TACITUS AGRICOLA TRANSLATED BY M. HUTTON REVISED BY R. M. OGILVIE GERMANIA ‘TRANSLATED BY M. HUTTON REVISED BY E. H. WARMINGTON DIALOGUS TRANSLATED BY W. PETERSON REVISED BY M. WINTERBOTTOM. HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS LONDON, ENGLANDGERMANIA THE EARLIEST BEGINNINGS AND THE LAND OF } THE GERMANSCORNELIT TACITI DE ORIGINE ET SITU GERMANORUM 1, Grnaanta omnis a Gallis Raetisque et Pannoniis Rheno et Danuvio fluminibus, a Sarmatis Dacisque mutuo metu aut montibus separatur: cetera Oceanus ambit, latos sinus et insularum immensa spatia com- plectens, nuper cognitis quibusdam gentibus ac regibus, quos bellum aperuit. Rhenus, Raetfcarum Alpium inaccesso ac praecipiti vertice ortus, modico 1 Germany east of the Rhine, the Germans west of that river being Celticised and Romanised peoples of the Roman provinces Germania superior and Germania inferior, 2 In Tirol and part of eastern Switzerland, ‘The Roman wovinee Reetia, created in 15 3.0., included Vindelicia tween the north eastern Alps and the upper Danube 2 Of the country between the eastern Alps and the Danube, the Roman province Pannonia. including the valleys of the Save and the Drave and bordering on the Danube from Vienna to Belgrade. “Tranians from Central Asia who had moved during the period after 200 n.c. over South Russia; in Tacitus also those east of the Eipel and of the Danube after its bend to the south, and south-east of tho Erzgebirge, called Sarmatae lazyges, separated from the rest of the Sarmatae by the Dacians. 128 CORNELIUS TACITUS THE EARLIEST BEGINNINGS AND THE LAND OF THE GERMANS 1. Germany? as a whole is separated from the Gauls and from Raetians? and Pannonians® by the rivers Rhine and Danube: from the Sarmatians # and Dacians® by mutual misgivings or mountains: the rest of it is surrounded by the ocean,* which enfolds wide peninsulas and islands 7 of vast expanse, some of whose peoples and their kings have but recently become known to us: ® war has lifted the curtain. ‘The Rhine, rising from the inaccessible and precipi- tous crest of the Raetian Alps, after turning west for a reach of some length is lost in the North Sea. ‘The © ‘Thracians (often included among the Getae) of the ‘Tran sylvanian upland. After Trajan's wars of 101-102 and 105~ 106 the Roman province Dacia extended from the Theiss east- wards to the Pruth and from the Danube northwards to & Carpathian mountain frontier. *"The Baltic and the North Sea, as parts of one outer Ocean, 1/ dhe Paninh islands, and south Sweden thought to be en island. * Because Tiberius had reached the River Elbe in a.v. 5 and Roman ships the Skegerrak, 129TACITUS flexu in oceidentem versus septentrionali Oceano 3 miscetur. Danuvius molli et clementer edito montis Abnobae? iugo effusus plures populos adit, donee | in Ponticum mare sex meatibus erumpat: septimum. | os paludibus hauritur. | | 2. Ipsos Germanos indigenas crediderim minime- que aliarum gentium adventibus et hospitiis mixtos, quia nec terra olim, sed classibus advehebantur qui mutare sedes quaerebant, et immensus ultra utque sic dixerim adversus Oceanus raris ab orbe nostro navi- 2 bus aditur. quis porro, praeter periculum horridi et ignoti maris, Asia aut Africa aut Italia relicta Ger- maniam peteret, informem terris, asperam caclo, tristem cultu aspectuque, nisi si? patria sit? 3 Celebrant carminibus antiquis, quod unum apud illos memoriae et annalium genus est, Tuistonem deum terra editum, ei® filium Mannum originem gentis conditoresque Manno tris filios adsignant, ¢ quorum nominibus proximi Oceano Ingaevones, medii Herminones, ceteri Istaevones vocentur. 4 quidam, ut in licentia vetustatis, plures deo ortos 4 Abnobae Rhenanus and lst cod. Hummelianus: Arnobae * cui Sturm: 3 * var. lect, et. cod. Vind. 711. + ‘The Black Forest. ® Not “hostile to us.” 2 “man,” as if there were no men other than Germans. * Of Jutland (Denmark) and it seems (Pliny, N.H. IV. 96) 130 GERMANIA Danube pours from the sloping and not very lofty ridge of Mount Abnoba,! and visits more peoples on its course than the Rhine does, until at length it emerges by six of its outlets into the Pontie Sea: the seventh mouth is swallowed in marshes. 2. As for the Germans themselves, I should sup- pose them to be indigenous and very slightly blended with new arrivals from other races or alliances; for originally people who sought to migrate reached their destination in fleets and not by land; while, in the second place, the leagues of ocean on the farther side ‘of Germany, at the opposite end of the world, so to speak, from us? are rarely visited by ships from our world. Besides, who, to say nothing about the perils of an awful and unknown sea, would have left Asia or Africa or Italy to look for Germany? With its wild scenery and harsh climate it is pleasant neither to live in nor look upon unless it be one’s fatherland. ‘Their ancient hymns—the only style of record or history which they possess—celebrate a god Tuisto, a scion of the soil. To him they ascribe a son Man- nus the beginning of their race, and to Mannus three sons, its founders; from whose names the tribes nearest the Ocean are to be known as Ingae- vones,! the central tribes as Herminones,® and the rest as Istaevones*. Some authorities, using the licence which pertains to antiquity, pronounce for more sons to the god and a larger number of race Scandinavia. Pliny includes in them Cimbri, Teutoni, or ‘Teutones, and Chauci (see below), Pliny, IV. 99. ® ‘These were inland, including (says Pliny) Suebi, Hermun- uri, Chatti, and Cherusei (see below). "According to Pliny, near the Rhine, 131TACITUS pluresque gentis appellationes, Marsos Gambrivios Suebos Vandilios adfirmant, eaque vera et antiqua nomina, ceterum Germaniae vocabulum recens et nuper additum, quoniam qui primi Rhenum trans- gressi Gallos expulerint ac nune Tungri, tune Ger- mani vocati sint: ita nationis nomen, non gentis evaluisse paulatim, ut omnes primum a victore ob metum, mox etiam a se ipsis invento nomine Ger- mani vocarentur. 3. Fuisse apud eos et Herculem memorant, pri- mumque omnium virorum fortium ituri in proelia 4 The location of the Marsi (Tao. Ann., I. 51) and of the Gambrivii (Strabo, VII. 1.3—a central tribe) is not known. ‘The Vandilii or Vandaiii (the later Vandals) of east Germany included, according to Pliny, the Gutones (Goths—see below), the Burgondiones (Burgundians), and others; in Tacitus the Vandalii aeem to be the same as the Lugii (see below, p. 202). For the Suebi, see pp. 192-3. He did not know of the Burgundians (between the middle Oder and the Vistula) who hed come from Bornholm island. 