Germania 31

The vows of the Chatti warriors

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Germ. 31.1Et aliīs Germānōrum populīs ūsurpātum rārō et prīvāta cuiusque audentia apud Chattōs in cōnsēnsum vertit, ut prīmum adolēverint, crīnem barbamque submittere, nec nisi hoste caesō exuere vōtīvum obligātumque virtūtī ōris habitum.A practice adopted rarely among other German peoples, and through the private daring of individuals, has become a general rule among the Chatti: as soon as they have grown up, to let their hair and beard grow, and not to put off this appearance of the face, vowed and pledged to valour, until they have killed an enemy. Germ. 31.2Super sanguinem et spolia revēlant frontem, sēque tum dēmum pretia nāscendī rettulisse dignōsque patriā ac parentibus ferunt;Over the blood and spoils they lay bare their brow, and declare that only then have they repaid the price of their birth and are worthy of their country and their parents; Germ. 31.2ignāvīs et imbellibus manet squālor.the cowardly and unwarlike keep their squalor. Germ. 31.3Fortissimus quisque ferreum īnsuper ānulum (ignōminiōsum id gentī) velut vinculum gestat, dōnec sē caede hostis absolvat.The bravest of them also wear an iron ring (a mark of disgrace among that people) as a kind of fetter, until they release themselves by the slaughter of an enemy.

Germ. 31.4Plūrimīs Chattōrum hic placet habitus, iamque canent īnsignēs et hostibus simul suīsque mōnstrātī.Very many of the Chatti like this appearance, and they grow grey with these marks, pointed out to enemies and to their own people alike. Germ. 31.4Omnium penes hōs initia pugnārum;With these men lies the beginning of every battle; Germ. 31.4haec prīma semper aciēs, vīsū nova: nam nē in pāce quidem vultū mītiōre mānsuēscunt.theirs is always the front line, strange to behold: for not even in peace do they grow gentle with a milder look. Germ. 31.5Nūllī domus aut ager aut aliqua cūra: prōut ad quemque vēnēre, aluntur, prōdigī aliēnī, contemptōrēs suī, dōnec exsanguis senectūs tam dūrae virtūtī imparēs faciat.None has a house or land or any care: to whomever they come, they are fed, lavish with what belongs to others, disdainful of their own, until bloodless old age makes them unequal to so hard a valour.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×1, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (106 words)

et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
populus, -ī m.	people, nation
ūsurpō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	use, employ; put into practice
rārō (adv.)	seldom, rarely
prīvātus, -a, -um	private
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.	each
audentia, -ae f.	boldness, daring
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
cōnsēnsus, -ūs, m.	agreement, consent
vertō, vertere, vertī, versus	turn
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
prīmum, adv.	first, in the first place
adolēscō, -ere, adolēvī, adultus	grow up
crīnis, -is m.	hair, a lock of hair
barba, -ae f.	beard
que, enclitic conj.	and
submittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum	send (as help)
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
hostis, -is, m. and f.	enemy, foe
caedō, -ere, cecīdī, caesum	cut, cut down; kill
exuō, -uere, -uī, -ūtus	put or take off
vōtīvus, -a, -um	votive, given in fulfilment of a vow
obligō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	bind, oblige; mortgage, pledge
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
ōs, ōris, n.	mouth
habitus, -ūs m.	condition, state; bearing, character
super (prep. + acc. or abl.; also adv.)	over, above, on top of; upon; about, concerning
sanguis, sanguinis, m.	blood
spolium, -ī n.	spoils, booty (usu. pl.)
revēlō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	uncover, reveal
frōns, frontis, f.	forehead
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
tum, adv.	then, at that time
dēmum, adv.	at last
pretium, -ī, n.	price, charge
nāscor, -ī, nātus sum	be born; rise, begin
referō, referre, rettulī, relātus	bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)	worthy (of), deserving
patria, -ae, f.	fatherland, country
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
parēns, -entis m./f.	parent
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
ignāvus, -a, -um	lazy, cowardly
imbellis, -e	unwarlike, cowardly
maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsus	remain
squālor, -ōris, m.	dirt, filth
fortis, -e	brave
ferreus, -a, -um	of iron, iron
īnsuper (adv.)	above, on top; besides
ānulus, -ī m.	ring, finger-ring
ignōminiōsus, -a, -um	disgraced; shameful, disgraceful
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
gēns, gentis, f.	race, nation
velut	even or just as, as
vinculum, -ī, n.	bond, chain
gestō, -āre	carry, wear
dōnec (conj.)	until; while, as long as
caedēs, -is, f.	cutting down, killing, slaughter
absolvō, -ere, -solvī, -solūtus	release, set free; acquit (of: gen.)
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.)	please (placuit eī: he decided)
iam, adv.	now, already
caneō, -ēre, canuī	be white, be grey (of hair or of olive leaves)
īnsignis, -e	notable, remarkable
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
mōnstrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	point out, show
omnis, -e	all, every
penes (prep. + acc.)	in the hands of, in the power of
initium, -ī, n.	beginning
pugna, -ae, f.	fighting, battle, combat
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
semper, adv.	always
aciēs, -ēī, f.	line of battle
vīsus, -ūs, m.	sight
novus, -a, -um	new; novissimus, last
nam, conj.	for
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
pāx, pācis f.	peace
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
vultus, -ūs m.	face, expression
mītis, -e	mild, gentle (adv. mītissimē: as gently as possible)
mānsuēscō, -ere, -suēvī, -suētus	grow tame or gentle, soften; tame
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
ager, agri, m.	field, land
aliquī, -qua, -quod, indef. pron. adj.	some, any
cūra, -ae f.	care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
prōut (conj.)	just as, according as
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
alō, -ere, -uī, -tus	nourish
prōdigus, -a, -um	wasteful, extravagant; as noun, a spendthrift
aliēnus, -a, -um	belonging to another, out of place
contemptor, -ōris m.	despiser, scorner, one who disdains
exsanguis, -e	bloodless, pale, deathly white
senectūs, -tūtis f.	old age
tam, adv.	so
dūrus, -a, -um	hard; harsh; difficult
impār, imparis	unequal, ill-matched
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter

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.