XXII.
Interea Romae, nullis palam neque cognitis mox causis, Cn. Nonius eques Romanus (Cn. Nonius eques Romanus: nothing else is known of this knight.) ferro accinctus reperitur in coetu salutantum principem. nam postquam tormentis dilaniabatur, de se non infitiatus conscios non edidit, incertum an occultans. (postquam tormentis dilaniabatur, de se non infitiatus conscios non edidit, incertum an occultans: ‘when he was harrowed by torture, he confessed about himself (de se), his accomplices he did not reveal, perhaps having no secret [to reveal].’ For incertum an see note for quae nimia et incertum an … in ch. 18; postquamm does not always indicate an action subsequent to that of the main verb; sometimes the two actions may be concurrent, as the case may be with cum.) Isdem consulibus P. Dolabella (P. Dolabella: a notorious flunkey, Publius Dolabella was mentioned in Book 3, ch. 47 and 69, Book 6, ch. 23 and 66.) censuit spectaculum gladiatorum per omnis annos celebrandum pecunia eorum qui quaesturam adipiscerentur. (qui quaesturam adipiscerentur: subjunctive in relative clause in oratio obliqua after censuit.) apud maiores virtutis id praemium fuerat, cunctisque civium, si bonis artibus fiderent, licitum petere magistratus; (cunctisque civium, si bonis artibus fiderent, licitum petere magistratus: ‘it was lawful for all citizens, if they trusted their abilities, to seek office.’ cunctis is dative with licet and bonis artibus with fido; si … fiderent: subjunctive for potential (type II) condition; civium is partitive gen. after certain adjectives indicating quantity, as multi, pauci, cuncti, etc.) ac ne aetas quidem distinguebatur quin prima iuventa consulatum et dictaturas inirent. (ne aetas quidem distinguebatur quin prima iuventa consulatum et dictaturas inirent: ‘not even age kept men in early youth from achieving the consulate and the dictatorship.’ The statement is true for the early years of the Republic. Later the minimum age of questors was set at twenty-five. ne … distinguebatur quin prima iuventa … inirent: a consecutive clause with quin + subjunctive follows a negative main clause implying impediment, resistance, or refusal; cf. G. 556; inirent is plural with the collective noun iuventa.) sed quaestores regibus etiam tum imperantibus instituti sunt, quod lex curiata ostendit ab L. Bruto repetita. (quaestores regibus etiam tum imperantibus instituti sunt, quod lex curiata ostendit ab L. Bruto repetita: ‘even at the time the kings reigned were quaestors created, something that (quod) the lex curiata adopted by Lucius Brutus clearly shows.’ Lucius Brutus, after driving the last king from Rome, passed the Lex curiata de Imperio (i.e., approved by the comitia curiata or assembly of the people divided into curiae), modeled on the law of the kings) mansitque consulibus potestas deligendi, donec cum quoque honorem populus mandaret. (mansitque consulibus potestas deligendi, donec cum quoque honorem populus mandaret: ‘the power of selecting [them] remained with the consuls, until the people granted that honor together with the rest.’ potestas diligendi: objective genitive gerund after a noun; donec … mandaret: donec, ‘until’, takes subjunctive to imply intention or expectancy. See also donec … venundaretur below.) creatique primum Valerius Potitus et Aemilius Mamercus sexagesimo tertio anno post Tarquinios exactos, ut rem militarem comitarentur. (creati primum … ut rem militarem comitarentur: ‘they were initially created to be with the army.’ ut rem militarem comitarentur: lit. ‘to accompany the armies’; freely ‘to be in charge of the financial aspects of army operations’) dein gliscentibus negotiis duo additi qui Romae curarent: mox duplicatus numerus, stipendiaria iam Italia et accedentibus provinciarum vectigalibus: (dein gliscentibus negotiis duo additi qui Romae curarent: mox duplicatus numerus, stipendiaria iam Italia et accedentibus provinciarum vectigalibus: ‘later, as administrative tasks multiplied, two were added to take on duties in the cities; soon their number doubled, Italy being subject to tax and the tributes of the provinces adding themselves [to that].’ gliscentibus negotiis and stipendiaria iam Italia et accedentibus provinciarum vectigalibus are ablatives abs. qui Romae curarent: subjunctive in relative clause of final sense; Romae is locative.) post lege Sullae viginti creati supplendo senatui, cui indicia tradiderat. (post lege Sullae viginti creati supplendo senatui, cui iudicia tradiderat: ‘subsequently, by a law of Sulla, twenty were created to supplement the senate, to which he had transferred the criminal cases.’ Lucius Cornelius Sulla was the first Roman to seize power by force. He became dictator in 82 B.C. post is here adverb; supplendo senatui: dat. gerundive of purpose, lit. ‘for the senate to be added to’ ) et quamquam equites iudicia reciperavissent, quaestura tamen ex dignitate candidatorum aut facilitate tribuentium gratuito concedebatur, (quamquam equites iudicia reciperavissent, quaestura tamen ex dignitate candidatorum aut facilitate tribuentium gratuito concedebatur: ‘though the equestrian class had [later] recovered these judicial functions, the quaestorship was still granted for free according to the merits of the candidates and the approval of the electors.’ tribuentium: of those granting their approval; quamquam reciperavissent: quamquam was regularly constructed with the indicative, but by Tacitus’ time the subjunctive was preferred, possibly by analogy with quamvis.) donec sententia Dolabellae velut venundaretur. (donec sententia Dolabellae velut venundaretur: ‘until by Dolabella’s initiative [the quaestorship] was practically (velut) offered for sale to the highest bidder.’ The point in the passage is that, although the increased number of senators was no longer required after the transfer of judicial powers to the knights, no attempt was made to reduce the number of quaestors, until Dolabella placed a price to be paid in order to qualify for the quaestorship. donec … venundaretur: like quamquam above, donec was current with the indicative, until Livy and Tacitus, who preferred the subjunctive. Cf. also donec … mandaret above.)