2 For this much discussed subject, see J. G. C. Anderson's edition of the Germania, 42 ff. Germani as the national name of all Germans was certainly an extension, as usually happens, of @ native tribal name. So Germani must not be derived from a Celtic word; and the Romans were quite wrong in connecting it with germani “ brothers.” ‘There was an inroad of Germans, about 600 x.c., into south Holland and east Belgium and to the foot of the Ardennes, which we can ignore in this context. The name Germani arose later among the Gauls after a second invasion of Germans not much later than 250 2.c, ‘These Germans included the Tungri and others five auch tribes are said by Julius Caesar to have the collective name Germani who had settled in north-eastern Gaul. The 132 GERMANIA names, Marsi, Gambrivii, Suebi, Vandilii;!_ these are, they say, real and ancient names, while the name of“ Germany "# is new and a recent applica- tion, The first tribes in fact to cross the Rhine and expel the Gauls, though now called Tungri,? then bore the aame Germans: so little by little the name —a tribal, not a national, name—prevailed, until the whole people were called by the artificial name of “ Germans,” first only by the victorious tribe Tungri in order to intimidate the Gauls, but afterwards by themselves also. 3. They further record how Hercules appeared among the Germans, and on the eve of battle the natives hymn “Hercules, the first of brave men.” Gauls, and from them the Romans later, called all these ples Germani, ‘Tacitus wrongly says that it was the German ‘Tungri themselves who first called all Germans *Gormani'” to scare the Gauls into believing that other peoples eastof the Rhine were likewise Germani who mightsupportthem, ‘There is no sign that all Germans were calling themselves Ger- mani. Thesubsequent German invadersof Gaul were the Cimbri and the Teutoni or Teutones and the Ambrones 120-102 3.0. ; ‘the Suebi and other Suebie tribes the Vangiones, Triboci, and ‘Nemetes ¢. 100 .c. (see p. 174);, the followers of the Suebic king Ariovistus 71-58 3.c.; and tho Usipetes and Teneteri in 55 8.0. It was the Romans who came to call all the tribes of Germans by the generic name Germani; the Germans them selves did not call their whole race by any name until about a thousand years later. See note 4, 3 "There were other invaders of Gaul (c. 250-200 v.c.), all called Germani (Cacsar, B.G. I. 3-4; VI. 2; 32). See’ the receding note. ‘The ‘Tungti served as auxiliaries in the man army. ‘They had settled in the district still called Tongres or Tongern near Liége. "In fact, the Germans east of the Rhine did not call them- selvesasa whole people by any national name until the cleventh century when every Gertzan wasthindise, iudise, now deutsch. 133TACITUS canunt. sunt illis haee quoque carmina, quorum relatu, quem baritum? vocant, accendunt animos futuraeque pugnae fortunam ipso cantu augurantur; terrent enim trepidantve, prout sonuit acies, nec tam 2 vocis *ille quam virtutis concentus videtur.. adfecta- tur praecipue asperitas soni et fractum murmur, obiectis ad os scutis, quo plenior et gravior vox reper- 3cussu intumeseat. ceterum et Ulixen quidam opinantur longo illo et fabuloso errore in hunc Oceanum delatum adisse Germaniae terras, Asci- burgiumque, quod in ripa Rheni situm hodieque incolitur, ab illo constitutum nominatumque; aram quin etiam Ulixi consecratam, adiecto Laértae patris nomine, eodem loco olim repertam, monumentaque et tumulos quosdam Graecis litteris inscriptos in 4 confinio Germaniae Ractiacque adhuc extare. quac neque confirmare argumentis neque refellere in animo est: ex ingenio suo quisque demat vel addat fidem. 4, Ipse eorum opinioni* accedo, qui Germaniae populos nullis® aliarum nationum conubiis infectos propriam et sinceram et tantum sui similem gentem 2 baritum cod. Vat. 4498 (cf. Ammian., xvi. 12, 43): bar- ditum. vocis Rkenanus: vooes. 4 videtur Rhonams> videntar Meiser: opinionibue, which may be right aliis edd.: Lipsius deleted alis ‘This word, baritus or barritus (so Ammianus) rather than barditus, expressed the blaring roar of en elephant and was 134 GERMANIA They have also those cries by the recital of which— “‘barritus ”! is the name they use—they inspire courage; and they divine the fortunes of the coming battle from the circumstances of the ery. Intimi- dation or timidity depends on the intonation of the warriors; it seems to them to mean not so much uni- son of voices as union of hearts; the object they specially seek is a certain volume of hoarseness, @ crashing roar, their shields being brought up to their lips, that the voice may swell to a fuller and deeper note by means of the echo. To return, Ulysses also—in the opinion of some authorities—was carried, during those long and storied wanderings, into this ocean, and reached the countries of Germany. Asciburgium,? which stands on the banks of the Rhine and has inhabitants today, was founded, they say, and named by him; further, they say that an altar dedicated by Ulysses, who coupled therewith the name of his father Laertes, was once found at the same place, and that certain barrows with monuments, inscribed with Greek letters, are still extant on the borderland between Germany and Raetia. I have no intention of furn- ishing evidence to establish or refute these asser- tions: everyone according to his temperament may minimise or magnify their credibility. 4. Personally I associate myself with the opinions of those who hold that in the peoples of Germany there has been given to the world a race unmixed by intermarriage with other races, a peculiar people apparently used by the Germans to express their wordless chant. Cf, Ammianus, XVI, 12.43; Vegetius, IIT. 18. +A Roman fort near Asberg. 135TACITUS 2 extitisse arbitrantur. unde habitus quoque cor- porum, quamquam in tanto hominum numero, idem omnibus: truces et caerulei oculi, rutilae comae, 3 magna corpora et tantum ad impetum valida: laboris atque operum non eadem patientia, minimeque sitim aestumque tolerare, frigora atque inediam caelo solove adsueverunt. 5, Terra etsi aliquanto specie differt, in universum tamen aut silvis horrida aut paludibus foeda, umidior qua Gallias, ventosior qua Noricum ac Pannoniam aspicit; satis ferax, frugiferarum arborum impatiens 2 pecorum fecunda, sed plerumque improcera, ne armentis quidem suus honor aut gloria front numero gaudent, eaeque solae et gratissimae opes 3sunt. argentum et aurum propitiine an irati di negaverint dubito. nec tamen adfirmaverim nullam Germaniae venam argentum aurumve gigner quis enim scrutatus est? possessione et usu haud 4 perinde adficiuntur. est videre apud illos argentea vasa, legatis et prineipibus eorum muneri data, non in alia vilitate quam quae humo finguntur; quam- » patiens Tross. * What Tacitus here says of Germans applies more or less to Gauls also and other *Indo-Germanic” races. Ancient skeletal remains confirm for Germans part of what 3 Kapecially the * Hereynian forest " which coul the wooded heights of central Germany besides the Black Forest (“" Abnoba "—see above, p. 130) and even the Jura range and the Carpathians; and the Teutoburger Wald, 2" After 16 8.0. a Roman province, bounded on the north by 136 GERMANIA and pure, like no one but themselves, whence it comes that their physique, so far as can be said with their vast numbers, is identical: fierce blue eyes, red hair, tall frames,! powerful only spasmodically, not correspondingly tolerant of labour and hard work, and by no means habituated to bearing thirst and heat; to cold and hunger, thanks to the climate and the soil, they are accustomed. 