In quibusdam fluminum. Rivers with steep banks require the oars to be removed in order to approach the bank.
Est—honos. Contrary to the usual fact in Germany, cf. 5.
Exceptionibus.Limitations.—Jam. Now, i.e.here, opposed to theforegoingaccounts offree statesandlimited monarchies.
Precario. Properly:obtained by entreaty. Hence:dependent on the will of another, cf. A. 16.—Parendi. A gerund with passive sense, lit.with no precarious right of being obeyed. So Pass., K., Wr. and Gün.
In promiscuo. The privilege of wearing arms is not conceded to the mass of the people.—Et quidem==et eo,and that too.
Otiosa—manus. Al.otiosaeby conjecture. Butmanus, a collective noun sing. takes a pl. verb, cf. H. 461, 1; Z. 366.
Regia utilitas est==regibus utile est.
XLV.Pigrum. Cf. A. 10: pigrum et grave. The Northern or Frozen Ocean, of which T. seems to have heard, though some refer it to the northern part of the Baltic. See Ky. in loc.
Hinc.For this reason, viz.quod extremus, etc.
In ortus.Till the risings(pl.)of the sun, i.e. from day to day successively. It was known in the age of T. that the longest day grew longer towards the north, till at length it became six months (cf. Plin. N.H. 2, 77), though T. supposed it to be thus long at a lower latitude than it really was, cf. A. 12.
Sonum—aspici. The aurora borealis, some suppose.
Persuasio adjicit.The common belief adds, i.e.it is further believed, cf. His. 5, 5. 13: persuasio inerat.
Illuc—natura.Tantumis to be connected withilluc usque.Thus far only nature extends. So thought the ancients. Cf. A. 33:in ipso terrarum ac naturae fine.Et vera famais parenthetic. Theauthorendorses this part of the story.
Ergomarks a return from the above digression.
Suevici maris.The Baltic.
Aestyorum==eastern men, modern Esthonians. Their language was probably neither German nor Briton, but Slavonic.
Matrem Deum. Cybele, as the Romans interpreted it, cf. 43.
Insigne—gestant. Worn, asamulets.
Frumenta laborant, i.e. laborfor, orto produce, corn. Cf. Hor. Epod. 5, 60.Laborareis transitive only in poetry and post-Augustan prose.Elaborarewould imply too much art for the author's purpose. See Rit. in loc.
Succinum.Amber, an important article of commerce in early ages, combining some vegetable juice (hence the Latin name, fromsuccus) with some mineral ingredients.—Glesum. This name was transferred toglass, when it came into use. The root is German. Compare [Greek: chalaza.] Död.
Nec==non tamen.Yet it is not, etc.
Ut barbaris. Cf. ut inter barbaros, A. 11.Barbarisis dative in apposition withiis, which is understood aftercompertum.
Quae—ratio.What power or process of nature.
Donec—dedit. Cf. note, 87:affectavere.
Plerumque.Often; a limited sense of the word peculiar to post-Augustan Latin. Cf. G. 13:ipsa plerumque fama bella profligant; and Freund ad v.
Quae—expressa==quorumsuccusexpressus, etc.
In tantum.To such a degree. Frequent only in late Latin.
A servitute. They fall short of liberty in not being free, like most of the Germans; and they fall below slavery itself, in that they are slaves to a woman.
XLVI.Venedorum et Fennorum. ModernVends and Finns, or Fen-men. Cf. Latham in loc.—Ac torpor procerum.The chief men are lazy and stupid, besides being filthy, like all the rest.
Foedantur. Cf. infectos, 4.—Habitum, here personal appearance, cf. note, 17.—Ex moribus, sc. Sarmatarum.
Erigitur. Middle sense.Raise themselves, orrise, cf. evolvuntur, 39.
Figunt. Havefixed habitations, in contrast with the Sarmatians, who lived in carts. Cf. Ann. 13, 54:fixerant domos Frisii. Al.fingunt.
Sarmatis. The stock of the modern Russians, cf. 1. note.
Cubile. We should expectcubilito correspond withvictuiandvestituti. But cf. note 18: referantur; 20: ad patrem, &c.
Comitantur, i.e. feminae comitantur viris.
Ingemere—illaborare.Toil and groan upon houses and lands, i.e.in building and tilling them; though some understanddomibusandagrisas the places in which they toil.
Versare.To be constantly employedin increasing the fortune of themselves and others, agitated meanwhile by hope and fear.
Securi. Because they have nothing to lose.
Illis. Emphatic.They, unlike others, have no need, &c. Cf.apud illos, 44.
In medium relinquam. Leave for the public, i.e. undecided.
Relinquere in mediois the more common expression. Bötticher in his Lex. Tac. explains it, as equivalent by Zeugma toin medium vocatum relinquam in medio. So in Greek,enandeisoften interchange.
The Biography of Agricola was written early in the reign of Trajan (which commenced A.U.C. 851. A.D. 98), consequently about the same time with the Germania, though perhaps somewhat later (cf. notes on Germania). This date is established by inference from the author's own language in the 3d and the 44th sections (see notes). In the former, he speaks of the dawn of a better day, which opened indeed with the reign of Nerva, but which is now brightening constantly under the auspices of Trajan. The use of the past tense (miscuerit) here in respect to Nerva, and of the present (augeat) in respect to Trajan, is quite conclusive evidence, that at the time of writing, the reign of Nerva was past, and that of Trajan had already begun.
The other passage is, if possible, still more clearly demonstrative of the same date. Here in drawing the same contrast between past tyranny and present freedom, the author, without mentioning Nerva, records the desire and hope, which his father-in-law expressed in his hearing, that he might live to see Trajan elevated to the imperial throne—language very proper and courtly, if Trajan were already Emperor, but a very awkward compliment to Nerva, if, as many critics suppose, he were still the reigning prince.
It is objected to this date, that if Nerva were not still living, Tacitus could not have failed to attach to his name (in § 3.) the epithetDivus, with which deceased Emperors were usually honored. And from the omission of this epithet in connection with the name ofNerva, together with the terms of honor in whichTrajanis mentioned, it is inferred that the piece was written in that brief period of three months, which intervened between the adoption of Trajan by Nerva, and Nerva's death (see Brotier and many others). But the application of the epithet in question, was not a matter of necessity or of universal practice. Its omission in this case might have been accidental, or might have proceeded from unknown reasons. And the bare absence of a single word surely cannot be entitled to much weight, in comparison with the obvious and almost necessary import of the passages just cited.
The primary object of the work is sufficiently obvious. It was to honor the memory of the writer's excellent father-in-law, Agricola (cf. § 3: honori Agricolae, mei soceri, destinatus). So far from apologizing for writing the life of so near a friend, he feels assured that his motives will be appreciated and his design approved, however imperfect may be its execution; and he deems an apology necessary for having so long delayed the performance of that filial duty. After an introduction of singular beauty and appropriateness (cf. notes), he sketches a brief outline of the parentage, education, and early life of Agricola, but draws out more at length the history of his consulship and command in Britain, of which the following summary, from Hume's History of England, may not be unprofitable to the student in anticipation: "Agricola was the general, who finally established the dominion of the Romans in this island. He governed it in the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian. He carried his victorious arms northward; defeated the Britons in every encounter, pierced into the forests and the mountains of Caledonia, reduced every state to subjection in the southern parts of the island, and chased before him all the men of fiercer and more intractable spirits, who deemed war and death itself less intolerable than servitude under the victors. He defeated them in a decisive action which they fought under Galgacus; and having fixed a chain of garrisons between the friths of Clyde and Forth, he cut off the ruder and more barren parts of the island and secured the Roman province from the incursions of the more barbarous inhabitants. During these military enterprises, he neglected not the arts of peace. He introduced laws and civility among the Britons; taught them to desire and raise all the conveniences of life; reconciled them to the Roman language and manners; instructed them in letters and science; and employed every expedient to render those chains which he had forged both easy and agreeable to them." (His. of Eng. vol. 1.)
