Hist. 2.35.1Tunc Suētōnius Paulīnus dignum fāmā suā ratus, quā nēmō illā tempestāte mīlitāris reī callidior habēbātur, dē tōtō genere bellī cēnsēre, festīnātiōnem hostibus, moram ipsīs ūtilem disseruit: exercitum Vitelliī ūniversum advēnisse, nec multum vīrium ā tergō, quoniam Galliae tumeant et dēserere Rhēnī rīpam inruptūrīs tam īnfestīs nātiōnibus nōn condūcat;Then Suetonius Paulinus, thinking it worthy of his reputation, since no one in that age was held more skilled in military matters, to give his opinion on the whole character of the war, argued that haste was useful to the enemy and delay to themselves: Vitellius' entire army had arrived, and there was not much strength behind it, since the Gallic provinces were swelling with unrest and it would not pay to abandon the bank of the Rhine when such hostile tribes were ready to burst in; Hist. 2.35.1Britannicum mīlitem hoste et marī distinērī: Hispāniās armīs nōn ita redundāre;the soldiers in Britain were kept apart by the enemy and the sea; the Spanish provinces did not abound so very much in troops; Hist. 2.35.1prōvinciam Narbōnēnsem incursū classis et adversō proeliō contremuisse;the province of Narbonensis had trembled at the incursion of the fleet and a defeat; Hist. 2.35.1clausam Alpibus et nūllō maris subsidiō trānspadānam Ītaliam atque ipsō trānsitū exercitūs vāstam;Italy beyond the Po was shut in by the Alps, without any support from the sea, and laid waste by the very passage of the army; Hist. 2.35.1nōn frūmentum usquam exercituī, nec exercitum sine cōpiīs retinērī posse: iam Germānōs, quod genus mīlitum apud hostīs atrōcissimum sit, trāctō in aestātem bellō, fluxīs corporibus, mūtātiōnem sōlī caelīque haud tolerātūrōs.there was no corn anywhere for their army, and an army could not be held together without supplies: soon the Germans, the fiercest kind of soldier among the enemy, if the war were drawn out into the summer, would not endure the change of soil and climate, as their bodies grew slack.
Hist. 2.35.1Multa bella impetū valida per taedia et morās ēvānuisse.Many wars strong in their first onset had faded away through weariness and delays. Hist. 2.35.1Contrā ipsīs omnia opulenta et fīda, Pannoniam Moesiam Dalmatiam Orientem cum integrīs exercitibus, Ītaliam et caput rērum urbem senātumque et populum, numquam obscūra nōmina, etiam sī aliquandō obumbrentur;On their own side, by contrast, everything was rich and loyal: Pannonia, Moesia, Dalmatia and the East with their armies intact, Italy and Rome, the capital of the world, the senate and the people, names never obscure, even if at times they are overshadowed; Hist. 2.35.1pūblicās prīvātāsque opēs et immēnsam pecūniam, inter cīvīlīs discordiās ferrō validiōrem;public and private wealth, and immense sums of money, stronger than the sword amid civil discords; Hist. 2.35.1corpora mīlitum aut Ītaliae suēta aut aestibus;the bodies of their soldiers were used either to Italy or to heat; Hist. 2.35.1obiacēre flūmen Padum, tūtās vīrīs mūrīsque urbīs, ē quibus nūllam hostī cessūram Placentiae dēfēnsiōne explōrātum: proinde dūceret bellum.the river Po lay before them as a barrier, and cities safe with men and walls, none of which would yield to the enemy, as had been proved by the defence of Placentia: therefore let Otho prolong the war.
Hist. 2.35.1Paucīs diēbus quartam decimam legiōnem, magnā ipsam fāmā, cum Moesicīs cōpiīs adfore: tum rūrsus dēlīberātūrum et, sī proelium placuisset, auctīs vīribus certātūrōs.In a few days the Fourteenth Legion, itself of great fame, would be there with the Moesian forces: then he would deliberate again and, if battle were decided upon, they would fight with increased strength.