5. There are some varieties in the appearance of the country, but broadly it is a land of bristling forests? and unhealthy marshes; the rainfall is heavier on the side of Gaul; the winds are higher on the side of Noricum * and Pannonia. It is fertile in cereals, but unkindly to fruit-bearing trees; it is rich in flocks and herds, but for the most part they are undersized. Even the cattle lack natural beauty and majestic brows. The pride of the people is rather in the number of their beasts, which constitute the only wealth they weleome. The gods have denied them gold and silver, whether in mercy or in wrath I find it hard to say; not that I would assert that Germany has no veins bearing gold orsilver: for whohas explored there? At any rate, they are not affected as much as one would expect by the use and possession of such things. One may see among them silver vases, given as gifts to their envoys and chieftains, but treated as of no more value than earthenware. However, the tribes nearer to us for purposes of traffic treat gold and sil- ver as precious metals, and recognise and prefer certain coins of our money; the tribes of the interior the Danube, the east by Pannonia, the south by Pannonia and Italy, the weat by Raetia. It was chiefly Celtic. 137TACITUS quam proximi ob usum commerciorum aurum et argentum in pretio habent formasque quasdam nostrae pecuniae adgnoscunt atque eligunt: teriores simplicius et antiquius permutatione mer- 5 cium utuntur. pecuniam probant veterem et diu notam, serratos bigatosque. argentum quoque ma- quam aurum sequuntur, nulla adfectione animi, sed quia numerus argenteorum facilior usui est promisca ac vilia mercantibus. 6. Ne ferrum quidem superest, sicut ex genere telorum colligitur. rari gladiis aut maioribus laneeis utuntur: hastas vel ipsorum vocabulo frameas gerunt angusto et brevi ferro, sed ita acri et ad usum habili, ut eodem telo, prout ratio poseit, vel com- 2 minus vel eminus pugnent. et eques quidem scuto frameaque contentus est, pedites et miscilia spar- gunt, pluraque singuli, atque in inmensum vibrant, nudi aut sagulo leves, nulla cultus iactatio; scuta 3 tantum lectissimis coloribus distingunt. paucis loricae, vix uni alterive cassis aut galea.1_ equi non forma, non velocitate conspicui. sed nec variare gyros in morem nostrum docentur: in rectum aut uno flexu dextros? agunt, ita coniuncto orbe, ut 4 nemo posterior sit, in universum aestimanti plus penes peditem roboris; eoque mixti proeliantur, apta 2 Miitzell suggested galea est. > Michael } Coin-finds confirm this; and for the Roman Empire also, 138 GERMANIA practise barter in the simpler and older fashion. ‘The coinage which appeals to them is the old and long- familiar: the denarii with notched edges, showing the two-horsed chariot. They prefer silver to gold: not that they have any feeling in the matter, but be- cause a number of silver pieces is easier to use for people whose purchases consist of cheap objects of general utility. 6. Eveniron is not plentiful among them, as may be gathered from the style of their weapons. Few use swords or the longer kind of lance: they carry short spears, in their language “ frameae,” with a narrow and small iron head, but so sharp and so handy in use that they fight with the same weapon, as circum- stances demand, both at close quarters and at a distance. Even the mounted man is content with a shield and framea: the infantry launch showers of missiles in addition, cach man a volley, and hurl these to great distances, for they wear no outer clothing, or at most a light cloak. ‘There is no bravery of adornment among them: their shields only are picked out with choice colours. Few have breast-plates: scarcely one or two at most have metal or hide helmets. The horses are con- spicuous neither for beauty nor speed; but then neither are they trained like our horses to run in a variety of directions: they ride them forwards only or to the right, with but one turn from the straight, dressing the line so closely as they wheel that no one is left behind? On a broad view there is more strength in their infantry, and accordingly cavalry » Wheeling to the right avoided exposing their unshielded right side. 139TACITUS et congruente ad equestrem pugnam velocitate pedi- tum, quos ex omni juventute delectos ante aciem Slocant. definitur et numerus: centeni ex singulis pagis sunt, idque ipsum inter suos vocantur, et quod primo numerus fuit, iam nomen et honor est. acies 6 per cuneos componitur. cedere loco, dummodo rursus instes, consilii quam formidinis arbitrantur. corpora suorum etiam in dubiis proeliis referunt. scutum reliquisse praecipuum flagitium, nec aut sacris adesse aut concilium inire ignominioso fas; multique superstites bellorum infamiam laqueo finierunt. 7. Reges ex nobilitate, duces ex virtute sumunt. nee regibus infinita aut libera potestas, et duces exemplo potius quam imperio, si prompti, si con- spicui, si ante aciem agant, admiratione praesunt. 2ceterum neque animadvertere neque vincire, ne verberare quidem nisi sacerdotibus permissum, non quasi in poenam nee ducis iussu, sed velut deo im- 3 perante, quem adesse bellantibus credunt. effigies- que et signa quaedam detracta lucis in proelium ferunt; quodque praccipuum fortitudinis incitamen- 1 In Roman Italy « pagus was o town's ogricultural and astoral land with its villages, farms, and country houses. The term was epplied to the much larger subdivisions of the Gauls and then of the Germans. Tacitus’ statements about ‘the German pagi have been strongly doubted—see Anderton, Wili-txi. * Probably images of sacred animals 140 GERMANIA and infantry fight in one body, the swift-footed in- fantryman, whom they pick out of the whole body of warriors and place in front of the line, being well- adapted and suitable for cavalry battles. The number of these men is fixed—one hundred from each canton !: and among their own folk this, “ the Hundred,” is the precise name they use; what was once a number only has become a title and a dis- tinction. The battle-line itself is arranged in wedges: to retire, provided you press on again, they treat as a question of tacties, not of cowardice: they carry off their dead and wounded even in battles of doubtful issue. To have abandoned one’s shield is the height of disgrace; the man so shamed cannot be present at religious rites, nor attend a council: many survivors of war have ended their infamy with a noose. 