Germ. 45.1Trāns Suiōnas aliud mare, pigrum ac prope immōtum, quō cingī claudīque terrārum orbem hinc fidēs, quod extrēmus cadentis iam sōlis fulgor in ortūs ēdūrat adeō clārus ut sīdera hebetet;Beyond the Suiones is another sea, sluggish and almost motionless, by which the circle of the earth is believed to be girdled and closed, from this evidence: that the last radiance of the already setting sun lasts on till its rising, so bright that it dims the stars; Germ. 45.1sonum īnsuper ēmergentis audīrī fōrmāsque equōrum et radiōs capitis aspicī persuāsiō adicit.belief adds besides that the sound of him emerging is heard, and the shapes of his horses and the rays of his head are seen. Germ. 45.2Illūc ūsque et fāma vēra tantum nātūra.Only thus far, and here rumour is true, does nature extend. Germ. 45.2Ergō iam dextrō Suēbicī maris lītore Aestiōrum gentēs adluuntur, quibus rītus habitusque Suēbōrum, lingua Britannicae propior.So then, on the right-hand shore of the Suebian sea the peoples of the Aestii are washed by its waters; they have the rites and dress of the Suebi, but a language closer to the British.
Germ. 45.3Mātrem deum venerantur.They worship the mother of the gods. Germ. 45.3Īnsigne superstitiōnis fōrmās aprōrum gestant: id prō armīs hominumque tūtēlā sēcūrum deae cultōrem etiam inter hostēs praestat.As an emblem of their superstition they wear the figures of boars: this, in place of arms and every human protection, keeps the worshipper of the goddess safe even among enemies. Germ. 45.3Rārus ferrī, frequēns fūstium ūsus.The use of iron is rare, that of clubs frequent. Germ. 45.4Frūmenta cēterōsque frūctūs patientius quam prō solitā Germānōrum inertiā labōrant.They labour at grain and other crops with more patience than the usual idleness of the Germans would lead one to expect. Germ. 45.4Sed et mare scrūtantur, ac sōlī omnium sūcinum, quod ipsī glesum vocant, inter vada atque in ipsō lītore legunt.But they also search the sea, and alone of all they gather amber, which they themselves call 'glesum', among the shallows and on the shore itself. Germ. 45.5Nec quae nātūra quaeve ratiō gignat, ut barbarīs, quaesītum compertumve;What its nature is, or what process produces it, they have not, as barbarians, inquired or discovered; Germ. 45.5diū quīn etiam inter cētera ēiectāmenta maris iacēbat, dōnec luxuria nostra dedit nōmen.indeed, it long lay among the other refuse cast up by the sea, until our luxury gave it a name.
Germ. 45.5Ipsīs in nūllō ūsū: rude legitur, īnfōrme perfertur, pretiumque mīrantēs accipiunt.To them it is of no use: it is gathered raw, it is passed on unworked, and they receive the price in amazement. Germ. 45.6Sūcum tamen arborum esse intellegās, quia terrēna quaedam atque etiam volucria animālia plērumque interlūcent, quae implicāta hūmōre mox dūrēscente māteriā clauduntur.Yet you may perceive that it is the sap of trees, because certain creeping and even winged creatures very often shine through it, which, caught in the liquid, are enclosed as the substance later hardens. Germ. 45.7Fēcundiōra igitur nemora lūcōsque, sīcut Orientis sēcrētīs, ubi tūra balsamaque sūdantur, ita Occidentis īnsulīs terrīsque īnesse crēdiderim, quae vīcīnī sōlis radiīs expressa atque liquentia in proximum mare lābuntur ac vī tempestātum in adversa lītora exundant.I should therefore believe that, just as in the secret places of the East, where frankincense and balsam are exuded, so in the islands and lands of the West there are woods and groves of unusual fertility, whose sap, drawn out and melted by the rays of the nearby sun, flows into the neighbouring sea and is washed up by the force of storms on the shores opposite.
Germ. 45.8Sī nātūram sūcinī admōtō igne temptēs, in modum taedae accenditur alitque flammam pinguem et olentem;If you test the nature of amber by putting fire to it, it catches light like a pine torch and feeds a rich and fragrant flame; Germ. 45.8mox ut in picem rēsīnamve lentēscit.then it grows soft like pitch or resin. Germ. 45.9Suionibus Sitonum gentēs continuantur.Next to the Suiones come the peoples of the Sitones. Germ. 45.9Cētera similēs ūnō differunt, quod fēmina dominātur: in tantum nōn modo ā lībertāte sed etiam ā servitūte dēgenerant.Similar in other respects, they differ in one, that a woman rules over them: so far have they sunk not only below freedom but even below slavery.