r.i;issTA67d£ Bonk >&4- /§3o PRESENTED BY THE GEEMANIA AND AGBICOLA TACITUS, ENGLISH NOTES, CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY, FROM THE BEST AND LATEST AUTHORITIES ; THE REMARKS OF BoTTICHER ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS; AND A COPIOUS GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. CHARLES ANTH.0N, LL.D., PROFESSOR OF THE GSEEK AND LATIN LANGUAGES IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE, NEW YORK, AND HECTOR OF THE GRAMMAR-SCHOOL. NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 82 CLIFF STREET. 1 8 5 0. T A en ok SO Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year one thousand eight hundred and forty-seven*, by Harper & Brothers, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. am from Mr. James McKirdhp J*n. 19,1932 TO H .,RY DRISLER, A,M, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF THE GREEK AND LATIN LANGUAGES IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE, EiiiH asrorft ts 33etrfcateTr, AS A MEMORIAL OF LONG AND UNINTERRUPTED FRIENDSHIP, AND A SINCERE TESTIMONIAL OF RESPECT FOR ABILITIES OF A HIGH ORDER, UNITED TO ACCURATE, EXTENSIVE, AND UNTIRING SCHOLARSHIP. CONTENTS. Preface „ vii Life and Writings of Tacitus xi Chronological Table xvii Remarks on the Style of Tacitus xxi The Germania 1 The Agricola 25 Notes on the Germania 55 Notes on the Agricola 132 Index to Remarks on the Style of Tacitus 213 Geographical Index .217 Stemma of the Family of Augustus , 249 PREFACE. The basis of the present work is the English edition of Dr. Smith, published in 1840, the notes to which are principally selected from the commentaries of Ruperti, Passow, and Walch. It has been the object of the American editor to render these notes still more useful by additional selections from the works of other scholars, and by a more frequent translation of difficult or obscure passages. One great defect in the English edition is the omission of almost all special reference to the authorities whence the notes have been obtained. The American editor has endeavor- ed to supply this deficiency, as far as lay in his power, more particularly in the commentary on the Germa- nia. The notes on the Agricola, in the English edi- tion, are pretty much one continuous selection from the excellent commentary of Walch, to which, how- ever, the American editor has added much valuable information obtained from the same source, as well as from other quarters. The result, therefore, is, that the student is here presented with the richest and most extensive com- mentary on the Germania and Agricola that has ever appeared in the English language. This re- mark is not made in any feeling of arrogance. The American editor claims little for himself beyond the mere selection of materials, and therefore feels per- V]ll PREFACE. fectly at liberty to express his opinion of the value of those materials. The notes of Walch, in particu- lar, on the Agricola, which consist, in the original, of more than three hundred closely printed octavo pages, form undoubtedly, as has been remarked by the English editor, " one of the most valuable com- mentaries ever published upon any classical author." The " Remarks on the Style of Tacitus," appended to the English edition, and reprinted in this, are trans- lated from a work of Botticher, " De vita, scriptis, ac stilo Taciti" Berlin, 1834, and which, to borrow again the language of Dr. Smith, " is well known to be a very excellent introduction to the study of the style and writings of Tacitus." The Geographical Index is confined, as will be perceived, to the Germania, and enters somewhat fully into the subsequent movements of the German tribes. The Geography of Britain, being of minor importance, has been explained at once in the notes to the Agricola. The materials for the Index have been obtained in a great measure from the commentary in the English edition, and the pres- ent work will be found to have gained in this way a decided advantage by the separation of the geograph- ical from the explanatory matter. It is a great, but very common mistake, to suppose that the ancient Geography of Germany and Britain, especially the former, requires at the present day but little elucida- tion. The student needs only to turn over a few pages of Mannert to perceive how utterly erroneous is such an opinion. It remains but to give a list of the different editions of Tacitus, as well as of the other works from which aid has been obtained for the present volume. PREFACE. IX 1. Taciti Opera, ed. Brotier, Glasg., 1796, 4 vols., 4to. 2. Taciti Opera, ex recensione Emesti, ed. Oberlin, Oxon., 1813, 4 vols., 8vo. 3. Taciti Opera, ed. Walther, Hal. Sax., 1831, seqq., 4 vols., 8vo. 4. Taciti Opera, ed. Imm. Bekker, Lips., 1831, 2 vols., 8vo. 5. Taciti Opera, ed. Exter, Bipont., 4 vols., 8vo. 6. Taciti Opera, ed. Naudet, Paris, 1820, 5 vols., 8vo. (Lemaire's Collect.) 7. Taciti Opera, ed. Valpy (In Us. Delph.), Lond., 8 vols., 8vo. 8. Phil. Cluveri Germanise Antiquse Hb. iii., Lugd. Bat., ap. Elz., 1616, fol. 9. Taciti Gerrnania, vollstandig erlautert, von Dilthey, Braun- schw., 1823, 8vo. 10. Taciti Gerrnania, ed. Gerlach, Basil., 1835, 8vo. 11. Taciti Geraiania, ed. Weishaupt, Solod., 1844, 8vo. 12. La Germanie de Tacite, par Panckoucke, Paris, 1824, 8vo. 13. Tacitus's Agrikola, ed. Walch, Berlin, 1828, 8vo. 14. Taciti Agricola, ed. Dronke, Fuldae, 1834, 8vo. 15. Taciti Agricola, ed. Becker, Hamburg, 1826, 8vo. 16. Germany and Agricola of Tacitus, ed. Barker, Lond., 1824. 17. Tacitus's Germany, Agricola, &c, ed. Smith, Lond., 1840. 18. Des C. C. Tacitus sammtliche Werke ubersetzt von Botticher, Berlin, 1834, 2 vols., 8vo. 19. Lexicon Taciteum, scripsit Guil. Botticher, Berolini, 1830, 8vo. 20. Tacite, traduit par Dureau de Lamalle, ed. Noel, Paris, 1828, 6 vols., 8vo. 21. La Vie d'Agricola, et des Moeurs des Germains, par M. l'Abbe de la Bleterie, Paris, 1788, 12mo. 22. Germany and Agricola of Tacitus, by John Aikin, M.D., 4th ed., Oxford, 1823, 12mo. 23. Works of Tacitus, by Murphy, N. Y., 1822, 6 vols., 8vo. 24. Mannert, Geschichte der alten Deutschen, &c, Stuttg., 1829, 8vo. 26. Adelung, aelteste Geschichte der Deutschen, Leipz., 1806, 8vo. 26. Menzel, Geschichte der Deutschen, Stuttg 1837, 4to. 27. Luden, Geschichte der Deutschen, Gotha, 1825, 2 vols., 8vo. 28. Mannert, Geographie der Griechen und Romer (vol. ii. and iii.). 29. Schirlitz, Handbuch der alten Geographie, Halle, 1837, 8vo. X PREFACE. 30. Krase, Archiv. fur alte Geographie, &c, Breslau, 1821, seqq., 12mo. 31. Kruse, Deutsche Alterthiimer, Halle, 1824, seqq., 12mo. 32. Klemm, Germanische Alterthumskunde, Dresden, 1836, 8vo. 33. Reicliard, Sammlung kieiner Schriften, &c, Guns, 1836, 8vo. 34. Bohmens heidnische Opferplatze, Graber, &c, Prag.. 1836, 8vo. 35. Barth, iiber die Druiden der Kelten, Brlangen., 1826, 8vo. 36. Graff, Althochdeutscher Sprachschalz, &c, Berlin, 1834-8, 4 vols., 4to. 37. Du Cange, Glossarium medis et infimae Latinitatis, ed. Hen- schel, Paris, 1840, seqq., 4to. It is the intention of the editor to publish at some future day select portions of the " Annals" and "His- tories," and also the " Dialogue on the Causes of the Decline of Eloquence." In the mean time, he hopes that the present volume may not be unsuccessful in enabling the student to cultivate an acquaintance with a part of the writings of Tacitus. Columbia College, N. Y., Aug. 18th, 1847. LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS.* u Caius Cornelius Tacitus was probably born in the reign of Nero, but neither the place of his birth, nor the exact date, is known, nor is any thing ascertained of his parentage. There is no reason for supposing that he belonged to the illustrious patrician gens of the Cornelii, nor any evidence of his having been born at Interamna, in Urnbria (the modern Terni), as is sometimes stated. The few facts of his life are chiefly collected from his own works, and from the letters of his friend, the younger Pliny. Tacitus was about the same age as Pliny, but the elder of the two. Pliny was born about A.D. 61, in the reign of Nero, which commenced A.D. 54. A passage of the elder Pliny (H. N. t vii., 16) speaks of a son of Cornelius Tacitus, the procurator of the emperor in Belgic Gaul. Lipsius concludes that this Cornelius Tacitus was the historian; but as Pliny died in A.D. 79, it seems hardly probable that the passage can apply to him. It has been conjectured that the procurator was the father of the historian. " Tacitus states that he owed his first promotion to Vespasian, and that he was indebted for other favors to his successors, Titus and Domitian (Hist., i., 1). In the year A.D. 77, C. Julius Agricola, then consul, betrothed to him his daughter ; and the marriage took place after Agricola's consulship. Tacitus does not state what places he filled under Vespasian and Titus, but in the reign of Domitian he in- forms us that he assisted as one of the Quindecimviri, at the celebra- tion of the Ludi Sseculares, which event took place in the fourteenth consulship of Domitian (A.D. 88). At that time he was also praetor (Ann., xi., 11 ). He was not at Rome when his father-in-law, Agricola, died there (A.D. 93), in the reign of Domitian ; but it is too much to affirm, as some have done, that he was an exile during the time of this emperor. It has already been shown that he was at Rome m A.D. 88. A passage in his Life of Agricola (c. 45) rather leads to the inference that he was at Rome during many of the atrocities which Domitian perpetrated after the death of Agricola, though he had been absent from Rome for four years prior to Agricola's death. On the decease of T. Virginius Rufus, in the reign of Nerva (A.D. 97), * Fenny Cyclopedia, vol. xxiiL, p. 504, scqq. Xll LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. he was appointed Consul Suffectus, and Pliny enumerates it as the crowning event to the good fortune of Virginhis, that his panegyric was pronounced by the Consul Cornelius Tacitus, the most eloquent of speakers. " Tacitus is recorded by his friend Pliny as one of the most eloquent orators of his age. He had already attained to some distinction as an advocate when Pliny was commencing his career. In the reign of Nerva, Pliny and Tacitus were appointed by the senate (A.D. 99) to conduct the prosecution of Marius Priscus, who had been proconsul of Africa, and was charged with various flagrant crimes. On this occasion Tacitus replied to Salvius Liberalis, who had spoken in de- fence of Priscus. His reply, says Pliny, was most eloquent, and marked by that dignity which characterized his style of speaking. (Plin., Ep., ii., 11.) " The contemporaries of Tacitus were Quintilian, the two Plinies, Julius Floras, Maternus, M. Aper, and Vipsanius Messala. He was on terms of the greatest intimacy with the younger Pliny, in whose extant collection of letters there are eleven epistles from Pliny to Tacitus. In one of these letters (vi., 16) Pliny describes the circum- stance of the death of his uncle, Pliny the elder, and the letter was purposely written to supply Tacitus with facts for his historical works. It is not known when Tacitus died, nor whether he left any children. The Emperor Tacitus claimed the honor of being descended from him, but we have no means of judging of the accuracy of the emperor's pedigree; and Sidonius Apollinaris (Ep., lib. iv., ad Polemium) men- tions the historian Tacitus among the ancestors of Polemius, a prefect of Gaul in the fifth century of our era. " The extant works of Tacitus are the ' Life of Agricola,' ' the Treatise on the Germans,' ' Histories,' 'Annals,' and the ' Dialogue on Orators; or, the Causes of the Decline of Eloquence.' None of his Orations are preserved. " The ' Life of Agricola' is one of the earliest works of Tacitus, and must have been written after the death of Domitian (A.D. 96). The Prooemium, or Introduction to it, was written in the reign of Trajan, and the whole work probably belongs to the first or second year of that emperor's reign. As a specimen of biography, it is much and justly admired. Like all the extant works of Tacitus, it is unencum- bered with minute irrelevant matter. The life and portrait of Agricola are sketched in a bold and vigorous style, corresponding to the dig- nity of the subject. The biographer was the friend and son-in-law of Agricola, whom he loved and revered, but he impresses his reader with a profound conviction of the moral greatness of Agricola, his courage, and his prudence, without ever becoming his panegyrist. LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. X1U The l Life of Agricola' was not contained in the earliest editions of Tacitus. " The ' Germany' of Tacitus has been the subject of some discussion as to its historical value. The author does not inform us whence he drew his materials for the description of the usages of these barbari- ans, many of whom could only be known by hearsay even to the Roman traders and adventurers on the frontiers of the empire. The work contains numerous minute and precise details, for which it must be assumed that the writer had at least the evidence of persons con- versant with the German tribes on the frontiers ; and there is nothing in the description of Tacitus which is substantially at variance with what we know of the early Germans from other sources. The sound- est conclusion is, that the picture of the Germans is in the main cor- rect; otherwise we must assume it to be either a mere fiction, or a rhetorical essay founded on a few generally known facts ; but neither of these assumptions will satisfy a careful reader. " The ' Histories,' which were written before the ' Annals,' and after the death of Nerva, comprehended the period from the accession of Galba to the death of Domitian ; to which it was the author's in- tention to add the reigns of Nerva and Trajan (Hist., i., 1). There are only extant the first four books and a part of the fifth, and these comprehend little more than the events of one year, from which we may conclude that the whole work must have consisted of many books. Unfortunately, the fifth book contains only the commence- ment of the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. " The ' Annals' comprehended the history of Rome from the death of Augustus to the death of Nero, a peiiod of fifty-two years, which ended with the extinction of the Julian house in Nero. A part of the fifth book of the l Annals' is lost ; the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, the beginning of the eleventh, and the end of the sixteenth and last book, are also lost. These last portions comprehended the whole reign of Caligula, the first years of Claudius, and the last two years of Nero's reign. It is said that the preservation of the historical works of Tacitus is due to the Emperor Tacitus ( Vopisc, Tacit., 10), who caused them to be transcribed ten times a year, and copies to be placed in the libraries. But the works of Tacitus, and more particu- larly the ' Annals,' were neglected during the decline of the empire, and few copies of them were preserved. The first five books of the 1 Annals' were not found till the beginning of the sixteenth century, when they were discovered in the Abbey of Corvey, in Westphalia, and published at Rome, in 1515, by Philip Bervaldus. " The Dialogue on the Decline of Eloquence may have been writ- ten in the reign of Vespasian : it is at least probable that it is an early XIV LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. work of Tacitus. It has been sometimes doubted if it is by Tacitus, but the style is in favor of the common opinion, though it presents in many respects a marked contrast to the ' Annals,' the work of his mature years. Messala, one of the speakers, attributes the decline of oratory to the neglect of the arduous method of study adopted by the older orators, who learned their art by attaching themselves to some eminent speaker, and by experience in the actual business of life : in Messala's time, the school of the rhetoricians was the only place of discipline for the young. But Maternus, another speaker, indicates more truly the causes of the decline of eloquence, by a ref- erence to the political condition of the Romans, and the suppression of their energies under the empire, as compared with the turbulent activity of the Republican period. " The ' Annals' of Tacitus are the work of his riper age, on which his historical reputation mainly rests. Though entitled Annals, and in general sufficiently true to the chronological order of events, the title of Annals conveys no exact notion of the character of this work. The writer moulded the matter of his history, and adapted it to his purpose, which was not a complete enumeration of the domestic and foreign events of the period, but a selection of such as portrayed in the liveliest colors the character of the Romans. The central figure in this picture is the imperial power, and the person who wielded it, the Princeps, and every event is viewed in relation to him. The no- tion of the Romans of the age of Tacitus is inseparably associated with the notion of the government of one man. The power that had been founded and consolidated by Augustus had been transmitted through many princes, few of whom had distinguished themselves by ability, and some had sullied the purple with the most abominable crimes. Yet the imperial power was never shaken after it was once firmly established, and the restoration of the old Republic was never seriously contemplated by any sober thinker. The necessity of the imperial power was felt, and the historian, while he describes the vices and follies of those who had held it, and often casts a glance of regret toward the Republican period, never betrays a suspicion that this power could be replaced by any other, in the abject and fallen state of the Roman people. It is this conviction which gives to the historical writings of Tacitus that dramatic character which pervades the whole, and is seen in the selection of events, and the mode in which they are presented to the reader. It is consistent with this that the bare facts, as they may be extracted from his nar- rative, are true, and that the coloring with which he has heightened them may often be false. This coloring was his mode of viewing the progress of events, and the development of the imperial power : LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. XV the effect, however, is, that the reader often overlooks the bare his- torical facts, and carries away only the general impression which the historian's animated drama presents. " Tacitus had formed a full, and, it may be, a correct conception of the condition of the empire in his own time, and the problem which he proposed to himself was, not only to narrate the course of events from the close of the reign of Augustus, but to develop their causes. {Hist., i., 4.) For his 'Annals,' at least, he could claim, as he does, the merit of strict impartiality : he lived after the events that he describes, and, consequently, had no wrongs to complain of, no passions or prejudices to mislead him. {Ann., i., 1.) He observes, also, in the commencement of his ' Histories,' that neither Galba, Otho, nor Vitellius had either conferred on him any favor or done him any injury. To Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian he acknowledges his obligations. The reign of Domitian is, unfortunately, lost; but we may collect from the expressions in the ' Life of Agricola' (c. 43, 45, &c.) that the favors which Tacitus had received did not save this contemptible tyrant from the historian's just indignation. " The tone which characterizes the historical works of Tacitus is an elevation of thought which had its foundation in the moral dignity of the writer, and the consciousness of having proposed to himself a noble object. He was a profound observer of character : it was his study to watch the slightest indications in human conduct, and by correctly interpreting these outward signs, to penetrate into the hid- den recesses of the heart. His power of reaching those thoughts which are often almost unconsciously the springs of a man's actions, has, perhaps, never been equalled by any historical writer. Tacitus had lived through a time when the value of the lessons of philosophy had to be tested by their practical application, and his historical stud- ies carried him through a period in which the mass were sunk in sensuality, and the really good and great had no consolation but in the consciousness of their own thoughts. Though he appears to be- long to no sect of philosophers, his practical morality was of the Stoic school, the only school which, in those degenerate times, could sus- tain the sinking spirits of the Romans, and which, even under favor- able circumstances, guided the conduct of the wise Cornelius, the noblest man that ever possessed sovereign power. The religions opinions of Tacitus partook of the character of his age : he had no strong convictions, no settled belief of a moral government of the world: his love of virtue and his abhorrence of vice were purely moral; they had no reference to a future existence. {Ann., iii., 18; vi., 22.) In one of his earliest productions he hopes, rather than ex- pects, that the souls of the departed may still live, and be conscious XVI LIFE AND WRITINGS OF TACITUS. of what is passing on earth. (Agric, 46.) But in his latest writings there are no traces that his hopes or his wishes had ever ripened into a belief. " The style of Tacitus, especially in his ' Annals,' is the apt expres- sion of his thought : concise, vigorous, and dramatic. He has, per- haps, attained as great a degree of condensation as is compatible with perspicuity ; sometimes his meaning is obscured by his labor to be brief. His historical works are especially works of art, constructed on a fixed principle, and elaborated in obedience to it. He loves to dis- play his rhetorical skill, but he subdues it to his dramatic purpose. It is a fault that his art is too apparent, that his thoughts are some- times imperfectly or obscurely expressed, that he affects an air of mystery, that his reflections on events are often an inseparable part of them, and, consequently, the impressions which it is his object to produce can only be rectified by the vigorous scrutiny of a matured mind. Yet those who have made Tacitus a study generally end in admiring him, even for some of those qualities which at first repelled : almost every word has its place and its meaning, and the contrast between the brevity of the expression and the fullness of the thought, as it marks the highest power of a writer, so it furnishes fit matter for reflection to those who have attained a like intellectual maturity. " Tacitus must have had abundant sources of information, though he indicates them only occasionally. He mentions several of those historians who lived near his own time, as Vipsanius Messala and Fabius Rusticus ; he also speaks of the memoirs of Agrippina and oth- ers. The Orationes Principum, the Fasti, the Acts of the Senate, and the various legislative measures, were also sources of which he availed himself. It has been already intimated that the minute de- tail of events was often foreign to the purpose of Tacitus, and, accord- ingly, he is sometimes satisfied with giving the general effect or meaning of a thing, without aiming at perfect accuracy. Thus we can not always collect with certainty from Tacitus the provisions of the Senatus Consulta of which he speaks ; and for the purpose of any historical investigation of Roman legislation, his statements must sometimes be enlarged or corrected by reference to other sources, and particularly to the * Digest.' " TABLE OF THE LIFE AND TIMES OF TACITUS. Caius Cornelius Tacitus was probably born in this year, at Interamna, in Umbria, called at the present day Terni. Claudius dies on the 13th of October, and is suc- ceeded by Nero. Quintus Veranius succeeds Aulus Didius in the command of Britain, and dies in the same year. Quintus Veranius is succeeded in the command of Britain by Suetonius Paulinus, fifth consular legatus, who is accompanied, most probably, by Agricola as military tribune. [Agricola was at that time twenty-two or twenty-three year3 of age. He was born on the 13th of June, A. D. 37, at Forum Julii (Fre- jus) in Gaul.] Expedition of Paulinus to Mona. General insur- rection of the Britons under Boadicea. Suetonius Paulinus is succeeded by Petronius Tur- pilianus, sixth consular legatus. Agricola (aged twenty-five) returns to Rome, marries Domitia Decidiana, and is a candidate for the queestor- ship. Agricola (aged twenty-six) quaestor in Asia. His eldest son dies after the birth of a daughter. Nero marries Poppgea. Petronius Turpilianus is succeeded by Trebellius Maximus, seventh consular legatus. Britain, as far as Angle sea, mostly under the Roman do- minion. Agricola returns to Rome, and spends the rest of the year in quiet. Agricola (aged twenty-eight) tribune of the plebs. Piso's conspiracy against Nero. Seneca and Lucan put to death. Great fire at Rome. Per- secution of the Christians. Agricola (aged twenty-nine) is a candidate for the praetorship. Tacitus receives instructions from some of the most celebrated rhetoricians of his time ; among others, from Marcus Aper, Julius Secundus, and Quintilian. Death of Psetus Thrasea. Agricola (aged thirty) is praetor. Nero put to death on the 9th of June. He is suc- ceeded by Galba, who intrusts to Agricola (aged A.D. 53 A.U.C. 806 Age of Tacitus, 54 807 2 58 811 6 59 60 812 813 7 8 61 814 9 62 815 10 63 816 11 64 817 12 65 818 13 66 819 14 67 68 820 821 15 16 XV111 TABLE OF THE LIFE 69 822 70 71 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 84 85 823 824 826 827 828 829 830 831 832 833 834 837 838 Age of Tacitus, 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 32 33 thirty-one) the investigation respecting the treas- sures of the temples. Galba is put to death on the 15 th of January, and is succeeded by Otho. Otho's partisans, at the plunder of Intemelium, kill Agricola's mother, in the beginning of April. Otho dies on the 16th of April, and is succeeded by Vitellius. Vespasian is proclaimed emperor in Egypt and Judaea. Agricola (aged thirty-two) joins Vespasian's party. Vitellius dies on the 21st of December. Mutiny of the soldiers in Britain against Trebel- lius Maximus, who is succeeded in the command by Vettius Bolanus, eighth consular legatus. Agricola (aged thirty-three) is intrusted with the command of the twentieth legion in Britain. Jerusalem taken by Titus. Vettius Bolanus is succeeded by Petilius Cerialis, the ninth consular legatus. Tacitus begins to speak in public. Agricola (aged thirty-six) returns to Rome, and be- comes a patrician. Agricola (aged thirty-seven) commences his gov- ernment of the province of Aquitania. Cerialis succeeded by Julius Frontinus, the tenth consular legatus. Frontinus subdues the Silures. Agricola (aged thirty-nine) recalled from Aquitania. Agricola (aged forty) consul suffectus in July, August, and September. He betroths his daughter, who was at that time scarcely four- teen, to Tacitus, and gives her to him in mar- riage after his consulship. Agricola (aged forty-one) succeeds Frontinus in the command of Britain. He conquers the Or- do vices and subdues the island of Mona. Taci- tus is appointed vigintivir and quaestor. Vespasian dies on the 23d of June, and is succeed- ed by Titus. Agricola (aged forty-two) ad- vances as far as the Solway Frith, and subdues almost the whole of England. Introduces civil- ization among the Britons. Tacitus either sedile or tribune of the plebs. Agric- ola (aged forty-three) subdues the southern na- tions of Scotland as far as the Frith of Tay. Titus dies on the 15th of September, and is suc- ceeded by Domitian. Agricola (aged forty-seven) defeats the Caledonians under Calgacus at the Grampian Hills. The Roman fleet sails round the north and west coasts of Britain. Expedition of Domitian against the Catti. Agricola (aged forty-eight) is recalled from Britain, and is succeeded by Sallustius Lucullus. AND TIMES OF TACITUS. XiX A.D. 86 87 88 89 90 A.U.C. 839 840 Age of Tacitus. 34 35 841 842 843 91 844 39 93 846 41 94 847 42 96 849 44 97 850 45 98 851 46 100 853 48 101 854 49 to to to 105 858 53 36 37 38 Appius Sabinus and the Roman army are defeated by the Dacians under Decebalus. Several Roman armies are defeated in Moesia, Dacia, Germany, and Pannonia. The public voice calls for Agricola as general. Domitian sets out for Dacia, and remains in Mcesia. Tacitus praetor. The Ludi Sceculares are per- formed. Unsuccessful expedition of Domitian against the Marcomanni and Quadi. Civica put to death. The philosophers are banished from Rome by Domitian. Agricola (aged fifty-three) declines the province of Asia. Tacitus retires with his wife from Rome. Triumph of Domitian. Death of Agricola on the 23d of August. Tacitus returns to Rome. Helvidius the younger, Aru- lenus Rusticus, and Herennius Senecio condemn- ed to death. Second banishment of the philosophers from Rome. Domitian is put to death on the 18th of September, and is succeeded by Nerva. Tacitus consul. He writes and publishes his Agricola in this year. Nerva adopts Trajan on the 19th of September. Nerva dies on the 27th of January, and is succeed- ed by Trajan. Tacitus, in conjunction with Pliny, accuses Marius Priscus, proconsul of Africa, of extortion in the administration of this province. Trajan makes war against the Dacians and defeats them, and eventually reduces Dacia into the form of a Roman province. Tacitus appears to have lived till the time of Hadrian, who succeeded Trajan, A.D. 117 ; but he took no part in public affairs after his consulship. Note. The preceding table is taken from the English edition, and differs, as will be perceived, from the Account of the Life and Writ- ings of Tacitus, in relation to the birth-year and native place of the historian. In a matter of this kind, where no certainty can be ar- rived at, the variation becomes comparatively unimportant. REMARKS STYLE OF TACITUS. REMARKS STYLE OF TACITUS, TRANSLATED* FROM THE LATIN OF WILHELM BOETTICHER. Tacitus generally preserved in his language the usage of former writers, and chiefly of the historians ; and only departed from it in such a degree as to improve and increase certain peculiarities which the ancient writers sometimes display in single instances, and in which they, too, have mostly followed the language of the poets. It is true, he adopted the usage of his age, and indulged his own pecul- iar genius in new constructions, and in the formation of compound words ; but he never, in these instances, transgressed the laws of his native tongue : like a great legislator, w T ho best provides for the com- mon welfare by retaining, on the one hand, the customs of antiquity, while he also employs his own genius in inventing laws which are better and more suited to the demands of his age. There are, indeed, many passages in his writings which are render- ed obscure by a conciseness almost intricate and abrupt ; many which, departing from the common mode of speech, call for much attention in the reader. But just as the milk-like exuberance of Livy and the wonderful clearness of Cicero delight the minds of their readers, and gratify them with a pleasure which is presented, as it were, spon- taneously, and obtained by no great labor ; so the brevity of Tacitus, obscure, indeed, but never unpleasing, never impenetrable to the edge of genius — while it calls forth all the reader's strength, and never suffers his mind to be inactive, but always engages him more and more in new efforts to imbibe deeply the loftiest and most beautiful sentiments — fills and pervades with a joy assuredly not in- ferior, nay, imperishable, the minds of those who come to the perusal of the works of Tacitus, not as to thickets bristling with thorns, but as to a consecrated grove, glimmering with a doubtful but holy light. Now the laws which Tacitus has followed in the composition of his writings, and the sources from which chiefly all those things proceed which constitute the peculiarity of his style, may be most convenient- ly referred to variety, which we may also call copiousness; to brevity, on which the force of language depends ; and to the poetical complexion * By Mr. Philip Smith, B.A., University College, London. XXIV ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. of his narrative* This three-fold division, therefore, we shall carry- out in such a manner as, by observing some certain order, to enumer- ate all the peculiarities of the style of Tacitus, either as examples of the variety, or of the brevity, or of the'poetical complexion, by which his style is marked ; but with this restriction, that many peculiarities can not be described in words and brought under rules ; and we think it sufficient to have collected here examples of each kind, and thus to have pointed out to the students of Tacitus the road by which they may arrive at a fuller knowledge of that writer. ON THE VARIETY OF THE STYLE OF TACITUS. Of all writers, Tacitus has taken most pains to vary both single words and the composition of sentences. In this quality he was pre- ceded chiefly by Livy and Sallust. And the care of Livy, in this re- spect, indicates copiousness and exuberance ; but that of Sallust an affectation of antiquity. The reason of this peculiarity Tacitus him- self plainly enough declares. For he says that "his labor was in a restricted space, and inglorious;" that "the positions of nations, the vicissitudes of battles, the triumphant deaths of generals, interest and refresh the minds of readers; but he had to string together cruel mandates, perpetual accusations, treacherous friendships, the ruin of innocent men, and causes which had the same issue, things strikingly similar even to satiety. "t It is not, therefore, to be wondered at that, in collecting the me- morials of past events, he should have taken pains to acquire that variety which presented itself spontaneously to the writers of the old republic, in order to avoid burdening and wearying the minds of his readers by expressing in the same words events perpetually recurring. As to the fact that for this very end he used certain ancient forms and words, and interspersed them in his narrative, we know that though he retained as much of all ancient things as was proper and becoming, yet he did not despise the more polished style of his own age.t * But it must be observed that, in many passages, all these qualities are united ; so that in his very brevity there appear at the same time variety and a poetical complexion. t Annals, iv., 32, 33 : " Nobis in arto et inglorius labor." " Situs gentium, varietates prceliorum, clari ducum exitus retinent ac redintegrant legentium animum : no3 saeva jussa, continuas accusationes, fallaces amicitias, perniciem innocentium, et easdem exitu causas conjungimus, obvia rerum similitudine et satietate." X See the Dialogus de Oratoribus, c. 22 : " Variet compositionem ; nee omnes clausulas uno et eodem modo determinet." And c. 18: "Non esse unum elo- quentiae vultum," &c. ITS VARIETY. XXV The following are examples of his variety : I. His modes of writing words are various. a. Inrumpere and irrumpere, adstitit and astitit, adlicere and allicere, adpellere and appellere ; colloqui, colligere, and conloqui, conlectus ; offundere and obfundere ; accelerare, accolere, accursus, and adceler are, adcolere, adcursus. b. Cotidie and quotidie; promiscus, promisee, and promiscuus, pro- miscue; abisse and abiisse, epistula and epistola; volgus, volnus, voltus, convolsus, revolsus, mavoltis, and vulgus, vulnus, &c. ; and also, in some places, scevom, pravom, alvom, captivom, donativom avonculo, for the common scevum, pravum, &c. ; tegumen, tegimen, and tegmen ; balnece (balnea) and balinece ; claudere and cludere; inclulus and inclitus; quotiens, totiens, viciens, septuagiens, and quoties, toties, &c. ; trans- mitter e, transnatare, and tramittere, tranatare ; vinculum and vinclum; Hercule and Hercle ; libido, and once lubido ; altissumus, optumus, op- tumates, proxumus (these examples are found each only once in Tacitus), and altissimus, &c. ; monimentum and monumentum; decu- mus and decimus, &c. ; urgere and urguere, intellegere and intelligere, oreretur and oriretur, poteretur and potiretur, detractare and detrectare. II. Words are variously inflected. a. Tigranen, Tigranem, Lirin, Turesim; the accusative plural ending in is of participles and adjectives chiefly, less frequently of. substantives, is interchanged with the common form ; as, imminentis, omnis, tris, navis ; the genitive which ends in urn with the common termination in arum; deum (very rarely deorum), liberum, posteriori (Annal., in., 72), quindecimvirum (Annal., vi., 12); parentum and parenUum. By a poetical usage received from the writers of the Silver Age, we read in AnnaL, iv., 41, salutantum for salutantium, and several examples of the same kind occur repeatedly. Cai, Cnei, Cceselli, Patulei, Rubelli, Pacari, but Tiberii, Pompeii, &c. ; di, dis, dii, diis, and deis ; quibus, and not less frequently quis. The dative ending in u is very frequent in Tacitus, as well as the common term- ination ; as, luxu, nuru, metu, decursu, cruciatu. Csesar, who uses that form more frequently, generally give3 nothing else but magistrate equitatu, exercitu. b. Heteroclite and defective words : plebes, plebei (gen. and dat), and plebs, plebis, plebi (so in Cicero, Livy, and other former waiters) ; juventa, senecta, (senium), poetical words, and juventus, senectus (after Livy's example) ; but juventus in Tacitus always mean3 youths, ju- venta no less constantly the age of youth ; nouns are both of the first and fifth declension in the nominative (as is usual), in the accusative, 2 XXVI ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. and in the ablative cases : materia and materies, mollitia and mollities, duritia and durities (so, also, in Cicero), with an obsolete genitive, AnnaL, iii., 34, multa duritie veterum in melius et Icetius mutata, un- less it is better to take duritie for the ablative, with ex understood. Oblivio and {Hist., iv., 9) oblivium (the plural oblivia occurs frequent- ly in the poets), obsidio and obsidium (so Varro, Plautus, Sallust), which in Tacitus, indeed, is the same as obses, AnnaL, xi., 10, Meher- daten — obsidio nobis datum. So he uses consortium for the common consortio (as Liv., iv., 5) ; alimonium, AnnaL, xi., 16, after Varro's example ; but Plautus, Suetonius, Gellius, Apuleius, use alimonia, ce. Eventus and (what is not an uncommon word with Cicero) eventum, AnnaL, iv, 33, plures aliorum eventis docentur ; prcetextu and (Hist., ii., 100; iii., 80; as in Seneca and Suetonius) prcetexto ; Vologeses, genitive Vologesis and Vologesi, dative Vologeso, accusative Vologesen, ablative Vologese. Add to these decus and decor (as in the writers of the same age); sonos and (the poetical form) sonor ; honos and honor; satietas and (Sallust) satias; sexus and (Sallust, Livy) secus; munera and munia (and this frequently); muri and moenia (compare Hist., iii., 30, near the end) ; gratia and grates; exanimus, exanimis ; semermus, semermis; inermus, inermis ; claritudo, claritas ; jirmitudo, Jirmitas. c. Heterogeneous words: loci and loca, where they refer to a country, are used indifferently by Tacitus ; other writers, less fre- quently, use loci. In AnnaL, xv., 32, loci are the seats in a theatre ; on the other hand, Livy and Vellius call them loca. Arguments, which are treated of in a debate or speech, and also passages or sen- tences of speeches or books, are called by all writers, and Tacitus likewise, loci. Some names of cities ending in a are both feminine and neuter ; Artaxata, Hierosolyma, and others. III. The following examples will prove how great is the variety and copiousness of Tacitus in the actual use of words. a. The word auris is used by no writer so often and so variously , for he gives aures prcebere, adire, perstringere, advertere, imbuere, vi- tare, polluere, obstruere, verberare, offendere; ad aures conferre, perve nire ; auribus obtemyerare, auribus non satis competere, aures respuunt. agnoscunt aliquid ; diver sitas, fastidium aurium ; oratio auribus judi- cum accommodata ; diver sissimarum aurium copia ; cognitce populi au- res; aures adrectiores, trepidce, lentce, promtce, pronce, superbce, cequcc, apertce, ita formates. Two reasons may be given why Tacitus so often used this word: first, because he was an orator, on which account most examples of it are furnished by his Dialogue concerning Ora- tors; and, therefore, Cicero, also, and Quintilian often use this word, ITS VARIETY. XXV11 secondly, because, in describing times which, to use his own words, had destroyed by prosecutions the intercourse of speaking and hear ing, and recalled the recollection of the well-known ear* of the ty rant Dionysius, he was able, by the use of this mode of speech, to ex- press with the greatest propriety and effect many things which be- longed to the wicked arts of tyranny and slavery. b. There is generally a variety of the same kind in describing hidden and secret things. Thus to palam are opposed secreto, intus, domi, per occultum, per occulta, in occulto, privatim, furtim, secretis criminationibus, occultis nuntiis, inter secreta convivii, voto; Anna!., xvi., 7, mortem Poppcece ut palam iristem, ita recordantibus Icetam; Hist., i., 10, palam lau dares ; secreta male audiebant; propala?n — se- cretis nuntiis, secretis promissis. c. Since Tacitus had to mention frequent deaths, he has in these, also, used very great variety: relinquendce vitce certus ; finis sponle sumtus, qucesita mors; suo ictu mortem invenire, finem vitce sibi ponere, sumere exitium, voluntario exitu cadere, sua manu cadere, mortem sponte sumere, se vita privare, se ipsum interficere (and inter fectus also is used in a rather unusual way of voluntary death in Annal., i., 2, interfecto Antonio : compare Hist., i., 53, occiso Nerone), voluntate exstingui, vim vitce sum adferre, vitam abstinentia finire, egestate cibi perimi, venenum haurire,gladio incumbere, senili manu ferrum tentare ; venas, brachia ex- solvere, resolvere, abrumpere, inter scindere, abscindere, interrumpere, in- cider e, aperire rursum; levem ictum venis inferre; defungi, exstingui, obire, concedere, oppetere, finire, fato fungi, fato obire, fato concedere, morte fato propera auferri, mortem obire, moHalitatem explere, finem vitce implere, supremum diem explere, concedere vita, cedere vita, vitam finire; mors (mortes), obitus, ex cessus, finis; Dial., 18, fatalis et meus dies. d. Propinqua vespera, flexo in vesperam die, vesperascente die, in- umbrante vesper a, prcecipiti in occasum die, extremo die, sero diet, ob- scuro diei. e. Those phrases, also, are changed which it is the usual custom not to alter; as, aqua et igni interdicere {Annal., iii., 38 ; iv., 21), aqua et igni arceri {Annal. , hi., 50), aqua atque igni prokiberi {Annal., xvi., 12). f. Particles are varied more frequently than in other writers : kaud and non, haudquaquam, nequaquam ; dein, deinde ; exin, exinde ; proin, proinde; modo — modo and interim — quandoque, modo — nunc, modo— ecce nunc; erg a, and, with the same signification, contra, adversus, in ; penes and ad, in, apud ; juxta and ad, apud. They serve for a transi- * A combination of passages, by which Dionysius is said to have been able to overhear the words of his captives as he sat in his palace. XXV111 ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. tion : his atque (ac, et) talibus, his et pluribus, ceterum, dehinc, hint, ad hoc, ad hcec (besides) ac, et, inter quce, interea, per idem tempus, sub idem tempus, interim, simul, proinde, exinde, deinde, igitur (seldom itaque) ergo, at, at Hercule (Hercle). IV. Tacitus is also remarkable for great copiousness and variety of words ; because, besides the words received in common use, he like- wise frequently uses such as are found only in single passages in the writers of the former age ; because, too, he adopted those words with which the poets of every age, and the writers of his own time, enriched the Latin tongue; and, lastly, because he himself discov- ered and composed many new words; as, centurionatus, exstimulator, instigatrix, inturbidus, quinquiplicare, prceposse, provivere, pervigere, super stagnare, superurgere. And he followed the same plan in the meanings of words, not only combining the different senses which they had at different times, but also referring them, according to his own taste, to other things which bore some degree of affinity to the things which other writers had used those words to express. Of this I will give the following examples : a. As in Cicero we read adducere habenas, in Seneca adducere vul- tum ad tristitiam, in Quintilian adducta frons; so in Tacitus, with a slight change in the meaning of the word, AnnaL, xii., 7, adductum (i. e., severum, rigidunx) et quasi virile servitium; xiv., 4, familiaritate juvenili — et i~ursns adductus; and Tacitus alone appears thus to have used the adverb, adductius {regnari, imperitare), in Germ., 34, and Hist., iii., 7. b. Expedire, 1. As in its common use, is the same as prceparare, parare, as arma, alimenta, iter, concilium; Annal., xiv., 55, qui me non tantum prcevisa, sed subita expedire docuisti, concerning facility of speech. 