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Tacitus · Agricola

Agricola 21

Romanising the Britons

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Agr. 21.1Sequēns hiems salūberrimīs cōnsiliīs absūmpta.The following winter was spent on most salutary measures. Agr. 21.1Namque ut hominēs dispersī ac rudēs eōque in bella facilēs quiētī et ōtiō per voluptātēs adsuēscerent, hortārī prīvātim, adiuvāre pūblicē, ut templa fora domōs exstruerent, laudandō promptōs, et castīgandō segnīs: ita honōris aemulātiō prō necessitāte erat.For in order that men who were scattered and uncivilised, and therefore ready for war, might grow used to peace and leisure through pleasures, he encouraged them privately and assisted them publicly to build temples, forums and houses, praising the eager and rebuking the sluggish: so rivalry for honour took the place of compulsion. Agr. 21.2Iam vērō prīncipum fīliōs līberālibus artibus ērudīre, et ingenia Britannōrum studiīs Gallōrum anteferre, ut quī modo linguam Rōmānam abnuēbant, ēloquentiam concupīscerent.Moreover, he had the sons of the chieftains educated in the liberal arts, and rated the natural talents of the Britons above the studies of the Gauls, so that those who until lately rejected the Roman tongue now desired its eloquence. Agr. 21.3Inde etiam habitus nostrī honor et frequēns toga;Hence even our dress came into favour, and the toga was often seen; Agr. 21.3paulātimque discessum ad dēlēnīmenta vitiōrum, porticūs et balnea et convīviōrum ēlegantiam.and little by little they strayed towards the allurements of vice, colonnades and baths and elegant banquets.

Agr. 21.3Idque apud inperītōs hūmānitās vocābātur, cum pars servitūtis esset.And this was called civilisation by the inexperienced, when it was part of their servitude.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (80 words)
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
hiems, hiemis f.winter
salūber (salūbris), -bris, -brehealthy, wholesome, beneficial
cōnsilium, -ī, n.advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
absūmō, -sūmere, -sūmpsī, -sūmptustake away, consume, destroy
namque, conj.for
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
homō, hominis, m.man
dispergō, -ere, -spersī, -spersumscatter
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
rudis, -eraw, rough; (of cloth) new, unshrunk
eō (adv.)to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
que, enclitic conj.and
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
bellum, -ī, n.war
facilis, -e (comp. facilior)easy
quiēs, quiētis, f.rest, repose
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
ōtium, -ī n.leisure, rest; peace, quiet
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
voluptās, -tātis, f.pleasure
assuēscō, -ere, -suēvī, -suētusbecome accustomed, get used to
hortor, -ārī, -ātusexhort, encourage, urge
prīvātim (adv.)privately, as individuals
adiuvō, -āre, adiūvī, adiūtumhelp, assist
pūblicē (adv.)officially, as a state
templum, -ī, n.sanctuary, temple
forum, -ī n.market place, public square
domus, -ūs, f.house, home
exstruō, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctuspile or heap up, build, erect
laudō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumpraise
promptus, -a, -umready, eager
castīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuspunish, rebuke; correct, check
segnis, -eslow, sluggish, idle
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
honor, -ōris, m.honor
aemulātiō, -ōnis f.rivalry, the effort to equal someone
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
necessitās, -ātis f.necessity, compulsion
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
iam, adv.now, already
vērō, adv.in truth, indeed; however
prīnceps, -ipisfirst, chief; as noun: leader
fīlius, -ī, m.son
līberālis, -ebefitting a free man; generous (with: gen.)
ars, artis, f.art
ērudiō, -rudīre, -rudīvī, -rudītusinstruct
ingenium, -ī n.natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
studium, -ī, n.eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
anteferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātuscarry in front; prefer, rank above
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
modo, adv.only
lingua, -ae f.tongue; language
Rōmānus, -a, -umRoman
abnuō, -ere, -nuīrefuse, decline, reject
ēloquentia, -ae f.eloquence, skill in speaking
concupīscō, -cupīscere, -cupīvī, -cupītuslong for, covet
inde (adv.)from there; then
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
habitus, -ūs m.condition, state; bearing, character
noster, -tra, -trumour
frequēns, -entiscrowded, in great numbers; frequent
toga, -ae f.toga, the Roman citizen's garment of peace
paulātim (adv.)little by little, gradually
discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessusgo apart, withdraw, depart
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
dēlēnīmentum, -ī n.soothing charm, allurement, sop
vitium, -ī n.fault, vice
porticus, -ūs f.colonnade, covered walk
balineum (balneum), -ī n.bath, bathroom
convīvium, -ī n.banquet, dinner party
ēlegantia, -ae f.elegance, refinement, good taste (in style)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
apud, prep, with acc.among, with
imperītus, -a, -uminexperienced, unskilled, ignorant
hūmānitās, -tātis f.culture, refinement
vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscall, summon
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
servitūs, -tūtis, f.slavery, servitude
Tacitus, Agricola. Latin text: H. Furneaux, Cornelii Taciti Opera Minora (Oxford, 1900), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.