VI
Ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telorum colligitur. Rari gladiis aut majoribus lanceis (majoribus lanceis: an example would be the incredibly long lances of the Macedonian phalanx of Alexander the Great) utuntur: hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas gerunt, (hastas, vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas gerunt: ‘they carry spears, or frameas from their own word’.) angusto et brevi ferro sed ita acri et ad usum habili, ut eodem telo, prout ratio poscit, vel cominus vel eminus pugnent: (ita acri …, ut …, prout ratio poscit, … pugnent: the pair ita …ut ushers in a consecutive clause that commands subjunctive; on the other hand, prout (‘according as …’, ‘in the measure that …’) is consistently found with the indicative. Another example of consecutive or result clause is found below: ita …ut nemo posterior sit) et eques quidem scuto frameaque contentus est: pedites et missilia spargunt, plura singuli, atque in immensum vibrant, nudi aut sagulo leves. (nudi aut sagulo leves: nudi need not be taken literally; it usually means ‘without a garment from the waist up’; sagulum is diminutive of sagum, a short , coarse cloak or cape) Nulla cultus jactatio; (nulla cultus jactatio: ‘no ostentation of elegance’) scuta tantum lectissimis coloribus distinguunt: paucis loricae: vix uni alterive cassis aut galea. (vix uni alterive cassis aut galea: uni and alteri are dat. of possessor with implied est: ‘hardly one or another (i.e. ‘hardly one or two’) have a helmet, whether metal or leather’.) Equi non forma, non velocitate conspicui: sed nec variare gyros (variare gyros: ‘to execute various circling or wheeling movements’) in morem nostrum docentur. In rectum, aut uno flexu dextros agunt ita conjuncto orbe, (in rectum, aut uno flexu dextros [equos] agunt … conjuncto orbe: dextros is adj. modifying an implied equos, direct object of agunt: lit ‘they ride their horses in a straight line or to the right (dextros) with a single turn in a close-knit unit’. A turn to the right was always preferred in that the left side of the rider was protected by the shield while executing the turn.) ut nemo posterior sit. In universum aestimanti, plus penes peditem roboris: (in universum aestimanti, plus penes peditem roboris: ‘to anyone making a general assessment, more of the strength is on the side of the infantry’; roboris is partitive genitive after the the neuter plus. ) eoque mixti proeliantur, apta et congruente ad equestrem pugnam velocitate peditum, (apta et congruente ad equestrem pugnam velocitate peditum: abl. abs.: ‘the speed of the foot soldiers being adapted to correspond to a cavalry engagement’; a detail description of this kind of fighting is given in Caesar’s De Bello Gallico, Book 1, ch. 48.) quos ex omni juventute delectos ante aciem locant. Definitur et numerus: centeni ex singulis pagis sunt: (centeni ex singulis pagis sunt: ‘a group of one hundred from each district’; distributive numerals like centeni are always plural and mean ‘so many for each’ or ‘so many at a time’; pagi are the districts into which the territory occupied by a tribe or nation is divided. A pagus in turn comprises various townships or municipalities called vici.) idque ipsum (id ipsum: ‘this same number’, i.e. one hundred) inter suos vocantur; et quod primo numerus fuit, jam nomen et honor (nomen et honor: hendiadys, ‘an honorific title’) est. Acies per cuneos (per cuneos: in Tacitus cunei does not necessarily refer to the arrangement of troops in the shape of a wedge. It may also apply to other kinds of formations, such as in column or in line.) componitur. Cedere loco, (cedere loco: ‘to fall back from one’s position’) dummodo rursus instes, (dummodo rursus instes: dummodo is found only twice in Tacitus’s works (Furneaux) in lieu of dum to introduce a proviso with the subjunctive; instes is use of the second person singular as an indefinite subject, a construction present in English also.) consilii quam formidinis arbitrantur. (consilii quam formidinis arbitrantur: consilii and formidinis are genitives of quality.) Corpora suorum etiam in dubiis proeliis referunt. Scutum reliquisse, (reliquisse: good example of an infinitive (here perfect) used as subject of a sentence; other examples are adesse and inire below) praecipuum flagitium; nec aut sacris (sacris: dative with adsum) adesse, aut concilium inire, ignominioso fas; multique superstites bellorum infamiam laqueo finierunt. (laqueo finierunt: ‘ended their lives with a noose’; finierunt is a variation of finiverunt or of finiere.)