Arto Labor - Tacitus Annals Book 4 Introduction and Translation

The purpose of this project is to look at Tacitus’s Annals Book 4 to see how the Latin works at its basic level of word, grammar, syntax, that is, the basic mechanics that would be of interest to a student of Latin. The three-part means to this end are a literal, interlinear translation, full vocabulary and grammar notes. The intended audience is the student moving on from beginning level Latin to intermediate level Latin or the general interested reader who has found it difficult to read Tacitus in translation and to match the translation to the Latin text.

The project has four parts: the translation of the text of Book 4, the vocabulary list of Book 4, a table of grammar notes for word, grammar, and syntax items in Book 4, and a short genealogy outline of those characters of the royal family mentioned in Book 4.

The translation seeks to show word for word or phrase for phrase what the Latin is saying and desires that the reader can readily match the English translation to the Latin text, sometimes or often, depending on the reader, with the help of the Vocabulary Table. This sort of translation leads in some instances to awkwardness or clunkiness in the English expression, which is left as is as long as the English is readable. In those few instances where the English would not be readable if given literally, both a strictly literal and a readable translation are provided.

Many Latin words have a range of meanings to suit the context and when a suitable meaning is chosen for the translation that seems far afield from the reader’s knowledge of a word’s definition that choice is justified in the Vocabulary Table by a dictionary reference.

In the translation section of this project the Latin text of Tacitus’s Annals Book 4 is reproduced on one physical line with its English translation on the line below. The Latin sentences are split into logical units while maintaining the text’s word order. One logical unit of the Latin is reproduced on a physical line with its English translation below. This passage from the opening of chapter 4.1 is an example of how the Latin text presentation and the English translation looks

C. Asinio C. Antistio consulibus nonus Tiberio annus erat compositae rei publicae, >1

At the time of consuls C. Asinio (and) C. Antistio the ninth year for Tiberius was of a well-ordered republic,

of a prosperous house (for he was considering the death of Germanicus among the fortunate events),

The sample above shows how nearly all of the translation of Book 4 looks. Here we see one Latin sentence split up into four logical units, each unit on its own physical line. Sometimes the Latin sentence can be read from left to right as in English. When this type of sentence looks easy enough to be matched to the English below, the whole sentence or clause is considered one logical unit and can continue onto a second line if the sentence is not much longer than one physical line.

There are only a few exceptions to this form. Sometimes a long Latin sentence will have its verb at the end and the English translation must bring the verb near the beginning to make the English readable. The Latin sentence can otherwise be split up from beginning to end into logical units, one unit to a line. The English translation below the first Latin logical unit will contain the sentence verb, which does not appear in the Latin line above it. In this case the English verb will be followed by the Latin verb in parentheses to indicate that the Latin verb is found on a subsequent line. For instance in chapter 4.5 is the passage

And Rhoemetalces and the children of Cotys were holding fast (attinebant) Thrace,

and two of the legions were holding fast the bank of the Danube in Pannonia, two (legions) were holding fast in Moesia,

The “(attinebant)” after the verb “were holding fast” shows that the Latin verb is not found on the line above but has been moved up in the English translation for the sake of readability and is on a subsequent line.

The two passages discussed below, from 4.32 and 4.40, are the two exceptions to a straightforward presentation of the Latin text and the reader can skip these two explanations until the passages are encountered in the text.

There is just one passage, in 4.32, where the Latin logcal unit is written on one line and then repeated on the next with words crossed out to show which words are being used on which line

To that (people) they were narrating with a free range of digression (illustrative topics) (libero egressu memorabant)

or rather if at any time they turned their attention particularly to domestic affairs,

agrarias frumentariasque leges, plebis et optimatium certamina libero egressu memorabant:

agrarian and grain laws, the disputes of the common people and of the aristocrats:

In this case, for readability, the verb phrase needed to be brought from the last line to the beginning of the English sentence and to do justice to its meaning a long phrase was needed to translate “libero egressu memorabant.” So the only word used from the first physical line of the first logical unit was “illi” and the verb phrase was brought up from the fifth line to join “To that (people).” “ingentia bella,” “great wars,” was used on the second line as one of the verb objects.

And there is just one passage where the Latin unit is moved to the right on its line, leaving spaces at the front of its line. The passage from 4.40

who force a way through to you against your will and consult (you) on all affairs,

not in secret bear a report (non occulti ferunt) that you have for a long time now gone beyond the summit for a knight

Here the verb phrase “not in secret bear a report” is brought forward from the fourth line to the second and in order to align the English translation to the Latin text above it the Latin line is moved to the right.

