Saevitia ingenii et cupidine praedae ad excidium civitatis trahebantur: obstabat ratio belli et novum imperium inchoantibus utilis clementiae fama; Civilem etiam beneficii memoria flexit, quod filium eius primo rerum motu in colonia Agrippinensi deprehensum honorata custodia habuerant.
Their natural cruelty and their greed for booty inclined them to favour the destruction of the city: in opposition were the interests of the war and the advantage of a reputation for clemency at this time when they were establishing a new empire; Civilis, moreover, was influenced also by the memory of the service done him, when at the beginning of the revolt his son had been arrested in Cologne, but had been treated with honour while in custody.
final_alignments\Tacitus_Histories_Book4.json