Armentorum ac pecorum. For the distinction between these words, see note, § 5. The high value which they attached to their herds and flocks, as theirsolae et gratissimae opes, may help to explain the law or usage here specified. Moreover, where the individual was so much more prominent than the state, homicide even might be looked upon as a private wrong, and hence to be atoned for by a pecuniary satisfaction, cf. Tur. Hist. Ang. Sax., App. No. 3, chap. 1.
Juxta libertatem, i.e.simul cum libertate, or inter liberos homines. The form of expression is characteristic of the later Latin. Cf. Hand's Tursellinus, vol. III. p. 538. Tacitus is particularly partial to this preposition.
Convictibus, refers to the entertainment of countrymen and friends,hospitiisto that of strangers.
Pro fortuna. According to his means. So Ann. 4, 23: fortunae inops.
Defecere, sc. epulae. Quam exhausta sint, quae apparata erant, cf. 24: omnia defecerunt.
Hospes. Properlystranger; and hence eitherguestorhost. Here the latter.—Comes. Guest. So Gün. and the common editions. But most recent editors place a colon aftercomes, thus making itpredicate, and referring it to thehostbecoming the guide andcompanionof his guest to another place of entertainment.
Non invitati, i.e. etiam si non invitati essent. Gün.
Nec interest, i.e. whether invited or not.
Jus hospitis. The right of the guestto a hospitable reception, So Cic. Tus. Quaes., 1, 26: jus hominum.
Quantum adbelongs to the silver age. In the golden age they said:quod attinet ad, or simplyad. Gr. Cicero however hasquantum in, N. D. 3, 7; and Ovid,quantum ad, A. A. 1, 744. Cf. Freund sub voce.
Imputant. Make charge or account of. Nearly confined to the later Latin. Frequent in T. in the reckoning both of debt and credit, of praise and blame. Cic. said:assignarealicui aliquid.
Obligantur, i.e. obligatos esse putant. Forma passiva ad modum medii verbi Graeci. Gün. Cf. note, 20:miscentur.
Victus—comis. The mode of life between host and guest is courteous. Forvictus==manner of life, cf. Cic. Inv. 1, 25, 35.
XXII.Eis not exactly equivalent here toa, nor does it mean simplyafter, but immediately on awakingout ofsleep.—Lavantur, wash themselves, i.e. bathe; like Gr. louomai. So aggregantur, 13;obligantur, 21, et passim.
Calida, sc. aqua, cf. in Greek, thermo louesthai, Aristoph. Nub. 1040. In like manner Pliny usesfrigida, Ep. 6, 16: semel iterumquefrigidampoposcit transitque. Other writers speak of the Germans as bathing in their rivers, doubtless in the summer; but in the winter they use the warm bath, as more agreeable in that cold climate. So in Russia and other cold countries, cf. Mur. in loco.
Separatae—mensa. Contra Romanorum luxuriam, ex more fereHomericiaevi. Gün.
Sedes, opposed to the triclinia, on which the Romans used torecline, a practice as unknown to the rude Germans, as to theearlyGreeks and Hebrews. See Coler. Stud. of Gr. Poets, p. 71 (Boston, 1842).
Negotia. Plural==theirvariouspursuits. So Cic. de Or. 2, 6:forensia negotia. Negotium==nec-otium, C. and G. being originally identical, as they still are almostin form.—Armati. Cf. note, 11:ut turbae placuit.
Continuare, etc. est diem noctemque jungere potando, sive die nocteque perpotationem continuare. K.
Ut, sc. solet fieri, cf. ut in licentia, § 2. The clause limitscrebrae; it is thefrequent occurrenceof brawls, that is customary among those given to wine.
Transiguntur. See note on transigitur, § 19.
Asciscendis. i.e. assumendis.
Simplicesmanifestly refers to theexpressionof thought; explained afterwards byfingerenesciunt==frank, ingenuous. Cf. His. 1, 15:simplicissime loquimur; Ann. 1, 69:simplices curas.
Astuta—callida. Astutusest natura,callidusmultarum rerum peritia. Rit.Astutus, cunning;callidus, worldly wise. Död.
Adhuc. To this day, despite the degeneracy and dishonesty of the age. So Död. and Or. Rit. says: quae adhuc pectore clausa erant. Others still make it==etiam, even. Cf. note, 19.
Retractatur. Reviewed,reconsidered.
Salva—ratio est. The proper relation of both times is preserved, or the advantage of both is secured, as more fully explained in the next member, viz. bydiscussing when they are incapable of disguise, and deciding, when they are not liable to mistake. Cf. Or. in loc., and Bötticher, sub v.
Passow well remarks, that almost every German usage, mentioned in this chapter, is in marked contrast with Roman manners and customs.
XXIII.Potui==pro potu, or in potum, dat. of the end. So 46: Victui herba, vestitui pelles. T. and Sallust are particularly fond of this construction. Cf. Böt. Lex. Tac., subDativus.
Hordeo aut frumento. Hordeo==barley; frumento, properly fruit (frugimentum, fruit [Greek: kat exochaen], i.e. grain), grain of any kind, herewheat, cf. Veget. R.M. 1, 13: et milites pro frumento hordeum cogerentur accipere.
Similitudinem vini. Beer, for which the Greeks and Romans had no name. Hence Herod. (2, 77) speaks of [Greek: oinos ek kritheon pepoiaemenos], among the Egyptians.
Corruptus. Cum Tacitea indignatione dictum, cf. 4:infectos, so Gün. But the word is often used to denote mere change, without the idea of being made worse, cf. Virg. Geor. 2, 466: Nec casia liquidicorrumpiturusus olivi. Here renderfermented.
Ripae, sc. of the Rhine and Danube, i.e. the Roman border, as in 22: proximi ripae.
Poma. Fruits of any sort, cf. Pliny, N.H. 17, 26: arborem vidimus omni generepomorumonustum, alio ramonucibus, aliobaccis, aliundevite, ficis, piris, etc.
Recens fera. Venison, or other gamefresh, i.e.recently taken, in distinction from the tainted, which better suited the luxurious taste of the Romans.
Lac concretum. Calledcaseusby Caes. B.G. 6, 22. But the Germans, though they lived so much on milk, did not understand the art of making cheese, see Pliny, N.H. 11, 96. "De caseo non cogitandum, potius quod nostrates dicunt dickemilch" (i.e.curdled milk). Gün.
Apparatu. Luxurious preparation.—Blandimentis. Dainties.
Haud minus facile. Litotes for multo facilius.
Ebrietati. Like the American Aborigines, see note, § 15.
XXIV.Nudi. See note, § 20.
Quibus id ludicrum. For whom it is a sport; not whose business it is to furnish the amusement: that would bequorum estK. and Gr.
Infestas==porrectas contra saltantes. K.—Decorem. Poetic.
Quaestum==quod quaeritur,gain.—Mercedem, stipulated pay,wages.
Quamvislimitsaudacis==daring as it is(as you please).
Sobrii inter seria. At Rome gaming was forbidden, except at the Saturnalia, cf. Hor. Od. 3, 24, 68: vetita legibus alea. The remarkable circumstance (quod mirere) in Germany was, that they practised it not merely as an amusement at their feasts, but when sober among (inter) their ordinary every-day pursuits.
