LIV.
Audita interim (interim: the narrative of Civilis’ revolt resumes from ch. 57. We are now in January of 70 A.D.) per Gallias Germaniasque mors Vitellii duplicaverat bellum. nam Civilis omissa dissimulatione in populum Romanum ruere, Vitellianae legiones vel externum servitium quam imperatorem Vespasianum malle. (vel externum servitium … malle: vel introduces a possibility normally thought inconceivable: ‘they preferred even foreign servitude to …’; malle, like ruere before, is historical infinitive. ) Galli sustulerant animos, eandem ubique exercituum nostrorum fortunam rati, vulgato rumore a Sarmatis Dacisque Moesica ac Pannonica hiberna circumsederi; (vulgato rumore a Sarmatis Dacisque Moesica ac Pannonica hiberna circumsederi: abl. abs.: ‘the rumor spreading that the winter quarters of Dacia and Pannonia were being laid siege to’: a reference to the events described in Book 3, ch. 46. The rumor was groundless: first, only Moesia was affected, second, Mucianus had dispersed the attackers. The Sarmatae were a nomadic people who migrated westward from areas beyond the Don river to the Roman regions of the Danube.The Dacians inhabited Dacia, the Roman province north of the Danube and of Moesia.) paria de Britannia fingebantur. sed nihil aeque quam incendium Capitolii, ut finem imperio adesse crederent, impulerat. (nihil aeque quam incendium Capitolii impulerat, ut finem imperio adesse crederent: ‘nothing so much as the burning of the Capitol had pushed them to believe that the end of the empire was near’. impulerat ut …crederent: pluperfect for action anterior to that of crederent, a case of cause before effect.) captam olim a Gallis urbem, sed integra Iovis sede (integra Iovis sede: abl abs. of causal sense) mansisse imperium: fatali nunc igne signum caelestis irae datum et possessionem rerum humanarum Transalpinis gentibus portendi superstitione vana Druidae canebant. (superstitione vana Druidae canebant: ‘in their vain beliefs the Druids kept chanting their prophcies’. The Druids were members of a religious order spread among the ancient Celts.They predicted the future, even using human sacrifices. They were repeatedly banned from the empire in that they preached freedom from Roman bondage and encouraged seditious activities.) incesseratque fama primores Galliarum ab Othone adversus Vitellium missos, antequam digrederentur, (antequam digrederentur: see note at the head of ch. 52.) pepigisse ne deessent libertati, si populum Romanum continua civilium bellorum series et interna mala fregissent. (incesserat fama primores Galliarum ab Othone adversus Vitellium missos, …pepigisse ne deessent libertati, si populum Romanum … mala fregissent: ‘a rumor had gone around that the Gallic chiefs, sent by Otho against Vitellius, had entered into an agreement not to fail the cause of liberty, in case ill fortune should break (lit. ‘should have broken’) the Roman people’. primores Galliarum …missos: as there is no mention of this mission elsewhere in Tacitus, the identity of these Gallic nobles is not clear, nor is clear where they took their oath. Were they residents in Rome, perhaps hostages or Gallic members of the Senate, who pledged themselves before their departure from the city, or were they Gallic chieftains summoned to Rome and swearing before leaving Gaul? pepigissent ne deessent …fregissent: pango may govern a ut or ne clause. The perfect infinitive pepigisse and the pluperfect fregissent, here both in indir. discourse, are for action preceding that of deessent; si …fregissent: potential or ideal condition in past time)