XV.
Magno cum adsensu auditus (magno cum adsensu auditus: ‘listened to with great appoval’; magno cum adsensu is abl. of manner ) barbaro ritu et patriis execrationibus universos adigit. (barbaro ritu et patriis execrationibus universos adigit: ‘he bound all [to his cause] with barbarous rites and ancestral imprecatory formulas.’) missi ad Canninefatis qui consilia sociarent. (missi ad Canninefatis qui consilia sociarent: ‘envoys were sent to the Canninefates to make common cause.’ The rel. clause has final sense. The tribe inhabited the northern portion of the Insula Batavorum mentioned in ch. 12.) ea gens partem insulae colit, origine lingua virtute par Batavis; numero superantur. mox occultis nuntiis pellexit (pellexit: ‘seduced’, from pellicio) Britannica auxilia, Batavorum cohortis missas in Germaniam, ut supra rettulimus, (ut supra rettulimus: Book 2, ch. 69.) ac tum Mogontiaci agentis. (Mogontiaci agentis: ‘stationed at Mogontiacum’, modern Mainz, capital of Rhineland-Palatinate in SW central Germany, at the confluence of the Rhine and Main rivers.) erat in Canninefatibus stolidae audaciae (stolidae audaciae: genitive of quality) Brinno, claritate natalium insigni; (claritate natalium insigni: abl. of quality, ‘of great nobility of lineage’) pater eius multa hostilia ausus Gaianarum expeditionum ludibrium impune spreverat. (Gaianarum expeditionum ludibrium impune spreverat: ‘he had ridiculed with impunity the buffoonery of Gaius Caesar’s campaigns.’ Emperor Caligula went to Germany in 39 – 40 A.D. and tried to gain military renown by faking victory over the German tribes. The story is found in Suetonius’ Life of Caligula.) igitur ipso rebellis familiae nomine placuit impositusque scuto more gentis et sustinentium umeris vibratus dux deligitur. (igitur ipso rebellis familiae nomine placuit impositusque scuto more gentis et sustinentium umeris vibratus dux deligitur: ‘[Brinno], therefore, was popular (placuit) because of the reputation of his seditious family and upon being placed on a shield, after the custom of his nation, and rocked on the shoulders of the bearers, he was chosen leader.’ sustinentium: Tacitus is very partial to using present participles as nouns, though the usage is rarely found or is absent in classical prose. impositusque scuto: the custom was adopted by some of the later Roman emperors as part of the coronation ritual. deligitur: historical present.) statimque accitis Frisiis (Frisiis: living in Friesland in northern Holland, west of Groningen) (transrhenana gens est) duarum cohortium hiberna proxima +occupata+ Oceano inrumpit. (duarum cohortium hiberna proxima +occupata+ Oceano inrumpit: ‘he suddenly assaulted from the sea the winter quarters of the two nearest cohorts.’ occupata in the original text is considered a transcription error and a change to either occupatu (abl. supine with proxima) or occupatum (acc. supine with inrupit) has been suggested; the first would give ‘the nearest camp to be occupied (lit. ‘in the occupying’) the second ‘he broke into the camp to occupy it’, occupatum expressing purpose after a verb of motion. Cf. A.G. 509 and 510.) nec providerant impetum hostium milites, nec, si providissent, (si providissent: pluperf. subjunctive for contrary to fact condition in the past.) satis virium ad arcendum erat: capta igitur ac direpta castra. dein vagos et pacis modo effusos lixas negotiatoresque (lixas negotiatoresque: lixas are ‘sutlers’, ‘peddlers’, or ‘hucksters’; negotiatores are ‘traders’ or ‘merchants’ on a larger scale. ) Romanos invadunt. simul excidiis castellorum imminebant, quae a praefectis cohortium incensa sunt, quia defendi nequibant. signa vexillaque (signa vexillaque: signa are the emblems of the cohorts, vexilla of the smaller units, namely maniples and centuries. ) et quod militum in superiorem insulae partem congregantur, duce Aquilio primipilari, nomen magis exercitus quam robur: quippe viribus cohortium abductis Vitellius e proximis Nerviorum Tungrorumque pagis segnem numerum armis oneraverat. (Vitellius e proximis Nerviorum Tungrorumque pagis segnem numerum armis oneraverat: ‘Vitellius loaded with arms an idle throng from the nearest Nervian and Tungrian villages.’ The Nervii inhabited the district between Brussels and Namur in Belgium; the Tungri were farther east around Tongeren, near the Geman border.)