I. ON THE LANGUAGES OF THE NATIONS. The diversity of languages arose at the building of the tower after the Flood. For before the pride of that tower divided human society into diverse sounds of signs, there was one language of all nations, which is called Hebrew; which the Patriarchs and Prophets used, not only in their speech but also in the sacred letters. In the beginning there were as many languages as nations; then there came to be more nations than languages, because from one language many nations arose. Now languages (linguae) are so called in this passage in place of the words that are made by the tongue (lingua), by that manner of speaking whereby that which effects is named from that which is effected; just as 'mouth' (os) is commonly used for words, and 'hand' (manus) for letters.
Now there are three sacred languages: Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, which most excel in all the world. For in these three languages the charge against the Lord was written by Pilate upon the cross. Hence also, on account of the obscurity of the Holy Scriptures, a knowledge of these three languages is necessary, so that one may have recourse to another whenever the wording of one language has raised any doubt about a name or its interpretation. The Greek language is held to be more illustrious than the rest of the nations. For it is more sonorous than Latin and all languages: its variety is distinguished in five parts. The first of these is called Koine, that is, mixed or common, which all use. The second is Attic, that is, Athenian, which all the authors of Greece employed.
The third is Doric, which the Egyptians and Syrians have. The fourth is Ionic, the fifth Aeolic, which they said were spoken 'Aeolistically' (aiolisti). And there are in the observance of the Greek language such fixed distinctions of this kind; for their speech is thus divided up. Some have said that there are four Latin languages, that is, the Ancient (Prisca), the Latin, the Roman, and the Mixed. The Ancient is that which the most ancient inhabitants of Italy used under Janus and Saturn, unpolished, as the songs of the Salii show. The Latin is that which the Tuscans and the rest in Latium spoke under Latinus and the kings, in which the Twelve Tables were written.
The Roman is that which began after the kings were driven out by the Roman people, in which the poets Naevius, Plautus, Ennius, and Virgil, and among the orators Gracchus, Cato, Cicero and the rest poured forth their works. The Mixed is that which, after the empire had been extended more widely, burst into the Roman commonwealth together with foreign customs and men, corrupting the integrity of speech through solecisms and barbarisms. Now all the nations of the East press the tongue and words in the throat, like the Hebrews and Syrians. All the peoples of the middle lands strike their speech against the palate, like the Greeks and Asians. All the nations of the West break their words upon the teeth, like the Italians and Spaniards. The Syrian and the Chaldaean are near to the Hebrew in speech, agreeing in most of it and in the sound of the letters.
Some, however, think that this language itself is Chaldaean, because Abraham was of the Chaldaeans. But if this is accepted, how is it that in Daniel the Hebrew boys are ordered to be taught a language which they did not know? Now every man can master any language, whether Greek, or Latin, or that of the other nations, either by hearing it, or by receiving it in reading from a teacher. But although the knowledge of all languages is difficult for anyone, no one is so slothful that, placed among his own people, he does not know the language of his own people. For what else must such a man be thought but worse than the brute animals? For they at least express the cry of their own proper voice, while this man is worse, who lacks the knowledge of his own language.
In what kind of language God spoke at the beginning of the world, when he said, 'Let there be light,' it is difficult to discover. For as yet there were no languages. Likewise, in what language he afterward sounded to the outer ears of men, especially speaking to the first man, or to the prophets, or when the voice of God speaking bodily sounded forth, 'You are my beloved Son'—here it is believed by some that that language was one and the only one, which existed before there was diversity of languages. For among the diverse nations it is believed that God speaks to them in the same language which the men themselves use, so that he may be understood by them.
But God speaks to men not through his invisible substance, but through a bodily creature, through which he also willed to appear to men when he spoke. The Apostle also says (1 Corinthians 13,1): 'If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels.' Here it is asked in what language the angels speak; not that there are any languages of angels, but this is said by way of exaggeration. Likewise it is asked in what language men will speak in the future: this is nowhere found. For the Apostle says (1 Corinthians 13,8): 'Whether there be tongues, they shall cease.' Now we have placed the discussion of languages first, and then of nations, because from languages came nations, not from nations languages. II. ON THE NAMES OF THE NATIONS.