2. Then in the same sense as exponere: examples of this meaning are furnished by Terence, Virgil, and other, poets; Annal., iv., 1, nunc originem, mores — expediam, and so frequently. 3. Tacitus alone appears to have used it absolutely for expeditionem suscipere ; Hist., i., 10, nimice voluptates cum vacaret ; quotiens expedierat mag- net virtutes; chap, lxxxviii., multos — secum expedire jubet; but exactly in the same way, ducere is used for ducere exercitum, not only by Tac- itus, but much oftener by Livy. c. Externus, besides its common use, in which it simply applies to foreign nations; as, Annal., xi., 16, ire externum ad imperium, is also in Tacitus synonymous with hostilis; Hist., iv., 32, ut absisteret hello, neve externa armis falsis velar et; iii., 5, ne inter discordias (Romano- rum) externa moiirentur. In the same manner diversus is used by Tacitus of things relating to enemies and opposing parties; as. Annal,, ITS VARIETY. XXIX xiv., 30, stabat pro litlore diversa (the hostile) acies ; Hist., iii., 5, ne majore ex diver so mercede (received from their adversaries) jusfasque exuerent; and diversus is generally synonymous with alienus, abhor- reus ab aliqua re : Anna!., ii., 2, diversus a majorum institutis; vi., 33, diversa induere (espouse different sides ; but thus Livy, also, speaks of diversi auctores. V. In the grammatical construction of words the very great variety of the style of Tacitus is discovered. a. The singular and plural numbers are interchanged : miles, eques (used, also, of those w T ho are of equestrian rank), veteranus, legiona- rius, and miliies, equites, &c, and more often, indeed, than in former writers: Annal., vi., 35, cum Parthus — distraheret turmas, Sarmatce — contis gladiisque ruerent ; Hist., iii., 59, Samnis Pelignusqueet Marsi. The plural, used for the sake of majesty, i3 often joined with the sin- gular: Annal., iv., 11, ut peter em ab Us, quorum in manus cur a nostra venerit, &c, Agr., 43, nobis nihil comperti adfirmare ausim. b. Different cases are joined together : Annal., xii., 29, legionem — pro ripa componeret, subsidio victis et terrorem adversus victor es ; Hist., i., 53, corpore ingens, animi immodicus ; Annal., xv., 59, nomen mulieHs Arria Galla, priori marito Domitius Silus : and the same cases with different significations: Germ., 35, occidere solent, non disciplina ci severitate> sed impetu et ira; Hist., ii., 22, molares ingenti pondere acfra- gore provolvunt. c. The dative, accusative, genitive, and prepositions are used in the same kind of construction : promptus rei, in rem, ad rem; inrum- pere terram, in terram, ad terram ; Annal., xiv., 38, cvjus adversa pravi- tati ipsius, prospera ad fortunam rei publico referebat, unless you prefer taking this as a zeugma; xii., 55, vim cultoribus et oppidanis ac pie- rumque in mercatores — audebant; Annal., iv., 1, sui obtegens, in alios criminator ; xiii., 21, ultionem in delatores et pramia amicis obtinuit. (See below, on the Brevity of the Style of Tacitus, iii., 1.) d. There is the greatest variety in the mode of comparison. 1. The usual construction quo — tanto, quanto — tanto, scite magis quam probe, avidius quam consultius. 2. The positive, or other words which have its force, is used for the comparative in almost the same manner as we read in Agr., 4, vehementius quam caute : Annal., i., 68, quanto inopina, tanto majora offunduntur ; c. 74, quantoque incautius efferverat, poznitentia patiens tulit (compare Livy, i., 25, Romani — Horatium accipiunt eo majore cum gaudio, quo prope metum res fuerat); iv., 67, quanto intentus olim — tanto resolutus. Compare Livy, xxi., 48, quantum elatus — tanium anxius. 3. Tanto is trans- posed; Annal., i., 81, speciosa verbis — quantoque majore libertatis XXX ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. imagine tegebantur, tanto erwptura ad infensius servitium. 4. Tanto or eo is omitted: Annal., ii., 5, quanto acriora — studia militum et aversa (see No. 2) patrui voluntas, celerandce victoria intentior; Hist., iii., 58, quanto quis clarior, minus fidus. Compare Livy, xxv., 38, quo audacius erat (consilium) magis placebat. 5. Plura is omitted : AnnaL, iii., 5, tanto plura decora mox tribui par fuisse, quanto prima fors ne- gavisset. 6. Eodem actu is put for tanto; Hist., i., 12, qui in dies quanto potentior, eodem actu invisior erat. 7. Quam is used alone, meaning more than, magis or potius being omitted: Hist., iii., 60, prcedce quam periculorum socius ; Annal., iv., 61, claris majoribus quam vetustis. Compare Livy, vii., 8, multiplex quam pro numero damnum est. 8. Also the more unconimon construction, Annal., iii., 8, quern haud fratris interitu trucem, quam — cequiorem sibi sperabat, put for non tarn — quam, or tantum abest ut — ut. e. Adjectives and genitive cases are mixed together: Annal., ii., 3, Armenia — inter Parthorum et Romanas opes infida : xii., 14, ex quis Izates Adiabeno, mox Acbarus Arabum cum exercitu abscedunt. f. Verbs are variously and, indeed, rather uncommonly construct- ed: fungi officiis and officia, potiri flagitii, honoribus, regiam (by archaism), adipisci aliquid and rerum, dominationis (so in Tacitus alone) ; prcesidere alicui rei and (what there seems to be no example of in other writers) Medos, Pannoniam : jubere alicui tributum ; Ger- manos — non juberi, non regi ; Annal., xi., 32, jussit ut Britannicus et Octavia — pergerent ; xiii., 15, Britannico jussit exsurgeret ; chap. 40, quibus jusserat ut — resisterent. Compare Terence, Andria, ii., 5, 1, me jussit — observarem; Cicero also, Livy, and others sometimes join this verb with the dative. So with many verbs is joined the infinitive and ut, ne, quod; also, the preposition ad and the particle ut are in- terchanged; e. g., Annal., ii., 62, haud leve decus Drusus qucesivit il- liciens Germanos ad discordias, utque fracto jam Maroboduo usque in exitium insisteretur. The historical present and perfect are joined to- gether: Annal., ii., 7, Ccesar — jubel; ipse — sex legiones eo duxit; c. 20. Seio Tuberoni legato tradit equitem campumque ; peditum aciem ita instruxit ut, &c. ; i., 39, perduci ad se Plancum imperat, recepitque in tribunal. — " There are those who ascribe such things to negligence in the author. But he seems to me to have thus adjusted them de- signedly, like a skillful workman, so as to distinguish wisely and with a polished taste what words should flow with a more animated, and what with a more tranquil course. " — ( Walther on the Annals, ii., 7.) [n the same way he places together the historical present, the his- torical infinitive, and the perfect: Annal., iii., 20, Eodem anno Tac- farinas — bellum in Africa renovat, vagis primum populationibus — dein vicos exscindere, trahere graves pr&das, postremo — cohortem IT& VARIETY. XXXi Romanam circumsedit ; xii., 51, conjux gravida — toleravit; post — ubi quati uterus et viscera vibrantur, orare ut, &c. ; xv., 27, simul con- silio terrorem adjicere, et Megistanas Armenios — pellit sedibus, &c. g. There is great variety in the syntax of particles: AnnaL, i.,1>, per acies aut proscriptione cadere; ii., 70, ea Germanico haud minus ira quam per metum accepta; AnnaL, xi., 32, ut quis reperiebatur in publico aut per latebras; iv., 51, nox aliis in audaciam, aliis ad for- midinem opportuna. — Germ., 20, sororum filiis idem apud avunculum qui ad patrem honor ; AnnaL, vi., 22, tristia in bonos, l&ta apud de- teriores esse. VI. Constructions of different kinds are often mingled to- gether; and after beginning with some one form of speech, he passes abruptly, and without regarding the law of uniformity, to another. Thus very often «the passive and active voices are mixed up together: AnnaL, vi., 44, nihil omissum quo ambiguos illiceret, promti firmaren- tur; iv., 44, Albim transcendit, longius penetrata Germania quam quis- quam priorum. Compare Livy, xxii., 6, quce Punica religione servata Jides ab Hannibale est, atque in vincula omnes conjecit. — The accusa- tive, the accusative with the infinitive, the finite tenses of the verb and particles, are mingled together: AnnaL, xv., 50, dum scelera principis et finem adesse imperio, deligendumque qui — succurreret inter se — jaciunt; Hist., iv., 4, promsit sententiam ut honorificam in bonum principem, ita falsa aberant. (Compare AnnaL, iii., 30, fato poten- tly — an satias capit.) AnnaL, iv., 38, quod alii mcdestiam, multi, quia diffideret, quidam ut degeneris animi inter pretabantur. Compare Sallust's Catiline, 10, avaritia — superbiam, crudelitatem, deos neglegere, omnia venalia habere edocuit. — The participle, gerund, finite tenses of the verb, and particles are placed together: AnnaL, L, 62, quod Tiberio haud probatum, sew cuncta Germanici in deterius trahenti, * sive — credebat; iii., 31, absentiam — meditans, sive ut — impleret; xiii., 11, orationibus, quas Seneca testifcando quam honesta prceciperet vel jactandi ingenii — vulgabat; c. 47, socors ingenium ejus in contrarium ir aliens callidumque et simulatorem interpretando. He passes from what is called the oblique narration to the direct (as Livy, i., 13, 47 57): AnnaL, iv., 40, ad ea Tiberius — principum diversam esse sortem, falleris enim Sejane. &c. ; Hist., iii., 2, ad ea Antonius Primus — festi nationem ipsis utilem. " Duce tunc Pannonicce ac M&sicce aim perru pere hostem," &c. See, also, the heads Syllepsis and Zeugma, in the remarks on the Brevity of his Style, V. VII. In the position of words, Tacitus indulges in variety above other writers, following chiefly the practice of his own age, and he XXX11 ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. even sometimes inverts those phrases which other writers are wont to preserve constantly in a certain order; as, AnnaL, xi., 35, consulto senatus, (See above, III., e.) a. Cognomens, or agnomens, are even placed before names ; and in the same way, a term signifying the dignity and office with which any one is endowed, is expressed before the name itself, as Agrippa Postumus and Postumus Agrippa, M. Annceus hucanus and Lucanus Annceus, Asinius Pollio and Pollio Asinius (thus Cicero, also, has Pollio Asinius), Antonius Primus and Primus Antonius; dictator Ccesar and Ccesar dictator (as in Cicero, rex Deiotarus; in Livy, rex Prusias) ; imperator Augustus, Augustus imperator ; but when this dignity was perpetual, from the age of Julius Csssar downward, the title of im- perator (as before, in general, that of dictator) used to be placed be- fore the proper name. Compare Suetonius ( Cces., 76), honores nimios recepit — prcenomen imperatoris. So, besides the common arrangement, prcetor Antistius, procurator Marius, augur Lentulus (as in Livy we have consul JEmilius, consul Sulpicius). Add to these, tribunus plebis, and plehei, and plebis (plebei) tribunus. b. Together with the common order of the particles we find an anastrophe of the prepositions and conjunctions after the manner of the poets, which is admitted also, though less often, by other writers, chiefly of the Silver Age: Amisiam et Lupiam amnes inter, disjectas inter et vix pervias arenas, sedes inter Vestalium : prceturam intra stetit, unum intra damnum; and thus are used super, extra, ultra, con- tra, penes, propter, juxta, apud, ad, and ab : AnnaL, v., 9, vanescente quamquam plebis ira (so Cicero) ; AnnaL, i., 5, acribus namque cus- todies domum — sepserat (so Livy very often) ; AnnaL, ii., 15, classem quippe (Cicero) ; Hist., ii., 17, inritabat quin etiam (Capitolinus) ; Dial., 6, illis quin immo (in other writers very rare, and every where having the first place); AnnaL, xi., 30, frueretur immo Us (Plautus); Germ., 30, durant siquidem colles (Pliny the elder). c. With the remarks we have made above (VI.) on the mixture of constructions may be compared the Synchysis, which Quintilian calls a mixture of words, and of which Livy likewise furnishes not a few examples: AnnaL, i., 10, Pompeianarum gratiam partium; xii., 65, seu Britannicus rerum sen Nero potiretur; xiv., 2, tradit Cluvius ardor e retinendce Agrippinam potential eo usque provectam, ut, &c. ; c. iv., pluribus sermonibus, modo familiar itate juvenili Nero et i-ursus adductus — tracto in longum convictu, prosequitur abeuntem ; hi., 42, in- conditam muliitudinem adhuc disjecit, that is, incondiiam adhuc. You may also refer Tmesis to this head : AnnaL, xiii., 50, acri etiam populi Romani turn libertate; Dial., 31, neque enim dum arie et scientia, fee., that is, nondum enim; Hist., i., 20, at illis vix decumes super portiones erant. ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. XXX111 ON THE FORGE AND BREVITY OF THE STYLE OF TACITUS. All agree, without any hesitation, that the peculiar character of Tacitus' s. style is seen most in the concise brevity of his language ; and those who have looked into it more closely, till they have even explored all the inmost recesses of his sometimes abrupt diction, pre- fer Tacitus to all other writers for this very reason, and admire the divine aspect of his genius, which, the nearer they approach it, and the more intently they hang upon its contemplation, so much the more deeply penetrates the minds of the beholders. But if you ask whence proceeds and what means that taciturn brevity, and where- fore it is that you are sometimes moved by it in the inmost corner of your heart, seek the answer from actual life, both that of Tacitus and your own. Many were then (as now they are, if we would honest- ly confess it) the faults, the vices, the crimes of men, with but rare examples of substantial, well-tried virtue ; great were envy and the ignorance of right ; many were the mockeries that were made of the affairs of men, and the empty dissensions of the populace; while but very few then, as in bur own time even by no means all, were seek- ing better and higher things. And as it by no means becomes us, who are blessed with the hopes and consolations of the Christian faith, to mourn over those things which are faulty in our own age with the same grief as that with which we behold a Roman, who ac- counted nothing to be loftier and grander than the hereditary glory and majesty of his country, mourning over the common corruption of all things, and over the republic falling headlong to ruin ; «o we sure- ly can not blame in Tacitus that kind of bitter pleasure, and that in- dignant sparing of words, by which, that he might not, like Sue- tonius, impose too heavy a burden on his own and his readers' sense of shame by narrating every thing at length with a disgusting loqua- city, he has generally conveyed a deeper meaning than his word3 express.* I. And, first, in the very collocation of his words there is a cer- tain force and brevity : non is sometimes separated from its verb and placed first, to increase the force of the sentence ; as, AnnaL, vi., 32, * The most important passage for discovering the feelings from which this pe- culiarity of the style of Tacitus proceeded is that in the Germania (33), where, with as deep emotion as he has ever shown, he says, maneat quaso duretque genti* bus, &c. Compare, also, AnnaL, hi, 55, at the end, and^r., 2, 3 : dedimus pro- fecto grande patientia documentum — ademto per inquisitiones et loquendi audiendiqus commercw, Scc.—prope ad ipsos exacted atatis terminos per silenthim venimus. XXXIV ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. sed non Tiberius omisit incepta; chap, xxxviii., non enim Tiberium, quamquam triennio post ccedem Sejani — tempus, preces, satias mitiga- bant; Hist., ii., 70, at non Vitellius ftexit oculos. Frequently a word is placed first, to imply tacitly the converse of what is stated ; as, An- naL, iii., 2, miserat duas prcetorias eohortes Ccesar, but did not come himself. Not unfrequently some particle is implied in the word which is put first; as, AnnaL, ii., 39, vivere (adhuc) Agrippam; chap, xl., postremo dot negoiium Sallustio (tandem certus consilii). II. The force of the language depen4s often on single words. a. On frequentatives, which are repeatedly used by Tacitus (and Sallust) : some, indeed, he alone employs, as infensare, redemtare ; in contemporary authors, also, and the writers of a later age, we find appellitare, adsultare, auctitare, despectare, suspectare (i. e. f suspectum habere), emtitare, mansitare, prcetentare. But it must be well ob- served, that it is not always the force of the language which depends on these words ; but that they also often express an attempt, and that a vain one (as loqui cosptare), and in this way, also, assist the brevity of the style. b. On single words put absolutely : Hist., iii., 55, Latium (i. e., jus Latii) exlernis dilargiri; AnnaL, ii., 32, saxo (Tarpeio) dejectus est (compare iv., 29, robur et saxum aut paricidarum poznas minitari). Agr., 22, nee — nnquam per alios gesta avidus intercepii, that is, through greediness of praise and glory. Hist., v., 1, occupare principem adhuc vacuum, that is, not yet engaged by another, whose favor does not yet incline to any one; so we have mulier vacua, AnnaL, xiii., 44, vacuus adulter, xi., 12. Hist., i., 76, ne Aquitania quidem — diu mansit, that is, continued faithful. AnnaL, ii., 33, excessit Fronto (that is, went beyond, or digressed from, the subject before the senate), et postu- lavit, &c. (Compare Q,uintiL, iii., 9, 4, egressio, vel, quod usitatius esse cospit, excessus.) Dial., 2 1 , videtur mihi inter Menenios — studuisse, after the manner of the Silver Age, in which studere is used abso- lutely for the study of the art of rhetoric. c. On the meaning of the words themselves : as examples of which we may adduce rimari, introspicere, dispicere, gliscere (adolescere, crescere, augeri, and augere with a passive signification), scevus, atrox, ferox, trux, truculentus, grandis, ingens, enormis, all which words he uses oftener than other writers. III. By an unusual mode of using number, cases, adjectives, moods, and particles, the language is rendered more effective and concise. a. The plural, chiefly of those nouns which are called abstract, ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. XXXV expresses various kinds and modes of action: Annul., i., 74, formam vitce mitt, quam postea celebrem miseries temporum el audacice hominum fecerunt; xiv., 4, ferendas parentium iracundias ; Germ., 2, ipsos Germanos indigenas crediderim, minimeque aliarum gentium adventibus et hospitiis mixtos. b. There is a peculiar force and brevity in the use of the genitive (concerning the nominative put absolutely, see below, under ellipsis, b. a. dolor, ira)'. Annal., xv., 36, non longam sui absentiam et cuncta in republica perinde immota ac prosper a fore (sui refers to Nero, whose great idea of his own importance is plain from all accounts) ; xi., 24, conditor nostri Romulus; ii., 54, nostri origo (a Roman is speaking). The genitive plural expresses custom : Annal., ii., 1, Phraates — cuncta venerantium officia ad Augustum verterat (which are wont to be offer- ed by those who reverence their prince) ; vi., 40, supplicia civium effugit (by which citizens are wont to be affected). To express the dispositions and peculiarities of men, the genitive is used more fre- quently than in other authors, and in a still more unusual way in the plural number: Annal., iv., 31, Tiberius compositus alias et velut eluctantium verborum. The partitive genitive is used more extens- ively than in other writers, and its use increases the force and per- spicuity of the narrative; the same remark applies to" the genitive joined with pronouns. Annal., xii., 17, navium quasdam circumvenere barbari prmfecto cokortis et plerisque centurionum interfectis ; chap, xviii., Romanorum nemo id auctoritatis aderat, ut, &c. So we find id temporis, solitudinis, honoris, Hist., iv., 23, neque unquam id ma- lorum — ut, &c. Ingens rerum, pracipuus circumveniendi, primus luenda pazna. (See below, where Graecisms are treated of.) The genitive, which is called objective, is joined with the subjective : Hist., iii., 10, ut proditionis ira militum; Annal., xii., 26, Britannici for- tune mceror (Cicero canum adulatio dominorum). To this class be- longs that very difficult passage, Annal., xv., 61, itur etiam in principis laudes repetitum venerantium; by those who reverenced the prince on account of his wife's restoration ; compare xi., 23, et studiis diver sis apud principem certabatur ads ever aniium, non adco agram Italiam, ut, &,c. Compare, On the Poetical Complexion of the Style op Tacitus, III., a. The genitive of the passive participle in endus, joined with the same case of the substantive (or of the gerund with the case which belongs to the verb), the word causa being omitted, is used by no writer oftener than by Tacitus, in his strong desire of brevity, to express the end which any one pursues: Annal., ii., 59, J&gyptum proficiscitur cognoscendai antiquitatis ; iv., 2, neque senatorio ambitu abstinebat clientes suos honoribus aut provinciis ornandi. Of the same kind are genitives joined with substantives: Hist., iii., 40, XXXVI ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. agendi tempora consultando consumsit; chap. 1., Silvanum socordem hello et dies rerum verbis terentem; Annal., i., 58, non hie miki primus erga populum Romanum jidei et constantice (sc. ostentanda)) dies. c. Very similar is the use of the dative, which Tacitus has employ- ed more frequently than any other writer, and in a more varied man- ner, to express an end and advantage, and that, too, in such a way that in this mode of speaking, also, he has respect to brevity : as it is commonly said, triumvir reipublicce constituendce, dividendis agris, comitia regi creando, so Annal., vi., 37, cum Me equum placando amni adomasset; chap, xliii., ubi data fides reddendce dominationi venisse, adlevatur animum; Hist., hi., 20, num — cetera expugnandis urbibus (utilia) attulissent ; Annal., xiv., 3, additurum — defunctce templum et aras et cetera ostentandae pietati (compare Livy, xxx., 6, qum restin- guendo igni for ent port antes)', Annal., ii., 57, amid accendendis off en- sionibus callidi ; Annal., xiv., 59, repertus est — nudus exercitando corpori. Annal., xii., 46, diem locumque fosderi accepit ; i., 51, in- cessit itineri et prcelio. To the same class belong obtentui, ostentui, inrisui, derisui, usui, metui, despectui, potui, victui, vestitui, indutui, visui, venatui esse, which are for the most part rare in other writers. For the rest, see below, where Graecisms are treated of. d. The accusative is often joined with verbs which express mo- tion without a preposition, after the manner of the Greeks and of the poets; as ripam accedere (Cicero), oppidum inrumpere (Caesar, Sal- lust), incur sare Germaniam (Livy), involare castra (Cicero, rostra advolare), advolvi genua (Sallust), incidere locum, incidere aliquem (in aliquem), adventare propinqua Seleucice, Annal., vi., 44 ; propinquare campos (Sallust), eniti agger em (Livy), escendere suggestum (Cicero, Livy, and others), evadere angustias (Livy), elabi pugnam, egredi tentoria (Sallust), exire lubricum juventa. This remark applies to the following passages, which depart from common usage : Hist., iv., 76, Germanos — non juberi, non regi; i., 16, gentibus, quce regnantur (Pliny the elder) ; Annal., iii, 39, is proximum exercitum prcesidebat ; Germ., 43, vertices montium : —insederunt; Annal., xi., 20, insignia triumphi indulgere, i. e., concedere ; as if it were to indulge any one with them, and so to yield them (Juvenal, se indulgere, i. e., permit- tere alicui) ; similarly Tacitus uses propugnare, potiri, fungi, vesci, disserere, fremere aliquam rem; but he likewise, that thus he might add force to the narrative, has sometimes used prepositions where the common language employs the accusative: Hist., iv., 48, ea de cade quam verissime expediam; Germ., 34, reverentius visum de actis deorum credere quam scire. Concerning the ablative of substantives put absolutely, see below, where the participle is treated of. e. Brevity is promoted by adjectives which, when joined to sub- ITS FORCE AND BREVITY. XXXVU stantives, have the force of genitives, or of other constructions, chiefly in expressing those things which belong to lands, cities, or men : Anna!., ih., 43, Trevericus tumultus ; iv., 20, provincialia uxorum criminal xv., 23, Actiaca religio; iv., 3, munieipalis adulter; Hist., iv., 15, Caiance (Caii imperatoris) expeditiones ; AnnaL, i., 6, nover- calia odia; chap, vii., uxorius ambitus; senilis adoptio ; 33, muliebres offensiones ; iv., 2, se:iatorius ambitus, objectively, as chap. Ixii., muni- cipalis ambitio; xii., 51, metus hostilis; ii., 44, vacui externo metu; Dial., 29, Jiistrionalis favor. No one has oftener used this manner of speaking ; but many similar examples are also found in the older writers, as in Cicero, pro Lege Manilia, xii., Ostiense incommodurn ; Cces., B. C, ii., 32, Corfiniensis ignominia; Cic. Fam., ii., 17, metus Partkicus, objectively. f. The infinitive is very frequently used by Tacitus for the sake of this same brevity and force. The infinitive, which is called his- torical, is used oftener than by other writers (as Livy and Sallust ; see, On the Variety, &c., V., f.) ; and it is joined also with parti- cles, and not only with demonstrative particles, as is the custom of other writers, but even with copulatives: Hist., ih., 10, ubi crudescere seditio ct a conviciis ac probris ad tela et manus transibant injici catenas Flaviano jubet. AnnaL, xi., 34, jam erat in adspectu Messallina — cum obstrepere accusator, &c. Sometimes it includes in itself velle and posse, or solere : Hist., v., 15, Civilis instare fortunce, Cerialis abolere (sc. volebat) ig nominiam ; Germ., 7, in proximo pignora, unde femi- iiarum ululatus audiri, unde vagitus infantium (sc. possunt). Com- pare the similar use of the indicative, subjunctive, and participle be- low (h. i.). By no writer is the infinitive oftener joined with verbs, which are commonly constructed with the particles id, ?ie, quominus, quod, or in some other manner. Thus we find used in the older writers also, but less frequently, hortari, impellere, prcecipere, permii- tcre, postulare, imperare, monere, maturare, prohibere, instare, erube- scere, consentire, destinare, pergere, as AnnaL, xi., 4 (Livy, and others), pergitque — addere reos equites Homanorum; chap, xxxiv., instabat — Narcissus aperire ambages. A similar use of the following words is adopted by the poets : suadere, incumbere, mandare, orare, urgere, ambiri, accingi, arcere, persistere, dare, adigere, deesse ; as Hist., hi., 58, nee deerat ipse roliu, voce, lacrimis misericordiam elicere (but the common construction is, AnnaL, xiv., 39, nee deficit Polyclitus quominus — incederet). Tacitus alone appears thus to have used percellere, perpellere, (zmulari, censere, nuntiare, denuntiare, scribere (i. e., nuntio, scripto imperare), impetrare, inlicere, inducere (i. e., permovere), componere, pangere, obsistere {Germ., 34, obstitit Oceanus (rp6vi/j,ot rdv avOpumov), see, On the Brevity, &c, III., b. The genitive is nowhere found more frequently than in Tacitus joined to relative adjectives and partici- ples (as anaie apfrevuv iraldcov), and the same may be said of the Ac- cusative, where it is used to apply or restrict the discourse to any object (nodag ukvc, tc&vtcl evdatfiovElv, ra de aKKa). A few examples will suffice : ingens animi, diversus animi, fallax amicitice, vetus operis ac laboris, morum non spernendus, prcecipuus circumveniendi, primus luendce pcence, anxius potentice, virtutum sterilis, insolens obsequii, mani- festus delicti, ferox Ungues, atrox odii; contectus humeros, nudus brachia, adlevari animum, cetera degener, cetera egregius. The Da- tive is put for the genitive after the manner of the poets : Hist., iii., 5, Rcetia, cui Porcius procurator erat; Annal., xhi., 23, cui (cujus) pernuptias Anionics gener erat (Cic, Demochares — quifuit Demostheni sororis films') ; Annal., i., 3, Augustus subsidia dominationi — Marcellum • — Agrippam — extulit; ii., 64, immittere latronum globos, exscindere castella, causas bello; chap. 46, missus tamen Drusus — pact firmator ; iii., 14, vario rumor e, custos saluti an mortis exactor sequeretur. For a preposition : Annal., xi., 37 , florenti filice Inaud concors; Hist., iv., 52, Domitiano mitigatus, i. e., mitigatus in Domitiani animo. There is a brevity (ftpaxvhoyia) in the use of the dative of the participle : Annal., xiv. 49,, optimum quemque jurgio lacessens et respondenti re- ticens; that is, keeping silence if any one answered. There is a veiy close resemblance to this in the use of the dative absolute, borrowed by the Latins from the Greeks (thus Herodotus : akrjdei Xoya) xpzufievc)), Agr., 11; Germ., 6, in universum cestimanti (Curt.); Hist., iv., 17, vere reputantibus, Galliam suismet viribus concidisse. Compare Livy, xxvi., 24, urbium Corcyrce tenus ab JEtolia incipienti solum tectaque — JEtolorum esse (so Herodotus, ii., 29, arch 'EXeQavrivnc koTiloc lovtl avavrec hari x<*>piov). On the similar use of the genitive, see, On the Brevity, &c, III., b. Annal., xiv., 61, and xi., 23. The dative, * But many, also, of the peculiarities explained above, may be considered as borrowed from the Greek language ITS POETICAL COMPLEXION 7 . h which is called subjective, is used more frequently by no writer than bv Tacitus with passive verbs, in place of a preposition with the ab- lative. In this circumstance the Greeks have a still greater variety and pliability in their language, as is clear from the fact that, besides this dative (?JXeKTal (jlol, ettputteto avrolg ra rfjg noXeug) they use not only the preposition imb, but others also, izpoc, rzapd, ek. Among the Latins, the poets have not unfrequently used this form of speech ; as Ovid, Barbarus hie ego sum, quia non intelligor ulli; but Cicero too, Livy, and others use it. So Tacitus, Annal., i., 1, veteris popuh Romani prospera vel adversa claris scriptoribus memorata sunt; iv.. 6, frumenta — cetera publicorum fructuum societatibus equitum Roman- orum agitabantur ; xi., 29, Callistus jam mihi circa necem Caii Ccesaris narratus. Concerning the accusative, see above, On the Brevity, &c, III., d. b. In the use of Adjectives.* a. In the place of Substantives are put neuter adjectives, most- ly joined with the genitive (the singular of the adjective being used less often than the plural), as well by Livy and other writers as by the poets and Tacitus (ra. tea/id, ra. avaynala, to rerpa/ijuivov tCjv (SapSdpov, to no'A/idv Tijg ot paring., daijjua f3of}c, i. e., aonfioc porj, tCjv fiouv KaTaKSKpn/uviafiiva). Anna!., i., 1, populi Romani prospera vel adversa; hi., 40, per conciliabula et catus seditiosa disserebant ; xiv., 15, quin et fe mince inlustres informia meditari. Annal., hi., 59, diverso terrarum distineri ; ii., 39, adire municipia obscuro diet. Annal., iv., 23, incerta belli metuens; as, ambigua, dubia, fortuita, intuta, certa, avia, inaccessa, angusta, ardua, lubrica, edita, obstantia, opportuna, amasna, plana, subjecta, aperta, profunda, secreta, adversa, sceva, subita, occulta, aperta, idonea, vana, inania, falsa, tacita, langinqua, pHma, extrema, summa, prcecipua, reliqua, cetera, alia, pauca, multa, are found in Tacitus, joined with the genitive plural. /?. Adjectives are very often used by him, as well as by the poets, after the manner of the Greeks (alvd for aiv&c, evdov iravvvxiot, i. e. f vvkt'l, devTepaZor d^tKETo, i. e., 6evTEpa Tj/ufpa), for Adverbs, when greater power is thereby given to the discourse: Annal., iv., 12, domum Germanici revirescere occulti Icetabantur ; xii., 12, si citi ad- venissent; v., 1, aufert marito (Liviam) — adeo properus, ut, &c. ; Agr., 19, a se suisque orsus primam domum suam coercuit ; Annal., iii., 52, adversum luxum, qui inmensum proruperat ; iv., 60, Tiberius torvus autfalsum renidens vultu; chap. 28, innocentem Comutum et falsa ex- territum. y. The use of the Preposition Ex for Adjectives and Ad- * Many points, also, in the mode of comparison which are borrowed from the Greek language, have been noticed above. (See, On the Vajeuety, &c, V., d.) Hi ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. verbs is very common in Tacitus. This mode of expression the poets have generally used after the manner of the Greeks (e/c tov e/z- #aveoc, dia t&xovc, kv tu avepti, and also in the plural number, which is never thus used by Latin writers, e/c rtiv dwartiv), and some examples of this have even passed into the language of common dis- course ; as, ex improviso, ex inopinato, ex insperato, ex composite, ex prceparato, ex cequo, ex occulto, in Livy, ex tuto, ex vano, ex super- vacuo : many instances are found in the writers of the Silver Age ; as, ex abundanti, ex continenti (continuo), ex pari, ex toto ; in Tacitus, ex honesto, ex integro, ex vano, exfacili, ex adfluenti, ex cequo in many places. And on a like principle, per silentium, per iram, per licentiam, in aperto, in levi, in neutrum, in mollius, in deterius. See, On the Brevity, &c, VII., d., at the end. c. In the use of the Verb. Concerning the indefinite (aoristical) use of the tenses, see, On the Brevity, &c, III., g., i., and con- cerning the use of the infinitive, ibid., III., f. The infinitive is used by attraction with the nominative in place of the accusative; as in that passage of Virgil, sensit medios delapsus in hostes; Hist., iv., 55, ipse e majoribus suis hostis populi Romani quam socius (esse) jactabat ; in like manner, Herod., viii., 137, tov faadbv etyaoav dUaioi elvai inzolatovTec ovtu k^iivai. On the other hand, the accusative, instead of the nominative, is joined with the infinitive, after the Greek cus- tom (en elvat arparnyov = arparnyog) : Hist., iv., 52, Titum — orasse dicebatur; i., 90, Trachali ingenio Othonem uti credebatur ; Germ., 33, Angrivarios immigrasse narratur. Very seldom dicitur; more fre- quently, in Livy, creditur, proditur, traditur, fertur, nuntiatur, are found thus used. The infinitive supplies the place of the substantive and gerund, after the usage of the Greeks, which has been received by the poets, and in a few examples, also, by the writers of the former age. a. For the nominative: Annal., xv., 20, culpa quam poena tempore prior, emendari quam peccare posterius est; Hist., ii., 82, sufficere videbantur adversus Vitellium pars copiarum et dux Mucianus et Ves- pasiani nomen ac nihil arduum (esse) fatis. ^ (3. For the genitive, and sometimes for the ablative : Annal., vi., 12, dato sacerdotibus negotio — vera discernere; Dial., 3, etiamsi non novum tibi ipse negotium importasses — adgregare (Ccesar, B. G., vii., 71, consilium — dimittere); Agr., 8, peritus (tov) obsequi eruditusque (tcj) utilia honestis miscere ; Annal., iv., 52, modicus dignationis et quoquo facinore properus clarescere (a case without example, even in the poets); Annal., ii., 57, atrox ac dissentire manifestus; Agr., 25, paratu magno, majorefama, uti mos est de ignotis, u oppugnasse ultro," castella adorti. Compare Livy, iv., 31, civitas vinci insueta, 7rd/Uc X^tTTTj TiaSdv, tniTTJdeioc noielv, diatyepeiv r£ Ti\iric bpgyeoOai, ITS POETICAL COMPLEXION. lUl y. For the accusative, and sometimes for the dative, and for the former chiefly when a substantive in the same case goes before : An- nal., xiii., 15, quia nullum crimen neque jubere ccedem fratris palam audebat (compare Cic, Tusc, i., 26, ut Jovi bibere ministraret) ; An- nal., iv., 56, f actus natura et consueludine exercitus (ri?