XXIV.
Flaccus interim cognito castrorum obsidio et missis per Gallias qui auxilia concirent, (qui auxilia concirent: ‘who would muster up auxiliaries’; subjunctive in rel. clause of final sense. Not the same as vinctosque [eos] qui attulerant at the end of the chapter, where the rel. clause does not express purpose, but merely explains the antecedent vinctos.) lectos e legionibus (e legionibus: two legions, the Twenty-second and the Fourth Macedonica) Dillio Voculae duoetvicensimae legionis legato tradit, ut quam maximis per ripam itineribus (quam maximis …itineribus: ‘by forced marches’) celeraret, ipse navibus (navibus: ‘with the fleet’) vectus invalidus corpore, (invalidus corpore: he was afflicted with gout; cf. Book 1, ch. 9.) invisus militibus. neque enim ambigue fremebant: emissas a Mogontiaco (emissas a Mogontiaco: cf. ch.15; the governor’s headquarters was at Magontiacum.) Batavorum cohortis, dissimulatos Civilis conatus, adsciri in societatem Germanos. (adsciri in societatem Germanos: ‘that the Germans were invited to join the alliance’; the verb is adscio or ascio.) non Primi Antonii neque Muciani ope Vespasianum magis adolevisse. aperta odia armaque palam depelli: fraudem et dolum obscura eoque inevitabilia. Civilem stare contra, struere aciem: Hordeonium e cubiculo et lectulo iubere quidquid hosti conducat. (conducat: repraesentatio for conduceret) tot armatas fortissimorum virorum manus unius senis valetudine regi: quin potius interfecto traditore (interfecto traditore: traditor, a word that in later Latin became synonymous with ‘traitor’ (proditor) and has survived unchanged in Italian, had the sense of ‘one who hands something over’, from the verb tradere. Flaccus was traditor in that he did nothing to prevent the Batavian cohorts from joining up with Civilis, in effect handing them over to him. See ch. 20.) fortunam virtutemque suam malo omine (malo omine: it has been noted that Flaccus’ name itself was ominous, suggesting flabbiness, feebleness, from the verb flaccere.) exolverent. (quin potius … fortunam virtutemque exolverent: ‘why should they not rather free their fortune and valor from …?’; quin potius expresses urging or encouragement in the form of a question; in direct discourse the prevailing mood is indicative (present or future) or hortatory subjunctive.) his inter se vocibus instinctos flammavere insuper (insuper: ‘further’) adlatae a Vespasiano litterae, quas Flaccus, quia occultari nequibant, pro contione recitavit, vinctosque qui attulerant ad Vitellium misit.