A nation (gens) is a multitude sprung from one origin, or distinguished from another people according to its own grouping, as those of Greece and of Asia. Hence too is 'gentility' (gentilitas) named. Now a nation is so called on account of the generations of families, that is, from begetting (gignendo), just as a people (natio) is from being born (nascendo). The nations by whom the earth was divided are fifteen from Japheth, thirty-one from Ham, twenty-seven from Shem, which make seventy-three, or rather, as reason declares, seventy-two; and as many languages, which began to exist throughout the lands, and which by increasing filled the provinces and islands. The five sons of Shem individually begot individual nations. Of these the first was Elam, from whom the Elamites, chiefs of Persia;
the second was Asshur, from whom the Assyrian empire sprang forth; the third Arphaxad, from whom the nation of the Chaldaeans arose; the fourth Lud, from whom the Lydians; the fifth Aram, from whom the Syrians, whose metropolis was Damascus. The sons of Aram, grandsons of Shem, were four: Uz and Ul and Gether and Mes. Uz was the founder of Trachonitis, who held the principality between Palestine and Coele-Syria, whence came Job, according to what is written (Job 1,1): 'There was a man in the land of Uz'; the second, Ul, from whom the Armenians; the third, Gether, from whom the Acarnanians or Carians; the fourth, Mes, from whom are those who are called Maeonians. The posterity of Arphaxad, son of Shem: Heber, grandson of Arphaxad, from whom the Hebrews; Joktan, son of Heber, from whom the nation of the Indians arose;
Shelah, son of Joktan, from whom the Bactrians, although others suppose them to be exiles of the Scythians. Ishmael, son of Abraham, from whom the Ishmaelites, who now by a corrupted name are called Saracens, as though from Sarah, and Agarenes from Hagar. Nebaioth, son of Ishmael, from whom the Nabataeans, who dwell from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. Moab and Ammon, sons of Lot, from whom the Moabites and Ammonites. Edom, son of Esau, from whom the Idumaeans. These are the nations that descend from the stock of Shem, possessing the southern land from the rising of the sun as far as the Phoenicians. The sons of Ham were four, from whom arose these nations: Cush, from whom the Ethiopians were begotten; Mizraim, from whom the Egyptians are said to have sprung; Put, from whom the Libyans.
Whence too a river of Mauretania is called Put down to the present, and all the region around it Puthensian. Canaan, from whom the Africans and Phoenicians and the ten nations of the Canaanites. Likewise, from the grandsons of Ham, the sons of Cush, grandsons of Ham, were six. The sons of Cush: Seba and Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca, Cuza. Seba, from whom were begotten and named the Sabaeans, of whom Virgil says (Georgics 2,117): 'The frankincense-bearing branch belongs to the Sabaeans alone.' These are also the Arabs. Havilah, from whom the Getuli, clinging to the desert in the part of more remote Africa. Sabtah, from whom the Sabatheni, who are now called Astabari. But Raamah and Sabteca and Cuza gradually lost their ancient names, and what they now have from the old ones is unknown. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.
This Sheba is written with the letter Sin in Hebrew; but that former Saba with Samech, from whom the Sabaeans were named. Now Saba is interpreted as Arabia. Dedan, from whom is a nation of Ethiopia in the western region. The sons of Mizraim: the Ludim, from whom the Libyans, who once were called Puthaeans. The Casluhim, from whom the Philistines, whom the ancients called Allophyloi, and we now by corruption call Palestinians. The other six nations are unknown, because, overthrown in the Ethiopian war, they came to the point of oblivion of their former names. The sons of Canaan were eleven, from whom the ten nations of the Canaanites, whose land, these being expelled, the Jews possessed. Of these the firstborn was Sidon, from whom the Sidonians. Whence too their city in Phoenicia is called Sidon.
