VII.
Et postguam adnuit, agere incipiunt: (postguam adnuit, agere incipiunt: ‘when [Claudius] nodded assent, they set about [to justify themselves].’ temporal postquam takes perfect indicative to indicate action immediately preceding that of the main verb; incipiunt introduces indirect discourse and remains the main verb for most of the chapter, down to ut minus decora haec; as historical present, it takes here the primary sequence of tenses, though it can often be found with the secondary sequence (cf. A.G. 485, e.).) quem illum tanta superbia esse ut aeternitatem famae spe praesumat? (quem illum tanta superbia esse ut aeternitatem famae spe praesumat?: ‘who, [they said], would be the man (illum) of such arrogance as to presume in his hopes an eternity of fame?’ consecutive sentence in the form of an indirect question, tanta and ut introducing the main and dependent clause respectively, the first infinitive in indirect discourse, the second with subjunctive.) usui et rebus subsidium praeparari ne quis inopia advocatorum potentibus obnoxius sit. (usui et rebus subsidium praeparari ne quis inopia advocatorum potentibus obnoxius sit: ‘that [eloquence] was required for the needs and as a safeguard in life (rebus subsidium), to ensure that no one become subservient to the powerful for lack of legal assistance’; ne quis … sit: negative purpose clause; quis is in place of aliquis after ne and after ut below; potentibus is dat. with obnoxius.) neque tamen eloquentiam gratuito contingere: omitti curas familiaris ut quis se alienis negotiis intendat. (neque tamen eloquentiam gratuito contingere: omitti curas familiaris ut quis se alienis negotiis intendat: ‘that eloquence, however, was not obtained for nothing: personal business was neglected for anyone to devote himself (ut … se intendat) to the business of others. gratuito is adverb; alienis negotiis is dat. with intendat.) multos militia, quosdam exercendo agros tolerare vitam: nihil a quoquam expeti nisi cuius fructus ante providerit. (nihil a quoquam expeti nisi cuius fructus ante providerit: negative conditional sentence in oratio obliqua: ‘that no labor is taken on by anyone without calculating beforehand its (eius) rewards’; nisi … ante providerit: ‘if he has not discerned in advance the profit’; perfect subjunctive for unreal condition in the past.) facile Asinium et Messalam, inter Antonium et Augustum bellorum praemiis refertos, aut ditium familiarum heredes Aeserninos et Arruntios magnum animum induisse. (facile Asinium et Messalam, inter Antonium et Augustum bellorum praemiis refertos, aut ditium familiarum heredes Aeserninos et Arruntios magnum animum induisse: lit. ‘[it was] an easy thing that Asinius and Messala, loaded with the gains of the wars between Antony and Augustus, or that the Aesertini and the Arruntii, inheritors of family riches had adopted a magnanimous attitude’; the infinitive magnum animum induisse is subject in the clause with facile and retains some of the original dative (final) nature of the infinitive (implicit even in English every time the preposition ‘to’ is placed before the infinitive form, as in ‘to say’, ‘to do’, ‘to love’, etc.). Thus, a more accurate meaning here is ‘for Asinius and Messala or the Aesernini and the Arruntii to have assumed a lofty stance was an easy thing’; Many such constructions exist (Ernout), all poetic and later Latin. Cf. G. 421 and Note 1, c. The plurals Aeserninos and Arruntios are for rhetorical effect.) prompta sibi exempla, quantis mercedibus P. Clodius aut C. Curio contionari soliti sint. (prompta sibi exempla, quantis mercedibus P. Clodius aut C. Curio contionari soliti sint: ‘[they said] they also had good precedents [from the past]: Publius Clodius or Gaius Curio for what astronomical fees were they wont to perorate!’ Clodius and Curio were both notorious in the final years of the republic. Clodius was the sworn enemy of Cicero and was killed in a clash with Milo, a rival political agitator; Curio was a tribune in the pay of Julius Caesar. quantis mercedibus … contionari soliti sint: exclamatory indirect question normally with indicative, except in oratio obliqua; see A.G. 462, a.) se modicos senatores qui quieta re publica nulla nisi pacis emolumenta peterent. (se modicos senatores qui quieta re publica nulla nisi pacis emolumenta peterent: ‘that they themselves were senators of limited means, who in in a state at peace sought none but the benefits of peace’; nulla nisi, i.e., nihil aliud nisi, ‘nothing else but …’) cogitaret plebem quae toga enitesceret: sublatis studiorum pretiis etiam studia peritura. (cogitaret plebem quae toga enitesceret: sublatis studiorum pretiis etiam studia peritura: ’that he should consider the plebeians, who could gain renown [only] by their profession as lawyers: the rewards of their profession being removed, even the profession was going to disappear’; cogitaret is hortatory subjunctive; quae toga enitesceret: subjunctive for rel. clause in indirect discourse; toga is the use of the lawyer’s gown to signify the profession, the part for the whole (metonymy). sublatis … pretiis is abl. abs.) ut minus decora haec, ita haud frustra dicta princeps ratus, (ut minus decora haec [essent], ita haud frustra dicta [esse] princeps ratus: ‘the prince reflected that, just as these arguments were less noble, so also they were not said without reason or purpose.’ ratus introduces a comparative sentence, with the correlatives ut … ita, in indirect discourse.) capiendis pecuniis posuit modum usque ad dena sestertia quem egressi repetundarum tenerentur. (capiendis pecuniis posuit modum usque ad dena sestertia quem egressi repetundarum tenerentur: ‘he set a limit up to ten thousand sesterces; those exceeding this limit (quem [modum]) would be held guilty of extorsion. repetundarum tenerentur: is short for lege repetundarum teneri, ‘to be held liable under the law of extorsion’. See note for lege repetundarum in ch. 6. tenerentur is potential subjunctive, ‘they might be held’. dena sestertia: the neuter sestertium means one thousand sesterces, so dena sestertia is ten x 1,000 sesterces, where dena is distributive adj. meaning ten times.)