LIX.
Iulius deinde Civilis (Civilis: will loom large later in Book 4 and 5 of the Histories as the leader of a dangerous revolt.) periculo exemptus, (periculo exemptus: Civilis had supposedly backed Vindex, therefore he was indirectly on Galba’s side; the army of Germany, which had fought Vindex, hated Civilis as one of the ‘Galbians’.) praepotens inter Batavos, (inter Batavos: in the main, the Batavi inhabited an island (insula Batavorum) between the Maas or Meuse and the Waal in the Rhein delta.) ne supplicio eius erox gens alienaretur. et (et: ‘in addition’) erant in civitate Lingonum octo Batavorum cohortes, quartae decimae legionis auxilia, tum discordia temporum a legione digressae, prout inclinassent, grande momentum sociae aut adversae. (prout inclinassent, grande momentum sociae aut adversae: prout introduces a clause of conditional sense; the plup. inclinassent stresses potential in the past: ‘according to whether they might have inclined [one way or the other], as allies or enemies they had great importance’.) Nonium, Donatium, Romilium, Calpurnium centuriones, de quibus supra rettulimus, (supra rettulimus: in ch. 56) occidi iussit, (centurions … occidi iussit: followed by infinitive, iubeo prefers a passive construction underlining the subject of the infinitive) damnatos fidei crimine, gravissimo inter desciscentis. accessere partibus Valerius Asiaticus, Belgicae provinciae legatus, quem mox Vitellius generum adscivit, et Iunius Blaesus, Lugdunensis Galliae rector, (Belgicae provinciae … Lugdunensis Galliae: Gaul was divided into four provinces: Gallia Belgica, Gallia Lugdunensis, Gallia Narbonensis, and Aquitania; the first two occupied the northern and central part respectively.) cum Italica legione e ala Tauriana (ala Tauriana: cavalry units were identified by names derived from different sources, such as the name of the commander who had first organised the unit, the people supplying the manpower, an emperor, etc. Here Taurina may be from a man named Taurus or from Tauri, a people of northern Crimea.) Lugduni tendentibus. (tendentibus: ‘camping under tents’) nec (in Raeticis copiis: Raetia was the province comprising Tyrol and parts of Bavaria and Switzerland) mora quo minus statim adiungerentur: (nec … mora quo minus statim adiungerentur: ‘there was no delay to keep them from joining’, lit. ‘nor was there delay, that thereby the less they should join’; quo minus or quominus introduces a subjunctive clause after verbs or other words of preventing, hindering, delaying.) ne in Britannia quidem dubitatum.