Novissimo. The lastin a series. Very frequently in this sense in T., so also in Caes. Properly newest, then latest,last. Cf. note, His. 1, 47.Extremo, involving the greatest hazard, like ourextreme: last and final(decisive)throw. This excessive love of play, extending even to the sacrifice of personal liberty, is seen also among the American Indians, see Robertson, Hist. of America, vol. 2, pp. 202-3. It is characteristic of barbarous and savage life, cf. Mur. in loco.
De libertate ac de corpore. Hendiadys==personal liberty.
Voluntariam. An earlier Latin author would have usedipse, ultro, or the like, limiting the subject of the verb, instead of the object. The Latin of the golden age prefersconcretewords. The later Latin approached nearer to the English, in using moreabstractterms. Cf. note onrepercussu, 3.
Juvenior. More youthful, and therefore more vigorous; not merely younger (junior). See Död. and Rit. in loc. Forcellini and Freund cite only two other examples of this full form of the comparative (Plin. Ep. 4, 8, and Apul. Met. 8, 21), in which it does not differ in meaning from the common contracted form.
Ea==talis or tanta.Suchorso great. Gr.
Pervicacia. Pervicacessunt, qui in aliquo certaminead vincendumperseverant, Schol. Hor. Epod. 17, 14.
Pudore. Shame,disgrace. So also His. 3, 61; contrary to usage of earlier writers, who use it for sense of shame,modesty.
XXV.Ceteris. All but those who have gambled away their own liberty, as in § 24.—In nostrum morem, &c., with specific duties distributed through the household (the slave-household, cf. note, 15), as explained by the following clause. On the extreme subdivision of office among slaves atRome, see Beck. Gall. Exc. 2. Sc. 2; and Smith's Dic. Antiq. under Servus.
Descripta==dimensa, distributa. Gün.
Familiam. Here the entirebody of servants, cf. note, § 15.
Quisque. Eachservanthas his own house and home.
Ut colono. Like thetenantorfarmeramong the Romans; also the vassal in the middle ages, and the serf in Modern Europe.
Hactenus. Thus far, andno farther, i.e. if he pays his rent or tax, no more is required of him.
Cetera. Therest of the duties(usually performed by aRoman servant), viz. those of thehouse, the wife and children(sc. of the master)perform. Gr. strangely refersuxor et liberito the wife and children of the servant. Passow also refersdomusto the house of the servant, thus making it identical with thepenatesabove, with which it seems rather to be contrasted. With the use ofceterahere, compare His. 4, 56:ceterum vulgus==the rest, viz. the common soldiers, and see the principle well illustrated in Döderlein's Essay, His. p. 17.
Opere. Hard labor, which would serve as a punishment. The Romans punished their indolent and refractory domestics, by sending them to labor in thecountry, as well as by heavy chains (vinculis) and cruel flagellations (verberare). They had also the power of life and death (occidere). Beck. Gall. Exc. 2. Sc. 2; Smith's Dic. Ant. as above.
Non disciplina—ira. Hendiadys==non disciplinae severitate, sed irae impetu. Cf. His. 1, 51:severitate disciplinae.
Nisi—impune, i.e. without the pecuniary penalty or satisfaction, which was demanded when one put to death an enemy (inimicum). Cf. 21.
Liberti—libertini. These words denote the same persons, but with this difference in the idea:libertus==the freedman of some particular master,libertinus==one in theconditionof a freedman without reference to any master. At the time of the Decemvirate, and for some time after, liberti==emancipated slaves, libertini==the descendants of such, cf. Suet. Claud. 24.
Quae regnantur. Governed by kings. Ex poetarum more dictum, cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 794: regnata per arva. So 43: Gothones regnantur, and 44: Suiones. Gün.
Ingenuos==free born;nobiles==high born.
Ascendunt, i.e. ascendere possunt.
Ceteros. By synesis (see Gr.) for ceteras, sc. gentes.
Impares, sc. ingenuis et nobilibus.
Libertatis argumentum, inasmuch as they value liberty and citizenship too much to confer it on freedmen and slaves. This whole topic of freedmen is an oblique censure of Roman custom in the age of the Emperors, whose freedmen were not unfrequently their favorites and prime ministers.
XXVI.Fenus agitare. To loan money at interest.
Et in usuras extendere. And to put out that interest again on interest. The other explanation, viz. that it means simply to put money at interest, makes the last clause wholly superfluous.
Servatur. Is secured, sc. abstinence from usury, or the non-existence of usury, which is the essential idea of the preceding clause.
Ideo—vetitum esset, sc. ignoti nulla cupido! Cf. 19: boni mores, vs. bonae leges. Gün. The reader cannot fail to recognize here, as usual, the reference to Rome, where usury was practised to an exorbitant extent. See Fiske's Manual, § 270, 4. and Arnold's His. of Rome, vol. 1, passim.
Universis. Whole clans, in distinction from individual owners.
In vices. By turns. Al vices, vice, vicis. Död. prefers in vicis; Rit. in vicos==for i.e. by villages. But whether we translate by turns or by villages, it comes to the same thing. Cf. Caes. B.G. 6, 22.
Camporum, arva, ager, soli, terrae, &c. These words differ from each other appropriately as follows:Terrais opposed to mare et coelum, viz.earth.Solumis the substratum of any thing, viz.solid ground or soil.Campusis an extensive plain or level surface, whether of land or water, herefields.Ageris distinctively the territory that surrounds a city, viz.the public lands.Arvumis ageraratus, viz.plough lands. Bredow.
Superest. There is enough, and more, cf. § 6, note.
Labore contendunt. They do not strive emulously to equal the fertility of the soil by their own industry. Passow.
Imperatur. Just as frumentum, commeatus, obsides, etc.,imperantur, are demanded or expected. Gün.
Totidem, sc. quot Romani, cf. idem, 4, note. Tacitus often omits one member of a comparison, as he does also one of two comparative particles.
Species. Parts. Sometimes the logical divisions of a genus; so used by Cic. and Quin. (§ 6, 58): cum genus dividitur in species.
Intellectum. A word of the silver age, cf. note on voluntariam, 24. Intellectum—habent==are understood and named. "Quam distortum dicendi genus!" Gün.
Autumni—ignorantur. Accordingly in English, spring, summer and winter are Saxon words, while autumn is of Latin origin (Auctumnus). See Dübner in loc. Still such words as Härfest, Herpist, Harfst, Herbst, in other Teutonic dialects, apply to the autumnal season, and not, like our word harvest, merely to the fruits of it.
XXVII.Funera, proprie de toto apparatu sepulturae. E. Funeral rites were performed with great pomp and extravagance at Rome; cf. Fiske's Man., § 340; see also Mur. in loco, and Beck. Gall. Exc. Sc. 12.
Ambitio. Primarily the solicitation of office by the candidate; then the parade and display that attended it; thenparadein general, especially in a bad sense.
Certis, i.e. rite statutis. Gün.
Cumulant. Structura est poetica, cf. Virg. Aen. 11, 50:cumulatquealtaria donis. K.
Equus adjicitur. Herodotus relates the same of the Scythians (4, 71); Caesar, of the Gauls (B.G. 6, 19). Indeed all rude nations bury with the dead those objects which are most dear to them when living, under the notion that they will use and enjoy them in a future state. See Robertson's Amer. B. 4, &c., &c.
Sepulcrum—erigit. Still poetical; literally:a turf rears the comb. Cf. His. 5, 6: Libanumerigit.
Ponunt==deponunt. So Cic. Tusc. Qu.: ad ponendum dolorem Cf. A. 20: posuere iram.