The second was Heth, from whom the Hittites. The third was Jebus, from whom the Jebusites, to whom Jerusalem belonged. The fourth was the Amorite, from whom the Amorites. The fifth was the Girgashite, from whom the Girgashites. The sixth was the Hivite, from whom the Hivites. These are the Gabaonites, from the city of Gabaon, who came as suppliants to Joshua. The seventh was the Arkite, who founded Arca, a town situated opposite Tripolis at the roots of Lebanon. The eighth was the Sinite, from whom the Sinites. The ninth was Aradius, from whom are the Aradii, who possessed the island of Aradus, separated by a narrow strait from the Phoenician shore. The tenth was Samareus, from whom is the noble city of Syria which is called Coele. The eleventh was Amathaeus. These are the nations of the stock of Ham, who hold all the southern part from Sidon as far as the strait of Gades.
Likewise the tribes of the sons of Japheth. The sons of Japheth are named as seven: Gomer, from whom the Galatians, that is, the Gauls. Magog, from whom they suppose the Scythians and Goths drew their origin. Madai, from whom they think the Medes exist. Javan, from whom the Ionians, who are also the Greeks; whence also the Ionian Sea. Tubal, from whom the Iberians, who are also the Spaniards; although some suspect that the Italians too are from him. Meshech, from whom the Cappadocians; whence too a city among them is to this day called Mazaca. Tiras, from whom the Thracians; whose name is not much altered, as though 'Tiraces.' The sons of Gomer, grandsons of Japheth: Ashkenaz, from whom the Sarmatians, whom the Greeks call Rhegini. Riphath, from whom the Paphlagonians. Togarmah, from whom are the Phrygians.
The sons of Javan: Elishah, from whom the Greeks called Elisaei, who are called Aeolians. Whence too the fifth Greek language is called Aeolis. Tarshish, from whom the Cilicians, as Josephus thinks. Whence too their metropolis is called Tarsus. Kittim, from whom the Citii, that is, the Cyprians, from whom to this day the city is named Citium. Dodanim, from whom the Rhodians. These are the nations of the stock of Japheth, who possess from the Taurus mountain northward the middle part of Asia and all of Europe as far as the British Ocean, leaving their names to both places and peoples; of which many were afterward changed, while the rest remain as they were.
For the names of many nations have partly remained, so that even today it appears from what they were derived, as from Asshur the Assyrians, from Heber the Hebrews; but partly they have been so changed by the antiquity of time that scarcely can the most learned men, poring over the most ancient histories, find the origins not of all but of some of these nations. For as to the fact that from the son of Ham, who is called Mizraim, the Egyptians arose, no origin of the name resounds here, just as neither of the Ethiopians, who are said to pertain to that son of Ham who was called Cush. And if all things are considered, yet more names of nations appear changed than remaining; to which reason afterward gave diverse names.
For the Indians are named from the river Indus, which bounds them on the western side. The Seres obtained their name from their own town, a nation situated toward the East, among whom wool is woven from trees. Concerning them is that verse: 'The Seres, unknown by face, but known by their fleece.' The Gangaridae are peoples between the Assyrians and Indians, dwelling around the river Ganges. Whence also they were called Gangaridae. The Hyrcanians are named from the Hyrcanian forest, where there are very many tigers. The Bactrians were Scythians, who, driven from their seats by the faction of their own people, settled beside the eastern river Bactros, from whose name they also obtained their name. The king of this nation was Zoroaster, the inventor of the magic art. The Parthians too draw their origin from the Scythians.
