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Tacitus · Historiae II

Histories 2.66

Vitellius' gluttony and edicts

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Hist. 2.66.1Nec ultrā in dēfectōrēs aut bona cuiusquam saevītum: rata fuēre eōrum quī aciē Othōniāna ceciderant, testāmenta aut lēx intestātīs: prōrsus, sī luxuriae temperāret, avāritiam nōn timērēs.There was no further cruelty against those who had gone over or against anyone's property: the wills of those who had fallen in Otho's battle line, or else the law of intestacy, were upheld: in short, had he restrained his extravagance, you would not have feared his greed. Hist. 2.66.1Epulārum foeda et inexplēbilis libīdō: ex urbe atque Ītaliā inrītāmenta gulae gestābantur, strepentibus ab utrōque marī itineribus;His lust for feasting was foul and insatiable: provocations for his gluttony were carried from the city and Italy, and the roads from both seas resounded with the traffic; Hist. 2.66.1exhaustī convīviōrum apparātibus prīncipēs cīvitātum;the leading men of the communities were drained by the costs of banquets; Hist. 2.66.1vāstābantur ipsae cīvitātēs;the communities themselves were laid waste; Hist. 2.66.1dēgenerābat ā labōre ac virtūte mīles adsuētūdine voluptātum et contemptū ducis.the soldiers were falling away from toil and courage through growing used to pleasures and through contempt for their leader.

Hist. 2.66.1Praemīsit in urbem ēdictum quō vocābulum Augustī differret, Caesaris nōn reciperet, cum dē potestāte nihil dētraheret.He sent ahead to the city an edict in which he postponed the title of Augustus and did not accept that of Caesar, though he took nothing away from his power. Hist. 2.66.1Pulsī Ītaliā mathēmaticī;Astrologers were banished from Italy; Hist. 2.66.1cautum sevērē nē equitēs Rōmānī lūdō et harēnā polluerentur.strict provision was made that Roman knights should not disgrace themselves in the gladiatorial school and the arena. Hist. 2.66.1Priōrēs id prīncipēs pecūniā et saepius vī perpulerant, ac plēraque mūnicipia et colōniae aemulābantur corruptissimum quemque adulēscentium pretiō inlicere.Earlier emperors had driven them to this by money and more often by force, and many towns and colonies vied with one another in luring with pay all the most depraved of their young men.

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Latin vocabulary for this passage (90 words)
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
ultrā (prep. + acc.)beyond
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
dēfector, -ōris m.rebel, deserter
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
bonum, -ī n.a good thing, advantage; (pl.) goods
quisquam, quicquam, indef. pron.any one, anything
saeviō, -īre, -iī, -ītumrage
ratus, -a, -umfixed, settled, valid; (reor) having thought
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
aciēs, -ēī, f.line of battle
Othōniānus, -a, -umof Otho, Othonian; (m. pl. as noun) Otho's supporters
cadō, cadere, cecidī, cāsūrusfall
testāmentum, -ī n.will (testament)
lēx, lēgis f.law
intestātus, -a, -umhaving made no will, intestate
prōrsus (adv.)in short, in a word; altogether
sī, conj.if
luxuria, -ae f.luxury
temperō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum (ab + abl.)refrain (from)
avāritia, -ae f.greed
nōn, adv.not
timeō, -ēre, -uīfear
epulae, -ārum f. pl.feast, banquet
foedus, -a, -umfoul, loathsome, hideous
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
inexplēbilis, -einsatiable
libīdō, -inis f.desire, lust; caprice
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
urbs, urbis, f.city
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
irrītāmentum (inrītāmentum), -ī n.stimulus, incentive, provocation
gula, -ae f.throat, gullet
gestō, -ārecarry, wear
strepō, -ere, -uīmake a noise, roar, hum
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
uterque, utraque, utrumqueeach, either, both
mare, maris, n.sea
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
exhaurio, -haurīre, -hausī, -haustusdrink up or off, drain
convīvium, -ī n.banquet, dinner party
apparātus, -ūs m.preparation; display, splendour
prīnceps, -ipisfirst, chief; as noun: leader
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
vāstō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslay waste
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
dēgenerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumfall away from one's breed, degenerate; dēgenerātum: degeneracy
labor, -ōris, m.labor, toil
virtūs, -tūtis, f.manliness, courage, bravery
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
assuētūdō (adsuētūdō), -inis f.habit, custom, familiarity
voluptās, -tātis, f.pleasure
contemptus, -ūs m.contempt (contemptuī esse: be despised)
dux, ducis, m. and f.leader, commander
praemittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missumsend ahead
ēdictum, -ī n.proclamation, edict (of a magistrate)
vocābulum, -ī n.name, word, term
differō, differre, distulī, dīlātumdiffer; scatter, put off
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
potestās, -ātis f.power, authority
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
dētrahō, -trahere, -trāxī, -trāctusdraw or pull off
pellō, pellere, pepulī, pulsusdrive, drive away, beat, rout
mathēmaticus, -ī m.astrologer; mathematician
caveō, cavēre, cāvī, cautusbeware, take care; be on one's guard against, beware of
sevērē (adv.; comp. sevērius)strictly, sternly
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
eques, equitis m.horseman; (pl.) cavalry
Rōmānus, -a, -umRoman
lūdus, -ī, m.game, sport
harēna, -ae, f.sand; shore
polluō, -ere, -uī, -ūtussoil, defile, desecrate
prior, priusearlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front)
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
saepe, adv.often, frequently
vīs, vīs, f.violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
perpellō, -ere, -pulī, -pulsusdrive, push; prevail upon, induce
plērīque, plēraeque, plēraquemost, very many
mūnicipium, -ī n.municipium, a self-governing Italian town with Roman citizenship
colōnia, -ae f.settlement, colony
aemulor, -ārī, -ātus sumtry to equal, rival, imitate
corruptus, -a, -umspoiled, tainted, corrupt
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
adulēscēns, -entis, m.youth, young man
pretium, -ī, n.price, charge
illiciō, -licere, -lexī, -lectusentice, lure, seduce
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.