Germ. 44.1Suionum hinc cīvitātēs, ipsō in Oceanō, praeter virōs armaque classibus valent.Next come the states of the Suiones, in the Ocean itself, which besides men and arms are strong in fleets. Germ. 44.1Fōrma nāvium eō differt quod utrimque prōra parātam semper adpulsuī frontem agit.The shape of their ships differs in that a prow at either end presents a front always ready for putting in to land. Germ. 44.1Nec vēlīs ministrant nec remōs in ōrdinem lateribus adiungunt: solūtum, ut in quibusdam flūminum, et mūtābile, ut rēs poscit, hinc vel illinc rēmigium.They neither work them with sails nor fix oars in rows along the sides: the oarage is loose, as on some rivers, and can be shifted, as the situation demands, to this side or that. Germ. 44.2Est apud illōs et opibus honōs, eōque ūnus imperitat, nūllīs iam exceptiōnibus, nōn precāriō iūre pārendī.Among them wealth too is held in honour, and therefore one man rules, now with no restrictions, with no precarious right to obedience. Germ. 44.3Nec arma, ut apud cēterōs Germānōs, in prōmiscō, sed clausa sub custōde, et quidem servō, quia subitōs hostium incursūs prohibet Oceanus, ōtiōsae porrō armātōrum manūs facile lascīviunt: enimvērō neque nōbilem neque ingenuum, nē lībertīnum quidem armīs praepōnere rēgia ūtilitās est.Nor are arms, as among the other Germans, open to all, but locked away under a guard, and that a slave, because the Ocean prevents sudden incursions by enemies, while idle hands with arms easily grow unruly: indeed, it is not in a king's interest to put a noble or a freeborn man, or even a freedman, in charge of the arms.
Lectitō › Tacitus › Germania › Germania 44
Tacitus · Germania
Germania 44
The Suiones and their ships
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Latin vocabulary for this passage (82 words)
| hinc, adv. | from this place, hence |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| praeter, prep. with acc. | before, past, by; besides, except |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| classis, -is f. | fleet |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail |
| fōrma, -ae, f. | form, appearance; beauty |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum | differ; scatter, put off |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| utrimque, adv. | on either side or both sides |
| prōra, -ae, f. | prow, bow |
| parātus, -a, -um | prepared, equipped, ready |
| semper, adv. | always |
| appulsus (adpulsus), -ūs m. | landing, putting in to shore; approach |
| frōns, frontis, f. | forehead |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| vēlum, -ī n. | sail |
| ministrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | serve, wait on (+ dat.) |
| rēmus, -ī, m. | oar |
| ōrdō, ōrdinis, m. | arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order |
| latus, lateris n. | side, flank |
| adiungo, -iungere, -iūnxī, -iūnctus | join to, join |
| solvō, solvere, solvī, solūtus | loosen, unbind, release; pay; with or without nāvem, cast off, set sail, put to sea |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| mūtābilis, -e | changeable, fickle |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| poscō, poscere, poposcī | ask, demand |
| vel | or; vel … vel: either … or |
| illinc, adv. | from there, on that side |
| rēmigium, -ī n. | rowing; oars; (of wings) oarage |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -um | help; (pl.) resources, wealth, power |
| honor, -ōris, m. | honor |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| imperitō, -āre, -āvī | rule over, command (+ dat.) |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| exceptiō, -ōnis f. | exception, reservation, restriction |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| precārius, -a, -um | obtained by entreaty, held on sufferance; uncertain |
| iūs, iūris, n. | right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath |
| pāreō, -ēre, -uī | obey |
| cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | the other, the remaining, the rest of |
| prōmiscuus, -a, -um | mixed, indiscriminate, held in common |
| sed, conj. | but |
| claudō, -ere, clausī, clausum | close, shut; (agmen) bring up the rear |
| sub, prep. with acc. and abl. | under; sub vesperum, towards evening |
| custōs, -ōdis m. | guard |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| servus, -ī, m. | slave, servant |
| quia (conj.) | because |
| subitus, -a, -um | sudden |
| hostis, -is, m. and f. | enemy, foe |
| incursus, -ūs m. | attack, onrush |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| ōtiōsus, -a, -um | at leisure, quiet; as noun: a peaceful citizen |
| porrō (adv.) | further on; moreover |
| armātus, -a, -um | armed |
| manus, -ūs, f. | hand |
| facile, adv. | easily |
| lascīviō, -īre, -iī, -ītus | frolic, run riot, be unruly; behave wantonly |
| enimvērō (adv.) | indeed, to be sure, truly |
| nōbilis, -e | well-known, noble |
| ingenuus, -a, -um | freeborn; as noun, a freeborn man |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| lībertīnus, -a, -um | of a freedman; as noun, freedman |
| praepōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum | put in command of |
| rēgius, -a, -um | royal, kingly |
| ūtilitās, -ātis f. | usefulness, advantage |
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.