IX.
Multus hinc ipso de Augusto sermo, plerisque vana mirantibus, quod idem dies accepti quondam imperii princeps et vitae supremus, (idem dies accepti quondam imperii princeps et vitae supremus: lit. ‘same the first day of the formerly accepted power and the last of his life’: he had obtained the first consulate on the 19th of August of 43 B.C. and died on the same date in 14 A.D.) quod (plerisque vana mirantibus, quod … quod …: abl. abs. governing two quod object clauses: ‘many admiring trivial things, the fact that …, and the fact that …’. Cf. G. 525.) Nolae in domo et cubiculo in quo pater eius Octavius vitam finivisset. numerus etiam consulatuum celebrabatur, quo Valerium Corvum et C. Marium (Valerium Corvum et C. Marium: V. Corvus was a famous military and political man, who lived to be one hundred. Once he killed a gigantic Gaul in single combat, being aided by a raven which flew into his opponent’s face, hence the name Corvus = ‘raven’. He was elected consul six times. Gaius Marius was a capable general and statesman during the troubled period of the late republic. He was seven times consul.) simul aequaverat, continuata per septem et triginta annos tribunicia potestas, nomen imperatoris semel atque viciens partum (nomen imperatoris semel atque viciens partum: ‘the title of imperator obtained twenty-one times’. Most of the victories were by his generals. semel atque viciens is adverb, lit. ‘once and twenty times’: see note for populo et plebi quadringentiens triciens quinquiens [dedit] in previous chapter.) aliaque honorum (alia honorum: partitive genitive after the neuter plural alia.) mutiplicata aut nova. at (at: marks the change from the idle gossip of the populace to the reflections of the more perceptive citizens.) apud prudentes vita eius varie extollebatur arguebaturve. hi (hi [affirmavant]: the implied verb of saying introduces oratio obliqua, which extends to the rest of the chapter: from this point on main clauses are infinitive and dependent clauses subjunctive.) pietate erga parentem et necessitudine rei publicae, (pietate erga parentem et necessitudine rei publicae: ‘because of the duty towards his adoptive father and the necessities of the state … ’) in qua nullus tunc legibus locus ad arma civilia actum, quae neque parari possent neque haberi per bonas artes. multa Antonio, dum interfectores patris ulcisceretur, multa Lepido concessisse. (dum interfectores patris ulcisceretur, multa … concessisse: ‘provided he took vengeance on his father’s murderers, he had made many concessions to …’. Perhaps the most notorious concession, made by Augustus (then Octavian) to Antony, was the inclusion of Cicero in the proscription lists, something he was bitterly opposed to. dum here is most likely with the qualifying sense of ‘provided that …’, although a temporal meaning cannot be excluded; cf. A.G. 528 and 553.) postquam hic socordia senuerit, ille per libidines pessum datus sit, (postquam hic socordia senuerit, ille per libidines pessum datus sit: a clause with postquam becomes subjunctive in oratio obliqua: ‘after Lepidus had ensconced himself in senile idleness and Antony was overmastered by lust …’. pessum datus sit: often as one word, pessumdare, ‘bought to ruin’ (by his passion for Cleopatra). The acc. pessum is probably adverbial, ‘to the lowest part’, ‘to destruction’; the perfect subjunctive senuerit and pessum sit are in place of the imperfect, required in oratio obliqua after a hist. verb of saying, an example of repraesentatio; cf. B. 318 and A.G. 585, b.) non aliud discordantis patriae remedium fuisse quam [ut] ab uno regeretur. (non aliud … remedium fuisse quam [ut] ab uno regeretur: a type of sentence that expresses disproportion, normally with quam + subjunctive preceded by a comparative, here replaced by aliud (instead of something like melius); the ut is frequently omitted after quam; cf. G. 298: ‘there had been no other remedy than to be governed by one man only’.) non regno tamen neque dictatura, sed principis nomine constitutam rem publicam; mari Oceano aut amnibus longinquis saeptum imperium; (mari Oceano aut amnibus … saeptum imperium: ‘ that the empire was protected by the ocean or by rivers’. Oceano is adjective modifying mari; the rivers are the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates, all extensive natural boundaries.) legiones, provincias, classes, cuncta inter se conexa; ius apud cives, modestiam apud socios; urbem ipsam magnificio ornatu; (urbem ipsam magnificio ornatu: Suetonius reports that Augustus boasted he had found Rome a city of bricks and was leaving it a city of marble.) pauca admodum vi tractata quo ceteris quies esset. (quo ceteris quies esset: a case of quo introducing a final clause in the absence of a comparative. The clause is similar to ut sepultura eius quieta foret at the end of the preceding chapter, but ut is replaced by quo, quieta by quies, and foret by esset, in an effort to avoid repetition, which Tacitus abhors as much as verbosity.)