G. 16.--_Aut obtrectationi_. Enallage, cf. note,
G. 15. Render: _This in the case of Rutilius and Scaurus did not impair_
(public) _confidence or incur_ (public) _censure_.

_Adeo_. _To such a degree_, or _so true it is_. _Adeo_ conclusiva, et in
initio sententiae collocata, ad _mediam_ latinitatem pertinet. Dr. Livy
uses _adeo_ in this way often; Cic. uses _tantum_.

_At nunc_, etc. _But now_ (in our age so different from those better
days) _in undertaking to write_ (i.e. if I had undertaken to write) _the
life of a man at the time of his death, I should have needed permission;
which I would not have asked_, since in that case _I should have fallen
on times so cruel and hostile to virtue_. The reference is particularly
to the time of Domitian, whose jealousy perhaps occasioned the death of
Agricola, and would have been offended by the very asking of permission
to write his biography. Accordingly the historian proceeds in the next
chapter to illustrate the treatment, which the biographers of eminent men
met with from that cruel tyrant. _Opus fuit_ stands instead of _opus
fuisset_. Cf. His. 1, 16: _dignus eram_; 3, 22: _ratio fuit_; and Z. 518,
519. The concise mode of using the future participles _narraturo_ and
_incursaturus_ (in place of the verb in the proper mood and with the
proper conjunctions, if, when, since) belongs to the silver age, and is
foreign to the language of Cicero. Such is the interpretation, which
after a thorough reinvestigation, I am now inclined to apply to this much
disputed passage. It is that of Ritter. It will be seen that the text
also differs slightly from that of the first edition (_in-cursaturus_
instead of _ni cursaturus_). Besides the authority of Rit., Död., Freund
and others, I have been influenced by a regard to the usage of Tacitus,
which lends no sanction to a transitive sense of _cursare_. Cf. Ann. 15,
50; His. 5, 20. In many editions, _mihi_ stands before _nunc narraturo_.
But _nunc_ is the emphatic word, and should stand first, as it does in
the best MSS.


II. _Legimus_. Quis? Tacitus ejusdemque aetatis homines alii. Ubi? In
actis diurnis. Wr. These _journals_ (Fiske's Man. p. 626., 4. ed.)
published such events (cf. Dio. 67, 11), and were read through the empire
(Ann. 16, 22). T. was absent from Rome when the events here referred to
took place (cf. 45: longae absentiae). Hence the propriety of his saying
_legimus_, rather than _vidimus_ or _meminimus_, which have been proposed
as corrections.

_Aruleno Rustico_. Put to death by Domitian for writing a memoir or
penegyric on Paetus Thrasea, cf. Suet. Dom. 10.

_Paetus Thrasea_. Cf. Ann. 16, 21: Trucidatis tot insignibus viris, ad
postremum Nero _virtutem ipsam_ exscindere concupivit, interfecto Thrasea
Paeto.

_Herennio Senecioni_. Cf. Plin. (Epist. 7, 19), where Senecio is said to
have written the life of Helvidius at the request of Fannia, wife of
Helvidius, who was also banished, as accessory to the crime, but who bore
into exile the very books which had been the cause of her exile. For the
dat. cf. note, G. 3: _Ulixi_.

_Priscus Helvidius_, son-in-law of Thrasea and friend of the younger
Pliny, was put to death by Vespasian. Suet. Vesp. 15; His. 4, 5; Juv.
Sat. 5, 36.

_Laudati essent_. The imp. and plup. subj. are used in narration after
_cum_, even when it denotes time merely. Here however a causal connection
is also intended. H. 518, II.; Z. 577, 578.

_Triumviris_. The Triumviri at Rome, like the Undecimviri (_oi endeka_)
at Athens, had charge of the prisons and executions, for which purpose
they had eight lictors at their command.

_Comitio ac foro_. The comitium was a _part_ of the forum. Yet the words
are often used together (cf. Suet. Caes. 10). The _comitium_ was the
proper place for the punishment of criminals, and the word _forum_
suggests the further idea of the publicity of the book-burning in the
presence of the assembled people.

_Conscientiam_, etc. _The consciousness_, i.e. _common knowledge of
mankind_; for _conscientia_ denotes what one knows in common with others,
as well as what he is conscious of in himself. Cf. His. 1, 25:
_conscientiam facinoris_; Cic. Cat. 1. 1: _omnium horum conscientia_. In
his Annals (4, 35), T. ridicules the stupidity of those who expect by any
_present_ power, to extinguish the memory also of the _next_ generation.
The sentiment of both passages is just and fine.

_Sapientiae professoribus. Philosophers_, who were banished by Domitian,
A.D. 94, on the occasion of Rusticus's panegyric on Thrasea. T. not
unfrequently introduces an _additional circumstance_ by the abl. abs., as
here.

_Ne occurreret. Ne_ with the subj. expresses a negative intention; _ut
non_ a negative result. H. 490; Z. 532.

_Inquisitiones. A system of espionage_, sc. by the Emperor's tools and
informers.--_Et_==etiam, _even_. Cf. note, 11. Al. _etiam_.

_Memoriam--perdidissemus_, i.e. we should not have _dared_ to remember, if
we could have helped it.

III. _Et quanquam. Et_ pro _sed_. So Dr. But _nunc demum animus redit_
implies, that confidence is hardly restored yet; and the reason for so
slow a recovery is given in the following clause. Hence _et_ is used in
its proper copulative or explicative sense. So Wr. _Demum_ is a
lengthened form of the demonstrative _dem_. Cf. i-_dem_, tan-_dem_,
_dae_. _Nunc demum_==_nun dae_. Freund.

_Primo statim. Statim_ gives emphasis: _at the very commencement_, etc.;
cf. note, 20.--_Dissociabiles, incompatible_.

_Augeatque--Trajanus_. This marks the date of the composition early in
the reign of Trajan, cf. G. 37; also p. 139 supra.

_Securitas publica. "And public security has assumed not only hopes and
wishes, but has seen those wishes arise to confidence and, stability.
Securitas publica_ was a current expression and wish, and was frequently
inscribed on medals." Ky.

_Assumpserit_. This word properly belongs only to _fiduciam ac robur.
Spem ac votum_ would require rather _conceperit_. Zeugma.

_Subit_. _Steals in_, lit. creeps under. Cf. note, H. 1, 13.

_Invisa primo--amatur_. The original perhaps of Pope's lines Vice is a
monster, &c.

_Quindecim annos_. The reign of Domitian from A.D. 81, to A.D. 96.

_Fortuitis casibus_. Natural and ordinary death, as opposed to death by
violence, _saevitia principis_.--_Promptissimus quisque. The ablest, or
all the ablest_. _Quisque_ with a superlative, whether singular or
plural, is in general equivalent to _omnes_ with the positive, with the
additional idea however of a reciprocal comparison among the persons
denoted by _quisque_, Z. 710, 6.

_Ut ita dixerim_. An apology for the strong expression _nostri
superstites: survivors not of others only, but so to speak, of ourselves
also_; for we can hardly be said to have _lived_ under the tyranny of
Dom., and our present happy life is, as it were, a renewed existence,
after being buried for fifteen years. A beautiful conception! The use of
_dixerim_ in preference to _dicam_ in this formula is characteristic of
the later Latin. Cf. Z. 528. The _et_ before this clause is omitted by
some editors. But it is susceptible of an explanation, which adds spirit
to the passage: A few of us survive, _and that_ not merely ourselves, but
so to speak, others also. In the Augustan age _superstes_ was, for the
most part, followed by the dative.

_Tamen_. Notwithstanding the unfavorable circumstances in which I write,
after so long a period of deathlike silence, in winch we have almost lost
the gift of speech, _yet_ I shall not regret to have composed _even in
rude and inelegant language_, etc. For the construction of _pigebit_, cf.
Z. 441, and H. 410, 6.

_Memoriam--composuisse_. Supposed to refer to his forthcoming history,
written, or planned and announced, but not yet published. Some understand
it of the present treatise. But then _interim_ would have no meaning; nor
indeed is the language applicable to his _Agricola_.

_Interim_, sc. _editus_ or vulgatus, _published meanwhile_, i.e. while
preparing the history.

The reader cannot but be struck with the beauty of this introduction. It
is modest, and at the same time replete with the dignity of conscious
worth. It is drawn out to considerable length, yet it is all so pertinent
and tasteful, that we would not spare a sentence or a word. With all the
thoughtful and sententious brevity of the exordiums of Sallust, it has
far more of natural ease and the beauty of appropriateness.


IV. _Cnaeus Julius Agricola_. Every Roman had at least three names: the
nomen or name of the gens, which always ended in _ius_ (Julius); the
praenomen or individual name ending in _us_ (Cnaeus); and the cognomen or
family name (Agricola). See a brief account of A. in Dion Cassius 66, 20.
Mentioned only by Dion and T. Al. Gnaeus, C. and G. being originally
identical.

_Forojuliensium colonia_. Now _Frejus_. A walled town of Gallia
Narbonensis, built by Julius Caesar, and used as a _naval station_ by
Augustus (cf. His. 3, 43: _claustra maris_). Augustus sent thither the
beaked ships captured in the battle of Actium, Ann. 4, 5. Hence perhaps
called _illustris_.

_Procuratorem Caesarum_. Collector of imperial revenues in the Roman
Provinces.

_Quae equestris--est_, i.e. the procurator was, as we say, ex officio, a
Roman knight. The office was not conferred on senators.

_Julius Graecinus_. Cf. Sen. de Benef. 2, 21: Si exemplo magni animi opus
est, utemur _Graecini Julii_, viri egregii, quem C. Caesar occidit ob hoc
unum, quod melior vir esset, quam esse quemquam tyranno expediret.

_Senatorii ordinis_. Pred. after _fuit_ understood, with ellipsis of
_vir_. H. 402, III.; Z. 426.

_Sapientiae. Philosophy_, cf. 1.--_Caii Caesaris_. Known in English
histories by the name of Caligula.

_Marcum Silanum_. Father-in-law of Caligula, cf. Suet. Calig. 23: Silanum
item _socerum_ ad necem, secandasque novacula fauces compulit.

_Jussus_. Supply _est_. T. often omits _est_ in the first of two passive
verbs, cf. 9: detentus ac statim ... revocatus est. In Hand's Tursellinus
(2, 474) however, jussus is explained as a participle, and _quia
abnuerat_ as equivalent to another participle==_having been commanded
and having refused_.

_Abnuerat_, lit. _had_ refused, because the refusal was prior to the
slaying. We, with less accuracy, say _refused_. Z. 505.

_Rarae castitatis_. Ellipsis of _mulier_. H. 402, III.; Z. 426.

_In--indulgentiaque. Brought up in her bosom and tender love. Indulgentia_
is more frequently used to denote excessive tenderness.

_Arcebat_ has for its subject the clause, _quod statim_, etc. He was
guarded against the allurements of vice by the wholesome influences
thrown around him in the place of his early education.

_Massiliam_. Now Marseilles. It was settled by a colony of Phocaeans.
Hence _Graeca comitate_. Cf also Cicero's account of the high culture and
refinement of Massilia (Cic. pro Flacco, 26).--_Provinciali parsimonia.
Parsimonia_ in a good sense; _economy_, as opposed to the luxury and
extravagance of Italy and the City.

_Locum--mixtum_. Enallage for _locus_, in quo mixta erant, etc. H. 704,
III., cf. 25: mixti copiis et laetitia.--_Bene compositum_ denotes _a
happy combination_ of the elements, of which _mixtum_ expresses only the
_co-existence_.

_Acrius_, sc. aequo==too eagerly. H. 444, 1, and Z. 104, 1. note.

_Concessum--senatori_. Military and civil studies were deemed more
appropriate to noble Roman youth, than literature and philosophy.
_Senatori_ must of course refer, not to the office of A., but to his rank
by birth, cf. _senatorii ordinis_ above.

_Hausisse, ni--coercuisset_. An analysis of this sentence shows, that
there is an ellipsis of _hausurum_ fuisse: _he imbibed_, and would have
continued to imbibe, _had not_, &c. In such sentences, which abound in T.
but are rarely found in Cic., _ni_ is more readily translated by _but_.
Cf. Z. 519. _b_; and note, His. 3, 28. For the application of _haurire_
to the eager study of philosophy, cf. Hor. Sat. 2, 4, 95: _haurire vitae
praecepta beatae_, and note, His. 1, 51: _hauserunt animo_.

_Prudentia matris_. So Nero's mother deterred him from the study of
philosophy. Suet. Ner. 52.

_Pulchritudinem ac speciem. The beautiful image_, or beau ideal, by
hendiadys. Cf. Cic. Or. 2: _species pulchritudinis_. See Rit. in loc.

_Vehementius quam caute_. For _vehementius quam cautius_, which is the
regular Latin construction. T. uses both. Cf. Z. 690, and note, His. 1,
83.

_Mox_. In T. subsequently, not presently. R.

_Retinuitque--modum. And, what is most difficult, he retained from
philosophy moderation_--moderation in all things, but especially in
devotion to philosophy itself, where moderation is difficult in
proportion to the excellence of the pursuit, as was shown by the
extravagance of the Stoics and some other Grecian sects. As to the sense
of _modum_, cf. Hor. Sat. 1, 1, 106: _est modus in rebus_; and for the
sentiment, Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 15: _Insani sapiens nomen ferat, aequus iniqui,
ultra quam satis est virtutem si petat ipsam_.


V. _Castrorum_. This word is used to express whatever pertains to
military life, education, &c., as the context may require. Every Roman
youth who aspired to civil office, must have a military education.

_Diligenti ac moderato. Careful and prudent_, cf. our author's character
of the same commander, His. 2, 25: _cunctator natura_, etc.

_Approbavit_==fecit, ut ei probarentur. Dr. It is a constructio
praegnans. He obtained the first rudiments of a military education under
Paullinus, and he gained his approbation.

_Electus--aestimaret. Having been chosen as one whom he would estimate_
(i.e. test his merit) _by tenting together_, i.e. by making him his
companion and aid. Young men of rank and promise were thus associated
with Roman commanders. Cf. Suet., Caes. 2. T., as usual, avoids the
technical way of expressing the relation. Ad verbum, _contubernium_, cf.
note, His. 1, 43. Others make _aestimaret==dignum aestimaret_, and
_contubernio_ abl. of price. Cf. Död. and Dr.

_Licenter--segniter_, sc. agens. _Licenter_ refers to _voluptates,
segniter_ to _commeatus.--Commeatus==furloughs, absence from duty.--
Inscitiam_, sc. tribunatus==_ignorance of his official duty or
inexperience in war.--Retulit. Referre ad_ is used very much like the
corresponding English, viz. to _refer to_ an object, or devote to an end.
Sense: _He did not take advantage of his official standing and his
military inexperience, to give up his time to ease and pleasure_. Wr.
takes _retulit_ in the more ordinary sense of brought back, thus: A. did
not bring back (to Rome) the empty name of Tribune and no military
experience, there to give himself up to leisure and pleasure. The former
version accords better with the language of the whole passage. Wr.
questions the authority for such a use of _referre_. But it may be found,
e.g. Plin. Epist. 1, 22: nihil _ad_ ostentationem, omnia _ad_
conscientiam _refert_.

