Germania 19

Chastity and the punishment of adultery

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Germ. 19.1Ergō saeptā pudīcitiā agunt, nūllīs spectāculōrum illecebrīs, nūllīs convīviōrum irrītātiōnibus corruptae.So they live with their chastity fenced about, corrupted by no allurements of public shows, by no provocations of banquets. Germ. 19.2Litterārum sēcrēta virī pariter ac fēminae ignōrant.Secret letters are unknown to men and women alike. Germ. 19.2Paucissima in tam numerōsā gente adulteria, quōrum poena praesēns et marītīs permissa: abscīsīs crīnibus nūdātam cōram propinquīs expellit domō marītus ac per omnem vīcum verbere agit;In so numerous a people adulteries are very few, and their punishment is immediate and left to the husbands: having cut off her hair, the husband drives her, stripped, from the house in the presence of her relatives and drives her with blows through the whole village; Germ. 19.2pūblicātae enim pudīcitiae nūlla venia: nōn fōrmā, nōn aetāte, nōn opibus marītum invēnerit.for there is no pardon for chastity once prostituted: not by beauty, not by youth, not by wealth will she find a husband. Germ. 19.3Nēmō enim illīc vitia rīdet, nec corrumpere et corrumpī saeculum vocātur.For no one there laughs at vices, nor is corrupting and being corrupted called the fashion of the age.

Germ. 19.3Melius quidem adhūc eae cīvitātēs, in quibus tantum virginēs nūbunt et cum spē vōtōque uxōris semel trānsigitur.Better still, indeed, are those states in which only virgins marry, and the hopes and prayers of a wife are settled once and for all. Germ. 19.4Sīc ūnum accipiunt marītum quō modō ūnum corpus ūnamque vītam, nē ūlla cōgitātiō ultrā, nē longior cupiditās, nē tamquam marītum sed tamquam mātrimōnium ament.So they receive one husband, just as they receive one body and one life, so that there may be no thought beyond him, no lingering desire, so that they may love not the husband so much as the married state. Germ. 19.5Numerum līberōrum fīnīre aut quemquam ex agnātīs necāre flāgitium habētur, plūsque ibi bonī mōrēs valent quam alibī bonae lēgēs.To limit the number of children or to kill any child born after the heir is held a crime, and good customs have more force there than good laws elsewhere.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (104 words)

ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
saepiō, -īre, saepsī, saeptus	fence in, enclose; protect
pudīcitia, -ae f.	chastity, modesty
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
spectāculum, -ī n.	sight, spectacle, show
inlecebra, -ae f.	enticement, lure, charm
convīvium, -ī n.	banquet, dinner party
irrītātiō (inrītātiō), -ōnis f.	incitement, stimulus; provocation
corrumpō, -rumpere, -rūpī, -ruptus	spoil, ruin, destroy; bribe
littera, -ae f.	letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing
sēcrētum, -ī n.	a private place; secret
vir, virī, m.	man
pariter (adv.)	equally, alike; at the same time
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
fēmina, -ae, f.	woman
ignōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	be ignorant of
paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	few
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
tam, adv.	so
numerōsus, -a, -um	numerous, populous; rhythmical
gēns, gentis, f.	race, nation
adulterium, -ī n.	adultery
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
poena, -ae, f.	penalty, punishment
praesēns, -sentis, adj.	present, immediate, imminent
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
marītus, -ī, m.	husband
permittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum	allow, permit; entrust
abscīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus	cut away or off
crīnis, -is m.	hair, a lock of hair
nūdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	strip, leave bare
cōram (adv.)	face to face, in person
propinquus, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m./-a f.	near; (noun) relative
expellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsus	drive out, expel
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
omnis, -e	all, every
vīcus, -ī, m.	village
verber, -eris n.	lash, whip; (pl.) a flogging
pūblicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	confiscate, make public property
enim, conj.	for
venia, -ae f.	pardon, forgiveness
nōn, adv.	not
fōrma, -ae, f.	form, appearance; beauty
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -um	help; (pl.) resources, wealth, power
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come upon, find
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.	no one, nobody
illīc (adv.)	there
vitium, -ī n.	fault, vice
rīdeō, rīdēre, rīsī, rīsus	laugh
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
saeculum, -ī n.	generation, age; century
vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	call, summon
bene, adv.	well; successfully
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
adhūc, adv.	to this point, up to this time, yet, still
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
tantum, adv.	so much or far, only
virgō, virginis, f.	maiden
nūbō, -ere, nūpsī, nūptum (+ dat.)	marry (said of a woman)
cum, prep, with abl.	with
spēs, speī, f.	hope
vōtum, -ī n.	vow; wish, prayer
que, enclitic conj.	and
uxor, -ōris, f.	wife
semel (adv.)	once (semel atque iterum: again and again)
trānsigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctus	carry through, finish, settle
sīc, adv.	so, thus
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
modus, -ī, m.	way, manner
corpus, corporis, n.	body
vīta, -ae, f.	life
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
ūllus, -a, -um	any
cōgitātiō, -ōnis f.	thought, reflection; plan, intention
ultrā (prep. + acc.)	beyond
longus, -a, -um	long; tedious
cupiditās, -tātis, f.	desire, longing, eagerness
tamquam (adv., conj.)	as, just as; as if
sed, conj.	but
mātrimōnium, -ī, n.	marriage; in mātrimōnium dūcere, marry
amō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	love
numerus, -ī, m.	number
līberī, -ōrum, m. plur.	children
fīniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	bound, limit; end
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron.	any one, anything
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
agnātus, -ī m.	relative on the father's side; a child born after the heir was named
necō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	put to death, slay, kill
flāgitium, -ī n.	shameful act, disgrace, outrage
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
plūs (adv.)	more
ibi, adv.	in that place, there
bonus, -a, -um	good
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
alibī (adv.)	elsewhere; alius alibi: some in one place, some in another
lēx, lēgis f.	law

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.