LXXXVII.
Saevitiam annonae incusante plebe (saevitiam annonae incusante plebe: abl. abs., ‘the populace denouncing the exorbitance of the price of grain’) statuit frumento pretium quod emptor penderet, (statuit frumento pretium quod emptor penderet: ‘ he fixed the price for the grain that the buyer should pay’: subjunctive for rel. clause in indir. speech after statuit) binosque nummos se additurum negotiatoribus in singulos modios. (binos nummos … in singulos modios: ‘two sesterces for each peck of grain’; binos from bini is distributive numeral, answering to the question ‘how many each time?’; nummus was a Roman silver coin called nummus sestertius or simply sestertius; a modius or modium was about equivalent to the English peck, with a capacity of approx. 10 liters.) neque tamen ob ea parentis patriae delatum et antea vocabulum adsumpsit, (neque tamen ob ea parentis patriae delatum et antea vocabulum adsumpsit: ‘but he did not because of that accept the name of ‘father of the country’, offered also (et) in precedence’: cf. Book 1, ch. 72. ) acerbeque increpuit eos qui divinas occupationes ipsumque dominum dixerant. (acerbe increpuit eos qui divinas occupationes ipsumque dominum dixerant: ‘he severely rebuked those who had called his initiatives ‘divine’ and himself ‘lord’.) unde angusta et lubrica oratio sub principe qui libertatem metuebat adulationem oderat. (oderat: oderat, from odi, odisse, is pluperfect in form, but has the force of imperfect.)