_Noscere--nosci_, etc. T. is fond of such a series of inf. depending on
some _one_ finite verb understood, and hence closely connected with each
other, cf. G. 30: _praeponere_, etc. _note_. Here supply from _retulit_
in the preceding number the idea: _he made it his business or aim to
know_, etc. The author's fondness for antithesis is very observable in
the several successive pairs here: _noscere--nosci; discere--sequi;
appetere--recusare; anxius--intentus_.

_In jactationem_. Al. jactatione. _In_ denoting the object or purpose, Z.
314: _he coveted no appointment for the sake of display; he declined none
through fear_.

_Anxius_ and _intentus_ qualify _agere_ like adverbs cf. R. Exc. 23, 1.
_He conducted himself both with prudence and with energy_.

_Exercitatior_==agitatior. So Cic. Som. Scip. 4: agitatus et exercitatus
animus; and Hor. Epod. 9, 31: Syrtes Noto exercitatas.

_Incensae coloniae_. Camalodunum, Londinium and Verulamium. Cf. Ann. 14,
33, where however the historian does not expressly say, the last two were
_burned_.

_In ambiguo_==ambigua, in a critical state. R.

_Alterius_, sc. ducis.--_Artem et usum_. Military _science and
experience_.

_Summa ... cessit. The general management_ (cf. notes, H. 1, 87. 2, 16.
33) _and the glory of recovering the province went to the general_ (to
his credit). The primary meaning of _cedere_ is _to go_. See Freund sub
v.--_Juveni_, sc. A.

_Tum_, sc. while veterani trucidarentur, etc.--_Mox_, sc. when Paullinus
and A. came to the rescue.

_Nec minus_, etc. A remark worthy of notice and too often true.


VI. _Magistratus_. The regular _course_ of offices and honors at Rome.

_Per--anteponendo_. Enallage, cf. G. 15, note. _Per_ here denotes manner,
rather than means (cf. _per lamenta_, 28); and _anteponendo_
likewise==anteponentes. R. Render: _mutually loving and preferring one
another.--Nisi quod==but_. Cf. _ni_, 4. There is an ellipsis before _nisi
quod_, which R. would supply thus: greatly to the credit of both parties
--_but more praise belongs to the good wife_, etc. _Major_ sc. quam in
bono viro. So, after _plus_ supply quam in malo viro: _But more praise
belongs to a good wife_, than to a good husband, _by as much as more
blame attaches to a bad wife_, than to a bad husband.

_Sors quaesturae_. The Quaestors drew _lots_ for their respective
provinces. Their number increased with the increase of the empire, till
from two they became twenty or more. As at first a Quaestor accompanied
each Consul at the head of an army, so afterwards each Proconsul, or
Governor of a province, had his Quaestor to collect and disburse the
revenues of the province. The Quaestorship was the first in the course of
Roman honors. It might be entered upon at the age of twenty-four.

_Salvium Titianum_. Brother of the Emperor Otho. See His. B. 1 and 2.
pass. For the office of Proconsul, &c., see note, His. 1, 49.

_Parata peccantibus. Ready for wicked_ rulers, i.e. affording great
facilities for extortion in its corrupt and servile population. _Paratus_
With a dat. of the thing, for which there is a preparation, is peculiar
to poetry and post-Augustan prose. Cf. Freund ad v. Ad rem. cf. Cic.
Epist. ad Quint. 1, 1, 6: tam corruptrice provincia, sc. Asia; and pro
Mur. 9.

_Quantalibet facilitate_. Any indulgence (license) however great.

_Redempturus esset_. Subj. in the apodosis answering to a protasis
understood, sc. if A. would have entered into the plot. Cf. H. 502.
Observe the use of _esset_ rather than _fuisset_ to denote what the
proconsul would have been ready to do _at any time_ during their
_continuance_ in office. Cf. Wr. in loc.

_Dissimulationem_. Concealment (of what is true); simulatio, on the
other hand, is an allegation of what is false.

_Auctus est filia_. So Cic. ad Att. 1, 2: filiolo me auctum scito.

_Ante sublatum. Previously born_. For this use of _sublatum_, see
Lexicon.--Brevi amisit, he lost shortly after_; though R. takes _amisit_
as perf. for plup. and renders lost a short time before.

_Mox inter_, etc., sc. _annum_ inter, supplied from _etiam ipsum ...
annum_ below.

_Tenor et silentium_. Hendiadys for continuum silentium, or tenorem
silentem. R.

_Jurisdictio. For the administration of justice in private cases had not
fallen to his lot_. Only two of the twelve or fifteen Praetors, viz. the
Praetor Urbanus (see note H. 1, 47) and the Praetor Peregrinus (who
judged between foreigners and citizens) were said to exercise
_jurisdictio_. The adjudication of criminal causes was called _quaestio_,
which was now for the most part in the hands of the senate (Ann. 4, 6),
from whom it might be transferred by appeal to the Praefect of the City
or the Emperor himself. The Praetors received the _jurisdictio_ or the
_quaestio_ by lot; and in case the former did not fall to them, the
office was almost a sinecure; except that they continued to preside over
the public games. See further, on the name and office of Praetor, His. 1,
47, note. For the plup. in _obvenerat_, see note, 4: _abnuerat_.

_Et_==et omnino. _The games and in general the pageantry of office
(inania honoris)_ expected of the Praetor. Observe the use of the neuter
plural of the adj. for the subst., of which, especially before a gen., T.
is peculiarly fond.

_Medio rationis_. The text is doubtful. The MSS. vacillate between _medio
ratinois_ and _modo rationis_; and the recent editions, for the most
part, follow a third but wholly conjectural reading, viz. _moderationis_.
The sense is the same with either reading: _He conducted the games and
the empty pageantry of office in a happy mean_ (partaking at once) _of
prudence and plenty_. See Freund ad _duco_.

_Uti--propior. As far from luxury, so_ (in the same proportion) _nearer to
glory_, i.e. the farther from luxury, the nearer to glory. Cf. Freund ad
_uti_.

_Longe--propior_. Enallage of the adv. and adj. ef. G. 18: _extra_.

_Ne sensisset. Would not have felt_, etc., i.e. he recovered all the
plundered offerings of the temple, but those which had been
sacrilegiously taken away by _Nero_ for the supply of his vicious
pleasures. This explanation supposes a protasis understood, or rather
implied in _quam Neronis_. (Cf H. 503, 2. 2). The plup. subj. admits
perhaps of another explanation, the subj. denoting the end with a view to
which _Agricola labored_ (H. 531; Z. 549), and the plup. covering all the
past down to the time of his labors: he labored that the republic might
not have experienced, and _he_ virtually _effected that it had not
experienced_, since he restored everything to its former state, the
plunder of Nero alone excepted. See Wr. and Or. in loc. Perhaps this
would not be an unexampled _praegnantia_ for Tacitus. For _sentire_ in
the sense of _experiencing_ especially _evil_, see Hor. Od. 2, 7, 10, and
other examples in Freund sub v.


VII. _Classis Othoniana_. Ad rem. cf. His. 2, 12, seqq.--_Licenter vaga.
Roaming in quest of plunder.--Intemelios_, Cf. note, 2, 13.--_In
praediis suis. On her own estates. Praedia_ includes both lands and
buildings.

_Ad solemnia pietatis. To perform the last offices of filial affection_.

_Nuntio deprehensus_. Supply _est_, cf. 4: jussus. _Was overtaken
unexpectedly by the news of Vespasian's claim (nomination) to the
throne.--Affectati_. Cf. note, G. 28.--_In partes_, to his (Vesp.)
_party_.

_Principatus_, sc. Vespasiani.--_Mucianus regebat_. Vesp. was detained in
Egypt for some time after his troops had entered Rome under Mucianus;
meanwhile Mucianus exercised all the imperial power, cf. His. 4, 11. 39:
vis penes Mucianum erat.

_Juvene--usurpante_. Dom. was now eighteen years old, cf. His. 4, 2:
nondum ad curas intentus, sed _stupris et adulteriis filium principis
agebat_.

_Is_, sc. Mucianus.--_Vicesimae legioni_. One of three legions, at that
time stationed in _Britain_, which submitted to the government of Vesp.
_tarde_ and _non sine motu_ (His. 3, 44).

_Decessor. Predecessor_. It was Roscius Coelius. His. 1, 60.

_Legatis--consularibus. Governors_ or Proconsuls. The provinces were
governed by men who had been consuls (_consulares_), and as _legatus_
meant any commissioned officer, these were distinguished as _legati
consulares_. With reference to this consular authority, the same were
called _proconsules_. Cf. note, H. 1, 49. Trebellius Maximus and Vettius
Bolanus are here intended. Cf. 16. and His. 1, 60. 2, 65. _Nimia_==justo
potentior. Dr.

_Legatus praetorius==legatus legionis, commander of the legion_. Cf.
note, His. 1, 7. Here the same person as _decessor_.

_Invenisse quam fecisse_, etc., involves a maxim of policy worth noting.


VIII. _Placidius. With less energy_. See more of Bolanus at close of 16.

_Dignum est_. A general remark, applicable to any such province. Hence
the present, for which some would substitute _erat_ or _esset_.

_Ne incresceret_, sc. ipse: _lest he should become too great_, i.e. rise
above his superior and so excite his jealousy. Referred by W. to
_ardorem_ for its subject. But then _ne incresceret_ would be
superfluous.

_Consularem_, sc. Legatum==Governor, cf. 7, note.

_Petilius Cerialis_. Cf. 17. Ann. 14, 32. His. 4, 68.

_Habuerunt--exemplorum. Had room for exertion_ and so for _setting a good
example_, cf. Ann. 13, 8: videbaturque locus virtutibus patefactus. The
position of _habuerunt_ is emphatic, as if he had said: _then had
virtues_, etc. See Rit. in loc.

_Communicabat_, sc. cum A.--_Ex eventu_, from _the event_, i.e. _in
consequence of his success_.

_In suam famam_. Cf. in jactationem, 5, note.

_Extra gloriam_ is sometimes put for _sine gloria_, especially by the
late writers. His. 1, 49: _extra vitia_. Hand's Turs. 2, 679.


IX. _Revertentem_, etc. Returning from his command in Britain.--_Divus_.
Cf. notes, G. 28; His. 2, 33.

_Vesp.--ascivit_. By virtue of his office as Censor, the Emperor claimed
the right of elevating and degrading the rank of the citizens. Inasmuch
as the families of the aristocracy always incline to run out and become
extinct, there was a necessity for an occasional re-supply of the
patrician from the plebeian ranks, e.g. by Julius Caesar, Augustus and
Claudius (Ann. 11, 25), as well as by Vespasian (Aur. Vic. Caes. 9. Suet.
9.)--_Provinciae--praeposuit_. Aquitania was one of seven provinces, into
which Augustus distributed Gaul, and which with the exception of Narbonne
Gaul, were all subject to the immediate disposal and control of the
Emperor himself. It was the south-western part of Gaul, being enclosed by
the Rhone, the Loire, the Pyrenees and the Atlantic.

_Splendidae--destinarat. A province of the first importance both in its
government_ (in itself considered), _and the prospect of the consulship,
to which he_ (Vesp.) _had destined him_ (A.), sc. as soon as his office
should have expired.

_Subtilitatem_==calliditatem, nice discernment, _discrimination_.--
_Exerceat_, Observe the subj. to express the views of others, not of the
author. H. 531; Z. 511.

_Secura--agens. _Requiring less anxious thought and mental acumen_, and
_proceeding more by physical force. Secura_==minus anxia. Dr. Cf. note,
His. 1, 1. _Obtusior_==minus acuta.

_Togatos. Civilians_ in distinction from military men, like A. The _toga_
was the dress of civil life to some extent in the _provinces_ (cf. 21,
His. 2, 20), though originally worn only in _Rome_. (Beck. Gall., Exc.
Sc. 8.)

_Remissionumque_. The Greeks and Romans both used the pl. of many
abstracts, of which we use only the sing. For examples see R. Exc. 4. For
the principle cf. Z. 92.

_Curarum--divisi_. This clause means not merely, that his time was
divided between business and relaxation; but that there was a broad
line of demarcation between them, as he proceeds to explain.
_Divisa_==diversa inter se. Dr. So Virg. Georg. 2, 116: divisae
arboribus patriae==countries are _distinguished from_ each other by
their trees. _Jam vero_. Cf. note, G. 14.

_Conventus_, sc. juridici==_courts_. The word designates also the
districts in which the courts were held, and into which each province was
divided. Cf. Smith's Dict. of Ant.: Conventus. So Pliny (N.H. 3; 3.)
speaks of juridici conventus. Tacitus, as usual, avoids the technical
designation.

_Ultra_. Adv. for adj., cf. _longe_, 6.--_Persona_. 1. A mask (_per_ and
_sono_). 2. Outward show, as here.

_Tristitiam--exuerat_. Some connect this clause by zeugma with the
foregoing. But with a misapprehension of the meaning of exuerat,
which==_was entirely free from_; lit. had divested himself of. Thus
understood, the clause is a _general_ remark touching the character of
A., in implied contrast with other men or magistrates with whom those
vices were so common. So in Ann. 6, 25, Agrippina is said to have
divested herself of vices (_vitia exuerat_) which were common among
women, but which never attached to her. _Facilitas_. Opposed to
_severitas_==kindness, indulgence.

_Abstinentiam_. This word, though sometimes denoting temperance in food
and drink, more properly refers to the desire and use of money.
_Abstinentia_ is opposed to _avarice; continentia_ to _sensual pleasure_.
Cf. Plin. Epis. 6, 8: alieni abstinentissimus. Here render honesty,
integrity.

_Cui--indulgent_. See the same sentiment, His. 4, 6: quando etiam
sapientibus cupido gloriae novissima exuitur.

_Ostentanda--artem_, cf. 6: _per--anteponendo_; also G. 15, note.

_Collegas_. The governors of other provinces. The word means _chosen
together_; hence either those chosen at the same election or those chosen
to the same office. Cf. H. 1, 10.

_Procuratores_. There was but one at a time in each province. There may
have been several however in succession, while A. was Proconsul. Or we
may understand both this clause and the preceding, not of his government
in Aquitania in particular, but as a general fact in the life of A. So E.
For the office, see note, 4; and for an instance of a quarrel between the
Proconsul and the Procurator, Ann. 14, 38.

_Atteri_==vinci as the antithesis shows, though with more of the
implication of dignity _impaired_ (worn off) by conflict with inferiors.

_Minus triennium. Quam_ omitted. See H. 417, 3; Z. 485.

_Comitante opinione. A general expectation attending him_, as it were, on
his return.

_Nullis sermonibus_. Ablative of _cause_.

_Elegit_. Perf. to denote what _has in fact_ taken place.


X. _In comparationem_. Cf. in suam famam, 8, note.

_Perdomita est. Completely subdued_.

