Histories 1.21

Otho's motives for revolt

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Hist. 1.21.1Intereā Othōnem, cui compositīs rēbus nūlla spēs, omne in turbidō cōnsilium, multa simul extimulābant, luxuria etiam prīncipī onerōsa, inopia vix prīvātō toleranda, in Galbam īra, in Pīsōnem invidia;Meanwhile Otho, who had no hope in a settled state of affairs and placed all his plans in turmoil, was spurred on by many things at once: his extravagance, burdensome even for an emperor, his poverty, scarcely bearable even for a private citizen, his anger against Galba, his envy of Piso; Hist. 1.21.1fingēbat et metum quō magis concupīsceret: praegravem sē Nerōnī fuisse, nec Lūsītāniam rūrsus et alterīus exiliī honōrem expectandum.he also invented fears to sharpen his desire: he had been too much of a burden to Nero, and he must not wait for Lusitania again and the honour of a second exile. Hist. 1.21.1Suspectum semper invīsumque dominantibus quī proximus dēstinārētur.Rulers always suspect and hate whoever is marked out as next. Hist. 1.21.1Nocuisse id sibi apud senem prīncipem, magis nocitūrum apud iuvenem ingeniō trucem et longō exiliō efferātum: occīdī Othōnem posse.That had harmed him with an old emperor, and it would harm him more with a young one, savage by nature and made wild by long exile: Otho could be killed.

Hist. 1.21.1Proinde agendum audendumque, dum Galbae auctōritās fluxa, Pīsōnis nōndum coaluisset.Therefore he must act and dare while Galba's authority was crumbling and Piso's had not yet taken hold. Hist. 1.21.1Opportūnōs magnīs cōnātibus trānsitūs rērum, nec cūnctātiōne opus, ubi perniciōsior sit quiēs quam temeritās.Times of transition were suited to great enterprises, and there was no need for delay when inaction was more ruinous than rashness. Hist. 1.21.1Mortem omnibus ex nātūrā aequālem oblīviōne apud posterōs vel glōriā distinguī;Death, by nature equal for all, was distinguished among posterity by oblivion or by glory; Hist. 1.21.1ac sī nocentem innocentemque īdem exitus maneat, ācriōris virī esse meritō perīre.and if the same end awaited guilty and innocent alike, it was the mark of a bolder man to perish deservedly.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×4, ablative absolute ×1, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (95 words)

intereā, adv.	in the meantime, meanwhile
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
compōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positum	put together; mend, set in order
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
spēs, speī, f.	hope
omnis, -e	all, every
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
turbidus, -a, -um	stormy, wild, confused
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
extimulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	goad on, stir up, incite
luxuria, -ae f.	luxury
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
onerōsus, -a, -um	heavy, weighty; burdensome, troublesome
inopia, -ae f.	lack, want, scarcity
vix, adv.	with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely
prīvātus, -a, -um	private
tolerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	bear, endure; keep off (hunger)
īra, -ae, f.	anger, wrath
invidia, -ae f.	envy, jealousy, ill will
fingō, fingere, finxī, fictus	invent, make up
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
metus, -ūs m.	fear, dread
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
concupīscō, -cupīscere, -cupīvī, -cupītus	long for, covet
praegravis, -e	very heavy; burdensome, oppressive; weighed down
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
rūrsus, adv.	again
alter, -era, -erum	one or the other (of two); another, second
exsilium, -ī, n.	exile
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus	look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait
suspectus, -a, -um	suspected, mistrusted
semper, adv.	always
invīsus, -a, -um	hated, hateful (to: dat.)
que, enclitic conj.	and
dominor, -ārī, -ātus sum	be master, rule
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
dēstinō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	fasten, make fast
noceō, -ēre, nocuī, nocitum (+ dat.)	harm, hurt
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
senex, senis, m.	old man
iuvenis, -is, m.	young man, youth
ingenium, -ī n.	natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
trux, trucis	savage, fierce, grim
longus, -a, -um	long; tedious
efferō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	make wild, make savage; (pass.) grow wild
occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus	cut down, kill
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
proinde (adv.)	therefore, accordingly; so then
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
audeō, audēre, ausus sum	dare
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
auctōritās, -tātis f.	influence, authority, prestige
fluxus, -a, -um	flowing; fleeting, unstable
nōndum, adv.	not yet
coalēscō, -ere, -aluī, -alitum	grow together, unite
opportūnus, -a, -um	suitable, seasonable, convenient, opportune
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
cōnātus, -ūs, m.	attempt, effort
trānsitus, -ūs m.	crossing, passage
cūnctātiō, -ōnis f.	delay, hesitation
opus, operis, n.	work, task
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
perniciōsus, -a, -um	destructive, ruinous, dangerous
quiēs, quiētis, f.	rest, repose
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
temeritās, -ātis f.	rashness, recklessness
mors, mortīs, f.	death
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
nātūra, -ae, f.	nature, character
aequālis, -e	equal; of the same age
oblīviō, -ōnis f.	forgetfulness, oblivion
posterī, -ōrum m. pl.	descendants, posterity
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
glōria, -ae, f.	glory
distinguō, -ere, -stīnxī, -stīnctus	separate, divide; distinguish
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
sī, conj.	if
nocēns, -entis	guilty, criminal
innocēns, -entis	harmless; innocent
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
exitus, -ūs m.	way out; outcome, end
maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsus	remain
ācer, ācris, ācre	sharp, shrill
vir, virī, m.	man
meritō (adv.)	deservedly, rightly
pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūrus	pass away, perish

Tacitus, Historiae I. Latin text: C. D. Fisher, Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Libri (Oxford, 1911), 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.