Chapter 15

_Factionibus trahuntur_==distrahuntur in factiones. Dr., and Or. T. is fond of using simple for compound verbs. See note 22; also numerous examples in the Index to Notes on the Histories.

_Civitatibus_. Dat. for Gen.--_Pro nobis_. Abl. with prep. for dat. Enallage. R.--_Conventus. Convention_, meeting.

_Coelum--foedum_. The fog and rain of the British Isles are still proverbial.--_Dierum spatia_, etc. Cf. Caes. 513.

_Quod si==and if_. From the tendency to connect sentences by relatives arose the use of _quod_ before certain conjunctions, particularly _si_, merely as a copulative. Cf. Z. 807. also Freund sub v. The fact alleged in this sentence is as false as the philosophy by which it is explained in the next, cf. G. 45: in ortus, note.

_Scilicet--cadit_. This explanation proceeds on the assumption that night is caused by the shadow of mountains, behind which the sun sets; and since these do not exist in that level extremity of the earth, the sun has nothing to set behind, and so there is no night. The astronomy of T. is about of a piece with his natural philosophy, cf. 10.--_Extrema-- terrarum_. Cf. note, 6: _inania honoris_.

_Non erigunt_, lit. do not elevate the darkness, i.e. do not cast their shadow so high (_infraque--cadit_), as the sky and the stars; hence they are bright (_clara_) through the night!! Pliny also supposed the heavens (above the moon) to be of themselves perpetually luminous, but darkened at night by the shadow of the earth. N.H. 2, 7.

_Praeter. Beyond_. Hence either _besides_ or _except_. Here the latter.-- _Fecundum_. More than _patiens, fruitful even.--Proveniunt_. Ang. _come forward_.

_Fert--aurum_, etc. This is also affirmed by Strabo, 4, 5, 2, but denied by Cic. ad Att., 4, 16, 7, and ad Div., 7, 7. The moderns decide in favor of T. and Strabo, though it is only in inconsiderable quantities that gold and silver have ever been found in Britain.

_Margarita_. The neuter form of this word is seldom used, never by Cicero. See Freund sub v.

_Rubro mari_. The _Red Sea_ of the Greeks and Romans embraced both the Arabian and the Persian Gulfs; and it was in the latter especially, that pearls were found, as they are to this day. Cf. Plin. N.H. 9, 54: praecipue laudantur (margaritae) in _Persico sinu maris rubri_. For an explanation of the name (Red Sea), see Anthon's Classical Dictionary.

_Expulsa sint. Cast out_, i.e. _ashore, by the waves_. Subj. in a subordinate clause of the oratio obliqua. H. 531; Z. 603.

_Naturam--avaritiam_. A very characteristic sentence, both for its antithesis and its satire.

XIII. _Ipsi Britanni. Ipsi_ marks the transition from the country to the people, cf. ipsos Germanos, G. 2.

_Obeunt_ properly applies only to _munera_, not to _tributa_ and _delectum_, which would require _tolerant_ or some kindred verb. Zeugma. H. 704, I. 2; Z. 775.

_Igitur==now_. In the first sentence of the section the author has indicated his purpose to speak of the _people_ of Britain. And _now in pursuance of that design_, he goes back to the commencement of their history, as related to and known by the Romans. Cf. note, G. 28.

_Divus_. Cf. note, G. 28: D. Julius. For Julius Caesar's campaigns in Britain, see Caes. B.G. 4, 21. seq.; 5, 5. seq.; Strabo, Lib. 4, &c.

_Consilium_. His _advice_ (to his successor). See Ann. 1, 11.-- _Praeceptum_. A _command_ (of Augustus, which Tib. affected to hold sacred). Ann. 1, 77; 4, 37.

_C. Caesarem_. Caligula, cf. 4, note.--_Agitasse_, etc. cf. 39. His. 4, 15; Suet. Calig. 44.

