_Ut inter barbaros_, sc. fieri solet. Cf. ut in licentia, G. 2; and ut
inter Germanos, G. 30.
_Rutilae--asseverant_. Cf. the description of the Germans, G. 4. The
inhabitants of Caledonia are of the same stock as the other Britons. The
conclusion, to which our author inclines below, viz. that the Britons
proceeded from Gaul, is sustained by the authority of modern
ethnologists. The original inhabitants of Britain are found, both by
philological and historical evidence, to have belonged to the Celtic or
Cimmerian stock, which once overspread nearly the whole of central
Europe, but were overrun and pushed off the stage by the Gothic or German
Tribes, and now have their distinct representatives only in the Welsh,
the Irish, the Highland Scotch, and a few similar remnants of a once
powerful race in the extreme west of the continent and the islands of the
sea. Cf. note on the Cimbri, G. 37.
_Silurum_. The people of Wales.
_Colorati vultus. Dark complexion_. So with the poets, colorati Indi,
Seres, Etrusci, &c.
_Hispania_. Nom. subject of _faciunt_, with _crines_, &c.
_Iberos_. Properly a people on the Iberus (Ebro), who gave their name to
the whole Spanish Peninsula. They belonged to a different race from the
Celtic, or the Teutonic, which seems once to have inhabited Italy and
Sicily, as well as parts of Gaul and Spain. A dialect is still spoken in
the mountainous regions about the Bay of Biscay, and called the Basque or
Biscayan, which differs from any other dialect in Europe. Cf. Prichard's
Physical Researches, vol. III. chap. 2.
_Proximi Gallis_. Cf. Caes. B.G. 5, 14: Ex his omnibus longe sunt
humanissimi, qui Cantium (Kent) incolunt, quae regio est maritima omnis,
_neque multum a Gallica differunt consuetudine. Et--also: those nearest
the Gauls are also like them_.
_Durante vi. Either because the influence of a common origin still
continues_, etc.
_Procurrentibus--terris. Or because their territories running out towards
one another_, literally, _in opposite directions_, Britain towards the
south and Gaul towards the north, so as to approach each other. See Rit.,
Död. in loc., and Freund ad _diversus_.
_Positio--dedit_. The idea of similarity being already expressed in
_similes_, is understood here: their situation in the same climate
(_coelo_) has given them the _same_ personal appearance.
_Aestimanti_. Indef. dat. after _credibile est_, cf. note, G. 6.
_Eorum_ refers to the Gauls. You (indef. subject, cf. quiescas, G. 36)
may discover the religion of the Gauls (among the Britons) in their full
belief of the same superstitions. So Caes. B.G. 6, 13: disciplina in
Britannia reperta atque inde in Galliam translata esse existimatur; and
he adds, that those who wished to gain a more perfect knowledge of the
Druidical system still went from Gaul to Britain to learn. Sharon Turner
thinks, the system must have been introduced into Britain from the East
(perhaps India) by the Phenicians, and thence propagated in Gaul. His.
Ang. Sax., B. 1, chap. 5.
_Persuasione_. See the same use of the word, His. 5, 5: eademque de
infernis persuasio.
_In--periculis_. The same sentiment is expressed by Caesar (B.G. 3, 19).
_Ferociae_. In a good sense, courage, cf. 31: virtus ac ferocia.
_Praeferunt_==prae se ferunt, i.e. _exhibit_.
_Ut quos. Ut qui_, like _qui_ alone, is followed by the subj. to express
a reason for what precedes. It may be rendered by _because_ or _since_
with the demonstrative. So _quippe cui placuisset_, 18. Cf. Z. 565 and H.
519, 3.
_Gallos floruisse_. Cf. G. 28.
_Otio_. Opposed to _bellis, peace.--Amissa virtute_. Abl. abs. denoting
an additional circumstance. Cf. 2: _expulsis--professoribus_, note.--
_Olim_ limits _victis_.
XII. _Honestior. The more honorable_ (i.e. the man of rank) _is the
charioteer, his dependents fight_ (on the chariot). The reverse was true
in the Trojan War.
_Factionibus trahuntur_==distrahuntur in factiones. Dr., and Or. T. is
fond of using simple for compound verbs. See note 22; also numerous
examples in the Index to Notes on the Histories.
_Civitatibus_. Dat. for Gen.--_Pro nobis_. Abl. with prep. for dat.
Enallage. R.--_Conventus. Convention_, meeting.
_Coelum--foedum_. The fog and rain of the British Isles are still
proverbial.--_Dierum spatia_, etc. Cf. Caes. 513.
_Quod si==and if_. From the tendency to connect sentences by relatives
arose the use 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.