Transcript

002 - Section 2 · Germania

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Speaker 1: Part two of Testus Germania. This is a lipofox recording.
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Speaker 1: All liberovox recordings are in the public domain. For more
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Speaker 1: information or the volunteer, please visit libervox dot org. Recording
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Speaker 1: by Annossimon, Germania by Publius Cornelius Tacitus, translated by Alfred
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Speaker 1: John Church and William Jackson broad Rib Part two. They
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Speaker 1: all wrap themselves in a cloak which is fastened with
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Speaker 1: a clasp, or, if this is not forthcoming, with a thorn,
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Speaker 1: leaving the rest of their persons bare. They pass whole
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Speaker 1: days on the hearth by the fire. The wealthiest are
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Speaker 1: distinguished by a dress which is not flowing, like that
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Speaker 1: of the Sarmat and parthy, but is tight and exhibits
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Speaker 1: each limb. They also wear the skins of wild beasts,
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Speaker 1: the tribes on the Rhine and Danube in a careless fashion,
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Speaker 1: those of the interior with more elegance. As not obtaining
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Speaker 1: other clothing by commerce, these select certain animals, the heights
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Speaker 1: of which they strip off and vary them with a
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Speaker 1: spotted skin. Skins of beasts, the produce of the outer
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Speaker 1: ocean and of seas unknown to us. The women have
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Speaker 1: the same dress as the men, except that they generally
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Speaker 1: wrap themselves in linen garments, which they embroider with purple,
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Speaker 1: and do not lengthen out the upper part of their
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Speaker 1: clothing into sleeves. The upper and lower arm is thus bare,
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Speaker 1: and the nearest part of the bosom is also exposed.
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Speaker 1: Their marriage code, however, is strict, and indeed no part
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Speaker 1: of their manners is more praiseworthy. Almost alone among barbarians,
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Speaker 1: they are content with one wife, except a very few
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Speaker 1: among them, and these not from sensuality, but because their
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Speaker 1: noble birth procures for them many offers of alliance. The
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Speaker 1: wife does not bring a doubt to the husband, but
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Speaker 1: the husband to the wife. The parents and relatives are
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Speaker 1: present and pass judgment on the marriage gifts. Gifts not
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Speaker 1: meant to suit a woman's taste, nor such as a
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Speaker 1: bride would deck herself with, but oxen, a comparison, steed,
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Speaker 1: a shield alliance, and the sword. With these presents, the
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Speaker 1: wife is espoused, and she herself, in her turn, brings
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Speaker 1: her husband a gift of arms. This they count their
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Speaker 1: strongest bond of union, These their sacred mysteries, these their
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Speaker 1: gods of marriage. Lest the woman should think herself to
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Speaker 1: stand apart from aspirations after noble deeds, and from the
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Speaker 1: perils of war. She is reminded by the ceremony which
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Speaker 1: inaugurates marriage that she is her husband's partner in toil
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Speaker 1: and danger, destined to suffer and to dare with him alike,
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Speaker 1: both in peace and in war. The yoked oxen, the
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Speaker 1: harnessed steed, the gift of arms proclaim this fact. She
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Speaker 1: must live and die with the feeling that she is
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Speaker 1: receiving what she must hand down to her children, neither
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Speaker 1: tarnished nor depreciated, what future daughters in law may receive
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Speaker 1: and may be so passed on to her grandchildren. Thus,
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Speaker 1: with their virtue protected, they live uncorrupted by the allurements
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Speaker 1: of public shows or the stimulant of feastings. Clandestine correspondence
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Speaker 1: is equally unknown to men and women. Very rare for
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Speaker 1: so numerous a population is adultery, the punishment for which
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Speaker 1: is prompt and in the husband's power. Having cut off
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Speaker 1: the hair of the adulteress and stripped her naked, he
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Speaker 1: expels her from the house in the presence of her kinsfolk,
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Speaker 1: and then flogs her through the whole village. The loss
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Speaker 1: of chastity meets with no indulgence. Neither beauty, youth, nor
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Speaker 1: wealth will procure the culprit a husband. No one in
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Speaker 1: Germany loves advice, nor do they call it the fashion
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Speaker 1: to corrupt and to be corrupted. Still better is the
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Speaker 1: condition of those states in which only maidens are given
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Speaker 1: in marriage, and whether the hopes and expectations of a
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Speaker 1: bride are then finally terminated. They receive one husband as
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Speaker 1: having one body and one life, that they may have
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Speaker 1: no thoughts beyond, no further reaching desires, that they may
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Speaker 1: love not so much the husband as the married state.