_Ni--fuissent_. Cf. _Ni_, 4, note. The ellipsis may be supplied thus: he meditated an invasion of Brit. and _would have invaded it_, had he not been _velox ingenio_, etc. But in idiomatic Eng. _ni_==but. Of course _fuisset_ is to be supplied with _velox ingenio_ and _mobilis poenitentiae_. Al. poenitentia. But contrary to the MSS. _Mobilis_ agrees with _poenitentiae_ (cf. Liv. 31, 32: celerem poenitentiam), which is a qualifying gen. Gr. 211. R. 6. Lit. _of repentance easy to be moved_. Render: _fickle of purpose_.

_Auctor operis_. Auctor fuit rei adversus Britannos gerendae et feliciter gestae. Dr. See on the same subject Suet. Claud. 17.--_Assumpto Vespasiano_, cf. Suet Vesp. 4. II. 3, 44.

_Quod--fuit_. Vespasian's participation in the war against Brit. was the commencement of his subsequent brilliant fortunes.

_Monstratus fatis_, i.e. a fatis, _by the fates_. The expression is borrowed perhaps from Virg. Aen. 6, 870: _Ostendent_ terris hunc tantum _fata_.

XIV. _Consularium_. Cf. note on it, 8.--_Aulus Plautius_. Ann. 13, 32; Dio. 60, 19.--_Ostorius Scapula_. Ann. 12, 31-39.--_Proxima_, sc. Romae.

_Veteranorum colonia_. Camolodunum. Ann. 12, 32. Now Colchester. Dr.--_Et reges. Kings also_, i.e. besides other means.--_Ut vetere_, etc. So in the MSS. and earliest editions. Rhenanus transferred _ut_ to the place before _haberet_ which it occupies in the common editions. But no change is necessary. Render: _that in accordance with their established custom, the Roman people might have kings also as the instruments of reducing_ (the Britons) _to slavery_.

_Didius Gallus_. Cf. Ann. 12, 40: arcere hostem satis habebat.--_Parta a prioribus. The acquisitions (conquests) of his predecessors_.

_Aucti officii. Of enlarging the boundaries of his government. Officium_ is used in a like sense, Caes. B.C. 3, 5: Toti officio maritimo praepositus, etc. So Wr.; Or. and Död. understand by it _going beyond_ the mere performance of his _duty_. It was his duty to protect his province: he enlarged it.--_Quaereretur_. Subj. in a relative clause denoting a purpose. H. 500; Z. 567.

_Veranius_. Ann. 14, 29.--_Paullinus_. Ann. 14, 29-30.

_Monam insulam_. Now Anglesey. But the _Mona_ of _Caesar_ is the Isle of Man, called by Pliny _Monapia_. The Mona of T. was the chief seat of the Druids, hence _ministrantem vires rebellibus_, for the Druids animated and led on the Briton troops to battle. T. has given (Ann. 14, 30) a very graphic sketch of the mixed multitude of armed men, women like furies, and priests with hands uplifted in prayer, that met Paullinus on his landing, and, for a time, well nigh paralyzed his soldiers with dismay. In the same connexion, he speaks also of the human sacrifices and other barbarous rites, which were practised by our Briton Fathers in honor of their gods.

XV. _Interpretando. By putting their own_, i.e. _the worst construction upon them_.

_Ex facili_==facile. A frequent form of expression in T., ad Graecorum consuetudinem. Dr. See R. Exc. 24.

_Singulos--binos_. Distributives==_one for each tribe--two for each tribe_.

_Aeque--aeque_. Like Greek correlatives; alike fatal to their subjects in _either case_. So [Greek: homoios men] and [Greek: homoios de], Xen. Mem. 1, 6, 13; Plat. Symp. 181. C.

_Alterius manus centuriones, alterius servos_. This is the reading of the latest editions (Dr. Wr. Or. and R.), and the best MSS., though the MSS. differ somewhat: _Centurions, the hands_ (instruments) _of the one, and servants_, the hands _of the other, added insult to injury_. For the use of _manus_ in the above sense, reference is made to Cic. in Ver. 2, 10, 27: Comites illi tui delecti _manus_ erant tuae. So the _centurions_ of the _legate_ and the _servants_ of the _procurator_ are said by our author to have robbed the Briton King Prasutagus of his kingdom and his palace, Ann. 14, 31, which is the best commentary on the passage before us.

