XI.
Laeta interim Othoni principia belli, motis ad imperium eius e Dalmatia Pannoniaque exercitibus. (motis ad imperium eius e Dalmatia Pannoniaque exercitibus: abl. abs., ‘the armies from Dalmatia and Pannonia having been set in motion at his command’; the personal pronoun eius, ‘of him’, and not the possessive suum is used in that Otho is not the subject in the sentence.) fuere quattuor legiones, e quibus bina milia praemissa; ipsae modicis intervallis sequebantur, septima a Galba conscripta, veteranae undecima ac tertia decima et praecipui fama quartadecumani, rebellione Britanniae compressa.(rebellione Britanniae compressa: in 61 A.D.; cf. Agricola 15-17, Annals XIV, 29 ff.) addiderat gloriam Nero eligendo ut potissimos, unde longa illis erga Neronem fides et erecta in Othonem studia. (erecta in Othonem studia: ‘their goodwill towards Otho was solid.’) sed quo plus virium ac roboris e fiducia tarditas inerat. (sed quo plus virium ac roboris e fiducia tarditas inerat: ‘but, by the very fact they possessed more strength and pluck, they had also a restiveness born of overconfidence’. The correlative adverb quo + comparative is usually, but not always, balanced by eo or hoc + comparative in the main clause of a comparative sentence; cf. A.G. 414; virium ac roboris is partitive gen. after the neuter plus, as is gladiatorum and consiliorum after the neuter milia and prima respectively in the next sentences.) agmen legionum alae cohortesque praeveniebant; et ex ipsa urbe haud spernenda manus, quinque praetoriae cohortes et equitum vexilla cum legione prima, ac deforme insuper auxilium, duo milia gladiatorum, sed per civilia arma etiam severis ducibus usurpatum. his copiis rector additus Annius Gallus, (Annius Gallus: cf. Book 1, ch. 87.) cum Vestricio Spurinna ad occupandas Padi ripas praemissus, quoniam prima consiliorum (prima consiliorum: ‘the initial stages of the war plan’) frustra ceciderant, transgresso iam Alpis Caecina, quem sisti intra Gallias posse speraverat. ipsum Othonem comitabantur speculatorum lecta corpora cum ceteris praetoriis cohortibus, veterani e praetorio, classicorum ingens numerus. nec illi segne aut corruptum luxu iter, sed lorica ferrea usus est et ante signa pedes ire, (ante signa pedes ire: lit. ‘his feet went before the standards’; ire is infinitive of narration.) horridus, incomptus famaeque dissimilis.