XXIII.
Pars castrorum in collem leniter exurgens, pars aequo adibatur. (pars aequo adibatur: ‘a part of the camp was approached from level ground.’) quippe illis hibernis obsideri premique Germanias Augustus crediderat, (quippe illis hibernis obsideri premique Germanias Augustus crediderat: ‘emperor Augustus obviously had believed that the [two] Germanies were kept under surveillance and control by that encampment’ Germanias refers to the Roman provinces west of the Rhine, Germania superior and Germania inferior.) neque umquam id malorum ut obpugnatum ultro legiones nostras venirent; (neque umquam id malorum ut obpugnatum ultro legiones nostras venirent: the sentence is elliptic: ‘and never [had he imagined] such calamity as that [the Germans] would come to attack our legions without provocation.’ ut …venirent: subjunctive in ut clause of consecutive sense. obpugnatum: use of acc. supine after a verb of motion to express purpose; id malorum: partitive genitive after the neuter id; ultro: here used as an intensive to stress the extremity of the occurrence.) inde non loco neque munimentis labor additus: vis et arma (vis et arma: hendiadys, ‘by force of arms’) satis placebant. Batavi Transrhenanique, (Transrhenani: i.e. the Frisii mentioned in ch. 15, the Bructeri and the Tencteri in ch. 21, plus perhaps other German tribes that had answered the call to arms.) quo discreta virtus manifestius spectaretur, sibi quaeque gens consistunt, eminus lacessentes. (quo discreta virtus manifestius spectaretur, sibi quaeque gens consistunt, eminus lacessentes: a sample of Tacitean conciseness: ‘so that their respective valor might be observed more clearly, each tribe took a stand for itself, initiating hostilities from a distance.’ quo replaces ut in a purpose clause whenever a comparative is present. sibi is reflexive indirect object with intransitive consisto; sibi quaeque gens consistunt: note the plural consistunt with the sing. quaeque gens. ) post (post: adverb, not prep.) ubi pleraque telorum turribus pinnisque moenium inrita haerebant et desuper saxis vulnerabantur, (ubi … haerebant … vulnerabantur: ubi is followed by imperf. indicative for ongoing action in the past.) clamore atque impetu invasere vallum, adpositis plerique scalis, alii per testudinem suorum; scandebantque iam quidam, (plerique … alii … scandebantque iam quidam: the three subjects plerique, alii, and quidam, have the same verb, scandebant: English prefers separate verbs of similar meaning.) cum gladiis et armorum incussu praecipitati (cum gladiis et armorum incussu praecipitati sudibus et pilis obruuntur: lit. ‘when, on being thrown down by the blows of swords and the shock of arms, they are overwhelmed by a hail of javelins and stakes.’ cum …obruuntur: if the tense is present , even historical present as here, temporal cum is followed by indicative. armorum: defensive weapons beside swords, such as shields, armor, clubs, axes, pikes, maces, etc.) sudibus et pilis obruuntur, praeferoces initio et rebus secundis nimii. (rebus secundis nimii: ‘made overconfident by success’) sed tum praedae cupidine adversa quoque tolerabant; machinas etiam, insolitum sibi, ausi. nec ulla ipsis sollertia: (machinas etiam, insolitum sibi, ausi. nec ulla ipsis sollertia: ‘they even risked engines of war without having any experience, being a new thing for them.’ insolitum sibi: sibi is dative with adjective; cf. A.G. 384-385. ipsis is dative of possessor with implied form of esse.) perfugae captivique docebant struere materias in modum pontis, mox subiectis rotis propellere, (perfugae captivique docebant struere materias in modum pontis, mox subiectis rotis propellere: ‘deserters and prisoners taught them to assemble lumber into a kind of a bridge, then push it forward on wheels installed underneath.’ subiectis rotis: ‘wheels having been placed undeneath’) ut alii superstantes tamquam ex aggere proeliarentur, pars intus occulti muros subruerent. (ut alii superstantes tamquam ex aggere proeliarentur, pars intus occulti muros subruerent: consecutive clause: ‘so that some standing on the top would fight as if from a ramp, and a group within would sap the walls’) sed excussa ballistis saxa stravere informe opus. et cratis vineasque parantibus adactae tormentis ardentes hastae, ultroque ipsi obpugnatores ignibus petebantur, (cratis vineasque parantibus adactae tormentis ardentes hastae, ultroque ipsi obpugnatores ignibus petebantur: ‘flaming spears [were] hurled with catapults at those preparing screens and mantlets, and the assaillants themselves were also struck with fire.’ parantibus is dative with adactae; cratis vineasque: crates can be various things: (a) gabions, i.e. wickerwork baskets to be filled with earth and serve as protective barriers; (b) faggots or fascines to fill the trench surrounding the rampart; (c) bundles of brushwood with which to set fire to the towers along the palisade topping the rampart. vineae are movable sheds on rollers to protect the besiegers while approaching the rampart.) donec desperata vi verterent consilium ad moras, (donec desperata vi verterent consilium ad moras: ‘until, force having been given up as useless, they changed their plans to waiting.’ donec …verterent: donec requires subjunctive when design or purpose is implied.) haud ignari paucorum dierum inesse alimenta et multum imbellis turbae; (multum imbellis turbae: partitive genitive after the neuter multum) simul ex inopia proditio et fluxa servitiorum fides ac fortuita belli sperabantur.