IV.
Igitur verso civitatis statu nihil usquam prisci et integri moris: (nihil usquam prisci et integri moris: ‘nothing anywhere of the good old system’) omnes exuta aequalitate (exuta aequalitate: abl. abs., ‘equality having been discarded’) iussa principis aspectare, nulla in praesens formidine, dum Augustus aetate validus seque et domum in pacem sustentavit. (dum … sustentavit: dum, with the sense of ‘as long as’, is found with a past tense to underline the time by contrast; cf. A.G. 555, 556 a.) postquam provecta iam senectus aegro et corpore fatigabatur, aderatque finis et spes novae, pauci bona libertatis in cassum (in cassum: or incassum, ‘idly’, ‘futilely’) disserere, plures bellum pavescere, alii cupere. pars multo maxima (pars multo maxima: ‘the largest part by far’) inminentis dominos variis rumoribus differebant: trucem Agrippam et (Agrippam et: for Agrippa Postumus see note in previous chapter; et is for etiam.) ignominia accensum non aetate neque rerum experientia tantae moli parem, Tiberium Neronem maturum annis, (maturum annis: he was then 56 years old.) spectatum bello, (spectatum bello: ‘distinguished in war’) set vetere atque insita Claudiae familiae superbia, multaque indicia saevitiae, quamquam premantur, (quamquam premantur: for use of subjunctive after quamquam see note in previous chapter. The clause is in indirect discourse after differebant and continues to be to the end of the chapter; the present subjunctive premantur is in place of premerentur, as required after a hist. main verb, a case of repraesentatio (cf. B. 318, G. 654, Note, A.G. 585, b., Note.) to add immediacy to the narrative. Other examples of repraesentatio are premant and distrahant at the close of the chapter and egerit below, in place of egisset.) erumpere. hunc et prima ab infantia eductum in domo regnatrice; (in domo regnatrice: regnatrice is a new word in Tacitus, expressive of the author’s irritation at seeing Rome transformed into a monarchy with a royal palace and all.) congestos iuveni consulatus, (congestos [esse] iuveni consulatus: iuveni is dat. with the verb congero: ‘consulates had been heaped on the young man’; the clause is infinitive in indirect discourse.) triumphos; ne iis quidem annis, quibus Rhodi specie secessus exul egerit, (quibus Rhodi specie secessus exul egerit: ‘[in the years] in which he had spent his time at Rhodes as an exile, under the pretense of retirement’; Rhodes is a Greek island in the SE Aegean, off the SW coast of Turkey. Tiberius had decided to retire there in the wake of scandals caused by his adulterous wife Julia, Augustus’ daughter, but was not allowed to return until 2 A.D., after 8 years of absence.) aliud quam iram et simulationem et secretas lubidines meditatum. (ne … aliud quam iram … meditatum [esse]: ‘that he had brooded over nothing else, except his desire for revenge, …’; the comparative quam may be found after alius in a negative clause in place of nisi (Ernout).) accedere (accedere: impersonal use, corresponds to accedit in direct discourse, ‘it is to be added that …’) matrem muliebri inpotentia: serviendum feminae duobusque insuper adulescentibus, (serviendum [esse] feminae duobusque insuper adulescentibus: the passive periphrastic conjugation can be used impersonally to express necessity, duty, obligation: ‘that it was going to be necessary to be subjects to a woman, and to two youngsters besides’; the two youngsters are Drusus, Tiberius’ son, and Germanicus, the son of Drusus senior. feminae …adulescentibus: the verb servire is normally with dative.) qui rem publicam interim premant, quandoque distrahant. (qui rem publicam interim premant, quandoque distrahant: ‘who would oppress the state and eventually tear it asunder it’; premant and distrahant, subjunctives in relative clause in indirect speech, correspond to the simple future of direct speech. quando is not subordinating conjunction, but indefinite adverb: ‘at some time or other’.)