_Certum. Fixed, well defined_, i.e. not divided and diffused, (so as to
form of itself no sufficient border or boundary to the Roman Empire) as
it was nearer its source among the Chatti. So this disputed word seems to
be explained by the author himself in the following clause; _quique
terminus esse sufficiat==and such that it suffices to be a boundary_.
_Qui==talis ut_; hence followed by the subj. H. 500, I.; Z. 558. So Mela
(3, 2) contrasts _solidus et certo alveo lapsus_ with _huc et illuc
dispergitur_.
_Tencteris_==apud Tencteros, by _enallage_, cf. note on _ad patrem_, 20,
and other references there. The Tencteri and Usipii seem to have been at
length absorbed into the mass of people, who appear under the later name
of Alemanni. Cf. Prichard.
_Familiam. Servants_, cf. note on same word, 15. See also Beck Gall.,
Exc. 1. Sc. 1.--Penates==our _homestead_.
_Jura succesionum==heir looms_, all that goes down by hereditary
descent.
_Excipit_. Here in the unusual sense of _inherits.--Cetera_, sc. _jura
successionum_.
_Bello_. Abl. and limits both _ferox_ and _melior_. Meaning: _The horses
are inherited, not, like the rest of the estate, by the eldest son, but
by the bravest_.
XXXIII. _Occurrebant. Met the view, presented themselves_. Almost the
sense of the corresponding English word. The structure of _narratur_
(as impers.) is very rare in the earlier authors, who would say:
_Chamavi narrantur_. Cf. His. 1, 50. 90. The _Chamavi_, &c., were
joined afterwards to the Franks. Cf. Prichard. The present town of
_Ham_ in Westphalia probably preserves the name and gives the
_original_ locality of the _Chamavi_, the present _Engern_ that of the
_Angrivarii_. The termination varii or uarii probably==inhabitants of.
Thus angrivarii==inhabitants of Engern. Chasuarii==Inhabitants of the
river Hase. The same element is perhaps contained in the termination of
Bruct_eri_ and Tenct_eri_. See Latham in loco.
_Nos, se_. Romanos. _Erga_==inclined to (cf. vergo), _towards_.
_Spectaculo_. Ablative. Invidere is constructed by the Latins in the
following ways: invidere alicui aliquid, alicui alicujus rei, alicui
aliqua re, alicui in aliqua re. Hess. The construction here (with the
abl. of the thing, which was the object of envy) belongs to the silver
age. Cf. Quint. (Inst. 9, 3, 1) who contrasts it with the usage of
Cicero, and considers it as illustrating the fondness of the age for
_figurative_ language.
_Oblectationi oculisque_. Hendiadys for ad oblectationem oculorum. The
author here exults in the promiscuous slaughter of the German Tribes by
each other's arms, as a brilliant spectacle to Roman eyes--a feeling
little congenial to the spirit of Christianity, but necessarily nurtured
by the gladiatorial shows and bloody amusements of the Romans, to say
nothing of the habitual hostility which they waged against all other
nations, that did not submit to their dominion.
_Quaeso_, sc. _deos_. Though _fortune_ is spoken of below, as controlling
the destiny of nations. This passage shows clearly that Tacitus, with all
his partiality for German manners and morals, still retains the heart of
a Roman patriot. He loves his country with all her faults, and bears no
good-will to her enemies, however many and great their virtues. The
passage is important, as illustrating the spirit and design of the whole
Treatise. The work was not written as a blind panegyric on the Germans,
or a spleeny satire on the Romans. Neither was it composed for the
purpose of stirring up Trajan to war against Germany; to such a purpose,
such a clause, as _urgentibus imperii fatis_, were quite adverse. Least
of all was it written for the mere pastime and amusement of Roman
readers. It breathes the spirit at once of the earnest patriot, and the
high-toned moralist.
_Odium sui_. Cf. note, 28: _conditor. Hatred of themselves_; i.e. of one
another. So in Greek, the reflexive pronoun is often used for the
reciprocal.
_Quando==since_; a subjective reason. Cf. note, His. I, 31; and Z. 346.
--_Urgentibus--fatis_, sc. to discord and dissolution, for such were the
forebodings of patriotic and sagacious minds ever after the overthrow of
the Republic, even under the prosperous reign of Trajan.
XXXIV. _A tergo_, i.e. further back from the Rhine, or towards the East--
_A fronte_, nearer the Rhine or towards the West. Both are to be referred
to the Angrivarii and Chamavi, who had the Dulgibini and the Chasuarii in
their rear (on the east), and the Frisii on their front (towards the west
or northwest).--_Frisii_, the Frieslanders.
