If you want to upset the Romans, this is the best way of going about it …
Maxuma pars tribuum dēditiōnem fēcit et iam tribūta contulit,
at nōn iste.
At nōn iste.
Concēdō tibi spem extrēmam, barbare.
Metelle! Tribūs id tamen nōn intellegent. Apud eōs iūs vetat
quemquam capite damnārī ab aliō homine.
Iūs vērō Germānicum nūllum. Vērum autem Rōma. Tandem eīs
expertō opu’st.
____________________
[1] Maxuma pars tribuum dēditiōnem fēcit ... │ Most of
the tribes have surrendered / capitulated …
- deditiō, deditiōnis [3/f]: surrender; capitulation [literally: the majority have made a surrender]
- maxumus, -a, -um = maximus, -a, -um; maxima pars = the biggest part = the majority; the verb fēcit is singular because the verb agrees with the singular noun pars, partis [3/f]
- tribus, -ūs [4/f]: tribe
[2] … et iam tribūta contulit ... │ …and have already got the
(their) tributes together …
- cōnferō, -ferre, -tulī: gather; bring together; collect
- tribūtum, -ī [2/n]: tribute
https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=tributum-harpers
[3] … at nōn iste. │ … but not this one.
- iste, ista, istud: he / she / it; that / this (man / woman), this / that one; in Classical Latin this was often used in a negative / pejorative manner, which is appropriate here
[4] At nōn iste. │ But not this one.
[5] Concēdō tibi spem extrēmam, barbare. │ I grant a last
hope to you [= I give you one last chance], Barbarian.
- concēdō, -ere, concessī [3]: (here): grant; allow
- extrēmus, -a, -um: last (of time)
- spēs, speī [5/f]: hope
[6] Metelle! Tribūs id tamen nōn intellegent. │ Metellus! Nevertheless, the tribes will not understand it / this.
- barbare / Metelle: vocative case; nouns in -us > -e when the person is being addressed directly
Note: the Latin subtitle gives the line as Tribus id
tamen nōn intelleget i.e. singular (the tribe will not understand this) but
I’m sure I hear intellegent (plural) which would also make sense since
they are receiving tributes from several tribes and he does go on to say apud
eōs (among them), but maybe my ears are playing tricks with me; anyway
it doesn’t matter because the key point is the concern that this act may be provocative
…
Apud eōs iūs vetat quemquam capite damnārī ab aliō homine │Among
them the law forbids anybody to be condemned to death by another man. [According
to their law …]
- apud (+accusative): at; by; near; among: apud mē = at my house = Fr: chez moi = Gmn: bei mir = Russ: u menya, but it can have a far wider meaning to refer to a group of people and, in this context, what their attitude is or how they do things; ‘according to their law’ would be a good translation
- damnārī: to be condemned, the passive infinitive of damnō, -āre [1]: condemn; capite / morte [ablative] damnārī: to be condemned to death
- iūs, iūris [3/n]: law
- quisquam (masc. / fem.) quicquam [or quidquam] (neuter): anybody / anything
[7] Iūs vērō Germānicum nūllum. │ But (there is) no Germanic
law.
- nūllus, -a, -um: not any; none; nobody
- vērō: truly; really; in post-positive position i.e. 2nd position [(i) iūs (ii) vērō] can simply translate as ‘but’
[8] Vērum autem Rōma. │ On the contrary, the reality / truth
(is) Rome.
- vērum, -ī [2/n] truth; reality
[9] Tandem eīs expertō opu’st. │ Eventually, they need to
have experienced this.
- experior, experīrī, expertus [4/deponent]: put to the test; experience; witness; endure
opu’st is a contraction of opus + est, a reflection
of speech where two (almost) adjacent sounds combine
- opus, operis [3/n]: (here) need; necessity
opus esse: to have need (of something); the person
who needs it is in the dative case, and what there is a need of is
expressed either by the nominative case or, here, the ablative case.
- novō cōnsiliō [ablative] nunc mihi [dative] opus est (Plautus) │ Now I need [literally: to me there is need of] a new plan.
- auxiliō [ablative] mihi [dative] opus fuerat (Cicero) │ I had needed assistance.
eīs [dative] expertō [ablative] opu’st [= opus est]
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