\,el. d. In the use of Particles. a. Vereor is omitted before the particle ne (see above, on the ellipsis of verbs), as in Greek authors we have pjj tovto aXkuc exy* The particle cum is often wanting (as in Ovid) ; Annul., iii., 64, quin- decimviri septemviris simul ; iv., 55, Hypcepeni Trallianique Laodicenis ac Magnetibus simul; vi., 9, Appius Silanus Scauro Mamerco simuU Compare Horn., Od.fiy., 723, bcuai uoc ouov TpdQev yd' eyevovro. IlV ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. /?. Annul., xvi., 9, donee a centurione — tamquam in pugna caderet (so Suetonius, Otlw, 5, ab hoste cadere ; Nepos de regibus, iii., 3, periit a morbo) — ftavelv vnb tiv'oc. AnnaL, ii., 47, Magnetes a Sipylo, as on coins we read Mayvrjoia and Utirvhov. Compare Livy,i., 50, Turnus Herdonius ab Aricia (Aricimis) ferociter in absentem Tarquinium erat invectus. y. The preposition in is often used to give greater force where, from the common form of speech, you would expect ad, or simply a case of the noun, or some other construction : in id, in hoc, etc tovto (Livy, Velleius, and the poets); in majus celebrare (Livy and Sallust), and the like phrases, knl to fieZ^ov noofielv, in unum consulere, etc fiiav [3ov?iev£LV, in unum cedere, elg ev epx^odat (Livy, Sallust), in longum, in presens, elg tipag, elg to napov (Livy, Sallust, Cicero), in tantum, in vulgvs, in cetera, in diversum; AnnaL, xii., 35, plus vulnerum in nos et pierce que ccedes oriebantur ; ii., 47, asperrima in Sardianos lues ; chap. 39, forma hand dissimili in dominum erat; as the Greeks say, elg ndvTa, elg dyadov elnelv, kg dvrj Tilg elg 66ov. 6. We find answering to the Greek phrases, ol TOTe avdpwTcot, r\ e^alcpvng \ieTaaTaaig, Agr., 25, universes ultra gentes ; AnnaL, xiii., 41, cuncta extra, tecfis tenus, sole inlustria fuere (compare Livy, xxiii., 27, omni circa agro potiuntur) ; AnnaL, i., 27, is ante alios atate et gloria belli (excelling others); Hist., ii., 76, tua ante omnes experientia; v., 12, propriique muri labore et opere ante alios. e. Adverbs are joined with the substantive verbs instead of ad- jectives : longe, velocius, frustra, impune est, as in Greek authors we have 6yjv, inaoTaTG) elvac ; and bene, male, recte est, are the common forms of expression in speaking of the state of a person's health. IV. The Form of Expression itself is Poetical; as, equestris procella, aliquid ultra mortale gaudium accipere, arbiter rerum, dira quies, in limine belli, conjux sex partus enixa, trucidati stmt sine nostro sanguine, sera juvenum Venus, marcentem pacem nutrire, vita populi Romani per incerta maris et tempestatum quotidie volvitur. This poetical language consists generally in the following particulars : a. Inanimate Objects are spoken of as having life, whence he not only speaks thus of animals : Germ., 9, ne armentis quidem suus honor aut gloria frontis, but, also, still more boldly, AnnaL, i , 79, quin ipsum Tiberim nolle prorsus accolis fluviis orbatum minore gloria % fluere ; xv., 15,flumen — vi equorum perrupere (as if it were a hostile army); Germ., 40, est in insula Oceani castum nemus; Hist., v., 6, prcecipuum montium Libanum erigit ( Judaea), mirum dictu tantos inter ITS POETICAL COMPLEXION. lv ardores opacum fidumque nivibus ; idem amnem Jordanen fundit alit- | que; Germ., 27, sepulcrum ccespes erigit; Annal., xv., 62, lacrimas eorum modo sermone, modo intentior in modum coercentis ad firmitu- dinem revocat ; Hist., i., 17, circumsteterat interim palathnn publico, exspectatio magni secreti impatiens ; chap, ii., opus adgredior opimum casibus, atrox proeliis, discors seditionibus, ipsa etiam pace scevum ; An- nal., i., 31, multa seditionis ora vocesque ; chap. 61, incedunt masstos locos, at the end : ubi infelici dextra — mortem invenerit. b. The Prosopopoeia of Time is very frequent: Annal., vi., 51, morum quoque tempora illi diversa : egregium vita famaque (tempus), quoad privatus — fuit; occultum ac subdolum fingendis virtutihus, donee Germanicus ac Drusus superfuere; idem inter bona malaque mixtus t &c, whence it is clear that in these things, also, variety has been aimed at; Germ., 30, disponere diem, vallare noctem; Hist., i., 80, obsequia meliorum nox abstulerat ; Annal., xiii., 17, nox eadem necem Britannici et rogum conjunxit ; chap. 33, idem annus plures reos ha- buit ; iv., 15, idem annus alio quoque luctu Casarem adjicit alterum ex geminis Drusi liberis extinguendo ; i., 54, idem annus novas cceri- monias accepit addito sodalium Augustalium sacerdotio ; Agr., 22, tertius expeditionum annus novas gentes aperuit; Hist., v., 10, proxi- mus annus civili bello intentus; Annal., iv., 31, quern vidit sequens &tas prcepotentum, venalem ; xv., 38, fessa aut rudis pueritia. cetas ; xiv., 33, si quos imbellis sexus aut fessa &tas — attinuerat. Livy has not im- frequently used this form of expression, as well as Velleius, Pliny the elder, Silius, and others; compare Cicero, Brut., 92, interim me qucestorem Siciliensis excepit annus. C. TO THE NAMES OF NATIONS AND OF MEN ARE POETICALLY JOINED VERBS, WHICH PROPERLY REFER TO THE APPELLATIVE TO WHICH THOSE NAMES SHOULD HAVE BEEN ADDED IN THE GENITIVE, Or Cer- tainly verbs are made to refer to men which, in their common use, are only joined to appellatives and abstract nouns: Annal., ii., 25, ipse majoribus copiis Marsos inrumpit ; chap. 56, Cappadoces in for- mam provincice redacti Quintum Veranium legatum accepere; xii., 58, tributum Apamensibus terra motu convolsis — remissum; Agr., 22, vastatis usque ad Taum — nationibus ; Hist., ii., 87, nee colonic modo aut municipia congestu copiarum, sed ipsi cultores arvaque, maturis jam fru gibus, ut hostile solum vastabantur ; Annal., ii., 25, populatur, exscindit non ausum congredi hostem; xii., 49, dum socios magis quam kostes prcedatur ; xvi., 13, in qua (urbe) omne mortalium genus vis pestilential depopulabatur ; Agr., 41, tot militares viri cum tot cohorti- bus expugnati et capti (where Walch, comparing the expression to Thucydides's use of eKizolLopnelv, quotes Justin., iii., 4, 11, expugnatis veteribus incolis; Lucret., iv., 1008, reges expugnare / Livy, xxiii., 30, lvi ON THE STYLE OF TACITUS. dbsessos fame expugnavit; to which add, Curt., iii., 1, 7, se scire inex pitgnabiles esse; ix., 10, 7, tria simul agmina populabantur Indos — • maritime) s Ptolemceus, ceteros ipse rex et ab alia parte Leonnatns ure- bant; Livy, xxviii., 6, finitimos depopulabantur / Epit., 47, lllyrios — vastaverant). Annal., xii., 25, se quoque accingeret juvene partem curarum capessituro ; iii., 63, Milesios Dareo rege niti; iv., 19 ; hos corripi, dilato ad tempus Sabino, placitum; Hist., ii., 71, Valerium Marinum destinatum a Galba consulem distulit ; chap. 95, magna et miser a civitas, eodem anno Othonem Vitelliumque passa; iv., 52, amicos tempore, fortuna — imminui, transferri, desinere (that is, their atten- tions, their very friendship) ; Annal., iv., 42, Merulam — albo senatorio erasit; vi., 42, civitas — conditoris Seleuci retinens (that is, of his insti- tutions). Compare Quintil., viii., 6, 25, kominem devorari (that is, his goods), Plinius, Hist. Nat., vi., 24, regi — percontanti postea nar- ravit Romanos et Ccesarem; vii., 2, supra hos extrema in parte mon* Hum Trispithami Pygmceique narrantur. And in the same way the older writers also use loqui, narrare. C. CORNELIUS TACITUS DE SITU, MORIBUS ET POPULIS GERMANISE. SUMMARY. Chap. I. Situation of Germany. II. Its inhabitants probably indigenous. — Authors of the race. — Origin of the name. III. A Hercules among the Germans also. — Baritus. — Altar of Ulysses. IV. The Germans an unmixed race. — Their physical conformation. V. Nature of the country. — Contains no gold, no silver. — These metals held in no estimation. VI. Arms of the Germans : their cavalry, infantry, mode of warfare. VII. Their kings, leaders, priesthood. VIII. Spirit displayed by their women, and respect shown them. — Veleda. — Aurinia. IX. Their deities, sacred rites. — No images of their divinities. X. Auspices, lots. — Pre- sages derived from horses, from captives. XI. Public deliberations and assemblies. XII. Accusations, punishments, dispensing of justice. XIII. Youths adorned with a shield and framea ; companions of the chieftains, their valor and wide-spread reputation. XIV. Warlike spirit and pursuits of the race. XV. Season of peace, hunting, indolence. — Presents bestowed upon the chieftains. XVI. No cities. — Their vil- lages, dwellings ; caves serving as a retreat in whiter, and as recepta- cles for grain, &c. XVII. Attire of the men, of the women. XVIII. Matrimonial engagements strictly adhered to. — Dowry brought by the husband. XIX. Purity of female morals. — Punishment of adultery. XX. Mode of rearing children. — Laws of succession. XXI. The enmi- ties as well as friendships espoused of one's father or near relation. — Price of homicide. — Hospitality. XXII. Bathing, mode of life, quar- rels of the intoxicated, deliberations at banquets. XXIII. Drink. — Food. XXIV. Public spectacles. — Fondness for gambling. XXV. Slaves, freedmen. XXVI. Taking interest unknown. — Agriculture. — Seasons. XXVII. Funerals, tombs, mourning. XXVIII. Institutions and customs of individual tribes. — Early migrations of the Gauls into Ger- many. — The Helvetii, Aravisci, Boii, Osi. — Tribes of German origin : the Treveri, Nervii, Vangiones, Triboci, Nemetes, Ubii. XXIX. The B atavi, a branch of the C'atti— The Mattiaci.— The tithe-lands. XXX., XXXI. Country of the Catti, their physical character, military discipline, mar- tial vows. XXXII. The Usipii, the Tencteri : their superiority in cav- alry. XXXIII. Settlements of the Bructeri seized upon and occupied A Z C. CORNELIUS TACITUS by the Chamavi and Angrivarii. XXXIV. The Dulgibini, Chasuari, Frisii. XXXV. The Cauci, distinguished for their love of peace, their "justice, and other virtues. XXXVI. The Cherusci and Fosi, con- quered by the Catti. XXXVII. The Cimbri. — Roman overthrows. — The Germans triumphed over rather than conquered. XXXVIII. The Suevi, their numbers, their customs. XXXIX. The Semnones, religious rites, human sacrifices. XL. The Langobardi, Reudigni, Aviones, An- gli, &c. — The worship of Hertha common to all. XLI. The Hermun- duri. XL II. The Narisci, Marcomanni, duadi. XL III. The Marsigni, Gothini, Osi, Buri, &c. — The Naharvali; their deities, termed Alcij the Gotones, Rugii ; Lemovii. XL IV. The Suiones, powerful with their fleets. XLV. The Mare Pigrum (Frozen Ocean). — The iEstyi, worshipers of the mother of the gods, gatherers of amber. — Over the Sitones a female reigns. XL VI. The Peucini, Venedi, Fenni. — Their savage character and poverty. — The Hellusii and Oxiones, fables re- specting them. I. Germania omnis a Gallis Raetisque et Pannoniis Rheno et Danubio fluminibus, a Sarmatis Dacisque mutuo metu aut montibus, separatur. Cetera Oceanus ambit, latos sinus et insularum immensa spatia complectens, nu- per cognitis quibusdam gentibus ac regibus, quos bellura aperuit. Rhenus, Raeticarum Alpium inaccesso ac pi'se- cipiti vertice ortus, modico flexu in Occidentem vers as, septentrionali Oceano miscetur. Danubius, molli et cle- menter edito montis Abnobae jugo efFusus, plures populos adit, donee in Ponticum mare sex meatibus erumpat , sep- timum enim os paludibus hauritur. II. Ipsos Germanos indigenas crediderim, minimeque aliarum gentium adventibus et hospitiis mixtos ; quia nee terra olim, sed classibus, advehebantur, qui mutare sedes quaerebant: etinmensus 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 ccelo, tristem cultu adspectuque, nisi si patria sit % Celebrant carminibus antiquis (quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est) Tuisconem Deu??i, terra editum, et filium Mannum, originem gentis conclitoresque. DE GERMANIA. CAP. II.-IV. 3 Manno tres filios adsignant, e quorum nominibus proximz Oceano Ingcevones, medii Herminones, ceteri Istcevones xo- cejitur. Quidam autem, licentia vetustatis, plures Deo or- tos, plures que gentis adjyellationes, Marsos, Gambrivios, Suevos, Vandalios adfirmant : eaque vera et antiqua nomina. Ceterum Germanice 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 paullatim, ut omnes, primum a victore ob metum, mox a seipsis invento nomine, Germani vocarentur. III. Fuisse apud eos etHerculem memorant, primumque omnium virorum fortium ituri in prcelia canunt. Sunt illis haec quoque carmina, quorum relatu, quern baritum vocant, accendunt animos,futuraequepugnae fortuiiam ipso cantu augurantur : terrent enim trepidantve, prout sonuit acies ; nee tarn vocis ille, quam virtutis concentus videatur. Adfectatur praecipue asperitas soni et fractum murmur, objectis ad os scutis, quo plenior et gravior vox repereussu intumescat. Ceterum et TJlixem, quidam opinantur, longo illo etfabuloso errore in hunc Oceanum delatum, adisse Ger- manice terras, Asciburgiumque, quod in ripa Rheni situm liodieque incolitur, ab illo constitutum nominatumque. Aram quin etiam Ulixi consecratam, adjecto Laertes patris nomine, eodem loco olim repertam ; monumentaque et tumulos quos- dam, Grcecis litteris inscriptos, in confinio Germanice Rceti- ceque adhuc exstare. Quae neque confirmare argumentis, neque refellere in animo est : ex ingenio suo quisque de^ mat, vel addat fidem. IV. Ipse eorum opinionibus accedo, qui Germania fopulos nullis aliarum nationum connubiis infectos, pro- priam et sinceram et tantum sui similem gentem exstitisse, arbitrantur. Unde habitus quoque corporum, quamquam in tanto hominum numero,idem omnibus ; truces et caerulei oculi, rutilae coman, magna corpora et tantum ad impetum 4 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS valida. Laboris atque operum non eadem patientia : mini- meque sitim aestumque tolerare, frigora atque inediam coelo solove adsueverunt. V. Terra, etsi aliquanto specie difFert, in universum tamen aut silvis horrida, aut paludibus foeda : humidior, qua Gallias ; ventosior, qua Noricura ac Pannoniam ad- spicit : satis ferax, frugiferarum arborum patiens, pecorum foecunda, sed plerumque inprocera. Ne armentis quidem suus honor, aut gloria frontis : numero gaudent, eaeque solae et gratissimae opes sunt. Argentum et aurum pro- pitii an irati dii negaverint dubito. Nee tamen adfirma- verim, nullam G-ermaniae venam argentum aurumve gig- nere : quis enim scrutatus est ] possessione et usu haud perinde adficiuntur. Est videre apud illos argentea vasa, legatis et principibus eorum muneri data, non in aliavili- tate, quam quae liumo finguntur: quamquam proximi, ob usum commerciorum, aurum et argentum in pretio habent, formasque quasdam nostrae pecuniae agnoscunt atque eli- gunt : interiores simplicius et antiquius permutatione mercium utuntur. Pecuniam probant veterem et diu notam, serratos, bigatosque. Argentum quoque magis quam aurum sequuntur, nulla adfectione animi, sed quia numerus argenteorum facilior usui est promiscua ac vilia mercantibus. VI. Ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telo- rum conligitur. Rari gladiis, aut majoribus lanceis utun- tur. Hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas, gerunt, an- gusto 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 inmensum 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 nee variare DE GERMANIA. CAP. VI.-VIII. 5 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 de- ]ectos, 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. Cor- pora suorum etiam in dubiis proeliis referunt. Scutum reliquisse, praecipuum flagitium : nee aut sacris adesse, aut concilium inire, ignominioso fas ; multique superstites bel- lorum infamiam laqueo finierunt. VII. Reges ex nobilitate ; duces ex virtute sumunt. Nee regibus infinita aut libera potestas : et duces exemplo potius, quam imperio : si promti, si conspicui, si ante aciem agant, admiratione praesunt. Ceterum, neque ani- madvertere, neque vincire, ne verberare quid em, nisi' sacerdotibus permissum : non quasi in pcenam, nee ducis jussu, sed velut deo imperante, quern adesse bellantibus credant : efiigiesque et signa quaedam, detracta lucis, in proelium ferunt. Quodque praecipuum fortitudinis incita- mentum est, non casus, nee 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: nee 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 6 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS obsides puellaD quoque nobiles imperantur. Inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant : nee aut con- silia earum adspernantur,'aut responsa negligunt. Vidi- mus, sub divo Vespasiano, Veledam, diu apud plerosque numinis loco habitam. Sed et olim Auriniam et cora- plures alias venerati sunt, non adulatione, nee tamquam facerent deas. IX. Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt, cui certis die- bus humanis quoque hostiis litare fas habent. Herculem ac Martem concessis animalibus placant.-^ Pars Suevorum et Isidi sacrificat : unde caussa et origo peregrino sacro, parum comperi,nisi quod signum ipsum, in modum liburnae figuratum, docet advectam religionem. Ceterum, nee cohibere parietibus deos, neque in ullam humani oris speciem adsimilare, ex magnitudine ccelestium arbitrantur. Lucos ac nemora consecrant; deorumque nominibus ad- pellant 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 candid am vestem temere ac fortuito spar- gunt. Mox, si publice consulatur, sacerdos civitatis, sin privatim, ipse paterfamilias, precatus deos, coelumque sus- picions, ter singulos tollit, sublatos, secundum impressam ante notam, interpretatur. Si prohibuerunt, nulla de eadem re in eundem diem consultatio ; isin permissum, auspiciorum adhuc fides exigitur. Et illud quidem etiam hie notum, avium voces volatusque interrogare : proprium gentis, equorum quoque prassagia ac monitus ex peri ri. 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. Nee ulli auspicio major fides, non solum apud plebem, sed apud proceres, apud sacerdotes: se enim ministros deorum, illos conscios putant. Est et DE GERMANTA. €AP. X.-XII. 7 alia observatio auspiciorum, qua gravium bellorum eventus explorant. Ejus gentis, cum qua bellum est, captivum, quoquo modo interceptum, cum electo popularium suorum, ritriis quemque armis, committunt : victoria hujus vel '*lius pro praejudicio accipitur. XL De miiioribus rebus principes consultant ; de majo- ribus omnes: ita tamen, ut ea quoque, quorum penes ple- bem arbitrium est, apud principes pertractentur. Coeunt, nisi quid fortuitum et subitum incident, certis diebus, cum aut inchoatur luna, aut impletur : nam agendis rebus hoc auspicatissimum initium credunt. Nee dierum numerum, ut nos, sed noctium computant. Sic constituunt, sic con- dicunt ; nox ducere diem videtur. IUud ex libertate vitium, quod non simul, nee ut jussi conveniunt, sed et alter et tertius dies cunctatione coeuntium absumitur. Ut turbae placuit, considunt armati. Silentium per sacer- dotes, quibus turn 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 sen- tentia, fremitu adspernantur ; sin placuit, frameas concuti- unt. Honoratissimum adsensus genus est, armis laudare. XII. Licet apud consilium accusare quoque et dis- crimen capitis intendere. Distinctio poenarum ex delicto. Proditores et transfugas arboribus suspendunt: ignavos et imbelles et corpore infames coeno ac palude, injecta in- super crate, mergunt. Diversitas supplicii illuc respicit, tamquam scelera ostendi oporteat, dum puniuntur, flagitia abscondi. Sed et levioribus delictis pro modo poena. Equorum pecorumque numero convicti multantur. Pars multae regi, vel civitati, pars ipsi, qui vindicatur, vel pro- pinquis ejus exsolvitur. Eliguntur in iisdem conciliis et principes, qui jura per pagos vicosque reddant. Centeni singulis ex plebe comites, consilium simul et auctoritas, adsunt. 8 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS XIII. Nihil autem neque publicae neque privatae rei, nisi armati agunt. Sed arma sumere non ante cuiquam moris, quam civitas sufFecturum probaverit. Turn in ipso consilio, vel principum aliquis, vel pater, vel propinquus, scuto frameaque juvenem ornant. Hasc apud illos toga, hie primus juventse honos : ante hoc domus pars videntur, mox reipublicae. Insignis nobilitas, aut magna patrum merita, principis dignationem etiam adolescentulis ad- signant : ceteris robustioribus ac jam pridem probatis ad- gregantur : nee rubor, inter comites adspici. Gradus quin etiam et ipse comitatus habet, judicio ejus, quern sectantur : magnaque et comitum semulatio, 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. Nee 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, supers ti- tem principi suo ex acie recessisse. Ilium defendere, tueri, sua quoque fortia facta gloriae ejus adsignare, prae- cipuum 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 turn bellum aliquod gerunt; quia et ingrata genti quies, et facilius inter ancipitia cla- rescant, magnumque comitatum non nisi vi belloque tue- are. Exigunt enim principis sui liberalitate ilium bellato- rem equum, illam cruentam victricemque frameam. Nam epulae, et convictus, quamquam incomti, largi tamen ap- paratus, pro stipendio cedunt. Materia munificientiae per DE GERMANIA. CAP. XIV.-XVII. 9 bella et raptus. Nee arare terram, aut exspectare annum, tarn facile persuaseris, quam vocare hostes et vulnera mereri. Pigrum quin imrao et iners videtur, sudore ad- quirere, quod possis sanguine parare. XV. Quotiens bella non ineunt, 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 infir- missimo 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 prae- cipue finitimarum gentium donis, quae non modo a singulis, sed et publice mittuntur ; electi equi, magna arm a, pha- lerae, 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 cobae- rentibus aedificiis: suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive adversus casus ignis remedium, sive inscitia aedifi- candi. Ne caementorum quidem apud illos aut tegularum usus : materia ad omnia utuntur informi et citra speci- em 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, suflfugium hiemi et receptaculum frugibus : quia rigorem frigorum ejusmodi locis molliunt ; et, si quando hostis advenit, aperta popu- latur, abdita autem et defossa aut ignorantur, aut eo ipse fallunt, quod quaerenda sunt. XVII. Tegumen omnibus sagum, fibula, aut, si desit spina consertum : cetera intecti totos dies juxta focun? atque ignem agunt. Locupletissimi veste distinguuntur A2 10 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS noil fluitante, sicut Sarmatae ac Parthi, sed stricta et singu- los artus expriraente. 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. Nee alius feminis quam viris habitus, nisi quod feminae saepius lineis amicti- bus velantur, eosque purpura variant, partemque vestitus superioris in manicas non extendunt; nudse brachia ac lacertos. XVIII. Sed et proxima pars pectoris patet : quamquam severa illic matrimonia; nee ullam morum partem magis laudaveris : nam prope soli barbarorum singulis uxoribus contend 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, nee 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 conjugates deos arbitran- tur. 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, rursusque ad nepotes referant. XIX. Ergo septae pudicitia agunt, nullis spectaculorum illecebris, nullis conviviorum irritationibus corruptae. Lit- terarum secreta viri pariter ac feminae ignorant. Paucis- sima in tarn numerosa gente adulteria; quorum poena praesens, et mantis permissa. Accisis crinibus, nudatam, DE GEEMANIA. CAP. XIX.-XXI. 11 coram propinquis, expellit domo maritus, ac per omnem vicum verbere agit. Publicatae enim pudicitia3 nulla ve- nia; non forma, non setate, non opibus maritum invenerit. Nemo enim illic vitia ridet; nee corrumpere et corrumpi saeculum vocatur. Melius quidem adliuc 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 tamquam maritum, sed tamquam matrimonium, ament. Numerum liberorum finire, aut quemquam 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, nee ancillis ac nutricibus delegantur. Dominum ac servum nullis educationis deliciis dignoscas. Inter eadem pecora, in eadem humo degunt, donee aetas separet ingenuos, virtus agnoscat. Serajuvenum Venus; eoque inexhausta pubertas. Nee virgines festinantur; eadem juventa, similis proceritas. Pares validaeque mi- scentur, ac robora parentum liberi referunt. Sororum filiis idem apud avunculum, qui apud patrem honor. Qui- dam sanctiorem arctioremque hunc nexum sanguinis ar- bitrantur, et in accipiendis obsidibus magis exigunt; tam- quam ii et animum firmius, et domum latius teneant. Herjedes tamen successoresque sui cuique liberi; et nul- lum testamentum. Si liberi non sunt, proximus gradus in possessione fratres, patrui, avunculi. Quanto plus propin- quorum, quo major aninium numerus, tanto gratiosior senectus, nee ulla orbitatis pretia. XXI. Suscipere tarn inimicitias, seu patris, seu propin- qui, quam amicitias, necesse est. Nee inplacabiles durant. Luitur enim etiam homicidium certo armentorum ac pe- corum numero, recipitque satisfactionem universa domus : utiliter in publicum ; quia periculosiores sunt inimicitiae 12 C CORNELIUS TACITUS juxta libertatem. Convictibus et hospitiis non alia gens effusius indulget. Quemcumque mortalium arcere tecto, nefas habetur : pro fortuna quisque adparatis epulis ex- cipit. Cum defecere, qui modo hospes fuerat, monstrator hospitii et comes : proximam domum non invitati adeunt: nee interest : pari humanitate accipiuntur. Notum igno- tumque, quantum ad jus hospitii, nemo discernit. Abe- unti, si quid poposcerit, concedere moris : et poscendi in- vicem eadem facilitas. Gaudent muneribus : sed nee data inputant, nee acceptis obligantur. Victus inter hospites comis. XXII. Statim e somno, quern plerumque in diem extra- hunt, lavantur/saepius calida, ut apud quos plurimum hiems occupat. Lauti cibum capiunt : separatee singulis sedes et sua cuique mensa. Turn ad negotia, nee minus saepe ad convivia, procedunt armati. Diem noctemque continuare potando, nulli probrum. Crebras, ut inter vinolentos, rixae, raro conviciis, saepius caede et vulneribus transiguntur. Sed etde reconciliandis invicem inimicis etjungendis ad- finitatibus et adsciscendis principibus, de pace denique ac bello, plerumque in conviviis consultant :. tamquam nullo inagis tempore aut ad simplices cogitationes pateat animus, aut ad magnas incalescat. Gens non astuta, nee 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 quan- dam similitudinem vini eorruptus. Proximi ripae et vinum mercantur. Cibi simplices ; agrestia poma, recens fera, aut lac concretum. Sine adparatu, sine blandimentis, ex- pellunt 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 ccetu DE GERMANIA. CAP. XXIV.-XXVI. 13 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 merce- dem : quamvis audacis lasciviae pretium est voluptas spectantiura. Ale am (quod mirere) sobrii inter seria ex- ercent, tanta lucrandi perdendive temeritate, ut, cum om- nia defecerunt, extremo ac novissimo jactu de libertate et de corpore contendant. Victus voluntariam servitutem adit : quamvis juvenior, quamvis robustior, adligari se ac venire patitur. Ea est in re prava pervicacia : ipsi fidem vocant. Servos conditionis hujus per commercia tradunt, ut se quoque pudore victorias exsolvant. XXV. Ceteris servis, non in nostrum morem, discriptis per familiam ministeriis, utuntur. Suam quisque sedem, suos penates regit. Frumenti modum dominus, aut pe- coris, 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. Libertini non multum supra servos sunt, raro aliquod momentum in domo, num- quam in civitate ; exceptis dumtaxat iis gentibus, quae regnantur. Ibi enim et super ingenuos et super nobiles ascendunt : apud ceteros impares libertini libertatis argu- mentum sunt. XXVI. Fenus agitare, et in usuras extendere, ignotum : ideoque magis servatur, quam si vetitum esset. Agri, pro numero cultorum, ab universis in vices occupant ur, quos mox inter se secundum dignationem partiuntur : facili- tatem partiendi camporum spatia prgestant. Arva per an- nos mutant; et superest ager : nee enim cum ubertate et amplitudine soli labore contendunt, ut pomaria conse- rant et prata separent et hortos rigent : sola terras seges imperatur. Unde annum quoque ipsum non in totidem digerunt species : hiems et ver et aestas intellectum, ao 14 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS vocabula habent; auctumni perinde nomen ac bona igno- rantur. XXVII. Funerum nulla ambitio : id solum observalur, ut corpora clarorum virorum certis lignis crementur. Struem rogi nee vestibus, nee odoribus, curnulant : sua cuique arma, quorundam igni et equus adjicitur. Sepulcrum cespes erigit. Monumentorum arduum et operosum hono- rem, ut gravem defunctis, adspernantur. L amenta 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 commigra- verint, expediam. XXVIII. Validiores olim Gallorum res fuisse, summus auctorum divus Julius tradit : eoque credibile est, etiamGal- los 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 silvam Rhenum- que et Mcenum amnes Helvetii, ulteriora Boii, Gallica utraque gens, tenuere. Manet adhuc Boiemi nomen, significatque 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 adfectationem Germanicae originis ultro ambitiosi sunt, tamquam, per hanc gloriam sanguinis, a similitudine et inertia Gallorum separentur. Ipsam Rheni ripam haud dubie Germanorum populi colunt, Vangiones, Triboci, Nemetes. Ne Ubii quidem quam- quam Romana colonia esse meruerint, ac libentius Agrip- pinen&es conditoris sui nomine vocentur, origine cru- DE GERMANIA. CAP. XXVIII.-XXX. 15 bescunt, transgressi olim et experimento fidei super ipsam Rheni ripam collocati, ut arcerent, non ut custodirentur. XXIX. Omnium harum gentium virtute preecipui Ba- tavi, non multum ex ripa, sed insulam Rheni amnis, colunt, Cattorum quondam populus, et seditione domestica in eas sedes transgressus, in quibus pars Romani imperii fierent. Manet honos et antiques societatis insigne : nam nee tri- butis contemnuntur, nee publicanus adterit ^ exemti oneribus et collationibus, et tantum in usum prceliorum 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 Ba- tavis, nisi quod ipso adhuc terrae suae solo et coelo acrius animantur. Non numeraverim inter Germanise populos, quamquam trans Rhenum Danubiumque consederint, eos, qui Decumates agros exercent. Levissimus quisque Gal- lorum, et inopia audax, dubias possessionis solum occu- pavere. Mox limite acto promotisque praesidiis, sinus imperii et pars provinciae habentur. XXX. Ultra hos Catti initium sedis ab Hercynio saltu inchoant, non ita effusis ac palustribus locis, ut ceterae civitates, in quas Germania patescit: durarit siquidem colles, paulatimque rarescunt ; et Cattos suos saltus Her- cynius prosequitur simul atque deponit. Duriora genti corpora, stricti artus, minax vultus, et major animi vigor. Multum (ut inter Germanos) rationis ac sollertiae : prae- ponere electos, audire praepositos, nosse ordines, intelli- gere occasiones, differre impetus, disponere diem, vallare noctem, fortunam inter dubia, virtutem inter certa nume- rare : quodque rarissimum, nee nisi Romanae disciplines concessum, plus reponere in duce, quam in exercitu. Omne robur in pedite, quern super arma ferramentis quo- que et copiis onerant. Alios ad proelium ire videas, Cat- 16 C. CORNELIUS TACITJS tos ad bellum : rari excursus et fortuita pugna. Eques- trium sane virium id proprium, cito parare victoriam, cito cedere. Velocitas juxta formidinem, cunctatio propior constantiaa est. XXXI. Et aliis Germanorum populis usurpatum rara et privata cuj usque audentia apud Cattos in consensum vertit, ut primum adoleverint, crinem barbamque submit- tere, nee, nisi hoste caeso, exuere votivum obligatumque virtuti oris habitum. Super sanguinem et spolia revelant frontem, seque turn demum pretia nascendi retulisse dig- nos que p atria ac parentibus ferunt. Ignavis et imbellibus manet squalor. Fortissimus quisque ferreum insuper an- nulum (ignominiosum id genti) velut vinculum gestat, donee se caede hostis absolvat. Plurimis Cattorum hie placet habitus. Jam que canent insignes, et hostibus simul suisque monstrati : omnium penes hos initia pugnarum ; haec prima semper acies visu torva. Nam ne in pace quidem vultu mitiore mansuescunt. Nulli domus, aut ager, aut aliqua cura : prout ad quemque venere, aluntur : prodigi alieni, contemtores sui 5 donee exsanguis senec- tus tarn duras virtuti impares faciat. XXXII. Proximi Cattis certum jam alveo Rhenum, quique terminus esse sufficiat, Usipii ac Tencteri colunt. Tencteri, super solitum bellorum decus, equestris dis- ciplines arte praecellunt; nee major apud Cattos peditum laus, quam Tencteris equitum. Sic instituere majores, posteri imitantur. Hi lusus infantium, haec juvenum aemu- latio; perseverant senes. Inter familiam et penates et jura successionum equi traduntur; excipit films, 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 nation urn; seu superbiae odio, seu praedae dulcedine, seu favore quo- dam erga nos deorum : nam ne spectaculo quidem prcelii DE GERMANIA. CAP. XXXIII.-XXXVI. 17 invidere : super sexaginta milia, non armis telisque Ro- manis, sed, quod magnificentius est, oblectationi oculisque ceciderunt. Maneat, quasso, duretque gentibus, si non amor nostri, at certe odium sui ; quando, urgentibus im- perii fatis, nihil jam praestare fortuna majus potest, quam hostium discordiam. XXXIV. Angrivarios et Chamavos a tergo Dulgibini et Chasuari cludunt, aliseque gentes, haud perinde memo- ratae. A fronte Frisii excipiunt. Majoribus minoribusque Frisiis vocabulum est ex modo virium. Utraeque nationes usque ad oceanum Rheno praetexuntur, ambiuntque im- mensos insuper lacus et Romanis classibus navigatos. Ipsum quin etiam oceanum ilia tentavimus : et superesse adhuc Herculis columnas fama vulgavit, sive adiit Her- cules, seu, quidquid ubique magniiicum est, in claritatem ejus referre consensimus. Nee defuit audentia Druso Germanico : sed obstitit oceanus in se simul atque in Her- culem inquiri. Mox nemo tentavit ; sanctiusque ac reve- rentius visum de actis deorum credere quam scire. XXXV. Hactenus in Occidentem Germaniam novimus. In Septemtrionem ingenti flexu redit. Ac primo statim Caucorum gens, quamquam incipiat a Frisiis, ac partem litoris occupet, omnium, quas exposui, gentium lateribus obtenditur, donee in Cattos usque sinuetur. Tarn im- mensum terrarum spatium non tenent tantum Cauci, 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 : idque praecip- uum virtutis ac virium argumentum est, quod, ut su- periores agant, non per injurias adsequuntur. Promta tamen omnibus arma, ac, si res poscat, exercitus : pluri- mum virorum equorumque : et quiescentibus eadem fama. XXXVI. In latere Caucorum Cattorumque Cherusci nimiam ac marcentem diu pacem illacessiti nutrierunt : 18 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS 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 cequi* que Cherusci, nunc inertes ac stulti vocantur : Cattis vic- toribus fortuna in sapientiam cessit. Tracti ruina Che- ruscorum 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 late vestigia manent, utraque ripa castra ac spatia, quorum ambitu nunc quoque metiaris molem manusque gentis et tarn magni exitus fidem. Sexcentesi- mum et quadragesimum annum urbs nostra agebat, cum primum Cimbrorum audita^unt arma, Caecilio Metello ac Papirio Carbone coss. Ex quo si ad alterum imperatoris Trajani consulatum computemus, ducenti ferme et decern anni colliguntur. Tamdiu Germania vincitur. Medio tarn longi aevi spatio, multa invicem damna : non Samnis, non Pceni, non Hispaniae Galliaeve, ne Parthi quidem saepius admonuere : quippe regno Arsacis acrior est Ger- manorum libertas. Quid enim aliud nobis, quam caedem Crassi, amisso et ipso Pacoro, infra Ventidium dejectus Oriens objecerit] At Germani Carbone et Cassio et Scauro Aurelio et Servilio Caepione Cnaeo quoque Manlio fusis vel captis, quinque simul consulares exercitus Populo Romano, Varum tresque cum eo legiones etiam Caesari abstulerunt : nee impune Caius Marius in Italia, divus Julius in Gallia, Drusus ac Nero et Germanicus in suis eos sedibus perculerunt. Mox ingentes Caii Caesaris minae in ludibrium versae. Inde otium, donee occasione discordiae nostras et civilium armorum, expugnatis legio- num hibernis, etiam Gallias adfectavere : ac rursus pulsi inde, proximis temporibus triumphati magis quam victi sunt. XXXVIII. Nunc de Suevis dicendum est, quorum non DE GERMANIA. CAP. XXXVIII.-XL. 19 una, ut Cattorum Tencterorumve, gens : majorem enim Germaniae partem obtinent, propriis adhuc nationibus nominibusque discreti, quamquam in commune Suevi vo- centur. Insigne gentis obliquare crinem nodoque sub- stringere. Sic Suevi a ceteris Germanis, sic Suevorum ingenui a servis separantur. In aliis gentibus, seu cog- natione aliqua Suevorum, seu (quod saepe accidit) imita- tione, rarum et intra juventae spatium ; apud Suevos usque ad canitiem horrentem capillum retro sequuntur, ac saepe in ipso solo vertice ligant. Principes et ornatiorem ha- bent : ea cura formae, sed innoxia. Neque enim ut ament amenturve ; in altitudinem quamdam et terrorem, adituri bella, comti, ut hostium oculis ornantur. XXXIX. Vetustissimos st nobilissimosque Suevorum Semnones memorant. Fides antiquitatis religione ftrma- tur. Stato tempore in silvam, auguriis patrum et prisca formidine sacram, omnes ejusdem sanguinis populi lega- tionibus coeunt, caesoque publice homine celebrant barbari ritus horrenda primordia. Est et alia luco reverentia. Nemo nisi vinculo ligatus ingreditur, ut minor, et potes- tatem numinis prae se ferens : si forte prolapsus est, attolli et insurgere baud licitum : per humum evolvuntur : eoque omnis superstitio respicit, tamquam inde initia gentis, ibi regnator omnium deus, cetera subjecta atque parentia. Adjicit auctoritatem fortuna Semnonum. Centum pagis habitant : magnoque corpore efricitur, 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 Angli et Varini et Eudoses et Suardones et Nuithones fluminibus aut silvis muniuntur. Nee quid- quam notabile in singulis, nisi quod in commune Hertliam, 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, quaecunque adventu hospitioque dignatur. Non bella ineunt, non arma sumu^t ; clausum omne ferrum : pax et quies tunc tantum nota, tunc tantum amata, donee idem sacerdos satiatam conversatione mortalium deam templo redd at. 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. XL I. Et haec quidem pars Suevorum in secretiora Germanise 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 Raetiae provinciae colonia : passim et sine custode transe- unt ; et, cum ceteris gentibus arma modo castraque nostra ostendamus, his domos villasque patefecimus non concu- piscentibus. In Hermunduris Albis oritur, flumen incli- tum et notum olim ; nunc tantum auditur. XLII. Juxta Hermunduros Narisci, ac deinde Marco- manni et Quadi agunt. Praecipua Marcomannorum gloria viresque, atque ipsa etiam sedes, pulsis olim Boiis, virtute parta. Nee Narisci Quadive degenerant. Eaque Ger- manise velut frons est, quatenus Danubio peragitur. Mar- comannis 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, seepius pecunia juvantur. XLIIL Nee minus valent retro Marsigni, Gothini, Osi, Buri : terga Marcomannorum Quadorumque cludunt : e DE GERMANIA. CAP. XLIII.-XLIV. 21 quibus Marsigni et Buri sermone cultuque Suevos referunt, Gothinos Gallica, Osos Pannonica lingua, coarguit non esse Germanos, et quod tributa patiuntur : partem tribu- torum Sarmatae, partem Quadi, ut alienigenis imponunt. Gothini, quo magis pudeat, et ferrum effodiunt: omnes- que hi populi pauca campestrium, ceterum saltus et ver- tices montium insederunt. Dirimit enim scinditque Sue- viam 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, Naharva- los. Apud Naharvalos antiquae religionis lucus ostenditur. Praesidet sacerdos muliebri ornatu : sed deos, interpreta- tione Romana, Castorem Pollucemque memorant. Ea vis numini; nomen Aids: nulla simulacra, nullum peregrinae superstitionis vestigium: ut fratres tamen, ut juvenes, venerantur. Ceterum Arii super vires, quibus enumerates paulo ante populos antecedunt, truces, insitae feritati arte ac tempore lenocinantur : nigra scuta, tincta corpora : atras ad prcelia noctes legunt; ipsaque formidine atque umbra feralis exercitus terrorem inferunt, nullo hostium sustinente novum ac velut infernum adspectum : nam primi in omnibus proeliis oculi vincuntur. Trans Lygios Gotones 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 utrinque prora paratam sniper appulsui frontem agit : nee velis ministrantur, nee remos in ordinem lateri- bus 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 22 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS jam exceptionibus, non precario jure parendi : nee arma, ut apud ceteros G-ermanos, in promiscuo, sed clausa sub custode et quidem servo, quia subitos hostium incursus prohibet oceanus, otiosae porro arraatorum manus facile lasciviunt: enimvero neque nobilem, neque ingenuurn, ne libertinum quidem, armis praeponere regia utilitas est. XLV. Trans Suionas aliud mare, pigrum ac prope im- motum, quo cingi cludique terrarum orbem hinc fides ; quod extremus cadentis jam solis fulgor in ortus edurat adeo clarus, ut sidera hebetet; sonum insuper audiri foi masque deorum et radios capitis adspici persuasio adjicit. Illuc usque et fama vera tantum natura. Ergo jam dextro Suevici maris littore iEstyorum gentes alluuntur: quibus ritus habitusque Suevorum ; lingua Britannicae propior. Matrem deum venerantur : insigne superstition is formas aprorum gestant. Id pro armis omnique tutela securum deae cultorem etiam inter hostes praestat. Rarus ferri, frequens fustium usus. Frumenta ceterosque fructus pa- tientius, 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. Nee, quae natura, quaeve ratio gignat, ut barbaris, quaesi- tum compertumve. Diu quin etiam inter cetera ejecta- menta maris jacebat, donee luxuria nostra dedit nomen : ipsis in nullo usu ; rude legitur, inform e perfertur, preti- umque mirantes accipiunt. Succum tamen arborum esse intelligas, quia terrena quaedam atque etiam volucria ani- malia plerumque interlucent, quae implicata humore mox durescente materia cluduntur. Fecundiora igitur nemora lucosque sicut Orientis secretis, ubi tura balsamaque su- dantur, ita Occidentis insulis terrisque inesse, crediderim; quae vicini solis radiis expressa atque liquentia in proxi- mum mare labuntur, ac vi tempestatum in adversa littora exundant. Si naturam succini admoto igni tentes, in modum taedae accenditur, alitque flammam pinguem et DE GERMANIA. CAP. XLV.