Hist. 2.99.1Cōntiōnante Vitelliō postulantur ad supplicium Asiāticus et Flāvus et Rūfīnus ducēs Galliārum, quod prō Vindice bellāssent.While Vitellius was addressing an assembly, Asiaticus, Flavus and Rufinus, leaders in the Gallic provinces, are demanded for execution, because they had fought for Vindex. Hist. 2.99.1Nec coercēbat eius modī vōcēs Vitellius: super īnsitam animō ignāviam cōnscius sibi īnstāre dōnātīvum et dēesse pecūniam omnia alia mīlitī largiēbātur.Nor did Vitellius check cries of this kind: besides the cowardice ingrained in his mind, aware that a donative was due and money was lacking, he lavished everything else on the soldiers. Hist. 2.99.1Lībertī prīncipum cōnferre prō numerō mancipiōrum ut tribūtum iussī: ipse sōlā perdendī cūrā stabula aurīgīs extruere, circum gladiātōrum ferārumque spectāculīs opplēre, tamquam in summā abundantiā pecūniae inlūdere.The freedmen of the emperors were ordered to contribute, as a tax, according to the number of their slaves: he himself, caring only for squandering, built stables for charioteers, filled the circus with shows of gladiators and wild beasts, and made sport as if in the greatest abundance of money.
Lectitō › Tacitus › Histories, Book 2 › Histories 2.99
Tacitus · Historiae II
Histories 2.99
Vitellius squanders the treasury
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, gerunds and gerundives ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (54 words)
| cōntiōnor, -ārī, -ātus sum | address an assembly, make a speech |
| postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | ask, request, demand |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| supplicium, -ī, n. | punishment, torture |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| dux, ducis, m. and f. | leader, commander |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| bellō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | wage war, fight |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| coerceō, -ēre, coercuī, coercitum | restrain, keep in check |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| vōx, vōcis, f. | voice; word |
| super (prep. + acc. or abl.; also adv.) | over, above, on top of; upon; about, concerning |
| īnsitus, -a, -um | implanted, innate, natural |
| animus, -ī, m. | mind; heart; spirit, courage |
| ignāvia, -ae f. | laziness; cowardice |
| cōnscius, -a, -um | aware, conscious (of) |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| īnstō, -āre, -stitī | press on; be at hand |
| dōnātīvum, -ī n. | gift of money to soldiers, bounty |
| dēsum, deesse, dēfuī | be lacking, fail |
| pecūnia, -ae, f. | money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times) |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| alius, -a, -ud | another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| largior, -īrī, -ītus sum | give generously, bribe |
| lībertus, -ī m. | freedman (a former slave, in relation to his former master) |
| prīnceps, -ipis | first, chief; as noun: leader |
| cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus | bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| mancipium, -ī n. | a slave (as property); formal purchase, ownership |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| tribūtum, -ī, n. | contribution, tribute |
| iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus | bid, order, command |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| sōlus, -a, -um | alone |
| perdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | destroy, ruin; lose, waste |
| cūra, -ae f. | care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern) |
| stabulum, -ī, n. | standing-place, stall, stable, inclosure |
| aurīga, -ae m. | charioteer, driver |
| exstruō, -struere, -strūxī, -strūctus | pile or heap up, build, erect |
| circus, -ī m. | circle; racecourse, circus (Circus Maximus) |
| gladiātor, -ōris m. | gladiator; as an insult: cutthroat, ruffian |
| fera, -ae, f. | wild animal, beast |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| spectāculum, -ī n. | sight, spectacle, show |
| oppleō, -ēre, -plēvī, -plētus | fill completely, cover |
| tamquam (adv., conj.) | as, just as; as if |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| abundantia, -ae f. | plenty, wealth |
| inlūdō, -ere, -lūsī, -lūsus | mock, make sport of (+ dat.) |
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.