LXXXVIII.
Reperio apud scriptores senatoresque (scriptores senatoresque: most probably hendiadys, ‘in the records left by senators’) eorundem temporum Adgandestrii principis Chattorum (Adgandestrii principis Chattorum: nothing else is known about this German chief; the Chatti were settled east of Cologne in present-day Hesse and Thuringia.) lectas in senatu litteras, quibus mortem Arminii promittebat si patrandae neci venenum mitteretur, (quibus mortem Arminii promittebat si patrandae neci venenum mitteretur: ‘in which the chief was promising the death of Arminius if the poison were sent for the crime’; conditional sentence in a relative clause and potential (type 2) condition with subjunctive; patrandae neci: use of dative gerundive to denote purpose, ‘for the murder to be effected’) responsumque esse non fraude neque occultis, sed palam et armatum populum Romanum hostis suos ulcisci. qua gloria aequabat se Tiberius priscis imperatoribus qui venenum in Pyrrum regem vetuerant prodiderantque. (qui venenum in Pyrrum regem vetuerant prodiderantque: ‘who had refused and [even] revealed the plot to poison king Pyrrhus’: the Roman generals Gaius Fabricius and Quintus Aemilius, who were fighting against Pyrrhus, king of Epirus (319 – 272 B.C.) and strong opponent of early Rome, refused the offer of the king’s physician to poison him and even informed Pyrrhus of the plot.) ceterum (ceterum: adverb, originally acc. of respect, ‘as for the rest’) Arminius abscedentibus Romanis et pulso Maroboduo regnum adfectans libertatem popularium adversam habuit, petitusque armis cum varia fortuna certaret, (libertatem popularium adversam habuit, petitusque armis cum varia fortuna certaret … cecidit: ‘he had against him the love of freedom of the people and, attacked by force of arms, after fighting with uncertain fortune, he perished … .’ cum …certaret: temporal cum with subjunctive, known as narrative or historical cum, gives the circumstance immediately preceding or accompanying the action of the main verb.) dolo propinquorum cecidit: liberator haud dubie Germaniae et qui non primordia populi Romani, sicut alii reges ducesque, sed florentissimum imperium lacessierit, (qui … lacessierit: relative clause of characteristic with subjunctive, in that the sense is consecutive; cf. A.G. 534 – 535.) proeliis ambiguus, (proeliis ambiguus: ‘unevenly successful in war’) bello non victus. septem et triginta annos vitae, duodecim potentiae (septem et triginta annos vitae, duodecim potentiae: ‘thirty-seven years of life, twelve years of power’) explevit, caniturque adhuc barbaras apud gentis, Graecorum annalibus ignotus, qui sua tantum mirantur, Romanis haud perinde celebris, (Romanis haud perinde celebris: ‘among us Romans not as famous as one would expect’; haud perinde: elliptic for haud perinde [quam expectares]) dum vetera extollimus recentium incuriosi. (dum vetera extollimus recentium incuriosi: ‘while we extol the past [we are] incurious of the present.’ The words echo the sentiment, expressed at the outset of ch. 1 in Agricola, which labels the age as incuriosa suorum aetas.)