For they were exiles of theirs, which is also made manifest by their name. For in the Scythian tongue exiles are called 'Parthi.' These, similarly to the Bactrians, driven from Scythia by domestic seditions, first stealthily occupied the wildernesses next to Hyrcania, then obtained a great part of the territories even by valor. The Assyrians are named from Asshur, son of Shem, a most powerful nation, which held all the region in the middle from the Euphrates as far as the boundaries of the Indians. The Medes are thought to be named after their own king. For Jason, brother of King Pelias, was driven from Thessaly by the sons of Pelias, together with his wife Medea;
whose stepson was Medus, king of the Athenians, who after the death of Jason subdued the region of the East, and there founded the city Media, and named the nation of the Medes after his own name. But we find in Genesis that Madai was the author of the nation of the Medes, from whom they were also named, as was said above. The Persians were named from King Perseus, who, crossing from Greece into Asia, there subdued the barbarian nations by a grievous and long war, and at last as victor gave his name to the subject nation. Now the Persians before Cyrus were ignoble, and were held of no account among the nations. The Medes were always most powerful. The Chasdai, who are now called Chaldaeans, were named after Chesed, son of Nachor, brother of Abraham.
示巴人（Sabaei）如此得名，源自 apo tou sebesthai，即懇求與崇敬之意，因為我們藉他們的乳香崇敬神性。他們也就是阿拉伯人，因為他們在阿拉伯的群山之中，即所謂黎巴嫩（Lebanon）與安提黎巴嫩（Antilebanon），乳香即在那裡採集。敘利亞人據說得名於蘇林（Surim），他是亞伯拉罕藉基土拉（Keturah）所生的孫子。古人所稱的亞述人（Assyrii），我們如今稱為敘利亞人（Syri），乃以部分稱呼全體。希伯來人得名於希伯（Heber），他是閃的曾孫。而以色列人則得名於以撒之子以色列（Israel）。因為以色列是希伯來人的先祖，猶太人的十二支派由他得了以色列之名。而十支派的分裂則把「猶太人」之名加於他們身上。因為在此之前，他們被稱為希伯來人或以色列人。
The Sabaeans are so called apo tou sebesthai, which is to supplicate and to venerate, because we venerate the divinity through their frankincense. These are also the Arabs, because they are in the mountains of Arabia which are called Lebanon and Antilebanon, where frankincense is gathered. The Syrians are said to be named from Surim, who was a grandson of Abraham by Keturah. Those whom the ancients called Assyrians we now call Syrians, naming the whole from a part. The Hebrews were named from Heber, who was the great-grandson of Shem. But the Israelites were named from Israel, son of Isaac. For Israel was the patriarch of the Hebrews, from whom the twelve tribes of the Jews obtained the name of Israel. But the schism of the ten tribes imposed the name upon the Jews. For before this they were called Hebrews or Israelites.
But from the time when the people of God was divided into two kingdoms, then the two tribes, which had their kings from the stock of Judah, obtained the name of the Jews. The remaining portion of ten tribes, which set up a king for itself in Samaria, retained on account of the greatness of the people the ancient name of Israel. The nation of the Samaritans took its beginning from the Assyrians, who, being transplanted, dwelt in Samaria; they are interpreted in Latin as 'guardians,' because, when Israel had been led into captivity, these men were settled in the land of their region as a garrison. Phoenix, the brother of Cadmus, having set out from the Egyptian Thebes into Syria, reigned at Sidon, and named those peoples Phoenicians after his own name, and called that province Phoenicia.
The Sidonians, however, are said to have derived their name from the city which is called Sidon. The Saracens are so called either because they claim to be born of Sarah, or, as the gentiles say, because they are of the origin of the Syrians, as it were 'Syriginae.' These inhabit a very extensive wilderness. They are also the Ishmaelites, as the book of Genesis teaches, because they are descended from Ishmael. They are also the Kedarites, from a son of Ishmael. They are also the Hagarenes, from Hagar; who, as we have said, are by a distorted name called Saracens, because they boast that they are born of Sarah. The Philistines are the same as the Palestinians, because the Hebrew tongue does not have the letter P, but instead of it uses the Greek Phi. Hence they are called Philistines instead of Palestinians, that is, from their own city.