Feminis—meminisse. Cf. Sen. Ep.: Vir prudens meminisse perseveret, lugere desinat.
Accepimus. Ut ab aliis tradita audivimus, non ipsi cognovimus. K. See Preliminary Remarks, p. 79.
In commune. Cic. would have said, universe, or de universa origine. Gr. Cic. usesin commune, but in a different sense, viz. for the common weal. See Freund, sub voc.
Instituta, political;ritus, religious.
Quae nationes. And what tribes, etc.;quaeforquaequeby asyndeton, or perhaps, as Rit. suggests, by mistake of the copyist.—Commigraverint. Subj. of the indirect question. Gr. 265, Z. 552.
German critics have expended much labor and research, in defining the locality of the several German tribes with which the remainder of the Treatise is occupied. In so doing, they rely not only on historical data, but also on the traces of ancient names still attached to cities, forests, mountains, and other localities (cf. note, § 16). These we shall sometimes advert to in the notes. But on the whole, these speculations of German antiquarians are not only less interesting to scholars in other countries, but are so unsatisfactory and contradictory among themselves, that, for the most part, we shall pass them over with very little attention. There is manifestly an intrinsic difficulty in defining the ever changing limits of uncivilized and unsettled tribes. Hence the irreconcilable contradictions betweenancient authorities, as well as modern critiques, on this subject. Tacitus, and the Roman writers generally, betray their want of definite knowledge of Germany by the frequency with which they specify the names of mountains and rivers. The following geographical outline is from Ukert, and must suffice for thegeographyof the remainder of the Treatise: "In the corner between the Rhine and the Danube, are the Decumates Agri, perhaps as far as the Mayne, 29. Northward on the Rhine dwell the Mattiaci, whose neighbors on the east are the Chatti, 30. On the same river farther north are the Usipii and the Tencteri; then the Frisii, 32-34. Eastward of the Tencteri dwell the Chamavi and the Angrivarii (earlier the Bructeri), and east or southeast of them the Dulgibini and Chasuarii, 34. and other small tribes. Eastward of the Frisii Germany juts out far towards the north, 35. On the coast of the bay thus formed, dwell the Chauci, east of the Frisii and the above mentioned tribes; on the south, they reach to the Chatti. East of the Chauci and the Chatti are the Cherusci, 36. whose neighbors are the Fosi. The Cherusci perhaps, according to Tacitus, do not reach to the ocean; and in the angle of the above bay, he places the Cimbri, 37. Thus Tacitus represents the western half of Germany. The eastern is of greater dimensions. There are the Suevi, 38. He calls the country Suevia, 41. and enumerates many tribes, which belong there. Eastward of the Cherusci he places the Semnones and Langobardi; north of them are the Reudigni, Aviones, Anglii, Varini, Eudoses, Suardones and Nuithones; and all these he may have regarded as lying in the interior, and as the most unknown tribes, 41. He then mentions the tribes that dwell on the Danube, eastward from the Decumates Agri: the Hermunduri, in whose country the Elbe has its source; the Narisci, Marcomanni and Quadi, 41-42. The Marcomanni hold the country which the Boii formerly possessed; and northward of them and the Quadi, chiefly on the mountains which run through Suevia, are the Marsigni, Gothini, Osi and Burii, 43. Farther north are the Lygii, consisting of many tribes, among which the most distinguished are the Arii, Helvecones, Manimi, Elysii and Naharvali, 43. Still farther north dwell the Gothones, and, at the Ocean, the Rugii and Lemovii. Upon islands in the ocean live the Suiones, 44. Upon the mainland, on the coast, are the tribes of the Aestyi, and near them, perhaps on islands, the Sitones, 45. Perhaps he assigned to them the immense islands to which he refers in his first chapter. Here ends Suevia. Whether the Peucini, Venedi and Fenni are to be reckoned as Germans or Sarmatians, is uncertain, 46. The Hellusii and Oxonae are fabulous."
The following paragraph from Prichard's Researches embodies some of the more general conclusions ofethnographers, especially of Zeuss, on whom Prichard, in common with Orelli and many other scholars, places great reliance. "Along the coast of the German Ocean and across the isthmus of the Cimbric peninsula to the shore of the Baltic, were spread the tribes of the Chauci and Frisii, the Anglii, Saxones and the Teutones or Jutes, who spoke theLow-Germanlanguages, and formed one of the four divisions of the German race, corresponding as it seems with theIngaevonesof Tacitus and Pliny. In the higher and more central parts, the second great division of the race, that of theHermiones, was spread, the tribes of which spokeUpperorHigh-Germandialects. Beginning in the West with the country of the Sigambri on the Rhine, and from that of the Cherusci and Angrivarii near the Weser and the Hartz, this division comprehended, besides those tribes, the Chatti, the Langobardi, the Hermunduri, the Marcomanni and Quadi, the Lugii, and beyond the Vistula the Bastarnae, in the neighborhood of the Carpathian hills. To the eastward and northward of the last mentioned, near the lower course of the Vistula and thence at least as far as the Pregel, were the primitive abodes of the Goths and their cognate tribes, who are perhaps theIstaevones." The fourth division of Prichard embraced the Scandinavians, who spoke a language kindred to the Germans and were usually classed with them. Those who would examine this subject more thoroughly, will consult Adelung, Zeuss, Grimm, Ritter, Ukert, Prichard, Latham, &c., who have written expressly on the geography or the ethnography of Germany.
XXVIII.Summus auctorum, i.e. omnium scriptorum is, qui plurimumauctoritatis fideiquehabet. K. Cf. Sueton. Caes. 56. Though T. commends so highly theauthorityof Caesar as a writer, yet he differs from him in not a few matters of fact, as well as opinion; owing chiefly, doubtless, to the increased means of information which he possessed in the age of Trajan.
Divus Julius. Divus==deified,divine; an epithet applied to the Roman Emperors after their decease.—Tradit. Cf. Caes. B.G. 6, 24: fuit antea tempus, cumGermanos Gallivirtutesuperarent, ultro bella inferrent, propter hominum multitudinem agrique inopiam trans Rhenum colonias mitterent. Livy probably refers to the same events, when he says (Lib. 5, 34), that in the reign of Priscus Tarquinius, two immense bodies of Gauls migrated and took possession, the one of the Hercynian Forest, the other of Upper Italy.
Amnis. The Rhine.—Promiscuas. Unsettled, ill defined.
Quo minusafter a verb of hindering is followed by the subj. H. 499; Z. 543.
Nulla—divisas, i.e.not distributed among different and powerful kings.
Hercyniam silvam. A series of forests and mountains, stretching from Helvetia to Hungary in a line parallel to the Danube, and described by Caesar (B.G. 6, 25), as nine day's journey in breadth and more than sixty in length. The name seems to be preserved in the modernHartzForest, which is however far less extensive.
Igitur—Helvetii==igiturregionem, inter, etc. See note oncolunt, 16.Igiturseldom stands as the first word in a sentence in Cicero. Cf. Z. 357; and Kühner's Cic. Tusc. Qu. 1, 6, 11. Here it introduces a more particular explanation of the general subject mentioned at the close of the previous chapter. So in A. 13. When so used, it sometimes stands first in Cic., always in T. Cf. Freund sub v. Touching the Helvetii, see Caes. B.G. 1, 1; T. His. 1, 67.