_Majoribus--virium. They have the name of Greater or Less Frisii,
according to the measure of their strength_. For this sense of _ex_
see note 7. For the case of _majoribus minoribusque_ see Z. 421, and
H. 387, 1.
_Praetexuntur. Are bordered by the Rhine_ (hemmed, as the toga
_praetexta_ by the purple); or, as Freund explains, are covered by it,
i.e. lie behind it--_Immensos lacus_. The bays, or arms of the sea, at
the mouth of the Rhine (Zuyder Zee, etc.), taken for lakes by T. and
Pliny (Ann. 1, 60. 2, 8. N.H. 4, 29). They have been greatly changed by
inundations. See Mur. in loco.
_Oceanum_, sc. Septentrionalem.--_Sua_, sc. parte.--_Tentavimus,
explored_.
_Herculis columnas_. "Wherever the land terminated, and it appeared
impossible to proceed further, ancient maritime nations feigned pillars
of Hercules. Those mentioned in this passage some authors have placed at
the extremity of Friesland, and others at the entrance of the Baltic."
Ky. cf. note, 3.
_Adiit_, i.e. vere adiit, _actually_ visited that part of the world.
_Quicquid--consensimus_. This passage is a standard illustration of the
_Romana interpretatione_ (§ 43), the Roman construction, which the Romans
put upon the mythology and theology of other nations. It shows that they
were accustomed to apply the names of their gods to the gods of other
nations on the ground of some resemblance in character, history, worship,
&c. Sometimes perhaps a resemblance in the _names_ constituted the ground
of identification.
_Druso Germanico_. Some read Druso _et_ Germanico; others Druso,
Germanico, as a case of asyndeton (Gr. 323, 1 (1.)); for both Drusus and
Germanicus sailed into the Northern Ocean, and it is not known that
Germanicus (the son of Drusus and stepson of Tiberius, who is by some
supposed to be meant here) is ever called _Drusus Germanicus_. But
Drusus, the father of Germanicus, is called Drusus Germanicus in the
Histories (5, 19), where he is spoken of as having thrown a mole or dam
across the Rhine; and it is not improbable that he is the person here
intended. So K., Or. and Wr.
_Se_, i.e. the Ocean. See H. 449, II.; Z. 604.
_Inquiri_. Impersonal==_investigation to be made. E_. suggests
_inquirenti_, agreeing with _Germanico_. But T., unlike the earlier Latin
authors, not unfrequently places an infin. after a verb of hindering.
_Credere quam scire_. T. perhaps alluded to the precept of the
Philosopher, who said: Deum cole, atque crede, sed noli quaerere.
Murphy.
XXXV. _In Septentrionem_, etc. _On the North, it falls back_, sc. into
the Ocean, _with_ an immense _bend_ or peninsula. The _flexus_ here
spoken of is called _sinus_ in chap. 37, and describes the Cimbric
Chersonesus, or Danish Peninsula. See Död., Or. and Rit. in loc.--_Ac
primo statim. And first immediately_, sc. as we begin to trace the
northern coast.--_Lateribus_, sc. the eastern.
_Quanquam_ followed by the subj., seldom in Cic., but usually in T.,
Z. 574, Note. Cf. note, His. 5, 21.--_Sinuetur_, sc. southwards.
_Donec--sinuetur_. Cf. note, 1: _erumpat_.
_Inter Germanos_. Considered among the Germans, _in the estimation of the
Germans_.
_Quique--tueri_. A clause connected to an _adj_. (nobilissimus), cf.
certum, quique, 32. _Qui_ in both passages==talis, ut. Hence followed by
subj. H. 501, I.; Z. 558.
_Impotentia, ungoverned passion, [Greek: akrateia]. Impotentia_ seldom
denotes want of power, but usually that unrestrained passion, which
results from the want of ability to control one's self.
_Ut--agant_ depends on _assequuntur_. Subj. H. 490; Z. 531, _a_.
_Si res poscat_. Some copies read: si res poscat _exercitus_. But posco
and postulo seldom have the object expressed in such clauses, cf. 44: ut
res poscit; 6: prout ratio poscit. So also Cic. and Sall., pass.
_Exercitus_ is subject nom., _promptus_ being understood, as pred.; and
_plurimum virorum equorumque_ explains or rather enforces _exercitus:
and, if the case demand, an army, the greatest abundance of men and
horses_.
_Quiescentibus_, i.e. bellum non gerentibus; _eadem_, i.e. the same, as
if engaged in war.
