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Tacitus · Historiae II

Histories 2.28

Caecina's narrow escape

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Hist. 2.28.1Tum Othōniānus pedes ērūpit;Then the Othonian infantry burst forth; Hist. 2.28.1prōtrītā hostium aciē versī in fugam etiam quī subveniēbant;the enemy line was trampled down, and even those who were coming to its aid were put to flight; Hist. 2.28.1nam Caecīna nōn simul cohortīs sed singulās accīverat, quae rēs in proeliō trepidātiōnem auxit, cum dispersōs nec usquam validōs pavor fugientium abriperet.for Caecina had summoned his cohorts not all together but one by one, which increased the panic in the battle, since the terror of those fleeing swept away men who were scattered and nowhere strong. Hist. 2.28.1Orta et in castrīs sēditiō quod nōn ūniversī dūcerentur: vinctus praefectus castrōrum Iūlius Grātus, tamquam frātrī apud Othōnem mīlitantī prōditiōnem ageret, cum frātrem eius, Iūlium Frontōnem tribūnum, Othōniānī sub eōdem crīmine vinxissent.A mutiny broke out in the camp too, because they were not all led out together: the camp prefect Julius Gratus was put in chains, on the charge that he was plotting treachery with his brother, who was serving with Otho, while the Othonians had put his brother, the tribune Julius Fronto, in chains on the same charge.

Hist. 2.28.1Cēterum ea ubīque formīdō fuit apud fugientīs occursantīs, in aciē prō vallō, ut dēlērī cum ūniversō exercitū Caecīnam potuisse, nī Suētōnius Paulīnus receptuī cecinisset, utrīsque in partibus percrēbruerit.However, such was the terror everywhere, among those fleeing and those coming up to meet them, in the line and before the rampart, that the report spread widely on both sides that Caecina could have been destroyed with his entire army, had not Suetonius Paulinus sounded the retreat. Hist. 2.28.1Timuisse sē Paulīnus ferēbat tantum īnsuper labōris atque itineris, nē Vitelliānus mīles recēns ē castrīs fessōs adgrederētur et perculsīs nūllum retrō subsidium foret.Paulinus said that he had feared so much additional toil and marching, lest the Vitellian soldiers, fresh from the camp, should attack his tired men, and there should be no support behind them if they were routed. Hist. 2.28.1Apud paucōs ea ducis ratiō probāta, in vulgus adversō rūmōre fuit.Among a few this reasoning of the general was approved; among the rank and file it met with hostile talk.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (96 words)
tum, adv.then, at that time
Othōniānus, -a, -umof Otho, Othonian; (m. pl. as noun) Otho's supporters
pedes, peditis m.foot soldier
ērumpō, -ere, -rūpī, -ruptumburst out, sally
prōterō, -ere, -trīvī, -trītustrample down, crush; drive out
hostis, -is, m. and f.enemy, foe
aciēs, -ēī, f.line of battle
vertō, vertere, vertī, versusturn
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
fuga, -ae, f.flight
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
subveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventuscome to help, rescue (+ dat.)
nam, conj.for
nōn, adv.not
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
sed, conj.but
singulī, -ae, -aone at a time, single
acciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītussummon, send for
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
proelium, -ī, n.battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
trepidātiō, -ōnis f.alarm, agitation
augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctumincrease, enlarge
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
dispergō, -ere, -spersī, -spersumscatter
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
usquam (adv.)anywhere
validus, -a, -umstrong
pavor, -ōris, m.terror, panic
fugiō, fugere, fūgī, fugitūrusflee, run away
abripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptussnatch away, carry off
orior, -īrī, -tusarise, come forth, spring up; ortā lūce, at dawn
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.camp
sēditiō, -ōnis f.riot, mutiny, discord
quod, conj.that, in that, because
ūniversus, -a, -umall together, whole, entire, all
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductuslead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
vinciō, vincīre, vinxī, vinctusbind
praefectus, -ī m.commander, officer
tamquam (adv., conj.)as, just as; as if
frāter, frātris, m.brother
apud, prep, with acc.among, with
mīlitō, -āre, -āvīserve as a soldier
prōditiō, -ōnis f.treachery, betrayal
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
tribūnus, -ī m.tribune (tribūnus mīlitum: senior officer of a legion)
sub, prep. with acc. and abl.under; sub vesperum, towards evening
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
crīmen, -inis n.charge, accusation; crime
cēterum (adv.)but, however; for the rest
ubīque (adv.)everywhere
formīdō, -inis f.fear, dread; something to be dreaded
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
occursō, -āre, -āvīrun to meet, meet; present itself (to the eyes)
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
vallum, -ī n.rampart, palisade
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
dēleō, -ēre, dēlēvī, dēlētumdestroy, wipe out
cum, prep, with abl.with
exercitus, -ūs, m.army
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
nī (conj.)if not, unless (= nisi)
receptus, -ūs m.retreat; place of retreat
canō, -ere, cecinī, cantussing; of a trumpet: sound (receptuī canere: sound the retreat)
uterque, utraque, utrumqueeach, either, both
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
percrēbrēscō, -ere, -crēbruībecome widespread, spread abroad (of a report)
timeō, -ēre, -uīfear
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātusbear, bring
tantus, -a, -umso great or much
īnsuper (adv.)above, on top; besides
labor, -ōris, m.labor, toil
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
Vitelliānus, -a, -umof Vitellius; as noun, a Vitellian soldier
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
recēns, -entisrecent, fresh
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
fessus, -a, -umexhausted, worn out, weary
aggredior, -ī, aggressus sumattack
percellō, -ere, -culī, -culsusstrike down; dismay, crush
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
retrō (adv.)backwards, behind, from behind
subsidium, -ī, n.reserve, reinforcement, support, help
paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.few
dux, ducis, m. and f.leader, commander
ratiō, -ōnis, f.plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumprove, show; approve
vulgus, -ī n.the common people, the crowd
adversus, -a, -umfacing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
rūmor, -ōris m.rumour, report
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.