XXXIV.
Paucorum haec adsensu audita: plures obturbabant neque relatum de negotio neque (plures obturbabant neque relatum de negotio neque …: ‘the majority protested that the [the proposition] had neither any bearing on the business of the day nor ….’. Motions were formally brought before the senate by the consuls. (cf. ad senatum de aliqua re referre).) Caecinam dignum tantae rei censorem. mox Valerius Messalinus, cui parens Messala ineratque imago paternae facundiae, (Valerius Messalinus, cui parens Messala ineratque imago paternae facundiae: lit. ‘Valerius Messalinus, to whom Messala was father and [to whom] appertained a likeness of the paternal eloquence’; cui is dat. of possessor with both the implies erat and the expressed inerat.) respondit multa duritiae (multa duritiae: partitive genitive after a noun (here a substantivized neuter plur. adjective, indicating quantity); see also tot liberorum near the end of the chapter).) veterum [in] melius et laetius mutata; neque enim, ut olim, obsideri urbem bellis aut provincias hostilis esse. et pauca feminarum necessitatibus concedi quae ne coniugum quidem penatis, adeo socios non onerent; (pauca feminarum necessitatibus concedi quae ne coniugum quidem penatis, adeo socios non onerent: ‘a few allowances were made for the needs of women which did not burden at all the households of the husbands, much less our allies.’ adeo …non: ‘much less’; penates: normally the tutelary gods of the home, here metonymy for ‘family’, ‘household’.) cetera promisca cum marito nec ullum in eo pacis impedimentum. bella plane accinctis obeunda: (bella plane accinctis obeunda: ‘obviously, war was to be met by men ready for it’, i.e ‘free from other encumbrances’; accinctis is dative of agent, which replaces the abl. with a or ab in the passive periphrastic (A.G. 374).) sed revertentibus post laborem quod honestius quam uxorium levamentum? (quod honestius quam uxorium levamentum?: quod is interrogative, not relative pronoun: lit. ‘what more legitimate comfort than the conjugal?’) at quasdam in ambitionem aut avaritiam prolapsas. (at quasdam in ambitionem aut avaritiam prolapsas: at second-guesses a likely objection: ‘but some women had been prone to ambition and avarice.’) quid? ipsorum magistratuum nonne plerosque variis libidinibus obnoxios? (quid? ipsorum magistratuum nonne plerosque variis libidinibus obnoxious [esse]?: ‘what of it? were not most of the magistrates themselves punishable for all kinds of criminal appetites?’ nonne is used in both direct and indirect interrogation when the question is rhetorical and expects an affirmative answer. The particle num, on the other hand (cf. num ergo omnis caelibes integros? below), expects a negative answer in the same circumstances, i.e. when the question is indirect and rhetorical. In both questions the verb (implied esse) is infinitive in oratio obliqua, since rhetorical questions are tantamount to statements.) non tamen ideo neminem in provinciam mitti. (non tamen ideo neminem in provinciam mitti: lit. ‘not however for that reason was no one being sent to the provinces’; freely: ‘yet for that reason provinces were not left without governors.’) corruptos saepe pravitatibus uxorum maritos: num ergo omnis caelibes integros? placuisse quondam Oppias leges, sic temporibus rei publicae postulantibus: (sic temporibus rei publicae postulantibus: abl. abs. of causal sense: ‘the times of the republic so demanding’, i.e. ‘because circumstances so demanded’) remissum aliquid postea et mitigatum, quia expedierit. (quia expedierit: ‘because that was thought useful’: subjunctive after quia in indirect discourse; for use of expedierit in place of expediisset (or expedivisset) after a historical verb of saying (respondit, above), see note for si licentia adsit in previous chapter.) frustra nostram ignaviam alia ad vocabula transferri: (frustra nostram ignaviam alia ad vocabula transferri: ‘in vain was our ineptitude changed to other words’, that is ‘called something else.’) nam viri in eo culpam si femina modum excedat. (nam viri in eo culpam si femina modum excedat: ‘for the fault in that is of the man, if the woman oversteps the prescribed limits.’ For si excedat see note for si ita conducat below.) porro ob unius aut alterius imbecillum animum male eripi maritis consortia rerum secundarum adversarumque. (porro ob unius aut alterius imbecillum animum male [esse] eripi maritis consortia rerum secundarum adversarumque: ‘besides, it was a bad thing that the sharers of their good and adverse fortunes was taken away from their husbands because of the stupidity of one or two men,’ consortia: Tacitus is a frequent user of neuter plural nouns derived from adjectives in place of more concrete substantives; another example in longinqua below, ‘faraway places’.) simul sexum natura invalidum deseri et exponi suo luxu, cupidinibus alienis. (exponi suo luxu, cupidinibus alienis: ‘[the women] were left exposed to their own sexual drive and to the concupiscence of other men.’ luxu is dative with exponi.) vix praesenti custodia manere inlaesa coniugia: quid fore si per pluris annos in modum discidii oblitterentur? (quid fore si per pluris annos in modum discidii oblitterentur?: ‘what would occur if {the marriage bonds] were forgotten for many years in the manner of a divorce?’ conditional sentence in indirect discourse, governed by a historical verb of saying (respondit above), with imperfect subjunctive in the protasis for potential condition (type II) referring to present or future, and rhetorical question in apodosis with future infinitive as required by the type of condition. See examples in A.G. 589, a., 3. and G. 656.) sic obviam irent iis quae alibi peccarentur ut flagitiorum urbis meminissent. (sic obviam irent iis quae alibi peccarentur ut flagitiorum urbis meminissent: the correlative pair sic …ut introduces a comparative sentence in oratio obliqua: ‘that they should find remedies for things that were at fault elsewhere, in such a way as (sic …ut) not to forget the infamies of the city’; irent is hortative subjunctive in indirect speech, ‘let them find measures against …’; iis is dat. plur. of ea with obviam ire; quae peccarentur is subjunctive by modal attraction from obviam irent. In direct speech both parts of a comparative sentence would have indicative. flagitiorum …meminissent: the verb memini takes gen. of the thing; meminissent is equivalent to an imperfect as memini is to a present.) addidit pauca Drusus de matrimonio suo; nam principibus adeunda saepius longinqua imperii. (principibus adeunda saepius longinqua imperii: lit. ‘for the princes, visiting the remote parts of the empire was quite often an obligation.’ principibus is dative of agent, required by the gerundive construction in place of a or ab + abl. saepius: when a comparative lacks the second term of comparison (comparative absolute), it is rendered in English by adding to the positive an adverb such as ‘quite’, ‘rather’, ‘somewhat’, and the like.) quoties divum Augustum in Occidentem atque Orientem meavisse comite Livia! se quoque in Illyricum profectum (se quoque in Illyricum profectum: Drusus was sent to Illyricum three times: cf. Book 1, ch. 21, Book 2, ch. 44, Book 3, ch. 7.) et, si ita conducat, alias ad gentis iturum, (si ita conducat, alias ad gentis iturum: ‘if it became necessary, he would go to other countries.’ Conditional sentence in indirect discourse; the condition is potential (type II), so future infinitive in apodosis. Cf. note above for quid fore si ….; conducat is repraesentatio for conduceret: see si licentia adsit in previous chapter. Cf. also quia expedierit above.) haud semper aeque animo si ab uxore carissima et tot communium liberorum (tot … liberorum: ‘of so many children’; liberorum is partitive genitive after the indeclinable adjective tot, ‘so many of children’. Drusus had in fact only three children.) parente divelleretur. ([iturum] haud semper aeque animo si ab uxore carissima …divelleretur: ‘[he said that he would go] always with a heavy heart, if he was torn away from his dearest wife’. The sentence is identical in structure to the preceding si ita conducat, alias ad gentis iturum; it even shares the same verb in the apodosis: the difference is the imperfect subjunctive divelleretur here (as required by the sequence of tenses), versus conducat (by repraesentatio) in the other. Variety is an essential trait of Tacitus’ style.) sic Caecinae sententia elusa. (elusa: ‘was disposed of’)