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Tacitus · Historiae II

Histories 2.87

Mucianus' march and strategy

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Hist. 2.87.1Mūciānus cum expedītā manū, socium magis imperiī quam ministrum agēns, nōn lentō itinere, nē cūnctārī vidērētur, neque tamen properāns, glīscere fāmam ipsō spatiō sinēbat, gnārus modicās vīrīs sibi et maiōra crēdī dē absentibus;Mucianus, with a light-armed force, acting as a partner in empire rather than a servant, marching neither slowly, lest he seem to delay, nor yet hurrying, let rumour grow through the very distance, aware that his strength was modest and that greater things are believed of those who are absent; Hist. 2.87.1sed legiō sexta et tredecim vēxillāriōrum mīlia ingentī agmine sequēbantur.but the Sixth Legion and thirteen thousand detachment troops followed in a huge column. Hist. 2.87.1Classem ē Pontō Byzantium adigī iusserat, ambiguus cōnsiliī num omissā Moesiā Dyrrachium pedite atque equite, simul longīs nāvibus versum in Ītaliam mare clauderet, tūtā pōne tergum Achāiā Asiāque, quās inermīs expōnī Vitelliō, nī praesidiīs firmārentur;He had ordered the fleet to be brought from Pontus to Byzantium, undecided whether to bypass Moesia and make for Dyrrachium with infantry and cavalry, and at the same time to close with warships the sea facing Italy, leaving safe behind his back Achaia and Asia, which would be exposed defenceless to Vitellius unless they were secured by garrisons; Hist. 2.87.1atque ipsum Vitellium in incertō fore quam partem Ītaliae prōtegeret, sī sibi Brundisium Tarentumque et Calabriae Lūcāniaeque lītora īnfestīs classibus peterentur.and he reckoned that Vitellius himself would be uncertain which part of Italy to protect, if Brundisium and Tarentum and the shores of Calabria and Lucania were attacked by his hostile fleets.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (78 words)
cum, prep, with abl.with
expedītus, -a, -umunobstructed, easy; lightly equipped
manus, -ūs, f.hand
socius, -ī, m.companion, comrade, ally
magis, comp. adv.more, rather
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
minister, -trī m.servant, attendant, helper
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
nōn, adv.not
lentus, -a, -umslow, sluggish
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
cūnctor, -ārī, -ātus sumdelay, hesitate
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
properō, -āre, -āvī, -ātushasten
glīscō, -ereswell, grow, blaze up
fāma, -ae, f.report, rumor
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
spatium, -ī, n.space, interval; space of time, time
sinō, -ere, sīvī, situsallow, permit, let
gnārus, -a, -umknowing, acquainted with, expert (in)
modicus, -a, -ummoderate, small; modicum: a little
vīs, vīs, f.violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusbelieve
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
absēns, -entisabsent, away
sed, conj.but
legiō, -ōnis f.legion
sextus, -a, -umsixth
tredecim (indecl.)thirteen
vēxillārius, -ī m.standard-bearer; soldier of a detachment (vexillum)
mīlle, indecl. adj.a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
ingēns, -gentis, adj.huge, vast
agmen, -minis, n.band, column
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
classis, -is f.fleet
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
adigō, -ere, adēgī, adāctumdrive, hurl (a weapon) to
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
ambiguus, -a, -umdoubtful, uncertain; in ambiguō: in doubt
cōnsilium, -ī, n.advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
num, adv., introducing a question to which a negative answer is expecteduntranslatable
omittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missuslet go, neglect, disregard, throw away, lose
pedes, peditis m.foot soldier
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
eques, equitis m.horseman; (pl.) cavalry
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
longus, -a, -umlong; tedious
nāvis, -is, f.ship
vertō, vertere, vertī, versusturn
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
mare, maris, n.sea
claudō, -ere, clausī, clausumclose, shut; (agmen) bring up the rear
tūtus, -a, -umsafe
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positusplace, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
tergum, -ī, n.back
que, enclitic conj.and
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
inermis, -eunarmed
expōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusput out, set forth; put on shore, land; explain
nī (conj.)if not, unless (= nisi)
praesidium, -ī, n.protection; guard, escort
firmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusstrengthen, secure
incertus, -a, -umuncertain, unreliable
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.what?
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
prōtegō, -ere, -tēxī, -tēctuscover over, shield, protect
sī, conj.if
lītus, lītoris, n.shore
īnfestus, -a, -umunsafe, dangerous
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītusseek, ask; attack
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.