7. They take their kings on the ground of birth, their generals on the basis of courage: the authority of their kings is not unlimited or arbitrary; their generals control the people by example rather than command, and by means of the admiration which attends upon energy and a conspicuous place in front of the line, But anything beyond this—capital punishment, imprisonment, even flogging—is per- mitted only to the priests, and then not as a penalty or under the general's orders, but as an inspiration from the god whom they suppose to accompany them on campaign: certain totems? also and emblems ® are fetched from groves and carried into battle. The strongest incentive to courage lies in this, that * Probably weapons and instruments used by gods such as the spear by Wotan. 14tTACITUS tum est, non casus nec fortuita conglobatio turmam aut cuneum facit, sed familiae et propinquitates; et in proximo pignora, unde feminarum ululatus auditi, unde vagitus infantium.? hi cuique sanctissimi testes, hi maximi laudatores: ad matres, ad coniuges vulnera ferunt: nec illae numerare aut exigere plagas pavent, cibosque et hortamina pugnantibus gestant. 8. Memoriae proditur quasdam acies inclinatas iam et labantes a feminis restitutas constantia pre- cum et obiectu pectorum et monstrata comminus captivitate, quam Jonge impatientius feminarum suarum nomine timent, adeo ut efficacius obligentur animi civitatum, quibus inter obsides puellae quoque nobiles imperantur. inesse quin etiam sanctum aliquid et providum putant, nec aut consilia earum aspernantur aut responsa neglegunt. vidimus sub divo Vespasiano Veledam diu apud plerosque numi- nis loco habitam; sed et olim Auriniam ® et complures alias venerati sunt, non adulatione nee tamquam facerent deas. 9. Deorum maxime Mercurium colunt, cui certis 4 guditur Kritz: est eudire Machly. * jnfantium possit) C. Heraeus, ® Auriniam most MSS.: Albrunam Wackernagel: Albriniem iam cod. Neapol. Vat. 4498 and as adscript other MSS. Fh 1 For treatment, it seem: 2 an. 09-79. 3 In the Histories Tacitus seems to call her Velacda. She was a prophetess of the Bructeri and one of the inspirers of 142 GERMANIA neither chance nor casual grouping makes the squad- ron or the wedge, but family and kinship: close at hand, too, are their dearest, whence is heard the wailing voice of woman and the child's ery: here are the witnesses who are in each man’s eyes most pre- cious; here the praise he covets most: they take their wounds to mother and wife,! who do not shrink from counting the hurts or demanding a sight of them: they minister to the combatants food and exhortation. 8. Tradition relates that some lost or losing battles have been restored by the women, by the incessance of their prayers and by opposing their breast; for so is it brought home to the men that captivity, which they dread much more intolerably on their women’s account, is close at hand: it follows that the loyalty of those tribes is more effectually guaranteed from whom, among other hostages, maids of high hirth have been exacted. Further, they conceive that in woman is a certain uncanny and prophetic sense: and so they neither scorn to consult them nor slight their answers. In the reign of Vespasian® of happy memory we saw Veleda® treated as a deity by many during a long period; but in ancient times also they reverenced Aurinia and many other women—in no spirit of flattery, nor as if they were making goddesses.® 9. Of the gods, they give a special worship to Civils’ uprising in a.n. 69. She was eaptured by C. Rutilius Gallicus in his war against the Bructeri in a.p. 77-78, ‘uncertain. ticularly at the readiness of imperial Romans to deify uninspired women of imperial eooiety. 143TACITUS diebus humanis quoque hostiis litare fas habent. Herculem ac Martem concessis animalibus placant.t 2 pars Sueborum et Isidi sacrificat: unde causa et origo peregrino sacro, parum comperi, nisi quod signum ipsum in modum liburnae # figuratum docet 3 advectam religionem. ceterum nec cohibere paricti- bus deos neque in ullam humani oris speciem ad- simulare ex magnitudine caclestium arbitrantur: lucos ac nemora consecrant deorumque nominibus appellant secretum illud, quod sola reverentia vident. 10. Auspicia sortesque ut qui maxime observant: sortium consuetudo simplex. virgam frugiferae arbori decisam in surculos amputant eosque notis quibusdam diseretos super candidam vestem temere 2 ac fortuito spargunt. mox, si publice consultetur* } Martem c. a. placant et Herculem cod. Vat. 1882, Leid. Periz. * libumnicae Gudeman. ® consultetur Halm: consultatur Rhenanus: consuletur. + Wotan (Wodan, Woden; Othin, Odin of Scandinavia). Thus the Roman fourth day of the week, dies Mercurit, became for Germans “ Wodansteg,” our“ Wednesday,” French ‘“ Mercredi,” Italian ‘* Mercoledi.” 2 Donar, Norse ‘Thor, strong god with hammer for Hercules’ club. Later he was equated with Jupitor, and the fifth day of the week was called “ Donnerstag ” (Norse * Thorstag ”), our Thursday,” French “ Jeudi,”” Itatian ** Giovedi.”” * Ziu or Tiu. The Romans’ third day of the week, dies Martis (French “Mardi,” Ttalian ‘*Martedi") “became Scandinavian ‘*‘Tysdagr,” our “ Tuesday,” while the older German“ Dingstag,”” now ‘‘ Dienstag,” comes from Mars 3144 GERMANIA Mercury,! to whom on certain days they count even the sactifice of human life lawful. Hercules * and Mars ® they appease with such animal life as is per- missible, ‘A section of the Suebi $ sacrifices also to Isis:$ the cause and origin of this foreign worship I have not succeeded in discovering, except that the emblem itself, which takes the shape of a Liburnian galley, shows that the ritual is imported. Apart from this they deem it incompatible with the majesty of the heavenly host to confine the gods within walls, or to mould them into any likeness of the human face: they consecrate groves and cop- pices, and they give the divine names to that mys- Serious something which is visible only to the eyes of faith. 10. To divination and the lot they pay as much at- tention as anyone: the method of drawing lots is uniform. A branch is cut from a nut-bearing tree ¢ and divided into slips: these are distinguished by certain marks ? and spread casually and at random over white cloth: afterwards, should the inquiry be hinges, that ig Tiu as god of the (armed) Assembly (see Tocitus, Germania, 11 and 12), in old German “ Thing" or “Ding.” Many religious minds no doubt equated ‘Tiu with the sky-god, Sanskrit Dyaus, Greek Zeus, Latin Iuppiter, thus equating what we call Tuesday with what we call ‘Thurs. day (see above). * See Chapter 38. + "Tacitus means the ‘ real” Egyptian goddess, protectress of shipping (che was other things also). But near Augsburg 1 goddess Cisa or Ziza waa worshipped. * Tacitus means not only hazel but also beech, oak and other trees, 7 Too early for runes. There is no certain evidence that Germans could write in Tacitus’ time. 145TACITUS sacerdos civitatis, sin privatim, ipse pater familiae, precatus deos caclumque suspiciens ter singulos tollit, sublatos secundum impressam ante notam interpre- 3 tatur. si prohibuerunt, nulla de eadem re in eundem diem consultatio; sin permissum, auspiciorum adhuc fides exigitur. et illud quidem etiam hie notum, avium voces volatusque interrogare: proprium gentis equorum quoque praesagia ac monitus experiri. 