Boihemi nomen. Compounded of Boii and heim (home of the Boii), now Bohemia.Heim==hamin the termination of so many names of towns, e.g. Framing_ham_, Notting_ham_. The Boii were driven from their country by the Marcomanni, 42. The fugitives are supposed to have carried their name into Boioaria, now Bavaria. Cf. Prichard's Physical Researches, Vol. III. Chap. 1, Sec. 6; and Latham's Germany of Tacitus in loco.
Germanorum natione, i.e. German in situation, not in origin, for this he expressly denies or disproves in 43, from the fact that they spoke the Pannonian language, and paid tribute. The doubt expressed here has reference only to their originallocation, not to their original stock, and is therefore in no way inconsistent with the affirmation in chapter 43.
Cum==since. Hence followed by subj. H. 518, I.; Z. 577.
Utriusque ripae. Here of theDanube, the right or Pannonian bank of which was occupied by the Aravisci, and the left or German bank by the Osi. So elsewhere of theRhine, 37, and of both, 17, and 23.
Treveri. Hence modernTreves.
Circa.In respect to. A use foreign to the golden age of Latin composition, but not unfrequent in the silver age. See Ann. 11, 2. 15. His. 1, 43. Cf. Z. 298, and note, H. 1, 13.
Affectationem.Eager desireto pass for native Germans. Ad verbum, cf. note, II. 1, 80.
Ultro. Radically the same withultra==beyond. Properly beyond expectation, beyond necessity, beyond measure, beyond any thing mentioned in the foregoing context. Hence unexpectedly, freely, cheerfully, very much, even more. Herevery,quite. Gr.
Inertia Gallorum. T., says Gün., is an everlasting persecutor of the Gauls, cf. A. 11.
Haud dubie==haud dubii. It limits Germanorum populi.Undoubtedly German tribes.
Meruerint. Not merely deserved, butearned,attained. For the subj. afterquanquam, cf. note, 35.
Agrippinenses. From Agrippina, daughter of Germanicus and wife of Claudius. Ann. 12, 27. Now Cologne.
Conditoris.Conditorwith the earlier Latins is an epicene, conditrix being of later date. Here used of Agrippina. Of coursesuicannot agree withconditoris. It is a reflexive pronoun, the objective gen. afterconditoris==the founder ofthemselves, i.e. of their state, cf.odium sui, 33.
Experimento. Abl.ontrial, notfor; i.e. in consequence of being found faithful. In reference to the Ubii, cf. His. 4, 28.
XXIX.Virtutesc. bellica.
Non multum ex ripa.A small tract on the bank, but chiefly an island in the river. Cf. His. 4, 12: extrema Gallicae orae, simulque insulam, occupavere.
Chattorum quondam. The very name Batavi is thought by some to be a corrupted or modified form of Chatti. See Rit. in loc.
Transgressus. Whenis not known, but Julius Caesar found them already in possession of their new territory. B.G. 4, 10.
Fierent. Subj. aftereas—quibus==such that. H. 500, 2; Z. 556.
Nec—contemnuntur. Are neither dishonored. So in His. 4, 17. the Batavians are calledtributorum expertes.
Oneribus. The burdens of regular taxation.—Collationibus. Extraordinary contributions.
Tela, offensive;arma, defensive armor.
In sua ripa. On the right or eastern bank of the Rhine.Aguntis to be taken within sua ripa, as well as withnobiscum, which are antithetic to each other. Meaning: in situation Germans, in feeling Romans.
Mente animoque. In mind and spirit. Mensis properly the understanding,animusthe feeling part, and both together comprehend the whole soul.
Acrius animantur. Made more courageous by the influence of their very soil and climate even(adhuc, cf. note, 19).
Numeraverim. Subj. cf. note, 2:crediderim.
Decumates—exercent. Exercent==colunt, So Virg. tellurem, terram, humum, solum, &c.,exercere.
Decumates==decumanos. Occurs only here. Tithe-paying lands. For their location, see note, 27.
Dubiae possessionis, i.e.insecure, till confirmed bylimite acto promotisque praesidiis, i.e.extending the boundary and advancing the garrisons or outposts.
Sinus. Extreme bendorborder. Cf. note, 1. So Virg. (Geor. 2 123) calls India extremisinusorbis.
Provinciae. A province, not any particular one.
XXX.Initium inchoant. Pleonastic. So initio orto, His. 1, 76; initium coeptum, His. 2, 79; perferre toleraverit, Ann. 3, 3.Ultrais farther back from the Rhine. Chattorum sedes ubi nunc magnus ducatus et principatusHassorum, quorum nomen a Chattis deductum. Ritter. Cha_tt_i==He_ss_ians, as Germ. wa_ss_er==Eng. wa_t_er, and [Greek: prasso==pratto].
Effusis. Loca effusasunt, quaelatis campispatent. K. This use belongs to the later Latin, though Horace applies the word withlateto the sea: effusi late maria. Gr.
Durant siquidem, etc. On the whole, I am constrained to yield to the authority and the arguments of Wr., Or., Död., and Rit., and place the pause beforedurant, instead of after it as in the first edition.Durantprecedessiquidemfor the sake of emphasis, just asquin immo(chap. 14) andquin etiam(13) yield their usual place to the emphatic word. These are all departures from established usage. See notes in loc. cit.Quemust be understood, afterpaulatim: it is inserted in the text by Ritter.
Rarescunt.Become fewerand farther apart. So Virg. Aen. 3, 411:Angusti rarescent claustra Pelori.
Chattos suos. As if the Chatti were the children of the Forest, and the Forest emphatically their country. Passow.
Prosequitur, deponit. Begins, continues, and ends with the Chatti. Poetical==is coextensive with.
Duriora, sc. solito, or his, cf. Gr. 256, 9.—Stricti, sinewy, strong, which has the same root asstringo.
Ut inter Germanos, i.e. pro ingenio Germanorum, Gün. So we say elliptically:for Germans.
Praeponere, etc. A series of infinitives without connectives, denoting a hasty enumeration of particulars; elsewhere, sometimes, a rapid succession of events. Cf. notes, A. 36, and H. 1, 36. The particulars here enumerated, all refer tomilitaryproceedings.
Disponere—noctem.They distribute the day, sc. as the period of various labors;they fortify the night, sc. as the scene of danger. Still highly poetical.
Ratione.Way, manner. Al.Romanae.
Ferramentis.Iron tools, axes, mattocks, &c.—Copiis.Provisions.
Rari. Predicate ofpugna, as well asexcursus.—Velocitasapplies to cavalry,cunctatioto infantry;juxta==connected with, allied to, cf. juxta libertatem, 21.
XXXI.Aliis—populis. Dat. afterusurpatum, which with its adjuncts is the subject ofvertit. See same construction, His. 1, 18: observatum id antiquitus comitiis dirimendis non terruit Galbam, etc., cf. also A. 1.—Audentiaoccurs only thrice in T. (G. 31. 34. Ann. 15, 53), and once in Pliny (Ep. 8, 4). It differs fromaudaciain being avirtue.
Vertit. Intrans. Not so found in Cic., but in Liv., Caes., and Sall., not unfrequent. Gr. Cic. however usesanno vertente.
In consensum vertit.Has become the common custom.
Ut primum.Just as soon as. A causal relation is also implied; hence followed by the subj.
Crinem—submittere. We find this custom (of letting the hair and beard grow long) later among the Lombards and the Saxons, cf. Turn. His. Ang. Sax., App. to B. 2.
Super—spolia, i.e.over the bloody spoilsof a slain enemy.
Revelant, i.e. they remove the hair and beard, which have so longveiledthe face.