The history of Agricola during this period is of course the history of Britain. Accordingly the author prefaces it with an outline of the geographical features, the situation, soil, climate, productions and, so far as known to the Romans, the past history of the island. Tacitus possessed peculiar advantages for being the historian of the early Britons. His father-in-law was the first to subject the whole island to the sway of Rome. He traversed the country from south to north at the head of his armies, explored it with his own eyes, and reported what he saw to our author with his own lips. He saw the Britons too, in their native nobleness, in their primitive love of liberty and virtue; before they had become the slaves of Roman arms, the dupes of Roman arts, or the victims of Roman vices. A few paragraphs in the concise and nervous style of Tacitus, have made us quite acquainted with the Britons, as Agricola found them; and on the whole, we have no reason to be ashamed of the primaeval inhabitants of the land of our ancestry. They knew their rights, they prized them, they fought for them bravely and died for them nobly. More harmony among themselves might have delayed, but could not have prevented the final catastrophe. Rome in the age of Trajan was irresistible; and Britain became a Roman province. This portion of the Agricola of Tacitus, and the Germania of the same author, entitle him to the peculiar affection and lasting gratitude of those, whose veins flow with Briton and Anglo-Saxon blood, as the historian, and the contemporary historian too, of their early fathers. It is a notable providence for us, nay it is a kind providence for mankind, that has thus preserved from the pen of the most sagacious and reflecting of all historians an account, too brief though it be, of the origin and antiquities of the people that of all others now exert the widest dominion whether in the political or the moral world, and that have made those countries which were in his day shrouded in darkness, the radiant points for the moral and spiritual illumination of our race. "The child is father to the man," and if we would at this day investigate the elements of English law, we have it on the authority of Sir William Blackstone, that we must trace them back to their founders in the customs of the Britons and Germans, as recorded by Caesar and Tacitus.
With the retirement of Agricola from the command in Britain, the author falls back more into the province of biography. The few occasional strokes, however, in which the pencil of Tacitus has sketched the character of Domitian in the background of the picture of Agricola are the more to be prized, because his history of that reign is lost.
In narrating the closing scenes of Agricola's life, Tacitus breathes the very spirit of an affectionate son, without sacrificing the impartiality and gravity of the historian, and combines all a mourner's simplicity and sincerity with all the orator's dignity and eloquence.
How tenderly he dwells on the wisdom and goodness of his departed father; how artlessly he intersperses his own sympathies and regrets, even as if he were breathing out his sorrows amid a circle of sympathizing friends! At the same time, how instructive are his reflections, how noble his sentiments, and how weighty his words, as if he were pronouncing an eulogium in the hearing of the world and of posterity! The sad experience of the writer in the very troubles through which he follows Agricola, conspires with the affectionate remembrance of his own loss in the death of such a father, to give a tinge of melancholy to the whole biography; and we should not know where to look for the composition, in which so perfect a work of art is animated by so warm a heart. In both these respects, it is decidedly superior to the Germania. It is marked by the same depth of thought and conciseness in diction, but it is a higher effort of the writer, while, at the same time, it gives us more insight into the character of the man. It has less of satire and more of sentiment. Or if it is not richer in refined sentiments and beautiful reflections, they are interwoven with the narrative in a manner more easy and natural. The sentiments seem to be only the language of Agricola's virtuous heart, and the reflections, we feel, could not fail to occur to such a mind in the contemplation of such a character. There is also more ease and flow in the language; for concise as it still is and studied as it may appear, it seems to be the very style which is best suited to the subject and most natural to the author. In another writer we might call it labored and ambitious. But we cannot feel that it cost Tacitus very much effort. Still less can we charge him with an attempt at display. In short, an air of confidence in the dignity of the subject, and in the powers of the author, pervades the entire structure of this fine specimen of biography. And the reader will not deem that confidence ill-grounded. He cannot fail to regard this, as among the noblest, if not the very noblest monument ever reared to the memory of any individual.
"We find in it the flower of all the beauties, which T. has scattered through his other works. It is a chef-d'oeuvre, which satisfies at once the judgment and the fancy, the imagination and the heart. It is justly proposed as a model of historical eulogy. The praises bestowed have in them nothing vague or far-fetched, they rise from the simple facts of the narrative. Every thing produces attachment, every thing conveys instruction. The reader loves Agricola, admires him, conceives a passion for him, accompanies him in his campaigns, shares in his disgrace and profits by his example. The interest goes on growing to the last. And when it seems incapable of further increase, passages pathetic and sublime transport the soul out of itself, and leave it the power of feeling only to detest the tyrant, and to melt into tenderness without weakness over the destiny of the hero." (La Bletterie.)
* * * * *
I.Usitatum. A participle in the acc. agreeing with the preceding clause, and forming with that clause the object of the verb omisit.—Nequidem. Cf. G. 6, note.
Incuriosa suorum. So Ann. 2, 88: dum vetera extollimus, recentium incuriosi.Incuriosusis post-Augustan.
Virtus vicit—vitium. Alliteration, which is not unfrequent in T. as also homoeoteleuta, words ending with like sounds. Dr.
Ignorantiam—invidiam. The gen.rectilimits both subs., which properly denote different faults, but since they are usually associated, they are here spoken of as one (vitium).
In aperto. Literally,in the openfield or way; hence,free from obstructions. Sal. (Jug. 5) uses it forin openday, or clear light. But that sense would be inappropriate here.Easy. Not essentially different frompronum, which properly meansinclined, and henceeasy. These two words are brought together in like manner in other passages of our author, cf. 33: vota virtusquein aperto, omniaquepronavictoribus. An inelegant imitation may be thus expressed in English: down-hill and open-ground work.
Sine gratia aut ambitione. Without courting favor or seeking preferment. Gratiaproperly refers more to the present,ambitioto the future. Cf. Ann. 6, 46: Tiberio non perinde gratia praesentium, quam in posteros ambitio.Ambitiois here used in a bad sense (as it is sometimes in Cic.) For still another bad sense of the word, cf. G. 27.
Celeberrimus quisque. Such men as Pliny the elder, Claudius Pollio, and Julius Secundus, wrote biographies. Also Rusticus and Senecio. See chap. 2.
Plerique. Not most persons, butmany, orvery many. Cf. His. 1, 86, and 4, 84, where it denotes a less number thanpluresandplurimi, to which it is allied in its root (ple, ple-us, plus, plerus. See Freund ad v.)
Suam ipsi vitam. Autobiography. Cic. in his Epist. to Lucceius says: If I cannot obtain this favor from you, I shall perhaps be compelled to write my own biography,multorum exemplo et clarorum virorum. Whenipseis joined to a possessive pronoun in a reflexive clause, it takes the case of the subject of the clause. Cf. Z. 696, Note; H. 452, 1.
