LectitōOpen the reader

Lectitō › Tacitus › Agricola › Agricola 39

Tacitus · Agricola

Agricola 39

Domitian's jealousy

English onlyRead it word by word

Agr. 39.1Hunc rērum cursum, quamquam nūllā verbōrum iactantiā epistulīs Agricolae auctum, ut Domitiānō mōris erat, fronte laetus, pectore ānxius excēpit.This course of events, although it was not exaggerated by any boastful words in Agricola's dispatches, Domitian received, as was his habit, with joy on his face and anxiety in his heart. Agr. 39.2Īnerat cōnscientia dērīsuī fuisse nūper falsum ē Germāniā triumphum, ēmptīs per commercia, quōrum habitūs et crīnēs in captīvōrum speciem fōrmārentur: at nunc vēram magnamque victōriam tot mīlibus hostium caesīs ingentī fāmā celebrārī.He was conscious that his recent sham triumph over Germany had been a laughing-stock, when men had been bought through trade whose dress and hair were made up to look like captives: but now a true and great victory, with so many thousands of the enemy slain, was being celebrated with immense acclaim. Agr. 39.3Id sibi maximē formīdolōsum, prīvātī hominis nōmen suprā prīncipis attollī: frūstrā studia forī et cīvīlium artium decus in silentium ācta, sī mīlitārem glōriam alius occupāret;This was what he dreaded most, that the name of a private citizen should be raised above the emperor's: in vain had he driven the pursuits of the forum and the distinction of civil accomplishments into silence, if another were to seize military glory; Agr. 39.3et cētera utcumque facilius dissimulārī, ducis bonī imperātōriam virtūtem esse.and other merits could somehow be more easily overlooked, but the virtue of a good general belonged to the emperor.

Agr. 39.4Tālibus cūrīs exercitus, quodque saevae cōgitātiōnis indicium erat, sēcrētō suō satiātus, optimum in praesentiā statuit repōnere odium, dōnec impetus fāmae et favor exercitūs languēsceret: nam etiam tum Agricola Britanniam obtinēbat.Tormented by such anxieties and, which was the sign of a savage purpose, brooding on them in his seclusion, he decided that for the present it was best to store away his hatred until the first burst of fame and the favour of the army should die down: for Agricola was still holding Britain at that time.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (101 words)
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
cursus, -ūs, m.running, speed; course, route, voyage; race
quamquam, conj.however much, although
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
verbum, -ī, n.word
iactantia, -ae f.boasting, showing off, ostentation
epistula, -ae f.letter
augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctumincrease, enlarge
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
mōs, mōris, m.way, manner, habit, custom
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
frōns, frontis, f.forehead
laetus, -a, -umglad, joyful
pectus, pectoris, n.breast
ānxius, -a, -umanxious
excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake out or up, receive, welcome, entertain
īnsum, inesse, īnfuībe in, be present in (dat.)
cōnscientia, -ae f.awareness; consciousness of guilt, guilty conscience
dērīsus, -ūs m.mockery; derisuī esse, to be a laughing-stock
nūper, adv.newly, lately, recently
falsus, -a, -umfeigned, pretended, false
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
triumphus, -ī m.triumph, a victorious general's procession
emō, -ere, ēmī, ēmptumbuy
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
commercium, -ī n.trade, dealings; means of communication
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
habitus, -ūs m.condition, state; bearing, character
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
crīnis, -is m.hair, a lock of hair
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
captīvus, -a, -umcaptive
speciēs, -ēī, f.sight, appearance, shape
fōrmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusshape, form, fashion
at, conj.but
nunc, adv.now
vērus, -a, -umtrue; rē vērā, in truth, in fact
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
que, enclitic conj.and
victōria, -ae, f.victory
tot (indecl.)so many
mīlle, indecl. adj.a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
hostis, -is, m. and f.enemy, foe
caedō, -ere, cecīdī, caesumcut, cut down; kill
ingēns, -gentis, adj.huge, vast
fāma, -ae, f.report, rumor
celebrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthrong; keep (a festival), celebrate
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
maximē, adv.very greatly, exceedingly, especially
formīdolōsus, -a, -umalarming, dreadful; fearful, timid
prīvātus, -a, -umprivate
homō, hominis, m.man
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
suprā, adv. and prep. with acc.above, before
prīnceps, -ipisfirst, chief; as noun: leader
attollō, -erelift up, raise
frūstrā, adv.in vain
studium, -ī, n.eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
forum, -ī n.market place, public square
cīvīlis, -eof citizens; bellum cīvīle: civil war
ars, artis, f.art
decus, -oris n.honour, glory; what is fitting, propriety
silentium, -ī n.silence; silentiō: in silence, quietly
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
sī, conj.if
mīlitāris, -emilitary, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare
glōria, -ae, f.glory
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātusseize; fill
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.the other, the remaining, the rest of
utcumque (adv., conj.)however, in whatever way
facile, adv.easily
dissimulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātushide, disguise, pretend not to notice
dux, ducis, m. and f.leader, commander
bonus, -a, -umgood
imperātōrius, -a, -umof a commander, of the general
virtūs, -tūtis, f.manliness, courage, bravery
tālis, -esuch
cūra, -ae f.care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
exerceō, -ercēre, -ercuī, -ercitusexercise
saevus, -a, -umfierce, savage
cōgitātiō, -ōnis f.thought, reflection; plan, intention
indicium, -ī n.information, evidence; an informer's report
sēcrētum, -ī n.a private place; secret
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
satiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusfill, satisfy; satiārī, eat one's fill
praesentia, -ae, f.the present
statuō, statuere, statuī, statūtuscause to stand; decide, resolve
repōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusput or set back; store up or away
odium, -ī, n.hatred
dōnec (conj.)until; while, as long as
impetus, -ūs, m.attack; impetum facere, to charge
favor, -ōris m.goodwill, support, applause
exercitus, -ūs, m.army
languēscō, -ere, languīgrow faint, wilt, droop; weaken
nam, conj.for
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
tum, adv.then, at that time
obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentushold
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.