LIV.
‘Nec ignoro in conviviis et circulis incusari ista et modum posci: (incusari ista et modum posci: ‘that these excesses are found fault with and that restrictions are demanded’) set si quis legem sanciat, poenas indicat, idem illi civitatem verti, splendidissimo cuique exitium parari, neminem criminis expertem (neminem criminis expertem: ‘that no one is free from guilt’) clamitabunt. (si quis legem sanciat, poenas indicat, idem illi … clamitabunt: conditional sentence of type I, with condition logical, taken as a fact, thus the indicative in both protasis and apodosis: ‘if someone enacts a law and prescribes penalties, these same people will exclaim that …’) atqui ne corporis quidem morbos veteres et diu auctos nisi per dura et aspera coerceas: (ne corporis quidem morbos veteres et diu auctos nisi per dura et aspera coerceas: ‘even diseases of the body of long duration and growth you could bring under control only through harsh and painful treatments.’ nisi may on occasion have a purely adverbial function, especially after a negative expression, as in this case, with the force of ‘only’, ‘solely’ (Ernout), Here, ‘only’ replaces both ne and nisi and turns the clause positive. coerceas is potential subjunctive, as is timeas below: the second person singular is often used as an indefinite subject in both Latin and English.) corruptus simul et corruptor, aeger et flagrans animus haud levioribus remediis restinguendus est quam libidinibus ardescit. (corruptus simul et corruptor, aeger et flagrans animus haud levioribus remediis restinguendus est quam libidinibus ardescit: ‘[in the same manner] that a sickly, feverish spirit, corrupted and spreading corruption, is not to be assuaged by remedies less strong than the fervid passions with which it burns.’ restinguendus est: use of the passive periphrastic conjugation to express necessity; cf. G. 251. libidinibus ardescit: ellipsis for libidines quibus ardescit.) tot a maioribus repertae leges, tot quas divus Augustus tulit, (tot a maioribus repertae leges, tot quas divus Augustus tulit: in republican times no less than eight laws were passed specifically to stem the wastefulness of women, beginning with the Oppian law (see ch. 33) dating back to the second Punic war (218 -201 B.C.); later Julius Caesar had the Julia law enacted. As to Augustus, no other law is known of him other than the re-enactment of the lex Iulia.) illae oblivione, hae, quod flagitiosius est, (quod flagitiosius est: ‘which is more regrettable’) contemptu abolitae securiorem luxum fecere. nam si velis quod nondum vetitum est, timeas ne vetere: at si prohibita impune transcenderis, neque metus ultra neque pudor est. (si velis quod nondum vetitum est, timeas ne vetere: at si prohibita impune transcenderis, neque metus ultra neque pudor est: lit. ‘if you did desire what has not yet been forbidden, you may fear that you might be prevented, but if you will safely violate (lit. ‘will have violated’) a law, there is neither fear nor shame beyond that.’ The two conditional sentences, one with si and the other, contradicting the first, with sin (‘but if’) are of the logical kind (type I), normally with indicative, except that here velis and timeas are subjunctive because of their potential sense. timeas ne vetere: verbs of fearing like timeo and vereor, when followed by ne express fear thar something unwanted may occur, by ut (or ne non) that something desired may not occur (see G. 550, 2.) vetere is for veteris, passive pres. subjunctive, second person sing., of veto, ‘lest you be prevented’.) cur ergo olim parsimonia pollebat? quia sibi quisque moderabatur, quia unius urbis cives eramus; ne inritamenta quidem eadem intra Italiam dominantibus. (ne inritamenta quidem eadem intra Italiam dominantibus: dominantibus is dat. of possessor with implied erant; in English the noun is subject of the verb ‘to have’: ‘not even within Italy did the conquering Romans have these same temptations’) externis victoriis aliena, civilibus etiam nostra consumere didicimus. (externis victoriis aliena, civilibus etiam nostra consumere didicimus: ‘with the victories abroad we have learnt to squander foreign resources; with civil wars [we have learnt to squander] even our own.’ Foreign conquest began in earnest with the wars against Carthage (264 – 146 B.C.), civil war with the contest between Marius and Sulla (about 90 – 79 B.C.).) quantulum istud est de quo aediles admonent! quam, si cetera respicias, in levi habendum! (quantulum istud est de quo aediles admonent! quam, si cetera respicias, in levi habendum!: ‘how trifling a matter this is about which the aediles are warning us, how to be held of little account if you should consider other problems.’ Use of gerundive always implies necessity in some form: here in levi habendum is a call to the senate to direct their attention to more vital matters. The idiom in levi habere was encountered before in the Historiae, Book 2, ch. 21 (in levi habitum); respicias is again potential subjunctive.) at hercule nemo refert quod Italia externae opis indiget, (at hercule nemo refert quod Italia externae opis indiget: ‘but no one, forsooth, lays before the senate the fact that Italy stands in need of foreign resources.’ hercule or hercle or even ercle: an interjection expressive of indignation or protest, like the English ‘by Jove!’; opis indiget: indigeo is found with both gen. or abl.) quod vita populi Romani per incerta maris et tempestatum cotidie volvitur. (cotidie volvitur: ‘is daily exposed to the vagaries of …’) ac nisi provinciarum copiae et dominis et servitiis et agris subvenerint, nostra nos scilicet nemora nostraeque villae tuebuntur. (nisi provinciarum copiae et dominis et servitiis et agris subvenerint, nostra nos scilicet nemora nostraeque villae tuebuntur: the last three conditional sentences in the chapter, this with nisi, the next with si quis below, and the third with sin after that, are all of the logical kind (type I), with condition given as a fact and nothing implied, thus with indicative throughout: ‘unless the wealth of the provinces will not come (will not have come) to the assistance of masters, of slaves, and of the land, undoubtedly our tidy groves and vast country estates will take care of us.’ A bitterly sarcastic reflection and a deserved rap on the knuckles to the senate: what needed correction, Tiberius remonstrates, was not so much the excesses of the table and overspending on luxury items, but the fact the Italy was being transformed into an immense pleasure ground for the rich, with vast estates taking up the best land and forcing the farming population, once free and proud landowners, now unable to compete with the cheap supply of grain from north Africa, into dependence on the state. Pliny the Elder, the author of Naturalis Historia summed up the problem in three famous words: latifundia perdidere Italiam, ‘large estates have ruined Italy’.) hanc, patres conscripti, curam sustinet princeps; haec omissa funditus rem publicam trahet. (haec omissa funditus rem publicam trahet: haec omissa is a protasis in disguise, the participle implying condition (cf. A.G. 521): ‘this situation, if not corrected, will tear out the state by the roots.’ funditus is adverb: ab radicibus) reliquis intra animum medendum est: nos pudor, pauperes tnecessitas, divites satias in melius mutet. (reliquis intra animum medendum est: nos pudor, pauperes necessitas, divites satias in melius mutet: ‘for other evils, the remedy must be found inside oneself. May necessity change the poor for the better, surfeit the rich.’ reliquis is dat. with medeor; lit.: ‘it must be seen to the rest within our hearts’; medendum est is impersonal use of the passive periphrastic, the only use of the gerundive possible with intransitive verbs like medeor. See G. 251; mutet is optative subjunctive expressing a wish, ‘would that …’.) aut si quis ex magistratibus tantam industriam ac severitatem pollicetur ut ire obviam queat, hunc ego et laudo et exonerari laborum meorum partem fateor: (si quis ex magistratibus tantam industriam ac severitatem pollicetur ut ire obviam queat, hunc ego et laudo et … fateor: quis is for aliquis after si: ‘if anyone among the magistrates promises such energetic severity as to be able to meet the problem head on, him I praise and confess that …’. The correlative pair tanta …ut brings in the main and dependent part of a consecutive sentence, the latter with subjunctive (ut queat: ‘as to be able to …’); industriam and severitatem form hendiadys.) sin accusare vitia volunt, dein, cum gloriam eius rei adepti sunt, simultates faciunt ac mihi relinquunt, credite, patres conscripti, me quoque non esse offensionum avidum; (sin accusare vitia volunt, dein, cum gloriam eius rei adepti sunt, simultates faciunt ac mihi relinquunt, credite, patres conscripti, me quoque non esse offensionum avidum: ‘but if they want to denounce vice, then, after securing the honor for having done so, they create resentments and leave them to me, believe me , senators, that I too am not fond of enmities.’) quas cum gravis et plerumque iniquas pro re publica suscipiam, inanis et inritas neque mihi aut vobis usui futuras iure deprecor.’ (quas cum gravis et plerumque iniquas pro re publica suscipiam, inanis et inritas neque mihi aut vobis usui futuras iure deprecor: the antecedent of quas is offensionum: ‘though for the good of the state I would bear bitter and most often unmerited [enmities], I reject with justice such as (quas) [are] senseless, inane, of no potential use either to me or to you.’ quas … inanis et inritas neque mihi aut vobis usui futuras: the pronoun quas introduces a relative clause of characteristic or tendency (cf. G. 631, A.G. 537, 2. and Note 1). If a verb were present, such as ‘are’ in the literal translation, it would be subjunctive in Latin, as the sense is consecutive, though exceptions exist (see L. 1823). The force of qui in these cases is that of talis, ‘such as’. futuras, lit. ‘going to be’, is here adjective, like the previous inanis and inritas, a usage limited only to futurus and venturus in classical times, later extending to other future participles. usui is dat. of purpose, mihi and vobis of interest. cum …suscipiam: concessive cum + subjunctive)