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Tacitus · Historiae II

Histories 2.27

Paulinus delays the attack

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Hist. 2.27.1Antequam miscērentur aciēs, terga vertentibus Vitelliānīs, Celsus dolī prūdēns repressit suōs: Vitelliānī temerē exurgentēs cēdente sēnsim Celsō longius secūtī ultrō in īnsidiās praecipitantur;Before the lines met, when the Vitellians turned their backs, Celsus, aware of the trick, held back his men: the Vitellians, rising recklessly from cover, followed too far as Celsus gradually gave way, and plunged headlong into an ambush themselves; Hist. 2.27.1nam ā lateribus cohortēs, legiōnum adversa frōns, et subitō discursū terga cinxerant equitēs.for the cohorts were on their flanks, the front of the legions faced them, and the cavalry by a sudden movement had encircled their rear. Hist. 2.27.1Signum pugnae nōn statim ā Suētōniō Paulīnō peditī datum: cūnctātor nātūrā et cui cauta potius cōnsilia cum ratiōne quam prospera ex cāsū placērent, complērī fossās, aperīrī campum, pandī aciem iubēbat, satis citō incipī victōriam ratus ubi prōvīsum foret nē vincerentur.The signal for battle was not given at once to the infantry by Suetonius Paulinus: a delayer by nature, and a man who preferred cautious plans grounded in reason to successes won by chance, he was ordering the ditches to be filled, the plain to be cleared and the line to be extended, thinking that victory would begin soon enough once provision had been made against defeat.

Hist. 2.27.1Eā cūnctātiōne spatium Vitelliānīs datum in vīneās nexū trāducum impedītās refugiendī;By that delay the Vitellians were given time to take refuge in vineyards entangled with interwoven vine-branches; Hist. 2.27.1et modica silva adhaerēbat, unde rūrsus ausī promptissimōs praetōriānōrum equitum interfēcēre.and there was a small wood close by, from which they ventured out again and killed the boldest of the praetorian cavalry. Hist. 2.27.1Vulnerātur rēx Epiphanēs, impigrē prō Othōne pugnam ciēns.King Epiphanes is wounded, vigorously rousing the fight for Otho.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×2, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (89 words)
antequam, conj.before than, sooner than, before
misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtusmix, mingle
aciēs, -ēī, f.line of battle
tergum, -ī, n.back
vertō, vertere, vertī, versusturn
Vitelliānus, -a, -umof Vitellius; as noun, a Vitellian soldier
dolus, -ī, m.trick, craft
prūdēns, -entissensible, shrewd, wise
reprimō, -ere, -pressī, -pressumhold back, check
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
temerē, adv.rashly
exsurgō, -ere, -surrēxī, -surrēctumrise up, get up
cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessumgo, withdraw, give way
sēnsim, adv.gradually, little by little
longē, adv.far
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
ultrō (adv.)of one's own accord; besides (ultrō citrōque: back and forth)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
īnsidiae, -ārum, f. plur.ambush; plot, stratagem
praecipitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthrow headlong; sē praecipitāre: hurl oneself
nam, conj.for
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
latus, lateris n.side, flank
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
legiō, -ōnis f.legion
adversus, -a, -umfacing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
frōns, frontis, f.forehead
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
subitus, -a, -umsudden
discursus, -ūs m.running about; a darting movement
cingō, cingere, cinxī, cinctussurround, gird
eques, equitis m.horseman; (pl.) cavalry
signum, -ī, n.sign, signal
pugna, -ae, f.fighting, battle, combat
nōn, adv.not
statim, adv.on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately
pedes, peditis m.foot soldier
dō, dare, dedī, datusgive
cūnctātor, -ōris m.delayer, hesitater; cautious man
nātūra, -ae, f.nature, character
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
cautus, -a, -umcareful, wary, on one's guard
potius (adv.)rather
cōnsilium, -ī, n.advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
cum, prep, with abl.with
ratiō, -ōnis, f.plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
prosperus, -a, -umfavourable, successful, prosperous
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
cāsus, -ūs, m.fall; chance, accident
placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.)please (placuit eī: he decided)
compleō, -plēre, -plēvī, -plētusfill full, fill up
fossa, -ae, f.ditch, trench
aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tusopen
campus, -ī, m.plain, field
pandō, -ere, pandī, passumspread out (passīs manibus: with hands outstretched)
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
satis, adv.enough, sufficiently
citō (adv.; comp. citius)quickly, soon; citius: more quickly, without delay
incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptumbegin
victōria, -ae, f.victory
reor, rērī, ratus sumthink, suppose, reckon
ubi, adv.where; conj., when
prōvideō, -ēre, -vīdī, -vīsumforesee; provide for
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
vincō, -ere, vīcī, victumconquer, defeat
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
cūnctātiō, -ōnis f.delay, hesitation
spatium, -ī, n.space, interval; space of time, time
vīnea, -ae f.shed (a movable shelter for besiegers)
nexus, -ūs m.tie, bond; interlacing, tangle
trādux, -ucis m.vine-branch trained from tree to tree
impediō, -pedīre, -pedīvī, -pedītushinder, prevent, impede
refugiō, -fugere, -fūgīflee back, run away, retreat
modicus, -a, -ummoderate, small; modicum: a little
silva, -ae, f.wood, forest
adhaereō, -ēre, -haesī, -haesumstick to, cling to
unde, adv.whence
rūrsus, adv.again
audeō, audēre, ausus sumdare
promptus, -a, -umready, eager
praetōriānus, -a, -umpraetorian, of the emperor's guard; as noun, a praetorian
interficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectusput out of the way, kill
vulnerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuswound
rēx, rēgis, m.king
impigrē (adv.)energetically, briskly
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
cieō, ciēre, cīvī, citusset in motion, stir up; pugnam ciēre: start the fight
Tacitus, Historiae II. 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.