XXXV.
Res eo anno prolatas haud referrem, ni pretium foret (res eo anno prolatas haud referrem, ni pretium foret …: ‘I would not mention the deferment of senate business in that year, were it not worthwhile to …’; the senate met twice a month (except for Sept. and Oct.), on the kalends and the ides, i.e. in the beginning and in the middle of the month. The question here is whether or not the senate should take its vacation during Tiberius’ absence. haud referrem, ni …foret: conditional sentence contrary to fact (type III) with imperfect subjunctive in both apodosis and protasis for hypothesis referring to the present; cf. G. 597.) Cn. Pisonis et Asinii Galli (Cn. Pisonis et Asinii Galli: for Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso see Book 1, ch. 13, 74, and 79: much more will be said of this man later in Book 2 , from ch. 43 on. For Asinius Gallus see mainly Book 1, ch. 12.) super eo negotio (super eo negotio: ‘about that matter’; super, as preposition, requires abl. when the meaning is ‘about’, ‘concerning’.) diversas sententias noscere. Piso, quamquam afuturum se dixerat Caesar, (quamquam afuturum se dixerat Caesar: a fairly rare case of quamquam followed by indicative in Tacitus. See note for quamquam Augusta se violari et imminui quereretur in previous chapter. Tiberius would regularly announce his intention to leave Rome and visit the Empire, but he never set foot outside the city until late in life, when he retired to Capri (cf. Book 4, ch. 67) and never returned. Because of his failure to keep his promise about leaving Rome, Tiberius was nicknamed Callipides, after a proverbial Greek runner who never moved forward, despite his many attempts .) ob id magis agendas censebat, ut absente principe senatum et equites posse sua munia sustinere decorum rei publicae foret. (ob id magis [res] agendas censebat, ut absente principe senatum et equites posse sua munia sustinere decorum rei publicae foret: ‘for this very reason he thought all the more that business should be continued, so that (ut) it would be a glory for the state that the senate and the knights were able to carry out their own duties in the absence of the prince.’ senatus et equites: both senators and knights were in charge of the administration of justice, the first in the senate, the knights in the lower courts. The Gracchi brothers had won this privilege for the lower classes in the second century B.C. ) Gallus, quia speciem libertatis Piso praeceperat, nihil satis inlustre aut ex dignitate populi Romani nisi coram et sub oculis Caesaris, eoque conventum Italiae et adfluentis provincias praesentiae eius servanda (conventum Italiae et adfluentis provincias praesentiae eius servanda: in indir. discourse: ‘that the concourse of Italians and the provinces pouring [into the city] was to be reserved for his presence’; Italians and provincials came to Rome to seek justice in the courts, transact business, or seek favors. praesentiae eius: compare with sua munia above, where the possessive sua may be used, in place of the determinative eius, in that the sense there is a heightened ‘their own duties’ (A.G. 301, c.).) dicebat. audiente haec Tiberio ac silente magnis utrimque contentionibus acta, (audiente haec Tiberio ac silente magnis utrimque contentionibus acta: lit. ‘Tiberius, without saying anything, hearing these views debated with much heat on both sides’; magnis contentionibus is abl. of manner.) sed res dilatae.