-XLVI. 23 olentem : mox at in picem resinamve lentescit. Suioni- bus Sitonum gentes continuantur. Cetera similes uno differ unt, quod femina dominatur : in tantum non modo a libertate sed etiam a servitute degenerant. Hie Sueviae finis. XL VI. Peucinorum Venedorumque et Fennorum na- tiones Germanis an Sarmatis adscribam, dubito, quam- quam Peucini, quos quidam Bastarnas vocant, sermone, cultu, sede ac domiciliis ut Germani agunt. Sordes omni- um ac torpor: procerum connubiis mixtis nonnihil in Sar- matarum habitum foedantur. Venedi multum ex moribus traxerunt. Nam quidquid inter Peucinos Fennosque sil- varum ac montium erigitur, latrociniis pererrant : hi tamen inter Germanos potius referuntur, quia et domos fingunt et scuta gestant et peditum usu ac pernicitate gaudent; quge omnia diversa Sarmatis sunt, in plaustro equoque viventf" bus. 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. Nee aliud infantibus ferarum imbriumque suffugium, quam ut in aliquo ramorum nexu contegantur : hue redeunt juve- nes, hoc senum receptaculum. Sed beatius arbitrantur quam ingemere agris, inlaborare domibus, suas alienasque fortunas spe metuque versare. Securi adversus homines, securi adversus deos, rem difficillimam adsecuti sunt, ut illis ne voto quidem opus esset. Cetera jam fabulosa : Hellusios et Oxionas ora korninum * ultusque, corpora ataue artus ferarurn gerere: quod eg;, ut incompertum, in me- dium relinquam. C, CORNELII TACITI JULII AGRICOLtE. C, CO RNE LIT TACIT I JULII AGRICOLiE VITA. SUMMARY. Chap. I. The custom of writing the lives of illustrious men an ancient one. II. Dangerous, however, under bad princes. III. This custom resumed by Tacittts, under the happy reign of Nerva, in honor of Agricola, the writer's father-in-law. IV. Origin and education of Agricola. V. The rudiments of the military art learned by him in Britain. VI. He mar- ries. — Is appointed, in succession, quaestor, tribune, praetor, &c. VII. His mother murdered during a hostile descent made by Otho's fleet on the coast of Liguria, her lands ravaged, and a great part of her effects carried off. — Agricola goes over to the side of Vespasian, and receives the command of the 20th legion, in Britain. VIII. Excellent deport- ment of Agricola while in command. IX. Returns to Rome. — Is called by Vespasian to the patrician order, and invested with the government of Aquitania. — Is chosen consul. — Betroths his daughter to Tacitus. — Is appointed governor of Britain. X. Description of Britain. XI. Origin of the Britons. — Their physical conformation, sacred rites, language, general character. XII. Their military strength, form of government, climate, soil, &c. XIII. Their cheerful submission to levies, tributes, &c. — The expedition of Caesar into Britain. — Long neglect of the island subsequently, on the part of the Romans. — Invasion of Britain in the reign of Claudius, and restoration of the Roman authority. XIV. Opera- tions of the consular governors. XV. Britons meditate a rebellion. XVI. Boadicea, a female of royal descent, their leader. — Defeated by Suetonius Paullinus. — Roman governors of inferior ability succeed Paul- linus. XVII. Petilius Cerialis and Julius Frontinus restore affairs to their former footing. — The former subdues the Brigantes, the latter the Silures. XVIII. Agricola reduces the Ordovices, and the island Mo- na.— He finally brings the whole province into a peaceful state. XIX., XX. His moderation, prudence, equity, &c, in regulating the affairs of his province. XXI. Endeavors to reclaim the natives from their rude and unsettled state by making them acquainted with the comforts of civilized life. XXII., XXIII. New expeditions discover new nations of Britons to the Romans, and fortresses are erected to keep them in obedience. — Agricola' s candor as regarded the meritorious actions of 28 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. others. XXIV. Design formed by him of invading Hibernia. XXV - XXVII. The conntries situated beyond Bodotria are explored. — The Caledonians attack a portion of the forces of Agricola, but, after some partial successes, are defeated by him, on his coming up with his other forces. — New preparations made by the enemy. XXVIII. A cohort of the Usipii, by a strange chance, circumnavigate the island of Britain. . XXIX. Agricola loses his son, about a year old. — The Britons renew the war, under Calgacus as their leader. XXX.-XXXII. Address of Calgacus to his followers. XXXIII., XXXIV. Address of Agricola to his soldiers. XXXV.-XXXVII. Fierce and bloody battle. XXXVIII. Victory of the Romans. — Agricola orders Britain to be circumnavigated. XX^vIX. The account of these operations received by Domitian with outward expressions of joy, but inward anxiety. XL. He, nevertheless, directs honors to be rendered to Agricola. — The latter returns to Rome, and leads a modest and retired life. XLI. Often accused before Do- mitian, in his absence, but as often acquitted. XLII. E«xcuses him- self from taking a province as proconsul. XL III. Dies, not without suspicion of having been poisoned by Domitian. XL IV. His age at the time of his death. — His personal appearance, &c. XLV. Happy in having ended his days before the atrocities of Domitian broke forth. XL VI. General reflections. I. Clarorum virorum facta moresque posteris tradere, antiquitus usitatum, ne nostris quidem temporibus, quam- quam incuriosa suorum setas omisit, quotiens magna aliqua ac nobilis virtus vicit ac supergressa est vitium parvis magnisque civitatibus commune, ignorantiam recti et in- vidiam. Sed apud priores ut agere memoratu digna pro- num 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 mo- rum quam arrogantiam arbitrati sunt : nee id Rutilio et Scauro citra fid em aut obtrectationi fuit : adeo virtutes iisdem temporibus optime eestimantur, quibus facillime gignuntur. II. At mihi, nunc narraturo vitam defuncti hominis, venia opus fuit ; quam non petissem, ni cursaturus tarn sseva et infesta virtutibus tempora. Legimus, cum Aru- leno Rustico Paetus Thrasea, Herennio Senecioni Prisons AGRlCOhJE VITA. CAP. II.-III. 29 Helvidius laadati essent, capitale fuisse : neque in ipsos modo auctores, sed in libros quoque eorum saevitum, dele- gato triumviris ministerio, ut monumenta clarissimorum ingeniorum in comitio ac foro urerentur. Scilicet illo igne vocem populi Romani et libertatem -senatus et conscien- tiam generis humani aboleri arbitrabantur, expulsis in- super sapientise professoribus atque omni bona arte in exilium acta, ne quid usquara honestum occurreret. De- dimus profecto grande patientiee documentum : et sicut vetus aetas vidit quid ultimuni in libertate esset, ita nos .quid in servitute, ademto per inquisitiones et loquendi audiendique commercio. Memoriam quoque ipsam cum voce perdidissemus, si tarn in nostra potestate esset obli- visci, quam tacere. III. Nunc demum redit animus : et quamquam primo statim beatissimi saeculi ortu Nerva Caesar res olim dis- sociabiles miscuerit, principatum ac libertatem, augeatque quotidie felicitatem temporum Nerva Trajanus, nee spem modo ac votum securitas publica sed ipsius voti fiduciam ac robur assumserit, natura tamen infirmitatis humanse tardiora sunt remedia, quam mala; et, ut corpora lente augescunt, cito exstinguuntur, sic ingenia studiaque op- presseris 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, promtissimus quis- que saevitia principis interciderunt 1 Pauci, ut ita dix- erim, non modo aliorum, sed etiam nostri superstites sumus; exemtis e media vita tot annis, quibus juvenes ad senectutem, senes prope ad ipsos exactae aetatis ter- minos, per silentium venimus. Non tamen pigebit, vel incondita ac rudi voce, memoriam prioris servitutis ac testimonium prassentium bonorum composuisse. Hie in- terim liber, honori Agricolae soceri mei destinatus, pro- fessione pietatis aut laudatus erit, aut excusatus. 30 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. IV. Cnaeus Julius Agricola, vetere et illustri Foro- juliensium colonia ortus, utrumque avum procuratorem Caesarum habuit, quae equestris nobilitas est. Pater Julius Grascinus senatorii ordinis, studio eloquential sapientiae- que notus, iisque virtutibus iram Caii Csesaris meritus : nam que M. Silanum accusare jussus et, quia abnuerat, interfectus est. Mater Julia Procilla fuit, rarae castitatis: in hujus sinu indulgentiaque educatus, per omnem hones- tarum artium cultum pueritiam adolescentiamque transe- git. Arcebat eum ab illecebris peccantium, praeter ipsius bonam integramque naturam, quod statim parvulus sedem ac magistram studiorum Massiliam habuerat, locum Grraeca comitate et provinciali parsimonia mixtum ac bene cora- positum. Memoria teneo, solitum ipsum narrare, se in prima juventa studium philosophies acrius, ultra qtcam con- cession Romano ac senatori, hausisse, ni prudentia matris incensum ac flagrantem animum coercuissei. Scilicet sub- lime et erectum ingenium pulcbritudinem ac speciem ex- celsae magnaeque glorias vehementius quam caute appete- bat. Mox mitigavit ratio et aetas : retinuitque, quod est difficillimum, ex sapientia modum. V. Prima castrorum rudimenta in Britannia Suetonio Paulino, diligenti ac moderato duci, approbavit, electus quern contubernio aestimaret. Nee 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 in jacta- tionem, nihil ob formidinem recusare, simulque anxius et intentus agere. Non sane alias exercitatior magisque in ambiguo Britannia fuit : trucidati veterani, incensae co- loniae, intercepti exercitus ; turn de salute, mox de victo- ria certavere. Quae cuncta etsi consiliis ductuque alterius agebantur, ac summa rerum et recuperatae provinciae glo- ria in ducem cessit, artem et usum et stimulos addidere AGRICOL^E VITA. CAP. V.-VII. 31 juveni : intravitque animum militaris gloriae cupido, in- grata temporibus, quibus sinistra erga eminentes interpre- tation nee minus periculum ex magna fama, quam ex mala. VI. Hinc ad capessendos magistratus in urbem di- gressus,DomitiamDecidianam, splendidis natalibus ortam, sibi junxit : idque matrimonium ad majora nitenti decus ac robur fuit : vixeruntque mira eoncordia, per mutuam caritatem et invicem se anteponendo ; nisi quod in bona uxore tanto major laus, quanto in mala plus culpee est. Sors quaesturae provineiam Asiam, proconsulem Salvium Titianum dedit : quorum neutro corruptus est ; quam- quam et provincia dives ac parata peccantibus, et pro- consul in omnem aviditatem pronus, quantalibet facilitate redemturus esset mutuam dissimulationem mali. Auctus est ibi filia, in subsidium et solatium simul : nam filium ante sublatum brevi amisit. Max inter quassturam ac tribunatum plebis atque ipsum ejiam tribunatus annum quiete et otio transiit, gnarus sub Nerone temporum, qui- bus inertia pro sapientia fuit. Idem praeturae tenor et silentium : nee enim jurisdictioyobvenerat. Ludos et in- ania honoris modo rationis &x\ue abundantias duxit, uti longe a luxuria, ita famae rjypior. Turn electus a G-alba ad dona templorum recojj^pcenda, diligentissima conqui- sitione fecit, ne cujus aitHrius 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 casdis fuerat. Igitur ad solennia pietatis profectus Agricola, nuntio affectati a Vespasiano imperii deprehensus, ac statim in partes transgressus est. Initia principatus ac statum urbis Mucianus regebat, admodum juvene Domi- tiano, et ex paterna fortuna tantum licentiam usurpante. 32 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. Is missum ad delectus agendos Agricolam, integreque ac strenue versatum, vicesimae legioni, tarde ad sacramentum transgressae, praeposuit, ubi decessor seditiose agere nar- rabatur; quippe legatis quoque consularibus nimia ac formidolosa erat; nee 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, placi- dius, quam feroci provincia dignum est y temperavit Agri- cola 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 modo labores et discrimina, mox et gloriam com- municabat : saepe parti exercitus in experimentum, ali- quando majoribus copiis ex eventu praefecit : nee Agri- cola umquam in suam famam gestis exsultavit ; ad aucto- rem et dacem, ut minister, fortunam referebat. Ita virtute in obsequendo, verecundia in praedicando, extra invidiam, nee extra gloriam erat. IX. Revertentem ab legatione legionis divus Vespasi- anus inter patricios adscivit, ac deinde provinciae Aqui- taniae praeposuit, splendidae iiPlprirais dignitatis, admi- nistratione 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 : nee illi, quod est rarissimum, aut facilitas auc- toritatem, aut severitas amorem deminuit. Integritatem AGRICOLAE VITA. CAP. IX.-X. 33 atque abstinentiam in tanto viro referre, injuria virtutum fuerit. Ne famam quidem, cui sa3pe etiam boni indulgent, ostentanda virtute aut per artem quaesivit : procul ab aemulatione adversus collegas, procul a contentione ad versus procuratores, et vincere inglorium, et atteri sor- didum 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 turn spei fiiiam juveni mihi despondit, ac post consulatum collocavit; et statim Britanniae propositus est, adjecto pontificatus sacerdotio. X. Britanniae situm populosque, myitis scriptoribus memoratos, non in comparationem curae ingeniive referam, sed quia turn primum perdomita est ; itaque, quae priores, , nondum comperta, eloquentia percoluere, rerum fide tra- dentur. Britannia insularum, quas Romana notitia com- plectitur, 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. Form am totius Bri- tanniae Livius veterum, Fabius Rusticus recentium elo- quentissimi auctores, oblongae scutulae vel bipenni as- similavere : et est ea facies citra Caledoniam, unde et in universum fama est transgressa : sed immensum et enorme spatium procurrentium extremo jam littore terrarum velut in cuneum tenuatur. Hanc oram novissimi maris tunc primum Romana classis circumvecta insulam esse Bri- tanniam affirmavit, ac simul incognitas ad id tempus in- sulas, quas Orcadas vocant, invenit domuitque. Dispecta est et Thule, quam hactenus nix et hiems abdebat ; sed mare pigrum et grave remigantibus perhibent ne ventis quidem perinde attolli : credo, quod rariores terrae mon- tesque, causa ac materia tempestatum, et profunda moles B2 34 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. continui maris tardius impellitur. Naturam oceani atque aestus neque quaerere hujus operis est, ac multi retulere: unura addiderim : nusquam latius dominari mare, multum fluminum hue atque illuc ferre,neclittore tenus accrescere aut resorberi, sed influere penitus atque ambire, et jugis etiam atque montibus inseri velut in suo. XL 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 Ger- manicam 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 cceli corporibus habitum dedit : in universum tamen asstimanti, Gallos vicinum solum occupasse, credibile est. Eorum sacra deprehendas superstitionum persuasion e : sermo haud multum diversus: in deposcendis periculis eadem audacia, et, ubi advenere, in detrectandis eadem formido : plus tamen ferociae Britanni prasferunt, 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 proeli- antur : honestior auriga, clientes propugnant : olim re gi- bus parebant, nunc per principes factionibus et studiis trahuntur: nee aliud adversus validissimas gentes pro no- bis utilius, quam quod in commune non consulunt. Rarus duabus tribusque civitatibus ad propulsandum commune periculum conventus : ita, dum singuli pugnant, universi vincuntur. Ccelum crebris imbribus ac nebulis foedum ; asperitas frigorum abest. Dierum spatia ultra nostri orbis mensuram, et nox clara et extrema Britanniae parte bre- AGRICOLAE VITA. CAP. XII.-XIV. 35 vis, ut finem atque initium lucis exiguo discrimine inter- noscas. Quod si nubes non officiant, adspici per noctem soils fulgorem, nee occidere et exsurgere, sed transire affir- mant. Scilicet extrema et plana terrarum humili umbra non erigunt tenebras, infraque ccelum et sidera nox cadit. Solum, praster 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 et liventia. Quid am artem abesse legentibus arbitrantur : nam in rubro mari viva ac spirantia saxis avelli, in Britannia, prout expulsa sint, colligi: ego faci- lius crediderim naturam margaritis deesse quam nobis avaritiam. XIII. Ipsi Britanni delectum ac tributa et injuncta im- perii munera impigre obeunt si injurise absint : has aegre tolerant, jam domiti ut pareant, nondum ut serviant. Igitur primus omnium Romanorum divus Julius cum ex- ercitu Britanniam ingressus, quamquam prospera pugna terruerit incolas, ac littore potitus sit, potest videri osten- disse 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 pcenitentia, et ingentes adversus G-ermaniam conatus frustra fuissent. Divus Claudius auctor operis, transvectis legionibus auxiliisque, et assumto in partem rerum Ves- pasiano : quod initium venturae mox fortunes fuit. Domitae gentes, capti reges, et monstratus fatis Vespasianus. XIV. Consularium primus Aulus Plautius praepositus, ac subinde Ostorius Scapula, uter.que bello egregius : re- dactaque paulatim in formam provinciae proxima pars Britanniae : addita insuper veteranorum colonia. Quasdam 36 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. civitates Cogiduno regi donatse (is ad nostram usque memoriam fidissimus mansit) vetere ac jam pridem recepta Populi Romani consuetudine, ut haberet instrumenta ser- vitutis et reges. Mox Didius G-allus parta a prioribus continuit, paucis admodum castellis in ulteriora promotis, per qua3 fama aucti officii quaereretur. Didium Veranius excepit, isque intra annum exstinctus est. Suetonius hinc Paulinus biennio prosperas res habuit, subactis nationibus firmatisque praesidiis : quorum fiducia Monam insulam, ut vires rebellibus ministrantem, aggressus, terga occasion! patefecit. XV. Nam que absentia legati remoto metu, Britanni agitare inter se mala servitutis, conferre injurias et inter- pretando accendere : nihil prqfici patientia, nisi ut gra- viora, tamquam ex facili tolerantibus, imperentur. Sin- gulos sibi olim reges fuisse, nunc binos imponi, e quibus legatus in sanguinem, procurator in bona sceviret : ceque discordiam prapositorum, ceque concordiam, subjectis ex- itiosam : alterius manus, centuriones alterius, vim et con- tumelias miscere. Nihil jam cupiditati, nihil libidini exceptum. In prcelio fortiorem esse, qui spoliet : nunc ab ignavis plerumque et imbellibus eripi domos, abstrahi liberos, injungi delectus, tamquam mori tantum pro patria nescienti- bus. Quantum enim iransisse militum, si sese Britanni numerentl sic Ger manias excussisse jugum, etflumine, non oceano, defendi : sibi patriam, conjuges, parentes illis ava- ritiam et luxuriam causas belli esse : recessuros, ut dimes Julius recessisset, modo virtutes ?najorum suorum cemula- y rentur. Neve prcelii unius aut alterius eventu pavescerent : plus impetus, major em constantiam, penes ?niseros esse. Jam Britannorum etiam deos misereri, qui Romanum ducem absentem, qui relegatum in alia insula exercitum detinerent : jam ipsos, quod dijficillimum fuerit, deliberare : porro in ejusmodi consiliis periculosias esse deprehendi, quam audere. VITA AGRICOLA. CAP. XVI.-XVII. 37 XVI. His atque talibus invicem instincti, Boadicea, generis regii femina, duce (neque enim sexum in imperiis discernunt) sumsere universi bellum : ac sparsos per castella milites consectati, expugnatis praesidiis, ipsam coloniam invasere, ut sedem servitutis : n^c ullum in bar- baris saevitiae genus omisit ira et victoria. Quod nisi Paulinus., cognito provinciae motu ,propere subvenisset, amissa Britannia foret : quam unius prcslii fortuna veteri patientiae restituit, tenentibus arma plerisque, quos con- scientia defectionis et propius ex legato timor agitabat. Hie cum egregius cetera, arroganter in deditos, et, ut suae quoque injuriae ultor, durius consuleret, missus Petro- nius Turpilianus, tamquam exorabilior, et delictis hostium novus eoque poenitentias mitior, compositis prioribus, nihil ultra ausus, Trebellio Maximo provinciam tradidit. Tre- bellius segnior, et nullis castrorum experimentis, comitate quadam curandi provinciam tenuit. Didicere jam barbari quoque ignoscere,vitiis blandientibus; et interventus civil- ium 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 pree- fuit : ac velut pacti, exercitus licentiam, dux salutem, haec seditio sine sanguine stetit. Nee Vettius Bolanus, ma- nentibus adhuc civilibiis bellis, agitavit Britanniam dis- ciplina : 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 Britan- niam reciperavit, magni duces, egregii exercitus, minuta hostium spes. Et terrorem statim intulit Petilius Gerialis, Brigantum civitatem, quae numerosissima provinciae totius perhibetur, aggressus : mtflta prcelia, et aliquando non incruenta: magnamque Brigantum partem aut victoria amplexus, aut bello. Et cum Cerialis quidem alterius 38 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. 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 eluc- tatus. 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 provin- cia, ut quibus bellum volentibus erat, probare exemplum aut recentis legati animum opperiri. Turn Agricola — quamquam transacta aestas, sparsi per provinciam numeri, praesumta apud militem illius anni quies (tarda et con- traria bellum inchoaturo), et plerisque custodiri suspecta potius videbatur — ire obviam discrimini statuit; con- tractisque 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, in- standum famae, ac, prout prima cessissent, fore universa, Monam insulam (cujus possessione revocatum Paulinum rebellione totius Britanniae supra memoravi) redigere in potestatem animo intendit. Sed, ut in dubiis consiliis, naves deerant ; ratio et constantia ducis transvexit. De- posits 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 exspectabant, nihil ar- duum 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. Nee Agricola prosperitate AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. XVIII.-XX. 39 rerum in vanitatem usus expeditionem aut victoriam vo- cabat victos continuisse : ne laureatis quidem gesta prose- cutus 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 injuria? 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 pri- vatis, nee ex commendatione aut precibus centurionum milites ascire, sed optimum quemque fidelissimum putare : omnia scire, non omnia exsequi : parvis peccatis veniam, magnis severitatem commodare : nee poena semper, sed saepius pcenitentia contentus esse : officiis et administra- tionibus 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 lon- ginquitas regionum indicebatur, ut civitates a proximis hibernis in remota et avia deferrent, donee, quod omnibus in promtu erat, paucis lucrosum fieret. XX. Haec primo statim anno comprimendo, egregiarn famam paci circumdedit ; quae vel incuria vel tolerantia priorum haud minus quam bellum timebatur. Sed, ubi aes- tas advenit, contracto exercitu, militum 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 popu- laretur ; atque, ubi satis terruerat, parcendo rursus irrita- menta pacis ostentare. Quibus rebus multae civitates, quae in ilium diem ex aequo egerant, datis obsidibus, iram posuere, et praesidiis castellisque circumdatae tatita ratione 40 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. curaque, ut nulla ante Britanniae nova pars illacessita transient. XXI. Sequens hiems saluberrimis consiliis absumta : namque, ut homines dispersi ac rudes, eoque in bella fa- ciles, quieti et otio per voluptates assuescerent, hortari pri- vatim, adjuvare publice, ut templa, fora, domus exstrue- rent,Jaudando promtos, et castigando segnes : ita honoris aemulatio pro necessitate erat. Jam vero principum filios liberalibus artibus erudire, et ingeniaBritannorum studiis Gallorum anteferre, ut, qui modo linguam Bomanam ab- nuebant, eloquentiam concupiscerent. Inde etiam habitus " nostri honor et frequens toga : paulatimque discessum ad delinimenta vitiorum, porticus et balnea et conviviorum elegantiam : idque apud imperitos humanitas vocabatur, cum pars servitutis esset. XXII. Tertius expeditionum annus novas gentes ape- ruit, vastatis usque ad Taum (aestuario nomen est) nationi- bus : qua formidine territi hostes, quamquam conflictatum saevis tempestatibus exercitum lacessere non ausi ; ponen- disque insuper ca=fellis spatium fuit. Adnotabant periti, non alium ducem opportunitates locorum sapientius le- gisse ; 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, turn asstate atque hieme juxta pellebantur. Nee Agricola umquam per alios gesta avidus intercepit : seu centurio, seu praefectus, incorruptum facti testem habebat. Apud quosdam acerbior in conviciis narrabatur ; ut bonis comis erat, ita adversus malos injucundus : ceterum ex iracundia nihil supererat; secretum et silentium ejus non timeres. Honestius putabat offendere, quam odisse. XXIII. Quarta eestas obtinendis, quae percunerat, in- AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. XXIII.r-XXV, 41 sumta ; 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 turn praesidiis firmabatur : atque omnis propior sinus tenebatur, summotis velut in aliam insulam hostibus. — — —_.. XXIV. Quinto expeditionum anno nave prima trans- gressus, ignotas ad id tempus gentes crebris simul ac prosperis prceliis domuit : eamque partem Britanniae, qua3 Hiberniam adspicit, copiis instruxit in spem magis, quam ob formidinem : siquidem Hibernia, medio inter Britan- niam atque Hispaniam sita et Galiico quoque mari oppor- tuna, valentissimam imperii partem magnis invicem usibus miscuerit. Spatium ejus, si Britanniae comparetur, an- gustius, nostri maris insulas superat. Solum ccelumque et ingenia cultusque hominum haud multum a Britannia differunt. Melius aditus portusque per commercia et negotiatores cogniti. Agricola expulsum seditione do- mestica unum ex regulis gentis exceperat, ac specie amicitiae in occasionem retinebat. Saepe ex eo audivi, legione una et modicis auxiliis debellari obtinerique Hi- berniam posse. Idque etiam adversus Britanniam pro- futurum, si Roman a ubique arma, et velut e conspectu libertas tolleretur. XXV. Ceterum aestate, qua sextum officii annum in- choabat, amplexus civitates trans Bodotriam sitas, quia motus universarum ultra gentium et infesta hostili exercitu itinera timebantur, portus classe exploravit; quae, ab Agricola primum assumta in partem virium, sequebatur egregia specie, cum simul terra simul mari bellum impel- leretur, ac saepe iisdem castris pedes equesque et nauticus miles, mixti copiis et laetitia, sua quisque facta, suos casus attollerent; ac modo sil varum et montium profunda, modo •tempestatum ac fluctuum adversa, hinc terra et hostis, hinc victus oceanus militari jactantia compararentur. Britan- 42 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. nos quoque, ut ex captivis audiebatur, visa classis obstupe- faciebat, tamquam 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 rmmero et peritia locorum circumiretur, diviso et ipse in tres partes exercitu incessit. XXVI. Quod ubi cognitum hosti, mutato repente con- silio, universi nonam legionem, ut maxime invalidam, nocte aggressi, inter somnum ac trepidationem csesis vigili- bus, irrupere. Jamque in ipsis castris pugnabant, cum Ag- ricola, iter hostium ab exploratoribus edoctus et vestigiis insecutus, velocissimos equitum peditumque assultare ter- gis 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 irrupere ; et fuit atrox in ipsis portarum angustiis prcelium, donee pulsi hostes ; utroque exercitu certante, his, ut tulisse opem, illis, ne eguisse auxilio viderentur. Quod nisi paludes et silvae fugientes texissent, debellatum ilia victoria foret. XXVII. Cujus constantia ac fama ferox exercitus, nihil virtuti sua invium ; jpenetrandam Caledoniam, invenien- dumque tandem Britannice terminum continuo jprozliorum cursu, fremebant : atque illi modo cauti ac sapientes, promti post eventum ac magniloqui erant : iniquissima haecbellorum 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 AGRICOL^E VITA. CAF. XXVII.-XXIX. 43 civitatum sancirent : atque ita irritatis utrimque animis discessum. XXVIII. Eadem aestate cohors Usipiorum, per Germa- nias conscripta, et in Britanniam transmissa, magnum ac memorabile facinus ausa est. Occiso centurione ac militi- bus, qui, ad tradendam disciplinam immixti manipulis, exemplum et rectores habebantur, tres liburnicas adactis per vim gubernatoribus ascendere : et uno remigrante, suspectis duobus eoque interfectis, nondum vulgato rumore, lit miraculum, praevehebantur. Mox hac atque ilia rapti, et cum plerisque Britannorum sua defensantium proelio congressi, ac saepe victores, aliquando pulsi, eo ad ex- tremum inopiae venere, ut infirmissimos suorum, mox sorte ductos, vescerentur. Atque ita circumvecti Britanniam, amissis per inscitiam regendi navibus, pro praedonibus habiti, primum a Suevis, mox a Frisiis intercepti sunt : ac mere, 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 filium amisit. Quern 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, ex- pedito exercitu, cui ex Britannis fortissimos et longa pace exploratos addiderat, ad montem Grampium pervenit, quern jam hostes insederant. Nam Britanni, nihil fracti pugnae prioris eventu, et ultionem aut servitium exspec- tantes, tandemque docti commune periculum concordia propulsandum, legationibus et foederibus omnium civita- tum vires exciverant. Jamque super triginta millia arma- torum aspiciebantur, et adhuc affluebat omnis juventus, et quibus cruda ac viridis senectus, clari bello, ac sua quisque decora gestantes ; cum inter plures duces virtute 44 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. et genere prsestans, nomine Oalgacus, apud contractaml multitudinem, proelium poscentem, in hunc modum locu- tus fertur : — XXX. Quotiens causas belli et necessitate™, nostram in- tueor, magnus mihi animus est, hodiernum diem consensum- que vestrum initium libertatis totius Brit annice fore. Nam | et universi servitutis expertes, et nullce ultra terra, ac ne mare quidem securum, imminente nobis classe Romana : ita frazlium atque arma, qucefortibus honesta, eadem etiam ig- navis tutissima sunt. Prior es pugnce, quibus adversus Ro- manos varia fortuna certatum est, spem ac subsidium in nostris manibus liabebant : quia nobilissimi totius Britan- nia, eoque in ipsis penetralibus siti, nee servientium littora aspicientes, oculos quoque a contactu dominationis inviola- tos habebamus. Nos, terrarum ac libertatis extremos, re- cessus ipse ac sinus fama in hunc diem defendit : nunc terminus Britannia patet ; atque omne ignotum pro mag- nijico est. Sed nulla jam ultra gens, nihil nisi Jluctus et saxa : et infestiores Romani ; quorum superbiam frustra "per obsequium et modestiam effugeris. Raptores orbis, postquam cuncta vastantibus defuere terra?, et mare scru- tantur : si locuples hostis est, avari ; si pauper, ambitiosi : quos non Oriens, non Occidens satiaverit : soli omnium opes atque inopiam pari affectu concupiscunt. Auferre, truci- dare, rapere,falsis nominibus imperium ; atque, ubi solitu- dinemfaciunt, pacem appellant. XXXI. Liberos cuique ac propinquos suos natura caris- simos esse voluit: hi per delectus, alibi servituri, auferuntur. Conjuges sororesque, etsi hostilem libidinem effugiant, no- mine amicorum atque hospitum polluuntur. Bona fortu- nasque in tributum egerunt, annos infrumentum: corpora ipsa ac manus, silvis ac paludibus emuniendis, verbera inter ac contumelias, conterunt. Nata servituti mancipia semel veneunt, atque ultro a dominis aluntur : Britannia servitu- tem suam quotidie emit, quotidie pascit. Ac, sicut in/ami- AGRICOLA. CAP. XXXI.-XXXII. 45 lia recentissimus quisque servorum et conservis ludibrio est; sic, in hoc orbis terrarum vetere famulatu, novi nos et vilcs in excidium petimur. Neque enim arva nobis, aut metalla, aut portus sunt, quibus exercendis reservemur. Virtus por~ ro acferocia subjectorum ingrata imperantibus : et longin- quitas ac secretum/ ipsum quo tzituis, eo suspectius. Ita, sublata spe Venice, tandem sumite animum, tarn quibus salus, quam quibus gloria carissima est. Brigantes femina duce exurere coloniam, expugnare castra, ac nisi felicitas in socordiam vertisset, exuere jugum potuere : nos integri et in- domiti, et libertatem non in pr essentia laturi, primo statim congressu non ostendamus quos sibi Caledonia vivos sepo- suerit ? XXXII. An eandem Romanis in bello virtutem, quam in pace lasciviam, adesse creditis ? Nostris illi discessioni- bus ac discordiis clari, vitia hostium in gloriam exercitus sui vertunt ; quern contr actum ex diver sissbnis gentibus, ut secundce res tenent, ita adversce dissolvent ; nisi si Gallos et Germanos et (pudet dictuj Britannorum plerosque, licet dominationi alienee sanguinem commodent, diutius tamen Tiostes quam servos, fide et affectu teneri putatis : metus et terror est, infirma vincula caritatis; quee ubi removeris, qui timere desierint, odisse incipient. Omnia victories in- citamenta pro nobis sunt: nullee Romanos conjuges ac- cendunt; nulli par entes fugam exprobraturi sunt ; aut nulla pier is que p atria, aut alia est: paucos numero, circum trepi- dos ignorantia, cesium ipsum ac ?nare et silvas, ignota om- nia circumspectantes, clausos quodammodo ac vinctos dii nobis tradiderunt. Ne terreat vanus aspectus et auri f vi- gor atque argenti, quod neque tegit, neque vulnerat. In ipsa Jiostium acie inveniemus nostras manus : agnoscent Britanni suam causam : recordabuntur Galli priorem liber- tatem : deserent illos ceteri Germani, tamquam nuper Usipii reliquerunt. Nee quidquam ultra formidinis : vacua cas- tella, senum colonies, inter male par entes et injuste impe- 46 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. rantes agra municipia et discordantia. Hie dux, hie ex- ercitus : ibi tributa et metalla et ceterce servientium pcence ; quas in externum perfierre, aut statim ulcisci in hoc campo est. Proinde, ituri in aciem, et majores vestros et posteros cogitate. XXXIII. Excepere orationem alacres et barbari moris cantu et fremitu clamoribusque dissonis. Jamque agmi- na,et armorum fulgores audentissimi cujusque procursu : Bimul instruebatur acies ; cum Agricola, quamquam laetum et vix munimentis coercitum militem adhortatus, it a dis- seruit : Octavus annus est, commilitones, ex quo virtute et auspiciis imperii Romani fide atque opera vestra Britan- niam vicistis. Tot expeditionibus, tot prodiis, seu fiortitu- dine adversus hostes, seu patientia ac labore pcene adversus ipsam rerum naturam opusfuit. Neque me militum, neque vos ducis pcenituit. Ergo egressi, ego veterum legatorum, vos priorum exercituum terminos, finem Britannice, non fama, nee rumore, sed castris et armis tenemus. Inventa Britannia, et subacta. Equidem scepe 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, transiss*, cestuaria, pulchrum ac decorum infrontem; ita fugientibus periculosissima, quee hodie prosperrima sunt. Neque enim nobis aut locorum eadem notitia aut commeatuum eadem abundantia ; sed ?nanus et arma et in his omnia. Quod ad me attinet, jam pridem mihi decretum est, neque cxerci- tus, neque ducis terga tuta esse. Proinde et honesta mors turpi vita potior ; et incolumitas ac decus eodem loco sita sunt : nee inglorium finer it in ipso terrarum ac naturae fine cecidisse. XXXIV. Si nova gentes atque ignota acies constitisset, aliorum exercituum exemplis vos hortarer: nunc vestra de- AGRICOLA. CAP. XXXIV.-XXXVI. 47 cora recensete, vestros oculos interrogate. li sunt, quos proximo anno, unam legionemfurto noctis aggressos, clamor e debellastis : ii ceterorum Britannorum Jugacissimi, ideoque tarn diu superstites. Quomodo silvas saltusque penetranti- bus fortissimum quodque animal robore, pavida et inertia ipso agminis sono pelluntur, sic acerrimi Britannorum jam pridem ceciderunt: reliquus est numerus ignavorum et me- tuentium, quos quod tandem invenistis, non restiterunt, sed deprehensi sunt novissimi: ideo extremo metu corpora de- jixere in his vestigiis, in quibus pulchram et spectabilem vie- toriam ederetis. Transigite cum expeditionibus : imponite quinquaginta annis magnum diem : approbate reipublicce 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, me- diam aciem firmarent, equitum tria millia cornibus affun- derentur: legiones pro vallo stetere, ingens victoriae decus citra Romanum sanguinem bellanti, et auxilium si pelle- rentur. 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. Turn Agricola, superante hostium multitudine, veritus ne simul in frontem simul et latera suorum pugnaretur, di- ductis ordinibus, quamquam porrectior acies futura erat, et arcessendas plerique legiones admonebant, promtior in spem et firmus adversis, dimisso equo pedes ante vexilla constitit. XXXVI. Ac primo congressu eminus certabatur : si- mul constantia, simul arte Britanni, ingentibus gladiis et brevibus cetris, missilia nostrorum vitare, vel' excutere, atque ipsi magnam vim telorum superfundere ; donee 48 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. Agricola tres Batavorum cohortes ac Tungrorum duas co- hortatus est, ut rem ad mucrones ac maims adducerent : quod et ipsis vetustate militias exercitatum, et hostibus in- habile, parva scuta et enormes gladios gerentibus : nam Britannorum gladii sine mucrone complexum armorum, et in arcto pugnam non tolerabant. Igitur, ut Batavi mis- cere ictus, ferire umbonibus, ora fcedare, et stratis qui in aequo obstiterant, erigere in colles aciem ccepere, ceterae cohortes, aemulatione et impetu commixtae, proximos quos- que caedere : ac plerique semineces aut integri festinatione victorias relinquebantur. Interim equitum turmae fugere, covinarii peditum se prcelio miscuere : et, quamquam re- centem terror em intulerant, den sis tamen hostium agmini- bus et inaequalibus locis haerebant ; minimeque equestris ea pugnae facies erat, cum aegre diu stantes, simul equo- rum corporibus impellerentur, ac saepe vagi currus, exter- riti sine rectoribus equi, ut quern que formido tulerat, transversos aut obvios incursabant. XXXVII. Et Britanni, qui adhuc pugnae expertes surama collium insederant, et paucitatem nostrorum vacui spernebant, degredi paulatim et circumire terga vincen- tium coeperant; ni id ipsum veritus Agricola quattuor equitum alas, ad subita belli retentas, venientibus opposu- isset, quantoque ferocius accurrerant, tanto acrius pulsos in fugam disjecisset. Ita consilium Britannorum in ipsos versum; transvectaeque praecepto ducis a fronte pugnan- tium alae, aversam hostium aciem invasere. Turn vero patentibus locis grande et atrox spectaculum : sequi, vul- nerare, capere, atque eosdem, oblatis aliis, trucidare. Jam hostium, prout cuique ingenium erat, catervae arma- torum paucioribus terga praestare, quidam inermes ultro ruere, ac se morti offerre. Passim arma et corpora et laceri artus et cruenta humus. Est aliquando etiamvictia ira virtusque : postquam silvis appropinquarunt, collecti primos sequentium, incautos et locorum ignaros, circum- AGRICOLiE VITA. CAP. XXXVII.-XXXIX. 