XLIV.
Et media acie perrupta fugere passim (passim: ‘dispersedly’, ‘without order’) Othoniani, Bedriacum petentes. immensum id spatium, (immensum id spatium: how far was the battlefield from the Othonian camp near Bedriacum? Based on the little Tacitus says in ch. 39 and 40, the battlefield may have been about 4 miles east of Cremona and the camp 15-18 miles east of there. But can Tacitus be trusted after stating in ch. 40 that the distance between Bedriacum and the confluence of the Po and Adda rivers (7 miles west of Cremona) was 16 Roman miles, when in fact it is twice that, a discrepancy that resists explanation.) obstructae strage corporum viae, quo plus caedis fuit; neque enim civilibus bellis capti in praedam vertuntur. (neque enim civilibus bellis capti in praedam vertuntur: prisoners captured in civil wars could not be sold as slaves. The historian Dio Cassius puts the number of dead in the battle at 40,000.) Suetonius Paulinus et Licinius Proculus diversis itineribus castra vitavere. Vedium Aquilam tertiae decimae legionis legatum irae militum inconsultus pavor obtulit. multo adhuc die (multo adhuc die: ‘much day being still [left]) vallum ingressus clamore seditiosorum et fugacium (seditiosorum et fugacium: hendiadys, ‘of seditious fugitives’) circumstrepitur; non probris, non manibus abstinent; desertorem proditoremque increpant, nullo proprio crimine eius sed more vulgi suum quisque flagitium aliis obiectantes. (nullo proprio crimine eius sed more vulgi suum quisque flagitium aliis obiectantes: ‘ not because of any crime of his but in keeping with the habit of mobs always imputing to others their own dishonor’. suum quisque flagitium aliis objectantes: ‘each laying to the charge of others his own shame’. eius …suum: the possessive suus can only be used if it applies to the subject of the clause, the demonstrative eius if it does not; see also suismet caedibus below.) Titianum et Celsum nox iuvit, dispositis iam excubiis conpressisque militibus, (dispositis iam excubiis conpressisque militibus: abl. abs., ‘sentinels having already being posted and the soldiers brought to order’.) quos Annius Gallus (Annius Gallus: during the battle he had stayed back in charge of the camp, thus he escaped blame for the defeat.) consilio precibus auctoritate flexerat, ne super cladem adversae pugnae suismet ipsi caedibus saevirent: (ne super cladem adversae pugnae suismet ipsi caedibus saevirent: example of hortatory subjunctive in indirect speech: lit. ‘that they themselves should not act savagely with their own killings on top of the horrors of a lost battle’. Cf. A.G. 439. The enciclic –met after suis adds emphasis.) sive finis bello venisset seu resumere arma mallent, (sive finis bello venisset seu resumere arma mallent: ‘whether the end of the war had already come [for them] or whether they preferred to take up arms again, …’; sive …seu: introduces a double or alternate condition; it is found in poetry or later writer in place of sive …sive or seu …seu. Cf. A.G. 525, c.) unicum victis in consensu levamentum. ceteris fractus animus: (ceteris fractus animus [erat]: ‘the morale of the rest of the troops was broken’; ceteris is dat. of possessor with implied erat.) praetorianus miles non virtute se (se: the reflexive pronoun se is acc. subject of the infinitive clause and refers to the subject of the verb of saying, fremebant.) sed proditione victum fremebat: ne Vitellianis quidem incruentam fuisse victoriam, pulso equite, rapta legionis aquila; superesse cum ipso Othone militum quod trans Padum fuerit, (militum quod trans Padum fuerit: order: quod militum trans Padum fuerit; militum is partitive gen. after the neuter quod.; fuerit: perfect subjunctive even though the tense of the verb of saying, fremebat, is historical, a case of repraesentatio. Cf. A.G. 585, b.) venire Moesicas legiones, magnam exercitus partem Bedriaci remansisse: hos certe nondum victos et, si ita ferret, (si [res] ita ferret: ‘if that were to be’, imperfect subjunctive with ideal condition when the point oview is in the past; cf. G. 596, 2.) honestius in acie perituros. his cogitationibus truces aut pavidi extrema desperatione ad iram saepius quam in formidinem stimulabantur. (his cogitationibus truces aut pavidi extrema desperatione ad iram saepius quam in formidinem stimulabantur: lit. ‘defiant or timorous on account of these reflections, in their state of despair they were more often roused to anger than cowed by fear’.)