XLI.
Missis ad Vitellium litteris auxilium postulat. venere tres cohortes cum ala Britannica, neque ad fallendum aptus numerus neque ad penetrandum. (neque ad fallendum aptus numerus neque ad penetrandum: ‘a number suited neither to deceive nor to break through’; acc. gerund with ad is one way to express purpose.) sed Valens ne in tanto quidem discrimine infamia caruit, quo minus rapere inlicitas voluptates adulteriisque ac stupris polluere hospitum domus crederetur: (Valens ne in tanto quidem discrimine infamia caruit, quo minus rapere inlicitas voluptates adulteriisque ac stupris polluere hospitum domus crederetur: lit. ‘Valens was not [so] exempt from infamy that for this reason the less (quo minus = ut eo minus) he should be believed that he grabbed forbidden pleasures and polluted with adulteries and rapes the homes of his hosts’. Freely: ‘Valens was not so free from infamy that we shoud believe he did not …’. For previous evidence of Valens’ self-indulgence, see Book 1, ch. 66. quo minus or quominus introduces a purpose clause in place of ut aftter a negative main clause expressive of doubt, prevention, refusal, want, hindrance, and the like.) aderant vis et pecunia et ruentis fortunae novissima libido. adventu demum (adventu demum: ‘with the arrival at last of …’) peditum equitumque pravitas consilii patuit, quia nec vadere per hostis tam parva manu poterat, etiam si fidissima foret, (etiam si fidissima foret: imperfect subjunctive for unreal condition; for example of similar use of plup. subjunctive after si, cf. si provenisset below.) nec integram fidem attulerant; (quia nec … poterat, … nec … attulerant: quia is normally with indicative.) pudor tamen et praesentis ducis reverentia morabatur, haud diuturna vincla apud pavidos periculorum et dedecoris securos. eo metu (eo metu: ‘because of that mistrust’) cohortis Ariminum (Ariminum: modern Rimini, below Ravenna and above Pesaro on Italy’s Adriatic coast) praemittit, alam tueri terga iubet: ipse paucis, quos adversa non mutaverant, comitantibus flexit in Vmbriam atque inde Etruriam, (Vmbriam …Etruriam: Umbria is an ancient region of central-north Italy partly along the Adriatic coast, east of Etruria an south of the Po valley. Today Umbria is part of central Italy and has no longer access to the sea. Etruria is now known as Tuscany.) ubi cognito pugnae Cremonensis eventu non ignavum et, si provenisset, atrox consilium iniit, ut arreptis navibus in quamcumque partem Narbonensis provinciae (Narbonensis provinciae: also called Gallia Transalpina, a Roman province in what is today Languedoc and Provence in southern France. Romans referred to it simply as Provincia, a name which in the course of time became Provence.) egressus Gallias et exercitus et Germaniae gentis novumque bellum cieret.