XXXVI. _Cherusci_. It was their chief, Arminius (Germ. Hermann), who,
making head against the Romans, was honored as the Deliverer of Germany,
and celebrated in ballad songs, which are preserved to this day. See his
achievements in Ann. B. 1, and 2. This tribe became afterwards the head
of the Saxon confederacy.
_Marcentem. Enervating_. So _marcentia pocula_, Stat. Silv. 4, 6, 56. It
is usually intransitive, and is taken here by some in the sense of
languid, enervate (literally withered).--_Illacessiti_ is a post-Augustan
word. Cf. Freund.
_Impotentes_. Cf. impotentia, 35.
_Falso quiescas_. Falleris, dum quiescis. Dilthey. Cf. note, 14:
_possis_.
_Ubi manu agitur_. Where matters are decided by might rather than right.
Cf. _manu agens_, A. 9.
_Nomina superioris. Virtues_ (only) _of the stronger party_, the
conqueror. They are deemed vices in the weaker.
_Chattis--cessit: while to the Chatti_, who were _victorious, success
was imputed for wisdom_. The antithetic particle at the beginning of the
clause is omitted. Cf. note, 4: _minime_.
_Fuissent_. Subj. after _cum_ signifying _although_. H. 516, II.
XXXVII. _Sinum. Peninsula_, sc. the Cimbric. Cf. note, 35: _flexu_; 81:
_sinus_.
_Cimbri_. The same with the Cimmerii, a once powerful race, who,
migrating from western Asia, that hive of nations, overran a large part
of Europe, but their power being broken by the Romans, and themselves
being overrun and conquered by the Gothic or German Tribes, they were
pushed to the extreme western points of the continent and the British
Isles, where, and where alone, distinct traces of their language and
literature remain to this day. They have left their name indelibly
impressed on different localities in their route, e.g. the Cimmerian
Bosphorus, the Cimbric Chersonesus (now Jutland, occupied by the Cimbri
in the days of T.), Cumberland (Cumbria, from Cimbri) &c. The ancient
name of the Welsh was also Cymri, cf. Tur. His. Ang. Sax. 1. 2.
_Gloria_ is abl. limiting _ingens_.
_Castra ac spatia_. In apposition with _lata vestigia_==spatiosa castra
or castrorum spatia, H. 704, II. 2; Z. 741.
_Utraque ripa_, sc. of the Rhine, _the_ river and river bank by eminence.
_Molem manusque. The mass of their population, and the number of their
armies_. Observe the alliteration, as if he had said: measure the mass
and might.
_Exitus_, i.e. _migrationis_. Often used in this sense, cf. Caes. B.C.
3, 69: Salutem et _exitum_ sibi pariebant.--_Fidem, proof_.
_Sexcentesimum--annum_. T. follows the Catonian Era. According to
the Varronian Era, received by the moderns, the date would be A.U.C.
641 = A.C. 113.
_Alterum--consulatum_. The second consulship of Trajan (when he was also
Emperor) was, after the reckoning of Tacitus, A.U.C. 850, according to
modern computation, 851 = A.D. 98. This year doubtless marks the time when
this treatise was written, else why selected?
_Vincitur_. So long is Germany in being conquered. (The work was never
completed.) Cf. Liv. 9, 3: quem per annos jam prope _triginta vincimus_.
_Medio--spatio. In the intervening period_, sc. of 210 years.
_Samnis--Galliaeve_. The Romans had fought bloody, and some times
disastrous battles with the Samnites (at the Caudine Forks, Liv. 9, 2.),
with the Carthaginians (in the several Punic Wars), with the Spaniards
under Viriathus and Sertorius (Florus, Lib. 2.), with the Gauls (Caes.
B.G. pass.). But none of these were so sanguinary as their wars with the
Germans.
_Admonuere_, sc. vulneribus, cladibus==castigavere.
_Regno--libertas_. Liberty and monarchy in studied antithesis. T. means to
imply that the former is the stronger principle of the two.
_Arsacis_. The family name of the Parthian kings, as Pharaoh and Ptolemy
of the Egyptian, Antiochus of the Syrian, &c.
_Amisso et ipse_, sc. _oriens_; the East _itself also lost_ its prince
(Pacorus), in the engagement, as well as the Romans their leader
(Crassus).--_Objecerit, reproach us with_. Subj. Cf. n. G. 2: _peteret_.
_Ventidium_. Commander under Anthony, and conqueror of the Parthians in
three battles, A.U.C. 715. He was raised from the lowest rank and the
meanest employment, hence perhaps the expression, _dejectus infra,
humbled beneath Ventidius_.