_Rerum fide==faithfully and truly_; lit. with fidelity to facts.

_Britannia_. It has generally been supposed (though Gesenius denies it in
his Phenician Paloeography) that Britain was known to the Phenicians,
those bold navigators and enterprising merchants of antiquity, under the
name of the _Cassiterides_, or Tin Islands. Greek authors make early
mention of Albion (plural of Alp?) and Ierne (Erin) as British Islands.
Bochart derives the name (Britain) from the Phenician or Hebrew
Baratanae, "the Land of Tin;" others from the Gallic _Britti_, Painted,
in allusion to the custom among the inhabitants of painting their bodies.
But according to the Welsh Triads, Britain derived its name from Prydain,
a king, who early reigned in the island. Cf. Turner's His. Ang. Sax. 1,
2, seqq. The geographical description, which follows, cannot be
exonerated from the charge of verbiage and grandiloquence. T. wanted the
art of saying a plain thing plainly.

_Spatio ac coelo_. Brit. not only stretches out or lies over against
these several countries in _situation_, but it approaches them also in
_climate_: a circumstance which illustrates the great size of the island
(cf. _maxima_, above) and prepares the way for the description of both
below.

_Germaniae_ and _Hispaniae_ are dat. after _obtenditur_. The mistaken
notion of the relative position of Spain and Britain is shared with T. by
Caesar (B.G. 13), Dion (39, 50), and indeed by the ancients in general.
It is so represented in maps as late as Richard of Cirencester. Cf.
Prichard, III. 3, 9.

_Etiam inspicitur_. It is even _seen_ by the Gauls, implying nearer
approach to Gaul, than to Germany or Spain.

_Nullis terris_. Abl. abs., _contra_ taking the place of the part., or
rather limiting a part. understood.

_Livius_. In his 105th Book; now lost, except in the Epitome.

_Fabius Rusticus_. A friend of Seneca, and writer of history in the age
of Claudius and Nero.

_Oblongae scutulae_. Geometrically a trapezium.

_Et est ea facies. And such is the form, exclusive of Caledonia, whence
the account has been extended also to the whole Island_.

_Sed--tenuatur. But a vast and irregular extent of lands jutting out
here (jam_, cf. note, G. 44) _on this remotest shore_ (i.e. widening
out again where they seemed already to have come to an end), _is
narrowed down as it were into a wedge_. The author likens Caledonia to
a wedge with its apex at the Friths of Clyde and Forth, and its base
widening out on either side into the ocean beyond. _Enormis_ is a
post-Augustan word. _Novissimi_==extreme, remotest. G. 24, note.

_Affirmavit. Established_ the fact, hitherto supposed, but not fully
ascertained. This was done in Agricola's last campaign in Britain,
cf. 38.

_Orcadas_. The Orkneys. Their name occurs earlier than this, but they
were little known.

_Dispecta est. Was seen_ through the mist, as it were; discovered in the
distance and obscurity. Cf. note, H. 4, 55: dispecturas Gallias, etc.

_Thule_. Al. Thyle. What island T. meant, is uncertain. It has been
referred by different critics, to the Shetland, the Hebrides, and even to
Iceland. The account of the island, like that of the surrounding ocean,
is obviously drawn from the imagination.

_Nam hactenus_, etc. _For their orders were_ to proceed _thus far_ only,
_and_ (besides) _winter was approaching_. Cf. _hactenus_, G. 25, and
_appetere_, Ann. 4, 51: _appetente jam luce_. The editions generally have
_nix_ instead of _jussum_. But Rit. and Or. with reason follow the oldest
and best MSS. in the reading _jussum_, which with the slight and obvious
amendment of _nam_ for _quam_ by Rit. renders this obscure and vexed
passage at length easy and clear.

_Pigrum et grave_. See a similar description of the Northern Ocean, G.
25: pigrum ac prope immotum. The modern reader need not be informed, that
this is an entire mistake, as to the matter of fact; those seas about
Britain are never frozen; though the navigators in this voyage might
easily have magnified the perils and hardships of their enterprise, by
transferring to these waters what they had heard of those further north.

_Perinde_. Al. _proinde_. These two forms are written indiscriminately in
the old MSS. The meaning of _ne perinde_ here is _not so much_, sc. as
other seas. Cf. note, G. 5.

_Ne ventis--attolli_. Directly the reverse of the truth. Those seas, are
in fact, remarkably tempestuous.

_Quod--impellitur_. False philosophy to explain a fictitious phenomenon,
as is too often the case with the philosophy of the ancients, who little
understood natural science, cf. the _astronomy_ of T. in 12.

_Neque--ac_. Correlatives. The author assigns two reasons why he does not
discuss the subject of the _tides_: 1. It does not suit the design of his
work; 2. The subject has been treated by many others, e.g. Strab. 3, 5,
11; Plin. N.H. 2, 99, &c.

_Multum fluminum. Multum_ is the object of _ferre_, of which _mare_ is
the subject, as it is also of all the infinitives in the sentence.
_Fluminum_ is not rivers but currents among the islands along the shore.

_Nec littore tenus_, etc. "_The ebbings and flowings of the tide are not
confined to the shore, but the sea penetrates into the heart of the
country, and works its way among the hills and mountains, as in its
native bed_." Ky. A description very appropriate to a coast so cut up by
aestuaries, and highly poetical, but wanting in simplicity.

_Jugis etiam ac montibus. Jugis_, cf. G. 43. _Ac. Atque_ in the common
editions. But _ac_, besides being more frequent before a consonant, is
found in the best MSS.


XI. _Indigenae an advecti_. Cf. _note_, G. 2: _indigenas_.

_Ut inter barbaros_, sc. fieri solet. Cf. ut in licentia, G. 2; and ut
inter Germanos, G. 30.

_Rutilae--asseverant_. Cf. the description of the Germans, G. 4. The
inhabitants of Caledonia are of the same stock as the other Britons. The
conclusion, to which our author inclines below, viz. that the Britons
proceeded from Gaul, is sustained by the authority of modern
ethnologists. The original inhabitants of Britain are found, both by
philological and historical evidence, to have belonged to the Celtic or
Cimmerian stock, which once overspread nearly the whole of central
Europe, but were overrun and pushed off the stage by the Gothic or German
Tribes, and now have their distinct representatives only in the Welsh,
the Irish, the Highland Scotch, and a few similar remnants of a once
powerful race in the extreme west of the continent and the islands of the
sea. Cf. note on the Cimbri, G. 37.

_Silurum_. The people of Wales.

_Colorati vultus. Dark complexion_. So with the poets, colorati Indi,
Seres, Etrusci, &c.

_Hispania_. Nom. subject of _faciunt_, with _crines_, &c.

_Iberos_. Properly a people on the Iberus (Ebro), who gave their name to
the whole Spanish Peninsula. They belonged to a different race from the
Celtic, or the Teutonic, which seems once to have inhabited Italy and
Sicily, as well as parts of Gaul and Spain. A dialect is still spoken in
the mountainous regions about the Bay of Biscay, and called the Basque or
Biscayan, which differs from any other dialect in Europe. Cf. Prichard's
Physical Researches, vol. III. chap. 2.

_Proximi Gallis_. Cf. Caes. B.G. 5, 14: Ex his omnibus longe sunt
humanissimi, qui Cantium (Kent) incolunt, quae regio est maritima omnis,
_neque multum a Gallica differunt consuetudine. Et--also: those nearest
the Gauls are also like them_.

_Durante vi. Either because the influence of a common origin still
continues_, etc.

_Procurrentibus--terris. Or because their territories running out towards
one another_, literally, _in opposite directions_, Britain towards the
south and Gaul towards the north, so as to approach each other. See Rit.,
Död. in loc., and Freund ad _diversus_.

_Positio--dedit_. The idea of similarity being already expressed in
_similes_, is understood here: their situation in the same climate
(_coelo_) has given them the _same_ personal appearance.

_Aestimanti_. Indef. dat. after _credibile est_, cf. note, G. 6.

_Eorum_ refers to the Gauls. You (indef. subject, cf. quiescas, G. 36)
may discover the religion of the Gauls (among the Britons) in their full
belief of the same superstitions. So Caes. B.G. 6, 13: disciplina in
Britannia reperta atque inde in Galliam translata esse existimatur; and
he adds, that those who wished to gain a more perfect knowledge of the
Druidical system still went from Gaul to Britain to learn. Sharon Turner
thinks, the system must have been introduced into Britain from the East
(perhaps India) by the Phenicians, and thence propagated in Gaul. His.
Ang. Sax., B. 1, chap. 5.

_Persuasione_. See the same use of the word, His. 5, 5: eademque de
infernis persuasio.

_In--periculis_. The same sentiment is expressed by Caesar (B.G. 3, 19).

_Ferociae_. In a good sense, courage, cf. 31: virtus ac ferocia.

_Praeferunt_==prae se ferunt, i.e. _exhibit_.

_Ut quos. Ut qui_, like _qui_ alone, is followed by the subj. to express
a reason for what precedes. It may be rendered by _because_ or _since_
with the demonstrative. So _quippe cui placuisset_, 18. Cf. Z. 565 and H.
519, 3.

_Gallos floruisse_. Cf. G. 28.

_Otio_. Opposed to _bellis, peace.--Amissa virtute_. Abl. abs. denoting
an additional circumstance. Cf. 2: _expulsis--professoribus_, note.--
_Olim_ limits _victis_.


XII. _Honestior. The more honorable_ (i.e. the man of rank) _is the
charioteer, his dependents fight_ (on the chariot). The reverse was true
in the Trojan War.

_Factionibus trahuntur_==distrahuntur in factiones. Dr., and Or. T. is
fond of using simple for compound verbs. See note 22; also numerous
examples in the Index to Notes on the Histories.

_Civitatibus_. Dat. for Gen.--_Pro nobis_. Abl. with prep. for dat.
Enallage. R.--_Conventus. Convention_, meeting.

_Coelum--foedum_. The fog and rain of the British Isles are still
proverbial.--_Dierum spatia_, etc. Cf. Caes. 513.

_Quod si==and if_. From the tendency to connect sentences by relatives
arose the use of _quod_ before certain conjunctions, particularly _si_,
merely as a copulative. Cf. Z. 807. also Freund sub v. The fact alleged
in this sentence is as false as the philosophy by which it is explained
in the next, cf. G. 45: in ortus, note.

_Scilicet--cadit_. This explanation proceeds on the assumption that night
is caused by the shadow of mountains, behind which the sun sets; and
since these do not exist in that level extremity of the earth, the sun
has nothing to set behind, and so there is no night. The astronomy of T.
is about of a piece with his natural philosophy, cf. 10.--_Extrema--
terrarum_. Cf. note, 6: _inania honoris_.

_Non erigunt_, lit. do not elevate the darkness, i.e. do not cast their
shadow so high (_infraque--cadit_), as the sky and the stars; hence they
are bright (_clara_) through the night!! Pliny also supposed the heavens
(above the moon) to be of themselves perpetually luminous, but darkened
at night by the shadow of the earth. N.H. 2, 7.

_Praeter. Beyond_. Hence either _besides_ or _except_. Here the latter.--
_Fecundum_. More than _patiens, fruitful even.--Proveniunt_. Ang. _come
forward_.

_Fert--aurum_, etc. This is also affirmed by Strabo, 4, 5, 2, but denied
by Cic. ad Att., 4, 16, 7, and ad Div., 7, 7. The moderns decide in favor
of T. and Strabo, though it is only in inconsiderable quantities that
gold and silver have ever been found in Britain.

_Margarita_. The neuter form of this word is seldom used, never by
Cicero. See Freund sub v.

_Rubro mari_. The _Red Sea_ of the Greeks and Romans embraced both the
Arabian and the Persian Gulfs; and it was in the latter especially, that
pearls were found, as they are to this day. Cf. Plin. N.H. 9, 54:
praecipue laudantur (margaritae) in _Persico sinu maris rubri_. For an
explanation of the name (Red Sea), see Anthon's Classical Dictionary.

_Expulsa sint. Cast out_, i.e. _ashore, by the waves_. Subj. in a
subordinate clause of the oratio obliqua. H. 531; Z. 603.

_Naturam--avaritiam_. A very characteristic sentence, both for its
antithesis and its satire.


XIII. _Ipsi Britanni. Ipsi_ marks the transition from the country to the
people, cf. ipsos Germanos, G. 2.

_Obeunt_ properly applies only to _munera_, not to _tributa_ and
_delectum_, which would require _tolerant_ or some kindred verb. Zeugma.
H. 704, I. 2; Z. 775.

_Igitur==now_. In the first sentence of the section the author has
indicated his purpose to speak of the _people_ of Britain. And _now in
pursuance of that design_, he goes back to the commencement of their
history, as related to and known by the Romans. Cf. note, G. 28.

_Divus_. Cf. note, G. 28: D. Julius. For Julius Caesar's campaigns in
Britain, see Caes. B.G. 4, 21. seq.; 5, 5. seq.; Strabo, Lib. 4, &c.

_Consilium_. His _advice_ (to his successor). See Ann. 1, 11.--
_Praeceptum_. A _command_ (of Augustus, which Tib. affected to hold
sacred). Ann. 1, 77; 4, 37.

_C. Caesarem_. Caligula, cf. 4, note.--_Agitasse_, etc. cf. 39. His. 4,
15; Suet. Calig. 44.

_Ni--fuissent_. Cf. _Ni_, 4, note. The ellipsis may be supplied thus: he
meditated an invasion of Brit. and _would have invaded it_, had he not
been _velox ingenio_, etc. But in idiomatic Eng. _ni_==but. Of course
_fuisset_ is to be supplied with _velox ingenio_ and _mobilis
poenitentiae_. Al. poenitentia. But contrary to the MSS. _Mobilis_ agrees
with _poenitentiae_ (cf. Liv. 31, 32: celerem poenitentiam), which is a
qualifying gen. Gr. 211. R. 6. Lit. _of repentance easy to be moved_.
Render: _fickle of purpose_.

_Auctor operis_. Auctor fuit rei adversus Britannos gerendae et feliciter
gestae. Dr. See on the same subject Suet. Claud. 17.--_Assumpto
Vespasiano_, cf. Suet Vesp. 4. II. 3, 44.

_Quod--fuit_. Vespasian's participation in the war against Brit. was the
commencement of his subsequent brilliant fortunes.

_Monstratus fatis_, i.e. a fatis, _by the fates_. The expression is
borrowed perhaps from Virg. Aen. 6, 870: _Ostendent_ terris hunc tantum
_fata_.


XIV. _Consularium_. Cf. note on it, 8.--_Aulus Plautius_. Ann. 13, 32;
Dio. 60, 19.--_Ostorius Scapula_. Ann. 12, 31-39.--_Proxima_, sc. Romae.

_Veteranorum colonia_. Camolodunum. Ann. 12, 32. Now Colchester. Dr.--_Et
reges. Kings also_, i.e. besides other means.--_Ut vetere_, etc. So in
the MSS. and earliest editions. Rhenanus transferred _ut_ to the place
before _haberet_ which it occupies in the common editions. But no change
is necessary. Render: _that in accordance with their established custom,
the Roman people might have kings also as the instruments of reducing_
(the Britons) _to slavery_.