_Ab ignavis. By_ the feeble and cowardly. Antithetic to _fortiorem. In battle, it is the braver that plunders us; but now_ (it is a special aggravation of our sufferings, that) _by the feeble and cowardly_, &c. So in contempt, they call the veterans, cf. 14: _veteranorum colonia_; 32: _senum colonia_.

_Tantum_ limits _pro patria_; as if it was for their _country_ only they knew not how to die.

_Si sese_, etc., i.e. in _comparison_ with their own numbers.

_Patriam--parentes_, sc. _causas belli esse_.

_Recessisset_. Observe the subj. in the subordinate clauses of the oratio obliqua throughout this chapter. H. 531; Z. 603.

_Neve--pavescerant_. This verb would have been an imperative in the oratio recta, Z. 603, c. _Neve_ is appropriate either to the imp. or the subj.

XVI. _Instincti_, i.e. furore quodam afflati. Dr. For a fuller account of this revolt, see Ann. 14, 31-38; Dio. 62, 1-13.

_Boudicea_. Wife of Prasutagus, king of the Iceni. When conquered, she ended her life by poison, Ann. 14, 37.

_Expugnatis praesidiis. Having stormed the fortresses_. The force of _ex_ in this word is seen in that it denotes the _actual carrying_ of a place by assault, whereas _oppugnatus_ only denotes the assault itself. So [Greek: ek-poliorkaetheis]==_taken_ in a siege, [Greek: poliorkaetheis]==besieged.

_Ipsam coloniam_. Cf. note 14: veteranorum colonia.

_In barbaris_==qualis inter barbaros esse solet. R. Exc. 25.

_Ira et victoria_. Hendiadys. Render: _Nor did they in the excitement of victory omit_, etc. So Dr. R. and Wr. _Ira_ may, however, refer to their _long cherished resentment. Ira_ causam, _victoria_ facultatem explendae saevitiae denotat. Rit.--_Quod nisi. And had not_, etc. Cf. note, 12: _quod si_.

_Patientiae_. Most Latin authors would have said: ad patientiam. R. _Patientia_ here==_submission_.

_Tenentibus--plerisque. Though many still retained_, i.e. did not lay down _their arms_.

_Propius_. Al. _proprius_. But that is purely conjectural. Adv. for adj., cf. ultra, 8; longe, 6==propior, like the _propior cura_ of Ovid. Metamor. 13, 578. Render: _a more urgent fear_. Some would connect _propius_ with _agitabat_ notwithstanding its remote position.

_Suae quoque_. _His own also_, sc. as well as that of the Empire.

_Durius_, sc. aequo. H. 444, 1. cf. 4: _acrius_, note.

_Delictis--novus_. _A stranger to their faults_. Cf. Sil. Ital. 6, 254: novusque dolori. Wr. Cf. Böt. Lex. Tac. _Dativus_.

_Poenitentiae mitior_, i.e. mitior erga poenitentiam, or facilior erga poenitentes. _Poenitentiae_ dat. of object.

_Compositis prioribus_. _Having restored things to their former quiet state_.

_Nullis--experimentis_. _Undertaking no military expeditions_. Or.-- _Castrorum_. Cf. 5, note.

_Comitate--tenuit_. "_Retained the province by a popular manner of administering the government_." Ky.--_Curandi_. Note, H. 1, 52.

_Ignoscere_. Properly _not to notice_, hence _to view with indulgence, to indulge in_.

_Vitiis blandientibus_. The reference is to the _luxurious and vicious pleasures_ of the Romans, which enervated the Britons, cf. 21, at close, where the idea is brought out more fully.

_Cum--lasciviret_. _Cum==since_. Hence the subj.

_Precario_. Cf. note, G. 44.--_Mox_, cf. note 4.

_Velut pacti_ implies a _tacit_ compact. It was understood between them, that the army were to enjoy their liberty; the general, his life. Supply _sunt_ with _pacti_. Död. and Wr. supply _essent_; but they read _haec_ for _et_ before _seditio_ contrary to the best MSS.

_Et seditio_. _Et==and so_. Al. haec seditio.

