LXV.
Nox per diversa inquies, (nox per diversa inquies [fuit]: ‘the night [was] unquiet for contrasting reasons’; beside the simple abl., per, ob, propter + acc. may also express cause.) cum barbari festis epulis, laeto cantu aut truci sonore subiecta vallium (subiecta vallium: ‘the low-lying valleys’, lit. ‘the subjacent valleys’; vallium is partitive gen. after the neuter plur. subiecta, another example of Tacitus’ partiality for the poetic use of gen. after the neuter of singular or plural adjectives.) ac resultantis saltus complerent, apud Romanos invalidi ignes, interruptae voces, atque ipsi passim adiacerent vallo, oberrarent (cum … complerent … adiacerent … oberrarent: cum is causal (it explains the reasons for nox inquies) and as such requires subjunctive according to the consecution temporum after a historical main verb, here the implied fuit.) tentoriis, insomnes magis quam pervigiles. ducemque terruit dira quies: (dira quies: ‘an appalling dream’; Tacitus avoids using somnium as too unpoetical and precise.) nam Quintilium Varum sanguine oblitum et paludibus emersum cernere et audire visus est velut vocantem, non tamen obsecutus et manum intendentis reppulisse. (Varum … cernere et audire visus est velut vocantem, non tamen obsecutus et manum intendentis reppulisse: ‘he seemed to see and hear Varus, as if inviting him, yet he did not follow and [he seemed] to have rejected the hand Varus was offering.’) coepta luce (coepta luce: coepta has here passive form but active sense (Oxford Dictionary): ‘light’ or ‘day having begun’) missae in latera legiones, metu an contumacia, locum deseruere, capto propere campo umentia ultra. (legiones … locum deseruere, capto propere campo umentia ultra: ‘the legions deserted their assigned position, an open space beyond the swamps having been quickly occupied [by them].’ The legions in question are the Fifth and Twenty-first, the same that had been most intractable during the recent mutiny (see ch. 31); now they add dereliction of duty before the enemy to their record. Instead of keeping back the enemy as ordered (cf. previous chapter), they scurry to safer ground, with disastrous consequences to the Romans. umentia ultra: example of anastrophe.) neque tamen Arminius quamquam libero incursu (quamquam libero incursu: Tacitus’ frequent use of subordinating conjunctions as adverbs to modify the participle or adjective of ablatives abs. is distinctly post-classical. Cf. G. 609, Note 1 and 2.) statim prorupit: sed ut haesere caeno fossisque impedimenta, (ut haesere caeno fossisque impedimenta: ut is here temporal conjunction, regularly followed by perfect indicative: ‘when the baggage became stuck in the muddy holes, …’; caeno and fossi, ‘mud’ + ‘ruts’ or ‘tracks’, form hendiadys.) turbati circum milites, incertus signorum ordo, utque tali in tempore sibi quisque properus et lentae adversum imperia aures, (utque tali in tempore sibi quisque properus et lentae adversum imperia aures: ‘as is the case at such a time, every man being solicitous for himself and ears rather deaf to commands’; sibi is dat. of interest; adversum or adversus: see note below for adversum ingruentia tela.) inrumpere Germanos iubet, clamitans ‘en Varus eodemque iterum fato vinctae legiones!’ simul haec (clamitans ‘en Varus eodemque iterum fato vinctae legiones!’ simul haec: order: simul haec clamitans “en Varus …”: ‘at the same time shouting repeatedly these words “here is Varus and his legions, caught again by the same fate!”) et cum delectis scindit agmen equisque maxime vulnera ingerit. illi sanguine suo et lubrico paludum lapsantes excussis rectoribus disicere obvios, proterere iacentis. plurimus circa aquilas labor, quae neque ferri adversum ingruentia tela (adversum ingruentia tela: ‘against a withering storm of spears’; the prep. adversum or adversus + acc. has here the meaning of ‘against’, ‘in the face of’, but in adversum imperia above the sense is ‘towards’, ‘with regard to’.) neque figi limosa humo poterant. Caecina dum sustentat (dum sustentat: dum, ‘while’, is regularly with present indicative.) aciem, suffosso equo delapsus (suffosso equo delapsus: the deponent delapsus has active sense, as does the English perf. participle: ‘having fallen from his pierced horse’; suffosso equo is abl. of place from which, usually with ex, de, or ab, but Tacitus tends to omit the prepositions, imitating the poets. Another example is paludibus emersum below.) circumveniebatur, ni prima legio sese opposuisset. (Caecina …circumveniebatur, ni prima legio sese opposuisset: conditional sentence with unreal condition (type III) in the negative protasis: the plup. subjunctive in the protasis is for condition contrary to fact in the past; the imperfect indicative in the apodosis represents the outcome as interrupted. See note for trudebanturque in paludem …, ni Caesar productas legiones instruxisset in ch. 63.) iuvit hostium aviditas, omissa caede praedam sectantium, (hostium aviditas, omissa caede praedam sectantium: sectantium agrees with hostium: lit. ‘the rapacity of the Germans running after loot, the massacre having been let go of’) enisaeque legiones vesperascente die in aperta et solida. (enisae [sunt] legiones vesperascente die in aperta et solida: ‘at dusk the legions forced a way to open and solid ground’) neque is miseriarum finis. struendum vallum, petendus agger, (struendum vallum, petendus agger: second or passive periphrastic conjugation (with erat understood) to express pressing necessity or obligation; vallum is the finished rampart and agger is the mound of earth at the base of the rampart on which the palisade is erected, a high fence of poles set firmly in the earthwork.) amissa magna ex parte per quae egeritur humus aut exciditur caespes; (amissa magna ex parte per quae egeritur humus aut exciditur caespes: short for amissa [sunt] magna ex parte [ea] per quae …: ‘the tools by means of which earth is dug and sod cut were to a large extent lost’; magna ex parte: idiom, ‘to a great degree’; per quae: per + acc. normally indicates means or instrument when applied to persons; for things the simple abl. is more common. ) non tentoria manipulis, non fomenta sauciis; infectos caeno aut cruore cibos dividentes funestas tenebras et tot hominum milibus unum iam reliquum diem lamentabantur.