XVII.
His atque talibus magnas copias coegere, nec pauciores Italicum sequebantur. non enim inrupisse ad invitos sed accitum memorabat, quando nobilitate ceteros anteiret: (non enim inrupisse ad invitos sed accitum memorabat, quando nobilitate ceteros anteiret: ‘he recalled to mind that he had not broken in on them against their wishes, but sent for, since in nobility he surpassed the others.’ quando … anteiret: causal quando is regularly with indicative, except in indirect discourse.) virtutem experirentur, an dignum se patruo Arminio, avo Actumero praeberet. (virtutem experirentur, an dignum se patruo Arminio, avo Actumero praeberet: ‘let them try his valor, whether he would prove worthy of his uncle Arminius and of his grandfather Actumerus’; experirentur is hortatory subjunctive in indirect discourse after the historical main verb memorabat; it also governs the indirect question an … praeberet.) nec patrem rubori, quod fidem adversus Romanos volentibus Germanis sumptam numquam omisisset. (nec patrem rubori, quod fidem adversus Romanos volentibus Germanis sumptam numquam omisisset: lit. ‘that his father was not for shame [to him], because he had never reneged on his loyalty towards the Romans, promised with the consent of the Germans’; robori is final dative; quod … omisisset: like quando above, quod is found with subjunctive only in indirect discourse. volentibus Germanis is abl. abs., ’the Germans approving’. The Cherushi had accepted Roman rule before the ambush of Varus set by Arminius.) falso libertatis vocabulum obtendi ab iis qui privatim degeneres, in publicum exitiosi, nihil spei nisi per discordias habeant. (falso libertatis vocabulum obtendi ab iis qui privatim degeneres, in publicum exitiosi, nihil spei nisi per discordias habeant: ‘that the name of liberty was being made a pretext by those who, being depraved in their private sphere, and ruinous to the state, had no hope except in civil strife’; qui … nihil spei nisi per discordias habeant: relative clause with subjunctive in oratio obliqua; the present habeant is repraesentatio for haberent; see note for nisi … attollatur in previous chapter. nisi: without verb and preceded by negative phrase or clause the regular meaning is ‘except’, ‘but’, ‘only’; nihil spei: partitive genitive after the neuter nihil; per discordiam: per + acc. here denotes means or instrument.) adstrepebat huic alacre vulgus; (adstrepebat huic alacre vulgus: ‘to this (huic) the indignant soldiery loudly expressed their support.’ the neuter huic is dative with adstrepo; adstrepebat vulgus is also found used with similar force in Book 1, ch. 18.) et magno inter barbaros proelio victor rex, dein secunda fortuna ad superbiam prolapsus pulsusque ac rursus Langobardorum opibus refectus per laeta per adversa res Cheruscas adflictabat. (prolapsus pulsusque ac rursus Langobardorum opibus refectus per laeta per adversa res Cheruscas adflictabat: ‘driven from the throne, then again restored to it with the help of the Longobards, through victories and defeats he caused great damage to the nation of the Cherushi.’ On this note, Tacitus closes the chapter on Italicus, never mentioned again in the Annals. The Cherushi fell into decline, never recovered, and were probably absorbed by other Germanic groups. Longobardorum: the Longobardi were settled on the lower river Elbe, between the Chauci to the north and the Senoni to the south. Cf. Book 2, ch. 45.)