Fiduciam morum.A mark of conscious integrity; literally confidence of, i.e. in their morals.Morumis objective gen. For the two accusatives (one of which however is the clausesuam—narrare) afterarbitrati sunt, see Z. 394; H. 373. A gen. may take the place of the latter acc.,essebeing understood, Z. 448.
Rutilio. Rutilius Rufus, consul A.U.C. 649, whom Cic. (Brut. 30, 114.) names as a profound scholar in Greek literature and philosophy, and Velleius (2, 13, 2.) calls the best man, not merely of his own, but of any age. He wrote a Roman history in Greek. Plut. Mar. 28. His autobiography is mentioned only by Tacitus.
Scauro. M. Aemilius Scaurus, consul A.U.C. 639, who wrote an autobiography, which Cic. (Brut. 29, 112.) compares favorably with the Cyropaedia of Xenophon.
Citra fidem. Cf. note G. 16.—Aut obtrectationi. Enallage, cf. note, G. 15. Render:This in the case of Rutilius and Scaurus did not impair(public)confidence or incur(public)censure.
Adeo.To such a degree, orso true it is.Adeoconclusiva, et in initio sententiae collocata, admediamlatinitatem pertinet. Dr. Livy usesadeoin this way often; Cic. usestantum.
At nunc, etc.But now(in our age so different from those better days)in undertaking to write(i.e. if I had undertaken to write)the life of a man at the time of his death, I should have needed permission; which I would not have asked, since in that caseI should have fallen on times so cruel and hostile to virtue. The reference is particularly to the time of Domitian, whose jealousy perhaps occasioned the death of Agricola, and would have been offended by the very asking of permission to write his biography. Accordingly the historian proceeds in the next chapter to illustrate the treatment, which the biographers of eminent men met with from that cruel tyrant.Opus fuitstands instead ofopus fuisset. Cf. His. 1, 16:dignus eram; 3, 22:ratio fuit; and Z. 518, 519. The concise mode of using the future participlesnarraturoandincursaturus(in place of the verb in the proper mood and with the proper conjunctions, if, when, since) belongs to the silver age, and is foreign to the language of Cicero. Such is the interpretation, which after a thorough reinvestigation, I am now inclined to apply to this much disputed passage. It is that of Ritter. It will be seen that the text also differs slightly from that of the first edition (in-cursaturusinstead ofni cursaturus). Besides the authority of Rit., Död., Freund and others, I have been influenced by a regard to the usage of Tacitus, which lends no sanction to a transitive sense ofcursare. Cf. Ann. 15, 50; His. 5, 20. In many editions,mihistands beforenunc narraturo. Butnuncis the emphatic word, and should stand first, as it does in the best MSS.
II.Legimus. Quis? Tacitus ejusdemque aetatis homines alii. Ubi? In actis diurnis. Wr. Thesejournals(Fiske's Man. p. 626., 4. ed.) published such events (cf. Dio. 67, 11), and were read through the empire (Ann. 16, 22). T. was absent from Rome when the events here referred to took place (cf. 45: longae absentiae). Hence the propriety of his sayinglegimus, rather thanvidimusormeminimus, which have been proposed as corrections.
Aruleno Rustico. Put to death by Domitian for writing a memoir or penegyric on Paetus Thrasea, cf. Suet. Dom. 10.
Paetus Thrasea. Cf. Ann. 16, 21: Trucidatis tot insignibus viris, ad postremum Nerovirtutem ipsamexscindere concupivit, interfecto Thrasea Paeto.
Herennio Senecioni. Cf. Plin. (Epist. 7, 19), where Senecio is said to have written the life of Helvidius at the request of Fannia, wife of Helvidius, who was also banished, as accessory to the crime, but who bore into exile the very books which had been the cause of her exile. For the dat. cf. note, G. 3:Ulixi.
Priscus Helvidius, son-in-law of Thrasea and friend of the younger Pliny, was put to death by Vespasian. Suet. Vesp. 15; His. 4, 5; Juv. Sat. 5, 36.
Laudati essent. The imp. and plup. subj. are used in narration aftercum, even when it denotes time merely. Here however a causal connection is also intended. H. 518, II.; Z. 577, 578.
Triumviris. The Triumviri at Rome, like the Undecimviri (oi endeka) at Athens, had charge of the prisons and executions, for which purpose they had eight lictors at their command.
Comitio ac foro. The comitium was apartof the forum. Yet the words are often used together (cf. Suet. Caes. 10). Thecomitiumwas the proper place for the punishment of criminals, and the wordforumsuggests the further idea of the publicity of the book-burning in the presence of the assembled people.
Conscientiam, etc.The consciousness, i.e.common knowledge of mankind; forconscientiadenotes what one knows in common with others, as well as what he is conscious of in himself. Cf. His. 1, 25:conscientiam facinoris; Cic. Cat. 1. 1:omnium horum conscientia. In his Annals (4, 35), T. ridicules the stupidity of those who expect by anypresentpower, to extinguish the memory also of thenextgeneration. The sentiment of both passages is just and fine.
Sapientiae professoribus. Philosophers, who were banished by Domitian, A.D. 94, on the occasion of Rusticus's panegyric on Thrasea. T. not unfrequently introduces anadditional circumstanceby the abl. abs., as here.
Ne occurreret. Newith the subj. expresses a negative intention;ut nona negative result. H. 490; Z. 532.
Inquisitiones. A system of espionage, sc. by the Emperor's tools and informers.—Et==etiam,even. Cf. note, 11. Al.etiam.
Memoriam—perdidissemus, i.e. we should not havedaredto remember, if we could have helped it.
III.Et quanquam. Etprosed. So Dr. Butnunc demum animus reditimplies, that confidence is hardly restored yet; and the reason for so slow a recovery is given in the following clause. Henceetis used in its proper copulative or explicative sense. So Wr.Demumis a lengthened form of the demonstrativedem. Cf. i-dem, tan-dem,dae.Nunc demum==nun dae. Freund.
Primo statim. Statimgives emphasis:at the very commencement, etc.; cf. note, 20.—Dissociabiles, incompatible.
Augeatque—Trajanus. This marks the date of the composition early in the reign of Trajan, cf. G. 37; also p. 139 supra.
Securitas publica. "And public security has assumed not only hopes and wishes, but has seen those wishes arise to confidence and, stability. Securitas publicawas a current expression and wish, and was frequently inscribed on medals." Ky.
Assumpserit. This word properly belongs only tofiduciam ac robur. Spem ac votumwould require ratherconceperit. Zeugma.
Subit.Steals in, lit. creeps under. Cf. note, H. 1, 13.
Invisa primo—amatur. The original perhaps of Pope's lines Vice is a monster, &c.
Quindecim annos. The reign of Domitian from A.D. 81, to A.D. 96.
Fortuitis casibus. Natural and ordinary death, as opposed to death by violence,saevitia principis.—Promptissimus quisque. The ablest, or all the ablest.Quisquewith a superlative, whether singular or plural, is in general equivalent toomneswith the positive, with the additional idea however of a reciprocal comparison among the persons denoted byquisque, Z. 710, 6.
