XLI
Crebro per eos dies apud Domitianum absens accusatus, absens absolutus est. Causa periculi non crimen ullum aut querela laesi cuiusquam, (querela laesi cuiusquam: ‘the grievance of anyone injured’) sed infensus virtutibus princeps et gloria viri ac pessimum inimicorum genus, laudantes. Et (et: adds a subsequent event in narrative.) ea insecuta sunt rei publicae tempora, quae sileri Agricolam non sinerent: tot exercitus in Moesia Daciaque et Germania et Pannonia (Moesia Daciaque … et Pannonia: approximately today’s Bulgaria, Rumania, and Hungary) temeritate aut per ignaviam ducum amissi, tot militares viri cum tot cohortibus expugnati et capti; nec iam de limite imperii et ripa, sed de hibernis legionum et possessione dubitatum. Ita cum damna damnis continuarentur (cum damna damnis continuarentur: ‘when defeats were joined with defeats’; Tacitus alludes to the setbacks suffered by the Romans between 85 and 92 A.D. In 85 the Dacians, led by their last king Decebalus, invaded Moesia, and though they were later expelled, Roman losses were high. In 88 Antonius Saturninus, the governor of Upper Germany, rebelled against Rome and in the same year Domitian was defeated by two Germanic tribes, the Quadi and the Marcomanni. In 92 the Sarmates from Iran invaded Pannonia and wiped out an entire legion.) atque omnis annus funeribus et cladibus insigniretur, poscebatur ore vulgi dux Agricola, comparantibus cunctis (comparantibus cunctis: abl. abs., ‘all comparing’) vigorem, constantiam et expertum bellis animum cum inertia et formidine aliorum. Quibus sermonibus satis constat Domitiani (constat Domitiani … aures verberatas [esse]: ‘it is certain that Domitian’s ears were assailed by …’) quoque auris verberatas, dum optimus quisque libertorum (optimus quisque libertorum: ‘all the best among the freedmen’; cf. note for celeberrimus quisque in ch. 1.) amore et fide, pessimi malignitate et livore pronum deterioribus principem extimulabant. (dum …extimulabant: dum = ‘while’ is rarely found followed by any other tense than the present indiative; cf. A.G. 556, a) Sic Agricola simul suis virtutibus, simul vitiis aliorum in ipsam gloriam (ipsam gloriam: i.e. the very same notoriety he wanted to avoid) praeceps agebatur.