_Didius Gallus_. Cf. Ann. 12, 40: arcere hostem satis habebat.--_Parta a
prioribus. The acquisitions (conquests) of his predecessors_.

_Aucti officii. Of enlarging the boundaries of his government. Officium_
is used in a like sense, Caes. B.C. 3, 5: Toti officio maritimo
praepositus, etc. So Wr.; Or. and Död. understand by it _going beyond_
the mere performance of his _duty_. It was his duty to protect his
province: he enlarged it.--_Quaereretur_. Subj. in a relative clause
denoting a purpose. H. 500; Z. 567.

_Veranius_. Ann. 14, 29.--_Paullinus_. Ann. 14, 29-30.

_Monam insulam_. Now Anglesey. But the _Mona_ of _Caesar_ is the Isle of
Man, called by Pliny _Monapia_. The Mona of T. was the chief seat of the
Druids, hence _ministrantem vires rebellibus_, for the Druids animated
and led on the Briton troops to battle. T. has given (Ann. 14, 30) a very
graphic sketch of the mixed multitude of armed men, women like furies,
and priests with hands uplifted in prayer, that met Paullinus on his
landing, and, for a time, well nigh paralyzed his soldiers with dismay.
In the same connexion, he speaks also of the human sacrifices and other
barbarous rites, which were practised by our Briton Fathers in honor of
their gods.


XV. _Interpretando. By putting their own_, i.e. _the worst construction
upon them_.

_Ex facili_==facile. A frequent form of expression in T., ad Graecorum
consuetudinem. Dr. See R. Exc. 24.

_Singulos--binos_. Distributives==_one for each tribe--two for each
tribe_.

_Aeque--aeque_. Like Greek correlatives; alike fatal to their subjects
in _either case_. So [Greek: homoios men] and [Greek: homoios de], Xen.
Mem. 1, 6, 13; Plat. Symp. 181. C.

_Alterius manus centuriones, alterius servos_. This is the reading of the
latest editions (Dr. Wr. Or. and R.), and the best MSS., though the MSS.
differ somewhat: _Centurions, the hands_ (instruments) _of the one, and
servants_, the hands _of the other, added insult to injury_. For the use
of _manus_ in the above sense, reference is made to Cic. in Ver. 2, 10,
27: Comites illi tui delecti _manus_ erant tuae. So the _centurions_ of
the _legate_ and the _servants_ of the _procurator_ are said by our
author to have robbed the Briton King Prasutagus of his kingdom and his
palace, Ann. 14, 31, which is the best commentary on the passage before
us.

_Ab ignavis. By_ the feeble and cowardly. Antithetic to _fortiorem. In
battle, it is the braver that plunders us; but now_ (it is a special
aggravation of our sufferings, that) _by the feeble and cowardly_, &c. So
in contempt, they call the veterans, cf. 14: _veteranorum colonia_; 32:
_senum colonia_.

_Tantum_ limits _pro patria_; as if it was for their _country_ only they
knew not how to die.

_Si sese_, etc., i.e. in _comparison_ with their own numbers.

_Patriam--parentes_, sc. _causas belli esse_.

_Recessisset_. Observe the subj. in the subordinate clauses of the oratio
obliqua throughout this chapter. H. 531; Z. 603.

_Neve--pavescerant_. This verb would have been an imperative in the
oratio recta, Z. 603, c. _Neve_ is appropriate either to the imp. or the
subj.


XVI. _Instincti_, i.e. furore quodam afflati. Dr. For a fuller account
of this revolt, see Ann. 14, 31-38; Dio. 62, 1-13.

_Boudicea_. Wife of Prasutagus, king of the Iceni. When conquered, she
ended her life by poison, Ann. 14, 37.

_Expugnatis praesidiis. Having stormed the fortresses_. The force of _ex_
in this word is seen in that it denotes the _actual carrying_ of a place
by assault, whereas _oppugnatus_ only denotes the assault itself. So
[Greek: ek-poliorkaetheis]==_taken_ in a siege, [Greek:
poliorkaetheis]==besieged.

_Ipsam coloniam_. Cf. note 14: veteranorum colonia.

_In barbaris_==qualis inter barbaros esse solet. R. Exc. 25.

_Ira et victoria_. Hendiadys. Render: _Nor did they in the excitement of
victory omit_, etc. So Dr. R. and Wr. _Ira_ may, however, refer to their
_long cherished resentment. Ira_ causam, _victoria_ facultatem explendae
saevitiae denotat. Rit.--_Quod nisi. And had not_, etc. Cf. note, 12:
_quod si_.

_Patientiae_. Most Latin authors would have said: ad patientiam. R.
_Patientia_ here==_submission_.

_Tenentibus--plerisque. Though many still retained_, i.e. did not lay
down _their arms_.

_Propius_. Al. _proprius_. But that is purely conjectural. Adv. for adj.,
cf. ultra, 8; longe, 6==propior, like the _propior cura_ of Ovid.
Metamor. 13, 578. Render: _a more urgent fear_. Some would connect
_propius_ with _agitabat_ notwithstanding its remote position.

_Suae quoque_. _His own also_, sc. as well as that of the Empire.

_Durius_, sc. aequo. H. 444, 1. cf. 4: _acrius_, note.

_Delictis--novus_. _A stranger to their faults_. Cf. Sil. Ital. 6, 254:
novusque dolori. Wr. Cf. Böt. Lex. Tac. _Dativus_.

_Poenitentiae mitior_, i.e. mitior erga poenitentiam, or facilior erga
poenitentes. _Poenitentiae_ dat. of object.

_Compositis prioribus_. _Having restored things to their former quiet
state_.

_Nullis--experimentis_. _Undertaking no military expeditions_. Or.--
_Castrorum_. Cf. 5, note.

_Comitate--tenuit_. "_Retained the province by a popular manner of
administering the government_." Ky.--_Curandi_. Note, H. 1, 52.

_Ignoscere_. Properly _not to notice_, hence _to view with indulgence, to
indulge in_.

_Vitiis blandientibus_. The reference is to the _luxurious and vicious
pleasures_ of the Romans, which enervated the Britons, cf. 21, at close,
where the idea is brought out more fully.

_Cum--lasciviret_. _Cum==since_. Hence the subj.

_Precario_. Cf. note, G. 44.--_Mox_, cf. note 4.

_Velut pacti_ implies a _tacit_ compact. It was understood between them,
that the army were to enjoy their liberty; the general, his life. Supply
_sunt_ with _pacti_. Död. and Wr. supply _essent_; but they read _haec_
for _et_ before _seditio_ contrary to the best MSS.

_Et seditio_. _Et==and so_. Al. haec seditio.

_Stetit_. Not stopped, but stood, as in our phrase: stood them in so
much. So Ovid: Multo _sanguine_--victoria _stetit_. And T. His. 3, 53:
Majore _damno_--veteres civium discordias reipublicae _stetisse_. Render:
_cost no blood_. Dr.

_Petulantia_. _Insubordination_.--_Nisi quod_, but, cf. 6.

_Bolanus_. If the reader wishes to know more of the officers named in
this chapter, for Turpilianus, see Ann. 14, 39. His. 1, 6; Trebellius,
His. 1, 60; Bolanus, Ann. 15, 3. His. 2, 65. 79.

_Caritatem--auctoritatis_. "_Had conciliated affection as a substitute
for authority_." Ky.


XVII. _Recuperavit_. Al. _reciperavit_. The two forms are written
indiscriminately in the MSS. The word may express either the recovery of
what was lost, or the restoration to health of what was diseased. Either
would make a good sense here. Cf. chap. 5; also Cic. Phil. 14, 13:
_republica recuperata_. Or. renders _acquired again_, sc. what had
previously belonged, as it were, to him, rather than to the bad emperors
who had preceded him.

_Petilius Cerialis_. Cf. note, 8.--_Brigantum_. Cf. H. 3, 45; Ann. 12,
32. Their territory embraced Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Durham
and Yorkshire.

_Aut victoria aut bello_, i.e. _either received their submission after
the victory, or involved them in the calamities of war_. _Aut--aut_
generally adversative==either--or on the contrary. _Vel--vel_ only
disjunctive==whether--or. Cf. note on vel--vel, G. 15.

_Alterius_. Another, than Julius Frontinus, i.e. by implication, one
_different_ from him, _less brave and great_. Cf. His. 2, 90: tanquam
apud alterius civitatis senatum; 3, 13, note. _Alius_ is the word usually
appropriated to express this idea. _Alter_ generally implies a
_resemblance_ between contrasted objects. See Freund, ad v.

_Obruisset--sustinuit_. These words primarily refer to physical energies,
and are exactly counterpart==_crushed--sustained_.

_Quantum licebat_ limits _vir magnus: as great a man, as it was
permitted_ him to be, restricted as he was in his resources, perhaps by
the parsimony of the Emperor. On Julius Frontinus, cf. H. 4, 39. He was
the friend of Pliny the Younger (Plin. Ep. 9, 19) and therefore probably
of Tacitus. His books on Stratagems, and on the Aqueducts of Rome are
still extant.--_Super_, over and above, i.e. _besides_.


XVIII. _Agentem_, sc. excubias or stationem==stationed in, cf. His. 1,
47: copias, quae Lugduni agebant. _Ala_. Cf. note, H. 1, 54.

_Ordovicum civitas_. Situated over against the Island Mona, north of the
Silures, i.e. in the northern part of what is now Wales.

_Ad--verterentur_. _Were turning themselves_ (middle sense) _towards_,
i.e. _looking to or for. Occasionem. An opportunity_, sc. to attack the
Romans in their security. Al. _uterentur_.

_Quibus--erat. They who wished for war_. Greek idiom for qui bellum
volebant. See Kühner's Greek Gram. 284, 10, c., cf. His. 3, 43:
volentibus fuit, etc., and note, ibid. In Latin, the idiom occurs chiefly
in Sallust and T. See Z. 420, and H. 387, 3.

_Ac--opperiri_. Al. _aut_ by conjecture. But _ac==ac tamen, and yet_. Cf.
Ann. 1, 36: _exauctorari--ac retineri sub vexillo_.

_Transvecta_. Al. transacta. Cf. His. 2, 76: abiit et _transvectum est
tempus_. Only T. uses the word in reference to time.

_Numeri_==cohortes or manipuli, cf. His. 1, 6: multi numeri. This use of
the word is post-Augustan. Cf. note, His. 1, 6.

_Tarda et contraria_. In appos. with the foregoing clauses==
_circumstances calculated to retard and oppose him in commencing war_.

_Plerisque_, sc. of the inferior officers. They thought it best that
those parts of the country, whose fidelity was questionable (_suspecta_)
should be secured by garrisons (_custodiri_). _Potius_ is an adj. and
goes with _videbatur_==_it seemed preferable_.

_Legionum vexillis_. Some understand this of veteran soldiers who had
served out their time (twenty years), but were still _sub vexillis_ (not
dismissed). So R. and W. Others of parts of the legions detached for a
season sub vexillis (under separate standards). So Gronovius. The word
seems to be used in both senses. See note, H. 1, 31.

_In aequum_. Into the plain. Aequus, prim. level, hence aequor, sea.

_Erexit aciem. Led his troops up the steep_. So His. 3, 71: erigunt aciem
per adversum collem.

_Ac--ceteris. And that according as the first_ enterprises _went_ (cf.
note, 5: _cessit_), would be the terror in the rest_ of his engagements.
Cf. H. 2, 20: _gnarus, ut initia belli provenissent, famam in cetera
fore_. Al. _fore universa_.

_Possessione. Taking_ possession, cf. 14. A _possidere_, i.e. occupare,
non a _possidere_, quod est occupatum tenere. Rit. For the abl. without
_a_, cf. H. 2, 79: _Syria remeans_.

_Ut in dubiis consiliis_, sc. fieri solet. Generals are not apt to be
prepared beforehand for enterprises, not contemplated at all in their
original plans.

_Qui--expectabant. Who were looking out for (ex_ and _specto) a fleet,
for ships_, in a word _for the sea_, i.e. naval preparations in general,
instead of an attack by land. The language is highly rhetorical.--
_Crediderint_. Livy, Nepos and Tacitus use the _perf_. subj. after _ut_,
denoting a consequence, when a single, specific past act is expressed;
when a repeated or continued action, the _imp_. subj. Most writers use
the imp. in both cases. See H. 482, 2, and 480; Z. 516; also Z. 504,
Note, and note H. 1, 24: _dederit_.

_Officiorum ambitum. "Compliments of office."_ Ky.

_Placuisset_. Subj. cf. note, 11: _ut quos_.

_Expeditionem--continuisse. He did not call it a campaign or a victory to
have kept the conquered in subjection_.

_Laureatis_ sc. litteris. It was customary to communicate the news of
victory to the Emperor and Senate, by letters bound with bay leaves, cf.
Liv. 5, 28: _litterae_ a Postumio _laureatae_ sequuntur. Without
_litterae_, it occurs only here. Or. So in H. 3, 77. T. avoids the
technical expression and employs the word _laurea_, seldom used in this
sense.

_Dissimulatione_. Cf. note, 6.--_Aestimantibus_, cf. aestimanti, 11. The
aspiring, and especially the vain, may learn from this passage a lesson
of great practical value. Compare also § 8, at the close.


XIX. _Aliena experimenta. The experience of others_.

_Nihil_. Ellipsis of _agere_ (which is inserted without MS. authority in
the common editions). So Cic. Phil. 1, 2: Nihil per senatum, etc. Cf. G.
19: _adhuc_, note.

_Ascire_, al. accire. _To receive into regular service_. The reference is
to the transfer of soldiers from the raw recruits to the legions. So W.
followed by Dr. R. and W. The next clause implies, that he took care to
receive into the service none but the best men (_optimum quemque_), whom
he deemed _trustworthy_ (_fidissimum_) just in _proportion_ as they were
_good_. This use of two superlatives mutually related to each other, the
former with _quisque_, is frequent in Latin and resembles the English use
of two comparatives: the better, the more trustworthy. Cf. Z. 710, b.;
also note, 3: _promptissmus quisque_.

_Exsequi_==punire. A sense peculiar to the later Latin. Cic. and Caes.
use _persequi_. For a similar use of the word in the expression of a
similar sentiment, see Suet. Jul. 67: Delicta neque observabat omnia
neque pro modo exsequebatur. Compare our word _execute_. And mark the
sentiment, as a maxim in the science of government.

_Severitatem commodare_. W. with Dr. and R. make this an example of
zeugma. And in its ordinary acceptation (i.e. in the sense _to give_)
the word _commodare_ certainly applies only to _veniam_, and not to
_severitatem_. But _commodare_ in its primary signification means to
_adapt_; and in this sense, it suits both of its adjuncts: _He adapted_
(awarded) _pardon to small offences, severe punishment to great ones_. So
Wr. For the series of infinitives, cf. notes, 5: _nosci_, etc.; G. 30:
_praeponere_, etc.

