Agr. 15.1Namque absentiā lēgātī remōtō metū Britannī agitāre inter sē mala servitūtis, cōnferre iniūriās et interpretandō accendere: nihil prōficī patientiā nisi ut graviōra tamquam ex facilī tolerantibus imperentur.For with the governor absent and their fear removed, the Britons began to discuss among themselves the evils of servitude, to compare their wrongs and to inflame them by interpreting them: nothing was gained by endurance except that heavier burdens were imposed on them as on people who bore them easily. Agr. 15.2Singulōs sibi ōlim rēgēs fuisse, nunc bīnōs impōnī, ē quibus lēgātus in sanguinem, prōcūrātor in bona saevīret.Once they had each had a single king, now two were imposed on them, of whom the governor raged against their lives, the procurator against their property. Agr. 15.2Aequē discordiam praepositōrum, aequē concordiam subiectīs exitiōsam.Discord between their masters was as ruinous to the subjects as harmony. Agr. 15.2Alterīus manum centuriōnēs, alterīus servōs vim et contumēliās miscēre.The band of centurions of the one, the slaves of the other, combined violence with insult. Agr. 15.3Nihil iam cupiditātī, nihil libīdinī exceptum.Nothing was now exempt from their greed, nothing from their lust.
Agr. 15.3In proeliō fortiōrem esse quī spoliet: nunc ab ignāvīs plērumque et inbellibus ēripī domōs, abstrahī līberōs, iniungī dīlēctūs, tamquam morī tantum prō patriā nescientibus.In battle it was the braver man who took the spoils: now it was mostly cowards and weaklings who seized their homes, dragged away their children and imposed levies on them, as though it were only for their own country that the Britons did not know how to die. Agr. 15.4Quantulum enim trānsīsse mīlitum, sī sēsē Britannī numerent?For how few soldiers had crossed over, if the Britons were to count their own numbers? Agr. 15.4Sīc Germāniās excussisse iugum: et flūmine, nōn Oceanō dēfendī.It was thus that the Germanies had thrown off the yoke: and they were defended by a river, not by the Ocean. Agr. 15.5Sibi patriam coniugēs parentēs, illīs avāritiam et luxuriam causās bellī esse.They had country, wives and parents as causes for war, the Romans only greed and luxury. Agr. 15.5Recessūrōs, ut dīvus Iūlius recessisset, modo virtūtem maiōrum suōrum aemulārentur.The Romans would withdraw, as the deified Julius had withdrawn, if only they emulated the courage of their ancestors.
Agr. 15.5Nēve proeliī ūnīus aut alterīus ēventū pavēscerent: plūs impetus, maiōrem cōnstantiam penes miserōs esse.Nor should they be dismayed by the outcome of one or two battles: more dash and greater steadfastness lay with the wretched. Agr. 15.6Iam Britannōrum etiam deōs miserērī, quī Rōmānum ducem absentem, quī relēgātum in aliā īnsulā exercitum dētinērent;Now even the gods were taking pity on the Britons, since they were keeping the Roman general away and his army banished in another island; Agr. 15.6iam ipsōs, quod difficillimum fuerit, dēlīberāre.now they themselves were deliberating, which was the hardest step. Agr. 15.6Porrō in eius modī cōnsiliīs perīculōsius esse dēprehendī quam audēre.Moreover, in plans of this kind it was more dangerous to be caught than to dare.