_Stetit_. Not stopped, but stood, as in our phrase: stood them in so much. So Ovid: Multo _sanguine_--victoria _stetit_. And T. His. 3, 53: Majore _damno_--veteres civium discordias reipublicae _stetisse_. Render: _cost no blood_. Dr.

_Petulantia_. _Insubordination_.--_Nisi quod_, but, cf. 6.

_Bolanus_. If the reader wishes to know more of the officers named in this chapter, for Turpilianus, see Ann. 14, 39. His. 1, 6; Trebellius, His. 1, 60; Bolanus, Ann. 15, 3. His. 2, 65. 79.

_Caritatem--auctoritatis_. "_Had conciliated affection as a substitute for authority_." Ky.

XVII. _Recuperavit_. Al. _reciperavit_. The two forms are written indiscriminately in the MSS. The word may express either the recovery of what was lost, or the restoration to health of what was diseased. Either would make a good sense here. Cf. chap. 5; also Cic. Phil. 14, 13: _republica recuperata_. Or. renders _acquired again_, sc. what had previously belonged, as it were, to him, rather than to the bad emperors who had preceded him.

_Petilius Cerialis_. Cf. note, 8.--_Brigantum_. Cf. H. 3, 45; Ann. 12, 32. Their territory embraced Cumberland, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Durham and Yorkshire.

_Aut victoria aut bello_, i.e. _either received their submission after the victory, or involved them in the calamities of war_. _Aut--aut_ generally adversative==either--or on the contrary. _Vel--vel_ only disjunctive==whether--or. Cf. note on vel--vel, G. 15.

_Alterius_. Another, than Julius Frontinus, i.e. by implication, one _different_ from him, _less brave and great_. Cf. His. 2, 90: tanquam apud alterius civitatis senatum; 3, 13, note. _Alius_ is the word usually appropriated to express this idea. _Alter_ generally implies a _resemblance_ between contrasted objects. See Freund, ad v.

_Obruisset--sustinuit_. These words primarily refer to physical energies, and are exactly counterpart==_crushed--sustained_.

_Quantum licebat_ limits _vir magnus: as great a man, as it was permitted_ him to be, restricted as he was in his resources, perhaps by the parsimony of the Emperor. On Julius Frontinus, cf. H. 4, 39. He was the friend of Pliny the Younger (Plin. Ep. 9, 19) and therefore probably of Tacitus. His books on Stratagems, and on the Aqueducts of Rome are still extant.--_Super_, over and above, i.e. _besides_.

XVIII. _Agentem_, sc. excubias or stationem==stationed in, cf. His. 1, 47: copias, quae Lugduni agebant. _Ala_. Cf. note, H. 1, 54.

_Ordovicum civitas_. Situated over against the Island Mona, north of the Silures, i.e. in the northern part of what is now Wales.

_Ad--verterentur_. _Were turning themselves_ (middle sense) _towards_, i.e. _looking to or for. Occasionem. An opportunity_, sc. to attack the Romans in their security. Al. _uterentur_.

_Quibus--erat. They who wished for war_. Greek idiom for qui bellum volebant. See Kühner's Greek Gram. 284, 10, c., cf. His. 3, 43: volentibus fuit, etc., and note, ibid. In Latin, the idiom occurs chiefly in Sallust and T. See Z. 420, and H. 387, 3.

_Ac--opperiri_. Al. _aut_ by conjecture. But _ac==ac tamen, and yet_. Cf. Ann. 1, 36: _exauctorari--ac retineri sub vexillo_.

_Transvecta_. Al. transacta. Cf. His. 2, 76: abiit et _transvectum est tempus_. Only T. uses the word in reference to time.

_Numeri_==cohortes or manipuli, cf. His. 1, 6: multi numeri. This use of the word is post-Augustan. Cf. note, His. 1, 6.

_Tarda et contraria_. In appos. with the foregoing clauses== _circumstances calculated to retard and oppose him in commencing war_.

_Plerisque_, sc. of the inferior officers. They thought it best that those parts of the country, whose fidelity was questionable (_suspecta_) should be secured by garrisons (_custodiri_). _Potius_ is an adj. and goes with _videbatur_==_it seemed preferable_.

