XLVII.
Immotum adversus eos sermones fixumque Tiberio fuit non omittere caput rerum neque se remque publicam in casum dare. (in casum dare: ‘to expose to danger’) multa quippe et diversa angebant: validior per Germaniam exercitus, propior apud Pannoniam; (per Germaniam … apud Pannoniam: essentially substitutes for in + abl.) ille Galliarum opibus subnixus, hic Italiae inminens: quos igitur anteferret? (quos igitur anteferret?: deliberative subjunctive whereby the subject addresses a question to himself; anteferret is from anteferam of direct speech; quos is for utros, ‘which of the two?’) ac ne postpositi contumelia incenderentur. (ne postpositi contumelia incenderentur: the negative purpose clause is dependent on angebat: ‘[he was distressed] lest those given second place might be incensed by the slight.’) at per filios pariter adiri maiestate salva, cui maior e longinquo reverentia. (at per filios pariter adiri maiestate salva, cui maior e longinquo reverentia [esse]: the implied subjects of adiri are the army of Germany and that of Pannonia: ‘but now [both] were equally visited by his sons, his prestige as emperor being safe, which had more respect from being remote.’ maiestate salva is abl. abs. governing a rel. clause; cui, whose antecedent is maiestate, is dative of possessor with implied esse. e longinquo is abl. of place from which, ‘from a distance’; longinquo is abl. of longinquum used as a noun.) simul adulescentibus excusatum quaedam ad patrem reicere, (adulescentibus excusatum quaedam ad patrem reicere: excusatum is here adjective, a meaning the perf. participle acquired in post-classical times: ‘that it was excusable for young men to refer certain matters to the father.’) resistentisque Germanico aut Druso posse a se mitigari vel infringi: quod aliud subsidium si imperatorem sprevissent? (quod aliud subsidium si imperatorem sprevissent?: example of a conditional sentence in indirect discourse with apodosis in question form: the verb of the protasis is generally imperfect or pluperfect subjunctive, regardless of the type of conditional sentence (L. 2326 – 2329); in this case, if the verb of he apodosis were expressed, it would be infinitive, since the question is rhetorical.) ceterum ut iam iamque iturus legit (ceterum ut iam iamque iturus legit …: ut alone is found in conditional comparisons without finite verb, meaning ‘as though’; followed by future participle it expresses intention not carried out (Oxford Lat. dict.): ‘yet, as though on the point of leaving., he picked …’; ceterum has here the adversative value of ‘but, yet, nevertheless’; iam iamque: ‘at any time now’) comites, conquisivit impedimenta, adornavit navis: mox hiemem aut negotia varie causatus (mox hiemem aut negotia varie causatus: ‘then having pleaded the winter or business matters as an excuse, he …’; causor being deponent, its perf. participle has active and transitive force.) primo prudentis, dein vulgum, diutissime provincias fefellit.