XLIV.
At (at: introduces a new turn in the narrative; the scene changes from Gaul to Rome.) Romae non Treviros modo et Aeduos sed quattuor et sexaginta Galliarum civitates (quattuor et sexaginta Galliarum civitates: the total number of tribes or states in Gaul, according to Ptolemy, a geographer born in Alexandria about 100 A.D. It does not include the tribes in Gallia Narbnensis, modern Provence.) descivisse, adsumptos in societatem Germanos, dubias Hispanias, cuncta, ut mos famae, in maius credita. (in maius credita: in + acc. indicates tendency, movement towards or into: lit. ‘thing made into more than they are’, i.e. ‘thought greater than they are’, or ‘exaggerated’) optumus quisque rei publicae cura maerebat: multi odio praesentium et cupidine mutationis suis quoque periculis (odio … cupidine … periculis: odio and cupidine are abl. of cause; periculis is abl. of efficient cause, so called when the agent after a passive verb is a thing. Cf. also note for augebantur eae copiae vicinarum civitatum … in previous chapter.) laetabantur increpabantque Tiberium quod in tanto rerum motu libellis accusatorum insumeret operam. (quod … insumeret operam: quod is here followed by subjunctive in that the clause is in oratio obliqua after increpabant: ‘because, [as they said], he wasted time on …’) an Sacrovirum maiestatis crimine reum in senatu fore? (an Sacrovirum maiestatis crimine reum in senatu fore?: the indirect question is with infinitive and not with subjunctive, inasmuch as it is asked for rhetorical effect; cf. G. 651, R. 1. The particle an is seldom used in indirect questions, modal prose preferring -ne or num. Cf. G. 460, Note 1.) extitisse tandem viros qui cruentas epistulas armis cohiberent. (extitisse tandem viros qui cruentas epistulas armis cohiberent: ‘{they said] that at last, men had come forward who by force would stop his bloody messages.’ Tiberius had retired to Campania in southern Italy at the outset of the year 21 A.D., allegedly to recuperate (cf. ch. 31), and from there transmitted by letters his wishes and instructions to the senate in Rome, such as the ordering of trials of men suspected of treason. viros qui …cohiberent: subjunctive for rel. clause in indir. discourse; viros refers to men like Florus and Sacrovir who had not feared to revolt.) miseram pacem vel bello bene mutari. (miseram pacem vel bello bene mutari: vel, an old imperative form of volo has in this case the adverbial sense of ‘even’, ‘if you will’, ‘indeed’: lit. ‘that an awful peace was well exchanged even with war’) tanto impensius in securitatem compositus, neque loco neque vultu mutato, (tanto impensius in securitatem compositus, neque loco neque vultu mutato: the abl. tanto, followed by comparative, is translated as ‘by so much the more …’ or similar: lit. ‘all the more earnestly having assumed an air of security, his place and countenance being unchanged, …’; in securitatem compositus: the passive compositus is used reflexively, ‘having composed himself to an expression of confidence’.) sed ut solitum per illos dies egit, altitudine animi, an compererat modica esse et vulgatis leviora. (altitudine animi, an compererat modica esse et vulgatis leviora: an in this case does not introduce a double question, but is disjunctive conjunction in place of aut or vel and is frequently found in Livy and Tacitus, sometimes in Cicero, with the meaning of ‘or perhaps’, ‘or possibly’(see L. 1675): ‘either from deep aloofness or possibly he had felt that things were manageable and less serious than being reported’; vulgatis is abl. of comparison after leviora.)