Agr. 33.1Excēpēre ōrātiōnem alacrēs, ut barbarīs mōris, cantū fremitūque et clamōribus dissonīs.They received the speech eagerly, as is the custom of barbarians, with singing, roaring and discordant shouts. Agr. 33.1Iamque agmina et armōrum fulgōrēs audentissimī cuiusque prōcursū;And now there were columns on the move and the flash of arms as all the boldest ran forward; Agr. 33.1simul īnstruēbātur aciēs, cum Agricola quamquam laetum et vix mūnīmentīs coërcitum mīlitem accendendum adhūc ratus, ita disseruit: "septimus annus est, commīlitōnēs, ex quō virtūte vestrā auspiciīs imperiī Rōmānī, fidē atque operā nostrā Britanniam vīcistis.at the same time the line was being drawn up, when Agricola, thinking that his soldiers, though in high spirits and scarcely held back by the fortifications, should still be fired further, spoke as follows: 'This is the seventh year, comrades, since by your courage, under the auspices of the Roman empire, and by my loyalty and effort, you have conquered Britain. Agr. 33.2Tot expedītiōnibus, tot proeliīs, seu fortitūdine adversus hostīs seu patientiā ac labōre paene adversus ipsam rērum nātūram opus fuit, neque mē mīlitum neque vōs ducis paenituit.In so many campaigns, so many battles, whether there was need of bravery against the enemy or of endurance and toil almost against nature itself, neither have I been dissatisfied with my soldiers nor you with your general.
Agr. 33.2" "ergō ēgressī, ego veterum lēgātōrum, vōs priōrum exercituum terminōs, fīnem Britanniae nōn fāmā nec rūmōre, sed castrīs et armīs tenēmus: inventa Britannia et subācta."So we have both gone beyond the limits, I of former governors, you of earlier armies, and we hold the end of Britain not by report and rumour, but with camps and arms: Britain has been found and subdued. Agr. 33.4"Equidem saepe in agmine, cum vōs palūdēs montēsve et flūmina fatīgārent, fortissimī cuiusque vōcēs audiēbam: "quandō dabitur hostis, quandō aciēs?"Often indeed on the march, when marshes or mountains and rivers were wearing you out, I used to hear the voices of all the bravest: "When shall we be given the enemy, when a battle?" Agr. 33.4Veniunt, ē latebrīs suīs extrūsī, et vōta virtūsque in apertō, omniaque prōna victōribus atque eadem victīs adversa."They are coming, driven out of their hiding places, and your prayers and your courage have free scope, and everything is easy for the victors and the same things are against the vanquished. Agr. 33.5"Nam ut superāsse tantum itineris, silvās ēvāsisse, trānsīsse aestuāria pulchrum ac decōrum in frontem, ita fugientibus perīculōsissima quae hodiē prosperrima sunt;For just as to have covered so long a march, to have come through forests, to have crossed estuaries, is fine and glorious as we advance, so for those in flight the things that are most favourable today will be most dangerous; Agr. 33.5neque enim nōbīs aut locōrum eadem nōtitia aut commeātuum eadem abundantia, sed manūs et arma et in hīs omnia."for we do not have the same knowledge of the country or the same abundance of supplies, but we have our hands and our arms, and in these everything.
Agr. 33.6"Quod ad mē attinet, iam prīdem mihi dēcrētum est neque exercitūs neque ducis terga tūta esse.As for me, I long ago decided that neither for an army nor for a general is it safe to turn their backs. Agr. 33.6Proinde et honesta mors turpī vītā potior, et incolumitās ac decus eōdem locō sita sunt;Therefore an honourable death is better than a shameful life, and safety and honour are found in the same place; Agr. 33.6nec inglōrium fuerit in ipsō terrārum ac nātūrae fīne cecidisse."nor would it be inglorious to have fallen at the very end of the earth and of nature.