C. Caesaris. Caligula, cf. Suet. Calig.; T. His. 4, 15.
Discordiae—armorum. The civil wars after the death of Nero under Galba, Otho, and Vitellius.
Expugnatis—hibernis. By the Batavians under Civilis. His. 4, 12 seq.; A. 41.
Affectavere. Aspired to the government of, cf. note on affectationem, 28. After donec, T. always expresses a single definite past action by the perf. ind., cf. A. 36: donec—cohortatus est; a repeated, or continued past action by the imp. subj. cf. note, A. 19: donec—fieret; and a present action, which is in the nature of the case also a continued action, by the pres. subj. cf. note, 1: separet.
Triumphati. Poetice, cf. Virg. Aen. 6, 837: Triumphata Corintho; Hor. Od. 3, 3, 43: Triumphati Medi. The reference here is to the ridiculous triumph of Domitian, A. 39, in which slaves, purchased and dressed out for the purpose, were borne as captives through the streets.
XXXVIII. Suevis. In the time of T. a powerful confederacy, embracing all the tribes enumerated in 39-45, and covering all the eastern and larger half of Germany. But the confederacy was soon dissolved and seldom appears in subsequent history. We still have a trace of their name in the Modern Suabia. The name is supposed by some philologists (e.g. Zeuss) to denote unsettled wanderers (Germ. Schweben, to wave, to hover, cf. Caes. B.G. 4, 1: Suevis non longius anno remanere uno in loco, etc.); as that of the Saxons does settlers, or fixed residents (Germ. Sassen), and that of the Franks, freemen. See Rup. in loc. An ingenious Article in the North American Review (July, 1847), makes the distinction of Suevi and non-Suevi radical and permanent in the religion and the language of the Germans; the Suevi becoming Orthodox Catholics, and the non-Suevi Arians in Ecclesiastical History, and the one High-Dutch and the other Low-Dutch in the development of their language.
Adhuc. Cf. note on it, 19. As to position, cf. insuper 31, and 34. The Suevi are still (adhuc) divided into distinct tribes bearing distinct names, though united in a confederacy. Cf. Hand's Tursellinus, 1, 163. Död. renders besides, sc. the general designation of Suevi.
In commune. In common. Not used in this sense by Cic., Caes. and Liv., though frequent in T. Gr. Cf. note on the same, 27.
Obliquare. To turn the hair back, or comb it up contrary to its natural direction—and then fasten it in a knot on the top of the head (substringere nodo); so it seems to be explained by the author himself below: horrentem capillum retro sequuntur ac in ipso solo vertice religant. Others translate obliquare by twist. Many ancient writers speak of this manner of tying the hair among the Germans, cf. Sen. de Ira. 3, 26.; Juv. 13, 164.
A servis separantur. Separantur==distinguuntur. Servants among the Suevi seem to have had their hair shorn. So also it was among the Franks at a later date. Vid. Greg. Tur. 3, 8.