Histories 2.81

Mucianus ends his appeal

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Hist. 2.81.1"Nōbīs nihil ultrā adrogābō quam nē post Valentem et Caecīnam numerēmur: nē tamen Mūciānum socium sprēverīs, quia aemulum nōn experīris.'For myself I shall claim nothing more than not to be counted after Valens and Caecina: yet do not scorn Mucianus as a partner because you do not find him a rival. Hist. 2.81.1Mē Vitelliō antepōnō, tē mihi.I rank myself above Vitellius, and you above myself. Hist. 2.81.1Tuae domuī triumphāle nōmen, duo iuvenēs, capāx iam imperiī alter et prīmīs mīlitiae annīs apud Germānicōs quoque exercitūs clārus.Your house has a triumphal name and two young men, one of them already capable of empire and famous in his first years of service among the German armies too. Hist. 2.81.1Absurdum fuerit nōn cēdere imperiō eī cuius fīlium adoptātūrus essem, sī ipse imperārem.It would be absurd not to yield the empire to the man whose son I would adopt, if I were emperor myself. Hist. 2.81.1Cēterum inter nōs nōn īdem prosperārum adversārumque rērum ōrdō erit: nam sī vincimus, honōrem quem dederis habēbō: discrīmen ac perīcula ex aequō patiēmur.Yet between us the lot of success and failure will not be the same: for if we win, I shall have whatever honour you grant me: risk and dangers we shall bear equally.

Hist. 2.81.1Immō, ut melius est, tū tuōs exercitūs rege, mihi bellum et proeliōrum incerta trāde.Rather, as is better, you govern your armies, and hand over to me the war and the uncertainties of battle. Hist. 2.81.1Ācriōre hodiē disciplīnā victī quam victōrēs agunt.Today the defeated live under keener discipline than the victors. Hist. 2.81.1Hōs īra, odium, ultiōnis cupiditās ad virtūtem accendit: illī per fastīdium et contumāciam hebēscunt.The former are fired to valour by anger, hatred and the desire for revenge: the latter are growing dull through disdain and insubordination. Hist. 2.81.1Aperiet et reclūdet contēcta et tumēscentia victrīcium partium vulnera bellum ipsum;The war itself will open and lay bare the hidden and festering wounds of the victorious side; Hist. 2.81.1nec mihi maior in tuā vigilantiā parsimōniā sapientiā fīdūcia est quam in Vitelliī torpōre īnscītiā saevitiā.nor do I place more confidence in your vigilance, thrift and wisdom than in Vitellius' torpor, ignorance and cruelty. Hist. 2.81.1Sed meliōrem in bellō causam quam in pāce habēmus;But we have a better cause in war than in peace; Hist. 2.81.1nam quī dēlīberant, dēscīvērunt."for those who deliberate have already rebelled.'

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Latin vocabulary for this passage (114 words)

nōs	plur. of ego
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
ultrā (prep. + acc.)	beyond
adrogō (arrogō), -āre, -āvī, -ātus	claim for oneself, assume; confer
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
numerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	count, number; reckon, count as
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
socius, -ī, m.	companion, comrade, ally
spernō, spernere, sprēvī, sprētus	despise, scorn
quia (conj.)	because
aemulus, -a, -um	rivalling; (as noun) a rival
nōn, adv.	not
experior, -īrī, expertus sum	try, test, experience
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
antepōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positus	place before; prefer
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
triumphālis, -e	triumphal; triumphālia ōrnāmenta: the insignia of a triumph
nōmen, -minis, n.	name (that by which one is known)
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
iuvenis, -is, m.	young man, youth
capāx, -ācis	roomy, spacious; capable (of: gen.)
iam, adv.	now, already
imperium, -ī, n.	command; sway, rule
alter, -era, -erum	one or the other (of two); another, second
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
mīlitia, -ae f.	military service
annus, -ī, m.	year
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
Germānicus, -a, -um	German, of the Germans
quoque, adv.	also
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
clārus, -a, -um	clear, loud; famous
absurdus, -a, -um	out of tune; senseless, absurd
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
cēdō, -ere, cessī, cessum	go, withdraw, give way
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
fīlius, -ī, m.	son
adoptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	adopt; choose, take for oneself
sī, conj.	if
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus	command, order, enjoin
cēterum (adv.)	but, however; for the rest
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
prosperus, -a, -um	favourable, successful, prosperous
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
que, enclitic conj.	and
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
ōrdō, ōrdinis, m.	arrangement, order, rank; ex ōrdine, in order
nam, conj.	for
vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum	conquer, defeat
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
discrīmen, -crīminis, n.	crisis, peril, danger
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
perīculum, -ī, n.	danger, peril, risk
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
aequus, -a, -um	level; equal; fair
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
immō (adv.)	no rather, on the contrary; immō vērō: no, indeed, even
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
bonus, -a, -um	good
regō, -ere, rēxī, rēctum	guide, steer, rule
bellum, -ī, n.	war
proelium, -ī, n.	battle, combat; proelium committere, to join battle
incertus, -a, -um	uncertain, unreliable
trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report
ācer, ācris, ācre	sharp, shrill
hodiē (adv.)	today
disciplīna, -ae f.	training, discipline
victor, -ōris m.	conqueror, victor
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
īra, -ae, f.	anger, wrath
odium, -ī, n.	hatred
ultiō, -ōnis f.	revenge, vengeance
cupiditās, -tātis, f.	desire, longing, eagerness
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
virtūs, -tūtis, f.	manliness, courage, bravery
accendō, -cendere, -cendī, -cēnsus	kindle, light
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
fastīdium, -ī n.	disdain, scorn, haughtiness; loathing, squeamishness; discomfort
contumācia, -ae f.	defiance, stubbornness, insolence
hebēscō, -ere	grow blunt, grow dull
aperiō, -īre, -uī, -tus	open
reclūdō, -ere, -clūsī, -clūsum	open up, disclose; uncover
contegō, -tegere, -tēxī, -tēctus	cover
tumēscō, -ere, -tumuī	swell, begin to swell; swell with anger or war
victrīx, -īcis (f. adj. and noun)	victorious; conqueror (feminine)
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
vulnus, vulneris, n.	wound
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
vigilantia, -ae f.	wakefulness; watchfulness, vigilance
parsimōnia, -ae f.	thrift, frugality
sapientia, -ae f.	wisdom, good sense
fīdūcia, -ae f.	confidence, trust, reliance
torpor, -ōris m.	numbness, stiffness
īnscītia, -ae f.	ignorance, inexperience
saevitia, -ae f.	fierceness, cruelty
sed, conj.	but
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
pāx, pācis f.	peace
dēlīberō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	consider, deliberate
dēscīscō, -ere, -scīvī, -scītum	break away, revolt, desert (from: ab)

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.