The same are also called Allophyli, that is, foreigners, for this reason: because they were always enemies of Israel, and were far separated from their kindred and fellowship. The Canaanites were named from Canaan the son of Ham, whose land the Jews possessed. From his stock came Emor, the father of Shechem, from whom the Amorites are named. The Egyptians were called from a certain king Aegyptus. For before they were called Aerii. Now in the Hebrew tongue 'Egyptians' is interpreted as 'those who afflict,' because they afflicted the people of God before it was freed by divine aid. Armenius, from Thessaly, one of the number of the leaders of Jason who set out to the Colchians, having gathered together the multitude which, having lost their king Jason, wandered here and there, founded Armenia, and gave the nation a name from his own appellation.
There is a Persian frontier which divides the Scythians from them, surnamed 'Scytha'; and from this frontier the Scythians are held by some to have been named, a nation always reckoned most ancient. These founded the Parthians and Bactrians; their women, moreover, founded the kingdoms of the Amazons. The Massagetae are of Scythian origin. And they are called Massagetae as it were 'the heavy,' that is, the 'strong Getae.' For thus Livy calls silver 'heavy,' that is, in masses. These are they who dwell in the northern regions between the Scythians and the Albanians. The Amazons are so called either because they lived together without men, as it were 'AMA ZON,' or because their right breasts were burned off, lest the shooting of arrows be hindered, as it were 'ANEU MAZON.' For they laid bare the breast which they had cauterized. These Titianus calls 'the one-breasted.'
For this is Amazon, as it were 'ANEU MAZOU,' that is, 'without a breast.' These no longer exist, because they were partly destroyed by Hercules, partly by Achilles or Alexander even to utter extermination. In the regions of Asiatic Scythia the nations which believe themselves the descendants of Jason are born with white hair on account of the continual snows; and the very color of their hair gave the nation its name. And thence they are called Albani. The pupil of their eye is grey, that is, tinted, so that they see more by night than by day. The Albani, moreover, were neighbors of the Amazons. The Hugni, formerly called Huns, were at last named Avars after their own king; who at first dwelt in the farthest Maeotis between the icy Tanais and the monstrous peoples of the Massagetae.
Then, with swift horses, they burst forth from the crags of the Caucasus, while the barrier of Alexander held back the wild nations, and held the East captive for twenty years, and exacted an annual tribute from the Egyptians and the Ethiopians. The nation of the Trojans was formerly named Dardanian, from Dardanus. For Dardanus and Iasius were brothers who set out from Greece; of these Iasius came to Thrace, Dardanus to Phrygia, and there he was the first to reign. After him his son Ericthonius, then his grandson Tros, from whom they were named Trojans. The Galatians are known to be Gauls, who, summoned as auxiliaries by the king of Bithynia, divided the kingdom with him when victory was won; and so afterward, mingled with the Greeks, they were first called Gallo-Greeks, and now, from the ancient name of the Gauls, are named Galatians.
The Greeks were formerly called Thessalians from Thessalus, and afterward were named Greeks from king Graecus. For properly the Greeks are Thessalians. They say, moreover, that the Lapithae were a nation of Thessaly, once dwelling about the river Peneus, named from Lapitha the daughter of Apollo. The Sicyonians are called Greeks, from king Sicyon. These were first called Agialei, from king Agealeus, who first ruled over Sicyon; from whom also the city Agealea was named, which is now called Peloponnesus after its king Pelops. They are also the Arcadians, named from Arcas, the son of Jupiter and Callisto. The Danai were named from king Danaus. They are also the Argives, surnamed from Argus their founder.
