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Tacitus · Historiae II

Histories 2.96

Rivalry of Caecina and Valens

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Hist. 2.96.1Praeposuerat praetōriānīs Pūblilium Sabīnum ā praefectūrā cohortis, Iūlium Prīscum tum centuriōnem: Prīscus Valentis, Sabīnus Caecīnae grātiā pollēbant;He had put in command of the praetorians Publilius Sabinus, previously prefect of a cohort, and Julius Priscus, then a centurion: Priscus was strong through the favour of Valens, Sabinus through that of Caecina; Hist. 2.96.1inter discordīs Vitelliō nihil auctōritās.between these rivals Vitellius had no authority. Hist. 2.96.1Mūnia imperiī Caecīna ac Valēns obībant, ōlim ānxiī odiīs, quae bellō et castrīs male dissimulāta prāvitās amīcōrum et fēcunda gignendīs inimīcitiīs cīvitās auxerat, dum ambitū comitātū et immēnsīs salūtantium agminibus contendunt comparanturque, variīs in hunc aut illum Vitelliī inclīnātiōnibus;Caecina and Valens performed the duties of empire, long troubled by hatreds which, ill concealed in war and camp, the depravity of their friends and a city fertile in breeding enmities had increased, while they competed and were compared in canvassing, in retinue and in immense crowds of callers, as Vitellius' inclinations shifted towards this one or that; Hist. 2.96.1nec umquam satis fīda potentia, ubi nimia est: simul ipsum Vitellium, subitīs offēnsīs aut intempestīvīs blanditiīs mūtābilem, contemnēbant metuēbantque.nor is power ever secure enough when it is excessive: at the same time they both despised and feared Vitellius himself, changeable as he was through sudden offence or untimely flattery.

Hist. 2.96.1Nec eō segnius invāserant domōs hortōs opēsque imperiī, cum flēbilis et egēns nōbilium turba, quōs ipsōs līberōsque patriae Galba reddiderat, nūllā prīncipis misericordiā iuvārentur.Nor were they any slower for that to seize houses, gardens and the wealth of the empire, while the pitiable and needy crowd of nobles, whom with their children Galba had restored to their country, were helped by no compassion from the emperor. Hist. 2.96.1Grātum prīmōribus cīvitātis etiam plēbs adprobāvit, quod reversīs ab exiliō iūra lībertōrum concessisset, quamquam id omnī modō servīlia ingenia corrumpēbant, abditīs pecūniīs per occultōs aut ambitiōsōs sinūs, et quīdam in domum Caesaris trānsgressī atque ipsīs dominīs potentiōrēs.Pleasing to the leading men of the state, and approved even by the common people, was his granting to those returned from exile their rights over their freedmen, although the servile characters spoiled this in every way, hiding their money in secret or influential places of concealment, and some had passed into Caesar's household and were more powerful than their masters themselves.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (111 words)
praepōnō, -ere, -posuī, -positumput in command of
praetōriānus, -a, -umpraetorian, of the emperor's guard; as noun, a praetorian
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
praefectūra, -ae f.prefecture, an Italian town governed by a prefect sent from Rome
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
tum, adv.then, at that time
centuriō, -ōnis m.centurion (officer commanding about 80 men)
grātia, -ae, f.favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
polleō, -ērebe strong, be powerful
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
discors, -cordisdiscordant, not in harmony
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
auctōritās, -tātis f.influence, authority, prestige
mūnia, -ium n. pl.duties, official functions
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
obeō, -īre, -iī, -itusgo to meet; attend to, carry out
ōlim, adv.once upon a time, once, formerly, of old
ānxius, -a, -umanxious
odium, -ī, n.hatred
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
bellum, -ī, n.war
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
castra, -ōrum, n. plur.camp
male, adv.badly, ill
dissimulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātushide, disguise, pretend not to notice
prāvitās, -ātis f.depravity, wickedness; perversity
amīcus, -ī, m.friend
fēcundus, -a, -umfruitful, rich (in)
gignō, gignere, genuī, genitusproduce, bring forth
inimīcitia, -ae f.enmity (usu. pl.)
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctumincrease, enlarge
dum, conj.while, as; as long as; until
ambitus, -ūs m.canvassing for office; bribery at elections (lēgēs ambitus: the bribery laws)
comitātus, -ūs m.escort, retinue, company
immēnsus (inmēnsus), -a, -umimmeasurable, boundless, vast
salūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusgreet; pay a morning call on
agmen, -minis, n.band, column
contendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentusstretch, hasten
comparō, -parāre, -parāvī, -parātusprepare, collect
que, enclitic conj.and
varius, -a, -umvarious
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
inclīnātiō, -ōnis f.leaning, sway, shift; inclination, tendency
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
umquam, adv.ever
satis, adv.enough, sufficiently
fīdus, -a, -umfaithful, loyal, trustworthy
potentia, -ae f.power, influence
ubi, adv.where; conj., when
nimius, -a, -umexcessive, too great
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
subitus, -a, -umsudden
offēnsa, -ae f.a knock, injury; offence, discomfort
intempestīvus, -a, -umuntimely, ill-timed, inopportune
blanditia, -ae f.flattery, coaxing; (pl.) endearments
mūtābilis, -echangeable, fickle
contemnō, -ere, -tempsī, -temptusdespise, scorn, think little of
metuō, -ere, metuīfear, be afraid of
eō (adv.)to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
segniter (adv.)sluggishly, lazily, half-heartedly
invādō, -ere, -vāsī, -vāsusgo into, attack, seize; come upon
domus, -ūs, f.house, home
hortus, -ī, m.garden
ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -umhelp; (pl.) resources, wealth, power
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
flēbilis, -etearful, mournful; (adv.) flēbiliter: tearfully
egeō, -ēre, eguī (+ abl. or gen.)need, lack, be in want of
nōbilis, -ewell-known, noble
turba, -ae f.crowd
līberī, -ōrum, m. plur.children
patria, -ae, f.fatherland, country
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive back, return, restore; render
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
prīnceps, -ipisfirst, chief; as noun: leader
misericordia, -ae, f;pity, compassion
iuvō, -āre, iūvī, iūtumhelp
grātus, -a, -umpleasing, grateful
prīmōrēs, -um m. pl.the leading men, the front rank
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
plēbs, plēbis f.the common people
approbō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusapprove, agree with
quod, conj.that, in that, because
revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertīturn back, return
exsilium, -ī, n.exile
iūs, iūris, n.right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
lībertus, -ī m.freedman (a former slave, in relation to his former master)
concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessusgrant, yield
quamquam, conj.however much, although
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
omnis, -eall, every
modus, -ī, m.way, manner
servīlis, -eof slaves (servīlis tumultus: slave revolt)
ingenium, -ī n.natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
corrumpō, -rumpere, -rūpī, -ruptusspoil, ruin, destroy; bribe
abdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusput away, hide
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
occultus, -a, -umhidden, secret
ambitiōsus, -a, -umeager for office or popularity, ambitious
sinus, -ūs, m.bosom, lap
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
trānsgredior, -ī, -gressus sumcross over
dominus, -ī m.master, owner
potēns, -entispowerful
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.