[*] 47.1. restitutum est: contrasted with
laborantibus, above.
[*] 47.2.
prius … quam … pervenerunt: see
note on 38 27.
[*] 48.1.
Rhenum: the nearest point on this river was a little below Bâle, somewhat more than five miles distant from the supposed place of the engagement. But the Germans may have fled down the valley of the Ill, reaching the Rhine near Rheinau, some fifty miles from the battlefield.
[*] 48.2.
tranare contenderunt,
by great effort swam across.
[*] 48.5.
reliquos omnis: said to be 80,000.
[*] 48.6.
duae uxores: only chiefs among the Germans, says Tacitus （
Ger. 18）, had more than one wife; and this was for the sake of honor and alliances.
[*] 48.7.
Sueva: for character and customs of the Suevi see
Bk. iv. chs. 1-3.
[*] 48.8.
duxerat: cf.
note on 8 7. Observe that
duxerat in the line above has a different meaning.
[*] 48.10.
Procillus: see
42 10.
[*] 48.11.
trinis catenis,
three [sets of]
manacles.
[*] 48.16.
eius calamitate,
by any harm to him;
eiusis obj. gen., and refers to Procillus.
 |
| Figure 119. Castra Romana. |
[*] 48.17.
quicquam: adv. acc. （
§ 390. d and N. 2 (240. a);
B. 176. 3;
G. 333. 1;
H. 416. 2 (378. 2); cf.
H-B. 396. 2）.
[*] 48.18.
se praesente,
in his presence. —
ter: it was the regular usage of the Germans to consult the lot thrice （
Tacitus, Ger. 10）. This has come down to the present day in sundry games, etc. —
consultum: impers., sc.
esse.
[*] 48.19.
necaretur: indir. quest.; the dir. was a dubit. subjv.,
necetur. The site of this battle is still very uncertain. The account of Caesar's march would seem to point to some place from thirty to fifty miles beyond Belfort, and accordingly it has been located by some near Cernay and by others near Gemar, twenty miles farther down the valley. Perhaps it may have been even nearer the gap than Cernay. The plan in the text, that of Col. Stoffel, must be taken, therefore, only as a supposable arrangement. The country is nearly the same in all that region, and a few miles can make no difference. The great point is that for the first time a Roman army ventured beyond one of the natural bounds of Gaul into the valley of the Rhine and defeated a German horde on its own ground, as it were. The campaign against Ariovistus settled the question of sovereignty over Gaul for several centuries to come. The Germans did not gain possession of it until after the fall of the western Roman empire.
