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Tacitus · Historiae I

Histories 1.44

Sempronius Densus and Piso's death

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Hist. 1.44.1Īnsignem illa diē virum Semprōnium Dēnsum aetās nostra vīdit.Our age saw a distinguished man on that day, Sempronius Densus. Hist. 1.44.1Centuriō is praetōriae cohortis, ā Galbā custōdiae Pīsōnis additus, strictō pugiōne occurrēns armātīs et scelus exprobrāns ac modo manū modo vōce vertendō in sē percussōrēs quamquam vulnerātō Pīsōnī effugium dedit.He was a centurion of a praetorian cohort, assigned by Galba to guard Piso; drawing his dagger, he confronted the armed men, reproaching them for their crime, and by turning the assassins on himself, now with his hand, now with his voice, he gave Piso, though wounded, a chance to escape. Hist. 1.44.1Pīsō in aedem Vestae pervāsit, exceptusque misericordiā pūblicī servī et contuberniō eius abditus nōn religiōne nec caerimōniīs sed latebrā inminēns exitium differēbat, cum advēnēre missū Othōnis nōminātim in caedem eius ardentīs Sulpicius Flōrus ē Britannicīs cohortibus, nūper ā Galbā cīvitāte dōnātus, et Statius Murcus speculātor, ā quibus prōtractus Pīsō in foribus templī trucīdātur.Piso made his way into the temple of Vesta, and, taken in by the compassion of a public slave and hidden in his quarters, was putting off his impending death, not by religion or sacred rites but by concealment, when there arrived, sent by Otho, who was burning for his murder in particular, Sulpicius Florus of the British cohorts, recently granted citizenship by Galba, and Statius Murcus, a soldier of the guard; by them Piso was dragged out and butchered at the doors of the temple.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (68 words)
īnsignis, -enotable, remarkable
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.day
vir, virī, m.man
aetās, -tātis, f.age
noster, -tra, -trumour
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
centuriō, -ōnis m.centurion (officer commanding about 80 men)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
praetōrius, -a, -umof the commander (praetōria cohors: bodyguard)
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
custōdia, -ae f.guard, protection
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditusadd, put to
stringō, stringere, strinxī, strictusdraw, unsheathe
pugiō, -ōnis m.dagger
occurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursusrun against, meet
armātus, -a, -umarmed
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
scelus, sceleris, n.wickedness, crime
exprobrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusreproach, rebuke, blame (someone) for
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
modo, adv.only
manus, -ūs, f.hand
vōx, vōcis, f.voice; word
vertō, vertere, vertī, versusturn
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
percussor, -ōris m.assassin, murderer; one who strikes, destroyer
quamquam, conj.however much, although
vulnerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuswound
effugium, -ī n.escape, flight
dō, dare, dedī, datusgive
aedēs, -is f.temple (sg.); house (pl.)
pervādō, -ere, -vāsī, -vāsusmake one's way through or into; spread through, pervade
excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake out or up, receive, welcome, entertain
que, enclitic conj.and
misericordia, -ae, f;pity, compassion
pūblicus, -a, -umpublic, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
servus, -ī, m.slave, servant
contubernium, -ī n.a company sharing a tent or table; in Mark 6.39 a group, a party (of diners)
abdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusput away, hide
nōn, adv.not
religiō, -ōnis f.religious scruple, religious duty
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
caerimōnia, -ae f.sacred rite, ceremony
sed, conj.but
latebra, -ae f.hiding place, lair
immineō, -ērehang over; threaten, be close at hand
exitium, -ī n.destruction, ruin
differō, differre, distulī, dīlātumdiffer; scatter, put off
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
adveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome to or toward, approach, arrive
missus, -ūs m.sending (only abl. missū: at someone's bidding)
nōminātim (adv.)by name, one by one
caedēs, -is, f.cutting down, killing, slaughter
ārdeō, ārdēre, ārsī, ārsusbe on fire, burn
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
Britannicus, -a, -umBritish, in Britain
nūper, adv.newly, lately, recently
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
dōnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumgive; present (someone with something)
speculātor, -ōris m.spy, scout
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
prōtrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -tractusdrag out, bring to light
foris, -is, f.door
templum, -ī, n.sanctuary, temple
trucīdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusslaughter, butcher
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.