These two passages are the only departures from a straightforward left to right presentation of both Latin and English.

As aids to an easier comprehension of the Latin, there are occasional insertions made to both the Latin and the English text.

1. After the English verb its Latin verb follows in parentheses when the Latin verb is found, not on the line above, but on a lower line.

2. Helps to understanding or to readability are inserted within parentheses into the English translation. For example a passage from 4.1

to such an extent that he (Tiberius) rendered (himself) something dark (and obscure) toward others, something unguarded and uncovered to himself alone (Sejanus),

3. The Latin often omits various forms of the verb esse. So phrases like “he was,” “it was,” “there were” are inserted between parentheses in many cases. In other cases when they are unwritten auxiliaries of the Latin verb they are inserted in the English without parentheses.

4. Tacitus often omits se in accusative/infinitive constructions. This is so common that “he” or “they” is inserted into the English without parentheses.

5. Sometimes a Latin word has two or more definitions which are closely related English words but which are not quite synonyms, and both words together better suit the meaning of the Latin word in the context. So both words are used and one of the words is placed in parentheses. See the passage above for obscurum as “dark (and obscure).”

6. In a few instances there will be inserted an inline comment about the narrative into the English translation. For example from 4.33

so in the same way with the (political) situation turned upside down (reversed from people/aristocracy to one man)

The English line parenthetical insert clarifies what is meant by “turned upside down.”

1. In cases of ambiguity or puzzlement where the Latin case or usage can be clarified in a word, the Latin word is followed by an insertion in brackets [] and italics. For example

4.2 cohortis [cohortes] – showing that –is is an alternate form of the accusative –es

4.5 initio ab [postpositive] – showing that ab is the preposition for initio

2. Whenever Indirect Discourse, or Oratio Obliqua, is present and is longer than a short phrase or clause, the Indirect Discourse begins a new line and is so indicated. This gives fair warning of accusative/infinitives and subjunctives coming into play. For example from 4.7

that with the son (himself Drusus) safe and sound (alive and well) another (Sejanus) was called as an accomplice of rule.

after and in view of these things temperateness should have been pleaded so that he would have restrained himself.

3. If the Indirect Discourse passage is short, it is bracketed with [O.O] and [end O.O.]. For example from 4.40

[O.O. of referens] egenam aquae utramque insulam referens dandosque vitae usus cui vita concederetur [end O.O.].

rejoining (that) each island (is) in want of water and (that) the usages of life ought to be given to (him) whom life would be pardoned.

Here [O.O of referens] notes that the verb of expressing, which is producing the Indirect Discourse, is referens.

When the Latin text has an item of word, grammar or syntax whose usage calls for explanation, the rightward margin of that Latin line has a number, such as for example >4, which points to the item’s corresponding entry within the Grammar Table. See the section Grammar Table below for a full explanation.

The translation is a word for word translation. In cases where needed, a phrase for word. With the short physical lines and the Vocabulary Table displayed to the side of the text/translation, the eye can bounce up and down between the English and the Latin and follow along. However, though the translation is literal, the suitable word or words that represent the meaning in the context are chosen for the English rendering, leaving open the possibility that the reader may find an English word a far fetch from the Latin’s more customary, or plain vanilla, definition. In each case of this kind the Vocabulary Table entry for the word will cite a dictionary authority. In the few instances where an idiomatic expression is encountered, the expression is translated literally (usually of no ready meaning in English) and then in parentheses translated by meaning. See the section Vocabulary Table below.

The endnotes adhere to the same narrow purpose as does this project as a whole. They are used to present, discuss and/or argue issues of diction, grammar, syntax. Some notes present a multi-step argument for a position on an item of grammar and some notes present options. The endnotes do not range over the wide expanse of material as does a commentary with notes. If the reader’s only purpose is to read a literal translation, with or without simple grammar notes as found in the Grammar Table, the endnotes can be skipped.

The translation and endnotes have had the assistance of six commentaries and of Goodyear’s Annals Vol 1 and of Walker. Where a website is included in the bibliography, the edition on the website was used. A URL date means that the text was still available on that date. During the course of this project these texts have had stable addresses. Where a commentary’s insight is used in the endnotes, it is cited. References to Furneaux's Introduction Chapter 5 Syntax entries begin with the # character, for example, Fur #47.

