LV.
Auditis Caesaris litteris remissa aedilibus talis cura; (remissa [est] aedilibus talis cura: lit. ‘such task was rescinded for the aediles’; freely: ‘the aediles were excused from such task’. Others interpret as: ‘such task was given back to the aediles’; aedilibus is dat. of agent with the passive remissa [est]. This dative is sometimes found, especially in Tacitus, outside the passive periphrastic construction to denote not so much the agent, but the person for whom the action is performed.) luxusque mensae a fine Actiaci belli ad ea arma quis Servius Galba rerum adeptus est (a fine Actiaci belli ad ea arma quis Servius Galba rerum adeptus est: the naval battle at Actium that decided who would be master of the world between Mark Antony and Octavian (later Augustus) was fought in 31 B.C. off the western coast of Greece; Servius Galba became emperor in 68 A.D., after dispossessing Nero. quis is an old form of quibus.) per annos centum profusis sumptibus exerciti (luxusque mensae … per annos centum profusis sumptibus exerciti: ‘the excesses of the table, practised for one hundred years with incredible expenditures, …’) paulatim exolevere. causas eius mutationis quaerere libet. (quaerere [mihi] libet: libet is an impersonal verb that requires dat.: ‘it pleases me to look into the causes of …’; another impersonal verb similarly used is licitum [est] below, from licet, which has two forms for the perfect, licuit and licitum est, and is also with dat. of the person when the latter is expressed.) dites olim familiae nobilium aut claritudine insignes studio magnificentiae prolabebantur. (studio magnificentiae prolabebantur: ‘they fell into ruin on account of their obsession with display.’) nam etiam tum plebem socios regna (regna: vassal monarchs like the kings of Cappadocia, Thrace, Judaea, Mauretania) colere et coli licitum; ut quisque opibus domo paratu speciosus per nomen et clientelas inlustrior habebatur. (ut quisque opibus domo paratu speciosus per nomen et clientelas inlustrior habebatur: ut qisque introduces a recurrent situation with a predictable result: ‘whenever anyone [was] conspicuous for his wealth, his mansions, the size of his establishment, he was considered even more illustrious for his fame [as a host] and the multitude of clients.’) postquam caedibus saevitum et magnitudo famae exitio erat, (postquam caedibus saevitum et magnitudo famae exitio erat: saevitum [est] is impersonal use of the passive of intransitive verbs: lit. ‘after it was raged with massacres and the greatness of one’s fame was for death, …’: a chilling reference to the bloody purges conducted by Tiberius (in his later years), by Caligula, and especially by Nero; exitio is dat. of purpose, ‘for death’.) ceteri ad sapientiora convertere. simul novi homines e municipiis et coloniis atque etiam provinciis in senatum crebro adsumpti domesticam parsimoniam intulerunt, et quamquam fortuna vel industria plerique pecuniosam ad senectam pervenirent, mansit tamen prior animus. sed praecipuus adstricti moris auctor Vespasianus fuit, antiquo ipse cultu victuque. (Vespasianus … antiquo ipse cultu victuque: ‘Vespasian, himself a man of the old stamp in dress and diet’; Vespasian was the ninth emperor of Rome (69 – 79 A.D. antiquo …cultu victuque: abl. of quality) obsequium inde in principem et aemulandi amor (aemulandi amor: objective gen. gerund with a noun: ‘love of emulating’; cf. A.G. 504, c.) validior quam poena ex legibus et metus. (validior quam poena ex legibus et metus: ‘more effective than the penalty and fear of the laws’; ex legibus: abl. of the source of penalties and fear) nisi forte rebus cunctis inest quidam velut orbis, ut quem ad modum temporum vices ita morum vertantur; (nisi forte rebus cunctis inest quidam velut orbis, ut quem ad modum temporum vices ita morum vertantur: nisi forte and nisi vero are always followed by indicative: lit. ‘unless perhaps there is in all things a certain cycle, as it were, so that in the manner of the seasons, [the manner] of the customs also undergo a change.’ vertantur is subjunctive in that the correlative pair ut …ita introduces a consecutive (result) clause; quem ad modum is normally quomodo) nec omnia apud priores meliora, sed nostra quoque aetas (nostra …aetas: the reign of Trajan, 98 -117 A.D.) multa laudis et artium imitanda posteris tulit. (multa laudis et artium imitanda: ‘many instances of merit and of great skills worthy to be imitated’) verum haec nobis [in] maiores certamina ex honesto maneant. (verum haec nobis [in] maiores certamina ex honesto maneant: maneant is optative subjunctive, the present expressing a wish realizable in the present: ‘yes, and may this honorable vying with our ancestors never come to an end.’ ex honesto: ‘from honor’ = ‘honorable’.)