IV.
Moyses quo sibi in posterum gentem firmaret, (quo sibi … firmaret: quo may replace ut in final clauses; sibi is dat. of interest or reference.) novos ritus contrariosque ceteris mortalibus indidit. Profana illic (illic: ‘in that nation’) omnia quae apud nos sacra, rursum concessa apud illos quae nobis incesta. Effigiem animalis, quo monstrante errorem sitimque depulerant, penetrali sacravere, (effigiem animalis, quo monstrante errorem sitimque depulerant, penetrali sacravere: lit. ‘they consecrated in a sanctuary the statue of the animal by which guiding (= by whose guidance) they had got the better of their aimless roaming and of their thirst’.) caeso ariete velut in contumeliam Hammonis; (Hammonis: Ammon, the Egyptian Jupiter, was figured with the head of a ram.) bos quoque immolatur, quoniam Aegyptii Apin (Apin: the acc. of Apis can be either Apim or Apin.) colunt. Sue abstinent memoria cladis, quod ipsos scabies quondam turpaverat, cui id animal obnoxium. (sue abstinent memoria cladis, quod ipsos scabies quondam turpaverat, cui id animal obnoxium: ‘they abstain from pork in memory of their suffering, because leprosy, to which that animal is vulnerable, had formerly polluted their own bodies’. sue is abl. of separation with abstineo, which takes simple abl. or with a or ab. quod …turpaverat: quod is found with any tense of the indicative. memoria: some read it as merito, ‘thanks to …’.) Longam olim famem crebris adhuc ieiuniis fatentur, et raptarum frugum argumentum panis Iudaicus nullo fermento detinetur. (longam olim famem crebris adhuc ieiuniis fatentur, et raptarum frugum argumentum panis Iudaicus nullo fermento detinetur: ‘they acknowledge to this day by means of frequent fasting the long privation in the past and the Jewish bread without leaven is preserved as a reminder of the snapped up viands [before going into exile]’. frugres is a term of ample sense: it may stand for the crops that had to be harvested in a hurry, or for the grain itself and other provisions, or even for the bread that was not given enough time to rise properly.) Septimo die otium placuisse ferunt, quia is finem laborum tulerit; (quia is finem laborum tulerit: quia, like quod, requires indicative, except in indir. speech, here introduced by ferunt.) dein blandiente inertia septimum quoque annum ignaviae datum. Alii honorem eum Saturno haberi, (alii honorem eum Saturno haberi: ‘others [say] that such honor is reserved for Saturnus’. Saturno: Saturday is Saturn’s day) seu principia religionis tradentibus Idaeis, quos cum Saturno pulsos et conditores gentis accepimus, seu quod (seu principia religionis tradentibus Idaeis, quos cum Saturno pulsos et conditores gentis accepimus, seu quod …: principia religionis tradentibus Idaeis is abl abs. of causal force: lit. ‘either because of the Idaei transmitting the first tenets of their religion, whom we are told were driven out [of Crete] with Saturn and became founders of the Jewish nation, or because…’. See ch. 2 for details.) de septem sideribus, quis mortales reguntur, (quod de septem sideribus, quis mortales reguntur: ‘since out of the seven stars, through which mortals are ruled, …’; the prep. de can signify ‘out of’; quis is for quibus; the seven stars are the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, plus the Moon and the Sun. accepimus and reguntur are indicative in indir. discourse after alii [dicunt] because the clauses they govern are parenthetical, outside the narrative, something added by the author as an explanation.) altissimo orbe et praecipua potentia stella Saturni de septem feratur, ac pleraque caelestium viam suam et cursus septenos per numeros commeare. (ac pleraque caelestium viam suam et cursus septenos per numeros commeare: ‘and most of the celestial bodies would travel their orbital course in quantities of seven years at a time’, i.e. in multiples of seven. The original text has commearent, but commeare, hist. infinitive, is now the accepted reading. The infinitive could be another explanatory note added by Tacitus, like the preceding one. commeare is a compound of meo, meare.)