V. 7
Tunc singulos, ut cuique adsistere, adloqui animus erat, retinens aut dimittens partem diei absumpsit, (tunc singulos, ut cuique adsistere, adloqui animus erat, retinens aut dimittens partem diei absumpsit: lit. ‘he then passed part of the day entertaining visitors one by one or taking leave of them, according as the desire of each was.’ ut cuique … animus erat: in the context ut is adverb of manner; cuique is dat. of possessor with erat: ‘in the measure that each had a mind [to stay or to leave]’) multoque adhuc coetu et cunctis intrepidum vultum eius spectantibus, (multoque adhuc coetu et cunctis intrepidum vultum eius spectantibus: abl. abs.: ‘the gathering being still numerous and everyone watching his intrepid face’) cum superesse tempus novissimis crederent, gladio quem sinu abdiderat incubuit. (cum superesse tempus novissimis crederent, gladio quem sinu abdiderat incubuit: ‘while [the guests] thought that much time remained for the final act, he fell upon a sword he had kept hidden in his bosom.’ cum …crederent: historical cum (so called because it usually occurs in narratives) is followed by imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive to express the temporal relation between the subordinate and the main action, in the sense that the first immediately precedes, accompanies, or even occasions the second; novissimis: used as a noun, novissimum refers to the terminal point of something and novissimis is plur. dat. of the thing for which. Tacitus prefers using neuter plurals of adjectives as being more poetic (cf. multa foedaque below); gladio is dat. with intransitive incubuit: sinu: here sinus, ‘the breast’, is metonymy for the fold in the toga that covers the breast.) neque Caesar ullis criminibus aut probris defunctum insectatus est, cum in Blaesum multa foedaque incusavisset. (cum in Blaesum multa foedaque incusavisset: ‘whereas he had flung many savage accusations at Blaesus’; Quintus Junius Blaesus was Sejanus’ uncle and one of the first to fall in the reign of terror after Sejanus’ death; he is mentioned in Book 1, ch. 16, in Book 3, ch. 35 and 73-74. cum …incusavisset: cum followed by plup. subjunctive can be either temporal (i.e. historical), concessive, or causal, depending on shade of meaning. Here it appears to be mainly temporal, thus usage is the same as in previous cum …crederent, but concession or cause are not far removed.)