XXI.
Sed primus dies impetu magis quam veterani exercitus artibus transactus: aperti incautique muros subiere, cibo vinoque praegraves. in eo certamine pulcherrimum amphitheatri opus, situm extra muros, conflagravit, sive ab obpugnatoribus incensum, dum faces et glandis et missilem ignem in obsessos iaculantur, sive ab obsessis, dum regerunt. (dum … iaculantur, … dum regerunt: dum, with the sense of ‘while’, regularly takes present indicative.) municipale vulgus, pronum ad suspiciones, fraude inlata ignis alimenta credidit a quibusdam ex vicinis coloniis invidia et aemulatione, quod nulla in Italia moles tam capax foret. (quod nulla in Italia moles tam capax foret: ‘because no structure in Italy was so vast’; quod … foret: quod is followed by subjuctive in that the reason given is not Tacitus’, but the biased opinion of the townspeople; cf. quod …adloqueretur in previous chapter.) quocumque casu accidit, (quocumque casu accidit: ‘by whatever mischance it happened’) dum atrociora metuebantur, (dum …metuebantur: dum, with the sense of ‘as long as’ for coextensive action, may take any tense of the indicative; cf. G. 569.) in levi habitum, (in levi habitum: in levi haberi, ‘to be held of little importance’) reddita securitate, tamquam nihil gravius pati potuissent, (tamquam nihil gravius pati potuissent: lit. ‘as if nothing worse could have been possible to be suffered [by the town]’; for use of tamquam in conditional clauses of comparison cf. note for tamquam in insulam seponeretur, Book 1, ch. 46.) maerebant. ceterum (ceterum: an awkward adverb to accommodate in translation: Tacitus uses it frequently as a sort of connective when changing or resuming a subject, without significant contribution to meaning. Little is lost if ignored when no suitable English equivalent can be thought of. ) multo suorum cruore pulsus Caecina, et nox parandis operibus absumpta. Vitelliani pluteos cratisque et vineas (pluteos cratisque et vineas: plutei and crates were movable screens and hurdles, the first often on wheels, made of wickerwork or boards joined together; they protected the attackers during the approach to the walls; crates was also the term for fascines, used to fill in ditches. vineae were sheds on wheels, usually housing a battering ram or other means for undermining the walls. They protected the men inside while they pushed the machine right up to the walls and then while engaged in weakening them.) subfodiendis muris protegendisque obpugnatoribus, (subfodiendis muris protegendisque obpugnatoribus: example of dative gerundive to express purpose: lit. ‘for the walls to be undermined and for the attackers to be protected’; see also perfringendis obruendisque hostibus below. Such uses of the gerundive, rare in classical Latin which prefers ad + acc. gerundive, started with Livy then spread. Cf. G. 429.) Othoniani sudis et immensas lapidum ac plumbi aerisque molis perfringendis obruendisque hostibus expediunt. utrimque pudor, utrimque gloria et diversae exhortationes hinc legionum et Germanici exercitus robur, inde urbanae militiae et praetoriarum cohortium decus attollentium; (utrimque …diversae exhortations … attollentium hinc…inde …:’from this and that side [sounded] the contrasting exhortations of those extolling here the …, there the …’. ) illi ut segnem et desidem et circo ac theatris corruptum militem, hi peregrinum et externum increpabant. simul Othonem ac Vitellium celebrantes culpantesve uberioribus inter se probris quam laudibus stimulabantur.(simul Othonem ac Vitellium celebrantes culpantesve uberioribus inter se probris quam laudibus stimulabantur: lit. ‘the men lauding and abusing at the same time Otho and Vitellius were mutually stimulated by the insults more abundant than the praise. inter se: ‘among themselves’, ‘reciprocally’.)