4 publice aluntur isdem nemoribus ac lucis candidi et nullo mortali opere contacti;+ quos pressos sacro curru sacerdos ac rex vel princeps civitatis comitantur 5 hinnitusque ac fremitus observant. nec ulli auspicio maior fides, non solum apud plebem, sed? apud pro- ceres, apud sacerdotes; se enim ministros deorum, ia observatio auspi- illus conscios putant. est ct ciorum, qua gravium bellorum eventus explorant. 6 eius gentis, cum qua bellum est, captivum quoquo modo interceptum cum electo popularium suorum, patriis quemque armis, committunt: victoria huius vel illius pro praeiudicio accipitur. 11. De minoribus rebus principes consultant, de maioribus omnes, ita tamen, ut ea quoque, quorum penes plebem arbitrium est, apud principes praetrac- + contacti sunt R. P. Robinson because cod. Vind. 711 has contactis as also cod. Stuigart, above the line: contractia Monac. 5307. + Most BESS. omit ved: Thomas puis it after proceres. 3 ged apud proceres; sacerdotes enim Perizonius. 146 GERMANIA for the people the priest of the state, if private the father of the family in person, after prayers to the gods and with eyes turned to heaven, takes up one slip at a time till he has done this on three separate occasions, and after taking the three interprets them according to the marks which have been already stamped on each: if the message be a prohibition, no inquiry on the same matter is made for the same day; if the message be permissive, further confirma- tion is required by means of divination; and even among the Germans divination by consultation of the cries and flight of birds is well known, but their special divination is to make trial of the omens and warnings furnished by horses, in addition to other methods. In the same groves and coppices are fed certain white horses, never soiled by mortal use: these are yoked to a sacred chariot and accompanied by the priest and king, or other chief of the state, who then observe their neighing or snorting. On no other divination is more reliance placed, not merely by the people but also by their leaders and their priests; for the nobles regard themselves as the servants of the gods, but the horses as their eonfidants, They have another method of taking divinations, by means of which they probe the issue of serious wars. A member of the tribe at war with them is somehow or other captured and pitted against a selected champion of their own countrymen, each in his tribal armour. The victory of one or the other is taken as an anticipatory decision. 11. On small matters the chiefs consult; on larger questions the community; but with this limitation, that even the subjects, the decision of which rests 147TACITUS 2 tentur. coéunt, nisi quid fortuitum et subitum incidit, certis dicbus, cum aut inchoatur luna aut impletur; nam agendis rebus hoe auspicatissimum initium credunt. nec dierum numerum, ut nos, sed noctium computant. sic constituunt, sie condicunt: 3 nox ducere diem videtur. illud ex libertate vitium, quod non simul nec ut iussi conveniunt, sed et alter et tertius dies cunctatione cofuntium absumitur. 4 ut turbae? placuit, considunt armati. silentium per sacerdotes, quibus tum et coércendi ius est, impera- 5 tur. mox rex vel princeps,? prout aetas cuique, prout nobilitas, prout decus bellorum, prout facundia est, audiuntur, auctoritate suadendi magis quam 6 iubendi potestate. si displicuit sententia, fremitu aspernantur; sin placuit, frameas concutiunt: honoratissimum adsensus genus est armis laudare. 12. Licet apud concilium accusare quoque et discrimen capitis intendere. distinctio poenarum ex delicto, proditores et transfugas arboribus suspen- dunt, ignavos et imbelles et corpore infames caeno ac 2 palude, iniecta insuper crate, mergunt. diversitas supplicii illue respicit, tamquam scelera ostendi opor- teat, dum puniuntur, flagitia abscondi. sed et 3 turba J.P. Gronov. * prineipes Perizonit + This arose from reckoning time by the phases of the moon, and has relica, for example, in our fortnight,” *se'nnight,” Hallowe'en, ‘Twelfth Night,” and in the German “Sonn. ‘abend” for Saturday. 148 GERMANIA with the people, are first handled: by the chiefs. ‘They meet, unless there be some unforeseen and sudden emergency, on days set apart—when the moon, that is, is new or at the full: they regard this as the most auspicious herald for the transaction of business. They count not by days as we do, but by nights:* the fixing and settling of their appoint- ments are subject to this principle: the night, that is, seems to usher in the day. It is a foible of their freedom that they do not meet at once and as if commanded, but a Second and a third day is wasted by dilatoriness in assembling: when the mob is pleased to begin, they take their seats carrying arms. Silence is called for by the priests, who thenceforward have power also to coerce: then a king or a chief is listened to, in order of age, birth, glory in war, or eloquence, with the prestige which belongs to their counsel rather than with any prescriptive right to command. If the advice tendered be displeasing, they reject it with groans; if it please them, they clash their spears: the most complimentary expression of assent is this martial approbation. 12. At this assembly it is also permissible to lay accusations and to bring capital charges, The nature of the death penalty differs according to the offence: traitors and deserters are hung from trees; cowards and poor fighters and sexual perverts are plunged in the mud of marshes with a hurdle on their heads :? the difference of punishment has regard to the principle that crime should be blazoned * This could be done only in low land. Archaeological discoveries support Tacitus. 149TACITUS levioribus delictis pro modo poena:! equorum pecorumque numero convicti multantur. pars mul- tae regi vel civitati, pars ipsi, qui vindicatur vel 3 propinquis eius exsolvitur. eliguntur in isdem con- ciliis et prineipes, qui iura per pagos vicosque red- dunt; centeni singulis ex plebe comites consilium simul et auctoritas adsunt. 13. Nihil autem neque publicae neque privatae rei nisi armati agunt. sed arma sumere non ante cui- quam moris, quam civitas suffecturum probaverit. tum in ipso concilio vel principum aliquis vel pater vel propinqui scuto frameaque iuvenem ornant: haec apud illos toga, hie primus iuventae honos; ante hoc 2domus pars videntur, mox rei publicae. insignis nobilitas aut magna patrum merita principis digna- tionem etiam adulescentulis adsignant: ceteris* robustioribus ac iam pridem probatis adgregantur, 3 nec rubor inter comites adspici. gradus quin etiam ipse comitatus habet, iudicio eius quem sectantur; magnaque et comitum aemulatio, quibus primus apud principem suum locus, et prineipum, eui plurimi 4 et acerrimi comites. haec dignitas, hae vires, magno semper electorum iuvenum globo cireumdari, in pace decus, in bello praesidium. nec solum in sua gente cuique, sed apud finitimas quoque civitates id nomen, + poena Acidatiue: poena nam Robinson: poenarum. 