Ut ita dixerim. An apology for the strong expressionnostri superstites: survivors not of others only, but so to speak, of ourselves also; for we can hardly be said to havelivedunder the tyranny of Dom., and our present happy life is, as it were, a renewed existence, after being buried for fifteen years. A beautiful conception! The use ofdixerimin preference todicamin this formula is characteristic of the later Latin. Cf. Z. 528. Theetbefore this clause is omitted by some editors. But it is susceptible of an explanation, which adds spirit to the passage: A few of us survive,and thatnot merely ourselves, but so to speak, others also. In the Augustan agesupersteswas, for the most part, followed by the dative.
Tamen. Notwithstanding the unfavorable circumstances in which I write, after so long a period of deathlike silence, in winch we have almost lost the gift of speech,yetI shall not regret to have composedeven in rude and inelegant language, etc. For the construction ofpigebit, cf. Z. 441, and H. 410, 6.
Memoriam—composuisse. Supposed to refer to his forthcoming history, written, or planned and announced, but not yet published. Some understand it of the present treatise. But theninterimwould have no meaning; nor indeed is the language applicable to hisAgricola.
Interim, sc.editusor vulgatus,published meanwhile, i.e. while preparing the history.
The reader cannot but be struck with the beauty of this introduction. It is modest, and at the same time replete with the dignity of conscious worth. It is drawn out to considerable length, yet it is all so pertinent and tasteful, that we would not spare a sentence or a word. With all the thoughtful and sententious brevity of the exordiums of Sallust, it has far more of natural ease and the beauty of appropriateness.
IV.Cnaeus Julius Agricola. Every Roman had at least three names: the nomen or name of the gens, which always ended inius(Julius); the praenomen or individual name ending inus(Cnaeus); and the cognomen or family name (Agricola). See a brief account of A. in Dion Cassius 66, 20. Mentioned only by Dion and T. Al. Gnaeus, C. and G. being originally identical.
Forojuliensium colonia. NowFrejus. A walled town of Gallia Narbonensis, built by Julius Caesar, and used as anaval stationby Augustus (cf. His. 3, 43:claustra maris). Augustus sent thither the beaked ships captured in the battle of Actium, Ann. 4, 5. Hence perhaps calledillustris.
Procuratorem Caesarum. Collector of imperial revenues in the Roman Provinces.
Quae equestris—est, i.e. the procurator was, as we say, ex officio, a Roman knight. The office was not conferred on senators.
Julius Graecinus. Cf. Sen. de Benef. 2, 21: Si exemplo magni animi opus est, utemurGraecini Julii, viri egregii, quem C. Caesar occidit ob hoc unum, quod melior vir esset, quam esse quemquam tyranno expediret.
Senatorii ordinis. Pred. afterfuitunderstood, with ellipsis ofvir. H. 402, III.; Z. 426.
Sapientiae. Philosophy, cf. 1.—Caii Caesaris. Known in English histories by the name of Caligula.
Marcum Silanum. Father-in-law of Caligula, cf. Suet. Calig. 23: Silanum itemsocerumad necem, secandasque novacula fauces compulit.
Jussus. Supplyest. T. often omitsestin the first of two passive verbs, cf. 9: detentus ac statim … revocatus est. In Hand's Tursellinus (2, 474) however, jussus is explained as a participle, andquia abnueratas equivalent to another participle==having been commanded and having refused.
Abnuerat, lit.hadrefused, because the refusal was prior to the slaying. We, with less accuracy, sayrefused. Z. 505.
Rarae castitatis. Ellipsis ofmulier. H. 402, III.; Z. 426.
In—indulgentiaque. Brought up in her bosom and tender love. Indulgentiais more frequently used to denote excessive tenderness.
Arcebathas for its subject the clause,quod statim, etc. He was guarded against the allurements of vice by the wholesome influences thrown around him in the place of his early education.
Massiliam. Now Marseilles. It was settled by a colony of Phocaeans. HenceGraeca comitate. Cf also Cicero's account of the high culture and refinement of Massilia (Cic. pro Flacco, 26).—Provinciali parsimonia. Parsimoniain a good sense;economy, as opposed to the luxury and extravagance of Italy and the City.
Locum—mixtum. Enallage forlocus, in quo mixta erant, etc. H. 704, III., cf. 25: mixti copiis et laetitia.—Bene compositumdenotesa happy combinationof the elements, of whichmixtumexpresses only theco-existence.
Acrius, sc. aequo==too eagerly. H. 444, 1, and Z. 104, 1. note.
Concessum—senatori. Military and civil studies were deemed more appropriate to noble Roman youth, than literature and philosophy.Senatorimust of course refer, not to the office of A., but to his rank by birth, cf.senatorii ordinisabove.
Hausisse, ni—coercuisset. An analysis of this sentence shows, that there is an ellipsis ofhausurumfuisse:he imbibed, and would have continued to imbibe,had not, &c. In such sentences, which abound in T. but are rarely found in Cic.,niis more readily translated bybut. Cf. Z. 519.b; and note, His. 3, 28. For the application ofhaurireto the eager study of philosophy, cf. Hor. Sat. 2, 4, 95:haurire vitae praecepta beatae, and note, His. 1, 51:hauserunt animo.
Prudentia matris. So Nero's mother deterred him from the study of philosophy. Suet. Ner. 52.
Pulchritudinem ac speciem. The beautiful image, or beau ideal, by hendiadys. Cf. Cic. Or. 2:species pulchritudinis. See Rit. in loc.
Vehementius quam caute. Forvehementius quam cautius, which is the regular Latin construction. T. uses both. Cf. Z. 690, and note, His. 1, 83.
Mox. In T. subsequently, not presently. R.
Retinuitque—modum. And, what is most difficult, he retained from philosophy moderation—moderation in all things, but especially in devotion to philosophy itself, where moderation is difficult in proportion to the excellence of the pursuit, as was shown by the extravagance of the Stoics and some other Grecian sects. As to the sense ofmodum, cf. Hor. Sat. 1, 1, 106:est modus in rebus; and for the sentiment, Hor. Ep. 1, 6, 15:Insani sapiens nomen ferat, aequus iniqui, ultra quam satis est virtutem si petat ipsam.
V.Castrorum. This word is used to express whatever pertains to military life, education, &c., as the context may require. Every Roman youth who aspired to civil office, must have a military education.
Diligenti ac moderato. Careful and prudent, cf. our author's character of the same commander, His. 2, 25:cunctator natura, etc.
Approbavit==fecit, ut ei probarentur. Dr. It is a constructio praegnans. He obtained the first rudiments of a military education under Paullinus, and he gained his approbation.
Electus—aestimaret. Having been chosen as one whom he would estimate(i.e. test his merit)by tenting together, i.e. by making him his companion and aid. Young men of rank and promise were thus associated with Roman commanders. Cf. Suet., Caes. 2. T., as usual, avoids the technical way of expressing the relation. Ad verbum,contubernium, cf. note, His. 1, 43. Others makeaestimaret==dignum aestimaret, andcontubernioabl. of price. Cf. Död. and Dr.
Licenter—segniter, sc. agens.Licenterrefers tovoluptates, segnitertocommeatus.—Commeatus==furloughs, absence from duty.— Inscitiam, sc. tribunatus==ignorance of his official duty or inexperience in war.—Retulit. Referre adis used very much like the corresponding English, viz. torefer toan object, or devote to an end. Sense:He did not take advantage of his official standing and his military inexperience, to give up his time to ease and pleasure. Wr. takesretulitin the more ordinary sense of brought back, thus: A. did not bring back (to Rome) the empty name of Tribune and no military experience, there to give himself up to leisure and pleasure. The former version accords better with the language of the whole passage. Wr. questions the authority for such a use ofreferre. But it may be found, e.g. Plin. Epist. 1, 22: nihiladostentationem, omniaadconscientiamrefert.
