XXXIII.
Trepidabatur nihilo minus a Caesare: quippe Getae praetorii praefecto haud satis fidebant, ad honesta seu prava iuxta levi. (trepidabatur nihilo minus a Caesare: quippe Getae praetorii praefecto haud satis fidebant, ad honesta seu prava iuxta levi: lit. ‘it was feared just the same by Caesar, since no trust was placed in the head of the praetorians, Lusius Geta, just as likely to side with justice as with iniquity.’ trepidatur is impersonal use of the passive; nihilo minus or nihilominus is adverb modifying trepidatur. a Caesare: i.e., from the imperial side, as indicated by the plural fidebant. ad honesta seu prava iuxta levi: ‘equally (iuxta) indifferent to moral or criminal impulses’; levi agrees with the dative praefecto, itself dat. with fidebant,) ergo Narcissus, adsumptis quibus idem metus, (adsumptis quibus idem metus: brachylogy for adsumptis [eis] quibus idem metus [erat]: lit. ‘those who had the same fears having being taken as allies, [Narcissus] … ’; adsumptis [eis] is abl abs., followed by rel. clause, and quibus id dat. of possessor with an implied erat.) non aliam spem incolumitatis Caesaris adfirmat quam si ius militum uno illo die in aliquem libertorum transferret, seque offert suscepturum. (non aliam spem incolumitatis Caesaris adfirmat quam si ius militum uno illo die in aliquem libertorum transferret, seque offert suscepturum: ‘[Narcissus] contended there was no hope of the emperor’s safety other than if the command of the troops, even for just that day, was transferred to any one of the freedmen, and offered that he (se) should assume [that task].’ quam si … transferret: quam si is conditional conjunction of comparison, like quasi, tamquam si, ut or velut si, usually with subjunctive; quam si is found in Tacitus only twice. See L. 2117. suscepturum [esse]: use of the active periphrasis to indicate both imminence and intention. illo is emphatic; affirmat is historical present, not the only one in the chapter.) ac ne, dum in urbem vehitur, ad paenitentiam a L. Vitellio et Largo Caecina mutaretur, in eodem gestamine sedem poscit adsumiturque. (ac ne, dum in urbem vehitur, ad paenitentiam a L. Vitellio et Largo Caecina mutaretur, in eodem gestamine sedem poscit adsumiturque: ‘and while they were conveyed to Rome, to prevent that [Claudius] be swayed to a change of mind by Lucius Vitellius and Largus Caecina, he asked and obtained a seat in the same vehicle.’ vehitur is impersonal use of the passive, ‘it was conveyed’; dum … vehitur: dum, ‘while’, is regularly with present indicative, most often even in indirect discourse; ne … mutaretur is neg. purpose clause. Lucius Vitellius was first mentioned in Book 6, ch. 28, as the consul (for the third time) of the year 34 A.D. Largus Caecina had been consul with Claudius in 42 A.D.)