2 Vindicavit cod. Vat. 1862 and cod. Leid. Periz. before cor- * ceteri Lipsius: certis Gudeman, 1 The reading and meaning here are not certain. 150 GERMANIA abroad by its retribution, but abomination hidden. Lighter offences have also a proportional punish- ment: those convicted are fined in a number of horses and cattle: part of the fine goes to the king or the state; part is paid to the person himself who wins his case, or to his relatives. At the same gatherings are selected, among others, chiefs, who administer law through the cantons and villages: each of them has one hundred assessors from the people to be his responsible advisers. 13. They do no business, public or private, without arms in their hands; yet the custom is that no one takes arms until the state has endorsed his future competence: then in the assembly itself one of the chiefs or his father or his relatives equip the young man with shield and spear: this corresponds with them to the toga, and is youth’s first public dis- tinction: hitherto he seems a member of the house- hold, next a member of the state. Conspicuously high birth, or signal services on the part of parents win the chieftain’s approbation even for very young men: they mingle with the others, men of maturer strength and tested by long years, and have no shame to be seen among his retinue. In the retinue itself degrees are observed, depending on the judgement of him whom they follow: and so there is great rivalry among the retainers to decide who shall have the first place with his chief, and among the chieftains as to who shall have the largest and keenest retinue. This means rank and strength, to be surrounded always with a large band of chosen youths—glory in peace, in war protection: nor is it only so with his ‘own people, but with neighbouring states also it 151TACITUS ea gloria cst, si numero ae virtute comitatus emineat; expetuntur enim legationibus et muneribus ornantur et ipsa plerumque fama bella profligant. 14, Cum ventum in aciem, turpe principi virtute vinci, turpe comitatui virtutem principis non adae- quare. iam vero infame in omnem vitam ac pro- brosum superstitem principi suo ex acie recessisse: illum defendere, tueri, sua quoque fortia facta gloriae cius adsignare praecipuum sacramentum est: prin- 2 cipes pro victoria pugnant, comites pro principe. si civitas, in qua orti sunt, longa pace et otio torpeat, plerique nobilium adulescentium petunt ultro eas nationes, quae tum bellum aliquod gerunt, quia et ingrata genti quies et facilius inter ancipitia clar- escunt magnumque comitatum non nisi vi belloque 3 tueare: exigunt enim? principis sui liberalitate illum bellatorem equum, illam cruentam vietricem- que frameam; natn epulae et quamquam incompti, largi tamen apparatus pro stipendio cedunt. materia 4 munificentiae per bella et raptus. nec arare terram aut exspectare annum tam facile persuaseris quam vocare hostem et vulnera mereri. pigrum quin immo et iners videtur sudore adquirere quod possis sanguine parare. 15. Quotiens bella non ineunt, multum * venatibus, plus per otium transigunt, dediti somno ciboque, 2 enim (a> Acidalius. ; + multum Lipsius: non multum, which may be right. 152 GERMANIA means name and fame for a man that his retinue be conspicuous for number and character: such men are in request for embassies, and are honoured with gifts, and often, by the mere terror of their name, break the back of war. 14, When the battlefield is reached it is a reproach for a chief to be surpassed in prowess; a reproach for his retinue not to equal the prowess of its chief: but to have left the field and survived one’s chief, this means lifelong infamy and shame: to defend and protect him, to devote one’s own feats even to his glorification, this is the gist of their allegiance: the chief fights for victory, but the retainers for the chief. Should it happen that the community where they are born be drugged with long years of peace and quiet, many of the high-born youth voluntarily seek those tribes which are at the time engaged in some war; for rest is unweleome to the race, and they dis tinguish themselves more readily in the midst of un- certainties: besides, you cannot keep up a great re- tinue except by war and violence, for it is from their leader's bounty that they demand that glorious war- horse, and that murderous and masterful spear: banquetings and a certain rude but lavish outfit are equivalent to salary. The material for this free- handedness comes through war and foray. You will not so readily persuade them to plough the land and wait for the year's returns as to challenge the enemy and earn wounds: besides, it seems limp and slack to get with the sweating of your brow what you can gain with the shedding of your blood. 15. When they are not entering on war, they spend much time in hunting, but more in idleness—ereatures 153TACITUS fortissimus quisque ac bellicosissimus nihil agens, delegata domus et penatium et agrorum cura feminis senibusque et infirmissimo cuique ex familia: ipsi hebent, mira diversitate naturae, cum idem homines 2sic ament inertiam et oderint quietem. mos est civitatibus ultro ac viritim conferre principibus vel armentorum vel frugum, quod pro honore acceptum. 3 etiam necessitatibus subvenit. gaudent praecipue finitimarum gentium donis, quae non mode a singulis, sed et publice mittuntur, electi equi, magnifica? arma, phalerae torquesque; iam et pecuniam acci- pere docuimus. 16. Nullas Germanorum populis urbes habitari satis notum est, ne pati quidem inter se iunctas sedes. colunt discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campus, ut 2 nemus placuit, vicos locant non in nostrum morem conexis et cohaerentibus aedificiis: suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive adversus casus ignis 3 remedium sive inscitia aedificandi. ne caementorum quidem apud illos aut tegularum usus: materia ad omnia utuntur informi et citra speciem aut delecta- tionem. quaedam loca diligentius inlinunt terra ita pura ac splendente, ut picturam ac liniamenta color- 4um imitetur, solent et subterraneos specus aperire + magnifica Meiser: magna. 