Germania 11

The assemblies of the people

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Germ. 11.1Dē minōribus rēbus prīncipēs cōnsultant, dē maiōribus omnēs, ita tamen ut ea quoque, quōrum penes plēbem arbitrium est, apud prīncipēs praetractentur.On lesser matters the chiefs deliberate, on greater ones all the people, yet in such a way that even those matters whose decision rests with the people are first discussed beforehand among the chiefs. Germ. 11.2Coeunt, nisi quid fortuītum et subitum incidit, certīs diēbus, cum aut incohātur lūna aut implētur;They assemble, unless something accidental and sudden has occurred, on fixed days, when the moon is either new or full; Germ. 11.2nam agendīs rēbus hoc auspicātissimum initium crēdunt.for they believe this the most auspicious starting point for transacting business. Germ. 11.2Nec diērum numerum, ut nōs, sed noctium computant.Nor do they count the number of days, as we do, but of nights. Germ. 11.2Sīc cōnstituunt, sīc condīcunt: nox dūcere diem vidētur.So they make appointments, so they fix dates: night seems to lead in the day. Germ. 11.3Illud ex lībertāte vitium, quod nōn simul nec ut iussī conveniunt, sed et alter et tertius diēs cūnctātiōne coeuntium absūmitur.From their freedom comes this fault, that they do not assemble all at once nor as if under orders, but a second and a third day is wasted by the delay of those coming together.

Germ. 11.4Ut turbae placuit, cōnsīdunt armātī.When the crowd sees fit, they take their seats, armed. Germ. 11.4Silentium per sacerdōtēs, quibus tum et coercendī iūs est, imperātur.Silence is ordered by the priests, who then also have the right to coerce. Germ. 11.5Mox rēx vel prīnceps, prōut aetās cuique, prōut nōbilitās, prōut decus bellōrum, prōut fācundia est, audiuntur auctōritāte suādendī magis quam iubendī potestāte.Then the king or a chief, according to each man's age, according to his nobility, according to his distinction in war, according to his eloquence, is heard with the authority of persuasion rather than the power of command. Germ. 11.6Sī displicuit sententia, fremitū aspernantur;If a proposal has displeased them, they reject it with a murmur; Germ. 11.6sīn placuit, frameās concutiunt: honōrātissimum adsēnsūs genus est armīs laudāre.but if it has pleased them, they clash their frameae: the most honourable kind of assent is to praise with weapons.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×4

Latin vocabulary for this passage (103 words)

dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
cōnsultō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	deliberate, take counsel; consult the interests of (+ dat.)
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
omnis, -e	all, every
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
quoque, adv.	also
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
penes (prep. + acc.)	in the hands of, in the power of
plēbs, plēbis f.	the common people
arbitrium, -ī n.	judgment, will, pleasure
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
praetractō, -āre	discuss beforehand
coeō, -īre, -iī, -itum	come together, assemble
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
fortuītus, -a, -um	accidental, happening by chance; n. pl., accidents
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
subitus, -a, -um	sudden
incidō, -cidere, -cidī	fall into or upon
certus, -a, -um	determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
incohō (inchoō), -āre, -āvī, -ātus	begin, start
lūna, -ae f.	moon
impleō, -ēre, -plēvī, -plētum	fill; fulfil, complete
nam, conj.	for
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
auspicātus, -a, -um	consecrated by auspices; auspicious, lucky
initium, -ī, n.	beginning
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	believe
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
numerus, -ī, m.	number
nōs	plur. of ego
sed, conj.	but
nox, noctis, f.	night
computō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	count up, reckon, calculate
sīc, adv.	so, thus
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
condīcō, -ere, -dīxī, -dictus	agree on; give formal notice of (a claim)
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
lībertās, -tātis, f.	freedom, liberty
vitium, -ī n.	fault, vice
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
nōn, adv.	not
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come together, assemble
alter, -era, -erum	one or the other (of two); another, second
tertius, -a, -um	third
cūnctātiō, -ōnis f.	delay, hesitation
absūmō, -sūmere, -sūmpsī, -sūmptus	take away, consume, destroy
turba, -ae f.	crowd
placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.)	please (placuit eī: he decided)
cōnsīdō, -sīdere, -sēdī, -sessus	sit down
armātus, -a, -um	armed
silentium, -ī n.	silence; silentiō: in silence, quietly
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
sacerdōs, -dōtis, m. and f.	priest, priestess
tum, adv.	then, at that time
coerceō, -ēre, coercuī, coercitum	restrain, keep in check
iūs, iūris, n.	right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus	command, order, enjoin
mox, adv.	soon
rēx, rēgis, m.	king
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
prōut (conj.)	just as, according as
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.	each
nōbilitās, -tātis f.	the nobility
decus, -oris n.	honour, glory; what is fitting, propriety
bellum, -ī, n.	war
fācundia, -ae f.	eloquence, fluency of speech
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	hear; listen or attend to
auctōritās, -tātis f.	influence, authority, prestige
suādeō, -ēre, suāsī, suāsus	advise, urge
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
potestās, -ātis f.	power, authority
sī, conj.	if
displiceō, -ēre, -uī, -itum	displease (+ dat.)
sententia, -ae, f.	opinion; purpose
fremitus, -ūs, m.	roaring, roar
aspernor, -ārī, -ātus sum	spurn, reject, scorn
sīn (conj.)	but if
framea, -ae f.	spear (the German word for it)
concutiō, -ere, -cussī, -cussus	shake violently; shake, weaken
honōrātus, -a, -um	honoured, respected; holding high office; honourable
assēnsus (adsēnsus), -ūs m.	agreement, approval, assent
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
laudō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	praise

Tacitus, Germania. 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.