49 veniebant. Quodni 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 nimiara fiduciam foret. Ceterum, ubi compositos firmis ordinibus sequi rursus videre, in fugam versi, non agmini- bus ut prius, nee alius alium respectantes, rari et vitabundi invicem longinqua atque avia petiere. Finis sequendi nox et satietas fuit. Caesa hostium ad decern millia: nos- trorum trecenti sexaginta cecidere, in quis Aulus Atticus, praefectus cohortis, juvenili ardore et ferocia equi hostibus ill at us. XXXVIII. Et nox quidem gaudio praedaque laeta vic- toribus : Britanni palantes, mixtoque virorum raulierumque ploratu, trahere vulneratos, vocare integros, deserere do- mos ac per iram ultro incendere ; eligere latebras et sta- tim relinquere ; miscere invicem consilia aliqua, dein separare ; aliquando frangi aspectu pignorum suorum, saspius concitari : satisque constabat, saevisse quosdam in conjuges ac liberos, tamquam misererentur. Proximus dies faciem victoriae latius aperuit : vastum ubique silen- tium, secreti colles, fumantia procul tecta, nemo explora- toribus obvius : quibus in omnem partem dimissis, ubi incerta fugae vestigia neque usquam conglobari hostes compertum, et exacta jam asstate spargi bellum nequibat, in fines Horestorum exercitum deducit. Ibi acceptis ob- sidibus, praefecto classis circumvelii 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, quamquam nulla verbo- rum jactantia epistolis Agricolae auctum, ut Domitiano C 50 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS, moris erat, fronte Isetus, pectore anxius excepit. Inerat conscientia, derisui fuisse nuper falsum e Germania tri- umphum, emtis per commercia, quorum habitus et crines in captivorum speciem formarentur : at nunc veram mag- namque victoriam, tot millibus hostium caesis, ingenti fama celebrari. Id sibi maxime formidolosum, privati hominis nomen supra principis attolli : frustra studiafori et civilium artium decus in silentium acta, si militarem gloriam alius occuparet : et cetera utcunque facilius dissimulari, ducis bcni imperatoriam virtutem esse. Talibus curis exercitus, quodque saevae cogitationis indicium erat, secreto suo satiatus, optimum in praesentia statuit reponere odium, donee impetus famae et favor exercitus languesceret : nam etiam turn Agricola Britanniam obtinebat. XL. Igitur triumplialia ornamenta et illustris statuce lionorem et quidquid pro triumplio datur, multo verborum honore cumulata,decerni in senatu jubet: additque insuper opinionem, Syriam provinciam Agricolae destinari, vacuam turn 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, traderen- tur ; eumque libertum in ipso freto oceani obvium Agri- colae, ne appellato quidem eo, ad Domitianum remeasse; sive verum istud, sive ex ingenio principis fictum ac com- positum est. Tradiderat interim Agricola successori suo provinciam quietam tutamque. Ac, ne notabilis celebri- tate 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* AGRICOLA VITA. CAP. XL.-XLII. 51 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 Bileri Agricolam non sinerent ; tot exercitus in Moesia Daciaque, Germania et Pannonia, temeritate aut per ig- uaviam ducum amissi : tot militares viri cum tot cohortibus expugnati et capti; nee jam de limite imperii et ripa, sed de hibernis legionum et possessione dubitatum. Ita, cum damna damnis continuarentur, atque omnis annus funeribus et cladibus msigniretur, poscebatur ore vulgi dux Agri- cola : comparantibus cunctis vigorem, constantiam, et ex- pertum bellis animum cum inertia et formidine reorum. 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 vir- tutibus, simul vitiis aliorum, in ipsam gloriam praeceps agebatur. XLII. Aderat jam annus, quo proconsulatum Asiae et Africae sortiretur; et occiso Civica nuper, nee Agricolae consilium deerat, nee 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 ob- scuri, suadentes simul terrentesque, pertraxere ad Domi- tianum. Qui paratus simulatione, in arrogantiam compo- situs, et audiit preces excusantis, et, cum adnuisset, agi £ibi gratias passus est: nee erubuit beneficii invidia. Sa- larium tamen, proconsulari solitum offerri, et quibusdam a se ipso concessum, Agricolae non dedit : sive offensus non 52 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. petitum, sive ex conscientia, ne, quod vetuerat, videretur emisse. Proprium humani ingenii est, odisse quem laese- ris : Domitiani vero natura praeceps in iram, et, quo ob- scurior, eo irrevocabilior, moderatione tamen prudentia- que Agricolae leniebatur : quia non contumacia neque inani jactatione libertatis, famam fatumque provocabat. Sciant, quibus moris est, illicita mirari, posse etiam sub raalis 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 hie aliud agens populus, et ventitavere ad do- mum, et per fora et circulos locuti sunt : nee quisquam, audita morte Agricolae, aut laetatus est aut statim oblitus est. Augebat miserationem constans rumor, veneno inter- cejptum. Nobis nihil comperti afhrmare 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 dis- positos cursores nuntiata constabat, nullo credente, sic ac- celerari quae tristis audiret. Speciem tamen doloris animo vultuque prae se tulit, securus jam odii, et qui facilius dis- simularet gaudium quam metum. Satis constabat, lecto testamento Agricolae, quo coheredem optimae uxori et piissimae filiae Domitianum scripsit, laetatum eum velut ho- nore judicioque : tarn caeca et corrupta mens assiduis adu- lationibus erat, ut nesciret a bono patre non scribi here- dem nisi malum principem. XLIV. Natus erat Agricola Caio Caesare primum Con- sule Idibus Juniis : excessit sexto et quinquagesimo an- no, decimo Kalendas Septembris Collega Priscoque con- sulibus. Quodsi habitum quoque ejus posteri noscere AGRICOL.E VITA. CAP. XLIV.-XLV. 53 velmt ; decentior quam sublimior fuit : nihil metus in vultu ; gratia oris supererat : bonum virum facile crede- res, magnum libenter. Et ipse quidem, quamquam me- dio in spatio integrae aetatis ereptus, quantum ad gloriam longissimum aevum peregit. Quippe et vera bona, quae in virtutibus sita sunt, impleverat, et consularibus ac tri- umphalibus ornamentis praedito, quid aliud adstruere for- tuna 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 Traja- num videre, augurio votisque apud nostras aures omina- batur, ita festinatae mortis grande solatium tulit, eva- sisse postremum illud tempus, quo Domitianus, non jam per intervalla ac spiramenta temporum, sed continuo et velut uno uAu, rempublicam exbausit. XL V. Non vidit Agricola obsessam curiam, et clausum armis senatum, et eadem strage tot consularium caedes, tot nobilissimarum feminarum exsilia et fugas. Una ad- huc victoria Carus Metius censebatur, et intra Albanam arcem sententia Messalini strepebat, et MassaBebius jam turn reus erat. Mox nostras duxere Helvidium in carce- rem manus : nos Maurici Rusticique visus, nos innocenti sanguine Senecio perfudit. Nero tamen subtraxit oculos, jussitque scelera, non spectavit : praacipua sub Domitiano miseriarum pars erat, videre et adspici, 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 ; tamquam pro virili portione inno- centiam principi donares. Sed mihi filiaeque, praeter acerbitatem parentis erepti, auget mcestitiam, quod assi- 54 C. CORNELIUS TACITUS. dere valetudini, fovere deficientem, satiari vultu, com- plexu, non contigit. Excepissemus certe mandata voces* que, quas penitus animo figeremus. Noster hie dolor, nostrum vulnus ; nobis tarn longae absentiae conditione ante quadriennium amissus es. Omnia sine dubio, optime parentum, assidente amantissima uxore, superfuere honori tuo : paucioribus tamen lacrimis compositus es, et novis- sima in luce desideravere aliquid oculi tui. XL VI. Si quis piorum manibus locus, si, ut sapientibus placet, non cum corpore exstinguuntur magnae animae, placide quiescas, nosque, domum tuam, ab infirmo desi- derio et muliebribus lamentis ad contemplationem virtu- tum tuarum voces, quas neque lugeri neque plangi fas est : admiratione te potius, et immortalibus laudibus, et, si natura suppeditet, semulatu decoremus. Is verus honos, ea conjunctissimi cuj usque pietas. Id filiae quoque uxori- que praeceperim, sic patris, sic mariti memoriam venerari, ut omnia facta dictaque ejus secum revolvant, famamque ac figuram animi magis quam corporis complectantur : non quia intercedendum putem imaginibus, quae marmore aut aere fmguntur ; 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 Agri- cola amavimus, quidquid mirati sumus, manet mansu- rumque 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. NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAPTER I. Germania omnis. Observe that omnis is here placed after Ger- mania, because the emphasis falls upon the noun, and the adjective is appended to show in what sense the noun is to be taken, namely as referring to Germany Proper, called, also, Germania Transrhena- 71a, to distinguish it from Germania Cisrhenana. (Consult Geograph. Index, s. v. Germani.) Ratisque et Pannoniis. "We have two conjunctions here, because the Raeti and Pannonii were more closely connected with one an- other than with the Galli. (Compare c. 3, 7, 28, 34.) As regards the Raeti and Pannonii, consult Geographical Index. We have written Rcetis in the text, as more correct than Rhatis, just as Ratio. is more correct than Rhcetia, a result well established by the lan- guage of ancient inscriptions. (Consult Drakenb. ad Liv., v., 33 ; Oudend. ad Suet., Aug., 21 ; Niebuhr, Rom. Gesch., vol. i., p. 118; Muller, Etrusk., vol. i., p. 162; Orelli, Inscr. hat., n. 491.) Sarmatis Dacisque. Consult Geographical Index. The European Sarmatians here meant were the Slavonians of a more recent age. Mutuo metu, aut montibus. " By mutual fear, or by mountains," i. e., they were either separated from one another by wide interven- ing districts of waste land, left purposely uncultivated and deso- late, in order to check the inroads of one another, or else by mount- ains. The mountains meant are the Carpathian and Bohemian mountains. Observe here the peculiar employment of metu and montibus, things of an entirely different nature, in connection with one another ; and consult Botticher's remarks on the style of Taci- tus, appended to this volume, p. xlii. Cetera. "The rest of the country. ' ' Supply loca. The reference is to the northern and western parts. Latos sinus, et insularum, &c. " Embracing broad projections of land, and islands of vast size." Literally, " vast spaces of islands," an instance of the poetical complexion of the style of Tacitus. (Consult Botticher, Remarks, &c, p. liv.) The Greeks and Romans looked upon that part of Europe north of Germany as composed of 5S NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. I. islands, not as forming parts of the continent. These so-called islands, therefore, would correspond to the modern Denmark, Nor- way, and Sweden. Sinus. Erroneously rendered by some " bays." This term is applied to any thing that makes a bend, and is most frequently used of any thing which is hollow, as a valley, a gulf; but it also means a promontory, or a neck of land, where the boundary line makes a bend or sweep, and such is its force in the present passage ; and the allusion appears to be to the bold projections of the German coast along the Ocean and the Baltic, more particularly to what is now denominated Jutland, and to the headlands near the mouths of the Ems, the Weser, and the Elbe. (Compare Passow, Walther, and Gerlach, ad loc., and Voss, ad Virg., Georg., ii., 123. Quos helium aperuit. " Whom war has disclosed to our view." By helium is here meant a series of warlike expeditions. The knowledge which the Romans possessed of Germany and the west- ern parts of Europe was derived principally from the expeditions of Caesar, Drusus Germanicus, Germanicus, and Ahenobarbus. (Consult Geograph. Index, 5. v. Germani.) Rhenus Rceticarum Allium, &c. The Rhine rose, according to Strabo (iv., 5) and Ptolemy (ii., 12), in Mount Adula, a name given to a collection of summits answering at the present day to a part of the Lepontine Alps. The sources of the Rhine are in this part of the Alps, a little to the east of Mount St. Gothard, in the country of the Grisons. Modico flexu in Occidentem versus. " After having turned by a moderate bending toward the west." Observe here the middle meaning to be assigned to versus, and compare note on nee obligan- tur, c. 21. It is better to make versus a participle here, than to con- sider it, as some do, a preposition used pleonastically. Ernesti and Brotier, indeed, adopt this latter opinion, but without much propriety, since Tacitus nowhere else employs such a pleonasm as in ... . versus, or ad ... . versus. The reference in the text is to the bend of the Rhine near Arenacum, the modern Arnheim, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, not very far from the mouth of the stream. Bek- ker, Ruperti, and others erroneously suppose another bend of the Rhine to be meant, near Basilea, the modern Basel, or Bale. (Com- pare Dilthey, ad loc.) Miscetur. " Mingles itself." Observe that miscetur here must be regarded rather as a middle than a passive verb. (Compare note on versus, immediately preceding.) Molli et clementer edito, &c. " From the easy and gently-elevated NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. I., II. 59 summit of Mount Abnoba." The MSS. have Arnoba, Arlonce, &c The true reading is Abnoba, which was first given as a conjecture by Hermolaus Barbarus, and subsequently confirmed by two inscrip- tions found in this quarter. Mount Abnoba answers to the northern part of the Black Forest, opposite the town of Augusta Rauracorum, now i«^^. (Compare Gerbert, Hist. S. N. T., iii., 1, 7; ii., 243; and Seebode, N. Arch., 1826, vol. i., p. 153.) Plures populos adit. On the right bank, the Vindelici, Norici, Pan- nonii, Illyrii, Mcesi ; on the left bank, the Hermunduri, Narisci, Mar- comanni, Quadi, Daci, Getae, and Bastarnae. {Dilthey, ad loc.) Sex meatibus. " By six channels." The number of mouths ap- pertaining to this stream is differently given by the ancient writers. Herodotus (iv., 7), Dionysius Periegetes, Arrian, Claudian, Eusta- thius, and others name five. Pliny (H. N., iv., 24) and some other authorities give six. Strabo, Ovid, Mela, Solinus, and Ammianus Marcellinus make seven. Tacitus appears to unite the two latter accounts. At the present day the Danube enters the sea by seven mouths. Erumpat. A better reading than erumpit, and sanctioned by the best MSS. Passow makes a singular error, when he asserts, in his comments on the present passage, and in defence of erumpit, that donee with the subjunctive is contrary to the practice of Tacitus. The true distinction appears to be this : donee with the indicative refers to an actual fact, or a thing that is now actually taking place ; but donee with the subjunctive indicates something that is to be re- alized, but has not yet actually occurred. (Compare Walther, ad Ann., ii., 6.) CHAPTER II. Ipsos Germanos, &c. " The Germans themselves I, for my part, believe to be an indigenous race." The pronoun ipsos here marks the transition from the subject of the country to that of the people dwelling therein. Observe, moreover, that the perfect subjunctive is here employed to soften an assertion, investing it with an air of modest reserve. (Zumpt, § 527.) — Indigenas. Equivalent to the Greek avroxBovac. This belief in the indigenous origin of different races was very common among the Greeks and Romans, though now deservedly rejected. The ancestors of the German race mi- grated by land from Asia, and form one of the links in the Indo- European chain of nations. (Compare Geograph. Index, s. v. Ger- mania.) 60 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. II. Minimeque aliarum gentium, &c. " And by no means mixed up through immigrations of other communities and the visits of stran- gers," i. e., free from all intermixture with foreigners, either as set- tlers or casual visitants. Observe here the employment of abstract nouns (adventibus, hospitiis) in the plural, to express the recurrence of an act, or its taking place on several occasions. This usage is very frequent in Tacitus. (Compare Roth, ad Agric, §4> P- m> seq. > Voss., Aristarch., iii., 40, and Fortsch., ad loc.) Nee .... et. Equivalent to et non . . . . et. This is of frequent oc- currence. So neque . . . . et (Annal, ii., 51 ; xv., 28), and neque .... ac (Agric, 10). So in Greek we have ovre . . . . rk, and fiiJTe .... re. (Compare Kuhner, § 775, 3, a.) Advehebantur. " Were carried to their places of destination." Observe that advehi properly refers to transportation in ships ; here, however, it is made to apply also to movements by land. Compare Walther, ad Ann., ii., 20. Utque sic dixerim, adversus Oceanus. " And, so to express myself, up-hill Ocean." The ancients had a notion that this part of the world was higher than the rest ; so that, in sailing to it, they had to go as it were up-hill. Compare Hist., ii., 98 ; and Pliny, H. N., ii., 70: "In alia adverso, in alia prone mari." Tacitus prefixes the words utque sic dixerim as a kind of apology for the employment here of so unusual an epithet, and this alone would show that the ordi- nary meaning of adversus, namely, "hostile," or "opposing," can not be intended in the present case. Ab orbe nostro. " From our part of the world." The allusion is to the countries around the Mediterranean, and forming part of the Roman empire. Hence, immediately after, when Asia and Africa are mentioned, we must suppose Asia Minor and Northern Africa to be meant, the fertility of which regions is praised by many of the ancient writers. (Compare Cic, pro Leg. Man., 6 ; Tac, Agric, 6 ; Plin., H. N, xxxvii., 13 ; Virg., Georg., ii., 136, seqq.) Informem terris, &c. "Rugged in surface, rigorous in climate, cheerless (alike) to be cultivated and to be beheld," i. e., cheerless alike to the cultivator and the mere beholder. No writer uses the supine more frequently than Tacitus, both in the accusative and ab- lative, for the sake of brevity. (Compare Botticher, Remarks, &c, p. xli. Nisi si patria sit. " Unless, if (chance so will it) it be his native land," i. e., unless, perchance, it be, &c. Observe, that in the form of expression nisi si, which frequently occurs, the conjunction si is used elliptically, and the ellipsis must be supplied, in each case, NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. II. 61 according to the nature of the context. The phrase is employed to denote mere possibility, without any definite assertion. (Compare Walther, ad Ann., h\, 63 ; Hand, ad Tursell., vol. iv., p. 239.) Tuisconem deum. It was customary with almost all ancient com- munities, in their national songs, to trace their pedigree to some god or deified hero. The name Tuisco is very probably connected with that of Teutones, which occurs in various forms ; as Theutisci, Theotisci, Tuitschi, and, in the old dialects of Germany, Teut, Tuit, Thiuda ; in the Belgic, Duitsche, Duiske. (Compare Grimm, Deutsche Gramm. Einleit., p. 13, seq. ; and consult Geograph. Index, s. v. Teutones.) Mannum. Mannus, the son of Tuisco, is merely a personification of the German man (mann), or race, and the three sons of Mannus are the three main geographical divisions of this race. Ligcevones. The Ingaevones, who are here described as dwelling on the Ocean, are "the inhabitants of the inner coasts," i. e., the Inbewohner ; and, in like manner, the Istaevones, whom Pliny (H. N., iv., 14) speaks of as being "proximi Rheno" are " the inhabitants of the western parts," i. e., the Westbewohner. If this etymology be correct, the penults of both names ought to be regarded as long. (Compare Mannert, Geogr., vol. iii., p. 145, seqq.) As regards the appellation Herminones, it is probable that it contains the root of the national name Germani, namely, Herm-, or Gherm- (i. e., Hermin- ones, Gher man-ones), if we suppose, as many now do, that this name is of Oriental origin. (Compare the remarks of Von Hammer, Wien. Jdhrb., vol. ii., p. 319 ; and vol. ix., p. 39.) According to this explanation, the Herminones will be the main or parent stem occu- pying the central parts of the country. A less correct reading is Hermiones. Licentia xetustatis. " Through the (usual) license of antiquity," i. e., availing themselves of the license which so remote a period affords for hazarding bold speculations. Plures deo ortos. With deo supply illo, the reference being to Tuisco. — Marsos, Gambrivios, &c. (Consult Geographical Index.) The MSS. vary with regard to the name Gambrivios. The true reading probably is Marsos, Sigambros. (Consult Walther, ad loc.) Ceterum Germanics vocabulum, &c. " That the name of ' Ger- many,' however, is of ancient origin, and lately added," i. e., is a comparatively modern addition. According to the account here cited by Tacitus, the name Germani is the Latinized form of the ap- pellation assumed by the Tungri, the first German tribe that crossed the Rhine ; and they gave themselves this name in order to strike 62 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. II., III. terror into their Gallic opponents. Various etymologies have been given of the term, but all more or less unsatisfactory. The one most commonly received derives the name in question from the old German word Werr, " war," and Mann, " a man," so that Ger- mani (i. e., Werrmanner) will signify " war-men," or " warriors," the Roman alphabet, in consequence of its not having any w, converting this letter into a g. Compare, however, the remarks of Graf, Alt- hochd. Sprachsch., vol. iv., col. 260, seq. ; and consult Geograph. In- dex, where other etymologies, and especially the Oriental one, are given. Quoniam qui primi Rhenum, &c. " Since they who, having first crossed the Rhine, drove out the Gauls, and are now called Tungri, were then called Germani," i. e., called themselves Germani. After Tungri supply vocentur. Observe, moreover, the employment of the subjunctive in this and the succeeding sentence, because the writer is giving the assertion of others, not his own sentiments. (Zumpt, § 545.) — Ita nationis nomen, &c. " So widely (they affirm) did the name of a particular tribe, not of the whole race, by degrees extend itself, that all called themselves Germani, by an appellation assumed in the first instance by the conquering tribe, in order to in- spire terror, (and) subsequently adopted by themselves." Observe here the zeugma in invento. The Bipont edition, with that of Oberli- nus, &c, has ita nationis nomen in nomen gentis, while others for non gentis read in gentis, the conjecture of Acidalius. The reading which we have adopted, however, is that of all the MSS. and early editions. CHAPTER III. Fuisse apud eos et Herculem mentor ant. " They relate that there was a Hercules also among them." By Hercules is merely meant a mythic personification of valor and manliness. In this sense al- most every ancient nation had its Hercules. — Memorant. The ref- erence is not to the Germans speaking of themselves, as the words apud eos plainly show, but to the account given of them by others. — Primum. " As the first," i. e., the most pre-eminent. Equivalent to principem. Quorum relatu. " By the chanting of which." More literally, " by the recital of which." Tacitus purposely employs the term re- latu here, to indicate that the carmina were actual narratives of il- lustrious exploits. — Quern baritum vocant. ''Which they call bari tus." This term is supposed to be formed from the old German NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. III. 63 bar en, " to shout," -itus being a mere Latin ending. (Adelung, Gesch. Alt. DeutschL, p. 388.) Another, but erroneous form of the word, is barritus, retained in the Glossary of Ducange, ed. Henschel, p. 607, but very properly condemned by Freund (Worterb., s. v.) This last-mentioned writer, moreover, is of opinion that Tacitus here erroneously gives the name of the war-cry for that of the w T ar- song. Several MSS. and editions read barditum, but there is no au- thority to show that bards, as such, existed among the Germans. They formed rather a Celtic caste or order. (Compare Veget., iii., 18 ; Amm. Marcell., xvi., 30; xxvi., 7.) Terrent enim trepidantve, &c. " For they cause terror, or tremble themselves with alarm, according as the line of battle has sounded forth (the strain)." Passow places a comma after sonuit, and makes acics the nominative plural, and the subject of terrent and trepidant. But the construction sonuit acies is confirmed by Hist., iv., 18, "ut virorum cantu, feminarum ululatu sonuit acies. "-^Nec tarn vocis Me, quam virtutis, &c. " Nor does that appear so much a chorus of hu- man voices as the combined cry of valor itself." The meaning is, that a person, on hearing this martial strain, would think he heard, not a chorus of human voices, but the valor that animates the bosom of each, expressing itself in one combined and prolonged cry. ( Wal- ther, ad loc.) Fr actum murmur. " A broken roar." The term murmur is not unfrequently employed to denote a low, sullen roar, like that of the sea, thunder, an earthquake, &c. (Compare Freund, Worterb., s. v.) -Quo plenior et gravior, &c. " In order that the voice may swell forth fuller and mora sonorous, in consequence of the repercussion." Quidam opinantur, &c. Among these, Strabo (iii., p. 149) con- tends that Ulysses advanced beyond Tartessus, and founded 'Odvcr- ceia (" Olisippo," Lisbon), and Solinus (c. 26, 36) makes him touch at Britain. Still more extravagant are the speculations of some modern writers, who find a resemblance between the Ulyssean ap- pellation Utis and that of Odin ! (Compare Bilthey, ad loc.) — Longo Mo ctfdbuloso error e. " During those long and much- fabled wander- ings of his." Observe that fabuloso is here equivalent to " infabulis celebrato." The allusion is to the Homeric and post-Homeric le- gends respecting the wanderings of Ulysses on his return from Troy. Asciburgium. Mannert, following Ptolemy, makes this place to have been situate on the right bank of the Rhine, w T here the canal of Drusus joined the Yssel, and where the modern Dosburg lies. It seems more correct, however, to make it correspond to Asburg, or the neighboring hamlet of Essenberg, on the left bank of the river, 64 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. III., IV. as Cluver, Reichard, and Wilhelm (p. 114, 154) have done. The j name Asciburgium is derived by some from the old German term ask, " a vessel," " a ship," and berg or burg, whence it is supposed to be equivalent to Schiffburg. (Compare the Anglo-Saxon asc, and the old Northern ascho, and consult Ruhs, p. 141, and Graff, Althochd. Sprachsch., vol. i., col. 492.) Others, however, connect the name Asciburgium with the legend of Odin and the Asi. Nominatumque. After this word is found in most MSS. and early- editions a Greek name more or less corrupted, namely, 'Aarvredytov, or 'AarvTrvpyLov, or 'Acrtcurvpyiov, &e. It is evidently a mere inter- polation. Consult Gerlach, ad loc. — Ulixi consecratam. "Conse- crated by Ulysses." Observe that Ulixi is here the dative, by a Hellenism, for ab Ulixe. (Compare Vechner, Hellenolex., p. 322, ed. Heusing.) Some regard Ulixi as the regular dative, and translate " consecrated to Ulysses ;" this, however, would be entirely at vari- ance with the custom of the northern nations. {Gerlach, ad loc.) — Adjecto Laertce patris nomine. The meaning is, that on the pre- tended altar, after the name of Ulysses, was inscribed " Son of Laer- tes," according to the Grecian custom, and in order that no doubt might exist with regard to the erector. Greeds litteris inscriptos. This, like the story about the altar, must be regarded as a mere fable. We find, however, the Gauls acquainted with Grecian characters, which they seem to have learned from the Phocaeans who colonized Massilia. (Compare Gas., B. G., i., 29 ; v., 48 ; vi., 14.) Ex ingenio suo quisque, &c. " Let each one refuse or give credit thereto, according to his turn of mind." Literally, "take away or add credence." — Ex ingenio. If credulous, let him believe the story ; jf skeptical, let him withhold his assent. CHAPTER IV. Infectos. " Changed." The verbs inficere, vitiare, corrumpere, like [uaivetv, juo?ivvetv, ydeipeiv, &c., do not always imply a change for the worse, but often a mere blending, or an alteration of the primitive state of any thing. (Passow, ad loc.) — Propriam et since* ram, &c. " Have ever existed as a peculiar and unmixed race, and like only unto themselves." The adjective similis takes the genitive when an internal resemblance, or a resemblance in character and disposition, is to be expressed, but the dative when it is merely an external one. {Zumpt, § 411.) Habitus corporum. "The conformation of their frames," t. e.. NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. IV., V. 65 their physical characteristics. — Truces et cozrulei oculi. " Eyes fierce of expression and of a light blue color." It is principally in Hesse, Westphalia, Pomerania, Hanover, Thuringia, and Bavaria, that we find traces at the present day of the physical characteristics which Tacitus here ascribes to the ancient German race. On the other hand, the communities that inhabit Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, a part of Upper Saxony, and Austria, display in their physical conforma- tion the marks of a blending with the Slavonic race. — Rutila coma. " Ruddy locks," i. e., of a yellowish red, or flame-colored. The Germans and Gauls frequently used artificial means to make their hair of a ruddy or flame color. (Compare Hist., iv., 61, and Strabo, vii., p. 290.) Magna corpora. The large stature of the ancient Germans is fre- quently referred to by the ancient writers. Compare, also, chapter xx. of the present treatise. — Et tantum ad impetum valida. "And powerful only for the first onset," i. e., the first shock of the conflict. (Compare Seneca, de Ira, i., 11: " Germanis quid est animosiusl quid ad incursum acrius ? w ) — Laboris atque operum non eadem patientia. " There is not the same patient endurance of labor and prolonged exertions." Some commentators regard laboris atque operum as a hendiadys, but incorrectly, since the form of expression is purposely employed here to impart more force to the clause. Ccelo solove. The particles ve and vel have always a disjunctive force. Here coelo is to be referred to frigora, and solo to inediam f which could not be the case if ve were equivalent to que. Translate, " Cold and hunger they are accustomed to endure by their climate and soil." (Compare Passow, ad he.) CHAPTER V. Etsi aliquanto specie differt. " Although it varies considerably in aspect." Literally, " although it differs (from itself)." Observe that differ o is here used absolutely. With regard to aliquanto, it may be remarked, that aliquanto, aliquantum, and the other compounds of ali, which refer to number or space, almost invariably imply great- ness of some kind. (Ernesti, ad Suet. Cas., 80.) — In universum ta- men, &c. " In general, however, is either rough with forests or de- formed by marshes." Tacitus does not appear to have known much of the interior of Germany ; although, it is true, numerous forests were scattered over it, as the Silva Hercynia, Marciana, Gabreta, Luna, Teutobergiensis, &c., traces of many of which still remain. The marshes, of which he here speaks, refer principally to the coun- 66 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. V. try of East Friesland, the coast of the German Ocean at the mouth of the Ems and Weser, and to some parts of Westphalia and Lower Saxony. These morasses are owing, in many cases, to the forests, which hinder the drainage. (Compare the remarks of Wilhelm in Kruse's Deutsche Alter thiimer, ii., 6, p. 63.) Humidior, qua Gallias. " Moister where it faces the Gauls." Sup- ply adspicit. The western part of Germany is meant, but more par- ticularly the territories of the Batavi and Frisii, now Holland, Fries- land, &c. The greater degree of humidity is owing to the forests, rivers, lakes, and marshes in this quarter. — Ventosior, qua Noricum et Pannoniam, &c. " More bleak where it looks toward Noricum and Pannonia." Ancient Noricum and Pannonia comprehended what is now Austria, Styria, Carinthia, part of Hungary, &c., so that the portion of Germany here meant will be the southern and eastern parts. It is more elevated and mountainous than the other parts of the country, and hence more exposed to the winds. Satis ferax. " Productive for grain," i. e., for things sown in it. Observe that satis is here the dative plural of satus, and not the ad- Verb, as some maintain. Observe, moreover, the difference of mean- ing between satorum ferax and satis ferax; the former (which is the more usual construction of ferax) means, " productive in grain," i. e., producing it in abundance ; but the latter, " productive for grain," i. e., well fitted to produce it. (Walther, ad loc.) Caesar speaks of the fertility of the country around the Hercynian Forest (B. G., vi., 24) ; Commodus laid the Marcomanni under a tribute of corn (Dio Cass., xxii., 3) ; the cultivation of oats is mentioned by Pliny (H. N., xviii., 44 ; compare xix., 26, 28, 42) ; and Tacitus himself speaks of barley (c. 23). Frugiferarum arborum fattens. " Kindly to fruit trees." The ordinary text has impatiens, " unkindly," but this can not be correct, since the contrary is asserted by Dio Cassius (xlix., 36), Strabo (iv., 6, 8 ; vii., 5, 11), Pliny (H. N., xii., 3), and Tacitus himself (c. 10, 23, 26.) In the common reading the im might very easily have arisen from the m preceding. We have adopted, therefore, patiens, the conjecture of some editors. (Compare the remarks of Wilhelm, p. 65, note.) — Sed plerumque inprocera. " But these, for the most part, (are) small of size." The epithet inprocera is generally sup- posed to be applied here, by a bold figure of speech, to the land itself (terra), instead of the flocks (pecora) ; and Wolf (ad Ann., i., 10), Passow, Hess, and others, have attempted to confirm this view by citing what they .consider to be analogous passages in our author I Hist., i., 49, 88; iii., 56; Ann., xv., 23, &c). These passages, NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. V. 67 however, do not apply to the present case ; and it is better, there- fore, to make inprocera a neuter plural, as referring to pecora, with an ellipsis of the copula sunt, so that the construction will be sed inprocera (ilia sunt). This will save the necessity of our adopting, with Bredowand Weikert, the conjectural reading of Lipsius, name- ly, pleraque. (Compare Jacobs, and Dilthey, ad loc.) Ne armentis quidem suus honor, &c. y Not even the herds have their usual stateliness, or dignity of brow," i. e., not even the cattle are as large as those in other lands, or supplied with horns of as large and imposing a size. Tacitus means that the animals are stunted by the severity of the climate. This, however, is an error. Some of the quadrupeds of ancient Germany, the Urus (Auerochs), for example, were remarkable for their size. The smallness of the cattle must have been owing rather to want of care in feeding them, in protecting them from the ordinary inclemencies of winter, and in improving the breed by mixtures. Propitii an irati dii negaverint, &e. Observe the quaintness and brevity of the expression. The meaning is this : in Germany the precious metals do not occur ; whether, however, the want of these be an advantage or an evil, I leave for others to determine. — Nee tamen adfirmaverim, &c. It is now well know T n that Germany abounds in these veins. The first was discovered in the reign of Otho I. Posses stone et usu haud perinde adficiuntur. " They are not affected by the possession and use (of these) in the same way (as other na- tions)," i. e., they do not desire the possession and use of them like other nations. We must supply in sense ac aha nationes after haud perinde. On perinde and proinde (which latter form some editors adopt here), consult Zumpt, § 282, but more particularly Hand, ad TurselL, vol. iv., p. 451. Some grammarians make haud perinde here and elsewhere equivalent to haud magnopere ; incorrectly, how- ever, since there is always in these words a latent comparison. Boetticher falls into this error in his Lexicon to Tacitus. (Compare Ruhnken, Prcef. ad Schell. Lex., p. 517, ed Friedem. — Roth, ad Tacit., Agric, 10. — Duker, ad Liv., xxiii., 21. — Hand, ad TurselL, vol. iv., p. 462.) Est videre apud illos, &c. " One may see among them silver ves- sels held in no higher estimation than those which are formed of earth." Literally, "in no other cheapness." Observe here the employment of est in the sense of licet (Zumpt, § 227), and compare the corresponding Greek usage of tori for e^egtl. — Quamquam prox- imi, ob usum commerciorum, &c. " Although those in our immediate 68 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. V., VI. vicinity do hold gold and silver in estimation for convenience in traffic," i. e., set a value on gold and silver for the purposes of trade. — Agnoscunt atque eligunt. " Learn to know, and give the prefer- ence to." Literally, "recognize (i. e., distinguish) and pick out." Veterem et diu notam. The later silver money had been adulter- ated. (Plin., H. N.j xxxiii., 3, 9.) — Serratos bigatosque. "Those pieces, namely, that are notched at the edge, and those that bear the impress of a two-horse chariot." Supply nummos. The pref- erence of the Germans to certain forms of Roman money was founded on their apprehension of being cheated with false coin. The notched pieces would be a preventive against this, since they had their edges cut like the teeth of a saw (serra), by which means it could be seen whether the metal was the same quite through, or was only plated. The pieces termed bigati were, on the other hand, old coin of purer silver than the adulterated currency of the day. The Germans, probably, had learned to notch the Roman money in order to satisfy themselves that it was genuine, and so, in process of time, the Romans were induced to mint denarii in that manner for their use. Cautious, however, as they were, they found, in the lapse of time, that they were deceived by the reliance which they had placed on their favorite and rude criterion. The Roman for- gers passed off upon them denarii of plated copper provided with the proper indentations, and serrati of this description are still re- maining. (Car dwell j Lectures on the Coinage of the Greeks and Ro* mans j p. 160.) Sequuntur. " They seek after." (Compare Cic, de Off., i., 37; Ccbs.j B. C.j i., 1, 3.) — Nulla adfectione animi, &c. "From no pre- dilection (for that metal), but because the counting of silver pieces is more convenient for them, carrying-on, as theyxlo, a promiscuous and petty traffic." Observe that numerus is here equivalent to nu- meratioj and that after argenteorum we must supply nummorum. CHAPTER VI. Superest. "Abounds." Literally, "is over and above (their ac- tual wants)." Compare Hist., i., 51, 83 ; Agric, 45. Superare is used in the same sense. — Sicut ex genere telorum conligitur. " As may be inferred from the nature of their weapons." — Frameas. The term framea is j ram Latinized, and the modern German word Pfriem y " an awl," appears to have some affinity to it. The etymology as- signed by Isidorus is absurd : Framea autem dicta, quod ferrea est : nam sicut ferramentum, sic Framea dicitur, ac proinde omnia gladius NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP VI. 69 framea. (Isid., Orig., xviii., 6.) Klemm makes mention of three kinds of framea, and gives drawings of each. (Germ. Alterthumsk., p. 242.) — Ad usum habili. " Convenient for use," i. e., manageable. — Prout ratio poscit. "As occasion requires." Observe that ratio is here equivalent to rei conditio, i. e. % " nature of the case," or " oc- casion." Atque in immensum vibrant, &c. " And hurl them to an immense distance, being either naked, or lightly covered with a small cloak." There should be no full stop after vibrant ; they used this light dress that they might have greater freedom of movement. — Nulla cultus jactatio. " They have no pride in personal appearance," i. e., either as regards attire or arms. Tacitus here, and in similar instances, uses the abstract noun. The writers of the Augustan age would employ the verb. — Lectissimis coloribus. " With the choicest col- ors." This decoration at first denoted the valor, afterward the no- bility of the bearer, and in process of time gave origin to the ar- morial ensigns so famous in the ages of chivalry. The shields of the private men were simply colored ; those of the chieftains had also the figures of animals painted upon them. (Aikin, ad loc. Com- pare Eichhorn, Staats-, mid Rechtsgesch., i., p. 341.) — Vix uni alterive cassis aut galea. " Hardly one or two, a casque or a helmet." By cassis, strictly speaking, is meant a head-piece which has a metallic basis ; by galea, on the other hand, one that is made of skin or leather. This distinction, however, is not always observed, though it is intended to be so in the present instance. (Compare Isidor., Orig., xviii., 14.) Forma. " For beauty." Equivalent here to formositate. The inferiority of the German horses in appearance and speed, especially the latter, arose probably from their being reared, not in open plains, of which there were but few, but in places more or less covered with forests. — Sed nee variare gyros, &c. "Nor are they even taught to practice the various changes of the ring, after our fashion." Literally, "to vary circular movements." The refer- ence is to the various evolutions and changes of the ring as prac- ticed by the Romans in the training of their steeds. The object was, by dint of frequent wheelings, to render the horse perfectly obedient to the rein. (Compare Virg., Georg., iii., 191, where the Roman mode of training is alluded to.) — Nee. Observe that this particle is equivalent here to ne auidem, and compare the remarks of Hand, ad Tursell., iv., p. 105. In rectum, aut uno flexu dextros agunt, &c. " They urge them straight onward, or else by one continued turning toward the right, 70 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. VI. in so close a circle that no one is behind the rest." Observe that dextros is here equivalent to dextrorsus. The meaning of this pass- age has been often misunderstood, from its being supposed to re- fer to military tactics and the evolutions of the battle-field. That cavalry, however, should always wheel to the right is, as has justly been remarked, utterly inconceivable, since in some positions this would make them present their rear, instead of their front, to the enemy. The truth is, Tacitus is merely alluding to the German mode of training steeds, as contrasted with that of the Romans. The latter, as he has just informed us, practiced various changes of the ring, or, in other words, made the steed perform a variety of complicated movements, in order to render him, by dint of numer- ous turnings both to the right and left, more obedient to the rein ; the Germans, on the other hand, had only two modes of proceeding, namely, either to ride straight onward, or else to move round in one continued ring, by a constant turning of the horse toward the right. And this movement was practiced by a number of riders at one and the same time, and who followed one another so closely that the ring or circle which they formed may be said to have had neither beginning nor end, and hence no one was behind the rest. (Com- pare Gerlach, ad loc.) Plus penes peditem roboris. The German cavalry, however, were generally superior to the Roman in their encounters. (Compare Cces., B. G., iv., 12, where eight hundred German horse are said to have put to flight a body of Roman cavalry to the number of five thousand.) — Eoque mixti prozliantur. A very graphic description of this mode of fighting is given by Caesar. (B. G., i., 48.) It was adopted by Caesar himself at the battle of Pharsalia. (B. C, iii., 75.) — Apia et congruente ad equestrem pugnam, &c. " The agility of their infantry being well adapted for, and fitly uniting with an eques- trian conflict." We must be careful not to regard apta and congru- ente here as mere synonymous terms. The latter, in fact, strength- ens and amplifies the signification of the former. Centeni ex singulis pagis sunt. " There are a hundred from each canton." Compare chapter xii., where other centeni are mentioned, having reference to civil affairs. The division by hundreds ap- pears, in fact, to have been a very widely spread one, and to per- vade the whole of Teutonic and Scandinavian antiquity. (Grote, Hist, of Greece, iii., p. 74, note.) — Id ipsum. "By this very name," i. e., the Hundreders, or a Hundreder, of such a canton. Literally, " they are called this very thing." — Nomen et honor. " An appella- tion, and a source of distinction." Grammatically speaking, a hen- NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. VI., VII. 71 diadys ; but, in reality, far more expressive than the usual form of speech would have been. Cuneos. The term cuneus was applied to a body of foot soldiers drawn up in the form of a wedge, for the purpose of breaking through an enemy's line. The common soldiers among the Romans called it a caput porcinum, or " pig's head." Hence, Agathias (de Imp. Just., ii., p. 40), in speaking of the wedge-order as adopted by the Franks against Narses, remarks, tyairjc. re av avrovg avbg ke^atjv ttj cvvQiau airoTVn&Gaodai. Consilii quam formidinis arbitrantur. " They consider a mark rather of prudence than of fear," i. e., a prudent stratagem rather than an act of cowardice. The ellipsis of magis here, like that of fid?iAov in Greek, is so common in its occurrence as to need no ex- amples. — Scutum reliquisse prcEcipuum flagitium. " To have aban- doned one's shield is a prime disgrace." Compare Horace, Od., ii., 7, 10 ; and the well-known injunctions of the Spartan women, when presenting their sons with their shields, *H rav fj kizl rdc, and Tavrrjv 6 irarfjp ooi use foo^e, aal cv ovv ravrrjv ou&, rj [17/ ego. Ignominioso. " For one thus branded with ignominy." Com.pare, as regards the punishment of the ignavi and imbelles, what is men- tioned in chapter xii. — Multique superstites bellorum, &c. "And many (such) survivors of w T ars have put an end to their infamy by the halter." CHAPTER VII. Ex nobilitate. " On account of nobility of birth," i. e., splendor of descent. Observe here the force of ex, which is nearly similar to that of propter or secundum. Compare " Distinctio paznarum ex delicto" (c. 12) ; ex modo virium (c. 34), and consult Botticher, Lex. Tacit., p. 166. — Nee regibus injinita aut libera potestas. For an ac- count of the prerogatives and powers of the early German kings, consult Klemm, Germ. Alter thumsh., p. 204, seqq. Some of the north- eastern tribes appear, however, to have been ruled over more des- potically. Compare, also, what is said by our author of the Suiones and Sitones, in chapters xliv. and xlv. As regards the distinction between the offices of rex and dux, it may be remarked, that at the period of the great migration of the northern nations these two ap- pear to have been united into one. (Klemm, L c.) Et duces exemplo, &c. " And their leaders (are so) through the force of example, rather than from any exercise of authority," i. e., they command less through the force of authority tt.an of example. 