XLIII
Finis vitae eius nobis luctuosus, amicis tristis, extraneis etiam ignotisque non sine cura fuit. vulgus quoque et hic aliud agens populus (hic aliud agens populus: ‘this people of Rome minding something other [than its own business]; aliud or aliam rem agere: idiom) et ventitavere ad domum et (et …et: cf. note ch. 30.) per fora et circulos locuti sunt; nec quisquam audita morte Agricolae aut laetatus est aut statim oblitus. Augebat miserationem constans rumor veneno interceptum: (veneno interceptum [esse]: ‘ that he was removed by poison’) nobis nihil comperti, adfirmare ausim. (nobis nihil comperti [esse], [ut] adfirmare ausim: the idiom is compertum habere or compertum alicui esse, ‘to know for sure’; comperti is part. gen. after nihil, ‘nothing of reliable information’; cf. nihil publicae rei in ch. 19; ausim is for ausus sim, potential perf. subjunctive; cf. nec inglorium fuerit, ch. 33.) Ceterum (ceterum: cf. note in ch. 11.) per omnem valetudinem eius crebrius quam ex more principatus per nuntios visentis (crebius quam ex more principatus per nuntios visentis: ‘more frequently than from the habit of a prince making visits through messengers’) et libertorum primi et medicorum intimi venere, sive cura illud sive inquisitio erat. Supremo quidem die momenta ipsa deficientis per dispositos cursores nuntiata constabat, nullo credente sic adcelerari quae tristis audiret. (nullo credente sic [ea] adcelerari quae tristis audiret: abl. abs., ‘no one believing that these tidings were so eagerly awaited in order for him to be sad on hearing them’; quae tristis audiret replaces a final clause with ut) Speciem tamen doloris animi vultu prae se tulit, (speciem …doloris animi vultuque prae se tulit: prae se ferre = ‘to display in one’s countenance’; lit. ‘he displayed in his face the semblance of ache of heart.’) securus iam odii (securus …odii: securus is found with gen. in Tacitus, ‘safe from his resentment’, ‘not afraid of his rancour’) et qui facilius dissimularet (et qui facilius dissimularet: qui has here the sense of ‘such a man that’, which makes for a rel. clause of consecutive import.) gaudium quam metum. Satis constabat lecto testamento Agricolae, quo coheredem (coheredem: followed by dative) optimae uxori et piissimae filiae Domitianum scripsit, laetatum eum velut honore iudicioque. (laetatum eum [esse] velut honore iudicioque: ‘that he had been very pleased as if with an honour or a reward’) Tam caeca et corrupta mens adsiduis adulationibus erat, ut nesciret (tam caeca … mens …, ut nesciret: consecutive sense: ‘so blind was his mind that he did not realize …’) a bono patre non scribi heredem nisi malum principem.