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Tacitus · Germania

Germania 16

Villages, houses and underground stores

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Germ. 16.1Nūllās Germānōrum populīs urbēs habitārī satis notum est, nē patī quidem inter sē iūnctās sēdēs.It is well enough known that no cities are inhabited by the peoples of the Germans, and that they cannot even bear dwellings joined to one another. Germ. 16.1Colunt discrētī ac dīversī, ut fōns, ut campus, ut nemus placuit.They live apart and scattered, as a spring, a plain or a grove has taken their fancy. Germ. 16.2Vīcōs locant nōn in nostrum mōrem cōnexīs et cohaerentibus aedificiīs: suam quisque domum spatiō circumdat, sīve adversus cāsūs ignis remedium sīve īnscītia aedificandī.They lay out their villages not in our fashion, with buildings connected and joined together: each surrounds his house with an open space, either as a safeguard against the risks of fire or from ignorance of building. Germ. 16.3Nē caementōrum quidem apud illōs aut tēgulārum ūsus: māteriā ad omnia ūtuntur īnfōrmī et citrā speciem aut dēlectātiōnem.Not even stones or tiles are used among them: for everything they use rough timber, with no regard for appearance or delight. Germ. 16.3Quaedam loca dīligentius inlinunt terrā ita pūrā ac splendente ut pictūram ac līneāmenta colōrum imitētur.Certain parts they plaster more carefully with an earth so pure and gleaming that it resembles painting and coloured designs.

Germ. 16.4Solent et subterrāneōs specūs aperīre eōsque multō īnsuper fimō onerant, suffugium hiemis et receptāculum frūgibus, quia rigōrem frīgorum eius modī locī molliunt, et sī quandō hostis advēnit, aperta populātur, abdita autem et dēfossa aut ignōrantur aut eō ipsō fallunt quod quaerenda sunt.They are also accustomed to dig out underground caves and load them on top with much dung, as a refuge from winter and a store for their crops, because places of this kind soften the severity of the frosts, and if ever an enemy comes, he plunders what is in the open, but what is hidden and buried either goes unnoticed or escapes him for the very reason that it has to be searched for.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, ablative absolute ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (103 words)
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
populus, -ī m.people, nation
urbs, urbis, f.city
habitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusdwell, inhabit
satis, adv.enough, sufficiently
nōtus, -a, -umknown, well-known, famous
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
patior, patī, passus, bearsuffer, allow
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
iungō, iungere, iūnxī, iūnctusjoin; yoke, harness
sēdēs, -is, f.seat, abode
colō, colere, coluī, cultustill, cultivate; inhabit; worship
discernō, -ere, -crēvī, -crētusseparate; distinguish, tell apart
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
dīversus, -a, -umturned different ways, opposite, contrary, different
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
fōns, fontis, m.fountain, spring
campus, -ī, m.plain, field
nemus, -oris n.grove, wood
placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.)please (placuit eī: he decided)
vīcus, -ī, m.village
locō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusplace; let out a contract for (a public work)
nōn, adv.not
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
noster, -tra, -trumour
mōs, mōris, m.way, manner, habit, custom
cōnectō, -ere, -nexuī, -nexustie together, join, link
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
cohaereō, -ēre, -haesī, -haesuscling together, be connected (with: dat.)
aedificium, -ī n.building
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
domus, -ūs, f.house, home
spatium, -ī, n.space, interval; space of time, time
circumdō, -dare, -dedī, -datusput around, surround
sīve or seu, conj.or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or
adversum (prep. + acc.; also adversus)against, opposite
cāsus, -ūs, m.fall; chance, accident
ignis, -is, m.fire
remedium, -ī, n.remedy
īnscītia, -ae f.ignorance, inexperience
aedificō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmake a building, build
caementum, -ī n.rough stone for building; mortar
apud, prep, with acc.among, with
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
tēgula, -ae f.roof tile
ūsus, -ūs, m.use; experience
māteria, -ae f.timber, material
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
omnis, -eall, every
ūtor, ūtī, ūsususe
īnfōrmis, -eshapeless; ugly
citrā (prep. + acc.)on this side of
speciēs, -ēī, f.sight, appearance, shape
dēlectātiō, -ōnis f.delight, pleasure, enjoyment
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
dīligenter, adv.carefully, diligently
illinō, -ere, -lēvī, -litussmear over, coat
terra, -ae, f.land, earth
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
pūrus, -a, -umclean, pure; (of land) clear, unbuilt
splendeō, -ēreshine, gleam
pictūra, -ae f.painting, picture
līneāmentum, -ī n.line, outline; (pl.) features, lineaments
color, -ōris, m.color
imitor, -ārī, -ātus sumcopy, imitate
soleō, -ēre, solitus sumbe accustomed, usually do
subterrāneus, -a, -umunderground, subterranean
specus, -ūs m.cave, grotto
aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tusopen
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
que, enclitic conj.and
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
īnsuper (adv.)above, on top; besides
fimus, -ī m.dung, dirt, filth
onerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusload, burden
suffugium, -ī n.shelter, refuge
hiems, hiemis f.winter
receptāculum, -ī n.place of refuge, shelter
frūx, frūgis f. (usu. pl.)crops, produce
quia (conj.)because
rigor, -ōris m.stiffness, hardness
frīgus, -oris n.cold
modus, -ī, m.way, manner
molliō, -īre, -īvī, -ītussoften; make (a slope) easier
sī, conj.if
quandō (adv.)when; (after sī) ever
hostis, -is, m. and f.enemy, foe
adveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome to or toward, approach, arrive
populor, -ārī, -ātus sumlay waste, plunder
abdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusput away, hide
autem, conj.moreover; but, however; now
dēfodiō, -ere, -fōdī, -fossusdig down; bury, hide in the ground
ignōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusbe ignorant of
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
fallō, fallere, fefellī, falsusdeceive
quod, conj.that, in that, because
quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītusseek; ask, inquire
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.