LXXIII.
Quod ubi L. Apronio inferioris Germaniae pro praetore cognitum, (quod ubi L. Apronio inferioris Germaniae pro praetore cognitum [est], …accivit: ‘as soon as this (quod) became known to Lucius Apronius, the propraetorian governor of Lower Germany, he summoned …’; L. Apronius was mentioned before as Germanicus’ assistant in Book 1, ch. 56, as proconsul of Africa replacing Furius Camillus in Book 3, ch. 21. Here, he probably succeeded Visellius Varro (cf. Book 3, ch. 41) as governor of Lower Germany. Germaniae pro praetore: an ex-praetor chosen as the emperor’s legate to administer a province, in this case Lower Germany, an imperial province; quod: a substitute for the demonstrative id, as often in Latin; ubi cognitum [est]: the perfect indicative with ubi indicates action immediately preceding that of the main verb (accivit). Apronio: is dat. of the agent with passive tenses containing the perfect participle. Grammarians regard the dat. of agent as an extension of the dat. of interest, in that the person is often the receiver of the action rather than the doer. Cf. L. 1216 and A.G. 374-375.) vexilla legionum e superiore provincia peditumque et equitum auxiliarium delectos accivit ac simul utrumque exercitum Rheno devectum Frisiis intulit, (simul utrumque exercitum Rheno devectum Frisiis intulit: ‘he moved forward against the Frisii each of the two armies conveyed together by way of the Rhine.’ utrumque exercitum: i.e. his own forces and those summoned from Upper Germany. simul appears to be adverb of manner, more than of time, ‘together’ vs. ‘simultaneously’; Rheno is abl. of instrument.) soluto iam castelli obsidio et ad sua tutanda degressis rebellibus. (soluto iam castelli obsidio et ad sua tutanda degressis rebellibus: two ablatives abs.: ‘the siege of the [Flevum] stronghold having been removed and the rebels having left to go protect their own territory.’ degredior being deponent, the perfect participle degressis has active sense as in English. ad sua tutanda: use of ad + gerundive to express the purpose as well as the necessity of an action; lit. ‘for their possessions to be protected’.) igitur proxima aestuaria aggeribus et pontibus traducendo graviori agmini (traducendo graviori agmini: unwilling to use the same construction as in the previous note to express purpose, Tacitus now has recourse to dative gerundive: ’for heavier troops to be conveyed across’.) firmat, atque interim repertis vadis alam Canninefatem et quod peditum Germanorum inter nostros merebat circumgredi terga hostium iubet, (interim repertis vadis alam Canninefatem et quod peditum Germanorum inter nostros merebat circumgredi terga hostium iubet: lit. ‘meanwhile shallow crossing places having been found, [Apronius] orders the Canninefate cavalry and what of German infantry served among us to attack the enemy rear.’ alam Canninefatem: the regiment of cavalry contributed by the Canninefates, a German tribe sharing the insula Batavorum with the Batavi at the mouth of the Rhine. They are often mentioned in Book 4 of the Historiae, ch. 15ff. For the insula Batavorum cf. ibid. ch. 12. quod peditum: partitive genitive after the neuter quod; the construction is repeated below, slightly altered, with quod reliquum auxiliorum below. merebat is short for merebat stipendium, ‘drew pay as soldiers’.) qui iam acie compositi pellunt turmas socialis equitesque legionum (equitesque legionum: the Roman army was supported by three types od cavalry: (1) bodies of cavalry that were integral to each legion, four turmae of thirty men apiece; (2) independent regiments of cavalry called alae (usually 500 men divided into 16 turmae), distinguished by their names, such as Ala Flaviana, Ala Scribonia, Ala Nova; (3) auxiliary cavalry contributed by the allies.) subsidio missos. tum tres leves cohortes ac rursum duae, dein tempore interiecto (tempore interiecto: abl. abs., lit. ‘time being interposed’, i.e. ‘after a while’) alarius eques immissus: satis validi si simul incubuissent, (satis validi si simul incubuissent: conditional sentence with contrary to fact condition (type III) and without verb in the apodosis: ‘they [were] sufficiently strong if they had attacked simultaneously.’ The plup. subjunctive is for unreality in the past.) per intervallum adventantes neque constantiam addiderant turbatis et pavore fugientium auferebantur. (neque constantiam addiderant turbatis et pavore fugientium auferebantur: neque …et: ‘not only not …but also …’: ‘not only they did not add resolution to the embattled troops, but also they were carried away by the panic of those fleeing.’) Cethego Labeoni legato quintae legionis quod reliquum auxiliorum tradit. (Cethego Labeoni legato quintae legionis quod reliquum auxiliorum tradit: ‘[Apronius] assigned the remainder of the auxiliaries to Cethegus Labeo, legate of the Fifth legion.’ quod reliquum [est] auxiliorum: ‘what was left of the auxiliaries’) atque ille dubia suorum re in anceps tractus missis nuntiis vim legionum implorabat. (ille dubia suorum re in anceps tractus missis nuntiis vim legionum implorabat: ‘the situation of his men being critical and himself (ille, emphatic) exposed to serious danger, [Cethegus] was earnestly soliciting the full force of the legions by sending messengers.’ dubia suorum re and missis nuntiis are both ablatives abs.; in anceps tractus: ‘drawn into a perilous predicament’) prorumpunt quintani ante alios et acri pugna hoste pulso recipiunt cohortis alasque fessas vulneribus. neque dux Romanus ultum iit aut corpora humavit, (neque dux Romanus ultum iit aut corpora humavit: ‘neither did the Roman general pursue revenge nor did he bury the fallen.’ ultum iit: the acc. ultum is supine, a verbal noun used to express purpose after verbs of motion, lit. ‘he went to exact revenge’. The supine has no equivalent in English. neque …aut: the particle aut replaces the second neque of neque …neque, ‘neither …nor’.) quamquam multi tribunorum praefectorumque et insignes centuriones cecidissent. mox compertum a transfugis nongentos Romanorum apud lucum quem Baduhennae vocant pugna in posterum extracta confectos, (nongentos Romanorum apud lucum quem Baduhennae vocant pugna in posterum extracta confectos: in indirect discourse after compertum: ‘that nine hundred Romans near a wood they call Baduhenna’s had been cut down in a battle drawn out to the next day’; Baduhennae is generally thought to be the name of a goddess, probably of war; nongentos Romanorum: partitive genitive after a noun indicating a number; in posterum is ellipsis of in posterum diem.) et aliam quadringentorum manum occupata Cruptorigis quondam stipendiari villa, postquam proditio metuebatur, mutuis ictibus procubuisse. (aliam quadringentorum manum occupata Cruptorigis quondam stipendiarii villa, postquam proditio metuebatur, mutuis ictibus procubuisse: still in indirect discourse: lit. ‘that another force of four hundred men, the villa of Cruptorix, formerly a soldier in our army, having been occupied, had fallen by mutually [inflicted] blows, because treachery was feared.’ occupata …villa is abl. abs.; stipendiarii: genitive with Cruptorigis; stipendiarius is said of a soldier receiving regular pay for army service, in this case probably as a mercenary soldier, judging from his name. postquam … metuebatur: followed by imperfect indicative postquam implies a cause; cf. note for postquam non subveniebatur remedium ex bello in previous chapter. The indicative metuebatur in indirect discourse seems to indicate that the clause is incidental, added to inform the reader and not part of the words or thoughts reported.)