After Apis, king of the Greeks, had died, his son Argus succeeded him in the kingdom, and from him they were called Argives; who also after his death began to be held by them as a god, honored with a temple and sacrifice. The Achaeans, who are also the Achivi, were named from Achaeus the son of Jupiter. The Pelasgians were so named because they seemed to have arrived in Italy in the spring season with sails spread out, like birds. For Varro records that they first landed in Italy. The Greeks, however, hold that the Pelasgians were named from the son of Jupiter and Larissa. The Myrmidons were the companions of Achilles; the Dolopes of Pyrrhus. The Myrmidons were so called on account of their cunning, as it were 'MURMEKES,' that is, ants. Eratosthenes, however, says that the Myrmidons were named from their leader Myrmidon, the son of Jupiter and Eurymedusa.
To Cecrops, king of the Athenians, succeeded Cranaus, whose daughter Atthis gave a name to both the region and the nation. And from her they were surnamed Attici, who are the Athenians. Ion, a brave man, from his own name called those same Athenians Ionians. The Macedonians were formerly named Emathii, from the name of king Emathion; afterward they were called Macedonians. The Epirotes, from Pyrrhus the son of Achilles, were first called Pyrrhidae, but afterward, from king Epirus, they ventured to cross over to Italy. Dorus was the son of Neptune and Ellepis, from whom the Dorians derive both their origin and their name. They are, moreover, a part of the Greek nation; from whom also the third language of the Greeks is named, which is called Doric. The Lacedaemonians were named from Lacedaemon the son of Semele.
These, long persevering in war against the Messenians, fearing lest by the long duration of the conflict they should lose the hope of offspring, ordered that their maidens should lie with the young men left at home; and thus, from the promiscuous coupling of the maidens, young men born of uncertain fathers were called Spartans from the mark of their mothers' shame. For those same are Spartans whom they also call Lacedaemonians. The Thracians are said to have both arisen from and been named after the son of Japheth who was called Thiras, as was said above; although the gentiles suppose them to be so named from their manners, because they are savage ('truces'). For they were the fiercest of all nations, whence also many fabulous things are recorded of them:
namely, that they used to sacrifice captives to their gods, and were accustomed to drink human blood from the bones of skulls. Concerning whom Virgil (Aeneid 3.44): 'Alas, flee the cruel lands, flee the greedy shore'; as though speaking of the cruel and greedy. The nation of the Istrians derives its origin from the Colchians, who, sent to pursue the Argonauts, when they entered the river Ister from the Pontus, were named from the appellation of the river by which they withdrew from the sea. The Romans were named from the name of Romulus, who founded the city of Rome and gave a name to both the nation and the city. These were formerly called Saturnii from Saturn, and Latini from Latinus. For Latinus was a king of Italy, who from his own name called them Latins, who were afterward named Romans.
這些人也被稱作奎里特人，因為羅慕路斯被稱作奎里努斯，因他總是使用長矛，那在薩賓語中稱作「curis」。伊塔路斯與薩比努斯與西卡努斯也是兄弟，那些民族與地區的名字由他們而來。因為照伊塔路斯，他們得號為義大利人，照薩比努斯得號為薩賓人，照西卡努斯得號為西卡尼人，他們也就是西庫利人，即西西里人。圖斯奇人是義大利的一個民族，得名於頻繁的祭祀與焚香，即「APO TOU THUSIAZEIN」。翁布里人是義大利的一個民族，卻是古高盧人的支裔，他們住在亞平寧山；史書記載說，因他們在一場水災之時倖存於暴雨，故照此在希臘文中被稱作「OMBRIOUS」。
These were also called Quirites, because Romulus was called Quirinus, since he always used a spear, which in the Sabine tongue is called 'curis.' Italus also and Sabinus and Sicanus were brothers, from whom names were imposed on the peoples and the regions. For from Italus they were surnamed Itali, from Sabinus Sabini, from Sicanus Sicani, who are also the Siculi, that is, the Sicilians. The Tusci are a nation of Italy, named from the frequency of sacrifices and of incense, that is, 'APO TOU THUSIAZEIN.' The Umbri are a nation of Italy, but an offshoot of the ancient Gauls, who inhabit the Apennine mountain; concerning whom the histories relate that, because they survived the rains at the time of a watery disaster, they were on this account named 'OMBRIOUS' in Greek.