_Carbone--Manlio_, Cneius Papirius Carbo defeated at Noreja, A.U. 641
(Liv. Epit. 63.), L. Cassius Longinus defeated and slain, 647 (Caes. B.G.
1, 7. 12.), M. Aurelius Scaurus defeated and taken captive, 648 (Liv.
Epit. 67.), Servilius Caepio and M. Manlius defeated with great slaughter
at Tolosa, 649 (Liv. Epit. 67.), Quintilius Varus defeated and slain, 762
(Suet. Oct. 23.)--all these victories over the Romans in their highest
strength and glory--either in the time of the _Republic (Populo Romano)_,
or of the _Empire_ under Augustus (_Caesari_)--all these attested the
courage and military prowess of the Germans; and they were still, for the
most part, as free and as powerful as ever.
_Caius Marius_ almost annihilated the Cimbri at Aquae Sextiae, A.U.C.
652.
_Drusus_. Claudius Drusus invaded Germany four times, 742-3, and finally
lost his life by falling from his horse on his return, cf. Dio. Libb. 54.
55.
_Nero_, commonly known as Tiberius (brother of Drusus and stepson of
Augustus), had the command in Germany at three different times, 746-7,
756-9, 764-5, cf. Suet. Tib. 9. seq.
_Germanicus_, son of Drusus, made four campaigns in Germany, A.D. 14-16,
cf. Ann. B. 1. and 2.
_C. Caesaris_. Caligula, cf. Suet. Calig.; T. His. 4, 15.
_Discordiae--armorum_. The civil wars after the death of Nero under
Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.
_Expugnatis--hibernis_. By the Batavians under Civilis. His. 4, 12 seq.;
A. 41.
_Affectavere. Aspired to the government of_, cf. note on affectationem,
28. After _donec_, T. always expresses a single definite past action by
the perf. ind., cf. A. 36: _donec--cohortatus est_; a repeated, or
continued past action by the imp. subj. cf. note, A. 19: _donec--fieret_;
and a present action, which is in the nature of the case also a continued
action, by the pres. subj. cf. note, 1: _separet_.
_Triumphati_. Poetice, cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 837: Triumphata Corintho; Hor.
Od. 3, 3, 43: Triumphati Medi. The reference here is to the ridiculous
triumph of Domitian, A. 39, in which slaves, purchased and dressed out
for the purpose, were borne as captives through the streets.
XXXVIII. _Suevis_. In the time of T. a powerful confederacy, embracing
all the tribes enumerated in 39-45, and covering all the eastern and
larger half of Germany. But the confederacy was soon dissolved and seldom
appears in subsequent history. We still have a trace of their name in the
Modern _Suabia_. The name is supposed by some philologists (e.g. Zeuss)
to denote _unsettled wanderers_ (Germ. Schweben, to wave, to hover, cf.
Caes. B.G. 4, 1: Suevis non longius anno remanere uno in loco, etc.); as
that of the Saxons does settlers, or _fixed residents_ (Germ. Sassen),
and that of the Franks, _freemen_. See Rup. in loc. An ingenious Article
in the North American Review (July, 1847), makes the distinction of Suevi
and non-Suevi radical and permanent in the religion and the language of
the Germans; the Suevi becoming Orthodox Catholics, and the non-Suevi
Arians in Ecclesiastical History, and the one High-Dutch and the other
Low-Dutch in the development of their language.
_Adhuc_. Cf. note on it, 19. As to position, cf. _insuper_ 31, and 34.
The Suevi are _still (adhuc)_ divided into distinct tribes bearing
distinct names, though united in a confederacy. Cf. Hand's Tursellinus,
1, 163. Död. renders _besides_, sc. the general designation of Suevi.
_In commune. In common_. Not used in this sense by Cic., Caes. and Liv.,
though frequent in T. Gr. Cf. note on the same, 27.
_Obliquare. To turn the hair back, or comb it up_ contrary to its natural
direction--and then fasten it in a knot on the top of the head
(_substringere nodo_); so it seems to be explained by the author himself
below: _horrentem capillum retro sequuntur ac in ipso solo vertice
religant_. Others translate _obliquare_ by _twist_. Many ancient writers
speak of this manner of tying the hair among the Germans, cf. Sen. de
Ira. 3, 26.; Juv. 13, 164.
_A servis separantur. Separantur_==distinguuntur. Servants among the
Suevi seem to have had their hair shorn. So also it was among the Franks
at a later date. Vid. Greg. Tur. 3, 8.
_Rarum et intra_, etc. Enallage, cf. note _certum quique_, 32.