_Nec poena--contentus esse. Nor was he always content with punishment,
but oftener with repentance_. Mere punishment without reformation did not
satisfy him; reformation without punishment satisfied him better. See
Död. in loc. Here too some have called in the aid of zeugma.

_Auctionem_. Al. exactionem. The former is the reading of the greater
part of the MSS. and the later German editions. _Auctionem tributorum_
refers to the increased tribute exacted by Vesp. cf. Sueton. Vesp. 16:
_auxisse_ tributa provinciis, nonnullis et _duplicasse_.

_Munerum_. _Duties, burdens.--Circumcisis_. Cf. note, 2: expulsis. etc.,
and 11: amissa virtute.

_Namque--cogebantur_. The best version we can give of this obscure
passage is as follows: _For they were compelled in mockery to sit by the
closed granaries and to buy corn needlessly_ (beyond what was necessary,
cf. note on _ultro_, G. 28, when they had enough of their own) _and to
sell it at a fixed price_ (prescribed by the purchasers). It has been
made a question, whether the granaries of the Britons, or those of the
Romans are here meant. Död., Dr. and R. advocate the former opinion;
Walch, Wr., Or., and Rit. the latter. According to the former view, the
Britons were often obliged to buy corn of the Romans, because they were
forbidden to use their own, to supply themselves and their families;
according to the latter, because they were required (as explained below)
to carry their contributions to a quarter so distant from their own
granaries, that they were fain to buy the corn rather at some nearer
warehouse of the Romans. The selling at a fixed price is equally
intelligible on either supposition. Or. following the best MSS. reads
_ludere pretio_, which Rit. has amended into _colludere pretio_. _Ultro_
may well enough be rendered _moreover_ or _even_, thus giving emphasis to
_emere_.

_Devortia itinerum_. _Bye roads_, explained by _avia_, as _longinquitas_
is by _remota_. The object of requiring the people to convey their
contributions to such distant and inconvenient points, was to compel them
to buy of the Romans, or to pay almost any sum of money to avoid
compliance. The reader of Cic. will remember in illustration of this
whole passage, the various arts to which Verres is said to have had
recourse to enrich himself, at the expense of the people of his province
(Cic. in Ver. 3, 72, and 82), such as refusing to accept the
contributions they brought, obliging them to buy of him at his own price,
requiring them to carry supplies to points most distant and difficult of
access, _ut vecturae difficultate ad quam vellent aestimationem
pervenirent_.

_Omnibus_, sc. et incolis et militibus; _paucis_, sc. praefectis aut
publicanis. Dr.

_Donec--fieret_. The subj. here denotes a purpose or object in view, and
theretore follows _donec_ according to the rule. H. 522, II.; Z. 575.
Tacitus however always expresses a repeated past action after _donec_ by
the imp. subj. Cf. note, 37: affectavere; H. 1, 13. 35.


XX. _Statim_. Emphatic, like [Greek: euthus]. Cf. Thucyd. 2, 47: [Greek:
tou therous euthus archomenou]: at the _very_ beginning of summer. So in
§ 3.

_Intolerantia_, al. tolerantia, but without MS. authority. _Incuria_ is
_negligence_. Intolerantia_ is _insufferable arrogance, severity_, in a
word _intolerance_. So Cic.: superbia atque intolerantia.

_Quae--timebatur_. And no wonder, since _ubi solitudinem_ faciunt, _pacem_
appellant, 30.

_Multus_, al. militum. _Multus_ in the recent editions.
_Multus_==frequens, cf. Sal. Jug. 84: multus ac ferox instare.--
_Modestiam--disiectos_. These words are antithetic, though one is
abstract and the other concrete. The whole clause may be literally
rendered thus: _ever present in the line of march, he commended
good order (discipline), the disorderly he restrained_.

_Popularetur_, sc. A. _Quominus_, that not==_but: but he ravaged their
country by unexpected invasions_.

_Irritamenta_. _Inducements.--Pacis_. Ang. _to_ or _for peace_.

_Ex aequo egerant_, lit. had acted (lived) on an equality, i.e. _had
maintained their independence_, cf. His. 4, 64: aut ex aequo agetis aut
aliis imperitabitis.

_Iram posuere_. Cf. Hor. Ars Poet.: et _iram_ colligit ac _ponit_ temere.
See also G. 27: ponunt dolorem, etc.

_Ut--transierit_. The clause is obscure. The best that can be made of it
is this: _they were encompassed by forts and garrisons with so much skill
and care that no part of Britain hitherto now went over_ (to the enemy)
_with impunity_ (literally unattacked). For the meaning of _nova_, cf.
22. For _transierit_, cf. _transitio_, H. 2, 99; 3, 61; and Freund, sub
v. This is Walther's interpretation. If, with Ernesti, Dr. and some
others, we might suppose a _sic_, _ita_ or _tam_ to be understood with
_illacessita_, we might obtain perhaps a better sense, viz. _came over_
(to the Romans) _with so little annoyance_ (from the enemy). In the last
edition a meaning was attached to _transierit_ (_remained_, sc.
unattacked), for which I now find no sufficient authority. Among the many
amendments, which have been suggested, the easiest and best is that of
Susius, followed by Wexius, Dübner, Or. and Rit, viz. placing
_Illacessita transiit_ at the beginning of the next chapter. But this
does violence not only to MS. authority, but to Latin usage in making the
adverb _ut, so as, as_, follow _tanta_. In such a connection, _ut_ must
be a conjunction==_so that, that_. See Freund sub v. For the _perf_.
subj. cf. note, 18: _crediderint_.

_Praesidiis castellisque_. Gordon, in his Itinerarium Septentrionale,
found more remains of Roman works in that part of Britain here referred
to, than in any other portion of the Island.


XXI. _Ut--assuescerent_. _In order that they might become habituated_,
etc.--_In bella faciles. Easily inclined to wars_. Cf. Ann. 14, 4:
_facili ad gaudia_. Al. _in bello, bello_, and _in bellum_.--_Otio_. See
note, 11: otio.--_Privatim. As a private individual; publice, by public
authority, and of course from the public treasury_, cf. note G. 39:
publice.--_Jam vero_. _Moreover_, cf. G. 14, note.

_Anteferre_. Wr. takes this word in its primary sense==bear before, i.e.
carry beyond: _he carried (advanced) the native talents of the Britons
beyond the learning of the Gauls_. But there is no authority for such a
use of the word, when followed by the acc. and dat. It is doubtless used
in its more ordinary sense; and the _preference_ which A. expressed for
the genius of the Britons over the learning of the Gauls, _stimulated_
them to greater exertions. It is somewhat curious to observe thus early
that mutual emulation and jealousy, which has marked the whole history of
Britain and France. The national vanity of La Bletterie is sorely wounded
by this remark of T. See his note in loco, also Murphy's.--_Toga_. Cf.
note on _togatos_, 9.

_Ut--concupiscerent_. _Ut==so that_, denoting a consequence. The verb
here denotes a continued or habitual state of mind. Hence the _imp_.
subj. Cf. note, 18: _crediderit_.

_Discessum_, sc. a patrum moribus ad vitia varia. Dr.

_Delenimenta_==illa, quibus animi _leniuntur_. Dr. _Charms,
blandishments_. Cf. H. 1, 77. The word is not found in Cic. or Caes.

_Humanitas. Civilisation, refinement_. Compare the professorships of
_humanity_ in European Universities.

_Pars servitutis_. For the sentiment, cf. His. 4, 64: voluptatibus,
quibus Romani plus adversus subjectos, quam armis valent. _Cum==while,
although_. Hence the subj.


XXII. _Tertius--annus_. _Third campaign_.

_Taum_. The Frith of Tay.--_Nationibus_. Here synonymous with _gentes_;
sometimes less comprehensive, cf. note, G. 2.

_Pactione ac fuga_. Al. _aut_ fuga, but without authority. There are
but two distinct clauses marked by _aut--aut: either taken by assault or
abandoned by capitulation and flight_.

_Nam--firmabantur_. This clause assigns a reason, why the Romans were
_able_ to make frequent sorties (_crebrae eruptiones_), viz. supplies of
provision so abundant, as to be proof against blockade.

_Moras obsidionis. A protracted siege_, or _blockade_.

_Annuis copiis. Supplies for a year_. This is the _primary_ signification
of _annuus_; that of our word _annual_ is _secondary_.

_Intrepida--praesidio_==hiberna quieta ac tuta ab hostibus. Fac. and For.
--_Irritis, baffled_. Seldom applied to _persons_ by prose writers. Cf. H.
4, 32.

_Pensare_. R. remarks a peculiar fondness in T. for the use of the simple
verb instead of the compound, e.g. missa for omissa, sistens for
resistens, flammare for inflammare, etc. So here _pensare==compensare_.
Cf. 12: _trahuntur_, note.

_Avidus_, sc. laudis==per aviditatem laudis et gloriae. E.: A. never in
his eagerness for glory arrogated to himself the honor of the
achievements of others.--_Seu--seu. Every one, whether centurion or
praefect_ (commander of a legion, cf. note, H. 1, 82.), _was sure to have
in him an impartial witness to his deeds_.

_Acerbior_, cf. note on _durius_, 16.--_Apud quosdam_==a quibusdam.

_Secretum et silentium. Reserve and silence_. So W. and Ky. But R. and
Dr.: _private interviews_ (to be summoned to which by some commanders was
alarming), _and neglect of the usual salutations in public_ (which was
also often a token of displeasure on the part of a superior officer). The
former is the more simple and obvious, though it must be confessed that
the latter is favored by the usus loquendi of T., in regard especially to
_secretum_, cf. 39; Ann. 3, 8, where _secreto_ is opposed to _palam_; and
His. 4, 49: incertum, quoniam _secreto eorum_ nemo _adfuit_.


XXIII. _Obtirendis. Securing possession of.--Pateretur_, sc. terminum
inveniri.--_In ipsa Brit_. In the very _nature_ or structure of the
island, as described in the sequel. See Or. in loc.

_Clota et Bodotria_. Frith of Clyde and Frith of Forth.

_Revectae_, i.e. the natural current being driven back by the tide from
the sea on either side. _Angusto--spatio_. It is now cut across by a ship
canal.

_Propior sinus_==peninsula on the south side of the Friths, cf, note on
sinus G. 1, and 29. Sinus refers particularly to the _curved border_ on
_this side_ the aestuaries. This border (wherever the friths were so
narrow as to require it), as well as the narrow isthmus, was occupied and
secured (_tenebatur_) by garrisons.


XXIV. _Nave prima_. The first Roman ship that ever visited those shores.
So Br., Dr., etc. _The foremost ship_, sc., A. himself, followed by
others in a line. So Ritter. Wr., and some others understand it of a
voyage from _Rome_, where they suppose him to have passed the winter, and
whence he crossed over to Britain by the _earliest_ vessel in the spring.
W. and R. make _prima_ equivalent to an adv. and render: crossing over
_for the first time_ by ship. Or. also makes _prima==tum primum_.

_Copiis_. Here troops with their equipments==_forces_, cf. 8: majoribus
copiis.--_Medio sita_ lying between, not midway between. E.--_In spem--
formidinem_. More with the hope of invading Ireland, than through fear of
invasion by the Irish.--_Valentissimam partem_, viz. Gaul, Spain and
Britain.

_Miscuerit_. The subj. here denotes the aim or purpose of the projector:
it would have done so _in his view_.

_Invicem_==an adj. _mutual.--Nostri maris_. The Mediterranean.

_Differunt: in melius_. The authorities differ greatly as to the reading,
the pointing and the interpretation of this passage. Some copies omit
_in_. Others insert _nec_ before it. Some place the pause before _in
melius_, others after. Some read _differt_, others _differunt. Nec in
melius_ would perhaps give the better sense. But the reading is purely
conjectural. I have given that, which, on the whole, seems to rest on the
best authority, and to make the best sense. The sense is: _the soil,
climate, &c., do not differ much from those of Britain. But that the
harbors and entrances to the country are better_ (lit. _differ for the
better, differre in melius), is ascertained through the medium of the
merchants, who resort thither for trade_ (for Ireland had not yet, like
Britain, been explored by a Roman _army_). So Wr. and Död. On _in
melius_, see note H. 1, 18. Or. and Rit. make the comparison thus: the
harbors and entrances are better known, than the soil, climate, &c. The
common interpretation is: the harbors, &c., of Ireland are better known,
than those of Britain. But neither of these interpretations accounts for
the position of _melius_; and the last is in itself utterly incredible.

_Ex eo_, sc. A. Pass. and Dr. understand it of the Irish chief, and infer
that T. had been in Brit. But A. is the subject of the next sentence
without the repetition of his name, as it would have been repeated, if
this sentence referred to another.


XXV. _Amplexus_. Some supply _bello_, as in 17: bello amplexus. But
better: embracing _in his plan of operations_, i.e. _extending his
operations to those tribes_.

_Hostilis exercitus_. Al. hostili exercitu. But _hostilis exercitus_ in
the MSS. and earliest editions.--_Infesta_ is here active: _hostile
inroads of the enemy's forces_.

_In partem virium_. _For_, i.e. _as a part of his force_.

_Impelleretur_, was borne on with rapid and resistless power.

_Profunda--adversa_. Cf. note, 6: _inania honoris_.

_Mixti copiis et laetitia. Uniting their stores and their pleasures_,
i.e. their respective means of entertainment. For _mixti_, cf. 4:
locum--mixtum. For _copiis_ in this sense, 22: annuis copiis. For the
other sense, viz. forces, 24: copiis, note.

_Hinc--hinc==on this side--on that_. Cf. note G. 14: _illum--illam_.--
_Victus_. Al. _auctus_.

_Ad manus et arma_. Ang. _to arms_.

_Oppugnasse_ depends on _fama_. Their preparations were great. Rumor as
usual (_uti mos_, etc.) represented them still greater; for the rumor
went abroad, that the Caledonians had _commenced offensive operations
(oppugnasse ultra).--Castella adorti_ is the means by which they _metum
addiderant_, i.e. _had inspired additional fear_.

_Pluribus agminibus. In several divisions_. Accordingly it is added:
_diviso et ipse_, A. _himself also_, i.e. as well as the Britons,
_having divided_, etc.

_Agmen_ (from ago), properly a body of men on the march.--_Exercitus_,
under military drill (exerceo.)


XXVI. _Quod ubi_, etc. _When this was known_, etc. Latin writers, as well
as Greek, generally link their sentences, chapters, &c., more closely
together, than English. Hence we are often obliged to render their
relative by our demonstrative. See Z. 803. _Ubi_, here adv. of _time_, as
in 20, 38, et passim.

_Certabant_. Not _fought_ with the enemy, but _vied_ with each other. So
below: utroque--certante. Hence followed by _de_ gloria, not _pro_ gloria,
which some would substitute for it; _secure for_ (in regard to) _safety,
they vied with each other in respect to_ (or _in_) _glory_. With _pro
salute_, cf. His. 4, 58: pro me securior.