3 urbes, Indeed the Germans hated walled cities (Tac. Hist. IV. 64). We hear of their oppida but these were large fortified village-strongholds. * Excavations suggest that in the first century the usual dwelling was made of earth-plastered wattle-work. 1” GERMANIA who eat and sleep, the best and bravest warriors doing nothing, having handed over the charge of their home, hearth, and estate to the women and the old men and the weakest members of the family: for themselves they lounge about, by that curious incongruity of temperament, which makes of the same men such lovers of laziness and such haters of quiet. It is the custom in their states to bestow upon the chief unasked and man by man some portion of one’s cattle or crops: it is accepted as a compliment, but also serves his needs. The chiefs appreciate still more the gifts of neighbouring tribes, which are sent not merely by individuals but by the community— selected horses, splendid armour, bosses and brace- lets: by this time we have taught them to accept money also. 16. Itis well known that none of the German tribes, live in cities, that even individually they do not per- mit houses to touch each other: they live separated and scattered, according as spring-water, meadow, or grove appeals to each man: they lay out their villages not, after our fashion, with buildings con- tiguous and connected; everyone keeps a clear space round his house, whether it be a precaution against the chances of fire, or just ignorance of building. They have not even learned to use quarry-stone or tiles: the timber they use for all purposes is un- shaped, and stops short of all ornament or attraction ;? certain parts are smeared carefully with a stucco bright and glittering enough to be a substitute for paint and frescoes. They are in the habit also of opening pits in the earth and piling dung in 155TACITUS eosque multo insuper fimo onerant, suffugium hiemis 1 et receptaculum frugibus, quia rigorem fri- gorum ejus modi loci? molliunt, et si quando hostis advenit, aperta populatur, abdita autem et defossa aut ignorantur aut eo ipso fallunt, quod quaerenda sunt. 17. Tegumen omnibus sagum fibula aut, si desit, spina consertum: cetera intecti totos dies iuxta focum atque ignem agunt. locupletissimi veste dis- tinguuntur, non fluitante, sicut Sarmatae ae Parthi, sed stricta et singulos artus exprimente. gerunt et ferarum pelles, proximi ripae neglegenter, ulteriores exquisitius, ut quibus nullus per commercia cultus. eligunt feras et detracta velamina spargunt maculis pellibusque beluarum, quas exterior Oceanus atque ignotum mare gignit. nec alius feminis quam habitus, nisi quod feminae saepius lineis amictibus velantur eosque purpura variant, partemque vestitus superioris * in manicas non extendunt, nudae brachia ac lacertos; sed et proxima pars pectoris patet. 18. Quamquam severa illic matrimonia, nec ullam morum partem magis laudaveris. nam prope soli barbarorum singulis uxoribus contenti sunt, exceptis admodum paucis, qui non libidine, sed ob nobilitatem pluribus # nuptiis ambiuntur. 1 hiomis Reifferscheid: hiemi Joo! Aeidalius: lucus Bachrens: locis. ® euperiorem P. Voss. * pluribus Halm: plurimis. 1 Of the Rhine and of the Danube—the “natural ” parte ‘of the boundary betwoen the Roman Empire and free Germany. # ‘The creatures mentioned here would be chiefly soale. 156 GERMANIA quantities on the roof, as a refuge from the winter or a root-house, because such places mitigate the rigour of frost, and if an enemy comes, he lays waste the open; but the hidden and buried houses are either missed outright or escape detection just because they require a search. 11. For clothing all wear a cloak, fastened with a clasp, or, in its absence, a thorn: they spend whole days on the hearth round the fire with no other covering. The richest men are distinguished by the wearing of under-clothes;” not loose, like those of Parthians and Sarmatians, but drawn tight, throw- ing each limb into relief. ‘They wear also the skins of wild beasts, the tribes, adjoining the river-bank* in casual fashion, the further tribes with more attention, since they cannot depend on traders for finery. The beasts for this purpose are selected, and the hides so taken are chequered with the pied skins of the creatures native to the outer ocean and its unknown waters. * ‘The women have the same dress as the men, except that rather often trailing linen garments, striped with purple, are in use for women: the upper part of this costume does not widen into sleeves: their arms and shoulders are therefore bare, as is the adjoining portion of the chest. 18. None the less the marriage tie with them is strict: you will find nothing in their character to praise more highly. They are almost the only bar- barians who are content with a wife apiece: the very few exceptions have nothing to do with passion, but consist of those with whom polygamous marriage is eagerly sought for the sake of high birth. 157TACITUS Dotem non uxor marito, sed uxori maritus offert. 2 intersunt parentes et propinqui ac munera t probant, munera non ad delicias muliebres quaesita nec quibus nova nupta comatur, sed boves et frenatum equum et 3 scutum cum framea gladioque. in haee munera uxor accipitur, atque in vicem ipsa armorum aliquid viro adfert: hoc maximum vinculum, haee arcana sacra, 4 hos coniugales deos arbitrantur. ne se mulier extra virtutum cogitationes extraque bellorum casus putet, ipsis incipientis matrimonii auspiciis admonetur venire se laborum periculorumque sociam, idem in pace, idem in proelio passuram ausuramque: hoe iuneti boves, hoe paratus equus, hoc data arma de- nuntiant. sic vivendum, sic pariendum*: accipere se quae liberis inviolata ac digna reddat,$ quae nurus accipiant rursusque ad nepotes referantur. 19. Ergo saepta‘ pudicitia agunt, nullis specta- culorum inlecebris, nullis conviviorum irritationibus corruptae. litterarum secreta viri pariter ac feminae 2 ignorant, paucissima in tam numerosa gente adul- teria, quorum poena praesens et maritis permissa: + munera chould be deleted either here (Lachmann) or in next line (Bernkaréy). * var. lect. pereundum. ® inviolata reddat, ac digna quae Acidalius. * saeptae Croll. 1 Tn fact not a dower but a gi return for authority over her. 158 for the parents in GERMANIA As for dower, it is not the wife who brings it to the husband, but the husband to the wife. The parents and relations are present to approve these gifts—gifts not devised for ministering to female fads, nor for the adornment of the person of the bride, but oxen, a horse and bridle, a shield and spear or sword; it is to share these things that the wife is taken by the husband, and she® herself, in turn, brings some piece of armour to her husband. Here is the gist of the bond between them, here in their eyes its mysterious sacrament, the divinity which hedges it. That the wife may not imagine herself exempt from thoughts of heroism, released from the chances of war, she is thus warned by the very rites with which her marriage begins that she comes to share hard work and peril; that her fate will be the same as his in peace and in panic, her risks the same. This is the moral of the yoked oxen, of the bridled horse, of the gift of arms; so must she live and so must be a mother. The things she takes she is to hand over inviolate, and worthy to be valued, to her children, what are to be taken by her daughters-in-law and passed on again to her grand- children. 