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Tacitus · Germania

Germania 15

Idleness in peace and gifts to chiefs

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Germ. 15.1Quotiēns bella nōn ineunt, nōn multum vēnātibus, plūs per ōtium trānsigunt, dēditī somnō cibōque: fortissimus quisque ac bellicōsissimus nihil agēns, dēlēgātā domus et penātium et agrōrum cūrā fēminīs senibusque et īnfirmissimō cuique ex familiā, ipsī hebent, mīrā dīversitāte nātūrae, cum īdem hominēs sīc ament inertiam et ōderint quiētem.Whenever they are not entering upon wars, they pass not much of their time in hunting, more in idleness, given over to sleep and food: all the bravest and most warlike do nothing, the care of house, hearth and fields being handed over to the women and the old men and all the weakest of the household, while they themselves lie torpid, by a strange contradiction of nature, since the same men so love inactivity and hate peace. Germ. 15.2Mōs est cīvitātibus ultrō ac virītim cōnferre prīncipibus vel armentōrum vel frūgum, quod prō honōre acceptum etiam necessitātibus subvenit.It is the custom for the states, voluntarily and man by man, to contribute to the chiefs something of their cattle or crops, which, accepted as a mark of honour, also relieves their needs.

Germ. 15.3Gaudent praecipuē fīnitimārum gentium dōnīs, quae nōn modo ā singulīs, sed et pūblicē mittuntur, ēlēctī equī, magnifica arma, phalerae torquēsque;They especially delight in gifts from neighbouring peoples, which are sent not only by individuals but also publicly, choice horses, splendid arms, horse trappings and necklaces; Germ. 15.3iam et pecūniam accipere docuimus.we have now taught them to accept money as well.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (80 words)
quotiēns (adv.)how many times; as often as
bellum, -ī, n.war
nōn, adv.not
ineō, -īre, -iī, -itusgo into, enter; adopt
multum, -ī, n.much
vēnātus, -ūs m.hunting, the chase; game
plūs (adv.)more
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
ōtium, -ī n.leisure, rest; peace, quiet
trānsigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctuscarry through, finish, settle
dēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive away or up
somnus, -ī, m.sleep, drowsiness
cibus, -ī, m.food
que, enclitic conj.and
fortis, -ebrave
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
bellicōsus, -a, -umwar-like
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
dēlēgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusassign, entrust; lay (blame) on, attribute to
domus, -ūs, f.house, home
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
ager, agri, m.field, land
cūra, -ae f.care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
fēmina, -ae, f.woman
senex, senis, m.old man
īnfirmus, -a, -umweak
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
familia, -ae f.household (incl. slaves and dependents)
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
hebeō, -ērebe blunt, dull or sluggish; lack energy
mīrus, -a, -umwonderful, strange
dīversitās, -ātis f.difference, variety; contrast, contradiction
nātūra, -ae, f.nature, character
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
homō, hominis, m.man
sīc, adv.so, thus
amō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslove
inertia, -ae f.inactivity, idleness, sloth
ōdī, ōdisse, used only in tenses of completed action with the force of tenses of incomplete actionhate
quiēs, quiētis, f.rest, repose
mōs, mōris, m.way, manner, habit, custom
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
ultrō (adv.)of one's own accord; besides (ultrō citrōque: back and forth)
virītim (adv.)man by man, to each individually
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātusbring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
prīnceps, -ipisfirst, chief; as noun: leader
velor; vel … vel: either … or
armentum, -ī n.herd (of cattle)
frūx, frūgis f. (usu. pl.)crops, produce
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
honor, -ōris, m.honor
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
necessitās, -ātis f.necessity, compulsion
subveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventuscome to help, rescue (+ dat.)
gaudeō, gaudēre, gāvīsusbe glad, rejoice
praecipuē, adv.especially
fīnitimus, -a, -umneighboring, adjoining
gēns, gentis, f.race, nation
dōnum, -ī, n.gift
modo, adv.only
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
singulī, -ae, -aone at a time, single
sed, conj.but
pūblicē (adv.)officially, as a state
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
ēligō, -ere, ēlēgī, ēlēctumpick out, choose
equus, -ī, m.horse
magnificus, -a, -umsplendid, magnificent
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.arms, weapons
phalerae, -ārum f. pl.metal discs worn as ornaments, esp. on horses' harness; trappings
torquis (torquēs), -is m.a neck-chain, collar (worn or given as a military decoration)
iam, adv.now, already
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tusteach, explain
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.