Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, John C. Rolfe (Translator), 22.15.16

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[16] Utque armatus est unguibus, si haberet etiam pollices, ad evertendas quoque naves sufficeret viribus magnis: ad cubitorum enim longitudinem octodecim¹ interdum extentus, noctibus quiescens per undas, diebus humi vaporatur² confidentia cutis, quam ita validam gerit, ut eius terga cataphracta vix tormentorum ictibus perforentur.

Res Gestae. Ammianus Marcellinus. John C. Rolfe (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1935-1940.

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Current edition Perseus

Res Gestae (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).)

Translations (1)

History Perseus (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).) — 22.15.16 focus

[16] And, if besides the claws with which it is armed it also had thumbs, its strength would be great enough to overturn even ships; for it sometimes attains a length of eighteen cubits. At night it remains quiet in the water; in the daytime it suns itself on land, trusting to its hide, which is so strong that its mail-clad back can hardly be pierced by the bolts of artillery.

Notes on the current edition

Res Gestae

1. xviii. A; decem, V 2 (from ecbecem, V), WBG; sedecim, suggested by Clark.

2. vaporatur, Erfurdt, Haupt, Novák; versatur, Val.; veperatur, V 2 (from vituperatur, V.)

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 22.15.16

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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