_Retro sequuntur_, i.e. _follow it back_, as it were, in its growth, and
_tie it up on the very crown of the head only_, instead of letting it
hang down, as it grows (submittere crinem). So K., Or. and many others.
Passow and Död. take sequuntur in the sense of _desire, delight in_ (our
word _seek_). The word bears that sense, e.g. 5: argentum magis quam
aurum _sequuntur_. But then what is _retro_ sequuntur? for _retro_ must
be an adjunct of _sequuntur_ both from position, and because there is no
other word which it can limit. _Saepe_ implies, that sometimes they made
a knot elsewhere, but _often they fasten_ it there, and there _only_. See
Or. in loc. This whole passage illustrates our author's disposition to
avoid technical language. Cf. note, II. 2, 21.
_Innoxiae. Harmless_, unlike the beauty cultivated among the _Romans_ to
dazzle and seduce.
_In altitudinem_, etc. _For the sake of_ (increased) _height and terror_,
i.e. to appear tall and inspire terror. Cf. note, A, 5: _in
jactationem_; A. 7: _in suam famam_. The antithetic particle is omitted
before this clause as it often is by our author.
_Ut hostium oculis_, to strike with terror the eyes of the enemy, for
primi in omnibus proeliis _oculi_ vincuntur, 43.
XXXIX. _Vetustissimos. Oldest_. _Vetus_ is _old_, of long _duration_
([Greek; etos], aetas). _antiquus, ancient_, belonging to a _preceding_
age (ante). _Recens_ (fresh, young) is opposed to the former: _novus_
(new, modern), to the latter. See Ramshorn and Freund.
_Fides antiquitatis. Antiquitatis_ is objective gen.==_the belief, or
persuasion of their antiquity_.
_Auguriis--sacram_. The commentators all note the hexameter structure of
these words, and many regard them as a quotation from some Latin poet.
The words themselves are also poetical, e.g. _patrum_ for _majorum_, and
_formidine_ for _religione_. The coloring is Virgilian. Cf. Aen. 7, 172;
8, 598. See Or. in loc. and Preliminary Remarks to the Histories, p. 234.
_Legationibus coeunt_. Just as we say: _convene by their delegates_, or
_representatives_.
_Publice_==publica auctoritate, cf. same word, 10.
_Primordia_. Initiatory rites.
_Minor_, sc. numine. _Inferior to the god_.
_Prae se ferens. Expressing in his external appearance, or bearing in his
own person an acknowledgment of the power of the divinity_.
_Evolvuntur_==se evolvunt, cf. Ann. 1, 13: cum Tiberii genua
advolveretur; also _lavantur_, 22.
_Eo--tanquam. Has reference to this point, as if_, i.e. to this opinion,
viz. that thence, etc. Cf. _illuc respicit tanquam_, 12.--_Inde_ From the
grove, or the god of the grove. Cf. 3: _Tuisconem ... originem gentis_.
_Adjicit auctoritatem_, sc. isti superstitioni.
_Magno corpore_==reipublicae magnitudine. _Corpore_, the body politic. So
His. 4, 64: redisse vos in corpus nomenque Germanorum.--_Habitantur_. Al.
habitant and habitantium, by conjecture. The subject is the Semnonian
_country_ implied in _Semnonum: the Semnonians inhabit a hundred
villages_, is the idea.
XL. _Langobardos_. The Lombards of Mediaeval history; so called probably
from their long beards (Germ, lang and bart). First mentioned by
Velleius, 2, 106: gens etiam Germana feritate ferocior. See also Ann. 2,
45, 46, 62-64.--_Paucitas_ here stands opposed to the _magno corpore_ of
the Semnones in 39.
_Per--periclitando_. Three different constructions, cf. notes 16, 18.
_Reudigni_. Perhaps the Jutes, so intimately associated with the Angles
in subsequent history. See Or. in loc. In like manner, Zeuss identifies
the _Suardones_ with the Heruli, and the _Nuithones_ with the Teutones.
_Suardones_ perhaps==_sword_-men.
_Anglii_. The English reader will here recognize the tribe of Germans
that subsequently invaded, peopled, and gave name to England
(==_Angl-land_), commonly designated as the Anglo-Saxons. T. does not
mention the _Saxons_. They are mentioned by Ptolemy and others, as
originally occupying a territory in this same part of Germany. They
became at length so powerful, as to give their name to the entire
confederacy (including the Angles), which ruled northern Germany, as the
Franks (the founders of the French monarchy) did southern. The Angles
seem to have dwelt on the right bank of the Elbe, near its mouth, in the
time of T.