Noscere—nosci, etc. T. is fond of such a series of inf. depending on someonefinite verb understood, and hence closely connected with each other, cf. G. 30:praeponere, etc.note. Here supply fromretulitin the preceding number the idea:he made it his business or aim to know, etc. The author's fondness for antithesis is very observable in the several successive pairs here:noscere—nosci; discere—sequi; appetere—recusare; anxius—intentus.
In jactationem. Al. jactatione.Indenoting the object or purpose, Z. 314:he coveted no appointment for the sake of display; he declined none through fear.
Anxiusandintentusqualifyagerelike adverbs cf. R. Exc. 23, 1.He conducted himself both with prudence and with energy.
Exercitatior==agitatior. So Cic. Som. Scip. 4: agitatus et exercitatus animus; and Hor. Epod. 9, 31: Syrtes Noto exercitatas.
Incensae coloniae. Camalodunum, Londinium and Verulamium. Cf. Ann. 14, 33, where however the historian does not expressly say, the last two wereburned.
In ambiguo==ambigua, in a critical state. R.
Alterius, sc. ducis.—Artem et usum. Militaryscience and experience.
Summa … cessit. The general management(cf. notes, H. 1, 87. 2, 16. 33)and the glory of recovering the province went to the general(to his credit). The primary meaning ofcedereisto go. See Freund sub v.—Juveni, sc. A.
Tum, sc. while veterani trucidarentur, etc.—Mox, sc. when Paullinus and A. came to the rescue.
Nec minus, etc. A remark worthy of notice and too often true.
VI.Magistratus. The regularcourseof offices and honors at Rome.
Per—anteponendo. Enallage, cf. G. 15, note.Perhere denotes manner, rather than means (cf.per lamenta, 28); andanteponendolikewise==anteponentes. R. Render:mutually loving and preferring one another.—Nisi quod==but. Cf.ni, 4. There is an ellipsis beforenisi quod, which R. would supply thus: greatly to the credit of both parties —but more praise belongs to the good wife, etc.Majorsc. quam in bono viro. So, afterplussupply quam in malo viro:But more praise belongs to a good wife, than to a good husband,by as much as more blame attaches to a bad wife, than to a bad husband.
Sors quaesturae. The Quaestors drewlotsfor their respective provinces. Their number increased with the increase of the empire, till from two they became twenty or more. As at first a Quaestor accompanied each Consul at the head of an army, so afterwards each Proconsul, or Governor of a province, had his Quaestor to collect and disburse the revenues of the province. The Quaestorship was the first in the course of Roman honors. It might be entered upon at the age of twenty-four.
Salvium Titianum. Brother of the Emperor Otho. See His. B. 1 and 2. pass. For the office of Proconsul, &c., see note, His. 1, 49.
Parata peccantibus. Ready for wickedrulers, i.e. affording great facilities for extortion in its corrupt and servile population.ParatusWith a dat. of the thing, for which there is a preparation, is peculiar to poetry and post-Augustan prose. Cf. Freund ad v. Ad rem. cf. Cic. Epist. ad Quint. 1, 1, 6: tam corruptrice provincia, sc. Asia; and pro Mur. 9.
Quantalibet facilitate. Any indulgence (license) however great.
Redempturus esset. Subj. in the apodosis answering to a protasis understood, sc. if A. would have entered into the plot. Cf. H. 502. Observe the use ofessetrather thanfuissetto denote what the proconsul would have been ready to doat any timeduring theircontinuancein office. Cf. Wr. in loc.
Dissimulationem. Concealment (of what is true); simulatio, on the other hand, is an allegation of what is false.
Auctus est filia. So Cic. ad Att. 1, 2: filiolo me auctum scito.
Ante sublatum. Previously born. For this use ofsublatum, see Lexicon.—Brevi amisit, he lost shortly after_; though R. takesamisitas perf. for plup. and renders lost a short time before.
Mox inter, etc., sc.annuminter, supplied frometiam ipsum … annumbelow.
Tenor et silentium. Hendiadys for continuum silentium, or tenorem silentem. R.
Jurisdictio. For the administration of justice in private cases had not fallen to his lot. Only two of the twelve or fifteen Praetors, viz. the Praetor Urbanus (see note H. 1, 47) and the Praetor Peregrinus (who judged between foreigners and citizens) were said to exercisejurisdictio. The adjudication of criminal causes was calledquaestio, which was now for the most part in the hands of the senate (Ann. 4, 6), from whom it might be transferred by appeal to the Praefect of the City or the Emperor himself. The Praetors received thejurisdictioor thequaestioby lot; and in case the former did not fall to them, the office was almost a sinecure; except that they continued to preside over the public games. See further, on the name and office of Praetor, His. 1, 47, note. For the plup. inobvenerat, see note, 4:abnuerat.
Et==et omnino.The games and in general the pageantry of office (inania honoris)expected of the Praetor. Observe the use of the neuter plural of the adj. for the subst., of which, especially before a gen., T. is peculiarly fond.
Medio rationis. The text is doubtful. The MSS. vacillate betweenmedio ratinoisandmodo rationis; and the recent editions, for the most part, follow a third but wholly conjectural reading, viz.moderationis. The sense is the same with either reading:He conducted the games and the empty pageantry of office in a happy mean(partaking at once)of prudence and plenty. See Freund adduco.
Uti—propior. As far from luxury, so(in the same proportion)nearer to glory, i.e. the farther from luxury, the nearer to glory. Cf. Freund aduti.
Longe—propior. Enallage of the adv. and adj. ef. G. 18:extra.
Ne sensisset. Would not have felt, etc., i.e. he recovered all the plundered offerings of the temple, but those which had been sacrilegiously taken away byNerofor the supply of his vicious pleasures. This explanation supposes a protasis understood, or rather implied inquam Neronis. (Cf H. 503, 2. 2). The plup. subj. admits perhaps of another explanation, the subj. denoting the end with a view to whichAgricola labored(H. 531; Z. 549), and the plup. covering all the past down to the time of his labors: he labored that the republic might not have experienced, andhevirtuallyeffected that it had not experienced, since he restored everything to its former state, the plunder of Nero alone excepted. See Wr. and Or. in loc. Perhaps this would not be an unexampledpraegnantiafor Tacitus. Forsentirein the sense ofexperiencingespeciallyevil, see Hor. Od. 2, 7, 10, and other examples in Freund sub v.
VII.Classis Othoniana. Ad rem. cf. His. 2, 12, seqq.—Licenter vaga. Roaming in quest of plunder.—Intemelios, Cf. note, 2, 13.—In praediis suis. On her own estates. Praediaincludes both lands and buildings.
Ad solemnia pietatis. To perform the last offices of filial affection.
Nuntio deprehensus. Supplyest, cf. 4: jussus.Was overtaken unexpectedly by the news of Vespasian's claim (nomination) to the throne.—Affectati. Cf. note, G. 28.—In partes, to his (Vesp.)party.
Principatus, sc. Vespasiani.—Mucianus regebat. Vesp. was detained in Egypt for some time after his troops had entered Rome under Mucianus; meanwhile Mucianus exercised all the imperial power, cf. His. 4, 11. 39: vis penes Mucianum erat.
