XV
Quotiens (quotiens: here relative, not interrogative, adverb) bella non ineunt, non multum venatibus, (non multum [temporis] venatibus … transigunt: venatibus is probably instrumental ablative, ‘they spend not much time in hunting’.) plus per otium transigunt, dediti somno ciboque, fortissimus quisque ac bellicosissimus nihil agens, delegata domus et penatium et agrorum cura (penatium … cura: the care or cult of the guardian deities of the household: each house had a shrine at which the family worshiped, offering prayers and sacrifices.) feminis senibusque et infirmissimo cuique ex familia: ipsi hebent; mira diversitate naturae, cum iidem homines sic ament inertiam et oderint quietem. (mira diversitate naturae, cum iidem homines sic ament inertiam et oderint quietem: abl. abs. with dependent cum clause: ‘[this being] a remarkable incongruity of nature, considering that the same men love indolence so much and hate peace’. cum is causal as shown by the use of present subjunctive; oderint, from odi, odisse, has present force.) Mos est civitatibus (mos est civitatibus: civitatibus is dat. of possessor with est: ‘the tribes have the custom to …’) ultro ac viritim (ultro ac viritim: on a voluntary and individual basis) conferre principibus vel armentorum vel frugum, (armentorum vel frugum: partitive genitives, here strangely without a preceding neuter noun or pronoun indicative of quantity) quod pro honore acceptum, etiam necessitatibus subvenit. Gaudent praecipue finitimarum gentium donis, (gaudent … donis: abl. with gaudeo.) quae non modo a singulis, sed publice mittuntur: electi equi, magna arma, phalerae, torquesque. (magna arma, phalerae, torquesque: magna arma is usually interpreted as ‘splendid arms’ or equivalent, but may also mean large shields or body armor and heavy offensive weapons; phalerae are embossed metal disks used to reinforce breastplates or as decorations that were greatly favored in the Roman army; torques are collars of twisted metal worn by soldiers.) Jam et pecuniam (pecuniam: not necessarily as an instrument of trade, but rather in the form of bribes and payoffs to turbulent tribes, for instance as incentives for abstaining from irruptions into the empire, a problem that was becoming more serious with time and eventually led to the collapse of the empire.) accipere docuimus.