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Speaker 1: To limit the number of their children, or to destroy
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Speaker 1: any of their subsequent offspring, is accounted infamous. And good
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Speaker 1: habits are here more effectual than good laws elsewhere. In
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Speaker 1: every household, the children, naked and filthy, grow up with
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Speaker 1: those stout frames and limbs which we so much admire.
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Speaker 1: Every mother suckles her own offspring and never entrusts it
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Speaker 1: to servants and nurses. The master is not distinguished from
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Speaker 1: the slave by being brought up with greater delicacy. Both
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Speaker 1: live amid the same flocks and lie on the same ground,
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Speaker 1: till the free born are distinguished by age and recognized
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Speaker 1: by merit. The young men marry late, and their vigor
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Speaker 1: is thus unimpaired. Nor are the maidens hurried into marriage
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Speaker 1: the same age, and a similar stature is required. Well
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Speaker 1: matched and vigorous, they wed, and the offspring reproduce the
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Speaker 1: strength of the parents. Sisters sons are held in as
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Speaker 1: much esteem by their uncles as by their fathers. Indeed,
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Speaker 1: some regard the relation as even more sacred and binding,
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Speaker 1: and preferred in receiving hostitle, thinking thus to secure a
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Speaker 1: stronger hold on the affections and a wider bond for
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Speaker 1: the family. But every man's own children are his heirs
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Speaker 1: and successes, and there are no wills. Should there be
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Speaker 1: no issue, the next in succession to the property are
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Speaker 1: his brothers and his uncles on either side. The more
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Speaker 1: relatives he has, the more numerous his connections, The more
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Speaker 1: honored is his old age. Nor are there any advantages
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Speaker 1: in childlessness. It is a duty among them to adopt
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Speaker 1: the feuds as well as the friendships of a father
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Speaker 1: or a kinsman. These feuds are not implacable. Even homicide
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Speaker 1: is expiated by the payment of a certain number of
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Speaker 1: cattle and of sheep, and the satisfaction is accepted by
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Speaker 1: the entire family, greatly to the advantage of the state.
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Speaker 1: Since feuds are dangerous in proportion to a people's freedom,
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Speaker 1: no nation indulges more profusely in entertainments and hospitality. To
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Speaker 1: exclude any human being from their roof is thought im
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Speaker 1: Every German, according to his means, receives his guest with
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Speaker 1: a well furnished table. When his supplies are exhausted, He
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Speaker 1: who was but now the host, becomes the guide and
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Speaker 1: companion to further hospitality, and without invitation they go to
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Speaker 1: the next house. It matters not they are entertained with
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Speaker 1: like cordiality. No one distinguishes between an acquaintance and a stranger.
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Speaker 1: As regards the rights of hospitality, it is usual they
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Speaker 1: give their departing guest whatever he may ask for, and
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Speaker 1: a present in return is asked with his little hesitation.
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Speaker 1: They are greatly charmed with gifts, but they expect no
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Speaker 1: return for what they give, nor feel any obligation for
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Speaker 1: what they receive. On waking from sleep, which they generally
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Speaker 1: prolong to a late hour of the day, they take
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Speaker 1: a bath, oftenest of warm water, which suits the country
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Speaker 1: where winter is the longest of the seasons. After their bath,
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Speaker 1: they take their meal, each having a separate seat and
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Speaker 1: table of his own. Then they go armed to business,
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Speaker 1: or no less often to their festal meetings, to pass
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Speaker 1: an entire day and night in drinking, disgraces no one.
