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Tacitus · Historiae I

Histories 1.23

Otho courts the soldiers

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Hist. 1.23.1Sed sceleris cōgitātiō incertum an repēns: studia mīlitum iam prīdem spē successiōnis aut parātū facinoris adfectāverat, in itinere, in agmine, in statiōnibus vetustissimum quemque mīlitum nōmine vocāns ac memoriā Nerōniānī comitātūs contubernālīs appellandō;But whether the thought of crime was sudden is uncertain: he had long been courting the soldiers' goodwill in hope of the succession or in preparation for the deed, on the road, on the march, at their posts, calling each of the oldest soldiers by name and, recalling Nero's escort, addressing them as comrades; Hist. 1.23.1aliōs agnōscere, quōsdam requīrere et pecūniā aut grātiā iuvāre, īnserendō saepius querēlās et ambiguōs dē Galbā sermōnēs quaeque alia turbāmenta vulgī.some he would recognise, others he would ask after and help with money or influence, frequently slipping in complaints and ambiguous remarks about Galba and the other things that unsettle the common soldiery. Hist. 1.23.1Labōrēs itinerum, inopia commeātuum, dūritia imperiī atrōcius accipiēbantur, cum Campāniae lacūs et Achāiae urbēs classibus adīre solitī Pȳrēnaeum et Alpēs et immēnsa viārum spatia aegrē sub armīs ēnīterentur.The hardships of the march, the lack of supplies, the strictness of command were resented all the more bitterly, since men accustomed to visit the lakes of Campania and the cities of Achaea by ship were toiling with difficulty under arms over the Pyrenees and the Alps and immense stretches of road.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (69 words)
sed, conj.but
scelus, sceleris, n.wickedness, crime
cōgitātiō, -ōnis f.thought, reflection; plan, intention
incertus, -a, -umuncertain, unreliable
an, conj.or (in questions)
repēns, -entissudden
studium, -ī, n.eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
iam, adv.now, already
prīdem (adv.)long ago; iam prīdem: long since
spēs, speī, f.hope
successiō, -ōnis f.succession, inheriting; coming next
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
parātus, -ūs m.preparation, provision
facinus, facinoris, n.deed, crime
adfectō (affectō), -āre, -āvī, -ātusaim at, strive for, aspire to
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
agmen, -minis, n.band, column
statiō, -ōnis f.outpost, picket
vetustus, -a, -umold, ancient, long-established
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscall, summon
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
memoria, -ae, f.memory
Nerōniānus, -a, -umof Nero, Neronian
comitātus, -ūs m.escort, retinue, company
contubernālis, -is m.tent-mate, comrade; companion who shares one's house
appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātuscall, name
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
agnōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus, recognize
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
requīrō, -ere, -quīsīvī, -quīsītuslook for, ask after; need
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
grātia, -ae, f.favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
iuvō, -āre, iūvī, iūtumhelp
īnserō, -ere, -seruī, -sertumput in, insert
saepe, adv.often, frequently
querēla, -ae f.complaint, lament
ambiguus, -a, -umdoubtful, uncertain; in ambiguō: in doubt
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
sermō, -ōnis, m.conversation, talk, speech
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
que, enclitic conj.and
turbāmentum, -ī n.means of disturbance, cause of unrest
vulgus, -ī n.the common people, the crowd
labor, -ōris, m.labor, toil
inopia, -ae f.lack, want, scarcity
commeātus, -ūs, m.supplies, provisions
dūritia, -ae f.hardness; hardship, endurance
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
atrōciter (adv.)savagely, cruelly; harshly
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
lacus, -ūs, m.lake
urbs, urbis, f.city
classis, -is f.fleet
adeō, -īre, -iī, -itusgo to, approach
soleō, -ēre, solitus sumbe accustomed, usually do
Pȳrēnaeus, -a, -umof the Pyrenees (Pȳrēnaeī montēs: the Pyrenees)
immēnsus (inmēnsus), -a, -umimmeasurable, boundless, vast
via, -ae, f.road, way
spatium, -ī, n.space, interval; space of time, time
aegrē, adv.ill, with difficulty
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.under; sub vesperum, towards evening
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.arms, weapons
ēnītor, -ī, -nīsus (-nīxus) sumstruggle upward; strive, exert oneself
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.