VI.
Igitur huc intendit, missis ad census Galliarum P. Vitellio et C. Antio. Silius et Anteius et Caecina (P. Vitellio et C. Antio. Silius et Anteius et Caecina: for Publius Vitellius see Book 1, ch. 70; the name C. Antius has been found in one inscription, but nothing else is known about Anteius; Silius and Caecina were first mentioned in ch. 31 of Book 1.) fabricandae classi praeponuntur. mille naves sufficere visae properataeque, (mille naves sufficere visae properataeque [sunt]: ‘a thousand ships were deemed sufficient and were built without delay’) aliae breves, angusta puppi proraque et lato utero, (lato utero: Tacitus shies away from using alveus, the correct term for a ship’s belly, as too utilitarian, and chooses instead a more poetic and evocative word.) quo facilius fluctus tolerarent; quaedam planae carinis, ut sine noxa siderent; (quo facilius fluctus tolerarent; … ut sine noxa siderent: two ways to express purpose: quo + comparative + subjunctive and ut + subjunctive; ut sine noxa siderent: ‘that they might touch ground without damage’) plures adpositis utrimque gubernaculis, converso ut repente remigio hinc vel illinc adpellerent; (adpositis utrimque gubernaculis, converso ut repente remigio hinc vel illinc adpellerent: two consecutive ablatives abs., the second with dependent purpose clause: ‘rudders having been installed at both ends, the pull of the oars having been swiftly reversed, so as to move forward or backward’; remigium is not only the system of oars, but includes the crew of oarsmen as well. hinc vel illinc: lit. ‘from this or that direction’; adpellerent: the corresponding noun, adpulsus, ‘landing places’, occurs below.) multae pontibus stratae, super quas tormenta veherentur, simul aptae ferendis equis aut commeatui; velis habiles, citae remis augebantur alacritate militum in speciem ac terrorem. (augebantur alacritate militum in speciem ac terrorem: ‘[the ships] were made to appear larger and more bellicose by the brisk, precise conduct of the troops.’ Tacitus often uses in + acc. to epress purpose, in place of ad + acc.) insula Batavorum in quam convenirent praedicta, ob facilis adpulsus accipiendisque copiis et transmittendum ad bellum opportuna. (insula Batavorum in quam convenirent praedicta, ob facilis adpulsus accipiendisque copiis et transmittendum ad bellum opportuna: the island of the Batavi was located between the Nederrijn (the Lower Rhine) to the north and the Waal to the south. It is difficult to pinpoint the exact site today because of the changes made over the centuries to drain the area and the many canals built to redirect the waters: lit. ‘the island of the Batavi [was] chosen as the place in which they should assemble, in view of its easy approaches, being favorably situated (opportuna) for the troops to be collected and for the war to be carried across [the river].’ the deliberate change of construction from the dative gerundive accipiendis copiis to the grammatically equivalent ad transmittendum bellum makes for a less predictable and monotonous style. opportuna refers to insula.) nam Rhenus uno alveo continuus aut modicas insulas circumveniens apud principium agri Batavi velut in duos amnis dividitur, servatque nomen et violentiam cursus, qua Germaniam praevehitur, donec Oceano misceatur: (qua Germaniam praevehitur, donec Oceano misceatur: ‘where [the Rhine] is carried past Germany, until it joins the ocean’; praevehitur is in place of praetervehitur, as is the case in Tacitus with other verbs having the prefix praeter; donec …misceatur: postclassical writers tend to prefer the use of subjunctive after donec. Cf. Germania, ch. 1: donec [Danuvius] in Ponticum mare sex meeatibus erumpat.) ad Gallicam ripam latior et placidior adfluens, ((verso cognomento Vahalem accolae dicunt): ‘the local inhabitants call [the Rhine] Vahal by a changed name.’ verso cognomento is either abl. of instrument (‘with a changed name’) or abl. abs. (‘the name having been changed’).) mox id quoque vocabulum (nomen … cognomento … vocabulum: three essentially synonymous nouns to avoid repeating nomen.) mutat Mosa flumine eiusque inmenso ore eundem in Oceanum effunditur. (mox id quoque vocabulum mutat Mosa flumine eiusque inmenso ore eundem in Oceanum effunditur: ‘soon that name also is substituted for the river Mosa, by means of the immense mouth of which it flows into the ocean.’ mutat Mosa flumine: the verb muto, in the sense it has here, is found with simple abl., or with pro or cum + abl. effunditur: passive, here meaning ‘to pour into’)