XXXV
Hactenus in Occidentem Germaniam novimus. (hactenus in Occidentem Germaniam novimus: perhaps the real sense is this: ‘up to now our Roman knowledge of Germany has been limited to the western parts; let us now pass to lesser known regions’. The plural novimus is not necessarily use of the ‘royal we’ (enallage or nosism), rather it expresses the partnership of author and readers in getting at the facts.) In Septentrionem ingenti flexu redit. (ingenti flexu redit: ‘it falls back [towards] the ocean with a giant swerve of the coastline’: flexus or sinus refers of course to the Danish peninsula or Jutland, although Tacitus may never have realised it was a peninsula, rather a western extension or bulge of the landmass of Europe.) Ac primo statim (ac primo statim: ‘and first immediately’) Chaucorum gens, (Chaucorum gens: they were settled between the North Sea and the Elbe river; the Weser river divided them into Minores and Maiores; Pliny the Elder gives a fascinating account of their ways of living in his Historia Naturalis.) quanquam incipiat a Frisiis ac partem littoris occupet, (quanquam incipiat … occupet: Tacitus almost regularly has concessive quanquam followed by subjunctive.) omnium, quas exposui, gentium lateribus obtenditur, (lateribus obtenditur: ‘spreads out as far as the flanks of …’: the passive of obtendo has middle sense and requires dative.) donec in Chattos usque sinuetur. (donec in Chattos usque sinuetur: ‘until it curves [southwards] as far as the Chatti’; present indicative is never found in Tacitus after donec; sinuetur: the passive of sinuo has middle sense.) Tam immensum terrarum spatium non tenent tantum Chauci, sed et implent: (non …tantum … sed et: ‘not only …but also’) populus inter Germanos nobilissimus, quique magnitudinem suam malit justitia tueri: (quique magnitudinem suam malit justitia tueri: ‘and who would prefer to protect their high standing through justice’: qui introduces a relative clause of chararacteristic with the force of talis ut; see note for quique terminus esse sufficiat in ch. 32.) sine cupiditate, sine impotentia, (impotentia: ‘lack of self-control’, ‘moral weakness’) quieti secretique, nulla provocant bella, nullis raptibus aut latrociniis populantur. Id praecipuum virtutis ac virium argumentum est, quod, ut superiores agant, non per injurias assequuntur. (quod, ut superiores agant, non per injurias assequuntur: ‘the fact that (quod) they succeed in achieving superiority without causing harm to others’; the verb assequor, in the sense of ‘to attain’, requires final ut + subjunctive.) Prompta tamen omnibus arma, ac, si res poscat, (si res poscat: subjunctive in conditional clause of type II (potential or ideal); cf. G. 594 and 596.) exercitus, (prompta tamen omnibus arma, ac … exercitus: both arma and exercitus are subject od an implied verb such as sunt: ‘yet to all men arms and armies are available on short notice’) plurimum virorum equorumque: et quiescentibus eadem fama. (quiescentibus eadem fama [est]: quiescentibus is dat. of possessor with implied est: ‘[the Chatti], though keeping the peace, have the same renown [as if they were active participants in a war]’.)