_Legionum vexillis_. Some understand this of veteran soldiers who had served out their time (twenty years), but were still _sub vexillis_ (not dismissed). So R. and W. Others of parts of the legions detached for a season sub vexillis (under separate standards). So Gronovius. The word seems to be used in both senses. See note, H. 1, 31.

_In aequum_. Into the plain. Aequus, prim. level, hence aequor, sea.

_Erexit aciem. Led his troops up the steep_. So His. 3, 71: erigunt aciem per adversum collem.

_Ac--ceteris. And that according as the first_ enterprises _went_ (cf. note, 5: _cessit_), would be the terror in the rest_ of his engagements. Cf. H. 2, 20: _gnarus, ut initia belli provenissent, famam in cetera fore_. Al. _fore universa_.

_Possessione. Taking_ possession, cf. 14. A _possidere_, i.e. occupare, non a _possidere_, quod est occupatum tenere. Rit. For the abl. without _a_, cf. H. 2, 79: _Syria remeans_.

_Ut in dubiis consiliis_, sc. fieri solet. Generals are not apt to be prepared beforehand for enterprises, not contemplated at all in their original plans.

_Qui--expectabant. Who were looking out for (ex_ and _specto) a fleet, for ships_, in a word _for the sea_, i.e. naval preparations in general, instead of an attack by land. The language is highly rhetorical.-- _Crediderint_. Livy, Nepos and Tacitus use the _perf_. subj. after _ut_, denoting a consequence, when a single, specific past act is expressed; when a repeated or continued action, the _imp_. subj. Most writers use the imp. in both cases. See H. 482, 2, and 480; Z. 516; also Z. 504, Note, and note H. 1, 24: _dederit_.

_Officiorum ambitum. "Compliments of office."_ Ky.

_Placuisset_. Subj. cf. note, 11: _ut quos_.

_Expeditionem--continuisse. He did not call it a campaign or a victory to have kept the conquered in subjection_.

_Laureatis_ sc. litteris. It was customary to communicate the news of victory to the Emperor and Senate, by letters bound with bay leaves, cf. Liv. 5, 28: _litterae_ a Postumio _laureatae_ sequuntur. Without _litterae_, it occurs only here. Or. So in H. 3, 77. T. avoids the technical expression and employs the word _laurea_, seldom used in this sense.

_Dissimulatione_. Cf. note, 6.--_Aestimantibus_, cf. aestimanti, 11. The aspiring, and especially the vain, may learn from this passage a lesson of great practical value. Compare also § 8, at the close.

XIX. _Aliena experimenta. The experience of others_.

_Nihil_. Ellipsis of _agere_ (which is inserted without MS. authority in the common editions). So Cic. Phil. 1, 2: Nihil per senatum, etc. Cf. G. 19: _adhuc_, note.

_Ascire_, al. accire. _To receive into regular service_. The reference is to the transfer of soldiers from the raw recruits to the legions. So W. followed by Dr. R. and W. The next clause implies, that he took care to receive into the service none but the best men (_optimum quemque_), whom he deemed _trustworthy_ (_fidissimum_) just in _proportion_ as they were _good_. This use of two superlatives mutually related to each other, the former with _quisque_, is frequent in Latin and resembles the English use of two comparatives: the better, the more trustworthy. Cf. Z. 710, b.; also note, 3: _promptissmus quisque_.

_Exsequi_==punire. A sense peculiar to the later Latin. Cic. and Caes. use _persequi_. For a similar use of the word in the expression of a similar sentiment, see Suet. Jul. 67: Delicta neque observabat omnia neque pro modo exsequebatur. Compare our word _execute_. And mark the sentiment, as a maxim in the science of government.

_Severitatem commodare_. W. with Dr. and R. make this an example of zeugma. And in its ordinary acceptation (i.e. in the sense _to give_) the word _commodare_ certainly applies only to _veniam_, and not to _severitatem_. But _commodare_ in its primary signification means to _adapt_; and in this sense, it suits both of its adjuncts: _He adapted_ (awarded) _pardon to small offences, severe punishment to great ones_. So Wr. For the series of infinitives, cf. notes, 5: _nosci_, etc.; G. 30: _praeponere_, etc.