Juvene—usurpante. Dom. was now eighteen years old, cf. His. 4, 2: nondum ad curas intentus, sedstupris et adulteriis filium principis agebat.
Is, sc. Mucianus.—Vicesimae legioni. One of three legions, at that time stationed inBritain, which submitted to the government of Vesp.tardeandnon sine motu(His. 3, 44).
Decessor. Predecessor. It was Roscius Coelius. His. 1, 60.
Legatis—consularibus. Governorsor Proconsuls. The provinces were governed by men who had been consuls (consulares), and aslegatusmeant any commissioned officer, these were distinguished aslegati consulares. With reference to this consular authority, the same were calledproconsules. Cf. note, H. 1, 49. Trebellius Maximus and Vettius Bolanus are here intended. Cf. 16. and His. 1, 60. 2, 65.Nimia==justo potentior. Dr.
Legatus praetorius==legatus legionis, commander of the legion. Cf. note, His. 1, 7. Here the same person asdecessor.
Invenisse quam fecisse, etc., involves a maxim of policy worth noting.
VIII.Placidius. With less energy. See more of Bolanus at close of 16.
Dignum est. A general remark, applicable to any such province. Hence the present, for which some would substituteeratoresset.
Ne incresceret, sc. ipse:lest he should become too great, i.e. rise above his superior and so excite his jealousy. Referred by W. toardoremfor its subject. But thenne incresceretwould be superfluous.
Consularem, sc. Legatum==Governor, cf. 7, note.
Petilius Cerialis. Cf. 17. Ann. 14, 32. His. 4, 68.
Habuerunt—exemplorum. Had room for exertionand so forsetting a good example, cf. Ann. 13, 8: videbaturque locus virtutibus patefactus. The position ofhabueruntis emphatic, as if he had said:then had virtues, etc. See Rit. in loc.
Communicabat, sc. cum A.—Ex eventu, fromthe event, i.e.in consequence of his success.
In suam famam. Cf. in jactationem, 5, note.
Extra gloriamis sometimes put forsine gloria, especially by the late writers. His. 1, 49:extra vitia. Hand's Turs. 2, 679.
IX.Revertentem, etc. Returning from his command in Britain.—Divus.Cf. notes, G. 28; His. 2, 33.
Vesp.—ascivit. By virtue of his office as Censor, the Emperor claimed the right of elevating and degrading the rank of the citizens. Inasmuch as the families of the aristocracy always incline to run out and become extinct, there was a necessity for an occasional re-supply of the patrician from the plebeian ranks, e.g. by Julius Caesar, Augustus and Claudius (Ann. 11, 25), as well as by Vespasian (Aur. Vic. Caes. 9. Suet. 9.)—Provinciae—praeposuit. Aquitania was one of seven provinces, into which Augustus distributed Gaul, and which with the exception of Narbonne Gaul, were all subject to the immediate disposal and control of the Emperor himself. It was the south-western part of Gaul, being enclosed by the Rhone, the Loire, the Pyrenees and the Atlantic.
Splendidae—destinarat. A province of the first importance both in its government(in itself considered),and the prospect of the consulship, to which he(Vesp.)had destined him(A.), sc. as soon as his office should have expired.
Subtilitatem==calliditatem, nice discernment,discrimination.—Exerceat, Observe the subj. to express the views of others, not of the author. H. 531; Z. 511.
_Secura—agens.Requiring less anxious thought and mental acumen, andproceeding more by physical force. Secura==minus anxia. Dr. Cf. note, His. 1, 1.Obtusior==minus acuta.
Togatos. Civiliansin distinction from military men, like A. Thetogawas the dress of civil life to some extent in theprovinces(cf. 21, His. 2, 20), though originally worn only inRome. (Beck. Gall., Exc. Sc. 8.)
Remissionumque. The Greeks and Romans both used the pl. of many abstracts, of which we use only the sing. For examples see R. Exc. 4. For the principle cf. Z. 92.
Curarum—divisi. This clause means not merely, that his time was divided between business and relaxation; but that there was a broad line of demarcation between them, as he proceeds to explain.Divisa==diversa inter se. Dr. So Virg. Georg. 2, 116: divisae arboribus patriae==countries aredistinguished fromeach other by their trees.Jam vero. Cf. note, G. 14.
Conventus, sc. juridici==courts. The word designates also the districts in which the courts were held, and into which each province was divided. Cf. Smith's Dict. of Ant.: Conventus. So Pliny (N.H. 3; 3.) speaks of juridici conventus. Tacitus, as usual, avoids the technical designation.
Ultra. Adv. for adj., cf.longe, 6.—Persona. 1. A mask (perandsono). 2. Outward show, as here.
Tristitiam—exuerat. Some connect this clause by zeugma with the foregoing. But with a misapprehension of the meaning of exuerat, which==was entirely free from; lit. had divested himself of. Thus understood, the clause is ageneralremark touching the character of A., in implied contrast with other men or magistrates with whom those vices were so common. So in Ann. 6, 25, Agrippina is said to have divested herself of vices (vitia exuerat) which were common among women, but which never attached to her.Facilitas. Opposed toseveritas==kindness, indulgence.
Abstinentiam. This word, though sometimes denoting temperance in food and drink, more properly refers to the desire and use of money.Abstinentiais opposed toavarice; continentiatosensual pleasure. Cf. Plin. Epis. 6, 8: alieni abstinentissimus. Here render honesty, integrity.
Cui—indulgent. See the same sentiment, His. 4, 6: quando etiam sapientibus cupido gloriae novissima exuitur.
Ostentanda—artem, cf. 6:per—anteponendo; also G. 15, note.
Collegas. The governors of other provinces. The word meanschosen together; hence either those chosen at the same election or those chosen to the same office. Cf. H. 1, 10.
Procuratores. There was but one at a time in each province. There may have been several however in succession, while A. was Proconsul. Or we may understand both this clause and the preceding, not of his government in Aquitania in particular, but as a general fact in the life of A. So E. For the office, see note, 4; and for an instance of a quarrel between the Proconsul and the Procurator, Ann. 14, 38.
Atteri==vinci as the antithesis shows, though with more of the implication of dignityimpaired(worn off) by conflict with inferiors.
Minus triennium. Quamomitted. See H. 417, 3; Z. 485.
Comitante opinione. A general expectation attending him, as it were, on his return.
Nullis sermonibus. Ablative ofcause.
Elegit. Perf. to denote whathas in facttaken place.
X.In comparationem. Cf. in suam famam, 8, note.
Perdomita est. Completely subdued.
Rerum fide==faithfully and truly; lit. with fidelity to facts.
Britannia. It has generally been supposed (though Gesenius denies it in his Phenician Paloeography) that Britain was known to the Phenicians, those bold navigators and enterprising merchants of antiquity, under the name of theCassiterides, or Tin Islands. Greek authors make early mention of Albion (plural of Alp?) and Ierne (Erin) as British Islands. Bochart derives the name (Britain) from the Phenician or Hebrew Baratanae, "the Land of Tin;" others from the GallicBritti, Painted, in allusion to the custom among the inhabitants of painting their bodies. But according to the Welsh Triads, Britain derived its name from Prydain, a king, who early reigned in the island. Cf. Turner's His. Ang. Sax. 1, 2, seqq. The geographical description, which follows, cannot be exonerated from the charge of verbiage and grandiloquence. T. wanted the art of saying a plain thing plainly.
