Germ. 39.1Vetustissimōs nōbilissimōsque Suēbōrum Semnonēs memorant;The Semnones claim to be the oldest and noblest of the Suebi; Germ. 39.1fidēs antīquitātis religiōne firmātur.the belief in their antiquity is confirmed by religion. Germ. 39.2Statō tempore in silvam auguriīs patrum et prīscā formīdine sacram nōminis eiusdemque sanguinis populī lēgātiōnibus coeunt caesōque pūblicē homine celebrant barbarī rītūs horrenda prīmordia.At a fixed time all the peoples of the same name and blood assemble through their embassies in a forest made sacred by the auguries of their fathers and by ancient dread, and with the public slaughter of a human being they celebrate the horrifying first rites of their barbarous worship. Germ. 39.3Est et alia lūcō reverentia: nēmō nisi vinculō ligātus ingreditur, ut minor et potestātem nūminis prae sē ferēns.There is also another form of reverence paid to the grove: no one enters it unless bound with a cord, as an inferior who openly acknowledges the power of the deity. Germ. 39.3Sī forte prōlāpsus est, attollī et īnsurgere haud licitum: per humum ēvolvuntur.If by chance he has fallen, it is not permitted to be lifted up or to rise: they roll themselves out along the ground.
Germ. 39.4Eōque omnis superstitiō respicit, tamquam inde initia gentis, ibi regnātor omnium deus, cētera subiecta atque pārentia.And the whole of this superstition looks to this, that from there the race had its beginning, that there dwells the god who rules over all, and all else is subject and obedient. Germ. 39.4Adicit auctōritātem fortūna Semnonum: centum pāgīs habitant, magnōque corpore efficitur ut sē Suēbōrum caput crēdant.The fortune of the Semnones adds to their authority: they inhabit a hundred districts, and their great size makes them believe themselves the head of the Suebi.