_Nec poena--contentus esse. Nor was he always content with punishment, but oftener with repentance_. Mere punishment without reformation did not satisfy him; reformation without punishment satisfied him better. See Död. in loc. Here too some have called in the aid of zeugma.

_Auctionem_. Al. exactionem. The former is the reading of the greater part of the MSS. and the later German editions. _Auctionem tributorum_ refers to the increased tribute exacted by Vesp. cf. Sueton. Vesp. 16: _auxisse_ tributa provinciis, nonnullis et _duplicasse_.

_Munerum_. _Duties, burdens.--Circumcisis_. Cf. note, 2: expulsis. etc., and 11: amissa virtute.

_Namque--cogebantur_. The best version we can give of this obscure passage is as follows: _For they were compelled in mockery to sit by the closed granaries and to buy corn needlessly_ (beyond what was necessary, cf. note on _ultro_, G. 28, when they had enough of their own) _and to sell it at a fixed price_ (prescribed by the purchasers). It has been made a question, whether the granaries of the Britons, or those of the Romans are here meant. Död., Dr. and R. advocate the former opinion; Walch, Wr., Or., and Rit. the latter. According to the former view, the Britons were often obliged to buy corn of the Romans, because they were forbidden to use their own, to supply themselves and their families; according to the latter, because they were required (as explained below) to carry their contributions to a quarter so distant from their own granaries, that they were fain to buy the corn rather at some nearer warehouse of the Romans. The selling at a fixed price is equally intelligible on either supposition. Or. following the best MSS. reads _ludere pretio_, which Rit. has amended into _colludere pretio_. _Ultro_ may well enough be rendered _moreover_ or _even_, thus giving emphasis to _emere_.

_Devortia itinerum_. _Bye roads_, explained by _avia_, as _longinquitas_ is by _remota_. The object of requiring the people to convey their contributions to such distant and inconvenient points, was to compel them to buy of the Romans, or to pay almost any sum of money to avoid compliance. The reader of Cic. will remember in illustration of this whole passage, the various arts to which Verres is said to have had recourse to enrich himself, at the expense of the people of his province (Cic. in Ver. 3, 72, and 82), such as refusing to accept the contributions they brought, obliging them to buy of him at his own price, requiring them to carry supplies to points most distant and difficult of access, _ut vecturae difficultate ad quam vellent aestimationem pervenirent_.

_Omnibus_, sc. et incolis et militibus; _paucis_, sc. praefectis aut publicanis. Dr.

_Donec--fieret_. The subj. here denotes a purpose or object in view, and theretore follows _donec_ according to the rule. H. 522, II.; Z. 575. Tacitus however always expresses a repeated past action after _donec_ by the imp. subj. Cf. note, 37: affectavere; H. 1, 13. 35.

XX. _Statim_. Emphatic, like [Greek: euthus]. Cf. Thucyd. 2, 47: [Greek: tou therous euthus archomenou]: at the _very_ beginning of summer. So in § 3.

_Intolerantia_, al. tolerantia, but without MS. authority. _Incuria_ is _negligence_. Intolerantia_ is _insufferable arrogance, severity_, in a word _intolerance_. So Cic.: superbia atque intolerantia.

_Quae--timebatur_. And no wonder, since _ubi solitudinem_ faciunt, _pacem_ appellant, 30.

_Multus_, al. militum. _Multus_ in the recent editions. _Multus_==frequens, cf. Sal. Jug. 84: multus ac ferox instare.-- _Modestiam--disiectos_. These words are antithetic, though one is abstract and the other concrete. The whole clause may be literally rendered thus: _ever present in the line of march, he commended good order (discipline), the disorderly he restrained_.

_Popularetur_, sc. A. _Quominus_, that not==_but: but he ravaged their country by unexpected invasions_.

_Irritamenta_. _Inducements.--Pacis_. Ang. _to_ or _for peace_.

_Ex aequo egerant_, lit. had acted (lived) on an equality, i.e. _had maintained their independence_, cf. His. 4, 64: aut ex aequo agetis aut aliis imperitabitis.

_Iram posuere_. Cf. Hor. Ars Poet.: et _iram_ colligit ac _ponit_ temere. See also G. 27: ponunt dolorem, etc.