Retulisse==repaid, discharged their obligations to those who gave them birth.
Squalor. This word primarily denotes roughness; secondarily and usually filth: here the deformity of unshorn hair and beard.
Insuper, i.e. besides the long hair and beard. The proper position ofinsuperis, as here, between the adj. and subs., cf. 34: immensosinsuperlacus; see alsoinsuper, 12.
Absolvat. Subj. afterdonec. Sofaciatbelow. See note, 1.
Hic—habitus, sc.ferreum annulum, cf. 17.Plurimis==permultis, Rit.
Placet. Antithetic toignominiosum genti. Very many of the Chatti arepleasedwith that which is esteemed a disgrace by most Germans, and so pleased with it as to retain it to old age, and wear it as a badge of distinction (canent insignes).
Nova. Al.torva. Strange, unusual. Placed in thevan(prima acies), because as the author says, § 43: primi in omnibus proeliisoculivincuntur.
Mansuescunt. Primarily said of wild beasts,accustomed to the hand of manortamed. Soimmanis,nothandled, wild, savage. The clause introduced bynamillustrates or enforcesvisu nova, and may be rendered thus:for not even in time of peace do they grow gentleand put ona milder aspect.
Exsanguis. Usually lifeless or pale. Herelanguid, feeble.
XXXII.Alveo==quoad alveum. Abl. of respect, H. 429; Z. 429.
Certum. Fixed, well defined, i.e. not divided and diffused, (so as to form of itself no sufficient border or boundary to the Roman Empire) as it was nearer its source among the Chatti. So this disputed word seems to be explained by the author himself in the following clause;quique terminus esse sufficiat==and such that it suffices to be a boundary.Qui==talis ut; hence followed by the subj. H. 500, I.; Z. 558. So Mela (3, 2) contrastssolidus et certo alveo lapsuswithhuc et illuc dispergitur.
Tencteris==apud Tencteros, byenallage, cf. note onad patrem, 20, and other references there. The Tencteri and Usipii seem to have been at length absorbed into the mass of people, who appear under the later name of Alemanni. Cf. Prichard.
Familiam. Servants, cf. note on same word, 15. See also Beck Gall., Exc. 1. Sc. 1.—Penates==ourhomestead.
Jura succesionum==heir looms, all that goes down by hereditary descent.
Excipit. Here in the unusual sense ofinherits.—Cetera, sc.jura successionum.
Bello. Abl. and limits bothferoxandmelior. Meaning:The horses are inherited, not, like the rest of the estate, by the eldest son, but by the bravest.
XXXIII.Occurrebant. Met the view, presented themselves. Almost the sense of the corresponding English word. The structure ofnarratur(as impers.) is very rare in the earlier authors, who would say:Chamavi narrantur. Cf. His. 1, 50. 90. TheChamavi, &c., were joined afterwards to the Franks. Cf. Prichard. The present town ofHamin Westphalia probably preserves the name and gives theoriginallocality of theChamavi, the presentEngernthat of theAngrivarii. The termination varii or uarii probably==inhabitants of. Thus angrivarii==inhabitants of Engern. Chasuarii==Inhabitants of the river Hase. The same element is perhaps contained in the termination of Bruct_eri_ and Tenct_eri_. See Latham in loco.
Nos, se. Romanos.Erga==inclined to (cf. vergo),towards.
Spectaculo. Ablative. Invidere is constructed by the Latins in the following ways: invidere alicui aliquid, alicui alicujus rei, alicui aliqua re, alicui in aliqua re. Hess. The construction here (with the abl. of the thing, which was the object of envy) belongs to the silver age. Cf. Quint. (Inst. 9, 3, 1) who contrasts it with the usage of Cicero, and considers it as illustrating the fondness of the age forfigurativelanguage.
Oblectationi oculisque. Hendiadys for ad oblectationem oculorum. The author here exults in the promiscuous slaughter of the German Tribes by each other's arms, as a brilliant spectacle to Roman eyes—a feeling little congenial to the spirit of Christianity, but necessarily nurtured by the gladiatorial shows and bloody amusements of the Romans, to say nothing of the habitual hostility which they waged against all other nations, that did not submit to their dominion.
Quaeso, sc.deos. Thoughfortuneis spoken of below, as controlling the destiny of nations. This passage shows clearly that Tacitus, with all his partiality for German manners and morals, still retains the heart of a Roman patriot. He loves his country with all her faults, and bears no good-will to her enemies, however many and great their virtues. The passage is important, as illustrating the spirit and design of the whole Treatise. The work was not written as a blind panegyric on the Germans, or a spleeny satire on the Romans. Neither was it composed for the purpose of stirring up Trajan to war against Germany; to such a purpose, such a clause, asurgentibus imperii fatis, were quite adverse. Least of all was it written for the mere pastime and amusement of Roman readers. It breathes the spirit at once of the earnest patriot, and the high-toned moralist.
Odium sui. Cf. note, 28:conditor. Hatred of themselves; i.e. of one another. So in Greek, the reflexive pronoun is often used for the reciprocal.
Quando==since; a subjective reason. Cf. note, His. I, 31; and Z. 346. —Urgentibus—fatis, sc. to discord and dissolution, for such were the forebodings of patriotic and sagacious minds ever after the overthrow of the Republic, even under the prosperous reign of Trajan.
XXXIV.A tergo, i.e. further back from the Rhine, or towards the East—A fronte, nearer the Rhine or towards the West. Both are to be referred to the Angrivarii and Chamavi, who had the Dulgibini and the Chasuarii in their rear (on the east), and the Frisii on their front (towards the west or northwest).—Frisii, the Frieslanders.
Majoribus—virium. They have the name of Greater or Less Frisii, according to the measure of their strength. For this sense ofexsee note 7. For the case ofmajoribus minoribusquesee Z. 421, and H. 387, 1.
Praetexuntur. Are bordered by the Rhine(hemmed, as the togapraetextaby the purple); or, as Freund explains, are covered by it, i.e. lie behind it—Immensos lacus. The bays, or arms of the sea, at the mouth of the Rhine (Zuyder Zee, etc.), taken for lakes by T. and Pliny (Ann. 1, 60. 2, 8. N.H. 4, 29). They have been greatly changed by inundations. See Mur. in loco.
Oceanum, sc. Septentrionalem.—Sua, sc. parte.—Tentavimus, explored.
Herculis columnas. "Wherever the land terminated, and it appeared impossible to proceed further, ancient maritime nations feigned pillars of Hercules. Those mentioned in this passage some authors have placed at the extremity of Friesland, and others at the entrance of the Baltic." Ky. cf. note, 3.
Adiit, i.e. vere adiit,actuallyvisited that part of the world.
Quicquid—consensimus. This passage is a standard illustration of theRomana interpretatione(§ 43), the Roman construction, which the Romans put upon the mythology and theology of other nations. It shows that they were accustomed to apply the names of their gods to the gods of other nations on the ground of some resemblance in character, history, worship, &c. Sometimes perhaps a resemblance in thenamesconstituted the ground of identification.
Druso Germanico. Some read DrusoetGermanico; others Druso, Germanico, as a case of asyndeton (Gr. 323, 1 (1.)); for both Drusus and Germanicus sailed into the Northern Ocean, and it is not known that Germanicus (the son of Drusus and stepson of Tiberius, who is by some supposed to be meant here) is ever calledDrusus Germanicus. But Drusus, the father of Germanicus, is called Drusus Germanicus in the Histories (5, 19), where he is spoken of as having thrown a mole or dam across the Rhine; and it is not improbable that he is the person here intended. So K., Or. and Wr.
