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Tacitus · Historiae I

Histories 1.59

Vitellius hailed as emperor

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Hist. 1.59.1Proxima legiōnis prīmae hīberna erant et promptissimus ē lēgātīs Fabius Valēns.The nearest winter quarters were those of the First Legion, and the readiest of the legates was Fabius Valens. Hist. 1.59.1Is diē posterō colōniam Agrippīnēnsem cum equitibus legiōnis auxiliāriōrumque ingressus imperātōrem Vitellium cōnsalūtāvit.On the following day he entered the Colony of Agrippina with the cavalry of the legion and of the auxiliaries and hailed Vitellius as emperor. Hist. 1.59.1Secūtae ingentī certāmine eiusdem prōvinciae legiōnēs;The legions of the same province followed with enormous rivalry; Hist. 1.59.1et superior exercitus, speciōsīs senātūs populīque Rōmānī nōminibus relictīs, tertium nōnās Iānuāriās Vitelliō accessit: scīrēs illum priōre bīduō nōn penes rem pūblicam fuisse.and the upper army, abandoning the fine-sounding names of the senate and the Roman people, went over to Vitellius on the third of January: you could tell that for the previous two days it had not been in the republic's hands. Hist. 1.59.1Ardōrem exercituum Agrippīnēnsēs, Trēvirī, Lingonēs aequābant, auxilia equōs, arma pecūniam offerentēs, ut quisque corpore opibus ingeniō validus.The people of Agrippina, the Treviri and the Lingones matched the ardour of the armies, offering auxiliaries, horses, arms and money, according as each was strong in body, wealth or talent.

Hist. 1.59.1Nec prīncipēs modo colōniārum aut castrōrum, quibus praesentia ex affluentī et partā victōriā magnae spēs, sed manipulī quoque et gregārius mīles viātica sua et balteōs phalerāsque, īnsignia armōrum argentō decōra, locō pecūniae trādēbant, īnstīnctū et impetū et avāritiā.Nor was it only the leading men of the colonies or the camps, who had abundant present wealth and great hopes from victory once won, but the companies too and the common soldiers handed over their travelling money and their belts and medallions, the silver ornaments of their armour, in place of money, from impulse, enthusiasm and greed.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (87 words)
proximus, -a, -umnearest, next
legiō, -ōnis f.legion
prīmus, -a, -umfirst, foremost
hīberna, -ōrum n. pl.winter quarters
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
promptus, -a, -umready, eager
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
lēgātus, -ī, m.ambassador
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.day
posterus, -a, -umfollowing, next
colōnia, -ae f.settlement, colony
Agrippīnēnsis, -eof Colonia Agrippinensis (Cologne)
cum, prep, with abl.with
eques, equitis m.horseman; (pl.) cavalry
auxiliārius, -a, -umauxiliary (of troops raised from allies, not legionaries)
que, enclitic conj.and
ingredior, -ī, ingressus sumgo into, enter
imperātor, -ōris, m.commander, general
cōnsalūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusgreet together, hail (as)
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
ingēns, -gentis, adj.huge, vast
certāmen, -minis, n.struggle, contest
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
prōvincia, -ae f.province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
superior, -ius, adj.higher; former, previous, preceding
exercitus, -ūs, m.army
speciōsus, -a, -umhandsome; plausible, specious
senātus, -ūs m.senate
populus, -ī m.people, nation
Rōmānus, -a, -umRoman
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictusleave behind, leave
tertius, -a, -umthird
Iānuārius, -a, -umof January (Kalendae Iānuāriae: 1 January)
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessumcome near, approach; be added
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītusknow
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
prior, priusearlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front)
bīduum, -ī n.two days
nōn, adv.not
penes (prep. + acc.)in the hands of, in the power of
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)
ardor, -ōris m.blaze, fire, glow; ardor caelī: a light in the sky
aequō, -āre, -āvī, -ātummake equal
auxilium, -ī, n.help, aid
equus, -ī, m.horse
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.arms, weapons
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātusbear to, proffer, offer
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
corpus, corporis, n.body
ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -umhelp; (pl.) resources, wealth, power
ingenium, -ī n.natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
validus, -a, -umstrong
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
prīnceps, -ipisfirst, chief; as noun: leader
modo, adv.only
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.camp
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
praesēns, -sentis, adj.present, immediate, imminent
affluō (adfluō), -ere, -flūxīflow towards; abound, be plentiful
pariō, -ere, peperī, partusbring forth; win, gain
victōria, -ae, f.victory
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
spēs, speī, f.hope
sed, conj.but
manipulus, -ī m.maniple (a company of soldiers)
quoque, adv.also
gregārius, -a, -umof the herd, common; mīles gregārius: a common soldier
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
viāticum, -ī n.travel money, provisions for a journey; savings
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
balteus, -ī, m..belt, girdle
phalerae, -ārum f. pl.metal discs worn as ornaments, esp. on horses' harness; trappings
īnsigne, -is n.badge, mark, decoration
argentum, -ī, n.silver
decōrus, -a, -umhandsome, fine, splendid
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report
īnstīnctus, -ūs m.prompting, instigation, impulse
impetus, -ūs, m.attack; impetum facere, to charge
avāritia, -ae f.greed
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.