The Project Gutenberg eBook of Germania and Agricola This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Germania and Agricola Author: Cornelius Tacitus Release date: October 1, 2005 [eBook #9090] Most recently updated: February 23, 2015 Language: English, Latin Credits: Produced by David Starner, Tapio Riikonen and Distributed Proofreaders *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GERMANIA AND AGRICOLA *** Produced by David Starner, Tapio Riikonen and Distributed Proofreaders 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 End of Project Gutenberg's Germania and Agricola, by Caius Cornelius Tacitus *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GERMANIA AND AGRICOLA *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. 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