Se, i.e. the Ocean. See H. 449, II.; Z. 604.
Inquiri. Impersonal==investigation to be made. E. suggestsinquirenti, agreeing withGermanico. But T., unlike the earlier Latin authors, not unfrequently places an infin. after a verb of hindering.
Credere quam scire. T. perhaps alluded to the precept of the Philosopher, who said: Deum cole, atque crede, sed noli quaerere. Murphy.
XXXV.In Septentrionem, etc.On the North, it falls back, sc. into the Ocean,withan immensebendor peninsula. Theflexushere spoken of is calledsinusin chap. 37, and describes the Cimbric Chersonesus, or Danish Peninsula. See Död., Or. and Rit. in loc.—Ac primo statim. And first immediately, sc. as we begin to trace the northern coast.—Lateribus, sc. the eastern.
Quanquamfollowed by the subj., seldom in Cic., but usually in T., Z. 574, Note. Cf. note, His. 5, 21.—Sinuetur, sc. southwards.Donec—sinuetur. Cf. note, 1:erumpat.
Inter Germanos. Considered among the Germans,in the estimation of the Germans.
Quique—tueri. A clause connected to anadj. (nobilissimus), cf. certum, quique, 32.Quiin both passages==talis, ut. Hence followed by subj. H. 501, I.; Z. 558.
Impotentia, ungoverned passion, [Greek: akrateia]. Impotentiaseldom denotes want of power, but usually that unrestrained passion, which results from the want of ability to control one's self.
Ut—agantdepends onassequuntur. Subj. H. 490; Z. 531,a.
Si res poscat. Some copies read: si res poscatexercitus. But posco and postulo seldom have the object expressed in such clauses, cf. 44: ut res poscit; 6: prout ratio poscit. So also Cic. and Sall., pass.Exercitusis subject nom.,promptusbeing understood, as pred.; andplurimum virorum equorumqueexplains or rather enforcesexercitus: and, if the case demand, an army, the greatest abundance of men and horses.
Quiescentibus, i.e. bellum non gerentibus;eadem, i.e. the same, as if engaged in war.
XXXVI.Cherusci. It was their chief, Arminius (Germ. Hermann), who, making head against the Romans, was honored as the Deliverer of Germany, and celebrated in ballad songs, which are preserved to this day. See his achievements in Ann. B. 1, and 2. This tribe became afterwards the head of the Saxon confederacy.
Marcentem. Enervating. Somarcentia pocula, Stat. Silv. 4, 6, 56. It is usually intransitive, and is taken here by some in the sense of languid, enervate (literally withered).—Illacessitiis a post-Augustan word. Cf. Freund.
Impotentes. Cf. impotentia, 35.
Falso quiescas. Falleris, dum quiescis. Dilthey. Cf. note, 14:possis.
Ubi manu agitur. Where matters are decided by might rather than right. Cf.manu agens, A. 9.
Nomina superioris. Virtues(only)of the stronger party, the conqueror. They are deemed vices in the weaker.
Chattis—cessit: while to the Chatti, who werevictorious, success was imputed for wisdom. The antithetic particle at the beginning of the clause is omitted. Cf. note, 4:minime.
Fuissent. Subj. aftercumsignifyingalthough. H. 516, II.
XXXVII.Sinum. Peninsula, sc. the Cimbric. Cf. note, 35:flexu; 81:sinus.
Cimbri. The same with the Cimmerii, a once powerful race, who, migrating from western Asia, that hive of nations, overran a large part of Europe, but their power being broken by the Romans, and themselves being overrun and conquered by the Gothic or German Tribes, they were pushed to the extreme western points of the continent and the British Isles, where, and where alone, distinct traces of their language and literature remain to this day. They have left their name indelibly impressed on different localities in their route, e.g. the Cimmerian Bosphorus, the Cimbric Chersonesus (now Jutland, occupied by the Cimbri in the days of T.), Cumberland (Cumbria, from Cimbri) &c. The ancient name of the Welsh was also Cymri, cf. Tur. His. Ang. Sax. 1. 2.
Gloriais abl. limitingingens.
Castra ac spatia. In apposition withlata vestigia==spatiosa castra or castrorum spatia, H. 704, II. 2; Z. 741.
Utraque ripa, sc. of the Rhine,theriver and river bank by eminence.
Molem manusque. The mass of their population, and the number of their armies. Observe the alliteration, as if he had said: measure the mass and might.
Exitus, i.e.migrationis. Often used in this sense, cf. Caes. B.C. 3, 69: Salutem etexitumsibi pariebant.—Fidem, proof.
Sexcentesimum—annum. T. follows the Catonian Era. According to the Varronian Era, received by the moderns, the date would be A.U.C. 641 = A.C. 113.
Alterum—consulatum. The second consulship of Trajan (when he was also Emperor) was, after the reckoning of Tacitus, A.U.C. 850, according to modern computation, 851 = A.D. 98. This year doubtless marks the time when this treatise was written, else why selected?
Vincitur. So long is Germany in being conquered. (The work was never completed.) Cf. Liv. 9, 3: quem per annos jam propetriginta vincimus.
Medio—spatio. In the intervening period, sc. of 210 years.
Samnis—Galliaeve. The Romans had fought bloody, and some times disastrous battles with the Samnites (at the Caudine Forks, Liv. 9, 2.), with the Carthaginians (in the several Punic Wars), with the Spaniards under Viriathus and Sertorius (Florus, Lib. 2.), with the Gauls (Caes. B.G. pass.). But none of these were so sanguinary as their wars with the Germans.
Admonuere, sc. vulneribus, cladibus==castigavere.
Regno—libertas. Liberty and monarchy in studied antithesis. T. means to imply that the former is the stronger principle of the two.
Arsacis. The family name of the Parthian kings, as Pharaoh and Ptolemy of the Egyptian, Antiochus of the Syrian, &c.
Amisso et ipse, sc.oriens; the Eastitself also lostits prince (Pacorus), in the engagement, as well as the Romans their leader (Crassus).—Objecerit, reproach us with. Subj. Cf. n. G. 2:peteret.
Ventidium. Commander under Anthony, and conqueror of the Parthians in three battles, A.U.C. 715. He was raised from the lowest rank and the meanest employment, hence perhaps the expression,dejectus infra, humbled beneath Ventidius.
Carbone—Manlio, Cneius Papirius Carbo defeated at Noreja, A.U. 641 (Liv. Epit. 63.), L. Cassius Longinus defeated and slain, 647 (Caes. B.G. 1, 7. 12.), M. Aurelius Scaurus defeated and taken captive, 648 (Liv. Epit. 67.), Servilius Caepio and M. Manlius defeated with great slaughter at Tolosa, 649 (Liv. Epit. 67.), Quintilius Varus defeated and slain, 762 (Suet. Oct. 23.)—all these victories over the Romans in their highest strength and glory—either in the time of theRepublic (Populo Romano), or of theEmpireunder Augustus (Caesari)—all these attested the courage and military prowess of the Germans; and they were still, for the most part, as free and as powerful as ever.
Caius Mariusalmost annihilated the Cimbri at Aquae Sextiae, A.U.C. 652.
Drusus. Claudius Drusus invaded Germany four times, 742-3, and finally lost his life by falling from his horse on his return, cf. Dio. Libb. 54. 55.
