LXXII.
Eodem anno Frisii, transrhenanus popolus, pacem exuere, (Frisii … pacem exuere: ‘the Frisii cast off peace.’ The tribe was settled along the coastal regions of Holland (modern Friesland).) nostra magis avaritia quam obsequii impatientes. tributum iis Drusus iusserat modicum pro angustia rerum, ut in usus militaris coria boum penderent, (tributum iis Drusus iusserat modicum pro angustia rerum, ut in usus militaris coria boum penderent: ‘Drusus had assigned to them a modest tribute, in consideration of (pro + abl.) their scarcity of means, [namely] to supply ox hides for army uses.’ This Drusus was Tiberius’ brother and the father of Germanicus. He brought the Frisii under Roman control in 12 B.C. iubeo has as object a final clause with ut in place of the more common infinitive. penderent is from pendo, not pendeo.) non intenta cuiusquam cura quae firmitudo, quae mensura, (non intenta cuiusquam cura quae firmitudo, quae mensura: Tacitus omits verbs, especially forms of esse, when they can be understood from the context: lit. ‘it [was] not anyone’s serious concern what quality, what size [the skins were].’ quae is interrogative pronominal adjective.) donec Olennius e primipilaribus regendis Frisiis impositus terga urorum delegit quorum ad formam acciperentur. (donec Olennius e primipilaribus regendis Frisiis impositus terga urorum delegit quorum ad formam acciperentur: ‘until Olennius from the senior centurions, assigned to supervise the Frisii, chose the hides of the aurochs for standard of quality (ad formam) of those [hides] which (quorum = eorum quae) would be acceptable [as tribute]’; quorum: in place of eorum quae, the rule being that the omission of the demonstrative pronoun is permissible if the relative is neuter, even though the two are in different cases, as here (Rescigno). donec …delegit: indicative is used after donec to express a real time limit, without regard to intention, expectation, or suspense. terga is metonymy for coria; acciperentur is subjunctive (‘would be accepted’) in that the rel. clause is in virtual oratio obliqua, reflecting the words of Olennius’ order. regendis Frisiis: dative gerundive of purpose, lit. ‘for the Frisii to be governed’) id aliis quoque nationibus arduum apud Germanos difficilius tolerabatur, quis ingentium beluarum feraces saltus, modica domi armenta sunt. (id aliis quoque nationibus arduum apud Germanos difficilius tolerabatur, quis ingentium beluarum feraces saltus, modica domi armenta sunt: ‘this [requirement], onerous also to any other nation, was harder to tolerate among the Germans, who have forests productive of huge wild oxen, at home herds of cattle moderate in size.’ quis is dat. of possessor which in English becomes the subject in a clause with the verb ‘to have’; domi (or domui): here used adverbially, ‘at home’.) ac primo boves ipsos, mox agros, postremo corpora coniugum aut liberorum servitio tradebant. (servitio tradebant: ‘handed over’ or ‘surrendered to bondage’) hinc ira et questus et postquam non subveniebatur remedium ex bello. (postquam non subveniebatur remedium ex bello: lit. ‘after it was not come to their relief, [they sought remedy] from war.’ In his unrelenting quest for brevity, Tacitus lets readers supply even main verbs, if these are readily suggested by the context. subveniebatur is impersonal use of the passive of an intransitive verb; imperfect indicative after postquam is suggestive of a reason and postquam can be rendered with ‘since’, ‘given that …’ (Rescigno). ex bello is abl. of source.) rapti qui tributo aderant milites et patibulo adfixi: (rapti qui tributo aderant milites et patibulo adfixi: ‘the soldiers who attended to the tribute were seized and hanged on gibbets.’) Olennius infensos fuga praevenit receptus castello cui nomen Flevum; (Olennius infensos fuga praevenit receptus castello cui nomen Flevum:) et haud spernenda illic civium sociorumque manus litora Oceani praesidebat. (litora Oceani praesidebat: the verb praesideo is more often with dative; Tacitus prefers acc. Cf. ch. 5 and Book 3, ch. 39.)