Germany and its Tribes (Cornelius Tacitus)

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	Germany and its Tribes Author: Cornelius Tacitus	Translator: Alfred John Church
43	Retro Marsigni , Cotini , Osi , Buri terga Marcomanorum Quadorumque claudunt . e quibus Marsigni et Buri sermone cultuque Suebos referunt : Cotinos Gallica , Osos Pannonica lingua coarguit non esse Germanos , et quod tributa patiuntur . partem tributorum Sarmatae , partem Quadi ut alienigenis imponunt : Cotini , quo magis pudeat , et ferrum effodiunt . omnesque hi populi pauca campestrium , ceterum saltus et vertices montium insederunt . dirimit enim scinditque Suebiam continuum montium iugum , ultra quod plurimae gentes agunt , ex quibus latissime patet Lugiorum nomen in plures civitates diffusum . valentissimas nominasse sufficiet , Harios , Helveconas , Manimos , Helisios , Naharvalos . apud Naharvalos antiquae religionis lucus ostenditur . praesidet sacerdos muliebri ornatu , sed deos interpretatione Romana Castorem Pollucemque memorant . ea vis numini , nomen Alcis . nulla simulacra , nullum peregrinae superstitionis vestigium ; ut fratres tamen , ut iuvenes venerantur . ceterum Harii super vires , quibus enumeratos paulo ante populos antecedunt , truces insitae feritati arte ac tempore lenocinantur : nigra scuta , tincta corpora ; atras ad proelia noctes legunt ipsaque formidine atque umbra feralis exercitus terrorem inferunt , nullo hostium sustinente novum ac velut infernum aspectum ; nam primi in omnibus proeliis oculi vincuntur . Trans Lugios Gotones regnantur , paulo iam adductius quam ceterae Germanorum gentes , nondum tamen supra libertatem . protinus deinde ab Oceano Rugii et Lemovii ; omniumque harum gentium insigne rotunda scuta , breves gladii et erga reges obsequium .	Behind them the Marsigni, Gotini, Osi, and Buri, close in the rear of the Marcomanni and Quadi. Of these, the Marsigni and Buri, in their language and manner of life, resemble the Suevi. The Gotini and Osi are proved by their respective Gallic and Pannonian tongues, as well as by the fact of their enduring tribute, not to be Germans. Tribute is imposed on them as aliens, partly by the Sarmatæ, partly by the Quadi. The Gotini, to complete their degradation, actually work iron mines. All these nations occupy but little of the plain country, dwelling in forests and on mountain-tops. For Suevia is divided and cut in half by a continuous mountain-range, beyond which live a multitude of tribes. The name of Ligii, spread as it is among many states, is the most widely extended. It will be enough to mention the most powerful, which are the Harii, the Helvecones, the Manimi, the Helisii and the Nahanarvali. Among these last is shown a grove of immemorial sanctity. A priest in female attire has the charge of it. But the deities are described in Roman language as Castor and Pollux. Such, indeed, are the attributes of the divinity, the name being Alcis. They have no images, or, indeed, any vestige of foreign superstition, but it is as brothers and as youths that the deities are worshipped. The Harii, besides being superior in strength to the tribes just enumerated, savage as they are, make the most of their natural ferocity by the help of art and opportunity. Their shields are black, their bodies dyed. They choose dark nights for battle, and, by the dread and gloomy aspect of their death-like host, strike terror into the foe, who can never confront their strange and almost infernal appearance. For in all battles it is the eye which is first vanquished.
