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.
Lectitō › Tacitus › Histories, Book 2 › Histories 2.87
Tacitus · Historiae II
Histories 2.87
Mucianus' march and strategy
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1, ablative absolute ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (78 words)
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| expedītus, -a, -um | unobstructed, 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, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| lentus, -a, -um | slow, 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 sum | delay, hesitate |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; 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, -ātus | hasten |
| glīscō, -ere | swell, 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, situs | allow, permit, let |
| gnārus, -a, -um | knowing, acquainted with, expert (in) |
| modicus, -a, -um | moderate, 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, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | believe |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| absēns, -entis | absent, away |
| sed, conj. | but |
| legiō, -ōnis f. | legion |
| sextus, -a, -um | sixth |
| 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, secūtus | follow |
| classis, -is f. | fleet |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| adigō, -ere, adēgī, adāctum | drive, hurl (a weapon) to |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| ambiguus, -a, -um | doubtful, uncertain; in ambiguō: in doubt |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| num, adv., introducing a question to which a negative answer is expected | untranslatable |
| omittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | let 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, -um | long; tedious |
| nāvis, -is, f. | ship |
| vertō, vertere, vertī, versus | turn |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| mare, maris, n. | sea |
| claudō, -ere, clausī, clausum | close, shut; (agmen) bring up the rear |
| tūtus, -a, -um | safe |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, 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, -e | unarmed |
| expōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus | put out, set forth; put on shore, land; explain |
| nī (conj.) | if not, unless (= nisi) |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| firmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | strengthen, secure |
| incertus, -a, -um | uncertain, unreliable |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj. | what? |
| pars, partis, f. | part, side, direction |
| prōtegō, -ere, -tēxī, -tēctus | cover over, shield, protect |
| sī, conj. | if |
| lītus, lītoris, n. | shore |
| īnfestus, -a, -um | unsafe, dangerous |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, 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.