19. So their life is one of fenced-in chastity. There is no arena with its seductions, no dinner-tables with their provocations to corrupt them. Of the exchange of secret letters men and women alike are innocent; adulteries are very few for the number of the people. Punishment is prompt and is the hus- band’s prerogative: her hair close-cropped, stripped 2 In fact a sword was given to the bridegroom by the bride's father or her guardian, as a token of supreme power over her. 159TACITUS abscisis crinibus nudatam coram propinquis expellit domo maritus ac per omnem vicum verbere agit; publicatae enim pudicitiae nulla venia: non forma, 3 non aetate, non opibus maritum invenerit.1_ nemo enim illic vitia ridet, nec corrumpere et corrumpi saeculum vocatur. melius quidem adhuc eae civitates, in quibus tantum virgines nubunt et cum spe votoque 4 usoris semel transigitur. sic unum accipiunt mari- tum quo modo unum corpus unamque vitam, ne ulla cogitatio ultra, ne longior cupiditas, ne tamquam maritum, sed tamquam matrimonium? ament. 5 numerum liberorum finire aut quemquam ex agnatis necare flagitium habetur, plusque ibi boni mores valent quam alibi bonae leges. 20. In omni domo nudi ac sordidi in hos artus, in haec corpora, quae miramur, excrescunt, sua quem- que mater uberibus alit, nee ancillis aut nutricibus 2 delegantur. dominum ac servum nullis educationis deliciis dignoscas: inter eadem pecora, in eadem 2 leniverit Kraffert. * tam maritum quam matrimonium Meise: tamquam ‘matrimonium sed tamquam maritum Grotiue. 3 ‘The word agnali meant children born after the father had made his will naming an heir. But the Germans did not make wills (Chapter 20, 6). * Anobvious reference to Roman race-suicide and infanticide tnd to the attempt made by the lex Papia Poppacs to stem ete evil 160 GERMANIA of her clothes, her husband drives her from his house in presence of his relatives and pursues her with a lash through the length of the village. For prosti- tuted chastity there is no pardon; beauty nor youth nor wealth will find her a husband. No one laughs at vice there; no one calls seduction, suffered or wrought, the spirit of the age. Better still are those tribes where only maids marry, and where a woman makes a pact, once for all, in the hopes and vows of a wife; so they take one husband only, just as one body and one life, in order that there may be no second thoughts, no belated fancies: in order that their desire may not be for the man, but for marriage, so to speak; to limit the number of their children, to make away with any of the later children is held abominable, and good habits have more force with them than good laws elsewhere? 20. There then they are, the children, in every house, growing up amid nakedness and squalor into that girth of limb and frame which is to our people a marvel, Its own mother suckles each at her breast they are not passed on to nursemaids and wet- nurses. Nor can master be recognised from servant by any flummery * in their respective bringing-up: they live in the company of the same cattle and on the same * Deliciis educationis looks at first sight the Latin equi- valent to 7d mepirrd, ré xowufe in Greok, but it is not so: the Greek refers (as one would expect) to education in the narrower and more technical sense, and therein to “culture” subjects and to the “‘other frills” of education; but Tacitus only means that the children are all brought up without dis- tinction, and without codseting and pampering forthe better om. 161TACITUS humo degunt, donee aetas separet ingenuos, virtus 3 adgnoscat. sera iuvenum venus, eoque inexhausta pubertas. nec virgines festinantur; eadem iuventa, similis proceritas: pares validaeque miscentur, ac 4 robora parentum liberi referunt. sororum filiis idem apud avunculum qui apud patrem honor. quidam sanctiorem artioremque hune nexum sanguinis arbi- trantur et in accipiendis obsidibus magis exigunt, tamquam et animum firmius et domum latius teneant. 6 heredes tamen suecessoresque sui cuique liberi, et nullum testamentum. si liberi non sunt, proximus gradus in pessessione fratres, patrui, avunculi. quanto plus propinquorum, quanto maior adfinium numerus tanto gratiosior senectus; nec ulla orbitatis pretia. 21. Suscipere tam inimicitias seu patris seu pro: pingui quam amicitias necesse est; nec inplacabiles durant: luitur enim etiam homicidium certo armen- H torum ac pecorum numero recipitque satisfactionem universa domus, utiliter in publicum, quia periculo- siores sunt inimicitiae iuxta libertatem. 2 Convictibus et hospitiis non alia gens effusius in- dulget. quemcumque mortalium arcere tecto nefas 1 The probable source of this special feeling is the primitive principle of the matriarchate or mother-right whereby descent is traced through the female line; the maternal uncle (avun- culua “little grandfather "—young guardian of children who jave neither father or grandfather) will then think of his sister's children as perpetuating hie mother’s—his own— family. Of. E. A. Thompson, The Barly German, 17. 162 GERMANIA mud floor till years separate the free-born and character claims her own. Late comes love to the young men, and their first, manhood is not enfeebled; nor for the girls is there any hot-house forcing; they pass their youth in the same way as the boys: their stature is as tall; they are equals in age and strength when they are mated, and the children reproduce the vigour of the parents. Sisters’ children mean as much to their uncle as to their father: some tribes regard this blood-tie as even closer and more sacred than that between son and father, and in taking hostages make it the basis of their demand, as though they thus secure loyalty more surely and have a wider hold on the family. However, so far as heirship and succession are con- cerned, each man’s sons are his heirs, and there is no will; if there be no children, the nearest degrees of relationship for the holding of property are brothers, paternal uncles, and uncles maternal: the more rela- tions a man has and the larger the number of his connections by marriage, the more influence has he in his age; it does not pay to have no ties.” 21, It is incumbent to take up a father’s feuds or a kinsman’s not less than his friendships; but such feuds do not continue unappeasable: even homicide is atoned for by a fixed number of cattle and sheep, and the whole family thereby receives satisfaction, to the public advantage; for feuds are more dan- gerous side by side with liberty. No race indulges more lavishly in feasting and hospitality: to close the door against any human » ‘Tacitus sooffs at the influence of the childless rich because of the servility of legacy-hunters. 163