Agr. 12.1In pedite rōbur;Their strength lies in their infantry; Agr. 12.1quaedam nātiōnēs et currū proeliantur.some tribes also fight from chariots. Agr. 12.1Honestior aurīga, clientēs prōpugnant.The driver is the man of higher rank; his dependants do the fighting. Agr. 12.1Ōlim rēgibus pārēbant, nunc per prīncipēs factiōnibus et studiīs distrahuntur.Once they obeyed kings, now they are pulled apart into factions and rivalries by their chieftains. Agr. 12.2Nec aliud adversus validissimās gentīs prō nōbīs ūtilius quam quod in commūne nōn cōnsulunt.Nor is anything more useful to us against the most powerful tribes than that they do not take counsel in common. Agr. 12.2Rārus duābus tribusve cīvitātibus ad prōpulsandum commūne perīculum conventus: ita singulī pugnant, ūniversī vincuntur.Rarely do two or three states meet to repel a common danger: so, while they fight one by one, they are all conquered together. Agr. 12.3Caelum crēbrīs imbribus ac nebulīs foedum;The sky is foul with frequent rain and mist; Agr. 12.3asperitās frīgorum abest.severe cold is absent. Agr. 12.3Diērum spatia ultrā nostrī orbis mēnsūram;The length of the days exceeds the measure of our part of the world; Agr. 12.3nox clāra et extrēmā Britanniae parte brevis, ut fīnem atque initium lūcis exiguō discrīmine internōscās.the night is bright and, in the furthest part of Britain, short, so that you can distinguish the end and the beginning of daylight only by a slight interval.
Agr. 12.4Quod sī nūbēs nōn officiant, aspicī per noctem sōlis fulgōrem, nec occīdere et exsurgere, sed trānsīre adfirmant.And if clouds do not obstruct it, they assert that the sun's brightness is seen throughout the night, and that it does not set and rise but passes across. Agr. 12.4Scīlicet extrēma et plāna terrārum humilī umbrā nōn ērigunt tenebrās, īnfrāque caelum et sīdera nox cadit.Evidently the flat extremities of the earth, casting a low shadow, do not raise the darkness high, and night falls below the sky and the stars. Agr. 12.5Sōlum praeter oleam vītemque et cētera calidiōribus terrīs orīrī suēta patiēns frūgum fēcundum: tardē mītēscunt, citō prōveniunt;The soil, apart from the olive, the vine and the other plants accustomed to grow in warmer lands, tolerates crops and is fertile: they ripen slowly but spring up quickly; Agr. 12.5eademque utrīusque reī causa, multus ūmor terrārum caelīque.and the cause of both is the same, the abundant moisture of the land and the sky. Agr. 12.6Fert Britannia aurum et argentum et alia metalla, pretium victōriae.Britain produces gold and silver and other metals, the prize of victory.
Agr. 12.6Gignit et Oceanus margarīta, sed subfusca ac līventia.The Ocean also produces pearls, but they are dusky and leaden in hue. Agr. 12.7Quīdam artem abesse legentibus arbitrantur;Some think that those who gather them lack skill; Agr. 12.7nam in rubrō marī vīva ac spīrantia saxīs āvellī, in Britanniā, prōut expulsa sint, colligī: ego facilius crēdiderim nātūram margarītīs dēesse quam nōbīs avāritiam.for in the Red Sea they are torn from the rocks alive and breathing, while in Britain they are collected as they are cast ashore: for my part, I would more readily believe that quality is lacking in the pearls than greed in us.