Germ. 7.1Rēgēs ex nōbilitāte, ducēs ex virtūte sūmunt.They choose kings for their noble birth, generals for their valour. Germ. 7.1Nec rēgibus īnfīnīta ac lībera potestās, et ducēs exemplō potius quam imperiō, sī promptī, sī cōnspicuī, sī ante aciem agant, admīrātiōne praesunt.Nor do the kings have unlimited or arbitrary power, and the generals lead by example rather than by command, winning admiration if they are energetic, if they are conspicuous, if they act in front of the line. Germ. 7.2Cēterum neque animadvertere neque vincīre, nē verberāre quidem nisi sacerdōtibus permissum, nōn quasi in poenam nec ducis iussū, sed velut deō imperante, quem adesse bellantibus crēdunt.But to execute, to put in chains, even to flog, is permitted to no one but the priests, and not as a punishment or at the general's order, but as if at the command of the god whom they believe to be present with those who make war. Germ. 7.3Effigiēsque et signa quaedam dētrācta lūcīs in proelium ferunt;And they carry into battle certain images and emblems taken down from the sacred groves; Germ. 7.3quodque praecipuum fortitūdinis incitāmentum est, nōn cāsus nec fortuīta conglobātiō turmam aut cuneum facit, sed familiae et propinquitātēs;and what is the chief incitement to courage, it is not chance or a random gathering that forms a squadron or a wedge, but families and kinships; Germ. 7.3et in proximō pignora, unde fēminārum ululātus audīrī, unde vāgītus īnfantium.and close at hand are their dear ones, whence the wailing of women can be heard, whence the crying of infants.
Germ. 7.4Hī cuique sānctissimī testēs, hī maximī laudātōrēs: ad mātrēs, ad coniugēs vulnera ferunt;These are to each man the most sacred witnesses, these the greatest praisers: to their mothers, to their wives they bring their wounds; Germ. 7.4nec illae numerāre et exigere plagās pavent, cibōsque et hortāmina pugnantibus gestant.nor do the women shrink from counting and examining the blows, and they carry food and encouragement to the fighters.