Spatio ac coelo. Brit. not only stretches out or lies over against these several countries insituation, but it approaches them also inclimate: a circumstance which illustrates the great size of the island (cf.maxima, above) and prepares the way for the description of both below.
GermaniaeandHispaniaeare dat. afterobtenditur. The mistaken notion of the relative position of Spain and Britain is shared with T. by Caesar (B.G. 13), Dion (39, 50), and indeed by the ancients in general. It is so represented in maps as late as Richard of Cirencester. Cf. Prichard, III. 3, 9.
Etiam inspicitur. It is evenseenby the Gauls, implying nearer approach to Gaul, than to Germany or Spain.
Nullis terris. Abl. abs.,contrataking the place of the part., or rather limiting a part. understood.
Livius. In his 105th Book; now lost, except in the Epitome.
Fabius Rusticus. A friend of Seneca, and writer of history in the age of Claudius and Nero.
Oblongae scutulae. Geometrically a trapezium.
Et est ea facies. And such is the form, exclusive of Caledonia, whence the account has been extended also to the whole Island.
Sed—tenuatur. But a vast and irregular extent of lands jutting out here (jam, cf. note, G. 44)on this remotest shore(i.e. widening out again where they seemed already to have come to an end),is narrowed down as it were into a wedge. The author likens Caledonia to a wedge with its apex at the Friths of Clyde and Forth, and its base widening out on either side into the ocean beyond.Enormisis a post-Augustan word.Novissimi==extreme, remotest. G. 24, note.
Affirmavit. Establishedthe fact, hitherto supposed, but not fully ascertained. This was done in Agricola's last campaign in Britain, cf. 38.
Orcadas. The Orkneys. Their name occurs earlier than this, but they were little known.
Dispecta est. Was seenthrough the mist, as it were; discovered in the distance and obscurity. Cf. note, H. 4, 55: dispecturas Gallias, etc.
Thule. Al. Thyle. What island T. meant, is uncertain. It has been referred by different critics, to the Shetland, the Hebrides, and even to Iceland. The account of the island, like that of the surrounding ocean, is obviously drawn from the imagination.
Nam hactenus, etc.For their orders wereto proceedthus faronly,and(besides)winter was approaching. Cf.hactenus, G. 25, andappetere, Ann. 4, 51:appetente jam luce. The editions generally havenixinstead ofjussum. But Rit. and Or. with reason follow the oldest and best MSS. in the readingjussum, which with the slight and obvious amendment ofnamforquamby Rit. renders this obscure and vexed passage at length easy and clear.
Pigrum et grave. See a similar description of the Northern Ocean, G. 25: pigrum ac prope immotum. The modern reader need not be informed, that this is an entire mistake, as to the matter of fact; those seas about Britain are never frozen; though the navigators in this voyage might easily have magnified the perils and hardships of their enterprise, by transferring to these waters what they had heard of those further north.
Perinde. Al.proinde. These two forms are written indiscriminately in the old MSS. The meaning ofne perindehere isnot so much, sc. as other seas. Cf. note, G. 5.
Ne ventis—attolli. Directly the reverse of the truth. Those seas, are in fact, remarkably tempestuous.
Quod—impellitur. False philosophy to explain a fictitious phenomenon, as is too often the case with the philosophy of the ancients, who little understood natural science, cf. theastronomyof T. in 12.
Neque—ac. Correlatives. The author assigns two reasons why he does not discuss the subject of thetides: 1. It does not suit the design of his work; 2. The subject has been treated by many others, e.g. Strab. 3, 5, 11; Plin. N.H. 2, 99, &c.
Multum fluminum. Multumis the object offerre, of whichmareis the subject, as it is also of all the infinitives in the sentence.Fluminumis not rivers but currents among the islands along the shore.
Nec littore tenus, etc. "The ebbings and flowings of the tide are not confined to the shore, but the sea penetrates into the heart of the country, and works its way among the hills and mountains, as in its native bed." Ky. A description very appropriate to a coast so cut up by aestuaries, and highly poetical, but wanting in simplicity.
Jugis etiam ac montibus. Jugis, cf. G. 43.Ac. Atquein the common editions. Butac, besides being more frequent before a consonant, is found in the best MSS.
XI.Indigenae an advecti. Cf.note, G. 2:indigenas.
Ut inter barbaros, sc. fieri solet. Cf. ut in licentia, G. 2; and ut inter Germanos, G. 30.
Rutilae—asseverant. Cf. the description of the Germans, G. 4. The inhabitants of Caledonia are of the same stock as the other Britons. The conclusion, to which our author inclines below, viz. that the Britons proceeded from Gaul, is sustained by the authority of modern ethnologists. The original inhabitants of Britain are found, both by philological and historical evidence, to have belonged to the Celtic or Cimmerian stock, which once overspread nearly the whole of central Europe, but were overrun and pushed off the stage by the Gothic or German Tribes, and now have their distinct representatives only in the Welsh, the Irish, the Highland Scotch, and a few similar remnants of a once powerful race in the extreme west of the continent and the islands of the sea. Cf. note on the Cimbri, G. 37.
Silurum. The people of Wales.
Colorati vultus. Dark complexion. So with the poets, colorati Indi, Seres, Etrusci, &c.
Hispania. Nom. subject offaciunt, withcrines, &c.
Iberos. Properly a people on the Iberus (Ebro), who gave their name to the whole Spanish Peninsula. They belonged to a different race from the Celtic, or the Teutonic, which seems once to have inhabited Italy and Sicily, as well as parts of Gaul and Spain. A dialect is still spoken in the mountainous regions about the Bay of Biscay, and called the Basque or Biscayan, which differs from any other dialect in Europe. Cf. Prichard's Physical Researches, vol. III. chap. 2.
Proximi Gallis. Cf. Caes. B.G. 5, 14: Ex his omnibus longe sunt humanissimi, qui Cantium (Kent) incolunt, quae regio est maritima omnis,neque multum a Gallica differunt consuetudine. Et—also: those nearest the Gauls are also like them.
Durante vi. Either because the influence of a common origin still continues, etc.
Procurrentibus—terris. Or because their territories running out towards one another, literally,in opposite directions, Britain towards the south and Gaul towards the north, so as to approach each other. See Rit., Död. in loc., and Freund addiversus.
Positio—dedit. The idea of similarity being already expressed insimiles, is understood here: their situation in the same climate (coelo) has given them thesamepersonal appearance.
Aestimanti. Indef. dat. aftercredibile est, cf. note, G. 6.
Eorumrefers to the Gauls. You (indef. subject, cf. quiescas, G. 36) may discover the religion of the Gauls (among the Britons) in their full belief of the same superstitions. So Caes. B.G. 6, 13: disciplina in Britannia reperta atque inde in Galliam translata esse existimatur; and he adds, that those who wished to gain a more perfect knowledge of the Druidical system still went from Gaul to Britain to learn. Sharon Turner thinks, the system must have been introduced into Britain from the East (perhaps India) by the Phenicians, and thence propagated in Gaul. His. Ang. Sax., B. 1, chap. 5.
Persuasione. See the same use of the word, His. 5, 5: eademque de infernis persuasio.
In—periculis. The same sentiment is expressed by Caesar (B.G. 3, 19).