72 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. VII. — Admiratione prasunt. " They take the lead by reason of the ad- miration which they inspire." — Animadvertere. " To put to death." This verb commonly means "to punish" simply; here, however, it is to be taken in a stronger sense, as in Hist., i., 46, and iv., 49, and we may supply gladio or something similar. Tacitus, it will be perceived, is descending from heavier to lighter punishments. — Vincire. Bonds would be something yet more offensive to freemen than stripes. — Nisi sacerdotibus permission. The statement of Tac- itus is at variance with that of Caesar, who remarks (B. G., vi., 23), " Quum bellum civitas aut illatum defendit, aut infer t, magistratus, qui ei hello prcesint, ut vitce. necisque habeant potestatem deliguntur." Lip- sius seeks to reconcile these two authorities by supposing that Tacitus refers to a state of peace, but Csesar to one of war. He is plainly contradicted, however, by what follows. Non quasi in pcenam, &c. What was thus inflicted by the priests was not regarded in the light of a mere judicial sentence, nor as emanating from the dux, or military leader, but as something coming from on high. — Sed velut deo imperante, &c. The god Thor, the German Mars, is meant. (Compare chapter ix.) Effigiesque et signa quadam, &c. " (On this account), moreover, they carry to battle effigies (of animals), and certain standards taken down from their (sacred) groves," i. e., in consequence of this belief that the god is present in the battle-field, they bear to battle the effigies of animals answering the purposes of standards, w r hich, from the circumstance of their having been preserved in sacred groves, will, it is conceived, propitiate the favor of the divinity, and induce him to be on their side. With effigies, supply ferarum, an ellipsis supplied elsewhere by Tacitus himself, Hist., iv., 22 : " Depromta silvis lucisque ferarum imagines." The expression effigies et signa qucedam, moreover, means nothing more than " effigies forming or answering the purpose of a kind of standards," the conjunction et being bere merely explanatory, and the standards referred to being like those represented on the columns of Trajan and Antoninus, namely, the figure of an animal at the top of a pole. (Dilthey, ad loc. — Gerlach, ad loc. — Klemm, Germ. Alter thumsk., p. 231.) Turmam aut cuneum. " The troop of horse, or the wedge of foot." Among the Romans a turma contained thirty men ; here, however, the word is used in a general sense. — Families et propinquitates. "Families and kindreds." Eichhorn appears to be in error when he thinks that these bore more analogy to the Roman gentes than to relationship of blood or wedlock. (Staats und Rechts Gesch., i., p. 84.)— 2^ in proximo pignora. "And close by are the (dearest NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. VIL, VXH. 73 pledges (of affection)." The allusion is to their mothers, wives, and children, who were accustomed to go out with them to war, and remained by and acted as a sort of guard for the wagons. (Compare chap, viii., and Hist., iv., 18.) With proximo supply loco. — Sanctis- simi testes. "The most revered witnesses (of his bearing in the fight)." Exigere. " To compare and examine minutely." The force of this term here is well explained by Gronovius : " taxare et dignoscere ; expe?idere et comparare inter se vulnera, cum laude ejus, qui majora et honestiora tulerit." Rhenanus conjectured exsugere, "to suck," which the Bipont edition adopts ; but the present reading is far more spirited. — Cibosque et hortamina. " Both food and encouragement." Two different things connected with one verb gestare. Compare ehap. i. : " Mutuo metu aut montibus separatur" CHAPTER VIII. Quasdam acies, inclinatas jam, &c. "That some armies, already giving way and ready to flee, have been rallied by the women." Literally, " have been restored." — Objectu pectorum. " By present- ing unto them their breasts," i. e., by presenting their breasts unto their husbands and brothers, and begging death at their hands rather than captivity. (Compare Dilthey, ad loc.) Tacitus very often em- ploys verbal nouns of the fourth declension, and in the ablative case, in the place of participles. " Nomine. "On account of." (Compare Hist., i., 29: " Non quia rneo nomine paveam," and consult Botticher, Lex. Tac, s. v.) — Effica- cius obligentur." "Are more effectually bound (to obedience)." — Puclla quoque nobiles imperantur. Heinsius and Huet, without any necessity, conjecture nubiles. As regards the fact itself here re- ferred to, we may compare Suetonius {Aug., 21): "A quibusdam novum genus obsidum, feminas, exigere tentavit," &c. — Inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid, &c. "Nay, they even think that there is something sacred and prescient in (the female sex)." Compare Catrum et 120 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA.— CHAP. XXXIX. , XL : prisca formidine sacram. " Consecrated by the auguries of their fore- fathers, and the awe-inspiring associations of former times." These words form an hexameter line. Compare also Ann., i., 1. — Ccbso- que publice homine. Compare chapter ix. Some commentators sup- pose that Tacitus alludes to this in what he says in that same chapter, " Pars Suevorum et Isidi sacrificat." — Primordia. The human sac- rifice formed the beginning of the rite ; what the remainder of the ceremony was our author does not inform us. Est et alia luco reverentia. " There is also another mark of rev- erential homage paid unto the grove." — Ut minor. " As an inferior being." Compare the usage of the Greek language in the case of tjttuv, and also Ann., xv., 16 ; Hor., Ep., i., 10, 35. The chain in- dicates that the wearer regards himself as the slave of the deity. — Et potestatem numinis, &c. " And displaying in his own person the power of the divinity," i. e., in the chain that fetters him. Evohuntur. "They roll themselves out." Compare note on miscetur, chapter i. — Eo respicit. " Has reference to this," i. e., has this import, has this object in view. — Inde. " From this spot," i. e., the sacred grove. They believed in the autochthonous origin of their race. — Adjicit auctoritatem. Supply superstitioni Mi. Observe that adjicere is also used absolutely, meaning " to increase." Centum pagis habitant. Caesar (B. G.,*i., 37; iv., 1) says the same of the Suevi. Both writers probably only drew their infor- mation from some vague traditions. Mannert contends that Sem- nones was not the name of any particular tribe, but a common one, like that of Suevi, and applied to the northern branches of the latter people. The name does not occur in history after the reign of An- toninus Pius. (Mannert, Geogr., iii., p. 331, seqq.) Magnoque corpore. Supply civitatis. Compare Hist., iv., 64; Liv., xxvi., 16; xxxiv., 8. CHAPTER XL. Contra Langobardos paucitas nobilitat. " On the other hand, their paucity of numbers ennobles the Langobardi," i. e., because, though few in number, they maintained their ground against the tribes by whom they were surrounded (the Cherusci, Marcomanni, Semno- nes, Hermunduri, Cauci, and Marsi), " not by obsequious submis- sion" to their neighbors, " but by battles and daring." — Langobardos. The Langobardi frequently changed their settlements. At first tkey dwelt in the neighborhood of the Lower Elbe, in the tract now called Bardengau, between Magdeburg, Luneburg, and Hamburg, where the NOTES OX THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XL. 121 town of Bardwick stands, and in which quarter they were subdued by Tiberius. (Consult Geographical Index.) Reudigni deinde et Aviaries. The position of these two tribes is uncertain. They probably lived near Liineburg. — Angli. The An- gli are not mentioned in the expeditions of Drusus and Tiberius, and, therefore, probably were at that time on the east of the Elbe. Ptol- emy places them on the west, in what is now Magdeburg. Their name does not appear separately in history till they joined the Sax- ons in the conquest of Britain. Part of them remained behind in Denmark, where a tract of land in Schleswig still bears the name of Angeln. — Varini et Eudoses, &c. For an account of these tribes, consult Geographical Index. Hertham. The MSK3. and earlier editions have Nerthum, which Rhenanus (in 1519) corrected into Herthum, and Oberlin, finally, into Hertham. Passow, Hesse, Dilthey, and others, have restored Xer- thum ; Hack retains Herthum ; while Bekker, "Walch, &c., give the preference to Hertham, which appears, on the whole, the better read- ing. The word is manifestly the same as the German Erde and the English Earth, and its more Germanic form was probably JErth-a, with the Latin declension-suffix. Consult Klemm, Germ. Alter- thumsk., p. 286, and the work of Barth, " Hertha" Augs., 1818, 8vo. Eamque intervenire rebus hominum, &c. " And they think that she takes part in the affairs of men, that she visits the different na- tions." Literally, " that she bears herself among the nations." Ob- serve that populis is here the ablative, not the dative, as some sup- pose. In insula oceani. There are various opinions respecting the sit- uation of this island. It is identified by different writers with Ru- gen, Fosettesland, Mona, Heligoland, Fehmern, Bornholm, Poel,&c, but Rugen is most probably the island meant. The wood spoken of seems to be that of Stubnitz, and the lake the Burgsee. In this forest is a lofty rock, to this day called Hertha's rock, with a lake at the bottom of it, in shape nearly circular, of immense depth, and surrounded by very thick woods. Among the northern nations islands were almost invariably selected for the performance of their religious rites ; as was the case with Anglesea, the Isle of Man, Holy Island, Iona, &c. Castum. "Unpolluted." Nearly all the circumstances mentioned here concerning the worship of Hertha agree with those practiced at the worship of the deity of the earth (called Ceres, Rhea, Ops, Demeter, Cybele, or Isis), in Thrace and Phrygia, by the Cabiri, Co- rybantes, and Ideei Dactyli. At Pessinus festive days were kept, in F 13$ NOTJfrl ON THE GEBMANIA. CHAP. XL., XLI. which the image of the goddess was drawn in a car by cows through the towns of Phrygia. (Virg., 2£n. 9 vi., 785.) At every place through which she passed sacrifices were offered ; and in Italy, after the celebration of her festival, her car was always purified in the waters of the River Almo. Similar customs are observed by the Brahmins, in India, at the festival of Baghawadi. Is adesse penetrali, &c. kt He becomes conscious of the entrance of the goddess into her secret abiding-place," i. e., into the covered vehicle. — Bubus feminis. When nouns denoting animals are of the common gender, and the sex of the particular animal is to be stated, the term mas or femina is added. (Zumpt, § 42.) — Lceti tunc dies, &c. " Then joyous days prevail, then those places are scenes of festivity, whatsoever ones she deems worthy of visiting and being entertained in." Compare Botticher : " den ihres Besuches sie und gastlichen Verweilens wurdigt." Non bella ineunt. A festival called Alia manna frith (i. e. y All- mann's friede), in which they abstained from war, continued to be celebrated in Gothland even after the introduction of Christianity. — Pax et quies. By no means pleonastic. Pax refers to foreign wars ; quies, to internal dissensions. — Templo. " To her sacred abode," i. e., to the sacred grove or inclosure. Observe that tern- plum is here employed in its primitive meaning, not as implying any building, but merely a space marked out or set apart. Compare the Greek repevoc, from the same root (re/u, cut) with the verb reuvco. Numen ipsum. "The divinity herself." The goddess was feigned to have become polluted by mortal converse, and therefore required ablution. The priests of Cybele washed the statue of the goddess ; the Germans, unto whom statues were unknown, believed that the person of the goddess Hertha herself was thus purified, — Haurit. " Swallows up." The slaves were drowned in order that the im- posture of the priests might not be divulged. The ostensible reason, however, was, that those persons must needs perish who had beheld the goddess herself in her real form. — Quod tantum perituri vident. " Which they only see who are destined thereafter to perish," ?'. e., who, in consequence of seeing, must immediately thereafter perish. CHAPTER XLI. In secretiora Germanics. " Into the more remote recesses of Ger- many." — Propior. " Nearer (unto us is)." Supply nobis est. — Her- mundurorum. The Hermunduri lived about the sources of the Elbe, in the north of Bohemia. In the name Hermunduri, Hermun is NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XL1., XLII. 123 probably not an essential part, but merely marks that they belonged to the Hermiones. Duri seems to have been their real name, and this root appears with a German ending in Thur-ingi. (Consult Geographical Index.)— Ftda Romanis. Until A.D. 152, when a gen- eral conspiracy against the Romans was entered into by the Mar- comanni, Narisci, Hermunduri, Quadi, Suevi, Sarmatae, Vandali, La- fringes, and Buri. Non in ripa. " Not on the bank merely." Supply solum after non. The southern bank of the Danube is meant. — Penitus. "Far in the interior." — Splendidissima Rcetia provincice colonia. This is gen- erally supposed to be Augusta Vlndelicorum, now Augsburg. — Non concupiscentibus. " Not coveting them," i. e., without exciting their cupidity. — Notum olim. Through the expeditions of Drusus, Do- mitius, and Tiberius. CHAPTER XLII. Narisci. Called Varisti (OvapioToi) by Ptolemy, and Nariscae (NaptaKai) by Dio Cassius. They dwelt at the foot of the Fichtelge- birge. (Ptol., h\, 11.) — Marcomanni et Quadi. Consult Geographical Index. — Ncc Narisci Quadive degenerant. " Nor do the Narisci or the Quadi fall short (of them in valor)," i. e., nor are they inferior in valor to the Marcomanni. Supply ab Us virtute after degenerant. — Eaque Germania velut frons est, &c. "And this is, as it were, the front of Germany, so far forth as it is formed by the Danube," i. e., bo far forth as the Danube forms this front, and separates Germany 1 in this quarter from the Roman possessions. With per agitur, which is here to be taken in the sense of ejjicilur, supply frons from the pre- vious clause. Passow understands iter, which appears much less appropriate. Some editors read pergitur, others porrigitur, but all the MSS. and earlier editions have peragitur. Nobile Marobodui et Tudri genus. Of Maroboduus mention will be found in the Geographical Index, s. v. Marcomanni. Tuder or Tudrus is not mentioned by any other writer but Tacitus, nor by the latter elsewhere than in the present passage. Neither are other kings of the Marcomanni and Quadi spoken of except by writers of a later age ; as Attalus (Aurel. Vict.) and Queen Fritigil (Paulinus) among the Marcomanni : and Phurtius, Ariogaesus (Dio Cass., lxxi., 13), Caiobamarus (Dio Cass., lxxvii., 20), Araharius, Viduarius, Agilimundus, and Gabinius (Amm. Marcell.). Externos reges. As Catualda, Vannius, Vangio, Sido. (Ann., ii., 62, 63; xii., 29, 30.)— Sed vis et potentia, &c. Partly on account 124 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XLH., XLITI. of the support afforded them by the Romans against the different factions of their kingdoms ; partly because some of them owed their royalty to the Romans. — Sapius pecunia. In point of fact, however, the Romans themselves were sometimes compelled to pay tribute to these princes, as to Decebalus, the King of the Daci, and his allies , the Marcomanni and Quadi. (Dio Cass., lxvii., 7 ; lxviii., 9.) Com- pare chap, xv., &c. CHAPTER XLITI. Retro. " Farther back," i. e., farther from the Danube, and more in the interior. — Marsigni, Gothini, &c. Consult Geographical In- dex.— '-Terga cludunt. " They shut in the rear." — Referunt. " Re- semble." So robora parentum liberi referunt (c. 20). — Osos Panno- nica lingua. Compare notes on chapter xxviii. — Sarmatcz. By the Sarmatae here are probably meant the Iazyges Metanastae, who dwelt in the neighborhood of the Quadi, or else the Sidones. Gothini, quo magis pudeat, &c. Because the iron mines in their country ought to furnish them with arms, with which to assert their freedom. The Greeks and Romans generally employed slaves to work in the mines. — Pauca campestrium. " A small extent (only) of level country." Observe the poetical form of expression. The more ordinary one would be pauca campestria loca. Continuum montium jugum. Tacitus does not give us the name of this chain of mountains, but from his description it appears to be identical with the Asciburgian range of Ptolemy, and the modern Riesengebirge. — Lygiorum nomen. "The nation of the Lygii." Literally, "the name of the Lygii," i. e., the tribes included under the name. (Consult Geographical Index.) — Arios, Helveconas, &e. The positions of these subdivisions are not determined with accu- racy. For remarks concerning them, consult Geographical Index, s. v. Arii.-r-Midiebri ornatu. The priest was probably attired in a flowing robe, which, contrasting as it did with the closely-fitting attire of the Germans in general, was mistaken for a female dress. Sed deos, inter pretatione Romana, &c. "But they say that the gods (worshiped there) are, according to Roman interpretation, Castor and Pollux," i. e. writers and travelers inform us, that the gods worshiped in this sacred grove resemble in their attributes, and are the same with the Roman deities Castor and Pollux. — Ea vis numini, &c. " This is the power assigned unto their godhead ; their name is Aid ;" i. e., such are the attributes of these divinities, resembling those of the Dioscuri, &c. — Aids. The dative plural NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XLIII. 125 by a well-known Hellenism (est Mis nomen Alcis), and to be deduced, therefore, from a nominative plural ~Alci, not from such a form as Alces, which would make Alcibus. Anton derives the name from the Sclavonic holcz, " a boy" or "youth," in the plural holczy, with which we may compare the well-known epithet of AiocKopoc, " sons of Jove," applied to Castor and Pollux. (Anton, Laus. Mon. Schrift, 1793, i., 22. — Id., Gesch. der Deutschen Nation, i., p. 381. Compare Klemm, Germ. Alter thumsk., p. 288.) Yenerantur. To be takea transitively : the passive was not in use except in the participle. — Enumeratos paulo ante populos. The Mar- signi, Gothini, and Osi. — Insitce feritati arte ac tempore lenocinantur . " Increase the effect of their innate ferocity by calling art and a par- ticular time to their aid." Literally, " pander to their innate ferocity by means of art and time." Arte refers to their black shields and stained bodies ; tempore to the murky nights chosen for their en- gagements ; " atras ad prcelia nodes legunt." Tincta corpora. " Their bodies are stained," i. e., a dark or sable hue. This practice, which was unusual among the Germans, was probably borrowed from the Sarmatian tribes. (Compare Herod., v., 6.) — Ipsa formidine, &c. "By the very alarm (which their as- pect occasions), and by the shade-like appearance of their funereal host." The funereal gloom of their sable bands makes these re- semble so many spectres. — Infernum. " Unearthly." Gotones. Consult Geographical Index. — Regnantur. Consult notes on chap. xxv. — Paulo adductius. " With a somewhat tighter rein." A metaphor from drawing in the reins of a steed. — Supra libertatcm. " To a degree incompatible with freedom." Literally, " above freedom," i. e., rising above and triumphing over it. — Pro- tinus deinde ab oceano. " Immediately thereafter in the direction of (and reaching to) the ocean." As regards the peculiar meaning of ab in this passage, compare the remarks of Hand (ad Tursell, vol. i., p. 48) : " Ab indicat regionem et statum rei alicujus. Nam ut lo- cum, quern aliqua res obtinet, verbis designemus, ad aliam rem respicere, et utriusque situm vel ex vicinia vet ex distantia concipere solemus. Latini dicebant rem ab aliqua re stare et sitam esse, ubi intelligebant vel regionem adversam, vel vicinam, vel anteriorem. Reddi igitur potest sensus per a parte, versus," &c. Rugii et Lemovii. The Rugii lived between the Oder and Vistula. The island of Rugen probably took its name from them. After the death of Attila, they took possession of part of Austria, Moravia, and Upper Hungary, but in A.D. 480 were either destroyed or dis- persed by Odoacer. The Lemovii seem to have dwelt near the town and river of Leba. They are not mentioned elsewhere 126 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XLIV. CHAPTER XLIV. Suionum. The Suiones inhabited the south of Sweden, which was supposed by the ancients to be an island. — Ipso in oceano. " In the very ocean." The reference is to their supposed insular situa- tion. The ocean meant is the Baltic Sea.— Eo differt. " Differs in this respect from that of ours." — Quod utrimque prom, &c. Resem- bling the canoes still used by the Swedes* and by our own aborigi- nes (Compare Ann., ii., 6.) — Paratam semper appulsui, &c. "Af- fords a front always ready for driving up on the beach." — Nee min- istrantur. " They are neither worked." — In ordinem. " In any regular order." Observe the employment of in with the accusative, on account of the idea of movement implied in adjungunt. — Solu- turn, ut in quibusdam fluminum, &c. " Their mode of rowing is without any regularity, as (is practiced) in some rivers, and changes, as occasion requires, on this side or on that." The movement here described is like the paddling of a canoe. — In quibusdam flumi- num. Pronouns, adjectives, and participles in the plural, joined with a genitive, are of frequent occurrence in Tacitus. Est apud illos et opibus honos. The wealth here referred to was acquired by traffic. What Tacitus here states relative to their honoring wealth is directly the reverse of what was the case with the other Germans. Of these last our author remarks (chap, v.) : " Possessione et usu haud perinde afficiuntur" &c. — Nullis jam ex- ceptionibus. The particle jam here implies, that as we go further northward the people degenerate more and more from the spirit of liberty which characterized the southern tribes, till at last we come to a people with an absolute ruler. — Non precario jure parendi. " With no. precarious conditions of allegiance." More freely, " with an absolute claim upon their obedience." Precarium jus is a right granted to a person's entreaties. Some editors take parendi in a passive sense, and adduce, as parallel instances, censendi causa (Cic., Verr., i., 18) ; celandi (TibulL, i., 9, 23). But this is unnecessary. Nee arma in promiscuo. " Nor are arms (allowed to be kept) pro- miscuously." Supply concessa sunt. — Et quidem servo. " And he, too, a slave." — Oceanus. Their supposed insular situation. — Otiosa porro armatorum manus, &c. As in the case of the Praetorian sol- diers and the Janissaries. Some editors give otiosa ; but the con- struction of a singular noun of multitude with a plural verb is only allowable when some clause intervenes and separates them. Such a phrase as turba ruunt would be inadmissible. — Enimvero NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XLIV., XLV. 127 regia utilitas est. " In truth, it is the policy of kings." In the pre- vious clause, namely, otiosce porro armatcrum, &c., the reason is given why arms are not allowed to ail without distinction ; and now we have the other reason assigned why the charge of them is in- trusted to a slave. CHAPTER XLV. Trans Suionas aliud mare> &c. " Beyond the Suiones is another sea, sluggish and almost without any motion," i. e., on account of the ice. (Compare Agric, 10.) — Hinc. "From the following cir- cumstance." This refers to what immediately follows, namely, quod extremus, &c. — Quod extremus cadentis jam solis fulgor, &c. " Because the last brightness of the now setting sun continues so vivid, until its rising, as to obscure the stars." Compare Agric, 12, "Dierum spatia ultra nostri orbis mensuram," &c. In the age of Pliny and Tacitus the globular form of the earth was well known. (Compare Plin., ii., 64.) And Tacitus considered the earth, though not completely spherical, as a globe at rest in the centre of the uni- verse, with the land completely surrounded by water; as Pliny (it., 66) says : " Est igitur in toto globo tellus medio ambitu pracincta circumfluo mariV (Compare, also, Plin., ii., 70, 75.) The part of the earth from Britain to the pole Tacitus conceived to be flatter than that from Italy to Britain, since there was no chain of mountains at all to be compared to the Alps ; and hence he talks of the extrema et plana ierrarum {Agric., 12). And as night is nothing else than the shadow of the earth {Plin., ii., 10) rising in the form of a cone, since the body illumined is less than the body that illumines it, the notion entertained by Tacitus is, that at the time of the solstice, when the sun approaches nearer the pole {Plin., ii., 75), and ac- cordingly does not sink far below the horizon, the shadow of the flatter parts of the earth toward the pole can not shroud the whole heavens in darkness {extrema et plana terrarum non erigunt tenebras) ; but the surface of the earth only is darkened, while the sky and stars appear above the shadow, and are illumined by the rays of the sun {infra cozlum et sidera nox cadit, Agric., 12). Sonum insuyer audiri, &c. " Popular belief adds, that a sound is, moreover, heard," &c. The sound here referred to is not that of the sun hissing as he sinks into the ocean, which, however, was the vulgar belief (compare Strabo, iii., p. 138 ; Juv., xiv., 280), but that produced by the Aurora Borealis ; and the formas deorum et radios capitis refer likewise to the fanciful shapes assumed by these electrical phenomena . To this source, perhaps, may bo traced the 128 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XLV. lays of the northern tribes, and of Ossian respecting the Walkyis, " The ghosts light as the blast of Cromla, the riders of the storm and fiery horses, sitting on low-hung clouds, and moving like the shadow of mist." Blue usque, &c. " Thus far only, and report says true, does na ture extend." Observe that tantum is to be joined in construction with illuc usque. For other modes of reading and explaining this much-contested clause, consult Walther's note. — Ergo jam dextro, &c. " To return, therefore, now, the tribes of the iEstyi, along the right-hand shore of the Suevic Sea, are washed by its waves." By the Suevic Sea is meant the Baltic. The name of the JEstyi still remains in that of the Esthen. They inhabited Prussia, Livonia, and Courland. Some think that their name merely means " the people of the east." (Compare Meidinger, Etymol. Wdrterb., p. 508.) — Lingua Britannicce propior. Compare Agric, ii., where a Germanic origin, whether correctly or not is uncertain, is attributed to the Caledonians. Matrem deum. The Isis or Hertha of the Suevi, the Frigga of the Scandinavians, the Foseta of the Cimbri. (Consult Jacobs, ad loc.) — Formas aprorum gestant. " They carry about them the forms of wild boars," i. e., as amulets. The boar, as the symbol of fecund- ity, was sacred to Hertha. Amulets of the same kind, with which the Wends used to ornament the images of their deities, have been dug up in the neighborhood of Prilwitch, a town of Mecklenburg. Many remnants of this superstition still remain in Sweden. At the time of the festival anciently celebrated in honor of Frea, the rus- tics make bread into the form of a hog, which is applied to various superstitious uses. Pro. " Supplying the place of." — Frumentum ceterosque fructus, &c. " They cultivate corn and the other fruits of the earth with more patient industry than might have been expected from the usual indolence of the Germans." Compare chapters xiv., xv. — Succinum. " Amber." So called because it was believed to be the sap (succus) of a tree. — Quod ipsi glesum vocant. " Which they themselves call glese," i. e., glass, from its brightness (gleissen, "to shine"), like yXenrpov in Greek; from which the Glesarice in- suIcb (Electrides in Greek) received their name. The term glesum, it will be perceived, is nothing more than the old German word glas or glaes Latinized, and converted into a neuter noun. (Con- sult Graff, Althochd. Sprachsch., iv., col. 288.) — Inter vada, atque in ipso litore. On the shores of Pomerania, Curonia, and Prussia ; now principally on the coast of Samland, from Pillau to the Curische NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XI/W 129 Nehrung. It first became known in the south of Europe through the Phoenicians. Nee, qucz natura, quceve ratio gignat, &c. " Nor has it been in- quired into or found out by them, as is usual among barbarians, what may be its nature, or what principle of production may give it birth," i. e., what is its nature or the manner of its production. — Ejectamenta. The term ejectamentum, here employed, is of rare oc- currence. We meet with it also in Apuleius. (ApoL, 297.) Tac- itus appears partial to words of this termination : thus we have placamenta (Hist., i., 13); meditamenta (Hist., iv., 26); turbamenta (Hist., i., 23) ; tentamenta (Hist., i\., 38) ; libramenta (Hist., iii., 23), &c. — Donee luxuria nostra dedit nomen. "Until our luxury gave it a name," i. e., celebrity. This remark must be received with some abatement, sincait would appear that amber was certainly held in some degree of estimation by the ancient Germans, at least small balls of this substance strung on horse-hair, and large unwrought pieces have been found in tombs. (Spangenberg, N. vaterl. Archiv., iv., p. 183. — Klemm, Germ. Alter thumsk., p. 22.) Perfertur. By traders through Pannonia to the Adriatic Sea, and thence to Rome. — Succum tamen arborum, &e. The same notion is advanced by Pliny (xxxvii., 2, 3). It has been shown, however, that this opinion, though a common one, is incorrect, and that am- ber is bituminous in its nature, and is produced under ground. — Im- plicata kumore. " Entangled in it while in a liquid state." — Dure- scente. " As it hardens." Fecundiora igitur nemora, &c. " For my own part, therefore, I believe, that, as in the remote regions of the east, where incense and balsam are exuded, so there are in the islands and lands of the west, woods and groves of more than ordinary luxuriance, the juices of which, squeezed out and rendered liquid by the rays of the sun close to them, flow into the neighboring sea, and are washed up on the opposite shores by the force of tempests." The incense refers to Arabia, the balsam to Judaea and Arabia. (Compare Virg., Georg., i., 57; ii., 117: Plin., xii., 54; xvi., 59: Pausan., ix., 28.) — Ut in picem resinamve lentescit. " It resolves itself into a glutin- ous mass, as if into pitch or resin," i. e., resembling pitch or resin. Suionibus Sitonum gentes continuantur. " The tribes of the Sitones follow in immediate succession after the Suiones." Observe that continuari, in the passive, is sometimes, as in the present instance, equivalent to proxime Juzrere, or continenter sequi. — Sitonum gentes. According to Mannert, the Sitones and Suiones are merely branches cf the same race under different forms of government, the country 130 NOTES ON THE GERMANIA. CHAP. XLV., XLVI. of both answering to modern Sweden. Probably, however, the Sitones extended also into Norway. In the fourth century, the Sitones became known in southern countries by the name of Sue- thans, having been carried thither in the way of traffic. (Augustin, Comment, in Ecclesiast., c. 43, v. 2 ; Jornandes, Get., c. 3 ; Mannert t Geog., hi., p. 321.) In tantum. "To such an extent." So "in quantum modum" (Ann., xv., 25) : " quantum" (Ann., vi., 21) : " in quantum." (Juv., xiv., 318.) — Non modo a liber tate, &c. Compare the paraphrase of Pichena : " Degenerant a libertate, quia ceteri Germani fere omnes liberi, hi servi ; degenerant a servitute, quia servientes populi Regibus, ideoque hominibus, servire solent, hi feminis ." CHAPTER XLVI. Peucinorum, &c. Consult Geographical Index. — Sede ac domi- ciliis. " In fixedness of settlement and in the nature of their dwell- ings." The settlements and habitations of the Peucini were fixed and stationary ; whereas the Sarmatians wandered about in their wagons. — Sordes omnium ac torpor. " Filth and laziness are charac- teristics bf all." A far more natural reading than to place, as some do, a colon after procerum, and no stop after torpor. — Procerum con- nubiis mixtis, &c. " Through the intermarriage of their chiefs with the Sarmatians, they are gradually assuming the disgusting character of that people." Ex moribus. Supply Sarmatarum. — Hi tamen inter Germanos, &c. Ptolemy and others, more correctly, make them a branch of the Sarmatians. — Domus fingunt. So " luteum fingere opus" (Ovid, Fast., i., 158); " fingere nidos" (Cic., de Or., ii., 6.) There is an- other reading, figunt, which Walther prefers. — Qucz omnia diver sa, &c. "All which customs differ from those of the Sarmatae, living, as they do, in wagons and on horseback." Literally, " all which things are different unto the Sarmatae." Fennis. The Fenni are the modern Finns, the inhabitants of Finnland. — Cubile humus. " Their couch is the ground." Observe the change of construction. We would naturally have expected cubili humus, but the nominative is substituted as more emphatic. — Ossibus asperant. " They roughly head with bones." The Sibe- rian tribes, at the present day, employ for a like purpose the bones of fish. Observe, with regard to the verb aspero, that it occurs most frequently in the poets and in Tacitus. In Cicero it never appears. Passim enim comitantur. " For they accompany (their husbands) 1 NOTES ON THE GERxMANIA. CHAP. XLVI. 131 every where." Supply viros. — In aliquo ramorum nexu. " Beneath some interlacing of boughs." — Ingemere agris, illaborare domibus. " To groan over fields, to labor upon dwellings," i. e., to groan over the plough, to labor in the erection of dwellings. The verb illabo- rare is here formed after the model of ingemere. It nowhere else appears in this meaning, since illaboratus, which does occur, has the signification of "not labored," "done without labor." — Suas alienasque for tunas, &c. " To keep their own fortunes and those of others in a state of constant disquiet through mingled hope and fear," i. e., to be harassed by the alternate hopes and fears of en- riching or ruining themselves and others in trade and traffic. Securi adversus homines. " Without care and anxiety as regards men." Observe that securi, in this and the following clause, must not be rendered " safe." Compare Agric., 9 : " Castrensis jurisdic- tio secura et obtusior," &c., and " unice securus" (Horat., Od., i., xxvi., 3.) — TJt Mis ne voto quidem opus esset, " That they would not need even a wish." Rhenanus conjectured opus sit for opus esset, and his emendation was adopted by all subsequent editors until the time of Ernesti, who restored esset, without, however, assigning a very satisfactory reason. The true reason is this : Tacitus does not mean to say that they have no need even of a wish, as if stating a fact ; but he gives merely the result of his own reflections, namely, that they would not need even a wish, if there were any thing to be actually wished for. Compare the explanation of Walther : " dass sie auch nicht einmal das Bedurfniss eines Wunsches haben diirften (scilicet si quid esset opjandum)." Hellusios et Oxionas. Probably the inhabitants of Lapland. The fable here stated may possibly have arisen from their wearing the skins of wild beasts. — Oxionas. Tacitus occasionally uses this Greek ending, as in Heheconas (chap, xliii.) ; Suionas (chap, xlv.) ; Vangionas ac Nemetas (Ann., xii., 27). — In medium relinquam. "I will make a subject of doubt, and leave undecided." Equivalent, as Botticher correctly remarks, to in dubium vocatum relinquam in medio. The preposition in, though joined here with the accusative, includes at the same time the idea of the ablative, and the clause may, therefore, be ranked under the head of a syllepsis. (Consult the remarks of Botticher on the style of Tacitus, p. xlii.of the pres- ent volume.) NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. The composition of this work may be assigned, from internal and external evidence, to the year of Rome 850-1 (A.D. 98-97), four years after Agricola's death. The first three chapters comprise the preface, the substance of which is as follows : In times of yore, when there was no reason, as now, to dread men's ignorance of vir- tue, and their envy of her votaries, it was usual to hand down to posterity the exploits and characters of famous men ; and a man was not found fault with even if he narrated his own life. But in times like these, when we have only lately seen that to praise il- lustrious men was a capital crime, I must plead for favor and in- dulgence, which I should not have done had not my path lain through times inimical to virtue, in which even those remain un- punished through whose charges Agricola fell, and through whose means many have been calumniated. At length, however, spirit and liberty are returning, though the desire of writing springs up but gradually and slowly, since talents and zeal may be more quickly smothered and suppressed than roused again to vigor and activity ; and sloth, at first the object of our hatred, ends with in- gratiating itself into our favor. Hence I am led to hope that I shall meet with excuse for having formed the design of writing this memoir. CHAPTER I. Clarorum virorum facta moresque, &c. " To transmit to posterity the exploits and characters of distinguished men, a custom prevalent in early days, not even in our own times has the age, though taking little interest in its own (eminent individuals), entirely neglected, as often as some great and ennobling instance of merit has triumphed over and surmounted a vice common to small and great communi- ties, an insensibility to, and an envying of virtue." Observe that the epithet clarus is properly applied to those who are distinguished, not by birth, but by personal merit, as warriors or statesmen. — Usi- iatum. Accusative sing. neut. of the participle, agreeing with the preceding clause. — Recti. The term rectum here corresponds to 136 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA.