XX.
Iam castra in hostili solo molienti Corbuloni eae litterae redduntur. (iam castra in hostili solo molienti Corbuloni eae litterae redduntur: ‘that message was delivered to Corbulo already setting up camp on enemy soil.’ redduntur is historical present; litterae is always plural when referring to a written message; it is only singular if a letter of the alphabet is meant, many of which go to write a letter.) ille re subita, (re subita: ‘the order being unexpected’, abl. abs.) quamquam multa simul offunderentur, metus ex imperatore, contemptio ex barbaris, ludibrium apud socios, nihil aliud prolocutus quam ‘beatos quondam duces Romanos,’ signum receptui dedit. (ille …, quamquam multa simul offunderentur, … , nihil aliud prolocutus quam ‘beatos quondam duces Romanos,’ signum receptui dedit: ‘he, though many thoughts crowded together (simul) [in his mind], gave the signal of retreat, saying nothing else than ‘happy the Roman generals of old!’. Under the republic, a field commander had no need to fear the jealousy of an emperor. ille: when replacing is, ille is meant to assign special attention to the person in question, here on account of the embarrassing situation Corbulo is placed in. quamquam … offunderentur: in Tacitus quamquam is reliably followed by subjunctive. receptui: final dative is found in some military phrases, receptui canere, locus castris, locus insidiis, receptui signum, etc.) ut tamen miles otium exueret, inter Mosam Rhenumque trium et viginti milium spatio fossam perduxit, qua incerta Oceani vitarentur. (ut tamen miles otium exueret, inter Mosam Rhenumque trium et viginti milium spatio fossam perduxit, qua incerta Oceani vitarentur: lit. ‘yet, in order for the soldiery to shake off idleness, he extended a canal for a distance of twenty-three miles between the river Maas and the Rhine, by means of which the whims of the Ocean would be avoided.’ inter Mosam Rhenumque: the courses of the Maas or Meuse and of the Rhine run parallel to each other for quite a distance on their way to the North sea (Oceanus): a channel joining the two would make it unnecessary for vessels journeying to north Germany to cross the mouth of the Maas, considered dangerous. Some authorities assign a different reason for the work, also because the original text is unclear at this point.) insignia tamen triumphi indulsit Caesar, quamvis bellum negavisset. (insignia tamen triumphi indulsit Caesar, quamvis bellum negavisset: ‘Claudius, however, granted [Corbulo] the triumphal insignia, even though he had prohibited war.’ quamvis always takes subjunctive, like concessive ut.) Nec multo post Curtius Rufus eundem honorem adipiscitur, qui in agro Mattiaco recluserat specus quaerendis venis argenti; unde tenuis fructus nec in longum fuit: (Curtius Rufus eundem honorem adipiscitur, qui in agro Mattiaco recluserat specus quaerendis venis argenti; unde tenuis fructus nec in longum fuit: ‘Curtius Rufus, who in the land of the Mattiaci had opened a mine (specus) to search for veins of silver, the produce from which (unde) was small and not of long duration, received the same honor.’ The Mattiaci were settled near Wiesbaden, in the Hesse district. quaerendis venis is dat. gerundive of purpose, lit. ‘for veins to be found’. As to Curtius Rufus, the governor of Upper Germany, see next chapter.) at legionibus cum damno labor, effodere rivos, quaeque in aperto gravia, humum infra moliri. (at legionibus cum damno labor, effodere rivos, quaeque in aperto gravia, humum infra moliri: ‘but for the legions their toil [was] for less than nothing, they dug the channels of rivers and what was [already] debilitating work on the surface, they performed with extreme labor below ground.’ Probably the underground work was necessary to drain water away from the site where the actual channel was being dug. cum damno is abl. of manner, ‘with loss’. effodere, moliri: historical infinitives; infra, preposition, takes acc.) quis subactus miles, et quia pluris per provincias similia tolerabantur, componit occultas litteras nomine exercituum, precantium imperatorem, ut, quibus permissurus esset exercitus, triumphalia ante tribueret. (quis subactus miles, et quia pluris per provincias similia tolerabantur, componit occultas litteras nomine exercituum, precantium imperatorem, ut, quibus permissurus esset exercitus, triumphalia ante tribueret: ‘the troops, worn out by such labors (quibus subactus), also (et) because similar tribulations were undergone in the other provinces, composed a secret message in the name of the armies imploring the emperor to (ut) award beforehand the triumphal distinction to the generals to whom he would entrust the armies.’ Military operations having been vetoed, generals tried to earn distinction by forcing their armies to undertake ambitious civil projects as the one reported here. That soldiers resented extenuating physical work offering no extra gain, such as plunder, is not surprising, but the story about their sending an anonymous letter of protest to the emperor, though confirmed by Suetonius, is dismissed by many as pure fantasy. More likely is that the letter was a fanciful notion, a wishful “what if” that some wag had come up with and was passed along as a bit of fun from camp to camp until it reached official ears. precantium agrees with the preceding exercituum; quibus permissurus esset: active periphrasis with imperfect subjunctive to express future (potential) action in a relative clause in indirect discourse after precantium, the verb of saying being historical. See L. 1747 and 2324.)