English: “As the eagle swoops” — with speed and force, and whose language is unrecognized.
In context: The combination of physical swiftness (eagle) and linguistic barrier heightens the sense of helplessness that accompanies the later stages of the Tochacha. The invader arrives suddenly and cannot even be reasoned with.
Type of Learning
Custom (descriptive expansion of the eagle image and foreign language).
What Is Learned
The nation from the end of the earth arrives with eagle-speed and speaks a language the people cannot understand — a total rupture of communication and defense.