_Erupere. Sallied forth_, sc. from the camp.

_Utroque exercitu_. Each of the two _Roman_ armies.

_Quod_. Cf. 12, note.--_Debellatum_, lit. the war would have been fought
_out_, i.e. _ended_.


XXVII. _Cujus_ refers to _victoria_ in the previous section (cf. _quod_
26, note): _inspirited by the consciousness and the glory of this
victory_.

_Modo cauti_. Compare the sentiment with 25: specie prudentium, etc.

_Arte--rati_, al. arte _usos_ rati by conjecture. But T. is fond of such
ellipses: _The Britons, thinking it was not by superior bravery, but by
favoring circumstances_ (on the part of the Romans) _and the skill of
their commander_ (sc. that they had been defeated). Rit. reads
_superati_.

_Utrimque_. Both the Romans and the Britons; the Romans excited by their
victory, the Britons by their coetibus ac sacrificiis.

_Discessum. They separated_, viz. after the battle and at the close of
the campaign.


XXVIII. _Cohors Usipiorum_. See same story, Dio Cass. 66, 20.

_Adactis. Forced on board.--Remiganto_==gubernante, to avoid sameness,
with _gubernatoribus_, Br. R. supposes that having but one pilot left,
only the vessel on which he sailed was _rowed_, while the others were
towed by it; and this rowing _under his direction_ is ascribed to _him_.
Some MSS. and many editions read _remigrante_, which some translate:
_making his escape_, and others connect with _interfectis_, and suppose
that he also was slain in trying to _bring back_ his boat to shore.
Whether we read _remigante_ or _remigrante_, the signification of either
is unusual.

_Praevehebantur_. Sailed along the coast (in sight of land).

_Inopiae_ is governed by _eo_, which is the old dat.==_to such a degree.
--Ad extremum==at last_.

_Vescerentur_ followed by the acc. H. 419, 4. 1; Z. 466. For the imp.
subj. cf. note 21: _ut--concupiscerent_.

_Amissis--navibus_. This is regarded by some as proof that _all_ the
steersmen were slain or escaped. Dr. answers, that it may refer only to
the _two_ ships that were without steersmen.

_Suevis_. A people of Northern Germany (G. 38, seq.) whither, after
having circumnavigated Britain, the Usipii came.--_Mox, subsequently_,
some having escaped the Suevi.

_Per commercia. In trade_, cf. same in 39.

_Nostram ripam_. The Gallic bank of the Rhine, which was the border of
the Roman Empire, cf. G. passim.

_Quos--indicium--illustravit_. Whom the account of so wonderful an
adventure rendered illustrious. The rule would require the subj. H. 501,
I. 2; Z. 561.


XXIX. _Initio aestatis_, i.e. in the beginning of the _next_ summer (the
7th campaign, cf. 25: _aestate, qua sextum_, etc.), as the whole history
shows. See especially _proximo anno_, 34. Hence the propriety of
commencing a new section here. The common editions begin it below:
_Igitur_, etc.

_Plerique_. Cf. note on it, 1.--_Fortium virorum_. _Military men_.

_Ambitiose, with affected fortitude, stoically_.--_Rursus_==contra, _on
the contrary_, showing the antith. between _ambitiose_ and _per lamenta_.
--_Per lamenta_, cf. 6: per caritatem.--_Igitur_, cf. 13, note.

_Quae--faceret_==ut ea faceret. H. 500; Z. 567. _Incertum_ is explained
by _pluribus locis_. Render: _general alarm_.--_Expedito_==sine
impedimentis, armis solis instructo. Fac. and For.--_Montem Grampium_.
Now _Grampian hills_.

_Cruda--senectus_. Cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 304: sed cruda deo viridisque
senectus. _Crudus_ is rarely found in this sense except in the poets.
_Crudus_ properly==bloody (_cruor, cruidus_); hence the successive
significations, raw, unripe, fresh, vigorous.--_Sua decora_==praemia
ob virtutem bellicam accepta. E. Any and all _badges of distinction_,
especially in _arms_. Wr., Or. and Dõd.


XXX. _Causas belli_. Explained by _universi servitutis expertes_ below,
to be the defence of their liberties. In like manner, _nostram
necessitatem_ is explained by _nullae ultra terrae_: there is no retreat
for us, etc.--_Animus, Confidence_.

_Proelium--arma_. T. has a passion for _pairs_ of words, especially
nouns, of _kindred signification_. See examples in Index to Histories;
and in this chapter, _spem ac subsidium_; _recessus ac sinus_; _obsequiam
ac modestiam_.

_Priores pugnae_, sc. in which the Caledonians took no part.--_Pugnae_
is here, by a figure put for the _combatants_ themselves, who are
represented as looking to the Caledonians, as a kind of corps de reserve,
or last resource.

_Eo. For that reason_. The best things are always kept guarded and
concealed in the _penetralia_. There may also be a reference to a _fact_
stated by Caesar (B.G. 5, 12), that the inhabitants of the interior were
aborigines, while those on the coast were immigrants.

_Terrarum--extremos_. _The remotest of men and last of freemen_.
--_Recessus--famae_. _Our very remoteness and obscurity_. This is the
most common and perhaps the most simple translation, making _sinus
famae_==seclusion in respect to fame. Perhaps, however, it accords as
well with the usual signification of the words, and better with the
connexion and spirit of the speech, to take _sinus famae_ in the sense,
_retreat of glory_, or _glorious retreat_. So Wr. His interpretation of
the passage and its connexion is as follows: _our very remoteness and our
glorious retreat have guarded us till this day. But now the furthest
extremity of Brit. is laid open_ (i.e. our retreat is no longer a
safeguard); _and every thing unknown is esteemed great (i.e. this
safeguard also is removed--the Romans in our midst no longer magnify our
strength). Rit. encloses the clause in brackets, as a gloss. He renders
_sinus famae, bosom of fame_, fame being personified as a goddess. R.,
Dr., Or. make _famae_ dative after _defendit_==has _kept back from fame_.

_Sed nulla jam_, etc. But now all the above grounds of confidence--our
remoteness, our glory, our greatness magnified by the imagination of our
enemies, from the very fact that we were unknown to them--all these are
removed; we have none behind us to fall back upon, as our countrymen in
former battles have leaned upon us--and we are reduced to the necessity
of self-defence and self-reliance. The _sed_ seems to be antithetic to
the whole as far back as _priores pugnae_; whereas _nunc_ is opposed only
to the clause which immediately precedes it, and constitutes an
antithesis within an antithesis.

_Infestiores_, sc. quam fluctus et saxa.

_Effugeris_. Cf. note G. 19: _non invenerit_; also _satiaverit_ just
below.

_Et mare_. _Et==also_. Cf. note, G. 11.

_Opes atque inopiam_. Abs. for conc.==rich and poor nations.

_Falsis nominibus_ is by some connected with _rapere_. But better with
_appellant_. _They call things by false names_, viz. _plunder, empire;
and desolation, peace_.


XXXI. _Annos_==annonam, _yearly produce_, cf. G. 14: expectare annum. So
often in the Poets.--_In frumentum. For supplies_. The reading of this
clause is much disputed. The text follows that of W. and R. and is
approved by Freund. For the meaning of _egerunt_, cf. _praedam
egesserunt_, H. 3, 33.

_Silvis--emuniendis_==viis per silvas et paludes muniendis. E.

_Semel_. _Once for all_, G. 19.--_Emit_, sc. tributis pendendis;
_pascit_, sc. frumento praebendo. E.

_Portus, quibus exercendis_. W. and Dr. explain this of collecting
revenue at the ports (i.e. farming them), a thing unknown to the early
Britons; Wr. of rowing, servile labor. Why not refer it to the
_construction_ or _improvement_ of harbors? By rendering _exercendis,
working, improving_, we make it applicable alike to harbors, mines and
fields.--_Reservemur_. Subj. in a relative clause denoting a purpose. H.
500; Z. 567.

_Potuere_. Observe the ind., where we use the potential. It is especially
frequent with _possum, debeo_, &c. Z. 518 and 519.

_Nonne_ implies an affirmative answer. Z. 352, and H. 346, II. 1. 2.

_In poenitentiam_, al. in praesentiam. The general idea is essentially
the same with either reading. _Non in praesentiam==not to obtain our
freedom, for the present merely. Non in poenitentiam==not about to
obtain our freedom merely to regret it_, i.e. in such a manner as the
Brigantes, who forthwith lost it by their _socordia_.


XXXII. _Nisi si_==nisi forte, cf. note, G. 2: nisi si patria.

_Pudet dictu_. The supine after _pudet_ is found only here. Quintilian
however has _pudendum dictu_. Cf. Or. in loc.; and Z. 441. 443.

_Commendent_, etc. _Although they give up their blood to_ (i.e. _shed it
in support of_) _a foreign tyrant_.--_Tamen_ is antithetic to _licet_:
_although_ they give, _yet longer enemies, than slaves_ (of Rome).

_Metus--est_. _It is fear and terror_ (sc. that keep them in subjection),
_weak bonds of affection_.

_Removeris--desierint_. Fut. perf. Cf. note, G. 23: _indulseris_.

_Nulla--aut alia_. Some of the Roman soldiers had lost all attachment to
country and could not be said to have any country; others had one, but it
was not Britain, it was far away.

_Ne terreat_. The third person of the imperative is for the most part
avoided in ordinary language; and the pres. subj. is used in its stead.
Z. 529, Note.

_Nostras manus_, i.e. those ready to join us and aid our arms, viz. (as
he goes on to say), the Gauls and Germans, as well as the Britons now in
the Roman ranks.--_Tamquam_==_just as_ (_tam-quam_). Död. renders, _just
as certainly as_.

_Vacua.--Destitute of soldiers.--Senum_, sc. veterani et emeriti. Cf.
note, 15. _Aegra==disaffected_. Cf. H. 2, 86.

_Hic dux_, etc. _Here a general, here an army_ (sc. the Roman, awaits
you); _there tributes, mines_, &c. (and you must conquer the former or
endure the latter--these are your only alternatives).

_In hoc campo est_. _Depends on this battle field_.--T. has laid out all
his strength on this speech. It can hardly be matched for martial force
and sententious brevity. It breathes, as it should in the mouth of a
Briton, an indomitable spirit of liberty, and reminds us, in many
features, of the concentrated and fiery eloquence, which has so often
roused our American Indians to defend their altars and revenge their
wrongs.


XXXIII. _Ut barbaris moris_. Al. et barbari moris. But compare 39: ut
Domitiano moris erat; His. 1, 15: ut moris est. Supply _est_ here: _as is
the custom of_ (lit. _to_) _barbarians_. Z. 448, & H. 402, I.

_Agmina_, sc. conspiciebantur.--_Procursu_ is the means by which the
gleam of armor was brought into view.

_Acies_, sc. Britannorum. The _Roman_ army was still within the camp, cf.
_munimentis coercitum_, below.

_Coercitum_==qui coerceri potest. The part, used in the sense of a verbal.
So _monstratus_, G. 31, which, Freund says, is Tacitean. The perf. part.
pass. with negative prefix _in_ often takes this sense. Z. 328. Cf. note,
His. 5, 7: _inexhaustum_.

_Octavus annus_. This was Agricola's _seventh summer_ in Britain. See
note 29: _initio aestatis_. But it being now later in the season, than
when he entered Britain, he was now entering on his _eighth year_. Cf.
Rit. in loc.

_Virtute--Romani_. _By the valor and favoring auspices of the Roman
Empire_. War was formerly carried on auspiciis _Populi_ Rom. But after
Augustus, auspiciis _Imperatoris_ or _Imperii_ Rom.

_Expeditionibus--proeliis_. These words denote the _time_ of _poenituit_
(_in_ or _during_ so many, etc.)--_Patientia_ and _labore_ are abl. after
_opus_.

_Terminos_. Acc. after _egressi_ (H. 371, 4): _having transcended the
limits_. Cf. Z. 387.

_Fama, rumore_. Synonyms. Also _castris, armis_. Cf. note, 30.

_Vota--aperto_. _Your vows and your valor now have free scope_ (are in the
open field), cf. note 1: _in aperto_.

_In frontem_. Antith. to _fugientibus_. Hence==progredientibus.

_Hodie_. _To-day_, i.e. _in our present circumstances of prosperity_.
Wr.

_Nec--fuerit_. _Nor will it have been inglorious_, sc. when the thing
shall have been _done_ and men shall look _back_ upon our achievements.
The fut. perf. is appropriate to such a conception.

_Naturae fine_. Cf. note, G. 45: _illuc usque natura_.


XXXIV. _Hortarer_. Literally, _I would be exhorting you_. The use of the
imperf. subj. in hypothetical sentences, where we should use a plup. (I
would have exhorted you), is frequent both in Greek and Latin, even when
it denotes a _complete_ past action, cf. Z. 525. When the action is not
complete, as here, the Latin form is at once more lively and more exact
than the English.--_Proximo anno_. This same expression may signify
either the next year, or the last year. Here of course: _the last year_,
referring to the battle described in 26, cf. also note 29: _Initio
aestatis_.

_Furto noctis_. Cf. Virg. Aen. 9, 397: fraude noctis.

_Contra ruere_. _Rush forth to meet, penetrantibus_, etc. R. and Wr. take
_ruere_ for perf. 3d pl. instead of _ruerunt_, since T. uses the form in
_ere_ much more than that in _erunt_. Rit. makes it inf. after _solet_
understood, or rather implied in _pelluntur_, which==_pelli solent_.

_Quos--quod_. _Whom, as to the fact that you have at length found (it is
not because) they have taken a stand, but they have been overtaken_. Cf.
Wr. and Or. in loc. On _deprehensi_, cf. note, 7. On _quod==as to this,
that_, see examples in Freund, or in any Lexicon.

_Novissimae--vestigiis_. _The extremity of their circumstances, and their
bodies_ (motionless) _with terror have brought them to a stand for battle
on this spot_, etc. One MS. reads _novissime_ and omits _aciem_, which
reading is followed in the common editions.

_Extremo metu_ is to be closely connected with _corpora_. For the sense
of _defixere_, cf. Ann. 13, 5: pavore defixis.

_Ederetis_. Subj. cf. H. 500, 2; Z. 556, a.

_Transigite cum expeditionibus_==finite expeditiones. Dr. Cf. G. 19:
cum spe--transigitur, note.

_Quinquaginta annis_. So many years, it might be said to be in round
numbers, though actually somewhat _less_ than fifty years, since the
dominion of Rome was first established in Britain under the Emperor
Claudius. Cf. 13, supra.--The speech of A. is not equal to that of
Galgacus. He had not so good a cause. He could not appeal to the sacred
principles of justice and liberty, to the love of home and household
gods. But he makes the best of a bad cause. The speech is worthy of a
Roman commander, and touches with masterly skill all those chords in a
Roman soldier's breast, that were never touched in vain.


XXXV. _Et==both_. Both while he was speaking and after he had ceased, the
soldiers manifested their ardor, etc.

_Instinctos_. Cf. note 16: instincti.

