XVI.
Eodem anno Cheruscorum gens (Cheruscorum gens: ‘the approximate location of the Cherushi was around modern Hannover in NE Germany, east of the Weser river.) regem Roma petivit, amissis per interna bella nobilibus et uno reliquo stirpis regiae, qui apud urbem habebatur nomine Italicus. (regem Roma petivit, amissis per interna bella nobilibus et uno reliquo stirpis regiae, qui apud urbem habebatur nomine Italicus: ‘they asked for a king from Rome, their nobles having been lost in the wake of intestine wars and only one being left of royal blood, who, named Italicus, was kept in Rome.’ amissis nobilibus … et uno reliquo … qui … is abl. abs. with dependent relative clause; Roma is abl. of place from which, often without preposition with names of cities; per interna bella: cause expressed with per + acc; stirpis regiae is gen. of quality; apud urbem: in later Latin, apud + acc. often replaces in + abl.; nomine Italicus: nomine is abl. of relation or respect, ‘Italicus as to name’.) paternum huic genus e Flavo fratre Arminii, mater ex Actumero principe Chattorum erat; (paternum huic genus e Flavo fratre Arminii, mater ex Actumero principe Chattorum erat: lit. ‘to him (huic), the paternal origin was from Flavus, the brother of Arminius, the mother was from Actumerus, a prince of the Chatti.’ huic is dative of possessor with erat. For the two brothers, Flavus and Arminius, see Book 2, ch. 9 and 10. Flavus fought on the Roman side, Arminius stubbornly opposed the Romans and caused them the loss of three legions in 9 A.D. Chattorum: the Chatti were located south of the Cherushi, east of modern Bonn and of the Rhine.) ipse forma decorus et armis equisque in patrium nostrumque morem exercitus. igitur Caesar auctum pecunia, additis stipatoribus, hortatur gentile decus magno animo capessere: (Caesar auctum pecunia, additis stipatoribus, hortatur gentile decus magno animo capessere: ‘Claudius exhorted him (Flavus), well provided with money and an escort being added, to reclaim with pride the ancestral dignity.’ additis stipatoris is abl. abs., ‘bodyguards having been added’; hortatur capessere: infinitive after hortor is unusual, even in Tacitus; hortatur is historical present.) illum primum Romae ortum nec obsidem, sed civem ire externum ad imperium. (illum primum Romae ortum nec obsidem, sed civem ire externum ad imperium: in oratio obliqua: ‘that he (illum), was going to a foreign throne, the first native of Rome, not a hostage, but a citizen.’ ille, as pronoun, designates someone at a distance from the speaker; used with emphatic force, it implies someone set aside from the rest, either by his fame (good or bad), or by name, birth, position, and the like.) ac primo laetus Germanis adventus atque eo quod nullis discordiis imbutus pari in omnis studio ageret celebrari, coli, modo comitatem et temperantiam, nulli invisa, saepius vinolentiam ac libidines, grata barbaris, usurpans. (eo quod nullis discordiis imbutus pari in omnis studio ageret celebrari, coli, modo comitatem et temperantiam, nulli invisa, saepius vinolentiam ac libidines, grata barbaris, usurpans: ‘he was welcomed and paid homage to (celebrari, coli) for the reason that he, not being imbued with party differences, would act with the same deference towards everyone, at times exhibiting affability and moderation – not offensive to anyone – and more often love of wine and women, so pleasing to barbarians.’ eo quod … ageret: the conjunctional phrase eo quod (‘for the reason that … ‘) introduces a clause of causal sense with subjunctive of partial obliquity; celebrari, coli are historical infinitives, as is clarescere below. The adverb modo, when alone, can mean ‘at times’.) iamque apud proximos, iam longius clarescere, cum potentiam eius suspectantes qui factionibus floruerant discedunt ad conterminos populos ac testificantur adimi veterem Germaniae libertatem et Romanas opes insurgere. (iamque apud proximos, iam longius clarescere, cum potentiam eius suspectantes qui factionibus floruerant discedunt ad conterminos populos ac testificantur adimi veterem Germaniae libertatem et Romanas opes insurgere: ‘already he was growing famous among neighboring nations, already [even] farther afield, when, jealous of his influence, those who had enriched themselves from internal dissentions, repaired to nearby communities and went around asserting that the former freedoms of Germany were being destroyed and that Roman dominance was looming larger.’ cum … discedunt: use of generic or temporal cum + indicative to indicate the time of the action of the main verb: here the action of discedunt in the cum clause takes place just as Flavus’ fame is increasing (clarescere), not sooner and not later: the time is clearly defined. discedunt is historical present.) adeo neminem isdem in terris ortum qui principem locum impleat, nisi exploratoris Flavi progenies super cunctos attollatur? (adeo neminem isdem in terris ortum [esse] qui principem locum impleat, nisi exploratoris Flavi progenies super cunctos attollatur?: in oratio obliqua: ‘was there really no one born in these same lands who, [as always before], would fill the supreme post, other than that the progeny of that scout Flavus be raised above all others?’ iisdem in terries: both as adjective and pronoun, idem always refers to something mentioned in precedence. adeo neminem ….[esse] …?: the question is rhetorical, thus infinitive in indirect discourse. qui … impleat: subjunctive for relative clause in indirect discourse; nisi … attollatur: all protases, regardless of type of condition, are with subjunctive in oratio obliqua; attollatur and also the previous impleat are examples of repraesentatio (cf. A.G. 585, b.), in place of impleret and attolleretur after a historical verb of saying (testificantur).) frustra Arminium praescribi: cuius si filius hostili in solo adultus in regnum venisset, posse extimesci, infectum alimonio servitio cultu, omnibus externis: (frustra Arminium praescribi: cuius si filius hostili in solo adultus in regnum venisset, posse extimesci, infectum alimonio servitio cultu, omnibus externis: ‘that in vain was the memory of Arminius invoked: if his son had come to their kingdom having been raised to manhood in hostile lands, he could be feared, having been infected by the nurturing, the bondage, the culture, and everything else foreign.’ Arminius’ son, Thumelicus, born in Rome after his expecting mother was captured by the Romans in 15 A.D. (see Book 1, ch. 57-58), had probably died in captivity before this time. The omission of commas (asyndeton) in alimonio servitio cultu is for rhetorical effect. si … venisset, posse estimesci …: contrary to fact conditional sentence (type III) in oratio obliqua: plup. subjunctive for unreal condition in the past, present infinitive posse in the apodosis for outcome in the present. When possum is used, the periphrasis with the future participle + fuisse is dispensed with. Cf. G. 248 + Remark, and G. 656 + Remark.) at si paterna Italico mens esset, non alium infensius arma contra patriam ac deos penatis quam parentem eius exercuisse. (at si paterna Italico mens esset, non alium infensius arma contra patriam ac deos penatis quam parentem eius exercuisse: at adds here a different reason in support of what precedes: ‘besides, if Italicus had the same character as his father, no other man had made use of arms more violently against his fatherland and the home gods than his father’; Italico is dat. of possessor with esset: si …esset, … esercuisset: another conditional sentence in indirect discourse, only here the condition is logical, type I, with perfect infinitive in the apodosis, corresponding to the pluperfect indicative of direct discourse. See B. 319.)