XII.
Blandiebatur coeptis fortuna, (blandiebatur coeptis fortuna: ‘fortune was favoring his projects’; blandior requires dative.) possessa per mare et navis maiore Italiae parte penitus usque ad (penitus usque ad: ‘right up to’, ‘far into’) initium maritimarum Alpium, (maritimarum Alpium: Alpes maritimae can be both the Maritime Alps and the southernmost of three small provinces or administrative districts between France and Switzerland on one side and Italy on the other, the other two being, from south to north, the Cottian Alps and the Pennine Alps; cf. also Book 1, ch. 61.) quibus temptandis adgrediendaeque provinciae Narbonensi Suedium Clementem, Antonium Novellum, Aemilium Pacensem duces dederat. (quibus temptandis adgrediendaeque provinciae Narbonensi … duces dederat: quibus temptandis adgrediendaeque provinciae Narbonensi is dative of purpose with gerundive construction, in place of ad + acc. gerundive; lit. ‘for which [Alps] to be crossed and for the Narbonense province to be attacked he gave as leaders …’. Gallia Narbonensis was the Roman province in SE France, west of the three Alpine regions mentioned above. For the three commanders mentioned at this point cf. Book 1, ch. 87.) sed Pacensis per licentiam militum vinctus, Antonio Novello nulla auctoritas: Suedius Clemens ambitioso imperio (ambitioso imperio: the phrase occurs also in Book 1, ch. 83, with much the same sense.) regebat, ut adversus modestiam disciplinae corruptus, ita proeliorum avidus. (ut adversus modestiam disciplinae corruptus, ita proeliorum avidus: ut …ita are the particles introducing the two parts of a comparison: ‘as negligent in regard to the dignity of discipline, as [he was] greedy for combat’; adversus or adversum is here prep. with acc.; see also adversum metus below.) non Italia adiri nec loca sedesque patriae videbantur: (non Italia adiri nec loca sedesque patriae videbantur: lit. ‘not Italy, not the land and the dwelling-places of the native country seemed it was being marched through’. Freely: ‘it did not seem it was Italy, the land and dwelling-places of their own country, that this army was marching through’; videor can be found followed by simple infinitive, here adiri, which is impersonal use of passive.) tamquam (tamquam: ‘just as if [they were] …’; the verb is understood.) externa litora et urbes hostium urere, vastare, rapere (urere, vastare, rapere: infinitives of narration) eo atrocius quod nihil usquam provisum adversum metus. (eo atrocius quod nihil usquam provisum adversum metus: ‘all the more shocking in that nothing had been prepared against the dangers’. For use of eo + comparative cf. A.G. 414, Note.) pleni agri, apertae domus; occursantes domini iuxta coniuges et liberos securitate pacis et belli malo circumveniebantur. (occursantes domini iuxta coniuges et liberos securitate pacis et belli malo circumveniebantur: ‘the heads of families, their spouses and children at their side, hurrying forth [to meet the soldiers] in the safety of peace, found themselves surrounded by the evils of war’.) maritimas tum Alpis tenebat procurator Marius Maturus. is concita gente (nec deest iuventus) arcere provinciae finibus Othonianos intendit: sed primo impetu caesi disiectique montani, ut quibus temere collectis, non castra, non ducem noscitantibus, neque in victoria decus esset neque in fuga flagitium. (ut quibus temere collectis, non castra, non ducem noscitantibus, neque in victoria decus esset neque in fuga flagitium: the subjects of the ut clause are decus and flagitium: ‘since there was no glory in victory nor shame in defeat for men hastily brought together, unfamiliar with army camps and commanding officers’; ut quibus …esset: ut reinforces the causal sense that qui, or forms thereof, may have when introducing an explanatory rel. clause of characteristic. In such cases the mood is subjunctive. Cf. G. 626, R., N. and B. 283, 3.)