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Speaker 1: Their quarrels, as might be expected with intoxicated people, are
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Speaker 1: seldom fought out with mere abuse, but commonly with wounds
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Speaker 1: and blood shed. Yet it is at their feasts that
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Speaker 1: they generally consult on the reconciliation of enemies, on the
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Speaker 1: forming of matrimonial alliances, on the choice of chiefs, finally,
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Speaker 1: even on peace and war. For they think that at
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Speaker 1: no time is the mind more open to simplicity of purpose,
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Speaker 1: or more warmed to noble aspirations. A race without either
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Speaker 1: natural or acquired cunning. They disclose their hidden thoughts in
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Speaker 1: the freedom of the festivity. Thus the sentiments of all
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Speaker 1: having been discovered and laid bare, the discussion is renewed
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Speaker 1: on the following day, and from each occasion its own
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Speaker 1: peculiar advantage is derived. They deliberate when they have no
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Speaker 1: power to dissemble. They resolve when error is impossible. A
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Speaker 1: liquor for drinking is made out of barley or other grain,
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Speaker 1: and fermented into a certain resemblance to wine. The dwellers
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Speaker 1: on the river bank also buy wine. Their food is
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Speaker 1: of a simple kind, consisting of wild fruit, fresh game,
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Speaker 1: and curdled milk. They satisfy their hunger without elaborate preparation
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Speaker 1: and without delicacies. In quenching their thirst, they are not
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Speaker 1: equally moderate. If you indulge their love of drinking by
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Speaker 1: supplying them with as much as they desire, they will
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Speaker 1: be overcome by their own vices as easily as by
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Speaker 1: the arms of an enemy one on the same kind
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Speaker 1: of spectacle is always exhibited at every gathering. Naked youth
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Speaker 1: who practice this sport, bound in the dance amid swords
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Speaker 1: and lances that threaten their lives, experience give them skill,
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Speaker 1: and skill again gives grace. Profit or pay are out
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Speaker 1: of the question. However reckless their pastime, Its reward is
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Speaker 1: the pleasure of the spectators. Strangely enough, they make games
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Speaker 1: of hazard a serious occupation, even when sober and so
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Speaker 1: venturesome are they about gaining or losing that, when every
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Speaker 1: other resource has failed, on the last and final throw,
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Speaker 1: they stake the freedom of their own persons. The loser
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Speaker 1: goes into voluntary slavery, though the younger and stronger he
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Speaker 1: suffers himself to be bound and sold. Such is their
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Speaker 1: stubborn persistency in a bad practice. They themselves call it honor.
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Speaker 1: Slaves of this kind the owners part with in the
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Speaker 1: way of commerce, and also to relieve themselves from the
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Speaker 1: scandal of such a victory. The other slaves are not
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Speaker 1: employed after our manner, with distinct domestic duties assigned to them.
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Speaker 1: But each one has the management of a house and
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Speaker 1: home of his own. The master requires from the slave
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Speaker 1: a certain quantity of grain, of cattle, and of clothing,
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Speaker 1: as he would from a tenant, and this is a
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Speaker 1: limit of subjection. All other household functions are discharged by
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Speaker 1: their wife and children. To strike a slave, or to
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Speaker 1: punish him with bonds or with hard labor, is a
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Speaker 1: rare occurrence. They often kill them, not in enforcing strict discipline,
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Speaker 1: but on the impulse of passion, as they would an enemy.
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Speaker 1: Only it is done with impunity. The freedmen do not
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Speaker 1: rank much above slaves, and are seldom of any weight
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Speaker 1: in the family, never in the state, with the exception
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Speaker 1: of those tribes which are ruled by kings. There indeed,
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Speaker 1: they rise above the freed born and the noble Elsewhere,
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Speaker 1: the inferiority of the freedmen marks the freedom of the
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Speaker 1: state of lending money on interest and increasing it by
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Speaker 1: compound interest. They know nothing a more effectual safeguard than
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Speaker 1: if it were prohibited. Land proportion to the number of
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Speaker 1: inhabitants is occupied by the whole community in turn, and
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Speaker 1: afterwards divided among them according to rank. A wide expanse
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Speaker 1: of plains makes the partition easy. They till fresh fields
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Speaker 1: every year, and they have still more land than enough,
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Speaker 1: with a richness and extent of their soil. They do
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Speaker 1: not laboriously exert themselves in planting orchards, enclosing meadows, and
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Speaker 1: watering gardens. Corn is the only produce required from the earth. Hence,
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Speaker 1: even the year itself is not divided by them into
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Speaker 1: as many seasons as with us. Winter, spring, and summer
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Speaker 1: have both a meaning and a name. The name and
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Speaker 1: blessings of autumn are alike. Unknown in their funerals, there
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Speaker 1: is no pump. They simply observe the custom of burning
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Speaker 1: the bodies of illustrious men with certain kinds of wood.