Allen, William Francis. Tacitus; The Annals; Books I.-VI; Ed., with introduction, notes, and indexed by William Francis Allen. Boston: Ginn & company, 1899. Web.
Allen Comment
On the HathiTrust website. This URL was accessible on 14 Aug 2017.

Brotier, Gabriel. Cornelii Taciti Opera; from the text of Brotier; With his explanatory notes; as edited by A.J. Valpy M.A.; translated into English. London: A.J. Valpy, 1834. Web.
Brotier Comment
On Google Books. This URL was accessible on 14 Aug 2017.

Frost, Percival. The Annals of Tacitus with a Commentary by the Rev. Percival Frost, M.A. London: Whittaker and Co., 1872. Web.
Frost Comment
On Google Books. This URL was accessible on 14 Aug 2017.

Furneaux, Henry. The Annals of Tacitus; edited with introduction and notes by Henry Furneaux, M.A.; Vol. I: Books I-VI; second edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896. Print.

Goodyear, F.R.D. The Annals of Tacitus; Volume I: Annals I. 1-54. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1972. Print

Martin, R.H. and Woodman, A.J. Tacitus; Annals; Book IV. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Print.

Nipperdey, Karl. Cornelius Tacitus; Part I.; The First Six Books of the Annales. Trans Henry Browne. London: Frank & John Rivington, 1852. Web.
Nip/Browne
On www.archive.org. This URL was accessible on 14 Aug 2017. All references to Nipperdey are Browne’s translations, except where Nipperdey-Andresen is explicitly noted. Browne’s notes for Book 4 begin on p. 312 in his translation of Nipperdey.

Nipperdey, Karl, and Georg Andresen. P. Cornelius Tacitus; Erster Band; Ab Excessu Divi Augusti I-VI. Berlin: Weidmannshe, 1904. Web.
Nip Andr
On Google Books. This URL was accessible on 14 Aug 2017.

Walker, B. The Annals of Tacitus; A Study in the Writing of History. New York: Arno Press, 1981. Reprint.

The Vocabulary Table lists most of the words in Book 4 and lists them in the order in which they occur in the text. The words that are not listed are of the most ordinary, such as conjunctions when they have routine meaning, most forms of esse, prepositions when they have routine meaning, and other such words.

Each chapter of Book 4 has its own block of vocabulary words in the Vocabulary Table. The first column has the word just as found in the text, followed by the word’s principal parts in the second column and the definition(s) in the third. Here are the header row and first two entries in the Vocabulary Table

If the plain vanilla English definition of a word does not look like it is doing justice to the Latin word, then Lewis and Short’s Latin Dictionary, found on Perseus, is used. If more needs to be done, then the OLD is used. And in the Vocabulary Table there are six uses of Cassell and one use in the text’s endnotes. A Lewis and Short definition is noted with “L&S” and an OLD definition is noted with “OLDNa” where N is the OLD definition main sense number and a is its subsense letter. Where the “OLDNa” notation is followed by “ex.”, this shows that the OLD is using as an exemplary quote the very clause or sentence from Annals Book 4 that uses the word being defined in the Vocabulary entry. The idea for noting an OLD definition with “ex.” came about halfway through this project, so not all OLD definitions that could have been so noted are noted.

The Vocabulary Table has brief descriptions of people and places. Many of these descriptions come from A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology found on Perseus (www.perseus.tufts.edu/). Others come from Wikipedia and other places. If the Vocabulary entry has the phrase "only here," that means that the DGRBM shows information from only Tacitus Book 4.

Cassell’s New Latin Dictionary. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1960. Print.

Lewis and Short. Latin Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879. Web.
L&S
This URL was true as of this writing, 14 Aug 2017. Or go to www.perseus.tufts.edu/ and follow the Home menu item Collections/Texts→Greek and Roman Materials where, listed under Documents, in the alphabetical spot under “L” where “Lewis” would be, is Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary. Once in the dictionary click on any Latin word in the “A” section to get to the Latin Word Study Tool. This latter is the useful tool. It accepts nearly all forms of nearly any Latin word.

Oxford Latin Dictionary. 2nd edition. Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.

The Grammar Table holds those words, phrases and clauses whose grammar usage might be unfamiliar either in function or by name. Any grammar usage beyond the most elementary is included in the table and many which might be considered to be elementary. The Grammar Table entries occur in the order in which their usage items appear in the text. The Grammar Table section begins with a key which explains the abbreviations used in the table. The Grammar Table Key and table headers can be viewed either by clicking Gram in the top menu or by scrolling up the Grammar Table. Here is the header row and first four entries of the Grammar Table.