44	Suionum hinc civitates , ipso in Oceano , praeter viros armaque classibus valent . forma navium eo differt quod utrimque prora paratam semper adpulsui frontem agit . nec velis ministrant nec remos in ordinem lateribus adiungunt : solutum , ut in quibusdam fluminum , et mutabile , ut res poscit , hinc vel illinc remigium . est apud illos et opibus honos , eoque unus imperitat , nullis iam exceptionibus , non precario iure parendi . nec arma , ut apud ceteros Germanos , in promisco , sed clausa sub custode , et quidem servo , quia subitos hostium incursus prohibet Oceanus , otiosae porro armatorum manus facile lasciviunt : enimvero neque nobilem neque ingenuum , ne libertinum quidem armis praeponere regia utilitas est .	Beyond the Ligii are the Gothones, who are ruled by kings, a little more strictly than the other German tribes, but not as yet inconsistently with freedom. Immediately adjoining them, further from the coast, are the Rugii and Lemovii, the badge of all these tribes being the round shield, the short sword, and servile submission to their kings. And now begin the states of the Suiones, situated on the Ocean itself, and these, besides men and arms, are powerful in ships. The form of their vessels is peculiar in this respect, that a prow at either extremity acts as a forepart, always ready for running into shore. They are not worked by sails, nor have they a row of oars attached to their sides; but, as on some rivers, the apparatus of rowing is unfixed, and shifted from side to side as circumstances require. And they likewise honour wealth, and so a single ruler holds sway with no restrictions, and with no uncertain claim to obedience. Arms are not with them, as with the other Germans, at the general disposal, but are in the charge of a keeper, who is actually a slave; for the ocean forbids the sudden inroad of enemies, and, besides, an idle multitude of armed men is easily demoralized. And indeed it is by no means the policy of a monarch to place either a nobleman, a freeborn citizen, or even a freedman, at the head of an armed force.
45	Trans Suionas aliud mare , pigrum ac prope immotum , quo cingi claudique terrarum orbem hinc fides , quod extremus cadentis iam solis fulgor in ortus edurat adeo clarus ut sidera hebetet ; sonum insuper emergentis audiri formasque equorum et radios capitis aspici persuasio adicit . illuc usque et fama vera tantum natura . ergo iam dextro Suebici maris litore Aestiorum gentes adluuntur , quibus ritus habitusque Sueborum , lingua Britannicae propior . matrem deum venerantur . insigne superstitionis formas aprorum gestant : id pro armis hominumque tutela securum deae cultorem etiam inter hostes praestat . rarus ferri , frequens fustium usus . frumenta ceterosque fructus patientius quam pro solita Germanorum inertia laborant . sed et mare scrutantur , ac soli omnium sucinum , quod ipsi glesum vocant , inter vada atque in ipso litore legunt . nec quae natura quaeve ratio gignat , ut barbaris , quaesitum compertumve ; diu quin etiam inter cetera eiectamenta maris iacebat , donec luxuria nostra dedit nomen . ipsis in nullo usu : rude legitur , informe perfertur , pretiumque mirantes accipiunt . sucum tamen arborum esse intellegas , quia terrena quaedam atque etiam volucria animalia plerumque interlucent , quae implicata humore mox durescente materia clauduntur . fecundiora igitur nemora lucosque , sicut Orientis secretis , ubi tura balsamaque sudantur , ita Occidentis insulis terrisque inesse crediderim , quae vicini solis radiis expressa atque liquentia in proximum mare labuntur ac vi tempestatum in adversa litora exundant . si naturam sucini admoto igne temptes , in modum taedae accenditur alitque flammam pinguem et olentem ; mox ut in picem resinamve lentescit . Suionibus Sitonum gentes continuantur . cetera similes uno differunt , quod femina dominatur : in tantum non modo a libertate sed etiam a servitute degenerant .	Beyond the Suiones is another sea, sluggish and almost motionless, which, we may certainly infer, girdles and surrounds the world, from the fact that the last radiance of the setting sun lingers on till sunrise, with a brightness sufficient to dim the light of the stars. Even the very sound of his rising, as popular belief adds, may be heard, and the forms of gods and the glory round his head may be seen. Only thus far (and here rumour seems truth) does the world extend. At this point the Suevic sea, on its eastern shore, washes the tribes of the Æstii, whose rites and fashions and style of dress are those of the Suevi, while their language is more. like the British. They worship the mother of the gods, and wear as a religious symbol the device of a wild boar. This serves as armour, and as a universal defence, rendering the votary of the goddess safe even amidst enemies. They often use clubs, iron weapons but seldom. They are more patient in cultivating corn and other produce than might be expected from the general indolence of the Germans. But they also search the deep, and are the only people who gather amber (which they call “glesum”), in the shallows, and also on the shore itself. Barbarians as they are they have not investigated or discovered what natural cause or process produces it. Nay, it even lay amid the sea's other refuse, till our luxury gave it a name. To them it is utterly useless; they gather it in its raw state, bring it to us in shapeless lumps, and marvel at the price which they receive. It is however a juice from trees, as you may infer from the fact that there are often seen shining through it, reptiles, and even winged insects, which, having become entangled in the fluid, are gradually enclosed in the substance as it hardens. I am therefore inclined to think that the islands and countries of the West, like the remote recesses of the East, where frankincense and balsam exude, contain fruitful woods and groves; that these productions, acted on by the near rays of the sun, glide in a liquid state into the adjacent sea, and are thrown up by the force of storms on the opposite shores. If you test the composition of amber by applying fire, it burns like pinewood, and sends forth a rich and fragrant flame; it is soon softened into something like pitch or resin. Closely bordering on the Suiones are the tribes of the Sitones, which, resembling them in all else, differ only in being ruled by a woman. So low have they fallen, not merely from freedom, but even from slavery itself. Here Suevia ends.
