XXIII.
Spurinna comperto itinere hostium defensam Placentiam, quaeque acta et quid Caecina pararet, (quaeque acta et quid Caecina pararet: indirect question) Annium Gallum (Annium Gallum: cf. ch. 11.) per litteras docet. Gallus legionem primam in auxilium Placentiae ducebat, diffisus paucitati cohortium, ne longius obsidium et vim Germanici exercitus parum tolerarent. (diffisus paucitati cohortium, ne longius obsidium et vim Germanici exercitus parum tolerarent: ‘not trusting to the fewness of the cohorts, lest they did not sustain too long, unaided, the siege and might of the German army’; diffisus …ne tolerarent: the verb diffido, here followed by ne + subjunctive, is deponent in perfect tenses, so diffisus is passive in form but active in sense, ‘having mistrusted’. parum: here adverb, ‘alone’, ‘without assistance’. ) ubi pulsum Caecinam pergere Cremonam accepit, aegre coercitam legionem et pugnandi ardore usque ad seditionem progressam Bedriaci (Bedriaci: example of locative case; see G. 35, f. The village of Bedriacum was between Mantova and Verona, near the present village of Calvatone, but some researchers put the place south of Calvatone at Tornata. Gallus was coming from Verona where he had left two praetorian cohorts and the cavalry.) sistit. (legionem … Bedriaci sistit: ‘he brought the legion to a halt at Bedriacum’.) inter Veronam Cremonamque situs est vicus, duabus iam Romanis cladibus notus infaustusque. (vicus, duabus iam Romanis cladibus notus infaustusque: ‘a hamlet later unhappily notorious for two Roman disasters’; notus infaustusque is hendiadys. Both Otho and Vitellius were defeated at Bedriacum in two separate battles; cf. Book 2, ch. 44 ff. and Book 3, ch. 15 ff. respectively. ) Isdem diebus a Martio Macro haud procul Cremona prospere pugnatum; (pugnatum [est]: impersonal use of the passive of an intransitive verb: ‘it was fought’) namque promptus animi Martius (promptus animi Martius: ‘Marius, a man of ready courage, …’. ) transvectos navibus gladiatores in adversam Padi ripam repente effudit. turbata ibi Vitellianorum auxilia, et ceteris Cremonam fugientibus caesi qui restiterant: sed repressus vincentium impetus ne novis subsidiis firmati hostes fortunam proelii mutarent. (ne … mutarent: negative purpose clause) suspectum id Othonianis fuit, omnia ducum facta prave aestimantibus. (suspectum id Othonianis fuit, omnia ducum facta prave aestimantibus: ‘this, (Martius’ decision), was suspect to the Othonians troops, who interpreted all their leaders did in a negative way.’) certatim, ut quisque animo ignavus, procax ore, Annium Gallum et Suetonium Paulinum et Marium Celsum–nam eos quoque Otho praefecerat–variis criminibus incessebant. (certatim, ut quisque animo ignavus, procax ore … incessebant: lit. ‘all emulating one another, they abused [their commanders], each to the extent that he [was] vile in his heart and big with words’) acerrima seditionum ac discordiae incitamenta, interfectores Galbae scelere et metu vaecordes miscere cuncta, modo palam turbidis vocibus, modo occultis ad Othonem litteris; qui humillimo cuique credulus, (humillimo cuique credulous: humillimo cuique is dative with credulous, ‘willing to believe the lowest of men’) bonos metuens trepidabat, rebus prosperis incertus et inter adversa melior. igitur Titianum fratrem accitum bello praeposuit.