XXI.
Civilis adventu veteranarum cohortium iusti iam exercitus ductor, sed consilii ambiguus (iusti iam exercitus ductor, sed consilii ambiguous: ‘he was the leader of a real army, but undecided of the course [to take].’ consilii ambiguus: genitive of specification with adjectives; cf. A.G. 349, d.) et vim Romanam reputans, cunctos qui aderant in verba Vespasiani adigit mittitque legatos ad duas legiones, quae priore acie pulsae in Vetera castra concesserant, (duas legions, quae priore acie pulsae in Vetera castra concesserant: ‘the two legions which had retreated to the camp at Vetera, after the previous battle’; cf. ch. 18.) ut idem sacramentum acciperent. redditur responsum: neque proditoris neque hostium se consiliis uti; esse sibi Vitellium principem, (esse sibi Vitellium principem: ‘that they [already] had an emperor, Vitellius’; sibi id dat. of possessor with esse.) pro quo fidem et arma usque ad supremum spiritum retenturos: proinde perfuga Batavus arbitrium rerum Romanarum ne ageret, sed meritas sceleris poenas expectaret. (ne ageret, … expectaret: respectively negative and positive command in indir. discourse, ‘let him not act’ and ‘let him expect’; they correspond to ne agat and expectet of the answer given to the envoys.) quae ubi relata Civili, incensus ira universam Batavorum gentem in arma rapit; iunguntur Bructeri Tencterique (Bructeri Tencterique: the Bructeri in the north and the Tencteri in the south occupied the region beteen the Rhine, the Ruhr, the Lippe, and the Ems, approximately from Koln to Munster. ) et excita nuntiis Germania ad praedam famamque.