46	Hic Suebiae finis . Peucinorum Venethorumque et Fennorum nationes Germanis an Sarmatis adscribam dubito . quamquam Peucini , quos quidam Bastarnas vocant , sermone cultu sede ac domiciliis ut Germani agunt . sordes omnium ac torpor procerum : conubiis mixtis nonnihil in Sarmatarum habitum foedantur . Venethi multum ex moribus traxerunt ; nam quidquid inter Peucinos Fennosque silvarum ac montium erigitur latrociniis pererrant . hi tamen inter Germanos potius referuntur , quia et domos figunt et scuta gestant et pedum usu et pernicitate gaudent : quae omnia diversa Sarmatis sunt in plaustro equoque viventibus . Fennis mira feritas , foeda paupertas : non arma , non equi , non penates ; victui herba , vestitui pelles , cubile humus : solae in sagittis spes , quas inopia ferri ossibus asperant . idemque venatus viros pariter ac feminas alit ; passim enim comitantur partemque praedae petunt . nec aliud infantibus ferarum imbriumque suffugium quam ut in aliquo ramorum nexu contegantur ; huc redeunt iuvenes , hoc senum receptaculum . sed beatius arbitrantur quam ingemere agris , inlaborare domibus , suas alienasque fortunas spe metuque versare : securi adversus homines , securi adversus deos rem difficillimam adsecuti sunt , ut illis ne voto quidem opus esset . cetera iam fabulosa : Hellusios et Oxionas ora hominum vultusque , corpora atque artus ferarum gerere : quod ego ut incompertum in medio relinquam .	As to the tribes of the Peucini, Veneti, and Fenni I am in doubt whether I should class them with the Germans or the Sarmatæ, although indeed the Peucini called by some Bastarnæ, are like Germans in their language, mode of life, and in the permanence of their settlements. They all live in filth and sloth, and by the intermarriages of the chiefs they are becoming in some degree debased into a resemblance to the Sarmatæ. The Veneti have borrowed largely from the Sarmatian character; in their plundering expeditions they roam over the whole extent of forest and mountain between the Peucini and Fenni. They are however to be rather referred to the German race, for they have fixed habitations carry shields, and delight in strength and fleetness of foot, thus presenting a complete contrast to the Sarmatæ, who live in waggons and on horseback. The Fenni are strangely beast-like and squalidly poor; neither arms nor homes have they; their food is herbs, their clothing skins, their bed the earth. They trust wholly to their arrows, which, for want of iron, are pointed with bone. The men and the women are alike supplied by the chase; for the latter are always present, and demand a share of the prey. The little children have no shelter from wild beasts and storms but a covering of interlaced boughs. Such are the homes of the young, such the resting place of the old. Yet they count this greater happiness than groaning over field-labour, toiling at building, and poising the fortunes of themselves and others between hope and fear. Heedless of men, heedless of gods, they have attained that hardest of results, the not needing so much as a wish. All else is fabulous, as that the Hellusii and Oxiones have the faces and expressions of men, with the bodies and limbs of wild beasts. All this is unauthenticated, and I shall leave it open.