VIII
Memoriae proditur, (memoriae proditur: ‘it is transmitted to memory’; proditur is impersonal use of the passive.) quasdam acies, inclinatas jam et labantes, a feminis restitutas, constantia precum et objectu pectorum et monstrata cominus captivitate, quam longe impatientius feminarum suarum nomine timent: (quam longe impatientius feminarum suarum nomine timent: quam refers to captivitate: ‘which they dread more unendurably by far on account of their women’; nomine is abl of cause. ) adeo ut efficacius obligentur animi civitatum, quibus inter obsides puellae quoque nobiles imperantur. (adeo ut efficacius obligentur animi civitatum, quibus inter obsides puellae quoque nobiles imperantur: adeo ut: adeo modifies the preceding pavent, the main verb of a consecutive sentence, ut introduces the dependent clause in the subjunctive: ‘so much [they dread the capture of the women], that the cooperation of those tribes, to which (quibus) also noble maidens are imposed among the hostages, is secured more effectively’. quibus is dative with the intrans. imperantur.) Inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant: (inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant: quin etiam: ‘nay, …even’: ‘nay, they even believe that something sacred and prophetic is innate [in women]’.) nec aut consilia earum aspernantur, aut responsa negligunt. Vidimus sub divo Vespasiano Veledam diu apud plerosque numinis loco habitam. (numinis loco habitam: ‘regarded as a divinity’; loco: lit. ‘in the place of …’, i.e. ‘as if she were’) Sed et (sed et: elliptic for non solum …sed et; Tacitus delights in tight prose, the tighter the better.) olim Auriniam (Auriniam: only a guess, the word in the original text being meaningless. Other names have been suggested.) et complures alias venerati sunt non adulatione, (adulatione: abl. of cause) nec tanquam facerent deas. (nec tanquam facerent deas: very often in Tacitus tanquam is used with the subjunctive to give a supposed reason: ‘not as if they intended to make goddesses’. A poke in the ribs at the Romans for deifying even women that had no special gifts, like Drusilla, Caligula’s sister, and both Nero’s wife Poppaea and her daughter.)