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Tacitus · Historiae I

Histories 1.91

The people feel the war

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Hist. 1.91.1Sed vulgus et magnitūdine nimiā commūnium cūrārum expers populus sentīre paulātim bellī mala, conversā in mīlitum ūsum omnī pecūniā, intentīs alimentōrum pretiīs, quae mōtū Vindicis haud perinde plēbem attrīverant, sēcūrā tum urbe et prōvinciālī bellō, quod inter legiōnēs Galliāsque velut externum fuit.But the common people and the populace, who because of their vast numbers had no share in public concerns, began gradually to feel the evils of war, as all money was turned to the soldiers' use and the price of food was driven up, which during the rising of Vindex had not worn down the plebs in the same way, since the city was safe then and the war a provincial one, which, being fought between the legions and the Gauls, was almost foreign. Hist. 1.91.1Nam ex quō dīvus Augustus rēs Caesarum composuit, procul et in ūnīus sollicitūdinem aut decus populus Rōmānus bellāverat;For ever since the deified Augustus settled the power of the Caesars, the Roman people had fought far away and for the anxiety or the glory of one man; Hist. 1.91.1sub Tiberiō et Gāiō tantum pācis adversa ad rem pūblicam pertinuēre;under Tiberius and Gaius it was only the misfortunes of peace that touched the state; Hist. 1.91.1Scrībōniānī contrā Claudium incepta simul audīta et coercita;Scribonianus' attempt against Claudius was heard of and crushed at the same time; Hist. 1.91.1Nerō nūntiīs magis et rūmōribus quam armīs dēpulsus: tum legiōnēs classēsque et, quod rārō aliās, praetōriānus urbānusque mīles in aciem dēductī, Oriēns Occidēnsque et quicquid utrimque vīrium est ā tergō, sī ducibus aliīs bellātum foret, longō bellō māteria.Nero was driven out by messages and rumours rather than by arms: now legions and fleets and, as had rarely happened before, the praetorian and city troops were led out to battle, with the East and the West and all the forces on either side at their backs, material for a long war if it had been waged under other generals.

Hist. 1.91.1Fuēre quī proficīscentī Othōnī morās religiōnemque nōndum conditōrum ancīlium adferrent: aspernātus est omnem cūnctātiōnem ut Nerōnī quoque exitiōsam;There were some who urged on Otho, as he set out, delays and the religious scruple that the sacred shields had not yet been put away: he spurned all hesitation as having been fatal to Nero too; Hist. 1.91.1et Caecīna iam Alpēs trānsgressus extimulābat.and Caecina, already across the Alps, was goading him on.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (102 words)
sed, conj.but
vulgus, -ī n.the common people, the crowd
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f.greatness, size
nimius, -a, -umexcessive, too great
commūnis, -ecommon, shared, public
cūra, -ae f.care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
expers, -pertishaving no share in, without (+ gen. or abl.)
populus, -ī m.people, nation
sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsusperceive, feel
paulātim (adv.)little by little, gradually
bellum, -ī, n.war
malum, -ī, n.evil, mischief
convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versusturn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
ūsus, -ūs, m.use; experience
omnis, -eall, every
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentusstretch out; stretch, draw, aim
alimentum, -ī n.food, nourishment
pretium, -ī, n.price, charge
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
mōtus, -ūs m.motion, movement; uprising
haud, adv.not at all, by no means, not
perinde (adv.)in the same way, equally; haud perinde: not so much
plēbs, plēbis f.the common people
atterō, -terere, -trīvī, -trītusrub away, wear down; ruin
sēcūrus, -a, -umfree from care, untroubled; careless (of: gen.)
tum, adv.then, at that time
urbs, urbis, f.city
prōvinciālis, -eof the Province; as noun, a provincial
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
legiō, -ōnis f.legion
que, enclitic conj.and
veluteven or just as, as
externus, -a, -umoutside, foreign
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
nam, conj.for
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
dīvus, -ī m. (gen. pl. also dīvum, dīvom)god
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
compōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positumput together; mend, set in order
procul, adv.at or from a distance, far
ūnus, -a, -umone; only, alone
sollicitūdō, -tūdinis, f.anxiety, care, apprehension
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
decus, -oris n.honour, glory; what is fitting, propriety
Rōmānus, -a, -umRoman
bellō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumwage war, fight
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.under; sub vesperum, towards evening
tantum, adv.so much or far, only
pāx, pācis f.peace
adversus, -a, -umfacing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
pūblicus, -a, -umpublic, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
pertineō, -ēre, -uīextend, reach; tend toward, concern
contrā, prep, with acc.against, contrary to
inceptum, -ī n.beginning, attempt, undertaking
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītushear; listen or attend to
coerceō, -ēre, coercuī, coercitumrestrain, keep in check
nūntius, -ī, m.messenger; message
magis, comp. adv.more, rather
rūmor, -ōris m.rumour, report
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.arms, weapons
dēpellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsusdrive off or away, drive
classis, -is f.fleet
rārō (adv.)seldom, rarely
aliās (adv.)at another time (aliās … aliās: sometimes … sometimes)
praetōriānus, -a, -umpraetorian, of the emperor's guard; as noun, a praetorian
urbānus, -a, -umof the city (Rome), urban
aciēs, -ēī, f.line of battle
dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductuslead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship
oriēns, -entis m.the rising sun; the East
occidēns, -entis m.the west
quisquis, quidquid (quicquid)whoever, whatever
utrimque, adv.on either side or both sides
vīs, vīs, f.violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
tergum, -ī, n.back
sī, conj.if
dux, ducis, m. and f.leader, commander
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
longus, -a, -umlong; tedious
māteria, -ae f.timber, material
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sumset out, depart, march
mora, -ae, f.delay
religiō, -ōnis f.religious scruple, religious duty
nōndum, adv.not yet
condō, -dere, -didī, -ditusput together, found; store away
ancīle, -is n.a sacred figure-of-eight shield, said to have fallen from heaven, kept by the Salii
adferō, adferre, attulī, adlātusbear to, bring
aspernor, -ārī, -ātus sumspurn, reject, scorn
cūnctātiō, -ōnis f.delay, hesitation
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
quoque, adv.also
exitiōsus, -a, -umdestructive, deadly
iam, adv.now, already
trānsgredior, -ī, -gressus sumcross over
extimulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusgoad on, stir up, incite
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.