Germ. 36.1In latere Chaucōrum Chattōrumque Chēruscī nimiam ac marcentem diū pācem inlacessītī nūtriērunt;On the flank of the Chauci and the Chatti, the Cherusci, unprovoked, long nursed an excessive and enervating peace; Germ. 36.1idque iūcundius quam tūtius fuit, quia inter impotentēs et validōs falsō quiēscās: ubi manū agitur, modestia ac probitās nōmina superiōris sunt.and this was more pleasant than safe, because among the lawless and the strong you rest in a false security: where matters are decided by force, moderation and uprightness are names belonging to the stronger. Germ. 36.2Ita quī ōlim bonī aequīque Chēruscī, nunc inertēs ac stultī vocantur;So the Cherusci, who were once called good and just, are now called idle and foolish; Germ. 36.2Chattīs victōribus fortūna in sapientiam cessit.for the victorious Chatti, good fortune has passed for wisdom. Germ. 36.3Trāctī ruīnā Chēruscōrum et Fosī, contermina gēns, adversārum rērum ex aequō sociī sunt, cum in secundīs minōrēs fuissent.Dragged down by the ruin of the Cherusci, the Fosi too, a neighbouring people, are equal partners in their adversity, though in prosperity they had been their inferiors.
Lectitō › Tacitus › Germania › Germania 36
Tacitus · Germania
Germania 36
The decline of the Cherusci
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Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (53 words)
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| latus, lateris n. | side, flank |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| nimius, -a, -um | excessive, too great |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| marceō, -ēre | wither, droop; be languid or sluggish |
| diū, adv. | for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp |
| pāx, pācis f. | peace |
| illacessītus (inlacessītus), -a, -um | unprovoked, unattacked |
| nūtriō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | nourish, feed; nurse (a baby) |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| iūcundus, -a, -um | sweet, pleasant |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quia (conj.) | because |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| impotēns, -entis | powerless; lacking self-control, wild |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| validus, -a, -um | strong |
| falsō (adv.) | falsely, wrongly |
| quiēscō, -ere, quiēvī, quiētus | rest, keep quiet |
| ubi, adv. | where; conj., when |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| modestia, -ae f. | moderation, discipline, restraint |
| probitās, -ātis f. | honesty, uprightness |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| superior, -ius, adj. | higher; former, previous, preceding |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ōlim, adv. | once upon a time, once, formerly, of old |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| aequus, -a, -um | level; equal; fair |
| nunc, adv. | now |
| iners, -ertis | sluggish, idle, unmanly |
| stultus, -a, -um | foolish, stupid |
| vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call, summon |
| victor, -ōris m. | conqueror, victor |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| sapientia, -ae f. | wisdom, good sense |
| cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessum | go, withdraw, give way |
| trahō, trahere, trāxī, trāctus | draw, drag |
| ruīna, -ae f. | fall, collapse, ruin |
| conterminus, -a, -um | bordering on, next to (+ dat.) |
| gēns, gentis, f. | race, nation |
| adversus, -a, -um | facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| socius, -ī, m. | companion, comrade, ally |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| parvus, -a, -um | little, small |
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.