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Speaker 1: They do not heap garments or spices on the funeral
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Speaker 1: pile the arms of the dead man, and in some
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Speaker 1: cases his hors are consigned to the fire. A turf
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Speaker 1: mound forms the tomb monuments with a lofty, elaborate splendor.
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Speaker 1: They reject as oppressive to the dead. Tears and lamentations.
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Speaker 1: They soon dismiss grief and sorrow. But slowly it is
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Speaker 1: thought becoming for women to bewail for men to remember
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Speaker 1: the dead. Such on the whole is the account which
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Speaker 1: I have received of the origin and manners of the
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Speaker 1: entire German people. I will now touch on the institutions
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Speaker 1: and religious rites of the separate tribes, pointing out how
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Speaker 1: far they differ, and also what nations have migrated from
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Speaker 1: Germany into Gaul. That highest authority, the Great Julius, informs
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Speaker 1: us that Gaul was once more powerful than Germany. Consequently,
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Speaker 1: we may believe that Gauls even crossed over into Germany.
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Speaker 1: For what a trifling obstacle would a river be to
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Speaker 1: the various tribes as they grew in strength and wish
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Speaker 1: to possess in exchange settlements which were still open to
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Speaker 1: all and not partitioned among powerful monarchies. Accordingly, the country
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Speaker 1: between the Hersenian Forest and the rivers Rhine and manuse,
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Speaker 1: and that which lies beyond was occupied respectively by the
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Speaker 1: Helveti and Boi, both tribes of Gaul. The name Boyemum
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Speaker 1: still survives, marking the old tradition of the place, though
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Speaker 1: the population has been changed. Whether, however, the aravisk migrated
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Speaker 1: into Pannonia from the Ossi, a German race, or whether
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Speaker 1: the Osei came from the Araviski into Germany, as both
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Speaker 1: nations still retain the same language, institutions, and customs, is
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Speaker 1: a doubtful matter, for as they were once equally poor
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Speaker 1: and equally free, either bank had the same attractions the
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Speaker 1: same drawbacks. The Treveri and Nerve are even eager in
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Speaker 1: their claims of a German origin, thinking that the glory
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Speaker 1: of this descent distinguishes them from the uniform level of
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Speaker 1: Gallic effeminacy. The Rhine Bank itself is occupied by tribes
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Speaker 1: unquestionably German, the Vangiones, the Tribodsi, and the Nemetis. Nor
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Speaker 1: do even the Upie, though they have earned the distinction
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Speaker 1: of being a Roman colony and prefer to be called
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Speaker 1: Agrippinensis from the name of their founder Blush, to own
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Speaker 1: their origin. Having crossed the sea in former days, and
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Speaker 1: given proof of their allegiance, they were settled on the
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Speaker 1: Rhine bank itself, as those who might guard it, but
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Speaker 1: need not be watched. Foremost among all these nations in Vala,
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Speaker 1: the Batavi occupy an island within the Rhine and but
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Speaker 1: a small portion of the bank. Formerly a tribe of
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Speaker 1: the Chiatti, they were forced by internal dissension to migrate
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Speaker 1: to their present settlements, and there become a part of
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Speaker 1: the Roman Empire. They yet retain the honorable badge of
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Speaker 1: an ancient alliance, for they are not insulted by tribute,
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Speaker 1: nor ground down by the tax gatherer, free from the
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Speaker 1: usual burdens and contributions, and set apart for fighting purposes
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Speaker 1: like a magazine of arms. We reserve them for our wars.
