XXXV.
Enimvero apud Sarmatas non una vox ducis: (enimvero apud Sarmatas non una vox ducis: ‘but, among the Sarmatae, the voice of the leader [was] not the only one.’ enimvero here raises an objection to what was said in precedence; for the Sarmatae see ch. 33.) se quisque stimulant ne pugnam per sagittas sinerent: (se quisque stimulant ne pugnam per sagittas sinerent: ‘they urge one another not to let the engagement become a battle of archers’; lit. ‘that they should not tolerate a battle by means of arrows’, a very sound piece of advices, since the Parthians were masters at shooting arrows – even backwards — while on horseback. In 53 B.C. they had inflicted a disastrous defeat on the Romans, when a powerful army of seven legions, led by Licinius Crassus, was decoyed into a desert area (ideal for cavalry tactics) near Carrhae in southern Turkey and systematically decimated by constant attacks and retreats of the Parthian mounted archers, showering the Romans with dense volleys of arrows. Whenever the legionaries would advance to engage in close contest, the Parthians rode away to a safe distance, all the while keeping up their barrage of arrows and causing further casualties. Crassus hope that the enemy would eventually run out of arrows proved vain, as the Parthians used thousands of camels to bring fresh supplies of darts. In the end the entire Roman force was killed or captured, Crassus himself being among the fallen. ne … sinerent: example of use of hortatory subjunctive in the negative; cf. A.G. 439. Note that the imperfect subjunctive is allowed by the sequence of tenses after stimulant, since the main verb is a historical present, which can be taken either as principal or historical tense. se quisque stimulant: plural verb with sing. quisque if the latter represents a multitude; cf. G. 211 Remark 1.) impetu et comminus praeveniendum. (impetu et comminus praeveniendum: ‘it was to be prevented by a sudden onslaught and in hand-to-hand fighting’, i.e. ‘they must avoid a battle of archers by charging and engaging the Parthians at close quarters’. comminus is adverb; praeveniendum [esse]: impersonal use of passive periphrasis (in indirect speech after stimulant) to denote necessity. See B. 337, 8. b. 1.) variae hinc bellantium species, cum Parthus sequi vel fugere pari arte suetus distraheret turmas, spatium ictibus quaereret, (variae hinc bellantium species: lit. ‘from here on the spectacle of the combatants [was] a changeable one, … ’) Sarmatae omisso arcu, quo brevius valent, contis gladiisque ruerent; (cum Parthus sequi vel fugere pari arte suetus distraheret turmas, spatium ictibus quaereret Sarmatae omisso arcu, quo brevius valent, contis gladiisque ruerent: a long causal cum clause with subjunctive, explaining why the battle was chaotic: lit. ‘… since the Parthians, trained to pursue and to flee with equal skill, would space out their squadrons, seek room for their strikes, [and] the Sarmatae would dash off to the attack with spears and swords, their bows having been discarded, which are effective [only] over a shorter range’; omisso arcu, quo brevius valent: abl. abs. with dependent relative clause; quo refers to arcu and is abl. of instrument; the plural valent can only refer to the Sarmatae, meaning that ‘with their bows they, trained to fight as the infantry, were effective within shorter distances than the Parthians, who were experts in using the bow while riding their swift horses’.) modo equestris proelii more frontis et tergi vices, aliquando ut conserta acies corporibus et pulsu armorum pellerent pellerentur. (modo equestris proelii more frontis et tergi vices, aliquando ut conserta acies corporibus et pulsu armorum pellerent pellerentur: lit. ‘at one moment, in the manner of a cavalry engagement, [there would be] interchanges (vices, noun) of front and back and sometimes, as in close fighting, they pushed and were pushed with the weight of their bodies and the pressure of the armor.’ pellerent pellerentur: subjunctive in that the verbs are still governed by the causal cum mentioned previously; modo … aliquando: in place of the expected modo … modo, ‘at one moment, … at another …’; it is Tacitus’ fashion to inject new life into predictable phrases. The nouns frons and tergum are metonymy for ‘advance’ and ‘retreat’ respectively.) iamque et Albani Hiberique prensare, detrudere, ancipitem pugnam hostibus facere, quos super eques et propioribus vulneribus pedites adflictabant. (iamque et Albani Hiberique prensare, detrudere, ancipitem pugnam hostibus facere, quos super eques et propioribus vulneribus pedites adflictabant: ‘now also (iamque et) the Albani and the Iberi were grasping, unhorsing, and making the battle twice as dangerous (ancipitem) for the enemy, whom the [Sarmatian] cavalry belabored from their horses (supra, adverb) and the infantry injured at close hand.’ prensare, detrudere, facere are historical infinitives. See note for incessere, adequitare, infensare in previous chapter.) inter quae Pharasmanes Orodesque, dum strenuis adsunt aut dubitantibus subveniunt, (dum … adsunt … subveniunt: ‘present indicative with dum = ‘while’; see note for dum in ch. 32.) conspicui eoque gnari, clamore telis equis concurrunt, (conspicui eoque gnari, clamore telis equis concurrunt: ‘in full view [of both armies], thus (eoque) easily recognizable, with a whoop, weapons at the ready, horses at full gallop, they fly at one another, … ’ clamore telis equis: the words are arranged in order of intensity: first the shout of recognition, then the thought of revenge, last the mad dash before collision, all within an instant. The immediate reaction leaves no time for commas (asyndeton).) instantius Pharasmanes; nam vulnus per galeam adegit. (instantius Pharasmanes; nam vulnus per galeam adegit: ‘ … with greater force Pharasmanes, for he inflicted a wound through the helmet.’ The adverb instantius modifies the previous concurrunt, a historical present.) nec iterare valuit, praelatus equo et fortissimis satellitum protegentibus saucium: (nec iterare valuit, praelatus equo et fortissimis satellitum protegentibus saucium:’he was not able to repeat [his exploit], being carried too far by his horse and [Orodes’] most spirited attendants protecting the wounded man.’ fortissimis satellitum protegentibus saucium is abl. abs.) fama tamen occisi falso credita exterruit Parthos victoriamque concessere.