Hist. 2.8.1Nōn fallēbat ducēs impetus mīlitum, sed bellantibus aliīs placuit expectārī.The eagerness of the soldiers did not escape the generals, but they decided to wait while others fought. Hist. 2.8.1Bellō cīvīlī victōrēs victōsque numquam solidā fidē coalēscere, nec referre Vitellium an Othōnem superstitem fortūna faceret.In a civil war, they reflected, victors and vanquished never unite in solid loyalty, and it did not matter whether fortune made Vitellius or Otho the survivor. Hist. 2.8.1Rēbus secundīs etiam ēgregiōs ducēs īnsolēscere: discordiā mīlitis ignāviā luxuriē et suīsmet vitiīs alterum bellō, alterum victōriā peritūrum.In success even outstanding generals grow insolent: through the discord, cowardice and luxury of their soldiers, and through their own vices, the one would perish by war, the other by victory. Hist. 2.8.1Igitur arma in occāsiōnem distulēre, Vespasiānus Mūciānusque nūper, cēterī ōlim mīxtīs cōnsiliīs;So they put off taking up arms until the right moment, Vespasian and Mucianus having joined counsels recently, the others long before; Hist. 2.8.1optimus quisque amōre reī pūblicae, multōs dulcēdō praedārum stimulābat, aliōs ambiguae domī rēs: ita bonī malīque causīs dīversīs, studiō parī, bellum omnēs cupiēbant.all the best men were spurred on by love of the state, many by the sweetness of plunder, others by the uncertain state of their affairs at home: so good and bad alike, for different reasons but with equal zeal, all desired war.
Lectitō › Tacitus › Histories, Book 2 › Histories 2.8
Tacitus · Historiae II
Histories 2.8
The eastern generals bide their time
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×2, indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (67 words)
| nōn, adv. | not |
| fallō, fallere, fefellī, falsus | deceive |
| dux, ducis, m. and f. | leader, commander |
| impetus, -ūs, m. | attack; impetum facere, to charge |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| sed, conj. | but |
| bellō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | wage war, fight |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| placeō, -ēre, placuī, placitum (+ dat.) | please (placuit eī: he decided) |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| bellum, -ī, n. | war |
| cīvīlis, -e | of citizens; bellum cīvīle: civil war |
| victor, -ōris m. | conqueror, victor |
| vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum | conquer, defeat |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| numquam, adv. | never |
| solidus, -a, -um | whole, complete, solid |
| fidēs, -eī f. | faith, trust; pledge |
| coalēscō, -ere, -aluī, -alitum | grow together, unite |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| an, conj. | or (in questions) |
| superstes, -stitis | surviving, outliving (dat.) |
| fortūna, -ae, f. | fortune |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| secundus, -a, -um | following, favorable |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| ēgregius, -a, -um | outstanding, excellent |
| īnsolēscō, -ere | become haughty, grow insolent |
| discordia, -ae f. | disagreement, discord, strife |
| ignāvia, -ae f. | laziness; cowardice |
| luxuriēs, -ēī f. | luxury, extravagance |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| vitium, -ī n. | fault, vice |
| alter, -era, -erum | one or the other (of two); another, second |
| victōria, -ae, f. | victory |
| pereō, -īre, -ii, -itūrus | pass away, perish |
| igitur, conj. | therefore |
| arma, -ōrum, n. plur. | arms, weapons |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| occāsiō, -ōnis, f. | chance, opportunity |
| differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum | differ; scatter, put off |
| nūper, adv. | newly, lately, recently |
| cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | the other, the remaining, the rest of |
| ōlim, adv. | once upon a time, once, formerly, of old |
| misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtus | mix, mingle |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron. | each |
| amor, -ōris, m. | love |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| dulcēdō, -inis, f. | sweetness |
| praeda, -ae, f. | booty, spoil, plunder |
| stimulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | goad, spur on, incite |
| ambiguus, -a, -um | doubtful, uncertain; in ambiguō: in doubt |
| domus, -ūs, f. | house, home |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| malus, -a, -um | bad |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| dīversus, -a, -um | turned different ways, opposite, contrary, different |
| studium, -ī, n. | eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit |
| pār, paris | equal |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus | desire, long for, wish |
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.