Nero, commonly known as Tiberius (brother of Drusus and stepson of Augustus), had the command in Germany at three different times, 746-7, 756-9, 764-5, cf. Suet. Tib. 9. seq.
Germanicus, son of Drusus, made four campaigns in Germany, A.D. 14-16, cf. Ann. B. 1. and 2.
C. Caesaris. Caligula, cf. Suet. Calig.; T. His. 4, 15.
Discordiae—armorum. The civil wars after the death of Nero under Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.
Expugnatis—hibernis. By the Batavians under Civilis. His. 4, 12 seq.; A. 41.
Affectavere. Aspired to the government of, cf. note on affectationem, 28. Afterdonec, T. always expresses a single definite past action by the perf. ind., cf. A. 36:donec—cohortatus est; a repeated, or continued past action by the imp. subj. cf. note, A. 19:donec—fieret; and a present action, which is in the nature of the case also a continued action, by the pres. subj. cf. note, 1:separet.
Triumphati. Poetice, cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 837: Triumphata Corintho; Hor. Od. 3, 3, 43: Triumphati Medi. The reference here is to the ridiculous triumph of Domitian, A. 39, in which slaves, purchased and dressed out for the purpose, were borne as captives through the streets.
XXXVIII.Suevis. In the time of T. a powerful confederacy, embracing all the tribes enumerated in 39-45, and covering all the eastern and larger half of Germany. But the confederacy was soon dissolved and seldom appears in subsequent history. We still have a trace of their name in the ModernSuabia. The name is supposed by some philologists (e.g. Zeuss) to denoteunsettled wanderers(Germ. Schweben, to wave, to hover, cf. Caes. B.G. 4, 1: Suevis non longius anno remanere uno in loco, etc.); as that of the Saxons does settlers, orfixed residents(Germ. Sassen), and that of the Franks,freemen. See Rup. in loc. An ingenious Article in the North American Review (July, 1847), makes the distinction of Suevi and non-Suevi radical and permanent in the religion and the language of the Germans; the Suevi becoming Orthodox Catholics, and the non-Suevi Arians in Ecclesiastical History, and the one High-Dutch and the other Low-Dutch in the development of their language.
Adhuc. Cf. note on it, 19. As to position, cf.insuper31, and 34. The Suevi arestill (adhuc)divided into distinct tribes bearing distinct names, though united in a confederacy. Cf. Hand's Tursellinus, 1, 163. Död. rendersbesides, sc. the general designation of Suevi.
In commune. In common. Not used in this sense by Cic., Caes. and Liv., though frequent in T. Gr. Cf. note on the same, 27.
Obliquare. To turn the hair back, or comb it upcontrary to its natural direction—and then fasten it in a knot on the top of the head (substringere nodo); so it seems to be explained by the author himself below:horrentem capillum retro sequuntur ac in ipso solo vertice religant. Others translateobliquarebytwist. Many ancient writers speak of this manner of tying the hair among the Germans, cf. Sen. de Ira. 3, 26.; Juv. 13, 164.
A servis separantur. Separantur==distinguuntur. Servants among the Suevi seem to have had their hair shorn. So also it was among the Franks at a later date. Vid. Greg. Tur. 3, 8.
Rarum et intra, etc. Enallage, cf. notecertum quique, 32.
Retro sequuntur, i.e.follow it back, as it were, in its growth, andtie it up on the very crown of the head only, instead of letting it hang down, as it grows (submittere crinem). So K., Or. and many others. Passow and Död. take sequuntur in the sense ofdesire, delight in(our wordseek). The word bears that sense, e.g. 5: argentum magis quam aurumsequuntur. But then what isretrosequuntur? forretromust be an adjunct ofsequunturboth from position, and because there is no other word which it can limit.Saepeimplies, that sometimes they made a knot elsewhere, butoften they fastenit there, and thereonly. See Or. in loc. This whole passage illustrates our author's disposition to avoid technical language. Cf. note, II. 2, 21.
Innoxiae. Harmless, unlike the beauty cultivated among theRomansto dazzle and seduce.
In altitudinem, etc.For the sake of(increased)height and terror, i.e. to appear tall and inspire terror. Cf. note, A, 5:in jactationem; A. 7:in suam famam. The antithetic particle is omitted before this clause as it often is by our author.
Ut hostium oculis, to strike with terror the eyes of the enemy, for primi in omnibus proeliisoculivincuntur, 43.
XXXIX.Vetustissimos. Oldest.Vetusisold, of longduration([Greek; etos], aetas).antiquus, ancient, belonging to aprecedingage (ante).Recens(fresh, young) is opposed to the former:novus(new, modern), to the latter. See Ramshorn and Freund.
Fides antiquitatis. Antiquitatisis objective gen.==the belief, or persuasion of their antiquity.
Auguriis—sacram. The commentators all note the hexameter structure of these words, and many regard them as a quotation from some Latin poet. The words themselves are also poetical, e.g.patrumformajorum, andformidineforreligione. The coloring is Virgilian. Cf. Aen. 7, 172; 8, 598. See Or. in loc. and Preliminary Remarks to the Histories, p. 234.
Legationibus coeunt. Just as we say:convene by their delegates, orrepresentatives.
Publice==publica auctoritate, cf. same word, 10.
Primordia. Initiatory rites.
Minor, sc. numine.Inferior to the god.
Prae se ferens. Expressing in his external appearance, or bearing in his own person an acknowledgment of the power of the divinity.
Evolvuntur==se evolvunt, cf. Ann. 1, 13: cum Tiberii genua advolveretur; alsolavantur, 22.
Eo—tanquam. Has reference to this point, as if, i.e. to this opinion, viz. that thence, etc. Cf.illuc respicit tanquam, 12.—IndeFrom the grove, or the god of the grove. Cf. 3:Tuisconem … originem gentis.
Adjicit auctoritatem, sc. isti superstitioni.
Magno corpore==reipublicae magnitudine.Corpore, the body politic. So His. 4, 64: redisse vos in corpus nomenque Germanorum.—Habitantur. Al. habitant and habitantium, by conjecture. The subject is the Semnoniancountryimplied inSemnonum: the Semnonians inhabit a hundred villages, is the idea.
XL.Langobardos. The Lombards of Mediaeval history; so called probably from their long beards (Germ, lang and bart). First mentioned by Velleius, 2, 106: gens etiam Germana feritate ferocior. See also Ann. 2, 45, 46, 62-64.—Paucitashere stands opposed to themagno corporeof the Semnones in 39.
Per—periclitando. Three different constructions, cf. notes 16, 18.
Reudigni. Perhaps the Jutes, so intimately associated with the Angles in subsequent history. See Or. in loc. In like manner, Zeuss identifies theSuardoneswith the Heruli, and theNuithoneswith the Teutones.Suardonesperhaps==sword-men.
Anglii. The English reader will here recognize the tribe of Germans that subsequently invaded, peopled, and gave name to England (==Angl-land), commonly designated as the Anglo-Saxons. T. does not mention theSaxons. They are mentioned by Ptolemy and others, as originally occupying a territory in this same part of Germany. They became at length so powerful, as to give their name to the entire confederacy (including the Angles), which ruled northern Germany, as the Franks (the founders of the French monarchy) did southern. The Angles seem to have dwelt on the right bank of the Elbe, near its mouth, in the time of T.