— CHAP. I. bpdov, opdoTijc, in the Platonic sense. Compare Auct. ad Herenn., iii., 2 : " Rectum, constans ex virtute et officio, dividitur in prudentiam, justitiam, fortitudinem, modestiam." — Ignoranliam recti et invidiam. Two causes alone can, according to Tacitus, deprive the eminent men of his time of the fame to which their merit is entitled, namely, their contemporaries either deny their claims to distinction, from an ignorance of what is truly great, or else meanly envy them. Pronum magisque in aperto erat. "Was easy and more unob- structed (than in our own times)." Pronus properly means, " bend- ing forward," " inclined," and hence, " easy." It is by no means, however, merely synonymous here with magis in aperto, as some suppose. Things are said to be in aperto in two ways : first, as re- gards a becoming acquainted with them, and then they are clear and free from all obscurity ; and, secondly, as regards a performing of them, and then they are free from obstruction and impediment. It is in the latter sense that in aperto is here used. Peerlkamp con- jectures pronum magis atque in aperto erat, ox pronum magis magisque in aperto erat; but magis is not required with pronum, since this epi- thet of itself denotes that which inclines more in some particular di- rection. (Compare Walther, ad loc.) Celeberrimus quisque ingenio, &c. Beside Arulenus Rusticus, and Senecio, mentioned in chapter ii., Pliny the elder is named as the biographer of Pomponius Secundus ; Claudius Pollio wrote a life of Musonius Bassus (Plin., Ep., vii., 31) ; and Julius Secundus, a life of Julius Asiaticus. {Dial, de Or., 14.) — Sine gratia aut ambitione. "Without predilection or interested motives." The term ambitia is not used here in the old Roman sense of an honorable suing for preferment or public favor (as well explained by Ernesti, Clav. Cic, s. v., and Heusinger, ad Cic, Off., i., 30, 9), but in the unfavor- able meaning which it acquired during the silver age, wlpn ambitio became a vitium, and denoted a desire to gain notoriety, or to pro- mote one's own interests by ministering to the wishes or prejudices of others. (Consult Watch, ad loc. ; Spalding, ad Quintil, i., 2, 22 ; Botticher, Lex. Tac, s. v.) Ac plerique suam ipsi vitam narrare, &c. " Many, too, considered it rather as a confidence in their integrity, than as a mark of arro- gance, for themselves to write the history of their own lives." Tacitus frequently makes plerique, as in the present instance, equiv- alent merely to nolloi, and not to have its full force of ol noAkoi. — Nee id Rutilio et Scaur o, &c. " Nor did this prove, unto a Rutilius and a Scaurus, a ground for withholding full credit, or a source of censure." Compare note on "extra specicm;" Germ,, c. 16. Ru- NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. I., II. 137 tilius, in addition to a biography of himself, composed a history and some orations. He was lieutenant to Q. Metellus Numidieus, A.U.C. 645. He was accused of bribery by Scaurus, was unjustly condemned, and went into exile at Smyrna, of which place he be- came a citizen, and refused to return at the invitation of Sylla. M yEmilius Scaurus was consul with M. Case. Metellus in A.U.C. 639, and again in 647, and censor in 645. He was one of the commis- sioners sent into Africa in the Jugurthine war, and suffered himself to be corrupted by Jugurtha. He was a violent opposer of Saturni- nus ; and was charged by Varius with having been instrumental in exciting the revolt of the Italian allies, but was acquitted. (Cic, Brut., 29 ; Plin., xxxiii., 6.) It is not unlikely that Rutilius, in his voluntary exile, wrote his own life as a defence of his conduct, and that this induced Scaurus to write a biography of himself. Adeo. "So true it is that." Literally, "to such a degree." Compare Be Lamalle, " tant il est max que" &c. CHAPTER II. At mihi, nunc narraturo, &c. Though, under Nerva, liberty had again dawned upon Rome, and men's courage had begun to revive, Tacitus had still to fear the malicious accusations of many, who would imagine that, in portraying the crimes of the past age, a side reference was made to their own ; and. therefore, at the commence- ment of his memoir he asks for security against all charges of this -kind. This passage may be illustrated from the Annals (iv., 33). — Ni cursaturus tempora. " Were I not about to traverse times." A metaphor borrowed from the movements of the circus. Some of the early editions read ni incur saturus, from which Lipsius conjec- tured ni incusaturus, and this latter reading has been adopted by- several subsequent editors. No change, however, is required in the common text. Legimus, cum Aruleno Rustico, &c. Both occurrences took place in Domitian's reign, A.U.C. 846 or 847. Tacitus was present at the death of Senecio, as we learn from chapter xlv. The reference in legimus is to the Acta Diurna (" Proceedings of the Day"), a kind of gazette published daily at Rome under the authority of the gov- ernment, and which contained an account of the proceedings of the public assemblies, of the law courts, of the punishment of offend- ers, and also a list of births, marriages, deaths, &c. (Consult Diet. Ant., s. v.) — Aruleno Rustico. Dio Cassius states that Domi- tian put Arulenus to death because he was a philosopher, and be 1*38 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. II. cause he had given Thrasea the appellation of " holy" (nal on top Qpaciav lepbv G)v6pa&. Dio Cass., lxvii., 11. Compare Ann., xvi., 25, 26). Among the accusers of Arulenus, M. Regulus was subscript tor. The real accuser was Metius Carus. — Pcetus Thrasea. For the account of the death of this individual under Nero (A.U.C. 820), consult Ann., xvi., 21. — Herennio Senecioni. With regard to this in- dividual, consult chapter xlv. — Priscus Helvidius. Helvidius Pris- cus was the son-in-law of Thrasea. (Consult Hist., iv., 5.) He was banished and put to death by Vespasian. (Suet., Vesp., 15; Masson, Vit. Plin., p. 15.) Triumviris. The Triumviri Capitales are meant, among whose other duties was that of carrying into effect the sentences of the law, &c. They were attended by eight lictors to execute their or- ders. Pliny (Ep., vii., 19) says, " senatus consulto abolitos libros,'* alluding to the present affair ; but this contains no contradiction to the narrative of Tacitus, since the decree of the senate would come first, and the burning of the works by the Triumvirs, or, rather, their lictors, would follow. (JValch, ad loc.) — In comitio ac foro. The comitium adjoined the forum, and was the place of public execution in the time of the emperors. Originally, it was the spot where the Comitia Curiata were held. Compare Seneca (Cont., vii., 1): " Nefas commissum est, ad cxpiandum scelus Triumviris opus est, comitio, carnifice." Conscientiam generis humani. " The secret convictions of man- kind." The term conscientia is here employed to denote the knowl- edge or persuasion of a thing which one has in common with others, or, as Botticher terms it, " communis alicujus rei sciential and the idea of Tacitus is well carried out by the Delphin editor : " cognitio kcec interna et arcana omnium mortalium, qua simul et secreta ac tacita accusatio fuit scelerum Domitiani : qua conscientia ad tcmpus cohibita vi dominationis, pressaque silentio, tandem erumperet." — Expulsis in- super sapientia professoribus, &c. Eusebius mentions that the phi- losophers (who are here meant by sapientice professores) were twice expelled by Domitian, first in A.D. 89, and again in A.D. 96. That Tacitus refers to the latter of these occasions, is evident from chap, xlv., and from Dio Cassius (lxvii., 13), 01 6e Tiolttol ((ptTioooyot) av- 6tg k%r\kadr\aav etc rfjc TcJfi?]g. As this expulsion of the philosophers is spoken of as the consequence of the deaths of Senecio and Aru- lenus, it should probably be placed in the commencement of A.U.C. 847, or iV.D. 94. ( Walch, ad loc.) Vetus atas. This expression, like prius (Bvum (Hist n i., 1), gen- erally refers in Tacitus to the period before the battle of Actium.— NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. II., III. 139 Quid ultimum in liber tate esset. " What was the furthest limit in freedom.'' By the ultirnum in libertate we are not to understand the greatest happiness, nor the last remnants of liberty under Augustus and Tiberius ; but rather, as Walcb remarks, unbridled licentious- ness, the immoderata libertas of Cicero. (Cic, Ep. ad Quint. Fr. t i., 1.) — Per inquisitiones. u By spyings (in the very bosoms of our families)." Compare Walch : " heimliche Nachspdhungen ,•" and, as an illustration of the idea intended to be conveyed by the term, Ann., iv., 69 : " Pavens civitas nota, ignotaque aures vitari ; etiam muta et inanima, tectum et parietes circumspectabantur '." — Et loquendi. Lipsius conjectures etiam loquendi, but without any necessity, since et itself has here the force of etiam. (Walther, ad loc.) Memoriam quoque ipsam, &c. The meaning is this : we would have gone so far in our patient endurance of tyranny, as not to have dared even to remember if, &c. This explanation will obviate the objection made to nostra by Jacob in Jahn's Jahrbucher, for 1828, vol. ii., 2, p. 161. CHAPTER III. Animus. " Courage." — Et quamquam. The conjunction et has here the force of et tamen, " and yet." — Beatissimi saculi. " Of this most blissful period." The term scecuhim here does not mean a century, but a period of uncertain duration, lasting until another emperor introduced a new order of things. Thus Pliny {Ep., x., 2) styles the reign of Domitian " tristissimum saculum." The period, to the commencement of which Tacitus- here alludes, deserved, as the event abundantly showed, the epithet beatissimum here bestowed upon it. It began when, after the death of Domitian, the imperial authority devolved on Nerva, and the virtues of this prince were em- ulated by the successive emperors Trajan, Hadrian, and both the Antonines. The reigns of these five monarchs, embracing a period of nearly ninety years, formed the happiest era in the history of the Roman Empire. JServa Ccesar. Since Tacitus does not apply to him the term Divus, it may be conjectured that the life of Agricola was published while Nerva was yet alive, that is, between the 16th of September, A.D. 97, when Trajan was adopted, and the 27th of January, A.D. 98, the date of Nerva's death. ( Waich, ad loc. — Ryckius, ad Ann., lii., 24.) — Res olim dissociabilcs miscuerit. " Has united things be- fore irreconcilable." — Nerva Trajanus. Trajan was so called when adopted by Nerva. Brotier refers to a gold coin, in the royal col- 140 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. III. lection at Paris, with the inscription NERVA TRAJAN. C^ES. GERM. NERV. AVG. F. P. TR. P. COS. II., that is, Nerva Traja- nus, CcBsar, Germanicus, Nervce Augusti Jilius, Pontifex, Tribunicice Potestatis, consul iterum ; and on the reverse ADOPTATIO. — Nee spent modo ac votum, &c. " And the public security has not only- conceived hopes and wishes, but has attained unto confidence in the fulfillment of those very wishes, and unto a state of stability." Observe the zeugma in assumserit, by which it obtains in the first clause the force of conceperit. The public security, moreover, is here personified, and there is an allusion to the medallions struck by the emperors, with the figure of the goddess Securitas, and the inscription SECVRITAS or SECVRITATI PERPETVAE. Ingenia studiaque. "Talents and literary industry." — Subit. " Steals over us." Analogous to the Greek vnspxeTcu. Per quindecim annos. Referring to the fifteen years of Domitian's tyranny, from A.D. 81 to 96, between the reigns of Titus and Nerva. — Multi fortuitis casibus. This is the emendation of Lipsius, in place of the common reading multis fortuitis casibus. The op- position between multi and promtissimus quisque proves at once the correctness of the change. — Promtissimus quisque. " All those most distinguished for readiness and activity." Pauci, ut ita dixerim, &c. " A few of us are, if I may use the ex- pression, survivors not only of others, but even of our own selves," i. e., have outlived not only others, in a corporeal sense, but even^our own selves in what relates to the mind : because, to use the words of Pliny (Ep., viii., 14), " Ingenia nostra in posterum quoque hebetata, fracta, contusa sunt. 11 Observe that the words ut ita dixerim are in- tended as an apology for the boldness of expression in nostri super- stites. With regard, moreover, to the employment here of dixerim instead of the earlier dicam, consult Zumpt, § 528, note 1. Quibus juvenes ad senectutem, &c. Tacitus could not include him- self among the senes, a latter class here mentioned, since at this period he was only about forty-five years old. — Per silentium. By silentium is here meant the repression of mental activity, referring to what was said before, studia represseris facilius quam revocaveris. Memoriam prioris servitutis. " A memorial of former servitude." Namely, in his Annals and Histories.— Testimonium prcesentium bo- norum. In the history of Nerva and Trajan which he intended to compose in his old age. (Compare Hist., i., 1.) — Hie interim liber, &c. " The present work, meanwhile, dedicated to the honor of my father-in-law Agricola, will be either praised, or (at least) ex- cused, from its profession of filial piety," i. e., from the feeling of NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. IV. 141 filial piety in which it professes to have been composed, or, in other words, from the piety of the intent. The term pietas most gener* ally means filial piety or affection. CHAPTER IV. Vetere et illustri Forojuliensium colonia. " In the ancient and il- lustrious colony of Forumjulii." The town of Forumjulii (called also Forojulii) was situate in Gallia Narbonensis, and is now Frejus. It must not be confounded w r ith Forumjulii in Venetia, now Friuli. The term illustris is here applied to the former, not so much from its own intrinsic importance as from the renown of its founder, Julius /Caesar. It was founded about the year B.C. 43, on the site of the an- cient Oxubia. Pliny (iii., 4) calls the place Octavanorum colonia, from the veterans of the 8th legion, who composed the colony ; and Pa- censis et Classica, from its being the station of a Roman fleet. — Pro- curator em Cazsarum. " An imperial procurator." These procura- tores not only exacted the tribute from the provinces, and acted as stewards where the emperor had possessions, but collected the vigesima hereditatum and other imperial perquisites. (Compare Mas cow, de Procurat., i., 7, and Walch, ad loc.) — Quce equestris no- bilitas est. " Which post confers equestrian nobility," i. e., which post raises a man to the rank of an eques illustris, and gives him the right to sit in the senate and to wear the toga laticlavia. * A dis- tinction of rank had arisen even in the time of Augustus among the equites. (Compare Bio Cass., liv., 30, and Walch, ad loc.) Julius Grcecinus. Seneca bears very honorable testimony to his character, and says that he was put to death by Caligula because it was inexpedient for a tyrant to have so virtuous a subject. (Senec, de Bene/., ii., 21.) The name Graecinus occurs in the Fasti, among the consules suffecti of the year A.D. 16. From the contents of the books (xiv. and xv.), for which Pliny consulted the works of this individual, he would appear to have written on botany or viti- culture. (Compare, also, Columell.,\., 14.) — Sapientice. Philosophy is meant. — M. Silanum. Silanus was consul A.D. 19. (Ann., ii., 59.) In the year 33, Caligula married his daughter Junia Claudilla. (Ann., vi., 20.) He was appointed proconsul of Africa, and after- ward put to death by the emperor. (Hist., iv., 48. Suet., Cal, 23.) In hujus sinu indulgentmque educatus. " Brought up in the bosom and beneath the affectionate care of this parent." The expression in sinu refers to the strict supervision exercised by his parent, and indulgcntia (which is here to be taken in a good sense) to the mild- 142 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. IV. ness with which that supervision was affectionately enforced. Ag- ricola's mother brought back the old Roman custom of mothers themselves superintending the education of their children, and not leaving this to slaves. Hence the peculiar force of in sinu. Hein- sius, mistaking the true meaning of indulgenlia here, conjectures, very unnecessarily, in cujus sinu diligenti cara, or indulgentia abs- que. — Per omnem honestarum ar.tium cultum. " In the cultivation of ail liberal studies." Omnem must here be taken in sense with artium. Arcebateum ab illecebris, &c. " Independently of his ow r n good and uncorrupted disposition, it served to keep him from the allurements of the vicious, that from earliest boyhood he had had Massilia as the seat and directress of his studies, a place where Grecian politeness w r as mingled and well united with provincial moderation and fru- gality." Observe that the indicative habuerat is necessary, because it simply assigns the reason for arcebat. The reading habuerit is er- roneous. — MassiUam. Massilia, by the Greeks called Massalia (Macr- calia), and now Marseilles, was a celebrated colony of the Pho- caeans, on the Mediterranean coast of Gaul. It became famous under the Roman emperors as a school of literature and the sci- ences. — Locum Graca comitate, &c. Enallage, for locus in quo mixta erant. Acrius hausisse. " Would have drunk in too eagerly," i. e., would have pursued with too much ardor. Observe that hausisse is here for hausurum fuisse. Pichena conjectured ac juris instead of acrius, and is followed by some editors; but the study of jurisprudence was never forbidden to a Roman and a senator. — Ultra quam con- cession, &c. Observe that by senatori is here properly meant not an actual senator, but a person of senatorial birth, that is, whose father was a senator. (Dronke, ad loc.) The study of philosophy was never held in high estimation by the Romans generally (com- pare Cic, Off., ii., 1) ; here, however, the reference is to the state of things under the empire, when philosophical studies, especially those connected with the doctrines of the Stoics, were viewed by bad princes with a suspicious eye, as tending to foster sentiments hos- tile to tyranny. (Walch, ad loc.) Pulchritudinem ac speciem. "The beauty and the array." Not a hendiadys, as some maintain, for pulchram speciem. On the con- trary, species increases the force of pulchritudo. Compare the re- mark of Bdtticher (Prolegom. ad Tac, p. lxxxi.) : " Avget species vim pulchritudinis eamque dcsignat qua oculis hominum se prabet." — Ye- hcmentins quam caute. This is one of the many varieties which NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. IV., V. 143 Tacitus employs in expressing a comparison, the positive being used for the comparative. The more regular construction would have been vehementius quam cautius. — Retinuitque, quod est difficult- mum, &c. " And he retained, what is the most difficult of all, frora the study of wisdom, moderation." The ancient philosophers taught that nothing is good in itself unless under the regulation of se one above the other along the ascent of the mountain." — Media campi. " The interven- ing space (between the two armies)." The space between the van of the Caledonians and the Roman line. — Covinarius. " The chari- oteers." Singular for the plural, as in eques immediately after. Covinarius signifies the driver of a covinus (Celtic Kowain), a kind of car, the spokes of which were armed with long sickles, and which w r as used as a scythe-chariot chiefly by the ancient Belgians and Britons. {Diet. Ant., s. v.) — Eques. The cavalry of the Britons is NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XXXV., XXXVI. 193 meant (for they had both charioteers and horse), not that of the Ro- mans. (Compare note on "interim equitum turmce fugere," &c, chap, xxxvi.) Simul in frontem simul et latera. Gesner, without any necessity, reads et in latera. The preposition is understood. Compare Ann., vi., 51 : " Quamquam mater in Liviam, et mox (in) Juliam familiam adoptionibics transient." Similar examples of ellipsis in the case of de, per, ad, and a may be seen in Wopkens, Act. Traj., ii., p. 67. Nothing is more in accordance with the conciseness of Tacitus. — Diductisordinibus. " Having extended his ranks." Compare Duker, ad Liv., v., 28. Virdung refers in illustration to the Greek vnepyal- ayyelv, " to extend the line of one's phalanx." — Porreetior. " More drawn out," i. e., weaker. — Promtior in spem. Tacitus, also, uses promtior alicui. Thus, Ann., iv., 60 : " Mater promtior Neroni erat." Older writers commonly have promtus ad aliquid. — Pedes ante vexilla constitit. " He took his station on foot before the ensigns." CHAPTER XXXVI. Constantia. "With steadiness." — Arte. "With dexterity." — Ingentibus gladiis et br embus cetris. " With huge swords and short targets." These targets {cetra) were small and round, and made of the hide of a quadruped. The broad-sword and target long re- mained, even in modern times, the peculiar arms of the Scottish Highlanders. — Vitare, vel excutere. "Avoided or struck aside." According to Vegetius (i., 4), the Roman recruit was instructed plagam prudenter evitare, et obliquis ictibus venientia tela deflectere. This is what Tacitus expresses here by the words evitare and ex- cutere. Tungrorum duas. Many monuments of these Tungrian cohorts remain in Britain, on which we find the words COH. TUNGR. or COH. I. TUNGROR. MIL.— Ad mucrones ac manus. "To the sword-point and a hand-to-hand fight." The Britons struck with the edge of their swords (casim) ; the Romans, on the contrary, and the allies that were armed after the Roman fashion, used their shorter weapons for both cutting and thrusting (ccesim et punctim). On the present occasion the Batavians and Tungri are ordered to rush in to close quarters and employ the thrust, which would place their opponents completely at their mercy. (Compare Vegetius, i., 12, and Brotier, ad loc.) Quod et ipsis vetustate militia exercitatum, &c. "A movement that was both familiar unto themselves, from long experience in I 194 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XXX VI. warfare, and embarrassing to the foe," &e. The small shields of the Britons did not cover their bodies, and their huge swords were not easily wielded at close quarters. — Complexum armorum et in arcto pugnam. (i The thrusts of the Roman weapons, and a close fight." According to Ernesti, complexus armorum is pugna quce fit cominus et conserendis manibus. Brotier understands it in the same sense : Complexus est quod Gallice dicimus " la m£lee," cum cominus hostis petitur ; if, however, this interpretation were correct, complexus armorum would have the same meaning as the following words, in arcto pugna, that is, pugna cominus. But as in arcto pugnam refers, apparently, to manus preceding (ut rem ad mucrones ac manus adduce- rent), so complexus may refer to mucrones ; and it will then merely mean the blows or thrusts of the Roman weapons. — In arcto pug- nam. So, " in arcto pugna" (Liv. t xxviii., 33). The old reading was in aperto, which does not suit the meaning. Miscere ictus, ferire umbonibus, &c. Observe the air of rapidity and animation which the succession of infinitives imparts to the narration. — Erigere aciem. Consult notes on chap, xviii., " erexit aciem." — JEmulatione et impetu. " Through emulation of their ex- ample, and their own native impetuosity." — Festinatione victories. " In their eager pursuit of victory." Observe that festinatio here follows the active meaning, which festino and propero nearly always have in Tacitus. (Compare Ann., xiii., 17; Hist., iii., 25.) Equitum turmce fugere. We have given these words as they are found in all the early editions. Lipsius, imagining that the Roman cavalry were here meant, suspected the passage of being corrupt, and conjectured equitum turmce effudere et covinarii, &c, or, rather, equitum turmce effusce et covinarii, &c. Ernesti prefers erupere to fugere, thinking, with Lipsius, that the Romans are referred to ; while Walch supposes that an entire sentence has been omitted, which he attempts to supply. All this correction, however, is per- fectly unnecessary. By equitum Tacitus means the cavalry of the Britons, put to flight by the Romans, and the expression turmce, which has misled so many commentators, may be applied to the British as well as to the Roman horse. Thus Tacitus elsewiiere {Ann., xiv., 34) writes, " Britannorum copice passim per catervas et turmas exsultabant." Covinarii peditum se prozlio miscuere. While the cavalry of the Britons, on their defeat by the Roman horse, fled from the scene of action, the charioteers, in like manner repulsed, retreated to their own infantry. By peditum, therefore, the British foot soldiers are meant, not, as some think, the Roman. — Et quamquam recentem tcr- NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XXXVI., XXXVII. 195 rorem intulerant, &c. " And, although they had at first struck ter- ror, were now, however, entangled among the crowded bands of the enemy, and the inequalities of the ground." Observe that by hostium are here meant the Britons themselves, not, as Walther and others suppose, the Romans. On retreating to their own infantry, the charioteers, who had occasioned some consternation by their first shock, now became of little, if any, service ; for the crowded bands of their own countrymen, already thrown into confusion by the charge of the Batavians and Tungri, as well as the inequalities of the ground, since the Romans were now making their way up the acclivity, prevented them from using their chariots freely. — Hostium. Muretus and Gronovius conjecture nostrorum, and Er- nesti cohortium, but without any necessity. Minimeque equestris ea pugnce fades erat, &c. " And the appear- ance thus presented was by no means that of an equestrian con- flict, since, keeping their ground with difficulty for any length of time, they were both forced along by the very bodies of their horses, and oftentimes straggling chariots, and affrighted horses without drivers, just as fear had impelled each, rushed against those who crossed their path or met them in front." The true reading of this passage is extremely uncertain. The one which we have given is adopted by Brotier and others, and appears to give the best sense. When the charioteers had reached their own infantry, and were struggling with their vehicles in the midst of this disorderly throng, the confused appearance thus presented was very different, accord- ing to our author, from that which a battle with chariots or with cavalry usually presents ; for, keeping their footing with difficulty on the declivity, they were every moment either impelled down- ward by the mere weight of the bodies of the horses, or dragged about by the affrighted steeds in utter disorder, and encountering friends and foes alike. CHAPTER XXXVIL Vacui spernebant. " Were regarding with contempt, while thus disengaged." Observe that vacui gets its force here from pugncz expertes, which precedes. — Ni id ipsum veritus, &c. " (And they would have accomplished their object), had not Agricola, having apprehended this very movement," &c. Compare note on " Agi- tasse C. Casarem" &c, chap. xiii. — Ad subita belli retentas. " Held in reserve for the sudden emergencies of battle." — Accurrerant. Dronke writes accucurrerant. The reduplicated form, however, oc- 196 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XXXVII. curs only once in Tacitus, in decucurrit (Ann., ii., 7). — Transvecta- que prcecepto ducis, &c. " And the squadrons having then, by order of the general, been moved across the field from the front of the battle," &c., i. e., having been ordered to wheel from the front. Turn vero patentibus locis, &c. Imitated from Sallust (Jug., 101) : " Turn spectaculum horribile campis patentibus ; sequi,fugere ; occtdi, capi" &e. Observe the animated effect produced in both passages by the series of historical infinitives, and the absence of the con- necting conjunction. — Eosdem, oblatis aliis, trucidare. " Slaughtered these same, as others came in their way." By eosdem are meant those who had been taken. — Prout cuique ingenium erat. " Accord- ing as the disposition of each one prompted." Compare Sallust ( Jug., 93): " Uti cujusque ingenium erat. 11 — Jam hostium virtusque. There is an antithesis between jam hostium .... offerrc, and est .... virtusque. To the former is subjoined, as its consequent, pas- sim .... humus ; and to the latter, postquam silvis .... circumveni- ebant. Dahl and some other editors propose to alter the order of the clauses, but, by so doing, they disturb the natural order of the ideas. Est aliquando etiam victis, &c. " Rage and valor were at times present even to the vanquished." Compare Virg., JEn., ii., 367 : " Quondam etiam victis redit in prcecordia virtus." Observe, more- over, that est in this position is emphatic. — Quodni frequens ubique Agricola, &c. " And had not Agricola, being every where present, ordered some strong and lightly-equipped cohorts to encompass the ground after the manner of a hunting-circle, and, wherever there were thickets, a part of his cavalry to dismount and make their way through these, and, at the same time, another part on horseback to scour the more open woods, some disaster would have been en- countered through excess of confidence." Observe the zeugma in persultare, by which the verb acquires three different significations in three successive clauses. — Indaginis modo. The term indago re- fers to that mode of hunting in which the hunters formed a com- plete circle round a large space of ground ; and, gradually contract- ing it, drove all the animals together into the centre, where they fell an easy prey to their darts. (Compare Liv., vii., 37 ; Flor., iv., 12, 48.) — Sicubi arctiora erant. Supply loca. Compositos firmis ordinibus. " Arranged in complete order."— Agminibus. "In bands." — Vitabundi invicem. " Mutually avoiding each other." — Satietas. " Satiety of slaughter." Supply ccedendi. — Sexaginta. Some editions have quadraginta. The change is very slight, XL for LX. — Ferocia equi. " The impetuosity of his steed." (Compare chap, ii,, "plus tamcn ferocia.") j NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. — CHAP. XXXVIII. 197 CHAPTER XXXVIII. Gaudio pradaque lata. " Rendered gladsome by the joy of suc- cess and by plunder." — Per iram. " In the rage of despair." — Mis- cere invicem consilia aliqua, &c. "Arranged some plans together, then deliberated by themselves," i. e., sometimes they conferred to- gether ; and again, at other times, deliberated by themselves. With separare supply alia, i. e., consilia. — Frangi aspectu pignorum suorum. " Were broken down in spirit at the sight of their pledges of affec- tion," i. e. y their wives and little ones. — Savisse in. " Laid violent hands upon." Secreti colles. " Deserted hills," i. e., hills before crowded with human beings, now desolate and solitary. Ernesti's emendation of deserti colles is altogether unnecessary, and arose from his misunder- standing the force of secreti, and giving it the meaning of remotiores. — Ubi incerta fuga vestigia, &c. "When it was ascertained that the tracks of flight were all uncertain," &c. — Et, exacta jam estate, spargi helium nequibat. " And (when), the summer being now ended, the war could not well be spread throughout the country." — Hores- torum. Mannert (ii., p. 65) places the Horesti near the Frith of Tay, and condemns the opinion of those who make them to have been the inhabitants of what is now Angus Shire. This would have been too near the foe, who, though defeated, might still have annoyed Ag- ricola's forces. Circumvehi Britanniam. This was more for the sake of conquest than of discovery. Hence, the expression employed immediately after, data, ad id vires, "A sufficient force was furnished him for that purpose." — Ipsa transitus mora. " By the very slowness of his march through them." — Secunda tempestate ac fama. " With favor- ing weather and fame," i. e., both favored by prosperous gales, and bearing along with them the fame of the Roman arms. — Trutulensem portum. Where this was is not known. Brotier identifies it with the portus Rutupinus, or Rutupensis, the modern Sandwich ; others with Portsmouth or Plymouth. But the words unde redierat must mean Quo redierat, inde lecto proximo omni Britannia latere, " Unto which it had returned, after having set out from the same and coasted all the nearest shore of Britain ;" and as proximo latere omni evidently means merely the eastern coast and part of the north and west coast, Mannert's opinion is probably the true one, that the harbor in question was near the Frith of Tay, and that the fleet only sailed along enough of the coast to prove that Britain was an island. (Mannert, ii., p. 67.) 198 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA.— CHAP. XXXIX. CHAPTER XXXIX. Nulla verborum jactantia auctum. "Unadoraed by any pomp of words." We have given auctum, the very happy emendation of Lipsius. The common text has actum, but we may be allowed to doubt the Latinity of such an expression as rerum cursum epistolis agere ( Walther, ad loc). — Inerat conscientia. " He was conscious." Inerat, used absolutely in this way, is found elsewhere. Thus, " Prcecipua pedum pernicitas inerat" (Liv., ix., 16.) Compare Sophocles, (Ed. T., 578 : "ApvnaLc ovk eveortv cjv avioTopelg. Falsum e Germania triumphum. This refers to his first fictitious triumph over the Catti, in A.D. 84. The occasion was furnished, apparently, by the Cheruscan king, Charomer, who, by means of Roman influence and Roman money, having become too powerful for his hostile neighbors, was expelled by the Catti. Dio Cassius (lxvii., 4) says that he returned without even having seen an enemy ; still, however, the affair must have been attended w T ith some suc- cess, since we learn from Frontinus (Strategy i., 3) that he con- structed the frontier wall between the free Germans and those who were subject to Rome, so that he must, at any rate, have succeeded in confining the barbarians within their own territory. — Emtis per commercia, &c. He purchased a number of slaves, and attired them like Germans, having also caused their hair to be dyed in imitation of the ruddy locks of that nation, and then paraded these in triumph through the streets of Rome as so many real captives. Caligula had done the same thing before him. {Suet., Cal. t 47.) ! Id sibi maxime formidolosum. " He thought that this was most to be apprehended by himself." Putabat or existimabat must be sup- plied from inerat conscientia. Observe, moreover, that formidolosus is here passive. Thucydides (i., 36) uses adeia^epov in the same way. — Frustra studia fori, &c. Domitian thought that it was of no use for him to have put an end to the study of eloquence and polite literature, and to have banished those who excelled in such pur- suits (compare chap, ii.), if some one should obtain popularity by his success in war. — Et cetera utcunque facilius, &c. " That all other accomplishments, too, whether more or less easily, are capable of being concealed from view (by their possessor), that the talents of an able commander, (however), form an attribute of empire. " More literally, " are imperial," i. e., mark their possessor as a fit individual to attain unto empire. Ernesti incorrectly construes utcunque with dissimulari, and hence regards facilius as savoring of NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XXXIX., XL. 199 a gloss. The true construction, however, is utcunque facilius, which Walch, whom we have followed, renders, " wie misslich es auch sei, sei es leichter" In earlier Latinity the clause would have run as follows : et cetera, utcunque sit, facilius dissimulari. ' Quodque savce cogitationis indicium erat, &c. " And, what was a sure indication of some malignant intent, having brooded over them for a long time in his wonted privacy." More literally, "having sated himself with his wonted privacy." The allusion is to that love of solitude which became the most confirmed of all the habits of Do- mitian, and in which he indulged either for the purpose of plotting mischief against others, or gratifying his own vicious propensities. (Compare Suet., Bom., 3; Aur., Vict. Cces., 11 ; Plin., Paneg., 48 ; Scaliger, ad Euseb., p. 202.) — Impetus famce. " The first impulse of public opinion." — Britanniam obtinebat. " Held the command of Britain." CHAPTER XL. Triumphalia ornamenta. Since the year 735, after Agrippa's vic- tory over the Cantabri, the honor of the triumph itself belonged to the emperor and to the imperial princes. Other generals were forced to be contented with the mere insignia of the triumph, the bay chaplet, the toga prcetexta, the trabea triumphalis, triumphal statue (illustris), curule chair, ivory sceptre, &c. In the expression quidquid pro triumpho datur are included the public sacrifices and thanksgivings. (Compare Bio Cass., liv., 11, 24.) — Multo verborum honore cumulata. " Loaded with much complimentary language," i. e., together with a profusion of complimentary expressions. — Ad- dique insuper opinionem. " And he causes, also, the expectation to be entertained." — Majoribus. " For persons of more than ordinary distinction." Observe that majoribus is here equivalent to illustrio- ribus. So minores, in Ann., xvi., 8 ; Hist., iv., 85. The province of Syria embraced a very large portion of the East, and formed one of the most important and opulent of foreign commands. (Compare Herodian, ii., 7, and Bergier, in Grcev. Thes., vol. x., p. 218, seqq., § 3.) Ex secretioribus ministeriis. "Of the number of those employed in confidential services." (Compare Botticher: " aus der vertrauteren Biener Zahl") — Codicillos. "Letters patent." — Ut, si in Britannia foret, &e. Agricola was immediately recalled ; but the suspicious Domitian feared that he might maintain his post by force ; and the sending of this confidential freedman with letters patent, conferring on him the government of Syria, was merely a device to draw him 200 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XL, away from Britain. If Agricola were already on his way to Rome, that would be unnecessary ; and, accordingly, the freedman, meet- ing Agricola on his journey, returned to Rome without delivering the letters. — In ipso freto oceani. The Straits of Dover. — Ex ingenio principis. " In accordance with the character of the prince.' , Tradiderat interim Agricola, &c. Dio Cassius (liii., 15) mentions an ordinance of Augustus, directing that, whenever a successor ar- rived, the previous governor should immediately resign his authority, and return home within three months after this. The successor of Agricola was probably Sallustius Lucullus, who, as Suetonius in- forms us, was put to death by Domitian for permitting certain lan- ces of a new construction to be called Lucullean. (Suet., Bom., 10.) The possession of the Highlands was lost after Agricola was re- called. (Compare Hist., i., 2.) — Ac, ne notabilis celebritate, &c. "And lest his entrance into the city might be too conspicuous, through the rank and numbers of those going out to meet him." We must not, as some do, make celebritate and frequentia synony- mous. The two terms are quite distinct, the former referring to rank, the latter to number. (Compare Botticher : " durch Glanz und Menge der Entgegenkommenden ;" and consult Lex. Tac, s. v.) — Ami- corum officio. " The salutation of his friends." (Compare Cic. pro Muran., 33, and Ernesti, Clav. Cic, s. v. Officium.) Exceptusque brevi osculo. "And having been received with a slight kiss." To salute with a kiss was an ordinary custom among the Romans, and the warmer the friendship the heartier the saluta- tion. Under the emperors the custom still continued, and the prince was wont to receive with a kiss the more distinguished of those who sought an audience with him. This, however, soon became the breve osculum, or slight ceremonious salutation, amounting to a mere matter of form; and in some cases, even, it was not given. (Con- sult Suet., Oth., 6; Ner., 37; Bom., 12; Bio Cass., lix., 30; Schwartz, ad Plin., Paneg., 24, 2, &c.) — Turbce servientium. " With the servile throng," i. e., of courtiers, &c. — Ut militare nomen, &c. " That he might soften down the glare of military reputation, op- pressive to those who lead lives of inaction," &c. As otium is com- monly used in opposition to bellum, so by otiosi here are properly meant the mere men of peace, if we may so express it, or, in other words, mere civilians. — Tranquillitatem atque otium penitus auxit. " He gave himself up entirely to tranquillity and ease." Penitus is here equivalent to prorsus, omnino, valde. (Compare Cic, Off., ii., 18 : " Consuetudynem .... penitus amisimus.") Cultu modicus, &c. " Plain in his mode of life, affable in conver- NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XL., XLI. 201 sation, accompanied (only) by one or two of his friends." Observe that cultus here has a general reference, and is not to be restricted to mere attire. (Compare the version of Walch : " einfach in Le- lensweise ;" and also that of Botticher : " machte wenig Aufwand") — Comitatus. Used passively, as in Cicero, de Or'., iii., 6: " Eodem est instructs ornatuque comitata." (Consult Voss., de Anal., iii., p. 26.) Per ambitionem. " By the appearance which they make in pub- lic." (Compare Brotier : * Ex vitce splendore et numeroso comitatu") — Mstimare. " To form an opinion of." (Consult note on astimaret, chap, v.) — Qucererent famam. " Called in question his renown," i. e., missed the splendor which they had looked for in one so renowned, and, therefore, began to doubt the very existence of that renown itself. — Fauci interpretarentur. " Few could interpret his conduct," i. e., few understood his motives. CHAPTER XLI. Crebro per eos dies, &c. Among the enemies of Agricola may be mentioned M. Regulus, Veiento, and Publius Certus. Their accu- sations were made in secret, and hence absens accusatus. Domi- tian, however, felt himself the gross injustice of these charges, and, therefore, acquitted Agricola at once, without either notifying him of these accusations or calling upon him for any defence ; and hence absens absolutus est. This explanation will show the true force of absens here, and how erroneous is the reading of Augustinus, men- tioned by Ursinus, namely, prcesens absolutus est. ( Ursin., Fragm. Vet. Hist., p. 461.) — Non crimen ullum, &c. " No crime against the state, nor a complaint from any individual who had been injured by him," i. e., no offence either public or private. (Compare Walch : " kein Verbrechen, nicht Klagen eines Verletzten") — Laudantes. " Eu- logists." Every word of praise bestowed upon Agricola would ex- cite, of course, the jealousy of the tyrant. Sileri. " To be passed over in silence." — Tot ezercitus, &c. This refers to the war with the Daci, Marcomanni, and Quadi, in the years 86-91, which ended with Domitian's second mock-triumph. The Romans, however, were, in fact, defeated, and Domitian was obliged to conclude peace with Decebalus, king of the Daci, on very humiliating terms. — Tot militares viri, &c. " So many men of mil- itary character, together with so many cohorts, defeated and taken prisoners." (Compare Lucret., iv., 1008 : " Reges expugnare ;" and Liv., xxiii., 30 : " Obsessos fame expugnavit.") — De limite imperii. This, in all probability, must be looked for in the line of Roman 12 202 NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XLL, XLII. forts still visible between Peterwardein and Bees, on the Teis. (Compare Mannert, iv., p. 170.)— Ripa. "The river's bank." There is no reference here to the Rhine. The right bank of the Danube is meant, as far as the Quadi and Mareomanni. Funeribus et cladibus. " By losses of leaders and overthrows of armies." Funeribus refers to the militares viri mentioned previ- ously, and cladibus to the forces under their charge. (Dronke, ad loc.) Compare the version of Botticher : " bedeutenderer Manner Tod und grosse Niederlagen." — Cum inertia et formidine reorum. " With the indolence and pusillanimity of those who were now ac- cused of (incapacity)," i. e., by the voice of the people. Reorum is a conjectural reading ; the MSS. have eorum. Reus is frequently used, not merely in a strictly legal sense in opposition to accusator, petitor, actor, but with a more extended meaning. (Walch, ad loc.) Dum optimus quisque libertorum, &c. " While each best one of his freedmen, through affection and fidelity, the worst through ma- lignity and envy, kept urging to the choice a prince prone of him- self to follow the worst advisers." Dum is more usually followed by the present tense ; but there is nothing in the conjunction itself which necessarily requires this, and the imperfect, as here, is &me- times found with it. In ipsam gloriam prceceps agebatur. The idea intended to be con- veyed by these words is, that Agricola's virtues, which were ma- liciously magnified by his enemies, raised his reputation and glory ; but that this very glory was the cause of his ruin. CHAPTER XLII. . Quo proconsulatum Asia, &c. " In w T hich he was to draw lots for the proconsulate of Asia and Africa." Observe that et has here, in fact, a disjunctive force, two distinct proconsulates being made the subject of lot, and the two senior consulars casting lots for the same. Some editors, therefore, have conjectured aut for et] but this is unnecessary, since both provinces were, in fact, equally drawn for. {Mercer, ad Ann., iii., 32; Ernesti, ad loc.) If it was still the custom for the legati Casarum and proconsuls to wait five years before they again drew lots for the provinces (Dio Cass., liii., 14), the period referred to in the text would be the year 89 or 90. — Oc- ciso Civica. The reference is to Civica Cerialis, who, according to Suetonius (Dom., 10), was put to death in his proconsulate of Asia, on the charge of meditating a revolt. — Consilium. " A lesson." — Exemplum. " A precedent." (Compare the remark of Brotier i NOTES ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XLII. 203 " Occiso Civica, nee Agricola deerat consilium, ut invidiam prineipis timeret, nee Domitiano exemplum, ut virtutem innocentis opprimeret.^) Cogitationum prineipis periti. "Acquainted with the secret in- clinations of the prince," i. e., his wish that Agricola should not ac- cept the foreign government. — Occultius. " Somewhat distantly." — In approbanda excusatione. " In making good his excuse (to the emperor)," i. e., his excuse for not accepting the proconsulate. (Compare, as regards the force of approbanda, the notes on chap, v.) — Non jam obscuri. This is a correction for non tarn obscuri, and answers infinitely better to primo occultius. Besides, ita, not tarn, would be required. Paratus simulations So " paratus peditatu" (Cic., ad Att., ix., 13). — In arrogantiam compositus. " Having assumed a stately air." — Agi sibi gratias passus est. Obliging persons to return thanks for an injury was a refinement in tyranny frequently practiced by the worst of the Roman emperors. Thus, Seneca (de Tranq. An., 14) informs us that Caligula was thanked by those whose children had been put to death, and whose property had been confiscated. (Aiken, ad loc.) — Nee erubuit beneficii invidia. "Nor blushed at the invidious nature of the favor," i. e., nor did he blush that Agricola should receive as a favor so marked an injury. Observe that in- vidia is here, in fact, for res invidiosa. Salarium. This was an allowance for the maintenance of t the governor. The word is derived from sal, and means, properly, money given for purchasing salt. Compare Horace (Sat., i., 5, 46) : " Parochi prcebent ligna salemque quce debent." It was first granted by Augustus, and amounted sometimes to two hundred and fifty thousand drachmae, over forty thousand dollars. (Consult Bio Cass., lii., 23; lxxviii., 22.) — Ne quod vetuerat videretur emisse. 11 Lest he might seem to have purchased what he had forbidden," i. e., lest it might seem a bribe for what he had, in reality, extorted by his authority. Proprium humani ingenii est. " It is a principle of human nature." As regards the sentiment expressed by the clause, compare Seneca (de Ira, ii., 33) : " Hoc habent pessimum animi magna fortuna inso- lentes, quos Iceserunt, et oderunt." — Sciant, quibus moris est, illicita mirari, &c. " Let those know whose custom it is to admire un- lawful things," &c, i. e., to admire every opposition to control. Illi- cita refers to the contumacia and inanis libertatis jactatio, frequently assumed by Stoics in those times ; as, for example, when Helvidius Priscus openly celebrated the birth-day of Brutus and Cassius. (Consult Dio Cass., lxvi., 12, 13, 15.) — Eo laudis excedere,quo, &c 204 NOTE3 ON THE AGRICOLA. CHAP. XLIl., XLIII. " Attain unto the same degree of praise as that to which many, through abrupt and dangerous paths, but without any benefit to their country, have brilliantly attained by an ambitious death." Observe that inclaruerunt is equivalent here to clarescentes pervenerunt. By abrupta is meant what Tacitus elsewhere {Ann., iv., 20) calls abrupta contumaciam opposed to deforme obsequium. The sense of the whole passage is this : " Obsequium et modestia, si industria ac vigor adsint, co glories, perveniunt, quo multi pervenire solent, per abruptam contuma- ciam mortem ambitiose quarentes, sed rempublicam nihil juvantes" CHAPTER XLIII. Finis vitce, &c. The death of Agricola was, as his biographer plainly hints in what follows, either immediately caused or certainly hastened by the emissaries of Domitian, who could not bear the presence of a man pointed out by universal feeling as alone fit to meet the exigency of times in which the Roman arms had suffered repeated reverses in Germany and the countries north of the Dan- ube. Dio Cassius (lxvi., 20) says expressly that he was killed by Domitian. — Extraneis etiam ignotisque non sine cura fuit. The epi- gram of Antiphilus (Anthol. Brunck, ii., 180) is commonly supposed to refer to the celebrated Agricola. a. KpTjvatat IcSddec, ri netysvyaTe ; nov rboov vSup ; Tig ovvov (Zlabings), ^Yedivrovlov (Prague), NofitOTTJpiov (either Niemes or Nimptsch), Kohaynopov (either Zittavia or Collo- chau) c. 42, 43 Mar si. A German tribe, supposed to have lived at first in the neighborhood of the Albis (Elbe) and Visurgis ( Weser) ; then be- tween the Rhine and the Chisala (Yssel), from Paderborn to the Visurgis ; and at length, when driven out by Drusus, to have set- tled in the lands of the Bructeri and Sigambri, between the Amisia (Ems) and Luppia (Lippe) : but from Ann., i., 45-50, 56 ; ii., 6, 7, 25, 26, it has been conjectured that their settlements are to be looked for in the neighborhood of the River Logana (Lahn). The Marsigni (c. 43) are, perhaps, the same race, or their descend- ants c. % GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 239 Marsigni. A German tribe, who seem to have lived about War- saw. They are, perhaps, the same race with the Marsi (c. 2), or else their descendants c. 43 Mattiaci. A German tribe, probably a branch of the Catti, who, like the Batavi, dwelt on the right bank of the Rhine, in Wetterau and Hesse Darmstadt, the tract possessed by the Ubii before they crossed the Rhine, between the Moenus (Main) and Logana (Lahn). They are first mentioned by Tacitus (Ann., xi., 20) ; for Strabo and Dio Cassius speak of the Catti as inhabiting this region. In the war of the Batavi, together with the Usipii and Catti, they besieged Magontiacum (Mayence). After their territories were occupied by the Alemanni, their name was almost extinguished. Their capital was Mattium, the site of which is not well determined, and is vari- ously placed at Maden, Altwetter, and Matten, or Metz. The first is the most likely. Aquae Mattiaeae ( Wisbaderi) was another of their towns c. 29 N. Naharvali. A German tribe, dwelling between the Warta and the Vistula, near Petricau c. 43 Narisci. A German tribe, called Varisti (Ovapcaroi) by Ptolemy, and Nariscae (SapiGtcai) by Dio Cassius. They dwelt at the foot of the Fichtelgebirge C. 42 Nemetes. (The quantity of the penult is doubtful. The long quantity, however, is preferable, in accordance with the Greek Ne- {irjTeg.) A tribe of German origin in Northern Gaul, in the division called Germania Superior, or Prima, lying along the banks of the Rhine, and between the Vangiones and Triboci. Their chief city was Noviomagus, afterward called Augusta Nemetum, and now Speier c. 28 Nervii. A warlike people of Belgic Gaul, w T hose country lay be- tween the Mosa (Meuse), Scaldis (Scheld), and Sabis (Sambre). Their original capital was Bagacum, now Bavay ; but afterward Camaracum (Cambray) and Turn acum (Tour nay) became their chief cities toward the end of the fourth century . . . . c. 28 Noricum. A province of the Roman Empire, bounded on the north by the Danube, on the west by Vindelicia and Raetia, on the east by Pannonia, and on the south by Illyricum and Gallia Cisal- pina. It was separatedjfrom Vindelicia by the River CEnus (Inn), and from Gallia Cisalpina by the Alpes Carnicae or Juliae, but it is difficult to determine the boundaries between Noricum and Panno- nia, as they differed at various times. Under the later times of the *240 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. Roman Empire, Mount Cetius and part of the River Murius (Mur) appear to have formed the boundaries. Noricum would thus cor- respond to the modern Styria, Carinthia, and Salzburg, and to part of Austria and Bavaria. The iron of Noricum was much in request among the Romans (Plin., xxxiv., 41) ; and, according to Polybius (quoted by Strabo, iv., p. 208), gold was formerly found in this prov- ince in great abundance . c. 5 Nuithones. A German tribe, who appear to have dwelt some- where in Holstein c. 40 O. Osi. A German tribe, supposed to have dwelt in Austria, below the mouth of the Anisia, or Enns c. 28, 43 Oxiones. A German tribe, in the extreme north, named by Tac- itus in connection with the Hellusii, and of whom nothing certain is known c. 49 P. Pannonia. A province of the Roman Empire, bounded on the north and east by the Danube, on the south by Illyricum and Moesia, and on the west by Noricum. It corresponded to Sclavonia, parts of Hungary, Lower Austria, Styria, Croatia, and to those parts of Turkish Croatia, Bosnia, and Servia, which immediately touch upon the Save. Pannonia was regarded as one of the most important provinces of the empire, on account of its bordering on the power- ful nations of the Quadi and Iazyges c. 1 Peucini. The Peucini, or Bastarnae, occupied the country from the sources of the Vistula to the Carpathian Mountains, which, from them, were called the Bastarnic Alps, and dwelt on the left bank of the Danube up to its mouth, in Transylvania, Galicia, Hungary, Moldavia, Wallachia, and Bessarabia. They are elapsed among the Sarmatians by Ptolemy and Dio, among the Germans by Pliny and Strabo, who says that a part of them were called Peucini, on ac- count of their living in the island of Peuce, off the mouth of the Danube (vii., 2, 17). Others derive the name from Mount Peuce, situated above Dacia, near which, according to Ptolemy, they dwelt. Livy (xl., 47 ; xliv., 26), Diodorus, and Polybius (xxvi., 9), who had not learned the distinction between the Celts and Germans, class them among the former. They first appear in history B.C. 179, serving under Perseus ; then as allies of Mithradates ; afterward as members of the Marcomannic league, and in connection with the Goths, with whom they seem to have coalesced, unless, as some GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 241 « have supposed, they were the originators of the Frank league. Pro- bus is reported to have settled one hundred thousand of them in Thrace. Plutarch {Mm. PaulL, 12) says: "Baordpvai avdpeg ov yeupyelv eldoreg, ov nhelv, ovk and 7TOifivlo)v (fiv vefiovrec, aTiV &v §p- yov Kal fj.iav texvjjv f^eXeTcJvreg del [idxeoOat, Kal Kparetv rdv avTiraT- To/uivuv. "Avdpec vipTjhol fiev to. cupara, -d-av/xaarol 6s Tag fie^rac, ueydXavxot 6e Kal Xafinpol ralg Kara t&v Trole/Ltiov direclalc, -ftdpaog izapearrjaav Tolq M.afced6cri Kal dot-av, 6g rtiv 'Pu/iaiov ovx vnofievovv- tqv, dTiV eKnTiayrjaofihcov rrjv oipcv avrrjv Kal ttjv k'lvtjglv, ek^vXov ovoav Kal dvgitpoQcmTov" . . . . . . . c. 46 Q. Quadi. The Romans first became acquainted with this powerful German tribe after the conquest of Pannonia. They always appear in the closest connection with the Mareomanni. Their most an- cient settlements on the Danube reached eastward to the Tibiscus, or Teis, where they bordered on the Getas ; but partly in conse- quence of the irruption of the Iazyges, partly through the influence of Maroboduus, they withdrew westward. The name Quadi was given to the mixed tribe composed of the followers of Maroboduus and Catualda, settled by the Romans between the Marus and the Cusus. Toward the north they reached to the Carpathian Mount- ains, beyond which dwelt the Lygii. Their western limits can not be determined with accuracy. The original tribe of the Quadi seems to have extended westward beyond the Morava, and to have united with their brethren on the east. They carried on wars with M. Aurelius, Commodus, Caracalla, Gallienus, Aurelian, Constan- tius, Julian, and Valentinian I., till the fifth century, when they ap- pear to have coalesced with other nations. {Dio Cass., lxxi., 8, seqq. ; lxxii., 2 ; lxxvii., 20.) Their cities mentioned by Ptolemy are, QpovpyioaTig, Koptdopycc, MedoaMvtov, ToSodovvov, $i?i7]Kia, Me?u66ovvov, the sites of which can not be determined with any accuracy, 'Avdovercov (Dioszeg), YLelfiavria {Szomolyan), "AvaBov (Abany), ^tyyovrj (Treutsin), "ESovpov {Berun) y 'ApoUova (Felsi), Hapievva (Varin), and ^erovia {Sydzina) . . . c. 42, 43 R. Rjetia appears properly to have comprehended the whole coun- try between the north of Italy and the Danube, and, consequently, to have included Vindelicia. Dio Cassius (liv., 22), in his account of the conquest of the Raeti and Vindelici by Drusus and Tiberius, only mentions the Rasti. Strabo often speaks of them (iv., p. 193, L 242 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 206 ; vii., p. 449) as if they were only one people ; and Tacitus, in several passages, appears to include Vindelicia in the province of Reetia. In the time of Augustus, however, these two countries formed two separate provinces, of which Raetia was bounded on the west by the Helvetii, on the east by Noricum, on the south by Gal- lia Cisalpina, and on the north by Vindelicia, from which it was separated by the Lacus Brigantinus, or Lake of Constance, and the River (Enus, or Inn. It included the greater part of the Tyrol and the eastern cantons of Switzerland. The only town of importance in Rsetia was Tridentum (Trent), on the Athesis, the capital of the Tridentini ' . . . c. 3, 41 R^eti. Vid. R^ETIA. Reudigni. A German tribe, whose position is quite uncertain. They probably lived near Lauenberg c. 40 Rhenus. The Rhine, rising in the Lepontine Alps, a little to the east of Mount St. Gothard, in the country of the Grisons. Its whole course is nine hundred miles, of which six hundred and thirty are navigable from Basilia (Basle) to the sea. The Rhine formed the boundary between Germany proper and Gallia . . c. 1, &c. Rugii. A German tribe, who lived between the Viadrus (Oder) and Vistula. . The island of Rugen probably took its name from them. After the death of Attila, they took possession of part of Austria, Moravia, and Upper Hungary, but in 480 were either de- stroyed or dispersed by Odoacer c. 43 S. Sarmat^s. The European Sarmatians, the Slavonians of a more recent age, were but little known to the Romans. They are sup- posed to have occupied Poland, Lithuania, the eastern part of Prus- sia, Curonia, Livonia, Russia, the lesser Tartary, and the Taurio Chersonese c. 1, 17, 43, 46 Semnones. (The penult is doubtful. Ptolemy has 2 efivovec, and Strabo 2 e/Livovec. The short quantity appears more in accordance with analogy.) A branch of the Suevic nation, who lived between the Albis (Elbe) and Viadrus (Oder), inhabiting the tract which com- prises what is now Mecklenburg and Brandenburg, with part of Sax- ony, Bohemia, Lusatia, Silesia, and Poland. They belonged to the kingdom of Maroboduus. The Romans first came in contact with them in the expeditions of Tiberius (Veil., ii., 106, 107) ; and the wars against Arminius, to whom, together with the Langobardi, they went over from Maroboduus (Ann., ii., 45, 46 ; Veil, ii., 106, 107) ; then in the time of Domitian, when a king of theirs, Ma- GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 243 syus, whom they had driven out, came to Rome. (JDio Cass., lxvii., 5) ! . c. 39 Sitones. Consult notes on Germ., e. 45 . . . . c. 45 Suardones. A German tribe, who seem to have lived near Lu- bcck, by the River Schwartau c. 40 Suevi. A powerful German tribe, who, according to Tacitus, possessed all the land from the banks of the Danube northward to the Baltic Sea, between the Elbe and the Vistula. Through the midst of their territories stretched a chain of mountains, the name of which we do not learn from Tacitus (c. 43) ; but which, from his description, appears to be identical with the Asciburgian range of Ptolemy, and the modern Riesengebirge. Caesar makes their pos- sessions extend to the Rhine, along the north bank of the Mcenus, or Main. The reason of this was probably owing to the fact, that on the north side of the Main an army of Suevi had come to the aid of Ariovistus, which afterward retired (Cces., B. G., i., 37, 54 ; iv., 1-3). The Catti were the tribe to which Caesar gave the name of Suevi. Strabo even speaks of Suevi on the Rhine, when all the tribes in that quarter had already become known through the expeditions of the Romans (Annal, i., 44; ii., 26, 44. Agr., 28. Ptol.y ii., 11). The different nations into which the Suevi were di- vided are enumerated by Tacitus (c. 38-45). After the time of Tacitus, the name seeras to have been nearly lost. It appears only once in the war with the Marcomanni, although that was carried on against tribes who once bore the name. After this, it only occurs twice. Ptolemy gives it as a surname to the Langobardi ; and in the fourth century appeared a people bearing the name, who dwelt in the country called from them Suabia. The name probably oc- curs, though somewhat disguised, in that of the Viadrus, which seems originally to have begun with an s : the mouth still bears the name of Swinemund. Instances of the loss of the letter s, and the interchange of v and d, are seen in fjdvc , sweet, suavts, suadeo (orig- inally to sweeten), sop-or, vnvoc, clavis, claudo, &c. Ptolemy speaks of a river Suevus between the Oder and the Elbe ; but there is no river there of a magnitude approaching to that which he assigns to the Suevus. Perhaps it was a name of the Oder, which he applied to another river. Suiones appears to be only a variation of the name Suevi. Suiones. A German tribe, inhabiting the south of Sweden, which was supposed by the ancients to be an island . . . c. 44 244 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. T. Tencteri. A German tribe. Vid. Usipii. Teutones, or Teutoni. The name of the Teutones was made known to the ancients by Pytheas of Massilia (Marseilles), who, in the age of Alexander the Great, about 320 B.C., discovered a nation of that name in the Chersonesus Cimbrica, and on the adjacent islands, or in the present countries of Holstein, Schlesivig, Denmark, and perhaps, also, in the southern extremity of Sweden. It seems that they had long been settled there, for they lived in houses, and were acquainted with agriculture and commerce. Other traces of the name appear later. Among the Celtic tribes which invaded Greece and besieged Delphi, under the second Brennus (B.C. 278), there was a people called Teutobodiaci, who afterward passed the Hellespont, and settled with the Celts in Galatia, in Asia Minor. About a hundred and sixty years later, the Romans were attacked by the Cimbri and Teutones, who came from the same country, where they had been seen by Pytheas. When the Romans first heard the name of the Teutones, they thought that they were a single tribe. They did not know that it was also the general and ethno- graphic name of all those nations to which they afterward gave the designation of Germans. Origin of the name Teutones. The root of the word Teuton is thu or do, which originally repre- sented the idea of " activity," of " living, procreating, nourishing," and also of " taming, educating, and ruling." From this root are formed the following words, some of which are still used in the popular dialects : Teut, " God, creator, ruler, father, nourisher" (Thor, Tuisco) ; thut or thiud, " earth ;" tott, dote, dote, " godfather ;" toda, " nurse ;" thiod, " father of the people," "lord, ruler, king," in Gothic thiudans, in old Bavarian theodo ; diet, " people," in old Swe- dish thiaut and thyd ; thiudinassus, in Gothic, "kingdom." (Fulda, Wurzel-Wdrterbuch). The names of king and of people being both derived from one root, which expresses the notion of ruling, is a fact which proves that they belong to the language of a nation in which there was neither absolute monarchical power, nor absolute submission to their chiefs. This corresponds exactly to the politi- cal state of the ancient Teutonic nations, among whom th£ sover- eignty was in the people, and the executive power of the chiefs or kings, although it was obeyed, was always regarded as derived from the people. The idea of ruling, expressed by the root Teut, explains GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 245 why this word occurs so frequently in the names of the ancient Teu- tonic kings, dukes, or chiefs, such as Teutoboch, Theudorix, Diorix, Theodorix, Theodoric, Theodomir, Theodimir, Teutagon, &c. It is likewise contained in the general name of all the Teutonic na- tions, and in those of various tribes, as the Teutones, the Teutono- arii, Thaifali, and the Dithmarses, or Dietmarses. It is visible in " Teutoburger Wald," the name of that range of wooded mountains which stretches from Detmold westward beyond Osnabruck, in which is situated the Grotenburg, formerly " Teut" or " Teutoberg," with the farm of Teutehof, where Varus was overthrown by Arminius ; in "Detmold," " Doesburg," " Duisburg," " Deuz," and in a great many other localities in Germany. Teuton is identical with Deutsche or Teutsche (in low German Dutsch, in Dutch Duitsch, in Danish Tysk, in English Dutch), which, from the remotest time, has been and is still the general name of that part of the Teutonic nations which we now call Germans, who considered the god or hero Tuisco as their common ancestor. There are no direct proofs of the word Teuton having had this extensive meaning in the earliest German history, but this is, perhaps, the result of the political state of the Teutonic nations, which were originally divided into numerous tribes, each of which became separately known to the Romans. In the twelfth, eleventh, and even as early as the tenth century, when the difference between Franks and Saxons was well marked in the German empire, these nations, each of which had its own language and laws, never objected to being called by the general name of Deutsche, or Teutones. At present there is no German tribe which has the particular name of Teutones, but although the Germans are composed of two very distinct nations, the High Germans and the Low Germans, they call themselves Deutsche, and their language Deutsch, though they do not understand each other. {Penny Cyclo- pedia, vol. xxiv., p. 262.) Treveri. A tribe claiming to be of German origin, and dwelling between the Mosa (Meuse) and the Rhine. Their chief towns were Augusta Treverorum, now Trier or Treves, the largest and most opulent city of Gaul, the residence of the emperors from Constan- tine the Great to Valens ; Noviomagus (Neumagen), Confluentes (Coblentz), Bingium, and others c. 28 Triboci. (Written, also, Tribocci.) A German tribe, on the left bank of the Rhine, and between that river and the Medioma- trici and Lerici. Their chief city was Argentoratum, now Stras- bourg c. 28 Tungri. A German tribe, the first that crossed the Rhine. 246 GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. They became, subsequently, a powerful people in Germania Inferior. They were probably the same with the Aduatici of Caesar . c. 2 U. Ubii. A German tribe, the allies of Caesar against the Suevi, and subsequently transported by Agrippa (B.C. 38) to the left bank of the Rhine. Their capital, called at first Oppidum Ubiorum, was afterward named Colonia Agrippina or Agrippinensis, when a Ro- man colony had been established there, first by Agrippa, and subse- quently by Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus and wife of the Emperor Claudius. It is now Cologne. The Ara Ubiorum must not be confounded with the Oppidum Ubiorum. The former was an altar, probably erected to Augustus, like that at Lugdunum (Suet., Claud. , 2). Not far from Bonn is a hill called Godesberg, and it is highly probable that this is the site of the Ara Ubiorum. That it was somewhere near Bonn is pretty certain. The name Godes- berg seems to indicate that the place was the seat of a religious worship of some kind c. 28 Usipii. A German tribe, generally named in connection with the Tencteri. Indeed, these two tribes usually go together in both ge- ography and history. They frequently changed their settlements When driven from their own possessions by the Catti, whom Caesar calls Suevi (B. G., iv., 1, 4), after wandering in Germany for three years, they came to the Rhine, and, having crossed it, seized upon the lands and dwellings of the Menapii, Eburones, and Condrusi, between the Rhine and Moselle. From this point they spread fur- ther into Gaul ; but having been put to flight by Caesar, after a great slaughter, the greater part of the remainder perished in attempting to cross the Rhine. A part of the cavalry, which had not been en- gaged in the battle, took refuge in the territories of the Sigambri. When the Sigambri removed to Gaul, the Usipii and Tencteri be- came masters of their possessions on the Lupia (Lippe). The Usipii at first dwelt on the east bank of the Rhine, from its eastern mouth to the Lippe, in the tract which the Chamavi and Tubantes occupied before them ; but they gradually moved southward. In the time of Claudius and Nero they dwelt between the Sieg and the Lahn, where they were still in the time of Tacitus. In the time of Ptolemy they inhabited the northern part of the Black For- est. The name of the Usipii disappears from history after the time of Agricola ; they became mixed up with the Alemanni. The Tencteri lived south of the Lippe, in the region opposite Coin and Bonn. At the time of the expeditions of Drusus and Tiberius, they GEOGRAPHICAL INDEX. 247 had removed eastward, but returned after the defeat of Varus : and in the age of Tacitus, their possessions extended northward to the Lippe, where they bordered on the Bructeri, and southward to the Sieg. Their eastern boundary, according to Ptolemy, was Mount Abnoba, or the ridge which runs northward between the earldom of Mark and the duchy of Westphalia. {Ccbs., B. G., iv., 1-18 ; Dio, xxxix., 47, 48 ; liv., 21, 32, 33.) Vandalii. A German tribe, who lived at first on the shores of the Baltic, between the Albis and Vistula, in Pomerania, and the west of Poland ; but being forced to evacuate their possessions in their wars with Aurelian and Probus, they first settled in Dacia and Sarmatia, then in Pannonia and Gallia, and in the year 406, together with the Alani, they migrated to Spain. Being afterward overpow- ered by the Goths, they took refuge in Africa, and were there sub- dued by Justinian in the year 534. Vaxgioxes. A German tribe, dwelling on the Rhine, to the east of the Treviri, and north of the Nemetes. Their capital was Borbetomagus, called afterward Augusta Vangionum, and now Worms c. 28 Varixi. A German tribe, placed by Ptolemy along the sea, from the mouth of the Trave to the Warne, which last doubtless took its name from them. They were afterward driven inland by Slavonian tribes, and united themselves with the Saxons. We find some tribes of the Varini in Thuringia, others on the banks of the Elbe, and others in the neighborhood of the Rhine, where they were sub- dued by the Franks. They also appear on the south of the Danube, for they served as auxiliaries under Narses in Italy. Ptolemy calls them Qapodrjvoi . . . . . . . . . c. 40 Venedi. A tribe who lived on the eastern bank of the Vistula, round what is now the Gulf of Dantzic, and on the mountains called from them ra OvevedcKa oprj, which separated them from the Got- ones, in Poland, Lithuania, and the eastern part of Prussia. They were afterward called Winidi, or Wendi. They belonged to the Slavonians, who, after the fifth century, spread over the east of Germany up to and beyond the Elbe, and whose posterity are still found in Livonia, Bohemia, Silesia, Moravia, Lusatia, Pomerania y Stiria, &c. A dialect of the Slavonic is still called the Wend lan- guage. Many suppose that the Veneti in Italy are a branch of the same people, who migrated southward, and that Vindelicia also took its name from them. STEMMA THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. As the relations of the members of the Augustan family are ex- ceedingly intricate, and a knowledge of them is essential for under- standing many parts of Tacitus, a stemma of the family is subjoin- ed, drawn up by Lipsius. C. Octavius, the father of Augustus, was married twice. By his first wife, Ancharia, he had Octavia the elder ; by his second wife, Atia (the daughter of Atius Balbus and Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar), he had Octavia the younger, and C. Octavius, afterward Augustus. It is doubtful from which of the daughters the follow- ing progeny springs. 250 STEMMA OF THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. I. Octavia was married twice, and had- es. By C. Mar- cellus, b. By M. An- tonius the Triumvir, 3. Marcella, the younger. 1. M. Maj-cellus, m. (1) Pompeia, dr. of Sextus Pompeius, and (2) Julia, dr. of Augustus — had no progeny. Died in his 17th year, B.C. 23. 2. Marcella, the elder, m. twice, and had — a. By M. Vipsanius C Children of names unknown (Suet., Aug., Agrippa, \ 63). b. By lulus Anto- ( L. Antonius Africa- nius Africanus, J nus (Annal. son of the Tri- 44), father or un- cle of S. Antonius Africa- nus ? (Annal., xiv. f 46.) ' 1. Antonia* the elder. By L. Domitius Ahenobarbus. 2. Antonia the young- er. By Drusus, brother of Tiberius. 1. Domitia, m. Crispus Passienus 1 2. Domitia Lepida. ~ t>„ tvt it i • 1 Valeria Messallina, ' B I ^ Z m [ m. Claudius, the B^rbatusMes. emperQr '^ 8alla ' J below.) b. By Ap. Junius > N - Silanus? lionet 3. Cn, Domitius, by ( N ^ ' QcM& ^ Agrippma. \ Poppgea ' 1. Germanicus, adopted by Tiberius. By of A S PiDa ' dr '} ^e below. 2. Livia, or Livilla. m. C. Caesar, and afterward Drusus, son of Tiberius, is betrothed to Sejanus (Annal., iv., 40). '1. Drusus. Betrothed to dr. of Sejanus (An- nal, ill, 29. Su- et, Claud., 27). 2. Claudia. Antonia. m. Pompeius M., killed by Claudius, and Faustus Sulla. 1. Octavia. Betrothed to L. Silvanus, mar. Nero, the em- peror. 2. Claudius Britan- nicus. 3. Claudius. a. By Plautia Ur- gulanilla. b. By JEKa. Pe- < tina. c. By Valeria Mes- » sallina. ' Tacitus makes Antonia the younger wife of Domitius (Annal., iv., 41 ; xii., 64;. STEMMA GF THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. 251 II. Augustus had no children by his other wives; by Scribonia, daughter of L. Scribonius Libo, he had one daughter, Julia. Ju- lia was married three times. a. By M. Marcellus, son of C. Marcellus and Octavia— had no progeny. '1. Caius Casar, adopted by Augustus, m. Livia, sister of German- icus, died A.D. 4. 2. Lucius Casar, adopted by Augustus, betrothed to ^Emilia Le- pida, died A.D. 2. b. ByM.Vipsa- nius Agrippa. 3. Julia. By L. ^Rlmilius Paulus, son of the Censor. '1. M. Mmilius Lepidus, m. Drusilla, dr. of Germanicus. 2. Mmilia Lepida. a. Betrothed to Claudius. b. By Ap. Junius Silanus. [1. L. Silanus. Betrothed to Octavia, dr. of Claudius. 2. M. Silanus. Proconsul of Asia. 3. Junia Calvina. m. son of Vitellius. c. By Drusus, son ) «,._._ ofGermanieus?^ 0116 - 1. Nero, m. Julia, dr. of Drusus, son of Tibe- rius (Annal., vi., 27). 2. Drusus, m. jEmilia Lepida (Annal., vi., 40). 3. Caius Caligula. 4. Agrippina, By Cn. Domitius, \ Nero. 5. Drusilla, m. L. Cassius and M. JEmilius Lepidus. 6. Livia, or Livilla, m. M. Vinicius and Quinc- tilius Varus ? 5. Agrippa Postumus, adopted by Augustus, put to death by Ti- berius, A.D. 14. c. By Tiberius, had none. 4. Agrippina. By Germanicus. * 252 STEMMA OF THE FAMILY OF AUGUSTUS. III. Augustus, after divorcing his former wife, Scribonia, married Livia Drusilla, by whom he had no children. Livia, however, had been previously married to Tiberius Claudius Nero, by whom she had two sons, Tiberius, afterward emperor, and Drusus, who was bom three months after her marriage with Augustus. 1. Tiberius Nero, adopted by Augustus. a. By Vipsania Agrip- f pina, gr. dr. of Atti- cus. b. By Julia, dr. of Augustus. 2. Drusus. By Antonia the younger. Drusus, "J 1. Ti. Gemellus, killed by Caligula By Livia, sister I {Suet., CaL, 25). of Germani- j 2. — Gemellus (Ann., ii., 84 ; iv., 15). J 3. Julia. > None. > See above. a. By Nero, } son of Ger- \ None, manicus. ) b. 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