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Speaker 1: The subjection of the Matiazzi is of the same character,
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Speaker 1: for the greatness of the Roman people has spread reverence
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Speaker 1: for our empire beyond the Rhine and the old boundaries. Thus,
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Speaker 1: this nation, whose settlements and territories are on their own
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Speaker 1: side of the river, are yet in sentiment and purpose
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Speaker 1: one with us. In all other respects, they resemble the Batavi,
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Speaker 1: except that they still gained from the soil and climate
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Speaker 1: of their native land. A keener vigor I should not
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Speaker 1: reckon among the German tribes the cultivators of the tythe lands.
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Speaker 1: Although they are settled on the further side of the
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Speaker 1: Rhine and Janube, Reckless adventurers from Gaul, embolded by want,
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Speaker 1: occupy this land of questionable ownership. After a while, our
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Speaker 1: fronture having been advanced and our military positions pushed forward,
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Speaker 1: it was regarded as a remote nuc of our empire
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Speaker 1: and a part of a Roman province. Beyond them are
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Speaker 1: the Chatty, whose settlements begin at the Hercinian forest, where
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Speaker 1: the country is not so open and marshy as in
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Speaker 1: the other cantons into which Germany stretches. They are found
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Speaker 1: where there are hills, and with them grow less frequent.
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Speaker 1: For the Arcinian forest keeps close till it has seen
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Speaker 1: the last of its native Chatty. Hardy frames, close knit limbs,
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Speaker 1: fierce countenances, and a peculiarly vigorous current which mark the tribe.
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Speaker 1: For Germans, they have much intelligence and sagacity. They promote
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Speaker 1: their picked men to power, and obey those whom they promote.
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Speaker 1: They keep their ranks, not their opportunities, check their impulses,
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Speaker 1: portion out the day, entrench themselves by night, regard fortune
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Speaker 1: as a doubtful, valor as an unfailing resource. And what
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Speaker 1: is most unusual and only given to systematic discipline, they
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Speaker 1: rely more on the general than on the army. Their
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Speaker 1: whole strength is in their infantry, which, in addition to
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Speaker 1: its arms, is laden with iron tools and provisions. Other
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Speaker 1: tribes you see going to battle, the Chatty to a campaign.
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Speaker 1: Seldom do they engage in mere raids and casual encounters.
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Speaker 1: It is indeed the peculiarity of a cavalry force quickly
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Speaker 1: to win and as quickly to yield a victory. Fleetness
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Speaker 1: and timidity go together. Deliberateness is more akin to steady courage.
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Speaker 1: A practice rare among the other German tribes and simply
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Speaker 1: characteristic of individual prowess, has become general among the Chatty,
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Speaker 1: of letting the hair and beard grow as soon as
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Speaker 1: they have attained manhood, and not till they have slain
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Speaker 1: a foe. Laying aside that peculiar aspect which devotes and
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Speaker 1: pledges them to valor over the spoiled and bleeding enemy.
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Speaker 1: They show their faces once more, then, and not till then,
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Speaker 1: proclaiming that they have discharged the obligations of their birth
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Speaker 1: and prove themselves worthy of their country and of their parents.
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Speaker 1: The coward and the unwarlike remain unshorn. The bravest of
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Speaker 1: them also wear an iron ring, which otherwise is a
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Speaker 1: mark of disgrace among the people, until they have released
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Speaker 1: themselves by the slaughter of a foe. Most of the
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Speaker 1: chatty delight in these fashions. Even hoary headed men, are
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Speaker 1: distinguished by them, and are thus conspicuous alike to enemies
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Speaker 1: and to fellow countrymen. To begin the battle always rests
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Speaker 1: with them. They form the first line unusual spectacle. Nor
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Speaker 1: even in peace do they assume a more civilized aspect.
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Speaker 1: They have no home, or land or occupation. They are
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Speaker 1: supported by whomsoever they visit, as lavish of the property
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Speaker 1: of others, as they are regardless of their own, till
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Speaker 1: at length the feebleness of age makes them unequal to
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Speaker 1: so stern a Vala. End of Part two.