LXX.
Igitur non Treviri neque Lingones ceteraeve rebellium civitates pro magnitudine suscepti discriminis agere; (non Treviri neque Lingones ceteraeve rebellium civitates pro magnitudine suscepti discriminis agere: non …neque is in place of neque …neque for stylistc variety. ceteraeve: the enclitic –ve replaces aut. non … pro magnitudine suscepti discriminis agere: ‘did not act according to the gravity of the danger brought into existence’; agere is historical infinitive. ) ne duces quidem in unum consulere, (ne duces quidem in unum consulere: in unum, or in commune, or in medium cosulere: idiom, ‘to consult together for the common good’) sed Civilis avia Belgarum (avia Belgarum: ‘the pathless expanses of the Belgae’, probably the marshes near the mouth of the river Scheldt) circumibat, dum Claudium Labeonem capere aut exturbare nititur; (dum Claudium Labeonem capere aut exturbare nititur: dum …nititur: dum to express contemporaneity is followed by present indicative; for Claudius Labeo see ch. 66.) Classicus segne plerumque otium trahens velut parto imperio fruebatur; (Classicus segne plerumque otium trahens velut parto imperio fruebatur: ‘Classicus, for the most part whiling away his time in idleness, enjoyed his [new] power just as if it were a permanent thing’. velut parto: parto agrees with imperio, which is abl. after fruebatur. The participle parto replaces a protasis with subjunctive: lit. ‘as if acquired for all time’; cf. G. 602, Note 3.) ne Tutor quidem maturavit superiorem Germaniae ripam (superiorem Germaniae ripam: the bank of the Rhine in Germania Superior, i.e. between Basel and Mainz) et ardua Alpium praesidiis claudere. atque interim unaetvicensima legio Vindonissa, Sextilius Felix cum auxiliariis cohortibus per Raetiam inrupere; (unaetvicensima legio Vindonissa, Sextilius Felix cum auxiliariis cohortibus per Raetiam inrupere: ‘both the Twenty-first legion from Vindonissa and Sextilius Felix, with his auxiliary cohorts by way of Raetia, sprang forward’. Vindonissa is modern Windisch NW of Zurich: the Twenty-first legion was stationed there. For Sextilius Felix cf. Book 3, ch. 5. He had helped the Flavian cause by keeping in check Portius Septiminus, the procurator of Raetia and staunch supporter of Vitellius.) accessit ala Singularium excita olim a Vitellio, (ala Singularium excita olim a Vitellio: ‘the cavalry squadron of the Singulares previously called to his aid by Vitellius’: Singulares were elite men of the auxiliary cavalry recruited individually in every province of the empire for assignments that required daring and special skills.) deinde in partis Vespasiani transgressa. praeerat Iulius Briganticus (Iulius Briganticus: he had surrendered to Caecina after the fiasco at Placentia in Book 2, ch. 22.) sorore Civilis genitus, ut ferme acerrima proximorum odia sunt, (ut … sunt: ut is causal, as suggested by the use of the indicative.) invisus avunculo infensusque. Tutor Trevirorum copias, recenti Vangionum, Caeracatium, Tribocorum (Vangionum, Caeracatium, Tribocorum: the Vangiones lived in the region of Worms, south of Mainz; the Triboci were south of the Vangiones in lower Alsace, around Strassbourg; the Caeracates, about whom nothing is known, were probably settled around Mainz. ) dilectu auctas, veterano pedite atque equite firmavit, corruptis spe aut metu subactis legionariis; qui primo cohortem praemissam a Sextilio Felice interficiunt, (interficiunt: historical present) mox ubi duces exercitusque Romanus propinquabant, honesto transfugio rediere, (ubi duces exercitusque Romanus propinquabant, honesto transfugio rediere: ‘when the Roman generals and their armies were approaching, [these veteran troops] returned honorably to their old service of Rome’; Romanus agrees with the nearest subject, but not so the vderb. honesto transfugio: abl. of instrument, ‘by means of an honest defection’; temporal ubi takes indicative. See also ubi adventabat below.) secutis Tribocis Vangionibusque et Caeracatibus. Tutor Treviris comitantibus, vitato Mogontiaco, Bingium concessit, (Tutor Treviris comitantibus, … Bingium concessit: ‘Tutor with his Treveri fell back on Bingium’. The abl. abs. Treviris comitantibus is equivalent to an abl. of accompaniment, cum Treveris; Bingium, modern Bingen, is west of Mainz at the confluence of the river Nahe (Nava) with the Rhine.) fidens loco, (fidens loco: ‘having trust in his position’; loco is either dat. or abl. with fido.) quia pontem Navae fluminis abruperat, sed incursu cohortium, quas Sextilius ducebat, et reperto vado proditus fususque. (reperto vado proditus fususque: lit. ‘betrayed by a ford having been discovered and [therefore] put to flight’; reperto vado is abl. of cause.) ea clade perculsi Treviri, et plebes omissis armis per agros palatur: quidam principum, ut primi posuisse bellum viderentur, (ut primi posuisse bellum viderentur: ‘in order to be seen as having the first to lay down their arms’.) in civitates quae societatem Romanam non exuerant, perfugere. legiones a Novaesio Bonnaque in Treviros, ut supra memoravimus, traductae se ipsae in verba Vespasiani adigunt. (legiones a Novaesio Bonnaque in Treviros, ut supra memoravimus, traductae se ipsae in verba Vespasiani adigunt: ‘the legions transferred, as mentioned earlier, from Novaesium and Bonna to the territory of the Treveri, swore allegiance to Vespasian of their own accord’. legions a Novaesium Bonnaque in Treviros … traductae: the Sixteenth and the First respectively; for mention of this cf. ch. 62. se ipsae in verba Vespasiani adigunt: emphatic reflexive relation (cf. G. 218), lit. ‘these same legions bestirred themselves to swear loyalty to Vespasian’. The troops of the First and Sixteenth legions had twice given their oath to Vitellius, once to the Empire of the Gauls and twice to Vespasian. The present adigunt is historical.) haec Valentino absente gesta; qui ubi adventabat furens cunctaque rursus in turbas et exitium conversurus, (cunctaque rursus in turbas et exitium conversurus: ‘determined again to turn everything to ruinous confusion’; turbas and exitium may be viewed as hendiadys.) legiones in Mediomatricos, (Mediomatricos: a tribe south of the Treveri in Lorraine around modern Metz, a city also on the Moselle like Trier for the Treveri.) sociam civitatem, abscessere: Valentinus ac Tutor in arma Treviros retrahunt, occisis Herennio ac Numisio legatis quo minore spe veniae cresceret vinculum sceleris. (occisis Herennio ac Numisio legatis quo minore spe veniae cresceret vinculum sceleris: abl. abs. with dependent final clause with quo; for Herennius and Numisius cf. ch. 59.)