Ferociae. In a good sense, courage, cf. 31: virtus ac ferocia.
Praeferunt==prae se ferunt, i.e.exhibit.
Ut quos. Ut qui, likequialone, is followed by the subj. to express a reason for what precedes. It may be rendered bybecauseorsincewith the demonstrative. Soquippe cui placuisset, 18. Cf. Z. 565 and H. 519, 3.
Gallos floruisse. Cf. G. 28.
Otio. Opposed tobellis, peace.—Amissa virtute. Abl. abs. denoting an additional circumstance. Cf. 2:expulsis—professoribus, note.—Olimlimitsvictis.
XII.Honestior. The more honorable(i.e. the man of rank)is the charioteer, his dependents fight(on the chariot). The reverse was true in the Trojan War.
Factionibus trahuntur==distrahuntur in factiones. Dr., and Or. T. is fond of using simple for compound verbs. See note 22; also numerous examples in the Index to Notes on the Histories.
Civitatibus. Dat. for Gen.—Pro nobis. Abl. with prep. for dat. Enallage. R.—Conventus. Convention, meeting.
Coelum—foedum. The fog and rain of the British Isles are still proverbial.—Dierum spatia, etc. Cf. Caes. 513.
Quod si==and if. From the tendency to connect sentences by relatives arose the use ofquodbefore certain conjunctions, particularlysi, merely as a copulative. Cf. Z. 807. also Freund sub v. The fact alleged in this sentence is as false as the philosophy by which it is explained in the next, cf. G. 45: in ortus, note.
Scilicet—cadit. This explanation proceeds on the assumption that night is caused by the shadow of mountains, behind which the sun sets; and since these do not exist in that level extremity of the earth, the sun has nothing to set behind, and so there is no night. The astronomy of T. is about of a piece with his natural philosophy, cf. 10.—Extrema— terrarum. Cf. note, 6:inania honoris.
Non erigunt, lit. do not elevate the darkness, i.e. do not cast their shadow so high (infraque—cadit), as the sky and the stars; hence they are bright (clara) through the night!! Pliny also supposed the heavens (above the moon) to be of themselves perpetually luminous, but darkened at night by the shadow of the earth. N.H. 2, 7.
Praeter. Beyond. Hence eitherbesidesorexcept. Here the latter.—Fecundum. More thanpatiens, fruitful even.—Proveniunt. Ang.come forward.
Fert—aurum, etc. This is also affirmed by Strabo, 4, 5, 2, but denied by Cic. ad Att., 4, 16, 7, and ad Div., 7, 7. The moderns decide in favor of T. and Strabo, though it is only in inconsiderable quantities that gold and silver have ever been found in Britain.
Margarita. The neuter form of this word is seldom used, never by Cicero. See Freund sub v.
Rubro mari. TheRed Seaof the Greeks and Romans embraced both the Arabian and the Persian Gulfs; and it was in the latter especially, that pearls were found, as they are to this day. Cf. Plin. N.H. 9, 54: praecipue laudantur (margaritae) inPersico sinu maris rubri. For an explanation of the name (Red Sea), see Anthon's Classical Dictionary.
Expulsa sint. Cast out, i.e.ashore, by the waves. Subj. in a subordinate clause of the oratio obliqua. H. 531; Z. 603.
Naturam—avaritiam. A very characteristic sentence, both for its antithesis and its satire.
XIII.Ipsi Britanni. Ipsimarks the transition from the country to the people, cf. ipsos Germanos, G. 2.
Obeuntproperly applies only tomunera, not totributaanddelectum, which would requiretolerantor some kindred verb. Zeugma. H. 704, I. 2; Z. 775.
Igitur==now. In the first sentence of the section the author has indicated his purpose to speak of thepeopleof Britain. Andnow in pursuance of that design, he goes back to the commencement of their history, as related to and known by the Romans. Cf. note, G. 28.
Divus. Cf. note, G. 28: D. Julius. For Julius Caesar's campaigns in Britain, see Caes. B.G. 4, 21. seq.; 5, 5. seq.; Strabo, Lib. 4, &c.
Consilium. Hisadvice(to his successor). See Ann. 1, 11.—Praeceptum. Acommand(of Augustus, which Tib. affected to hold sacred). Ann. 1, 77; 4, 37.
C. Caesarem. Caligula, cf. 4, note.—Agitasse, etc. cf. 39. His. 4, 15; Suet. Calig. 44.
Ni—fuissent. Cf.Ni, 4, note. The ellipsis may be supplied thus: he meditated an invasion of Brit. andwould have invaded it, had he not beenvelox ingenio, etc. But in idiomatic Eng.ni==but. Of coursefuissetis to be supplied withvelox ingenioandmobilis poenitentiae. Al. poenitentia. But contrary to the MSS.Mobilisagrees withpoenitentiae(cf. Liv. 31, 32: celerem poenitentiam), which is a qualifying gen. Gr. 211. R. 6. Lit.of repentance easy to be moved. Render:fickle of purpose.
Auctor operis. Auctor fuit rei adversus Britannos gerendae et feliciter gestae. Dr. See on the same subject Suet. Claud. 17.—Assumpto Vespasiano, cf. Suet Vesp. 4. II. 3, 44.
Quod—fuit. Vespasian's participation in the war against Brit. was the commencement of his subsequent brilliant fortunes.
Monstratus fatis, i.e. a fatis,by the fates. The expression is borrowed perhaps from Virg. Aen. 6, 870:Ostendentterris hunc tantumfata.
XIV.Consularium. Cf. note on it, 8.—Aulus Plautius. Ann. 13, 32;Dio. 60, 19.—Ostorius Scapula. Ann. 12, 31-39.—Proxima, sc. Romae.
Veteranorum colonia. Camolodunum. Ann. 12, 32. Now Colchester. Dr.—Et reges. Kings also, i.e. besides other means.—Ut vetere, etc. So in the MSS. and earliest editions. Rhenanus transferredutto the place beforehaberetwhich it occupies in the common editions. But no change is necessary. Render:that in accordance with their established custom, the Roman people might have kings also as the instruments of reducing(the Britons)to slavery.
Didius Gallus. Cf. Ann. 12, 40: arcere hostem satis habebat.—Parta a prioribus. The acquisitions (conquests) of his predecessors.
Aucti officii. Of enlarging the boundaries of his government. Officiumis used in a like sense, Caes. B.C. 3, 5: Toti officio maritimo praepositus, etc. So Wr.; Or. and Död. understand by itgoing beyondthe mere performance of hisduty. It was his duty to protect his province: he enlarged it.—Quaereretur. Subj. in a relative clause denoting a purpose. H. 500; Z. 567.
Veranius. Ann. 14, 29.—Paullinus. Ann. 14, 29-30.
Monam insulam. Now Anglesey. But theMonaofCaesaris the Isle of Man, called by PlinyMonapia. The Mona of T. was the chief seat of the Druids, henceministrantem vires rebellibus, for the Druids animated and led on the Briton troops to battle. T. has given (Ann. 14, 30) a very graphic sketch of the mixed multitude of armed men, women like furies, and priests with hands uplifted in prayer, that met Paullinus on his landing, and, for a time, well nigh paralyzed his soldiers with dismay. In the same connexion, he speaks also of the human sacrifices and other barbarous rites, which were practised by our Briton Fathers in honor of their gods.