Nerthum. This is the reading of the MSS. and the old editions. It cannot be doubted that T. speaks of Hertha (see Turn. His. Ang. Sax., App. to B. 2. chap. 3). "But we must take care not to correct our author himself." Passow. Grimm identifies this deity with Niördhr of the Edda, and derives the name from Nord (North).—Terram matrem. The Earth is worshipped by almost all heathen nations, as the mother of men and the inferior gods. See Mur. in loco. Cf. 2: Tuisconem Deum,terra editum; also note, 9. Isidi.
Insula. Scholars differ as to the Island. Probabilities perhaps are in favor of Rugen, where thesecretus lacusmentioned below is still shown, still associated with superstitious legends.
Castum. Polluted by nothing profane. So Hor:castis lucis.
Penetrali, viz.the sacred vehicle.
Dignatur.Deems worthyof her visits.
Templo, sc. the sacred grove. Templum, like [Greek: temenos], denotes any placeset apart(from [Greek: temno]) for sacred purposes, cf. 9.
Numen ipsum. The goddess herself, not an image of her; for the Germans have no images of their gods, 9.Abluitur, as if contaminated by intercourse with mortals.
Perituri, etc.Which can be seen only on penalty of death.
XLI.Propior, sc. to the Romans.—Hermundurorum. Ritter identifies the name (Hermunbeing omitted, anddurbeing==thur) and the people with the _Thur_ingians. Cf. note 2:Ingaevones.
Non in ripa. Not only(ornot so much)on the border(the riverbank), but also within the bounds of the Roman Empire.
Splendidissima—colonia. This flourishing colony had no distinctive name in the age of T.; called afterwards Augusta Vindelicorum, now Augsburg.
Passim. Wherever they chose—Sine custode. Not so others. Cf. His. 4, 64: ut inermes ac prope nudi,sub custodeet pretio coiremus.
Cum—ostendamus. Cum==while, although. Hence the subj.
Non concupiscentibus. Since they were not covetous, Gün. Gr renders:though they were not equally desirous of it.
Notum—auditur. The Elbe had beenseenandcrossedby Drusus Domitius, and Tiberius. But now it was known only byhearsay. See a like patriotic complaint at the close of 37.
XLII.Marcomanni==men of the marches. See Latham in loc—Sedes, sc.Bohemia.—Pulsis olim Boiis, cf. 28.
Degenerant, sc.a reliquorum virtute, i.e. the Narisci and Quadiare not unworthy, do not fall shortof the bravery of their neighbors. the Marcomanni.
Peragitur. Al.protegitur, porrigitur, &c. Different words are supplied as the subject ofperagitur, e.g. Passowiter.; Rit.cursus; K.frons. The last is preferable. The meaning is:This country(sc. of these tribes)is the front, so to speak (i.e. the partfacing the Romans)of Germany, so far as it is formed by the Danube, i.e. so far as the Danube forms the boundary between Germany and the Roman Empire.
Marobodui. Cf. Ann. 2, 62; Suet. Tib. 37.
Externos, sc. reges, viz. the kings of the Hermunduri. Ann. 2, 62.—Potentia. Powerirrespective of right.Potestasis lawfulauthority. See note, 7
Nec minus valent, sc. being aided by our money, than they would be if they were reinforced by our arms. This clause in some copies stands at the beginning of 43.
XLIII.Retro. Backfrom the Danube and the Roman border.—Referunt.Resemble. Poetical, cf. 20.
Et quod patiuntur, sc. proves that they are not of German origin. They paid tribute asforeigners. The Gothini were probably a remnant of the expelled Boii. Cf. note, 28, and Prichard, as there cited. Hence their Gallic language.
Quo magis pudeat. They have iron beyond even most of the Germans (cf. 6), but (shame to tell) do not know how to use it in asserting their independence. Subj. H. 497; Z. 536.
Pauca campestrium. Poetical, but not uncommon in the later Latin. So 41: secretiora Germaniae; His. 4, 28: extrema Galliarum. H. 396, III. 2. 3; Z. 435.
Jugum. A mountain chain.—Vertices. Distinct summits.
Insederunt. This word usually takes a dat., or an abl., within. But the poets and later prose writers use it as a transitive verb with the acc.==have settled, inhabited. Cf. H. 371, 4; Z. 386; and Freund sub voce. Observe the comparatively unusual form of the perf. 3d plur. in-eruntinstead of-ere. Cf. note, His. 2, 20.
Nomen==gens. So nomen Latinum==Latins. Liv. pass.
Interpretatione Romana. So we are every where to understand Roman accounts of the gods of other nations. They transferred to them the names of their own divinities according to some slight, perhaps fancied resemblance. Cf. note, 34:quicquid consensimus.
Ea vis numini, i.e. these gods render the same service to the Germans, as Castor and Pollux to the Romans.
Alcis, dat. pl. Perhaps from the Slavonic word holcy==kouros, Greek for Castor and Pollux. Referable to no German root.
Peregrinae, sc. Greek or Roman.—Tamen. Though these gods bear no visible trace of Greek or Roman origin,yetthey are worshipped as brothers, as youth, like theGreekandRoman Twins.—Superstitionis==religionis. Cf. notes, His. 3, 58; 5, 13.
Lenocinantur. Cherish, increase. Used rhetorically; properly,to pander.—Arte, sc. nigra scuta, &c.—Tempore, sc. atras noctes, &c. —Tincta==tattooed.
Ipsaque formidine, etc.And by the very frightfulness and shadow of the deathlike army. Umbramay be taken of the literalshadowsof the men in the night, with Rit., or with Död. and Or., of the generalimageoraspectof the army.Feralis, as an adj., is found only in poetry and post-Augustan prose. See Freund.
Gothones. Probably the Getae of earlier, and the Goths of later history. See Or. in loc. and Grimm and other authorities as there cited. TheRugiihave perpetuated their name in an island of the Baltic (Rugen).
Adductius. Lit. with tighter rein,with more absolute powercf. His. 3, 7: adductius, quam civili bello, imperitabat. The adv. is used only in the comp.; and the part. adductus is post-Augustan.Jamandnondumboth have reference to the writer's progress in going over the tribes of Germany, those tribes growing less and less free as he advances eastward:alreadyunder more subjection than the foregoing tribes, butnot yetin such abject slavery, as some we shall soon reach, sc. in the next chapter, where see note onjam.
Supra. So as totrample downliberty and destroy it.
Protinus deinde ab, etc.Next in order, from the ocean, i.e. with territory beginning from or at the ocean.
XLIV.Suionum. Swedes. Not mentioned under this name, however, by any other ancient author.
Ipso. The Rugii, &c., mentioned at the close of the previous section, dweltbythe ocean (abOceano); but theSuiones inthe ocean (inOceano).Ipsomarks this antithesis.
In Oceano. An island in the Baltic. Sweden was so regarded by the ancients, cf. 1, note.
Utrimque prora. Naves biprorae. Such also had the Veneti, Caes. B.G. 3, 13. Such Germanicus constructed, His. 3, 47. So also the canoes of the N. Am. Indians.
Ministrantur, sc. naves==the ships are not furnished with sails, cf. His. 4, 12:viros armaque ministrant. Or it may be taken in the more literal sense: are served, i.e. worked, mannged. Cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 302: velisque ministrat.—In ordinem. For a row, i.e. so as to form a row, cf. Z. 314: also Rit. and Död. in loc. The northmen (Danes and Swedes) became afterwards still more famous for navigation and piratical excursions, till at length they settled down in great numbers in France and England.