_Aciem firmarent_==aciem firmam facerent, of which use there are examples
not only in T., but in Liv. Dr. The auxiliary foot _formea_ or _made up_
(not merely strengthened) _the centre_.--_Affunderentur. Were attached
to_.--_Pro vallo. On the rampart_; properly on the fore part of it. Cf.
note, H. 1, 29.

_Ingens--decus_. In app. with _legiones--stetere_.

_Bellanti_, sc. Agricolae. Al. bellandi.

_In speciem_. Cf. in suam famam, 8, and in jactationem, 5.

_Aequo_. Supply consisteret to correspond with _insurgeret_. Zeugma. Cf.
note, 18: in aequum.

_Media campi_. _The intervening parts of the plain_, sc. between the two
armies.--_Covinarius_ is found only in T. _Covinarii_==the essedarii of
Caesar. Covinus erat currus Belgarum, a quibus cum Britanni acceperant.
Dr.

_Pedes_. Nom. sing, in app. with subject of _constitit_.


XXXVI. _Indentibus gladiis_, etc. So below: _parva scuta_, etc. The small
shield and broad sword of the Highlanders.

_Donec--cohortatus est_. Cf. note, G. 37: _affectavere_.--_Batavorum
cohortes_. Al. _tres--cohortes_. But the number is not specified in the
best MSS. In the Histories, eight cohorts of Batavians are often
mentioned as constituting the auxiliaries of the 14th legion, which was
now in Britain. See Rit. in loc.

_Ad mucrones_. The Britons were accustomed to fight with the edge of the
sword, and cut and hew the enemy. The Romans, on the contrary, made use
of the _point_. Of course in a close engagement, they would have greatly
the advantage. Br.--_Ad manus_. The opposite of _eminus_, i.e. _a close
engagement_. The same thing is expressed below by _complexum armorum_.

_In aperto pugnam_. Literally a fight in the open field, i.e. a
_regular_ pitched _battle_, which with its compact masses would be less
favorable to the large swords of the Britons, than a battle on ground
uncleared of thickets and forests. Al. _in arto_.

_Miscere, ferire_, etc. A series of inf. denoting a rapid succession of
events, cf. note, 5: noscere--nosci; G. 30: praeponere.

_Equitum turmae_, sc. Britannorum. The word _turmae_ is applicable to
such a cavalry as theirs, cf. Ann. 14, 34: _Britannorum_ copiae passim
per catervas et _turmas_ exsultabant. Br. Ky. and others here understand
it of the Roman cavalry. But R. Dr. and Wr. apply it to the Britons, and
with reason, as we shall see below, and as we might infer indeed from its
close connexion with _covinarii_, for the _covinarii_ were certainly
Britons.

_Peditum proelio, hostium agminibus_. These also both refer to the
_Britons_. The covinarii were interspersed among their own infantry, and,
as the Romans advanced, became entangled with them. This is disputed. But
the small number of Romans slain in the whole battle is alone enough to
show, that _their_ cavalry was not routed, nor _their_ infantry broken in
upon by the chariots of the enemy. Moreover, how could T. properly use
the word _hostium_ of his own countrymen?

_Minimeque_, etc. This is one passage, among a few in T., which is so
manifestly corrupt that no sense can be made of it, as it stands in the
MSS. The reading given in the text is the simplest of all the conjectural
readings that have been proposed. It is that of Br. and E., and is
followed by the common editions. Cavalry took a large part in the battle.
But the battle wore little the aspect of an equestrian fight; for the
Britons, after maintaining their position with difficulty for some time,
were at length swept away by the bodies (the _mere uncontrolled bodies_)
of the horses--in short, the riders had no control over horses or
chariots, which rushed on without drivers obliquely athwart, or directly
through the lines, as their fears severally impelled them; all which was
in marked contrast to a Roman's idea of a regular battle of cavalry.


XXXVII. _Vacui. Free from apprehension_.

_Ni_. Cf. note 4: ni.--_Subita belli. Unexpected emergencies_ arising in
the course of the battle. Cf. 6: _inania honoris_.

_Grande et atrox spectaculum_, etc. See a similar description in Sal.
Jug. 101. The series of infinitives and the omission of the connectives
(_asyndeton_) make the succession of events very rapid and animated.
Compare the famous _veni, vidi, vici_, of Caesar.

_Prout--erat_. According to their different natural disposition, i.e.
_the timid, though armed, turned their backs before inferior numbers;
while the brave, though unarmed, met death in the face_.

_Praestare terga_ is an expression found only in T.

_Et aliquando_, etc. _Et==ac tamen. And_ yet (notwithstanding the flight
of crowds and the passive death of some as above) _sometimes to the
conquered also_ there was _anger and bravery_. The language is Virgilian,
cf. Aen. 2, 367.

_Quod_. Cf. note 12.--_Ni frequens--fiduciam foret_. "Had not A., who was
everywhere present, caused some strong and lightly equipped cohorts to
encompass the ground, while part of the cavalry having dismounted, made
their way through the thickets, and part on horseback scoured the open
woods, some disaster would have prcoeeded from this excess of
confidence." Ky.


XXXVIII. _Gaudio praedaque laeta_. Cf. note, G. 7: _cibos et hortamina_.
Observe also the juxtaposition of _tempestate_ and _fama_ in this same
chapter.

_Separare_, sc. consilia, i.e. _they sometimes act in concert, sometimes
provide only for their individual safety_.

_Pignorum_. Cf. note G. 7: pignora--_Saevisse. Laid violent hands_. "This
picture of rage and despair, of tenderness, fury, and the tumult of
contending passions, has all the fine touches of a master who has studied
human nature." Mur.--_Secreti_==deserti.

_Ubi. When_, cf. 26. Its direct influence extends to _nequibat_, and with
its clause, it expresses the _reason_ why A. drew off his forces into the
country of the Horesti.--_Spargi bellum_==diversis locis, vel diviso
exercitu, vel vagando bellum geri. E.

_Secunda--fama. Favored by the weather and the glory of their past
achievements_ (lit. the weather and fame _following_ them, _secunda
==sequunda_.)

_Trutulensem portum_. Some port, now unknown, probably near the mouth of
the Tay or the Forth. _Unde_ qualifies _lecto_. E. With _redierat_ a
corresponding adv. denoting _whither_, is to be supplied: whence it had
set sail, and whither, after having surveyed all the nearest coast of
Britain, it had now returned. _Had_ returned, i.e. prior to _entering_
the port; the action of _redierat_, was prior to that of _tenuit_. Hence
plup. _Proximo, nearest_, sc. to the scene of Agricola's operations,
i.e. the whole northern coast from the Forth to the Clyde and back again.
This was all that was necessary to prove Britain to be an island (cf.
chap. 10), the southern coast having been previously explored.


XXXIX. _Actum_. Al. auctum, a conjecture of Lipsius. _Actum==treated of,
reported.--Moris erat_. H. 402, I.; Z. 448, N. 1. N. 1.

_Falsum--triumphum_. He had returned without so much as seeing the enemy
(Dio Cass. 67, 4); and yet he bought slaves, dressed them in German
style, had their hair stained red (G. 4: _rutilae comae_) and left long,
so as to resemble Germans, and then marched in triumph into Rome with his
train of pretended captives! Caligula had done the same before him. Suet.
Calig. 47.

_Formarentur_. Subj. in a relative clause denoting a purpose (_quorum==ut
eorum_). H. 500; Z. 567.

_Studia--acta_. Lawyers and politicians, all public men, had been gagged
and silenced by Domitian.

_Alius_. Another than the Emperor.--_Occuparet==pre-occupy_, so as to rob
him of it.

_Utcumque_. Somehow, possibly, perhaps. _Other things perhaps were more
easily concealed; but the merit of a good commander was an imperial
prerogative_.

_Quodque--satiatus_. _And what was a proof of some cruel purpose, wholly
absorbed in his retirement_ (where he never plotted any thing but
mischief, and where in early life he is said to have amused himself with
killing flies, Suet. Dom. 3). Cf. Plin. Panegyr. 48: nec unquam ex
solitudine sua prodeuntem, nisi ut solitudinem faceret. The whole passage
in Pliny is a graphic picture of the same tyrant, the workings of whose
heart are here so laid bare by the pen of Pliny's friend Tacitus.
_Secreto--satiatus_ may also be translated: _satisfied with his own
secret_, i.e. keeping to himself his cherished hatred and jealousy.--
_Languesceret_. Subj. after _donec_. Cf. note, G. 37: _affectavere_.

_Reponere odium_. See lexicon under _repono_ for this phrase.

_Impetus--exercitus_. _Until the freshness of his glory, and his
popularity with the army should gradually decline_.

_Etiam tum obtinebat_, i.e. he was still in _possession of the
government_, and of course in command of the army, in Britain.


XL. _Triumphalia ornamenta_. Not a real triumph, which from the reign of
Augustus was conceded only to the Emperor or the princes of the Imperial
Family; but triumphal insignia, such as the _corona, laurea, toga
praetexta, tunica palmata, sella curulis_, &c. Dr.

_Illustris statuae_. Called _laureata_, Ann. 4, 23; _triumphalis_, His.
1, 79.

_Quidquid datur_. Besides the _ornamenta_ above mentioned, sacrifices and
thanksgivings were offered in the name of the victorious commander. Dr.

_Addique_. Al. additque. _Addique_ is the reading of the MSS. and old
editions. And it suits better the genius of Dom.; he did not express the
_opinionem_ himself, for it was not his real intention, but he _ordered_
some one to put it in circulation as if from him, that he might have the
credit of it and yet not be bound by it.--_Destinari_, sc. by Domitian.

_Majoribus reservatam_. _Majoribus_==illustrioribus. Syria was the
richest province in the Empire, and the praefectship of it the most
honorable office.

_Ex secretioribus ministeriis_. _One of his private secretaries, or
confidential agents_.

_Codicillos_. Under the Emperors this word is used to denote an imperial
letter or diploma. Properly a billet, diminutive of _codex_, tablet
(==_caudex_, trunk of a tree).

_Syria dabatur_. Syria was one of the Provinces, that were at the
disposal of the Emperor.

_Ex ingenio principis_. _In accordance with_ (cf. _ex_, G. 7) _the_
(dissimulating) _genius or policy of Domitian_. The design, if not real,
at least imputed to him, was to withdraw Agricola from his province and
his troops at all events, by the offer of the best province in the Empire
if need be; but that object having been secured by Agricola's voluntary
retirement, the offer, and even the ordinary civilities of life,
especially official life, were deemed unnecessary. Compare this with the
concluding sentence of the preceding chapter.

_Celebritate et frequentia_. Hendiadys: _By the number of distinguished
men who might go out to meet him_ (and escort him into the city).

_0fficio_==salutatione. Dr.--_Brevi osculo_, lit. a _hasty kiss_==_cold
and formal salutation_. The kiss was a common mode of salutation among
the Romans, in the age of the Emperors. See Becker's Gallus, p. 54.

_Turbae servientium_. The usual and characteristic associates, as well as
attendants of Domitian. A severe cut, though quite incidental and very
concise.

_Otiosos_. Antith. to _militare_. _Men in civil life_, cf. note on
_otio_, II.

_Otium auxit_. Augere otium==sequi altissimum otium. Dr.

_Penitus_==inwardly, i.e. sincerely, _zealously_. So R. But Dr.==
prorsus, omnino, valde.--_Cultu modicus. Simple in dress_, cf. note on
_cultus_, G. 6.--_Comitatus_, passive, so used by Cic. also.--_Uno aut
altero. One or two_.

_Per ambitionem_==ex vitae splendore et numeroso comitatu. Br. cf. note
on _ambitio_, G. 27.

_Quaererent--interpretarentur_. _Many inquired_ (with wonder) _into the
reputation_ (of a man so unassuming), _and few explained_ or _understood_
(the true reason of his humble manner of life). _Interpretarentur_, not
_famam_ but the facts above mentioned, and the necessity A. was under of
living as he did.--_Viso aspectoque. On seeing him and directing their
attention particularly to him_.


XLI. _Crimen==public accusation_.--_Querela==private complaint_.--
_Princeps, gloria, genus_. Supply, as a predicate, _causa periculi_;
these were the causes that put A's life in jeopardy.

_Militares viri_==duces. So Corbulo is called, Ann. 15, 26.

_Expugnati et capti_. _Defeated and taken captive_, For. and Fac.
Properly _expugnare_ is said of a fortress or city. But _ektoliorkein_ in
Greek is used in the same way, of persons. Compare _expugnatis
praesidiis_, 16, note. The wars particularly referred to are those
against Decebalus, leader of the Dacians, which lasted four years and in
which Moesia also was invaded by the Dacians, and several Roman armies
with their commanders were lost (Suet. Dom. 6.); and that of the
Pannonian legions against the German tribes of the Marcomanni and the
Quadi (Dion, 67, 7).

_Hibernis--dubitatum_, i.e. the enemy not only met them on the river
banks, which formed the borders of the empire, but attacked the winter
quarters of their troops, and threatened to take away the territory they
had already acquired.

_Funeribus_, sc. militarium virorum.--_Cladibus_, sc. cohortium. Dr.

_Amore et fide_. _Out of affection and fidelity_ (sc. to their imperial
master).--_Malignitate et livore_. _Out of envy and hatred_ (sc. towards
A.).

_Pronum deterioribus_. _Inclined to the worse measures_, or it may be,
to the _worse advisers_.

_In ipsam--agebatur_==invito gloria aucta, simulque pernicies
accelerata. W.


XLII. _Asiae et Africae_. He drew lots, _which_ he should have, _both_
being put into the lot.--_Proconsulatum_. See H. 1, 49. note, on
proconsul. A. had already been consul, 9.

_Sortiretur_. _In which he would, or such that he must, obtain by lot_,
etc. Cf. H. 501, I.; Z. 558.

_Occiso Civica_. Cf. Suet. Dom. 10: complures senatores, et in his
aliquot consulares, interemit, ex quibus _Civicam Cerealem in ipso Asiae
proconsulate_.

_Nec Agricolae--exemplum_. _A warning was not wanting to A_. (to avoid
the dangerous post); _nor a precedent to Dom_. (for disposing of A. in
the same way if he accepted the office).

_Iturusne esset_. Subj. cf. H. 525; Z. 552.--_Interrogarent_. H. 500;
Z. 567.

_In--excusatione_. _In urging his request_ (before Dom.) _to be excused_.

_Paratus simulatione_. Al. simulationi. _Furnished with deceit, armed_,
as it were, _with hypocrisy_.

_In arrogantiam compositus_. _Assuming a proud demeanor_.

_Beneficii invidia_, lit. _the odium of such a kindness==so odious a
favor_. The idea is, he did not blush to let A. return thanks for a
signal injury, as if it were a real kindness. "A refinement of cruelty
not unfrequently practised by the worst Roman Emperors." Ky. The only
peculiarity in the case of Dom. was, the unblushing impudence with which
he perpetrated the wrong, cf. 45. See a fine commentary on this passage
in Sen. de Benef. 4, 17: Quis est, qui non beneficus _videri_ velit? qui
non inter scelera et injurias opinionem bonitatis affectet? velit quoque
_iis videri beneficium dedisse, quos laesit? gratias itaque agi sibi ab
his, quos afflixere, patiuntur_.