_Nerthum_. This is the reading of the MSS. and the old editions. It
cannot be doubted that T. speaks of Hertha (see Turn. His. Ang. Sax.,
App. to B. 2. chap. 3). "But we must take care not to correct our author
himself." Passow. Grimm identifies this deity with Niördhr of the Edda,
and derives the name from Nord (North).--_Terram matrem_. The Earth is
worshipped by almost all heathen nations, as the mother of men and the
inferior gods. See Mur. in loco. Cf. 2: Tuisconem Deum, _terra editum_;
also note, 9. Isidi.
_Insula_. Scholars differ as to the Island. Probabilities perhaps are in
favor of Rugen, where the _secretus lacus_ mentioned below is still
shown, still associated with superstitious legends.
_Castum. Polluted by nothing profane_. So Hor: _castis lucis_.
_Penetrali_, viz. _the sacred vehicle_.
_Dignatur_. _Deems worthy_ of her visits.
_Templo_, sc. the sacred grove. Templum, like [Greek: temenos], denotes
any place _set apart_ (from [Greek: temno]) for sacred purposes, cf. 9.
_Numen ipsum. The goddess herself_, not an image of her; for the Germans
have no images of their gods, 9. _Abluitur_, as if contaminated by
intercourse with mortals.
_Perituri_, etc. _Which can be seen only on penalty of death_.
XLI. _Propior_, sc. to the Romans.--_Hermundurorum_. Ritter identifies
the name (_Hermun_ being omitted, and _dur_ being==_thur_) and the people
with the _Thur_ingians. Cf. note 2: _Ingaevones_.
_Non in ripa. Not only_ (or _not so much_) _on the border_ (the
riverbank), but also within the bounds of the Roman Empire.
_Splendidissima--colonia_. This flourishing colony had no distinctive
name in the age of T.; called afterwards Augusta Vindelicorum, now
Augsburg.
_Passim_. Wherever they chose--_Sine custode_. Not so others. Cf. His. 4,
64: ut inermes ac prope nudi, _sub custode_ et pretio coiremus.
_Cum--ostendamus. Cum==while, although_. Hence the subj.
_Non concupiscentibus. Since they were not covetous_, Gün. Gr renders:
_though they were not equally desirous of it_.
_Notum--auditur_. The Elbe had been _seen_ and _crossed_ by Drusus
Domitius, and Tiberius. But now it was known only by _hearsay_. See a
like patriotic complaint at the close of 37.
XLII. _Marcomanni_==men of the marches. See Latham in loc--_Sedes_, sc.
Bohemia.--_Pulsis olim Boiis_, cf. 28.
_Degenerant_, sc. _a reliquorum virtute_, i.e. the Narisci and Quadi
_are not unworthy, do not fall short_ of the bravery of their neighbors.
the Marcomanni.
_Peragitur_. Al. _protegitur, porrigitur_, &c. Different words are
supplied as the subject of _peragitur_, e.g. Passow _iter_.; Rit.
_cursus_; K. _frons_. The last is preferable. The meaning is: _This
country_ (sc. of these tribes) _is the front_, so to speak (i.e. the
part _facing the Romans_) _of Germany, so far as it is formed by the
Danube_, i.e. so far as the Danube forms the boundary between Germany
and the Roman Empire.
_Marobodui_. Cf. Ann. 2, 62; Suet. Tib. 37.
_Externos_, sc. reges, viz. the kings of the Hermunduri. Ann. 2, 62.--
_Potentia. Power_ irrespective of right. _Potestas_ is lawful
_authority_. See note, 7
_Nec minus valent_, sc. being aided by our money, than they would be if
they were reinforced by our arms. This clause in some copies stands at
the beginning of 43.
XLIII. _Retro. Back_ from the Danube and the Roman border.--_Referunt.
Resemble_. Poetical, cf. 20.
_Et quod patiuntur_, sc. proves that they are not of German origin. They
paid tribute as _foreigners_. The Gothini were probably a remnant of the
expelled Boii. Cf. note, 28, and Prichard, as there cited. Hence their
Gallic language.
_Quo magis pudeat_. They have iron beyond even most of the Germans (cf.
6), but (shame to tell) do not know how to use it in asserting their
independence. Subj. H. 497; Z. 536.
_Pauca campestrium_. Poetical, but not uncommon in the later Latin. So
41: secretiora Germaniae; His. 4, 28: extrema Galliarum. H. 396, III.
2. 3; Z. 435.
_Jugum. A mountain chain.--Vertices. Distinct summits_.
