Germ. 8.1Memoriae prōditur quāsdam aciēs inclīnātās iam et labantēs ā fēminīs restitūtās cōnstantiā precum et obiectū pectorum et mōnstrātā comminus captīvitāte, quam longē impatientius fēminārum suārum nōmine timent, adeō ut efficācius obligentur animī cīvitātum quibus inter obsidēs puellae quoque nōbilēs imperantur.It is recorded that certain battle lines, already wavering and giving way, were restored by the women, through the persistence of their prayers, the baring of their breasts and the pointing out of captivity close at hand, which the men fear far more intolerably for the sake of their women, so much so that the loyalty of those states is more effectively secured which are required to give, among their hostages, girls of noble family as well. Germ. 8.2Īnesse quīn etiam sānctum aliquid et prōvidum putant, nec aut cōnsilia eārum aspernantur aut respōnsa neglegunt.They even believe that there is something holy and prophetic in women, and they neither scorn their advice nor disregard their answers. Germ. 8.3Vīdimus sub dīvō Vespasiānō Veledam diū apud plērōsque nūminis locō habitam;We saw, under the deified Vespasian, Veleda, long regarded by many as a divinity; Germ. 8.3sed et ōlim Auriniam et complūrēs aliās venerātī sunt, nōn adūlātiōne nec tamquam facerent deās.but in earlier times too they revered Aurinia and several others, not out of flattery, nor as though they were making goddesses of them.
Lectitō › Tacitus › Germania › Germania 8
Tacitus · Germania
Germania 8
The reverence paid to women
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Latin vocabulary for this passage (70 words)
| memoria, -ae, f. | memory |
| prōdō, -ere, -didī, -ditum | hand down; betray |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| aciēs, -ēī, f. | line of battle |
| inclīnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | bend, lean; incline, tend |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| labō, -āre, -āvī | totter, waver (short a: not lābor, slip) |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| fēmina, -ae, f. | woman |
| restituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set up again, put back, restore |
| cōnstantia, -ae f. | steadiness, firmness |
| prex, precis f. (usu. pl.) | prayer, entreaty |
| obiectus, -ūs m. | a placing in the way; barrier |
| pectus, pectoris, n. | breast |
| mōnstrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | point out, show |
| comminus (adv.) | hand to hand, at close quarters |
| captīvitās, -ātis f. | captivity; (collective) the captives, the exiles |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| longē, adv. | far |
| impatienter (adv.) | impatiently, intolerantly |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| timeō, -ēre, -uī | fear |
| adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go to, approach |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| efficāciter (adv.) | effectively |
| obligō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | bind, oblige; mortgage, pledge |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| obses, obsidis m./f. | hostage |
| puella, -ae, f. | girl, maiden |
| quoque, adv. | also |
| nōbilis, -e | well-known, noble |
| imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus | command, order, enjoin |
| īnsum, inesse, īnfuī | be in, be present in (dat.) |
| quīn, conj. | so that ... not, but that, but |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| sānctus, -a, -um | consecrated, sacred |
| aliquis, -quid, indef. pron. | someone, any one, something, anything, some, any |
| prōvidus, -a, -um | foreseeing, prudent, careful, provident |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| aspernor, -ārī, -ātus sum | spurn, reject, scorn |
| respōnsum, -ī, n. | reply, answer, response |
| neglegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus | disregard, neglect |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| sub, prep. with acc. and abl. | under; sub vesperum, towards evening |
| dīvus, -ī m. (gen. pl. also dīvum, dīvom) | god |
| diū, adv. | for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| plērīque, plēraeque, plēraque | most, very many |
| nūmen, -inis n. | divine power, divinity |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| sed, conj. | but |
| ōlim, adv. | once upon a time, once, formerly, of old |
| complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj. | several, many |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| veneror, -ārī, -ātus sum | worship, revere |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| adūlātiō, -ōnis f. | flattery, fawning |
| tamquam (adv., conj.) | as, just as; as if |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| dea, -ae f. | goddess |
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.