Germania 20

Children, kinship and inheritance

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Germ. 20.1In omnī domō nūdī ac sordidī in hōs artūs, in haec corpora, quae mīrāmur, excrēscunt.In every house, naked and dirty, they grow into these limbs, into these bodies, which we admire. Germ. 20.1Sua quemque māter ūberibus alit, nec ancillīs ac nūtrīcibus dēlēgantur.Each mother nurses her own child at the breast, and they are not handed over to maids and nurses. Germ. 20.2Dominum ac servum nūllīs ēducātiōnis dēliciīs dignōscās: inter eadem pecora, in eādem humō dēgunt, dōnec aetās sēparet ingenuōs, virtūs agnōscat.You could not tell master from slave by any refinements of upbringing: they live among the same cattle, on the same ground, until age sets the freeborn apart and valour acknowledges them. Germ. 20.3Sēra iuvenum venus, eōque inexhausta pūbertās.The young men come late to love, and so their manhood is unexhausted. Germ. 20.3Nec virginēs festīnantur;Nor are the girls hurried; Germ. 20.3eadem iuventa, similis prōcēritās: parēs validaeque miscentur, ac rōbora parentum līberī referunt.they have the same youthfulness, a similar stature: well matched and strong they are united, and the children reproduce the vigour of their parents.

Germ. 20.4Sorōrum fīliīs īdem apud avunculum quī apud patrem honor.Sisters' sons are held in the same honour by their uncle as by their father. Germ. 20.4Quīdam sānctiōrem artiōremque hunc nexum sanguinis arbitrantur et in accipiendīs obsidibus magis exigunt, tamquam et animum firmius et domum lātius teneant.Some consider this tie of blood more sacred and closer, and in taking hostages they prefer to demand such hostages, as though they held the mind more firmly and the family more widely. Germ. 20.5Hērēdēs tamen successōrēsque suī cuique līberī, et nūllum testāmentum.Yet each man's heirs and successors are his own children, and there is no will. Germ. 20.5Sī līberī nōn sunt, proximus gradus in possessiōne frātrēs, patruī, avunculī.If there are no children, the nearest degree in possession is brothers, paternal uncles, maternal uncles. Germ. 20.5Quantō plūs propinquōrum, quantō maior adfīnium numerus, tantō grātiōsior senectūs;The more relatives a man has, the greater the number of his kin by marriage, the more esteemed is his old age; Germ. 20.5nec ūlla orbitātis pretia.nor is there any reward for childlessness.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (102 words)

in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
omnis, -e	all, every
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
nūdus, -a, -um	naked, bare
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
sordidus, -a, -um	dirty; mean, base, of low status
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
artūs, -uum m. pl.	joints; limbs, body
corpus, corporis, n.	body
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
mīror, -ārī, -ātus	wonder, wonder at
excrēscō, -ere, -crēvī, -crētus	grow up, grow out, increase
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.	each
māter, mātris, f.	mother
ūber, -eris n.	teat, breast
alō, -ere, -uī, -tus	nourish
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
ancilla, -ae f.	maidservant, slave girl
nūtrīx, -īcis f.	nurse
dēlēgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	assign, entrust; lay (blame) on, attribute to
dominus, -ī m.	master, owner
servus, -ī, m.	slave, servant
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
ēducātiō, -ōnis f.	bringing up, rearing, upbringing
dēliciae, -ārum f. pl.	delights, luxuries, pleasures
dignōscō, -ere, -gnōvī	tell apart, distinguish
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
pecus, pecoris, n.	herd, flock, cattle
humus, -ī f.	ground, earth; humī: on the ground
dēgō, -ere, dēgī	spend (time), live
dōnec (conj.)	until; while, as long as
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
sēparō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	separate, divide
ingenuus, -a, -um	freeborn; as noun, a freeborn man
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
agnōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus, recognize
sērus, -a, -um	late
iuvenis, -is, m.	young man, youth
eō (adv.)	to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
que, enclitic conj.	and
inexhaustus, -a, -um	inexhaustible; unexhausted, unspent
pūbertās, -ātis f.	puberty, youth; manhood, virility
virgō, virginis, f.	maiden
festīnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	hurry, make haste
iuventa, -ae f.	youth, the time of youth
similis, -e	like, similar (vērī similis: likely)
prōcēritās, -ātis f.	height, tallness
pār, paris	equal
validus, -a, -um	strong
misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtus	mix, mingle
rōbur, rōboris, n.	oak
parēns, -entis m./f.	parent
līberī, -ōrum, m. plur.	children
referō, referre, rettulī, relātus	bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia
soror, -ōris, f.	sister
fīlius, -ī, m.	son
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
avunculus, -ī m.	uncle (mother's brother)
pater, patris, m.	father
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
sānctus, -a, -um	consecrated, sacred
artus, -a, -um	close, tight; dense, thick
nexus, -ūs m.	tie, bond; interlacing, tangle
sanguis, sanguinis, m.	blood
arbitror, -ārī, -ātus	consider, think, judge
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
obses, obsidis m./f.	hostage
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
exigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctum	drive out; finish, spend (a season)
tamquam (adv., conj.)	as, just as; as if
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
firmiter (adv.)	firmly, steadily
lātē	widely
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
hērēs (haerēs), -ēdis m.	heir
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
successor, -ōris m.	successor (in office)
testāmentum, -ī n.	will (testament)
sī, conj.	if
nōn, adv.	not
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
gradus, -ūs m.	step, stage; rank
possessiō, -ōnis f.	property, possession
frāter, frātris, m.	brother
patruus, -ī m.	uncle (father's brother)
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
plūs (adv.)	more
propinquus, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m./-a f.	near; (noun) relative
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
affīnis, -e	neighbouring; connected (with), implicated (in) (+ dat.)
numerus, -ī, m.	number
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
grātiōsus, -a, -um	popular, influential; obliging, done as a favour
senectūs, -tūtis f.	old age
ūllus, -a, -um	any
orbitās, -ātis f.	bereavement, orphanhood
pretium, -ī, n.	price, charge

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.