The Marsi, a nation of Italy, were named from Marsyas, a companion of Liber, who showed them the use of the vine; and for this they made a statue of him, which the Romans afterward carried off when the Marsi were conquered. The Greeks, however, call the Marsi 'Osci,' as it were 'OTHSKOUS,' because they have many serpents, and 'OPHIS' means serpent. And they are unharmed by the sorceries of spells. They inhabit, moreover, the tract of the Apennine mountain together with the Umbri. [The historian Alexander says: 'Some say that the Volsci were named from Volscus, the son of Antiphates the Laestrygonian. Fabius also says that men who set out from Sicily were, by a corruption of the name, called Volsci.'] The Goths are thought to be named from Magog the son of Japheth, from the resemblance of the last syllable; whom the ancients called Getae rather than Goths;
a nation strong and most mighty, of tall bodily bulk, terrible in their kind of arms. Concerning whom Lucan (2.54): 'On this side let the Dacian press, on that let the Getan encounter the Iberians.' The Daci, moreover, were an offshoot of the Goths, and they think they are called Daci, as it were 'Dagi,' because they were begotten of the stock of the Goths. Concerning whom that poet (Paulinus to Nicetas 17): 'You will go far off, even to the northern Daci.' The Bessi were barbarians, who are believed to have been so named from the multitude of their oxen. Concerning whom a certain writer (Paulinus to Nicetas 243): 'He who dwells in the middle of the land, or that felt-capped dweller of the rich bank, wealthy in many an ox.' The Gepidae used foot-combat more than horse-combat, and were named for this reason. The Sarmatians, armed, used to ride over the open plains before Lentulus barred them at the Danube;
and thence, on account of their zeal for arms, they are thought to be named Sarmatians. The river Lanus is said to flow beyond the Danube, from which the Alani were named, just as also the peoples dwelling beside the river Lemannus are called Alemanni. Concerning whom Lucan (1.396): 'They abandoned their tents pitched at hollow Lemannus.' The Langobards are commonly said to be named from their long beard, never shorn. The river Vindilicus bursts forth from the farthest parts of Gaul, beside which river the Vandals are said to have dwelt and to have derived their name from it. The Germanic nations are so called because they are of huge bodies and huge nations, hardened by the most savage cold; who drew their manners from the very harshness of the sky, being of ferocious spirit and always untamed, living by plunder and hunting.
Of these there are very many nations, various in their arms, of diverse dress, discordant in their tongues, and uncertain in the origin of their names; such as the Tolosates, Amsivari, Quadi, Tungri, Marcomanni, Bructeri, Chamavi, Blangiani, Tubantes; whose barbaric savagery signifies a certain horror even in their very names. The Suevi were a part of the Germans at the extremity of the North. Concerning whom Lucan (2.51): 'From the farthest north he pours forth the yellow-haired Suevi.' Many have recorded that they had a hundred cantons and peoples. The Suevi, moreover, are thought to be named from Mount Suevus, which forms the beginning of Germany from the east, whose places they inhabited.
The Burgundians, once, when inner Germany had been subdued by the Romans, were stationed along the boundaries of the camps by Tiberius Caesar, and grew together into a great nation, and thus took their name from the places; for the numerous dwellings established along the boundaries are commonly called 'burgi.' These afterward, having become rebels against the Romans, more than eighty thousand armed men, settled on the bank of the river Rhine, and obtained the name of the nation. The nation of the Saxons, set on the shores of the Ocean and in impassable marshes, is capable in valor and agility. Whence also they were named, because it is a hard and most robust kind of men, and surpassing the rest in piracy. The Franks are thought to be named from a certain leader of their own. Others suppose them named from the ferocity of their manners.