_Salarium_. Properly salt-money, i.e. a small allowance to the soldiers
for the purchase of salt. Cf. _clavarium_, H. 3, 50, note. But after
Augustus, official pay, _salary_.

_Ne--emisse_. _That he might not appear to have purchased a compliance
with his virtual prohibition_ (viz. of A.'s accepting the proconsulship).

_Proprium humani_, etc. Mark the sentiment.

_Irrevocabilior_. _More implacable_. Found in this sense only in T. Cf.
Böt. Lex. Tac.

_Illicita_. Unlawful, i.e. forbidden by the powers that be. Explained by
_contumacia_ and _inani jactatione libertatis_ above. T. is animadverting
upon the conduct of certain stoics and republicans, who obtruded their
opinions upon those in power, and coveted the glory of martyrdom.

_Eo--excedere_. Reach the same height of distinction. _Eo_ Old dat. cf.
_eo inopiae_ 28, note. _Excedere_, lit. come out to, _arrive at_. Cf.
Val. Max. 5, 6, 4: _ad summum imperii fastigium excessit_.

_Per abrupta_. "Through abrupt and dangerous paths." Ky.

_Ambitiosa morte_, i.e. morte ultro adita captandae gloriae causa apud
posteros. For. and Fac.


XLIII. _Luctuosus, afflictive_, is stronger than _tristis, sad_.

_Vulgus_. The lower classes, _the ignorant and indolent rabble_.--
_Populus_. _The common people, tradesmen, mechanics_, and the like.
Hence, _aliud agens_, which implies that they were too busy with
something else of a private nature, to give much attention to public
affairs or the concerns of their neighbors.--_Populus_ and _vulgus_ are
brought together in a similar way, Dial. de Clar. Orat. 7: Vulgus quoque
imperitum et tunicatus hic populus, etc.

_Nobis--ausim_. _I should not dare to affirm that we_ (the friends of A.)
_found any conclusive proof_, that he was poisoned.--_Ceterum_. _But_.
This implies that the circumstantial evidence, which he goes on to
specify, convinced the writer and his friends, as well as the public,
that poison administered by direction of Dom., was really the means of
hastening A. out of the world. Dion Cassius expressly affirms, that he
was poisoned, 66, 20.

_Principatus_. The imperial government in general, i.e. former Emperors.

_Momenta ipsa deficientis_. _Each successive stage of his decline_.
_Ipsa_ is omitted in the common editions. But it rests on good authority
and it adds to the significance of the clause: _the very moments_, as it
were, were reported to Dom.

_Per dispositos cursores_. Dom. appears not to have been at Rome at this
time, but in the Alban Villa (cf. 45), or somewhere else.

_Constabat_. That was an _admitted point_, about which there was entire
_agreement_ (_con_ and _sto_).

_Animo vultuque_. Hendiadys: _he wore in his countenance an expression of
heartfelt grief_.

_Securus odii_. Now, that A. was dead, Dom. had nothing to fear in regard
to the _object of his hatred_, or the _gratification of his hate_.
_Odii_. Gen. of the respect.--_Qui--dissimularet_. _Qui==talis, ut_,
hence the subj. H. 501, I.; Z. 558.

_Lecto testamento_. When A.'s _will was read_.

_Honore judicioque_. As if a mark of honor and esteem. E. says==judicio
honorifico.--_Piissimae_, devoted, affectionate.

_Malum principem_. It was customary for rich men at Rome, who were
anxious to secure any of their property to their heirs, to bequeath a
part of their estates to _bad emperors_ in order to secure the remainder
from their rapacity.

This and several preceding sections present a most graphic _outline_ of
the _life and times_ of Dom., the more to be prized, because the full
_picture_, which T. doubtless drew of him in the Histories, is lost. The
Histories and the Annals are a vast portrait gallery full of such
pictures drawn to the life.


XLIV. _Natus--excessit_. The dates assigned for A.'s birth and death, do
not agree with the age ascribed to him. They may be harmonized in either
of two ways, each of which has its advocates: by reading _primum_ instead
of _tertium_, or, which is perhaps a more probable amendment, since it
only alters the relative position of the two characters, by reading LIV
instead of LVI.

_Quod si_. And if, _now if_.--_Habitum_. _Personal appearance_, cf. G. 5.

_Decentior quam sublimior_. _Well proportioned, rather than tall_. R.

_Nihil metus_. _Nothing to inspire fear in his countenance_. Antith. to
_gratia--supererat_: _kindness of expression rather prevailed_. So Gr. and
R. For this sense of _metus_, see note G. 2: ob metum. Död. distinguishes
between _vultus_ and _oris_, making the former refer more to the _eyes_
(as if from _volvo_, the rolling of the eye), to which it belongs to
express anger and fierceness; the latter to the mouth, which is more
expressive of kindness.

_Medio--aetatis_. We should hardly say so of a man dying at 56. But in
Dial. de Clar. Orat. T. speaks of 120 years, as _unius hominis aetas_.

_Et vera bona_. T. has here in mind the distinction made by philosophers,
particularly the Stoics, between the virtues, which they called the only
real good, and the gifts of fortune, which they declared to be
indifferent.--_Et--et, both--and_, marks the distinction more strongly.

_Impleverat_. _Had enjoyed to the full_.

_Consulari_. _Having attained to the rank of consul_ (the summit of a
Roman's ambition) _and having been honored with triumphal insignia_. Al.
consularibus. But _consulari_ has the better authority and makes the
better sense.

_Opibus--contigerant_. _Great riches he did not desire; a respectable
property it was his good fortune to possess_, cf. 5: medio rationis atque
abundantiae. Al. non contigerant. But considerable property is implied in
the circumstances attending his will, 43, also in his not asking the
visual salary, 42. Dion Cass. says, however, (66, 20.), that A. spent his
last days in want, as well as in disgrace. For another explanation of
_gaudebat_, cf. n. G. 6.

_Quod--ominabatur_. _Quod_ is omitted in the common editions. But it is
found in the MSS. And it may be explained on the principle of Zeugma, by
supplying with _durare_ and _videre_ a verb implied in _grande solatium
tulit_ thus: _though (sicuti) it would have been a great gratification to
A. to behold the dawn of this auspicious age and see Trajan Emperor, of
which he expressed in my hearing a sort of prophetic anticipation and
desire, yet (ita)_, etc. Cassius affirms (69, 12), that by auguries the
elevation of Trajan to the throne was foretold, as early as A.U.C. 844,
i.e. _two years before the death of A_. The reference to Trajan here, as
in 3, marks clearly the date of the composition, cf. note, 3: augeatque
Trajanus.

_Spiramenta_. _Breathing-spells_, i.e. intervals to recover and take
breath in. The word is found only in poetry and post-Augustan prose, and,
in the expressive sense in which it is here used, only in Ammian. Marc.
29, 1. See Or. and Freund.

_Velut uno ictu_. The commentators illustrate the force of this
expression by reference to Caligula's wish (Vid. Sen. de Va. 3, 19), that
the Roman people had but one neck, ut scelera sua in _unum ictum_ et unum
diem cogeret.


XLV. _Non vidit_. Did not see, as he would have done, had he lived a few
years longer. This passage resembles Cic. de Orat. 3, 2, 8, too closely
to be mere coincidence. Imitator tamen, id quod uni Tacito contigit,
auctore suo praestantior. Rit.

_Consularium_. Rhen. collects from Suet. the names of several victims of
Dom.'s displeasure, _who had been consuls_.

_Feminarum_. Pliny has preserved the names of several of this list--
Gratilla, wife of Rusticus, Arria, wife of Thrasea, Fannia, daughter of
Thrasea and betrothed to Helvidius. Their husbands will be remembered as
having been mentioned in 1 and 2.

_Carus Metius_. An infamous informer, cf. Plin. Epist. 7, 19; Juv. 1, 35;
Mart. 12, 25, 5.

_Censebatur_. _Was honored_, ironice. _Censeri_ est aestimari, sive
existimationem consequi. Dr.

_Una--victoria_. He had occasioned the death of but one innocent victim.--
_Adhuc_. Up to the death of A., cf. G. 38: adhuc, note.

_Albanam arcem_. A favorite retreat of Dom. (situated at the foot of the
Alban Mount, about seventeen miles from Rome), where he sometimes
convened the Senate, and held his court with its troop of informers, cf.
note, 43: cursores. Rit. in loc. suggests, that by the use of _arcem_
instead of _palatium_, T. means to represent Domitian as shutting himself
up, like many tyrants, in a fortified castle, and thence sending forth
the emissaries of his jealousy and cruelty.

_Sententia. His voice_, his sentiment expressed in council before Dom.--
_Intra Albanam arcem_, i.e. _privately_, not _publicly_, as afterwards
at Rome.

_Messalini_. Fuit inter principea adulatores et delatores. Dr. cf. Plin.
Epist. 4, 22; Juv. 4, 113, seq.

_Massa Bebius_. Primus inter pares of Domitian's tools. He began his
career under Vesp. cf. His. 4, 50. He was afterwards impeached and
condemned at the instance of the Province of Baetica, Pliny and Senecio
advocates for the impeachment, Plin. Epist 7, 33; 3, 4; 6, 29.--_Jam
tum. At that very time_ on trial, not merely _already at that time_.
Cf. Hand's Tursel. 3, 113.

_Nostra_, sc. of the Senate, of which T. was a member, though abroad
at the time. Helvidius was arrested _in the senate house_, cf. Plin.
Ep. 9, 13. This was Helvidius the _son_, who was put to death by Dom.
(Suet. 10), as his father was by Vesp. (Suet. 15).

_Visus_. Al. divisus. _Visus_==species, adspectus, Wr.--_Perfudit_.
Zeugma. Understand in the first clause _horrore perfudit_ (Dr.) or probro
affecit (R.): _the spectacle of Mauricus and Rusticus_ (hurried away, the
one to exile, the other to death), _filled us with horror; we were
stained by the innocent blood of Senecio_. Of Rusticus and Senecio, see
2, note. Of Mauricus, see Plin. Ep. 4, 22: quo viro nihil firmius, nihil
verius. Also Plin. Ep. 3, 11.

_Videre_, sc. Domitianum.--_Aspici_, sc. a Domitiano. For difference in
the signification in these words, cf. 40: viso aspectoque, note.

_Suspiria--subscriberentur. When our sighs_ (of sympathy with the
condemned) _were registered against us_ (by spies and informers, as a
ground of accusation before the Emperor).

_Rubor_. Redness, referring to the complexion of Dom., which was such as
to conceal a blush, cf. Suet. Dom. 18: vultu ruboris pleno.

_Opportunitate mortis_. An expression of Cic., in the similar passage
above cited (de Orat. 3, 2, 8), touching the death of Crassus.

_Pro virili portione_, lit. for one man's share, referring primarily to
pecuniary assessments. Here: _for thy part--so far as thou wast
concerned_. A. died with a calmness which would scarcely admit of the
supposition, that he felt himself to be a victim of poison and imperial
jealousy.

_Filiaque ejus_. The apostrophe is here dropped to be resumed at _optime
parentum_. So the MSS. For they read _ejus_ here, and _amissus est_
below. Rhenanus omitted _ejus_, and wrote _es_ for _est_; and he has been
followed in the common editions since.

_Conditione_. By the circumstance, or by virtue of our long absence. T.
and his wife had parted with A. four years before his death, and had been
absent from Rome ever since, where or why does not appear.

_Superfuere_. Cf. _superest_, G. 6, note.


XLVI. _Sapientibus_. Cf. _sapientiae professoribus_, 2, note.--_Te
immortalibus laudibus_. I feel constrained to recur to the reading of
Lipsius and Ritter, it is so much more spirited than _quam temporalibus_.
_Potius_ manifestly should refer back to _lugeri_ and _plangi_. The
comparison contained in the more common reading is uncalled for in the
connection, and of little significance in itself. The MSS. read
_temporalibus laudibus_ without _quam_ and this may be more easily
resolved into _te immortalibus_, than _quam_ can be supplied.--
_Similitudine_. Al. aemulatione. For such a use of similitudo, cf. Cic.
Tusc. Quaest. 1, 46, 110: quorum (sc. Curii, Fabricii, Scipionum, etc.),
_similitudinem_ aliquam qui arripuerit, etc.

_Decoremus_. Ennius (cited by Cic. Tusc. Q. 1, 49, 117, and de Senect.
20, 73), uses the same word in expressing the same sentiment: nemo me
lacrumis _decoret_ nec funera fletu faxit. Cf. also G. 28.

_Formam_. This makes the sense so much better (than _famam_), that E. Dr.
Wr. R. and most others have adopted it against the authority of the MSS.
cf. _forma mentis_, below, and Cic. passim.

_Intercedendum. To be prohibited_. Properly said of a _veto interposed_
by the Tribunes; then of any prohibition.--_Non quia==not that_, is
characteristic of late writers. It is followed by the subj. Z. 537, and
note H. 1, 15.

_Manet, mansurumque est_. Cf. Vell. Paterc. 2, 66, 5: vivit, vivetque per
omnem saeculorum memoriam. The periphrastic form (_mansurum est_) differs
however from the future (_manebit_), as our _is to remain_ from _will
remain_. See Z. 498.

_Oblivio obruet_, sc. for want of a historian, carent quia _vate sacro_,
cf. Hor. Od. 4, 9, 25, seq. By _multos veterum_, T. means many ancients
of _real worth_. So _velut_ implies. A. is to be immortalized through his
biographer. This is implied in _narratus et traditus_. Ancient authors
thought it not improper to express a calm consciousness of merit and a
proud confidence of immortality. T. is very modest and delicate in the
manner of intimating his expectations. But the sentiment of these last
words is substantially the same with the line of Horace: Exegi monumentum
aere perennius. The whole peroration of this Biography is one of singular
beauty and moral elevation. Pathetic, yet calm, rich in noble sentiments
and animated by the purest and loftiest spirit, it is a fit topstone to
that monument, in respect to which T. felt so well founded an assurance,
which still _manet mansurumque est in animis hominum, in aeternitate
temporum, fama rerum_. There is scarcely an educated youth in Christendom
who is not as familiar with the name of Agricola, as with that of Aeneas
and Ulysses. And the only reason why we know anything of these heroes, is
the genius of their respective biographers. There had been other
Agricolas before the age of Trajan, as there had been other heroes like
Aeneas, and other wandering sages like Ulysses, before the war of Troy.
But they found no Tacitus, Virgil, and Homer to record their adventurous
and virtuous deeds. It is the prerogative of eminent writers to confer
immortality; and though Alexander would prefer to be Achilles rather than
Homer, we should have known little of his achievements, had he not
encouraged scholars as well as warriors, and rewarded genius no less than
valor.


THE END





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