The Part column lists mostly the standard Parts of Speech, such as verb, noun, adjective, etc. Sometimes a verb is narrowed to infinitive. The Part and Case columns serve more than one function. If the Grammar entry is about a clause, then Part is listed as "cl" and Case is listed as the type of clause, such as "conditional," "purpose," etc. The M column is the Mood and lists either "I" or "S."

Where a grammar item which has an entry in the Grammar Table exists in the Latin text, that line of Latin text has a number in its right-hand margin, such as, for example, >4. This number, >4, points to the corresponding entry in the Grammar Table under the text’s book/chapter number. So if the Latin text’s grammar item in question were in Book 4, Chapter 1, pointing >4, the reader would go to the block of grammar entries for 4.1 and look down the rows of entries for entry #4. The Latin text itself does not show which item in the text on that Latin line is noted in the Grammar Table. One has to look at the Grammar Table entry where the noted word or phrase in the Latin text line is repeated. Here is an example of text and grammar for the opening of chapter 4.2

Sometimes a single Latin line has multiple items noted in the Grammar Table. The right-hand margin of these text lines would, for example, look like this: >6,7,8.

The Grammar Table’s main purpose is to show a reference, or references, to one or more of the eleven grammars used in this project for an item in the text whose grammar usage raises one of the questions, “What is this?” or “What is this called?” Whenever suitable the Allen and Greenough grammar is used. That grammar is available in a well-bound, well-printed, cheap copy and has the added advantage of being on the Perseus website, with convenient hypertext section numbers. In cases where Allen and Greenough do not suffice, the Gildersleeve and Lodge grammar is used if suitable. After these two, recourse is made to any one of the other grammars in the bibliography. The Grammar Table entry also has a cell for a brief description of the grammar usage. The description is taken from the corresponding grammar’s section reference. Many times, though not all, the brief description of the usage in the Grammar Table will clarify the word’s, phrase’s or clause’s usage. In other cases the grammar book’s section reference to which the Grammar Table refers will have to be read in order to understand the usage.

The Note (col 7) for a Grammar Reference (col 6) is to the immediate right of the reference and pertains only to the grammar reference on its immediate left. In those few instances where there is more than one grammar reference and their reference notes are nearly identical, the references will be separated by commas, showing that the single note pertains to both references.

The grammar bibliography below contains some works that are not formally grammars but serve this project as such. In all cases but for Draeger the print editions were used. Web addresses are included for reader convenience. The older out-of-copyright grammars can be found on the Web.

#	Word	Part of Speech	Case/ Tense	M	Grammar Ref	Note
Chapter 4.1 Tran Voc
1	rei publicae, florentis domus	noun	gen		G&L §366	gen. of quality (noun + adj) can be used as predicate
2	cum repente…	cl	temp		A&G §546a	cum inversum
3	turbare	inf	pres	I	A&G §456	complementary inf. after “begin”
4	quo…ierit	cl	IQ	S	A&G §575	quo IQ takes subjv.

Allen and Greenough. New Latin Grammar. 1903. Reprint. Edited by J.B. Greenough, G.L.Kittredge, A.A. Howard, and Benj. L. D’Ooge for Ginn and Company, 1903. Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc., 2006. Print.
Also found at Perseus, Collections/Texts, Greek and Roman Materials, Allen and Greenough's New Latin Grammar for Schools and Colleges, Boston, 1903:
A&G

Arnold, Thomas (1839), Bradley, G. (1884), Montford, James (1938). Bradley’s Arnold Latin Prose Composition. Edinburgh: T. and A. Constable, Ltd, 1938. American printing New York: David McKay Company, Inc., 1963. Print.
This text is referred to on a few occasions where it is particularly clear on a grammar usage. Though both in form and in content, Bradley's Arnold is always clear.

Carmody, Sister Winifred Mary. The Subjunctive in Tacitus. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1926. Print.

Champlin, J.T. Selections from Tacitus. Boston: John Allyn, 1876. Web.
Champ/Draeg
On Google Books. This URL was accessible on 14 Aug 2017.
The introduction to this book is a thirty-two page compression in English of Draeger’s Ueber Syntax und Stil des Tacitus.

Draeger, Anton. Ueber Syntax und Stil des Tacitus. 3rd ed. Leipzig, 1882. Web.
Draeger
On Google Books. This URL was accessible on 14 Aug 2017.
[Note the quote in §194(1)(b) “optimi poterant, si claussissent” is from Histories 4,19 not from Annals 4,19.]

