Hist. 2.77.1Vix crēdibile memorātū est quantum superbiae sōcordiaeque Vitelliō adolēverit, postquam speculātōrēs ē Syriā Iūdaeāque adāctum in verba eius Orientem nūntiāvēre.It is scarcely credible to relate how much arrogance and indolence grew in Vitellius after scouts from Syria and Judaea reported that the East had sworn allegiance to him. Hist. 2.77.1Nam etsī vagīs adhūc et incertīs auctōribus erat tamen in ōre fāmāque Vespasiānus ac plērumque ad nōmen eius Vitellius excitābātur: tum ipse exercitusque, ut nūllō aemulō, saevitiā libīdine raptū in externōs mōrēs prōrūperant.For although the reports were still vague and of uncertain origin, Vespasian was nonetheless on men's lips and in rumour, and at his name Vitellius was usually roused: now, as though they had no rival, he himself and his army had burst out into foreign ways, with cruelty, lust and plunder.
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Tacitus · Historiae II
Histories 2.77
Vitellius grows arrogant and idle
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Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (45 words)
| vix, adv. | with difficulty, scarcely, hardly, barely |
| crēdibilis, -e | credible |
| memorō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | remind of, mention |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| superbia, -ae f. | pride, arrogance |
| sōcordia, -ae f. | sluggishness, negligence |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| adolēscō, -ere, adolēvī, adultus | grow up |
| postquam, conj. | later than, after, when |
| speculātor, -ōris m. | spy, scout |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| adigō, -ere, adēgī, adāctum | drive, hurl (a weapon) to |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| verbum, -ī, n. | word |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| oriēns, -entis m. | the rising sun; the East |
| nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | report, announce |
| nam, conj. | for |
| etsī, conj. | even if, although |
| vagus, -a, -um | wandering, roaming |
| adhūc, adv. | to this point, up to this time, yet, still |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| incertus, -a, -um | uncertain, unreliable |
| auctor, -ōris m. | originator, instigator |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| ōs, ōris, n. | mouth |
| fāma, -ae, f. | report, rumor |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| plērumque (adv.) | generally, mostly |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| excitō, -citāre, -citāvī, -citātus | call out, arouse |
| tum, adv. | then, at that time |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| exercitus, -ūs, m. | army |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| aemulus, -a, -um | rivalling; (as noun) a rival |
| saevitia, -ae f. | fierceness, cruelty |
| libīdō, -inis f. | desire, lust; caprice |
| raptus, -ūs m. | seizure, robbery, plundering; abduction |
| externus, -a, -um | outside, foreign |
| mōs, mōris, m. | way, manner, habit, custom |
| prōrumpō, -ere, -rūpī, -ruptum | burst forth |
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.