Thus Solon, in his well-known answer to Croesus, observed to him, that the nation which
possessed
more iron would be master of all his gold.
Tacitus
]
229 (return)
[ Thus Vannius was made king of the Quadi by Tiberius. (See Annals, ii. 63. ) At a later period, Antoninus Pius (as appears from a medal preserved in Spanheim) gave them Furtius for their king. And when they had expelled him, and set Ariogaesus on the throne, Marcus Aurelius, to whom he was obnoxious, refused to confirm the election. (Dio, lxxi. )]
230 (return)
[ These people inhabited what is now Galatz, Jagerndorf, and part of Silesia. ]
231 (return)
[ Inhabitants of part of Silesia, and of Hungary. ]
232 (return)
[ Inhabitants of part of Hungary to the Danube. ]
233 (return)
[ These were settled about the Carpathian mountains, and the sources of the Vistula. ]
234 (return)
[ It is probable that the Suevi were distinguished from the rest of the Germans by a peculiar dialect, as well as by their dress and manners. ]
235 (return)
[ Ptolemy mentions iron mines in or near the country of the Quadi. I should imagine that the expression "additional disgrace" (or, more literally, "which might make them more ashamed") does not refer merely to the slavery of working in mines, but to the circumstance of their digging up iron, the substance by means of which they might acquire freedom and independence. This is quite in the manner of Tacitus. The word iron was figuratively used by the ancients to signify military force in general.
Thus Solon, in his well-known answer to Croesus, observed to him, that the nation which possessed more iron would be master of all his gold. —Aikin. ]
236 (return)
[ The mountains between Moravia, Hungary, Silesia, and Bohemia. ]
237 (return)
[ The Lygii inhabited what is now part of Silesia, of the New Marche, of Prussia and Poland on this side the Vistula. ]
238 (return)
[ These tribes were settled between the Oder and Vistula, where now are part of Silesia, of Brandenburg, and of Poland. The Elysii are supposed to have given name to Silesia. ]
239 (return)
[ The Greeks and Romans, under the name of the Dioscuri, or Castor and Pollux, worshipped those meteorous exhalations which, during a storm, appear on the masts of ships, and are supposed to denote an approaching calm. A kind of religious veneration is still paid to this phenomenon by the Roman Catholics, under the appellation of the fire of St. Elmo. The Naharvali seem to have affixed the same character of divinity on the ignis fatuus; and the name Alcis is probably the same with that of Alff or Alp, which the northern nations still apply to the fancied Genii of the mountains. The Sarmatian deities Lebus and Polebus, the memory of whom still subsists in the Polish festivals, had, perhaps, the same origin. ]
240 (return)
[ No custom has been more universal among uncivilized people than painting the body, either for the purpose of ornament, or that of inspiring terror. ]
241 (return)
[ Inhabitants of what is now Further Pomerania, the New Marche and the Western part of Poland, between the Oder and Vistula. They were a different people from the Goths, though, perhaps, in alliance with them. ]
242 (return)
[ These people were settled on the shore of the Baltic, where now are Colburg, Cassubia, and Further Pomerania. Their name is still preserved in the town of Rugenwald and Isle of Rugen.
229 (return)
[ Thus Vannius was made king of the Quadi by Tiberius. (See Annals, ii. 63. ) At a later period, Antoninus Pius (as appears from a medal preserved in Spanheim) gave them Furtius for their king. And when they had expelled him, and set Ariogaesus on the throne, Marcus Aurelius, to whom he was obnoxious, refused to confirm the election. (Dio, lxxi. )]
230 (return)
[ These people inhabited what is now Galatz, Jagerndorf, and part of Silesia. ]
231 (return)
[ Inhabitants of part of Silesia, and of Hungary. ]
232 (return)
[ Inhabitants of part of Hungary to the Danube. ]
233 (return)
[ These were settled about the Carpathian mountains, and the sources of the Vistula. ]
234 (return)
[ It is probable that the Suevi were distinguished from the rest of the Germans by a peculiar dialect, as well as by their dress and manners. ]
235 (return)
[ Ptolemy mentions iron mines in or near the country of the Quadi. I should imagine that the expression "additional disgrace" (or, more literally, "which might make them more ashamed") does not refer merely to the slavery of working in mines, but to the circumstance of their digging up iron, the substance by means of which they might acquire freedom and independence. This is quite in the manner of Tacitus. The word iron was figuratively used by the ancients to signify military force in general.
Thus Solon, in his well-known answer to Croesus, observed to him, that the nation which possessed more iron would be master of all his gold. —Aikin. ]
236 (return)
[ The mountains between Moravia, Hungary, Silesia, and Bohemia. ]
237 (return)
[ The Lygii inhabited what is now part of Silesia, of the New Marche, of Prussia and Poland on this side the Vistula. ]
238 (return)
[ These tribes were settled between the Oder and Vistula, where now are part of Silesia, of Brandenburg, and of Poland. The Elysii are supposed to have given name to Silesia. ]
239 (return)
[ The Greeks and Romans, under the name of the Dioscuri, or Castor and Pollux, worshipped those meteorous exhalations which, during a storm, appear on the masts of ships, and are supposed to denote an approaching calm. A kind of religious veneration is still paid to this phenomenon by the Roman Catholics, under the appellation of the fire of St. Elmo. The Naharvali seem to have affixed the same character of divinity on the ignis fatuus; and the name Alcis is probably the same with that of Alff or Alp, which the northern nations still apply to the fancied Genii of the mountains. The Sarmatian deities Lebus and Polebus, the memory of whom still subsists in the Polish festivals, had, perhaps, the same origin. ]
240 (return)
[ No custom has been more universal among uncivilized people than painting the body, either for the purpose of ornament, or that of inspiring terror. ]
241 (return)
[ Inhabitants of what is now Further Pomerania, the New Marche and the Western part of Poland, between the Oder and Vistula. They were a different people from the Goths, though, perhaps, in alliance with them. ]
242 (return)
[ These people were settled on the shore of the Baltic, where now are Colburg, Cassubia, and Further Pomerania. Their name is still preserved in the town of Rugenwald and Isle of Rugen.