XVI
Nullas Germanorum populis (populis: dative of agent with the passive habitari; poets and later prose writers frequently use this dative with almost any passive verbs. Cf. A.G. 374, 375.) urbes habitari, satis notum est: ne pati quidem inter se junctas sedes. Colunt discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus placuit. (colunt discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus placuit: the ut clause is explanatory, in that it enlarges on discreti and diversi and explains why Germans opt to live separate and isolated, depending on their preference for certain locations. See also G. 557 and L. 1940.) Vicos locant, non in nostrum morem, connexis et cohaerentibus aedificiis: suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive adversus casus ignis remedium, sive inscitia aedificandi. (sive adversus casus ignis remedium, sive inscitia aedificandi: adversus is preposition with acc.: ‘either as precaution against chances of fire or through ignorance of the science of building’; aedificandi is genitive gerund with inscitia, the noun it complements.) Ne caementorum quidem apud illos aut tegularum (caementorum … tegularum: caementum is gravel, a mix of pebbles, small stones, and sand to make concrete; tegulae are tiles, thin slabs of baked clay, flat or curved, used in construction, especially as roof covers.) usus: materia ad omnia utuntur informi et citra speciem aut delectationem. (citra speciem aut delectationem: lit. ‘on this side of beauty and grace’, ‘short of …’, i.e. ‘without …’) Quaedam loca diligentius illinunt terra ita pura ac splendente, ut picturam ac lineamenta colorum imitetur. (illinunt … ita …, ut picturam ac lineamenta colorum imitetur: consecutive or result sentence, ita + indicative introducing the main clause, ut + subjunctive the result clause: ‘they coat in such a way that it imitates paint and the dashes of color’. The sense is somewhat uncertain, as picturam and lineamenta colorum are too vague to warrant one interpretation only.) Solent et subterraneos specus aperire, eosque multo insuper fimo onerant, suffugium hiemi et receptaculum frugibus: quia rigorem frigorum ejusmodi locis molliunt: (quia … molliunt: quia is regularly followed by indicative, and so is quod at the end of the chapter.) et, si quando hostis advenit, (si quando hostis advenit: si quando or even siquando: ‘if at any time …’ + indicative) aperta populatur, abdita autem et defossa (aperta … abdita … defossa: examples of adjectives and participles converted to plur. neuter nouns, ‘plains, hideouts, caverns’.) aut ignorantur, aut eo ipso (eo ipso: ‘for that very reason’) fallunt, quod quaerenda sunt.