LXXVIII.
Haud magna mole Piso promptus ferocibus in sententiam trahitur (haud magna mole Piso promptus ferocibus in sententiam trahitur: ‘Piso was drawn with no great effort to the view [of Domitius Celer], being always ready for violent methods.’) missisque ad Tiberium epistulis incusat Germanicum luxus et superbiae; (incusat Germanicum luxus et superbiae: ‘he accuses Germanicus of being a lover of sumptuousness and an arrogant man.’ For the charge of luxury, see the incident with the king of the Nabateans in ch. 57 and Piso’s reaction.) seque pulsum, ut locus rebus novis patefieret, (seque pulsum, ut locus rebus novis patefieret: ‘that he had been expelled [from Syria] to make room for a new order of things’) curam exercitus eadem fide qua tenuerit repetivisse. (curam exercitus eadem fide qua tenuerit repetivisse: ‘that he had taken steps to recover the command of the army with the same loyalty with which he had held it’; the perfect subjunctive tenuerit is in keeping with the sequence of tenses, since the verb of saying, incusat, is primary.) simul Domitium impositum triremi vitare litorum oram praeterque insulas lato mari pergere in Syriam iubet. (lato mari pergere …iubet: ‘he tells him to maintain a course well away from land’; lato mare: ‘in the high sea’) concurrentis desertores per manipulo componit, armat lixas traiectisque in continentem navibus (traiectisque in continentem navibus: abl. abs.: ‘the ships having been taken to the mainland’) vexillum tironum in Syriam euntium intercipit, (vexillum tironum in Syriam euntium intercipit: ‘he intercepts a detachment of fresh levies on their way to Syria’; vexillum, ‘banner’ or ‘standard’ is metonymy for the unit itself. intercipit is historical present, like others in the chapter.) regulis Cilicum ut se auxiliis iuvarent scribit, (regulis Cilicum ut se auxiliis iuvarent scribit: ‘he writes to the petty kings of Cilicia to help with reinforcements.’ scribit is followed by indirect command with ut + subjunctive. regulis Cilicum: Cilicia in SE Turkey on the border with Syria, was ruled by petty kings or chieftains who were answerable to Rome.) haud ignavo ad ministeria belli iuvene Pisone, quamquam suscipiendum bellum abnuisset. (haud ignavo ad ministeria belli iuvene Pisone, quamquam suscipiendum bellum abnuisset: abl. abs. followed by concessive clause: ‘the young Piso not being remiss in the services of war, although he had refused to accept the need to start a war’; suscipiendum bellum: lit. ‘a war to be undertaken’)