_Insederunt_. This word usually takes a dat., or an abl., with _in_. But
the poets and later prose writers use it as a transitive verb with the
acc.==_have settled, inhabited_. Cf. H. 371, 4; Z. 386; and Freund sub
voce. Observe the comparatively unusual form of the perf. 3d plur. in
_-erunt_ instead of _-ere_. Cf. note, His. 2, 20.
_Nomen_==gens. So nomen Latinum==Latins. Liv. pass.
_Interpretatione Romana_. So we are every where to understand Roman
accounts of the gods of other nations. They transferred to them the names
of their own divinities according to some slight, perhaps fancied
resemblance. Cf. note, 34: _quicquid consensimus_.
_Ea vis numini_, i.e. these gods render the same service to the Germans,
as Castor and Pollux to the Romans.
_Alcis_, dat. pl. Perhaps from the Slavonic word holcy==kouros, Greek
for Castor and Pollux. Referable to no German root.
_Peregrinae_, sc. Greek or Roman.--_Tamen_. Though these gods bear no
visible trace of Greek or Roman origin, _yet_ they are worshipped as
brothers, as youth, like the _Greek_ and _Roman Twins_.--
_Superstitionis_==religionis. Cf. notes, His. 3, 58; 5, 13.
_Lenocinantur. Cherish_, increase. Used rhetorically; properly, _to
pander_.--_Arte_, sc. nigra scuta, &c.--_Tempore_, sc. atras noctes, &c.
--_Tincta==tattooed_.
_Ipsaque formidine_, etc. _And by the very frightfulness and shadow of
the deathlike army. Umbra_ may be taken of the literal _shadows_ of the
men in the night, with Rit., or with Död. and Or., of the general _image_
or _aspect_ of the army. _Feralis_, as an adj., is found only in poetry
and post-Augustan prose. See Freund.
_Gothones_. Probably the Getae of earlier, and the Goths of later
history. See Or. in loc. and Grimm and other authorities as there cited.
The _Rugii_ have perpetuated their name in an island of the Baltic
(Rugen).
_Adductius_. Lit. with tighter rein, _with more absolute power_ cf. His.
3, 7: adductius, quam civili bello, imperitabat. The adv. is used only in
the comp.; and the part. adductus is post-Augustan. _Jam_ and _nondum_
both have reference to the writer's progress in going over the tribes of
Germany, those tribes growing less and less free as he advances eastward:
_already_ under more subjection than the foregoing tribes, but _not yet_
in such abject slavery, as some we shall soon reach, sc. in the next
chapter, where see note on _jam_.
_Supra_. So as to _trample down_ liberty and destroy it.
_Protinus deinde ab_, etc. _Next in order, from the ocean_, i.e. with
territory beginning from or at the ocean.
XLIV. _Suionum. Swedes_. Not mentioned under this name, however, by any
other ancient author.
_Ipso_. The Rugii, &c., mentioned at the close of the previous section,
dwelt _by_ the ocean (_ab_ Oceano); but the _Suiones in_ the ocean (_in_
Oceano). _Ipso_ marks this antithesis.
_In Oceano_. An island in the Baltic. Sweden was so regarded by the
ancients, cf. 1, note.
_Utrimque prora. Naves biprorae_. Such also had the Veneti, Caes. B.G.
3, 13. Such Germanicus constructed, His. 3, 47. So also the canoes of the
N. Am. Indians.
_Ministrantur_, sc. naves==_the ships are not furnished with sails_, cf.
His. 4, 12: _viros armaque ministrant_. Or it may be taken in the more
literal sense: are served, i.e. worked, mannged. Cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 302:
velisque ministrat.--_In ordinem. For a row_, i.e. so as to form a row,
cf. Z. 314: also Rit. and Död. in loc. The northmen (Danes and Swedes)
became afterwards still more famous for navigation and piratical
excursions, till at length they settled down in great numbers in France
and England.
_In quibusdam fluminum_. Rivers with steep banks require the oars to be
removed in order to approach the bank.
_Est--honos_. Contrary to the usual fact in Germany, cf. 5.
_Exceptionibus_. _Limitations_.--_Jam_. Now, i.e. _here_, opposed to the
_foregoing_ accounts of _free states_ and _limited monarchies_.
_Precario_. Properly: _obtained by entreaty_. Hence: _dependent on the
will of another_, cf. A. 16.--_Parendi_. A gerund with passive sense,
lit. _with no precarious right of being obeyed_. So Pass., K., Wr. and
Gün.
_In promiscuo_. The privilege of wearing arms is not conceded to the mass
of the people.--_Et quidem_==et eo, _and that too_.
_Otiosa--manus_. Al. _otiosae_ by conjecture. But _manus_, a collective
noun sing. takes a pl. verb, cf. H. 461, 1; Z. 366.
