XXX
Ultra hos (hos: refers to the inhabitants of the Decumate fields and perhaps also to the preceding Mattiaci in the last chapter.) Chatti initium sedis ab Hercynio saltu inchoant, (Chatti initium sedis ab Hercynio saltu inchoant: for the Chatti cf. note in previous chapter; for the Hercynian forest see ch. 28. The part of the forest referred to here would be north of the Main river and below Kassel. Lit. ‘the Chatti begin the beginning of their settlement from …’: perhaps the Romans did not find pleonasms like this as objectionable as we do, for they occur a few times in Livy and more than once in Tacitus (e.g, initio orto in Historiae, Book 1, ch. 39). They may be comparable to their use of two synonymous nouns in hendiadys.) non ita effusis ac palustribus locis ut ceterae civitates, in quas Germania patescit; durant siquidem colles, paulatim rarescunt, (durant siquidem colles, paulatim rarescunt: ‘for the chains of hills continue unbroken, [then] gradually become less frequent’. siquidem (‘inasmuch as’) here gives a reason for the preceding statement. Some translators place siquidem with rarescunt, with the sense of ‘even if’ to give: ‘the hills persist without a break, even if eventually they space themselves out’.) et Chattos suos saltus Hercynius prosequitur simul atque deponit. (Chattos suos saltus Hercynius prosequitur simul atque deponit: the forest becomes personified as a mother and the Chatti as her children. Tacitus may be saying here that the territory of the Chatti ends where the northern plains of Germany begin. That is not the case: the Chatti were considerably farther south.) Duriora genti corpora, stricti artus, minax vultus et major animi vigor. Multum, ut inter Germanos, (ut inter Germanos: ‘ to the extent this can be true among the Germans’, ‘as the standard is among the Germans’; ut puts a limit to the preceding multum.) rationis ac solertiae: praeponere electos, audire praepositos, nosse ordines, intelligere occasiones, differre impetus, disponere diem, vallare noctem, fortunam inter dubia, virtutem inter certa numerare: quodque rarissimum nec nisi Romanae disciplinae concessum, (quod …nec nisi Romanae disciplinae concessum: nec nisi means ‘only’: ‘which is given only to Roman discipline to attain’; in some texts ratione (‘by a system [of discipline]’.) is found in place of Romanae.) plus reponere (multum … rationis ac solertiae: praeponere … audire … nosse … intelligere … differre … disponere … vallare … numerare … reponere: rationis and solertiae (or sollertiae) are partitive genitive after the neuter multum; the nine infinitives that follow are epexegetic: they explain multum rationis ac sollertiae of which they are nominative appositions; the absence of subjects centers the attention on the action itself (cf. L. 1537.) nosse in an alternate form of novisse.) in duce, quam exercitu. (plus reponere in duce, quam exercitu: best exprerssed by the Latin adage tanti exercitus quanti imperator, ‘an army is only as good as its general’.) Omne robur in pedite, quem, super arma, ferramentis quoque et copiis onerant. Alios ad proelium ire videas, (videas: use of the indefinite second person singular with potential subjunctive, a usage also current in English, ‘you may see …’.) Chattos ad bellum. Rari excursus et fortuita pugna; equestrium sane virium id proprium, cito parare victoriam, cito cedere: velocitas juxta formidinem, cunctatio propior constantiae est.