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Tacitus · Historiae II

Histories 2.88

Raising money for the war

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Hist. 2.88.1Igitur nāvium mīlitum armōrum parātū strepere prōvinciae, sed nihil aequē fatīgābat quam pecūniārum conquīsītiō: eōs esse bellī cīvīlis nervōs dictitāns Mūciānus nōn iūs aut vērum in cognitiōnibus, sed sōlam magnitūdinem opum spectābat.So the provinces resounded with the preparation of ships, soldiers and arms, but nothing wore them down so much as the collecting of money: Mucianus, repeatedly saying that money was the sinews of civil war, looked in his judicial inquiries not to right or truth, but solely to the size of a man's wealth. Hist. 2.88.1Passim dēlātiōnēs, et locuplētissimus quisque in praedam correptī.Everywhere there were informers, and all the richest men were seized as plunder. Hist. 2.88.1Quae gravia atque intoleranda, sed necessitāte armōrum excūsāta etiam in pāce mānsēre, ipsō Vespasiānō inter initia imperiī ad obtinendās inīquitātēs haud perinde obstinante, dōnec indulgentiā fortūnae et prāvīs magistrīs didicit aususque est.These exactions, oppressive and intolerable, but excused by the necessity of war, remained even in peace, since Vespasian himself, at the beginning of his reign, was not so very insistent on maintaining injustices, until, through the indulgence of fortune and under wicked teachers, he learned and dared to.

Hist. 2.88.1Propriīs quoque opibus Mūciānus bellum iūvit, largus prīvātim, quod avidius dē rē pūblicā sūmeret.Mucianus also helped the war with his own resources, generous in private, because he took all the more greedily from the public funds. Hist. 2.88.1Cēterī cōnferendārum pecūniārum exemplum secūtī, rārissimus quisque eandem in reciperandō licentiam habuērunt.The rest followed his example of contributing money; only a very few had the same licence in recovering it.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3

Latin vocabulary for this passage (84 words)
igitur, conj.therefore
nāvis, -is, f.ship
mīles, mīlitis, m.soldier
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.arms, weapons
parātus, -ūs m.preparation, provision
strepō, -ere, -uīmake a noise, roar, hum
prōvincia, -ae f.province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
sed, conj.but
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
aequē (adv.)equally, just as; aequē ac: just as
fatīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātustire, wear out
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
conquīsītiō, -ōnis f.search, inquiry; (in Acts) debate, disputing
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
bellum, -ī, n.war
cīvīlis, -eof citizens; bellum cīvīle: civil war
nervus, -ī, m.sinew, muscle
dictitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuskeep saying, say again and again
nōn, adv.not
iūs, iūris, n.right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
vērum (conj.)but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
cognitiō, -ōnis f.learning, knowledge, study
sōlus, -a, -umalone
magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f.greatness, size
ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -umhelp; (pl.) resources, wealth, power
spectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslook at or on
passim (adv.)here and there, in all directions
dēlātiō, -ōnis f.denunciation, informing, accusation
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
locuplēs, -ētisrich, wealthy
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
praeda, -ae, f.booty, spoil, plunder
corripiō, -ripere, -ripuī, -reptusseize, snatch, snatch up
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
gravis, -eheavy; severe, grievous, serious
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
intolerandus, -a, -umunbearable, intolerable
necessitās, -ātis f.necessity, compulsion
excūsō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusexcuse, make excuses for
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
pāx, pācis f.peace
maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsusremain
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
initium, -ī, n.beginning
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
obtineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentushold
inīquitās, -ātis f.unevenness; unfairness, difficulty
haud, adv.not at all, by no means, not
perinde (adv.)in the same way, equally; haud perinde: not so much
obstinō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusbe determined, persist, insist
dōnec (conj.)until; while, as long as
indulgentia, -ae f.kindness, indulgence, favour
fortūna, -ae, f.fortune
prāvus, -a, -umcrooked; bad, wrong
magister, -trī, m.master
discō, discere, didicīlearn
audeō, audēre, ausus sumdare
que, enclitic conj.and
proprius, -a, -umone's own, private; characteristic (of)
quoque, adv.also
iuvō, -āre, iūvī, iūtumhelp
largus, -a, -umabundant, plentiful; generous
prīvātim (adv.)privately, as individuals
quod, conj.that, in that, because
avidē (adv.)eagerly, greedily
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
pūblicus, -a, -umpublic, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptustake under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.the other, the remaining, the rest of
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātusbring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
exemplum, -ī n.example, precedent
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
rārus, -a, -umscattered, few
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
reciperō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusget back, recover
licentia, -ae f.freedom; lack of restraint, lawlessness
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
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.