_Regia utilitas est_==regibus utile est.
XLV. _Pigrum_. Cf. A. 10: pigrum et grave. The Northern or Frozen Ocean,
of which T. seems to have heard, though some refer it to the northern
part of the Baltic. See Ky. in loc.
_Hinc_. _For this reason_, viz. _quod extremus_, etc.
_In ortus_. _Till the risings_ (pl.) _of the sun_, i.e. from day to day
successively. It was known in the age of T. that the longest day grew
longer towards the north, till at length it became six months (cf. Plin.
N.H. 2, 77), though T. supposed it to be thus long at a lower latitude
than it really was, cf. A. 12.
_Sonum--aspici_. The aurora borealis, some suppose.
_Persuasio adjicit_. _The common belief adds_, i.e. _it is further
believed_, cf. His. 5, 5. 13: persuasio inerat.
_Illuc--natura_. _Tantum_ is to be connected with _illuc usque_. _Thus far
only nature extends_. So thought the ancients. Cf. A. 33: _in ipso
terrarum ac naturae fine_. _Et vera fama_ is parenthetic. The _author_
endorses this part of the story.
_Ergo_ marks a return from the above digression.
_Suevici maris_. _The Baltic_.
_Aestyorum_==eastern men, modern Esthonians. Their language was probably
neither German nor Briton, but Slavonic.
_Matrem Deum_. Cybele, as the Romans interpreted it, cf. 43.
_Insigne--gestant_. Worn, as _amulets_.
_Frumenta laborant_, i.e. labor _for_, or _to produce_, corn. Cf. Hor.
Epod. 5, 60. _Laborare_ is transitive only in poetry and post-Augustan
prose. _Elaborare_ would imply too much art for the author's purpose. See
Rit. in loc.
_Succinum_. _Amber_, an important article of commerce in early ages,
combining some vegetable juice (hence the Latin name, from _succus_) with
some mineral ingredients.--_Glesum_. This name was transferred to
_glass_, when it came into use. The root is German. Compare [Greek:
chalaza.] Död.
_Nec_==non tamen. _Yet it is not_, etc.
_Ut barbaris_. Cf. ut inter barbaros, A. 11. _Barbaris_ is dative in
apposition with _iis_, which is understood after _compertum_.
_Quae--ratio_. _What power or process of nature_.
_Donec--dedit_. Cf. note, 87: _affectavere_.
_Plerumque_. _Often_; a limited sense of the word peculiar to
post-Augustan Latin. Cf. G. 13: _ipsa plerumque fama bella profligant_;
and Freund ad v.
_Quae--expressa_==quorum _succus_ expressus, etc.
_In tantum_. _To such a degree_. Frequent only in late Latin.
_A servitute_. They fall short of liberty in not being free, like most of
the Germans; and they fall below slavery itself, in that they are slaves
to a woman.
XLVI. _Venedorum et Fennorum_. Modern _Vends and Finns_, or Fen-men. Cf.
Latham in loc.--_Ac torpor procerum_. _The chief men are lazy and
stupid_, besides being filthy, like all the rest.
_Foedantur_. Cf. infectos, 4.--_Habitum_, here personal appearance, cf.
note, 17.--_Ex moribus_, sc. Sarmatarum.
_Erigitur_. Middle sense. _Raise themselves_, or _rise_, cf. evolvuntur,
39.
_Figunt_. Have _fixed habitations_, in contrast with the Sarmatians, who
lived in carts. Cf. Ann. 13, 54: _fixerant domos Frisii_. Al. _fingunt_.
_Sarmatis_. The stock of the modern Russians, cf. 1. note.
_Cubile_. We should expect _cubili_ to correspond with _victui_ and
_vestituti_. But cf. note 18: referantur; 20: ad patrem, &c.
_Comitantur_, i.e. feminae comitantur viris.
_Ingemere--illaborare_. _Toil and groan upon houses and lands_, i.e. _in
building and tilling them_; though some understand _domibus_ and _agris_
as the places in which they toil.
_Versare_. _To be constantly employed_ in increasing the fortune of
themselves and others, agitated meanwhile by hope and fear.
_Securi_. Because they have nothing to lose.
_Illis_. Emphatic. _They_, unlike others, have no need, &c. Cf. _apud
illos_, 44.
_In medium relinquam_. Leave for the public, i.e. undecided.
_Relinquere in medio_ is the more common expression. Bötticher in his
Lex. Tac. explains it, as equivalent by Zeugma to _in medium vocatum
relinquam in medio_. So in Greek, _en_ and _eis_ often interchange.