XLII.
Attonitas subito terrore mentis falsum gaudium in languorem vertit, repertis qui descivisse a Vitellio exercitum ementirentur. (attonitas subito terrore mentis falsum gaudium in languorem vertit, repertis qui descivisse a Vitellio exercitum ementirentur: ’a false joy turned the minds, stunned by the sudden panic, to apathy, some men having been found who would pretend that the army had defected from Vitellius’; qui …ementirentur: subjunctive in rel. clause of characteristic with consecutive force: ‘men of such character that they would …’.) is rumor ab exploratoribus Vitellii dispersus, an in ipsa Othonis parte seu dolo seu forte surrexerit, parum compertum. (is rumor ab exploratoribus Vitellii dispersus, an in ipsa Othonis parte seu dolo seu forte surrexerit, parum compertum: ‘it was never determined whether the rumor was circulated by Vitellian spies or sprang up on the Othonian side, either from disloyalty or by chance’; parum compertum: ‘not sufficiently ascertained’. an: the particle introduces the second part of an alternative or disjunctive question, the first part having here no particle, such as utrum. Cf. A.G. 335, d.) omisso pugnae ardore Othoniani ultro (ultro: ‘even’, adv.) salutavere; et hostili murmure excepti, plerisque suorum ignaris quae causa salutandi, (plerisque suorum ignaris quae causa salutandi [esset]: abl. abs. with dependent indirect question: ‘most of the Othonians not knowing what the reason for the cheering was’; suorum and not eorum, since suorum refers to the subject of the sentence, Othoniani. One may also note that suorum, for the reason just given, violates the principle of total independence of the abl. abs. from the rest of the sentence; cf. G. 410, 3. causa salutandi: genitive gerund after causa or gratia expresses purpose.) metum proditionis fecere. (metum proditionis fecere: ‘experienced the fear of treason’.) tum incubuit hostium acies, integris ordinibus, robore et numero praestantior: Othoniani, quamquam dispersi, pauciores, fessi, proelium tamen acriter sumpsere. et per locos arboribus ac vineis impeditos non una pugnae facies: comminus eminus, catervis et cuneis concurrebant. in aggere viae (in aggere viae: on the raised portion of the Via Postumia, north of the Po river) conlato gradu (conlato gradu: lit. ‘their [relative] position being brought together with hostile intent’; freely ‘at close quarters’; gradum or pedes or vestigium conferre is to fight hand-to-hand.) corporibus et umbonibus niti, (corporibus et umbonibus niti: niti, from nitor, is hist. infinitive, as is perrumpere next: ‘they strove with their bodies and shields’.) omisso pilorum iactu (omisso pilorum iactu: ‘the throwing of javelins being dispensed with’) gladiis et securibus galeas loricasque perrumpere: noscentes inter se, (noscentes inter se: a participle in Latin may often take the place of a subordinate clause: here the sense of noscentes inter se is concessive, ‘even though they knew one another, they …’; cf A.G. 496.) ceteris conspicui, in eventum totius belli certabant. (in eventum totius belli certabant: ‘they fought for the resolution of the entire war’; in + acc. noun can denote purpose.)