LVIII.
Verba eius in hunc modum (in hunc modum: ‘to this effect’) fuere: ‘non hic mihi primus erga populum Romanum fidei et constantiae dies. ex quo a divo Augusto civitate donatus sum, civitate donatus sum (civitate donatus sum: ‘I was presented with Roman citizenship’; civitate is abl. of instrument.) amicos inimicosque ex vestris utilitatibus (ex quo … ex vestris utilitatibus: ex in ex quo marks the origin or starting point; ex in ex vestris utilitatibus, ‘in compliance with your interests’, marks conformity, i.e. what is done in accord with something taken as a guide or standard (Ernout). Examples are: ex sententia, ex disciplina, ex animo, ex re publica.) delegi, neque odio patriae (quippe proditores etiam iis quos anteponunt invisi sunt), (quippe … sunt: use of quippe as subordinating conjunction with causal force; see note about quippe in previous chapter.) verum quia Romanis Germanisque idem conducere et pacem quam bellum probabam. (quia Romanis Germanisque idem conducere et pacem quam bellum probabam: ‘because [I believed] that the interests were the same for Romans and Germans and esteemed peace better than war.’ probabam is considered zeugma by most commentators in that it applies logically to pacem quam bellum, but less well to the rest of the sentence, which would be better served by a separate verb like iudicabam (Furneaux). conducere is here used in its intransitive acceptation, ‘to be of advantage’. The absence of magis with quam is characteristic of Tacitus.) ergo raptorem filiae meae, violatorem foederis vestri, Arminium apud Varum, qui tum exercitui praesidebat, reum feci. dilatus segnitia ducis, quia parum praesidii (parum praesidii: partitive genitive after the neuter parum) in legibus erat, ut me et Arminium et conscios vinciret flagitavi: testis illa nox, mihi utinam potius novissima! (testis illa nox, mihi utinam potius novissima!: illa is emphatic: ‘that fateful night is my witness, if only it had rather been the last for me!’: a reference to the night banquet preceding the battle (see ch. 55); utinam (uti, reinforced form of ut , + asseverative nam) is conjunction introducing a wish with optative subjunctive, here implied.) quae secuta sunt defleri magis quam defendi possunt: ceterum (ceterum: with mild adversative force, ‘still’, ‘nonetheless’) et inieci catenas Arminio et a factione eius iniectas perpessus sum. (a factione eius iniectas [catenas] perpessus sum: ‘I [myself] experienced the chains cast on me by his faction.’) atque ubi primum tui copia, vetera novis et quieta turbidis antehabeo, (atque ubi primum tui copia, vetera novis et quieta turbidis antehabeo: ubi primum, ‘when first’, ‘as soon as’, is temporal conjunction like cum primum, ut primum, ut semel, simul atque, or others; the implied verb is probably fuit or est (mihi): ‘and now when first I have the privilege of addressing you, [I affirm] that I prefer the old to the new and peace to war.’ tui copia: lit. ‘an abundance of your presence’; vetera novis, quieta turbidis: chiastic arrangement, the juxtaposition of the antithetic novis –quieta, inviting a similar contrast between vetera – turbidis.) neque ob praemium, sed ut me perfidia exsolvam, simul genti Germanorum idoneus conciliator, si paenitentiam quam perniciem maluerit. (ut me perfidia exsolvam, simul genti Germanorum idoneus conciliator, si paenitentiam quam perniciem maluerit: conditional sentence with condition future and potential (type 2); protasis with perfect subjunctive for action preceding that of the apodosis, which has no verb and seems to be an extension of the ut clause, thus: ‘…, that I may free myself from the charge of perfidy and at the same time [be] a suitable conciliator for the German people, should it have preferred repentance to destruction.’ genti Germanorum: Tacitus has real fondness for plural genitives after a singular noun, more high-sounding than Germanae genti.) pro iuventa et errore filii veniam precor: filiam necessitate huc adductam fateor. tuum erit consultare utrum praevaleat quod ex Arminio concepit an quod ex me genita est.’ (tuum erit consultare utrum praevaleat quod ex Arminio concepit an quod ex me genita est: lit ‘it will be for you to decide whether the fact that she has conceived from Arminius should count more or the fact that she has received life from me.’ praevaleat is potential subjunctive, as the choice is undecided between the two parts of the double question introduced by utrum …an.) Caesar clementi responso liberis propinquisque eius incolumitatem, ipsi sedem vetere in provincia (vetere in provincia: the two Roman provinces of Germania superior and Germania inferior on the west bank of the Rhine) pollicetur. exercitum reduxit nomenque imperatoris auctore Tiberio accepit. Arminii uxor virilis sexus stirpem edidit: educatus Ravennae (Ravennae: on the Adriatic coast of Italy, between Rimini and Ferrara.) puer quo mox ludibrio conflictatus sit in tempore memorabo. (quo mox ludibrio conflictatus sit in tempore memorabo: ‘to what outrageous treatment he was later subjected I will relate at the proper time.’ The information was certainly contained in a part of the Annals that have gone lost. Nothing else is known of Arminius’ son.)