V.
Italiam utroque mari (utroque mari: ‘on both seas’, i.e. the Tyrrhenian sea on the west side of Italy and the Adriatic on the east side) duae classes, Misenum apud et Ravennam, (Misenum apud et Ravennam: Cape Misenum is the headland jutting out into the Tyrrhenian sea forming the north end of the Gulf of Naples. An excellent harbor for one of the two major Roman fleets. Ravenna is on the Adriatic coast, between the mouth of the Po river and Rimini.) proximumque Galliae litus rostratae naves (rostratae naves: equipped with an armored prow shaped like a beak, used for ramming) praesidebant, quas Actiaca victoria (Actiaca victoria: the battle at Actium in 31 B.C., in which Octavian (later Augustus) defeated his rival Mark Antony and was left master of the world, was the start of the imperial system of government in Rome. Actium was on the Ionian coast of Epirus (northern Greece), at the entrance of the Ambracian Gulf.) captas Augustus in oppidum Foroiuliense (oppidum Foroiuliense: modern Frejus on the Cote d’Azur, about halfway between Nice and Marseille) miserat valido cum remige. (valido cum remige: ‘with experienced crews of oarsmen’: abl. of instrument, which may be viewed as an extension of the abl. of accompaniment with cum. In fact, even in English we say ‘to walk with someone’ (accompaniment) and ‘to hit someone with a stick’ (instrument). From Ernout) sed praecipuum robur Rhenum iuxta, (Rhenum iuxta: ‘near the Rhine’, ‘on the Rhine’) commune in Germanos Gallosque subsidium, octo legiones erant. Hispaniae recens perdomitae tribus habebantur. (Hispaniae recens perdomitae tribus habebantur: ‘Spain, recently subdued, was held by three legions.’ The plural, Hispaniae, is on account of the division of Spain into provinces, Tarraconensis, Lusitania and Baetica. Its occupation was completed by Marcus Agrippa in 19 B.C.) Mauros Iuba rex (Iuba rex: the son of the king Juba who was defeated by Caesar at Thapsus in 46 B.C. and committed suicide. His son was made king of Mauretania and part of Numidia, comprising eastern Algeria and western Tunisia. The Atlas chain of mountains was the southern limit of the kingdom.) acceperat donum populi Romani. cetera Africae per duas legiones parique numero Aegyptus, dehinc initio ab Syriae usque ad flumen Euphraten, quantum ingenti terrarum sinu ambitur, quattuor legionibus coercita, (dehinc initio ab Syriae usque ad flumen Euphraten, quantum ingenti terrarum sinu ambitur, quattuor legionibus coercita: word for word: ‘as much of territory (quantum terrarum) is embraced (ambitur) by the vast stretch of land (ingenti sinu) from the frontier of Syria (dehinc ab initio Syriae) to the Euphrates river (usque ad flumen Euphraten) was controlled by four legions.’ The neuter plural coercita agrees in number with the collective quantum terrarum; terrarum is partitive genitive after the neuter quantum; sinu: Tacitus uses sinus, normally referring to something curved, bent, folded, or hollow, to mean an expanse of land (tract, stretch, sweep, or even mass), particularly if large, remote, and somewhat mysterious. Here it stands for the total of the eastern regions of the Roman empire in Asia.) accolis Hibero Albanoque et aliis regibus qui magnitudine nostra proteguntur (accolis Hibero Albanoque et aliis regibus qui magnitudine nostra proteguntur: ‘abl. abs. with dependent relative clause: ‘the neighboring nations being the Iberi, the Albani, and other kingdoms that are protected by our greatness; Hibero Albanoque: the singular stands for the nation itself. The Iberi lived in the area along the western coast of the Caspian sea corresponding to modern Azerbaijan. The Albani, as mentioned in Book 2, ch. 68, were further north and on both sides of the Caucasus mountains.) adversum extema imperia et Thraeciam Rhoemetalces ac liberi Cotyis, (Thraeciam Rhoemetalces ac liberi Cotyis: Rhoemetalces and the sons of Cotys [ruled] Thrace.’ See Book 2, ch. 67, Book 3, ch. 38.) ripamque Danuvii legionum duae in Pannonia, duae in Moesia attinebant, totidem apud Delmatiam locatis, (in Pannonia, … in Moesia, … apud Delmatiam: Pannonia comprised Hungary and the eastern parts of Austria; Moesia comprised Bulgaria and parts of Serbia; Delmatia or Dalmatia, along the eastern coast of the Adriatic sea, included Croatia together with Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Dalmatia with Pannonia was known as the Illyricum.) quae positu regionis a tergo illis, ac si repentinum auxilium Italia posceret, haud procul accirentur, (quae positu regionis a tergo illis, ac si repentinum auxilium Italia posceret, haud procul accirentur: quae refers to the two legions of Dalmatia: ‘which, because of the position of the country, [were] in the rear of the other legions, and if Italy required urgent aid, would not be called in from afar; a tergo illis: usually a tergo is followed by genitive, but Tacitus prefers dative, perhaps to avoid using the awkward-sounding illarum; si …posceret, …accirentur: conditional sentence with subjunctive in both protasis and apodosis, the first for future (potential) condition, the second to express the potential sense in accirentur.) quamquam insideret urbem proprius miles, (quamquam insideret urbem proprius miles: ‘even though troops specific to Rome held the city’; subjunctive after quamquam is the preferred construction with writers of the silver period) tres urbanae, novem praetoriae cohortes, Etruria ferme Vmbriaque delectae aut vetere Latio et coloniis antiquitus Romanis. (Etruria ferme Vmbriaque delectae aut vetere Latio et coloniis antiquitus Romanis: ‘…recruited for the most part in Etruria and Umbria or in the ancient Latium and in the early Roman colonies’; Etruria and Umbria are two regions of Italy located north of Latium, where Rome is located. vetere Latio: the communities near Rome which enjoyed Roman citizenship before the Social War of 90 B.C. coloniis antiquitus Romanis: ‘Roman colonies from of old’, i.e. established in Italy, thus exclusive of those founded later abroad, when foreign conquest began.) at apud idonea provinciarum sociae (apud idonea provinciarum: ‘at strategic locations in the provinces’) triremes alaeque et auxilia cohortium, neque multo secus in iis virium: (neque multo secus in iis virium: secus appears to be adjective rather than adverb: ‘nothing much inferior [to our army] in these forces’; virium is partitive genitive after iis, rare or unprecedented after a demonstrative pronoun.) sed persequi incertum fuit, cum ex usu temporis huc illuc mearent, gliscerent numero et aliquando minuerentur. (sed persequi incertum fuit, cum ex usu temporis huc illuc mearent, gliscerent numero et aliquando minuerentur: ‘but to hunt after [an accurate estimate of these forces] has been a doubtful pursuit, since they often move here and there according to the needs of the moment and they increase in number and on occasion even diminish.’ mearent, gliscerent … minuerentur: subjunctive after causal cum.)