XII.
Die senatus (die senatus: ‘on the day of the senate meeting’) Caesar orationem habuit meditato temperamento. (orationem habuit meditato temperamento: ‘delivered a speech with guarded composure’; the clause introduces oratio obliqua that extends down to diiudicandum, after that the speech becomes direct.) patris sui legatum (patris sui legatum: Piso was sent to Hispania Tarraconensis (citerior) as legate (governor) of an imperial province.) atque amicum Pisonem fuisse adiutoremque Germanico datum a se auctore senatu rebus apud Orientem administrandis. (rebus … administrandis: use of dative gerundive to express purpose or destination; Ernout says that both Tacitus and Livy use dative gerundive in place of ad + acc. gerundive as a reaction to the spread of the latter construction in imperial times.) illic contumacia et certaminibus asperasset iuvenem exituque eius laetatus esset an scelere extinxisset, integris animis diiudicandum. (asperasset iuvenem exituque eius laetatus esset an scelere extinxisset, integris animis diiudicandum [esse]: ‘that it was to be determined with open minds whether [Piso] had antagonized the young Germanicus and rejoiced in his death or whether by crime he had ended his days’; the passive periphrasis diiudicandum [esse], an impersonal way to express necessity or obligation, introduces here a disjunctive question with an alone prefacing the second part, as usual in Tacitus. Cf. A.G. 334-335, 586.) ‘nam si legatus officii terminos, obsequium erga imperatorem exuit eiusdemque morte et luctu meo laetatus est, odero seponamque a domo mea et privatas inimicitias non vi principis ulciscar: (si … exuit …laetatus est, odero seponamque …ulciscar: all six conditional sentences in the chapter (five with si, one with sin) are of the logical (type I) kind, which supposes an action without implying either its occurrence or non-occurrence (Lane). All protases have indicative and apodoses either indicative, imperative, or subjunctive. In the present case, si is followed by two perfects indicative, and the apodosis has two futures. exuit goes with both obsequium and, by zeugma, with terminos, with the sense of ‘to lay aside’, ‘to divest one’s self of…’) sin facinus in cuiuscumque mortalium nece vindicandum detegitur, vos vero et liberos Germanici et nos parentes iustis solaciis adficite. (sin facinus in cuiuscumque mortalium nece vindicandum detegitur, vos vero et liberos Germanici et nos parentes iustis solaciis adficite: sin (si + ne = ‘if on the contrary’) usually follows a conditional sentence, introducing a new one: ‘but if a crime punishable by death against any man whomsoever is discovered, you surely must provide just satisfaction both to the children of Germanicus and to me, his father.’ vos …adficite: the personal pronoun reinforces the vocative. cuiusqumque mortalium: partitive genitive after an indefinite pronoun like cuiuscumque, from quicumque; nece vindicandum: use of gerundive as passive adjective, denoting obligation: ‘that ought to be punished by death’; nos parentes: enallage or royal we: Tiberius is speaking about himself.) simulque illud reputate, turbide et seditiose tractaverit exercitus Piso, quaesita sint per ambitionem studia militum, armis repetita provincia, an falsa haec in maius vulgaverint accusatores, (simulque illud reputate, turbide et seditiose tractaverit exercitus Piso, quaesita sint per ambitionem studia militum, armis repetita provincia, an falsa haec in maius vulgaverint accusatores: ‘consider also (simul) that fact (illud), whether Piso handled the army in a disruptive and seditious manner, whether the favor of the troops was sought by unlawful means, and the province was repossessed by force of arms, or whether his accusers publicised these falsehoods amplified for the worse.’ ille reputate brings in a disjunctive indirect question, usually announced by the particle utrum or -ne, in Tacitus most often without particle, in the first part of the question, and the correlative an with the second part. With indirect questions the subjunctive is always de rigueur, and follows the sequence of tenses (here three perfects subjunctive for past actions when the main verb is primary (reputate: present imperative). Cf. G. 458, 460.) quorum ego nimiis studiis iure suscenseo. (nimiis studiis iure suscenseo: suscenseo or succenseo is usually with dat.: ‘I am justifiably incensed for the excessive zeal [of the accusers]’) nam quo pertinuit nudare corpus et contrectandum vulgi oculis permittere differrique etiam per externos tamquam veneno interceptus esset, (quo pertinuit nudare corpus et contrectandum vulgi oculis permittere differrique etiam per externos tamquam veneno interceptus esset: ‘to what end was it suitable to strip the body of its clothes and allow it to be exposed to the gaze of the populace and even [allow the rumor] to be spread abroad among strangers, as if he had been cut short by poison?’ [corpus] contrectandum [esse] vulgi oculis: ‘that the body should be exposed to the rude stare of the mob’; use of the passive periphrasis to express a wrongly perceived necessity; tamquam veneno interceptus esset: the pluperfect subjunctive interceptus esset after tamquam is here required by the sequence of tenses after the historical main verb pertinuit, but the same tense may be found even after a primary tense to emphasize the unreal character of the hypothesis. Cf. A.G. 524, a.) si incerta adhuc ista et scrutanda sunt? (…, si incerta adhuc ista et scrutanda sunt?: ‘…, if these things are still uncertain and are to be investigated?’; for si + indicative cf. note for si … exuit above.) defleo equidem filium meum semperque deflebo: sed neque reum prohibeo quo minus cuncta proferat, quibus innocentia eius sublevari aut, si qua fuit iniquitas Germanici, (si qua fuit iniquitas Germanici: ‘if there was any (qua = aliqua) unfairness on the part of Germanicus’; cf. Book 2, ch. 78 for Piso’s letter to Tiberius voicing his complaints in regard to Germanicus.) coargui possit, (neque reum prohibeo quo minus cuncta proferat, quibus innocentia eius sublevari aut … coargui possit: ‘nor do I prevent the accused from adducing anything with which his innocence could be supported or [Germanicus’ fault] be demonstrated.’ prohibeo quo minus: with verbs of preventing quominus (‘that thereby the less’) replaces ut in final sentences.) vosque oro ne, quia dolori meo causa conexa est, (quia … conexa est: causal quod and quia are with indicative when the reason is assigned by the writer or speaker.) obiecta crimina pro adprobatis accipiatis. si quos propinquus sanguis aut fides sua patronos dedit, quantum quisque eloquentia et cura valet, (quantum quisque eloquentia et cura valet: comparative clause with indicative: ‘as much as each of them can do with their eloquence and diligence’) iuvate periclitantem: (si quos propinquus sanguis aut fides sua patronos dedit, … iuvate periclitantem: lit. ‘if being related by blood or a sense of one’s loyalty has given Piso some (quos) defenders, I bid you to assist him in his peril.’ quos is for aliquos after si; propinquus sanguis: ‘next of kin’, probably a reference to Lucius Pisus, the brother of the accused and one of the defense lawyers; cf. previous chapter.) ad eundem laborem, eandem constantiam accusatores hortor. id solum Germanico super leges praestiterimus, quod in curia (in curia: senate house in the NE corner of the Forum) potius quam in foro, apud senatum quam apud iudices de morte eius anquiritur: (quod … anquiritur: for quod and quia + indicative cf. note for quia … conexa est above; anquiritur: impersonal use of passive, lit. ‘it is investigated’) cetera pari modestia tractentur. nemo Drusi lacrimas, nemo maestitiam meam spectet, (cetera tractentur … nemo … spectet: use of hortative subjunctive: ‘let the rest be handled …, let no one heed …’ ) nec si qua in nos adversa finguntur.’ (nec si qua in nos adversa finguntur: ‘not even if insinuations against us are invented’: si …finguntur: for si + indicative cf. note above for si … exuit above.)