XXXII
‘An (an: usually found with utrum or ne in double questions or in simple questions if the question is rhetorical, as here) eandem Romanis in bello virtutem quam in pace lasciviam adesse creditis? Nostris illi dissensionibus ac discordiis clari (nostris illi dissensionibus ac discordiis clari [sunt]: ‘they are famous because of our dissentions and discord’.) vitia hostium in gloriam exercitus sui vertunt; quem contractum ex diversissimis gentibus ut secundae res tenent, ita adversae dissolvent: (dissolvent: future tense) nisi si Gallos et Germanos et (pudet dictu) (pudet dictu: pudet is impersonal, ‘it is embarrassing to say’, lit. ‘in the saying’; dictu is supine, a verbal noun of the 4th decl. having only acc. and abl. forms; the abl. is normally found after adjectives, as in pudendum dictu, rarely after a verb, as here; cf. A.G., 510, note 4.) Britannorum plerosque, licet dominationi alienae sanguinem commodent, (licet dominationi alienae sanguinem commodent: licet = quamvis, ‘though they lend their blood to foreign domination’) diutius tamen hostis quam servos, fide et adfectu teneri putatis. (nisi si …putatis: ‘except in case you think’) Metus ac terror sunt infirma vincla caritatis; (infirma vincla caritatis: ‘feeble bonds of love’) quae ubi removeris, (ubi removeris: lit, ‘when you will have removed them’; ubi is sometimes found with fut. perf. –cf. G. 565—especially when its force is almost that of si. ) qui timere desierint, odisse incipient. (desierint …incipient: both verbs in future tense, the first in fut. perf. for action anterior to that of incipient; desierint or desiierint or desiverint is from desino.) Omnia victoriae incitamenta pro nobis sunt: nullae Romanos coniuges accendunt, nulli parentes fugam exprobraturi sunt; (exprobraturi sunt: example of active periphrastic conjugation: ‘are going to blame [them]; cf. G. 247.) aut nulla plerisque patria aut alia est. Paucos numero, trepidos ignorantia, caelum ipsum ac mare et silvas, ignota omnia circumspectantis, clausos quodam modo (quodam modo: ‘in a certain sense’) ac vinctos (paucos … trepidos …caelum …mare et silvas, ignota omnia …clausos …vinctos: all dir. objects of tradiderunt with di as subject.) di nobis tradiderunt. Ne terreat vanus aspectus (ne terreat …aspectus: hortatory subj., ‘let their aspect not frighten you’.) et auri fulgor atque argenti, quod neque tegit neque vulnerat. In ipsa hostium acie inveniemus nostras manus: adgnoscent Britanni suam causam, recordabuntur Galli priorem libertatem, tam deserent illos (illos: expressive of contempt) ceteri Germani quam nuper Usipi reliquerunt. Nec quicquam ultra (ultra: ‘hereafter’ i.e. ‘after this battle is won’) formidinis: (nec quicquam …formidinis [est]: lit. ‘there is not anything of fear’, part. gen. after the neut. quicquam; cf. nihil publicae rei in ch. 19.) vacua castella, senum (senum: contemptuous reference to veteran soldiers living in Roman settlements) coloniae, inter male parentis et iniuste imperantis (inter male parentes et iniuste imperantes: ‘between citizens hardly obedient and rulers governing without justice’) aegra municipia et discordantia. Hic dux, hic exercitus: ibi tributa et metalla et ceterae servientium poenae, quas (quas: the antecedent is poenae.) in aeternum perferre aut statim ulcisci in hoc campo est. Proinde ituri in aciem (proinde ituri in aciem: ‘so then, you who are going to battle, …’) et maiores vestros et (et …et: ‘both …and’) posteros cogitate.