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Tacitus · Historiae I

Histories 1.29

Piso appeals to the palace cohort

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Hist. 1.29.1Ignārus interim Galba et sacrīs intentus fatīgābat aliēnī iam imperiī deōs, cum adfertur rūmor rapī in castra incertum quem senātōrem, mox Othōnem esse quī raperētur, simul ex tōtā urbe, ut quisque obvius fuerat, aliī formīdine augentēs, quīdam minōra vērō, nē tum quidem oblītī adūlātiōnis.Meanwhile Galba, unaware and intent on his sacrifice, was wearying the gods of an empire that was already another's, when a rumour is brought that some senator, no one knew who, was being carried off to the camp, and soon that it was Otho who was being carried off; at the same time people came from all over the city, as each had met the news, some exaggerating it out of fear, some making it less than the truth, not forgetting their flattery even then. Hist. 1.29.1Igitur cōnsultantibus placuit pertemptārī animum cohortis, quae in Palātiō statiōnem agēbat, nec per ipsum Galbam, cuius integra auctōritās maiōribus remediīs servābātur.So, on consultation, it was decided that the mood of the cohort on guard at the Palatine should be tested, but not by Galba himself, whose authority was being kept intact for stronger remedies.

Hist. 1.29.1Pīsō prō gradibus domus vocātōs in hunc modum adlocūtus est: "sextus diēs agitur, commīlitōnēs, ex quō ignārus futūrī, et sīve optandum hoc nōmen sīve timendum erat, Caesar adscītus sum.Piso, having called them together before the steps of the palace, addressed them in this fashion: 'This is the sixth day, fellow soldiers, since I was adopted as Caesar, ignorant of the future, and whether this name was to be desired or feared. Hist. 1.29.1Quō domus nostrae aut reī pūblicae fātō in vestrā manū positum est, nōn quia meō nōmine trīstiōrem cāsum paveam, ut quī adversās rēs expertus cum maximē discam nē secundās quidem minus discrīminis habēre: patris et senātūs et ipsīus imperiī vicem doleō, sī nōbīs aut perīre hodiē necesse est aut, quod aequē apud bonōs miserum est, occīdere.It is by the destiny of our house or of the state that the matter has been placed in your hands, not because I dread a sadder outcome on my own account, since, having experienced adversity, I am learning at this very moment that prosperity too holds no less danger: it is for my father, and for the senate, and for the empire itself that I grieve, if today we must either perish or, what is equally wretched for good men, kill.

Hist. 1.29.1Sōlācium proximī mōtūs habēbāmus incruentam urbem et rēs sine discordiā trānslātās: prōvīsum adoptiōne vidēbātur ut nē post Galbam quidem bellō locus esset."In the last upheaval we had the consolation that the city was free of bloodshed and power had passed without strife: by the adoption it seemed provision had been made that there should be no room for war even after Galba.'

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×4, gerunds and gerundives ×2, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (121 words)
ignārus, -a, -umignorant
interim (adv.)meanwhile
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
sacrum, -ī n.sacred object or rite; sacra: rites, worship
intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentusstretch out; stretch, draw, aim
fatīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātustire, wear out
aliēnus, -a, -umbelonging to another, out of place
iam, adv.now, already
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
deus, -ī, m.god
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
adferō, adferre, attulī, adlātusbear to, bring
rūmor, -ōris m.rumour, report
rapiō, -ere, -uī, -tusseize, snatch
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.camp
incertus, -a, -umuncertain, unreliable
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.what?
senātor, -ōris m.senator, elder
mox, adv.soon
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
tōtus, -a, -umall the, the whole or entire
urbs, urbis, f.city
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
obvius, -a, -umin the way, meeting; sē obvium dare: come to meet
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
formīdō, -inis f.fear, dread; something to be dreaded
augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctumincrease, enlarge
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
parvus, -a, -umlittle, small
vērum (conj.)but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
tum, adv.then, at that time
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
oblīvīscor, -līvīscī, -lītusforget
adūlātiō, -ōnis f.flattery, fawning
igitur, conj.therefore
cōnsultō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumdeliberate, take counsel; consult the interests of (+ dat.)
placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.)please (placuit eī: he decided)
pertemptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumtest thoroughly; thrill, pervade
animus, -ī, m.mind; heart; spirit, courage
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
statiō, -ōnis f.outpost, picket
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
integer, -gra, -grumuntouched, fresh, whole
auctōritās, -tātis f.influence, authority, prestige
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
remedium, -ī, n.remedy
servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussave, preserve
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
gradus, -ūs m.step, stage; rank
domus, -ūs, f.house, home
vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscall, summon
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
modus, -ī, m.way, manner
alloquor (adloquor), -loquī, -locūtus sumspeak to, address
sextus, -a, -umsixth
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.day
commīlitō, -ōnis m.fellow soldier, comrade
futūrum, -ī n.the future
sīve or seu, conj.or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or
optō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuswish for, desire; pray for
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
timeō, -ēre, -uīfear
adscīscō, -ere, -scīvī, -scītustake up, admit, attach to oneself (as an ally)
noster, -tra, -trumour
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
pūblicus, -a, -umpublic, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
fātum, -ī, n.destiny, fate
vester, -tra, -trumyour
manus, -ūs, f.hand
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positusplace, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
nōn, adv.not
quia (conj.)because
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
trīstis, -esad, gloomy
cāsus, -ūs, m.fall; chance, accident
paveō, -ēre, pāvībe terrified, tremble
adversus, -a, -umfacing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
experior, -īrī, expertus sumtry, test, experience
maximē, adv.very greatly, exceedingly, especially
discō, discere, didicīlearn
secundus, -a, -umfollowing, favorable
minus, comp. adv.less
discrīmen, -crīminis, n.crisis, peril, danger
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
pater, patris, m.father
senātus, -ūs m.senate
vicis (gen.), vicem f.change, turn; in vicem: in turn
doleō, -ēre, doluī, dolitumgrieve, be pained
sī, conj.if
nōsplur. of ego
pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūruspass away, perish
hodiē (adv.)today
necesse, indecl. adj.necessary
aequē (adv.)equally, just as; aequē ac: just as
apud, prep, with acc.among, with
bonus, -a, -umgood
miser, misera, miserumwretched, unhappy
occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsuscut down, kill
sōlācium, -ī n.comfort, consolation
proximus, -a, -umnearest, next
mōtus, -ūs m.motion, movement; uprising
incruentus, -a, -umbloodless, without bloodshed
sine, prep. with abl.without
discordia, -ae f.disagreement, discord, strife
trānsferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātuscarry across, transfer
prōvideō, -ēre, -vīdī, -vīsumforesee; provide for
adoptiō, -ōnis f.adoption
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
post, adv.after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
bellum, -ī, n.war
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
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.