XII
In pedite robur; quaedam nationes et (et: = etiam, when not the first word in a clause) curru proeliantur. Honestior auriga, clientes propugnant. Olim regibus parebant, nunc per principes (per principes…trahuntur: ‘are pulled apart though the intervention of their chieftains’) factionibus et studiis trahuntur. Nec aliud adversus validissimas gentis pro nobis utilius quam quod in commune non consulunt. (nec alius utilius … quam quod in commune non consulunt: ‘no other thing more useful [to us] than the fact that they do not consult together’) Rarus duabus tribusve civitatibus ad propulsandum commune periculum conventus: (rarus duabus tribusve civitatibus … conventus: ‘rare is for two or three states the coming together’) ita singuli pugnant, universi vincuntur. Caelum crebris imbribus ac nebulis foedum; asperitas frigorum abest. Dierum spatia ultra nostri orbis mensuram; nox clara et extrema Britanniae parte brevis, ut finem atque initium lucis exiguo discrimine internoscas. (ut finem atque initium lucis exiguo discrimine internoscas: ‘so that you may make out the end and the beginning of light with the smallest distinction’) Quod si (quod si: when followed by si or by its negative nisi or ni, quod is either ignored in translation or is variously translated as ‘and’, ‘but’, ‘and as for that’, ‘whereas’; cf. G. 610, R. 2.) nubes non officiant, aspici per noctem solis fulgorem, nec occidere et exurgere, sed transire adfirmant. Scilicet extrema et plana terrarum humili umbra non erigunt tenebras, infraque caelum et sidera nox cadit. (extrema et plana terrarum humili umbra non erigunt tenebras infraque caelum et sidera nox cadit: Tacitus is hard put to explain the permanence of daylight without knowledge of the earth’s rotation around its inclined axis while orbiting the sun. His theory is that the flat expanses of the northern landmasses create little shadow, which stays close to the surface and do not rise high enough in the sky to produce the darkness of the night. Thus, in his words, ‘the night falls short of the sky and the stars’. That Tacitus may have been aware that the earth is not flat but a sphere is indicated in Germania, 45.) Solum praeter oleam vitemque et cetera calidioribus terris oriri sueta (calidioribus terris oriri sueta: ‘accustomed to grow in warmer lands’) patiens frugum (patiens frugum: ‘supportive of crops’) pecudumque fecundum: tarde mitescunt, cito proveniunt; eademque utriusque rei causa, multus umor terrarum caelique. Fert Britannia aurum et (et: = etiam, cf. quaedam nationes et curru proeliantur at the top of the chapter.) argentum et alia metalla, pretium victoriae. Gignit et Oceanus margarita, sed subfusca ac liventia. Quidam artem abesse legentibus (legentibus: ‘gatherers’, dat. with abesse) arbitrantur; nam in rubro mari viva ac spirantia (viva ac spirantia: ‘alive and breathing’ i.e. when they are still part of the living tissue of the mollusc) saxis avelli, (avelli: like colligi next, inf. in ind. discourse introduced by arbitrantur) in Britannia, prout expulsa sint, (prout expulsa sint: ‘inasmuch as they are expelled’; prout, conj., may have the causal sense of ‘seeing that’, ‘in view of the fact that’, ‘since’) colligi: ego (ego: emphatic) facilius crediderim (facilius crediderim: potential subjunctive; the perfect tense has present sense; cf. also addiderim in ch. 10.) naturam margaritis deesse quam nobis avaritiam.