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Tacitus · Historiae I

Histories 1.45

Otho gloats over the heads

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Hist. 1.45.1Nūllam caedem Othō maiōre laetitiā excēpisse, nūllum caput tam īnsatiābilibus oculīs perlūstrāsse dīcitur, seu tum prīmum levāta omnī sollicitūdine mēns vacāre gaudiō coeperat, seu recordātiō maiestātis in Galbā, amīcitiae in Titō Vīniō quamvīs immītem animum imāgine trīstī cōnfūderat, Pīsōnis ut inimīcī et aemulī caede laetārī iūs fāsque crēdēbat.No murder, it is said, did Otho greet with greater joy, no head did he survey with such insatiable eyes, whether because his mind, then for the first time relieved of all anxiety, had begun to have leisure for rejoicing, or because the memory of majesty in Galba and of friendship in Titus Vinius had troubled his spirit, pitiless as it was, with a gloomy picture, whereas he believed it right and lawful to rejoice in the murder of Piso, an enemy and rival. Hist. 1.45.1Praefīxa contīs capita gestābantur inter signa cohortium iūxtā aquilam legiōnis, certātim ostentantibus cruentās manūs quī occīderant, quī interfuerant, quī vērē quī falsō ut pulchrum et memorābile facinus iactābant.The heads, fixed on poles, were carried among the standards of the cohorts beside the eagle of the legion, while those who had killed, those who had been present, those who truly and those who falsely boasted of it as a fine and memorable deed, vied in displaying their bloodstained hands.

Hist. 1.45.1Plūrēs quam centum vīgintī libellōs praemium exposcentium ob aliquam notābilem illa diē operam Vitellius posteā invēnit, omnīsque conquīrī et interficī iussit, nōn honōrī Galbae, sed trāditō prīncipibus mōre mūnīmentum ad praesēns, in posterum ultiōnem.More than a hundred and twenty petitions from men demanding a reward for some notable service on that day Vitellius later found, and he ordered them all to be hunted down and put to death, not in honour of Galba, but by the custom handed down among emperors, as a safeguard for the present and vengeance for the future.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×2, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (91 words)
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
caedēs, -is, f.cutting down, killing, slaughter
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
laetitia, -ae, f.joy
excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake out or up, receive, welcome, entertain
caput, capitis, n.head
tam, adv.so
īnsatiābilis, -ethat cannot be satisfied, insatiable
oculus, -ī, m.eye
perlūstrō, -lūstrāre, -lūstrāvi, -lūstrātuslook over, examine, survey
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictussay, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
sīve or seu, conj.or if; sīve ... sīve, whether ... or
tum, adv.then, at that time
prīmum, adv.first, in the first place
levō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslift; lighten, relieve
omnis, -eall, every
sollicitūdō, -tūdinis, f.anxiety, care, apprehension
mēns, mentis f.mind, spirit
vacō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumbe empty, be unoccupied
gaudium, -ī, n.gladness, joy
coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action)have begun, began
recordātiō, -ōnis f.recollection, remembering
maiestās, -ātis f.greatness, dignity, majesty
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
amīcitia, -ae f.friendship, alliance
quamvīs (adv.)however much, as … as you like
immītis, -eharsh, pitiless
animus, -ī, m.mind; heart; spirit, courage
imāgō, -inis f.likeness, image, portrait
trīstis, -esad, gloomy
cōnfundō, -ere, -fūdī, -fūsuspour together, mingle; throw into disorder, confuse
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
inimīcus, -a, -umunfriendly, hostile
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
aemulus, -a, -umrivalling; (as noun) a rival
laetor, -ārī, -ātus sumrejoice, be glad
iūs, iūris, n.right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
fās (indecl.) n.what is right by divine law (fās est: it is allowed)
que, enclitic conj.and
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusbelieve
praefīgō, -ere, -fīxī, -fīxumfix in front
contus, -ī m.pole
gestō, -ārecarry, wear
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
signum, -ī, n.sign, signal
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
iūxtā (adv. and prep. + acc.)nearby; next to
aquila, -ae f.eagle; the eagle standard of a legion
legiō, -ōnis f.legion
certātim (adv.)eagerly, vying with one another
ostentō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusshow, display; show off
cruentus, -a, -umbloody, blood-stained
manus, -ūs, f.hand
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
occīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsuscut down, kill
intersum, -esse, -fuī, -futūrusbe or lie between
vērē (adv.)truly, really
falsō (adv.)falsely, wrongly
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrumbeautiful
memorābilis, -eworth telling, memorable
facinus, facinoris, n.deed, crime
iactō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumtoss about; discuss
plūrēs, -a, plur. adj.more, many, several
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
centum, indecl. adj.one hundred
vīgintī, indecl. adj.twenty
libellus, -ī m.little book; written document; libellus repudiī: certificate of divorce
praemium, -ī, n.reward
exposcō, -ere, -poposcīdemand earnestly, call for
ob, prep. with acc.on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
aliquī, -qua, -quod, indef. pron. adj.some, any
notābilis, -enoteworthy, remarkable
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.day
opera, -ae, f.effort, work, labor
posteā, adv.after this, afterwards
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome upon, find
conquīrō, -ere, -quīsīvī, -quīsītumsearch out, hunt down
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectusput out of the way, kill
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
nōn, adv.not
honor, -ōris, m.honor
sed, conj.but
trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report
prīnceps, -ipisfirst, chief; as noun: leader
mōs, mōris, m.way, manner, habit, custom
mūnīmentum, -ī n.defence, barrier
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
praesēns, -sentis, adj.present, immediate, imminent
posterus, -a, -umfollowing, next
ultiō, -ōnis f.revenge, vengeance
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.