Gildersleeve and Lodge. Gildersleeve’s Latin Grammar. 1894. Reprint of 3rd ed. Mineola: Dover Publications, Inc., 2009. Print.
The bibliographical note to the above Dover 2009 reprint states that this republication is a reprint of the 1894 edition. The Preface of this Dover reprint is dated August 1, 1895. This preface is found also in the Macmillan 1895 printing. The WEB address below is to the Macmillan printing found on archive.org.
G&L

Hale, William Gardner. The cum-constructions: Their History and Functions, Part I: Critical. Studies in Classical Philology, vol. 1, Cornell University Press, 1887, pp. 3–74. Reprint.

Hale, Willliam Gardner. The cum-constructions: Their History and Functions, Part II: Constructive. Studies in Classical Philology, vol. 1, Cornell University Press, 1889. Reprint.
Continuing in August, 2016, both of Hale’s papers were printed together in a University of Michigan Library on-demand reprint (well-bound and well-printed) and both are found together online on the HathiTrust website at
Hale.

Kennedy, Benjamin Hall. The Public School Latin Grammar. 5th edition. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1879. Print.

Madvig, J.N. A Latin Grammar for the Use of Schools. 1851(?). Translated from the 1851(?) German edition by Rev. George Woods. Revised and retranslated in portions by Thomas A. Thacher. Boston: Ginn Brothers, 1871. Print on demand from Forgotten Books.

Roby, Henry John. A Grammar of the Latin Language. 1875. Reprint. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2010. Print on demand from Cambridge University Press.
The Macmillan 1881 printing is on Google books.
Roby

Woodcock, E.C. A New Latin Syntax. 1959. Reprint. London: Bristol Classical Press, 2002. Print.

Zumpt, C.G. A Grammar of the Latin Language. Translated from the 1844 German 9th ed. by Leonhard Schmitz, 1845, for the English 3rd edition. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1858. Print.
The 3rd English edition printed in 1877 is on Google books.
Zumpt

The Family Outline, in outline format, shows the family relations of only those characters mentioned in Book 4 who are in some way part of the royal family, by blood, adoption, marriage. Where necessary for completeness sake the name of an unmentioned spouse is included in small font. In each outline entry the character’s name as spelled in Book 4 comes first. Immediately following in parentheses is the character’s full name. The outline has a section at the end that attempts to distinguish clearly characters that go by the same name. Family Outline can be accessed at anytime by clicking Fam in the top line menu.

Each of the three parts of this project, translation, vocabulary, grammar, has seventy-five sections, one section for each chapter of Book 4. Each section of each part has two hyperlinks that can invoke the display of each of that chapter’s two corresponding sections. So for instance, if the reader is on Chapter 31 in the text the reader can click on Chapter 31’s Voc or Gram link to bring up the corresponding Voc or Gram section for Chapter 31. The Voc and Gram pages appear on the right of the screen, to the right of the Latin/English text, which is on the left of the screen. Either Voc or Gram can be displayed at any one time.

To go directly to a Chapter by its number, enter the number into the "Chapter number:" box on the top menu and press <enter>. If the browser is Internet Explorer, a "Submit" button with focus is placed next to the entry box. This feature employs JavaScript. If Jscript is not enabled, then to go to a chapter use the menu item TOC.

If the browser is Internet Explorer, the Chapter entry box might cause IE to give a warning message about blocked content. To proceed click the message's "Enable" button. The message can be permanently eliminated by enabling a page to use Jscripts that write content: Tools → Internet Options → Advanced tab → Security section → check the box "Allow active content to run in files on My Computer". Click "OK." Close Internet Explorer browser. When next opened the change will be in effect.

The website has been exercised in Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer 11, and Microsoft Edge.

1	intendit	verb	pres	I	A&G §469	Historical present
2	cohortis [cohortes]	noun	acc		A&G §71	mixed i-stem, 3^rd decl, acc. pl.
3	acciperent	verb	impf	S	A&G §188 A&G §485e	3^rd conjugation io verb like capio hist. pres. governs prim. or sec. seq.

Word	Principal Parts	Definition
Chapter 4.1 Gram Voc
consulibus	consul, is	consul
nonus	nonus, a, um	ninth

Tacitus Annals Book 4 (Annales Liber IV) Literal Interlinear Translation With Vocabulary and Grammar Introduction

Tacitus Annals Book 4 (Annales Liber IV)
Literal Interlinear Translation
With Vocabulary and Grammar
Introduction