XXXVII.
Et Considius Aequus et Caelius Cursor equites Romani quod fictis maiestatis criminibus Magium Caecilianum praetorem petivissent (quod fictis maiestatis criminibus Magium Caecilianum praetorem petivissent: ‘because they had brought false charges of high treason (crime of lese majesty) against the praetor Magius Caecilianus’; quod petivissent: the causal clause is in virtual oratio obliqua, hence the subjunctive: ‘because, [as the judges said] they had …’. The rule is usually phrased as follows: ‘quod takes subjunctive whenever the reason given is presumed by someone other than the author himself.’) auctore principe ac decreto senatus puniti. (auctore principe ac decreto senatus puniti: auctore principe is abl. abs., decreto is abl. of instrument, which replaces the abl. of agent whenever the agent is a thing: ‘they were punished at Drusus’ instigation and by decree of the senate.’) utrumque (utrumque: both the punishment of Annia in the previous chapter and of the two men here) in laudem Drusi trahebatur: ab eo in urbe inter coetus et sermones hominum obversante secreta patris mitigari. (ab eo in urbe inter coetus et sermones hominum obversante secreta patris mitigari: ‘that the secret machinations of his father were moderated by him (ab eo) interposing himself in the city, amid the throngs and the talk of the people’) neque luxus in iuvene adeo displicebat: huc potius intenderet, diem aedificationibus (aedificationibus: there is nowhere any previous mention of Drusus having an interest in construction, but we know from Juvenal that building sumptuous villas was a passion with many wealthy Romans.) noctem conviviis traheret, quam solus et nullis voluptatibus avocatus (nullis voluptatibus avocatus: ‘entertained by no pleasure’) maestam vigilantiam et malas curas exerceret. (huc potius intenderet, … traheret, quam … exerceret: potius …quam introduces the two parts of a comparative sentence in indirect discourse after displicebat: ‘let him rather direct his course in this direction and pass his time on …, than spend it on …’; huc: i.e. ‘to the purposes and in the ways just mentioned’; intenderet and traheret are hortatory subjunctives (cf. A.G. 588. a.), exerceret is subjunctive in indirect speech for the subordinate part (the quam clause) of the comparative sentence.)