LVIII.
Inter quae provincia Africa Iunio Blaeso (Iunio Blaeso: see ch. 35.) prorogata, Servius Maluginensis flamen Dialis (Servius Maluginensis flamen Dialis: there were fifteen flamens or priests, each assigned to the cult of a different god, the most important being those of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus (the god of the Romans); highest of the three was the flamen Dialis. ‘the priest of Jupiter’; Dialis is adjective, neuter Diale, meaning ‘of Jupiter’, derived from dis a word of Sanskrit origin signifying light, heaven, day (dies in Latin), godhead (Lat. Diovis), hence Jovis, Jupiter, whose name was also Diespiter. Later Dis was identified solely with Pluto, the god of the underworld. Servius Maluginensis had been consul with Blaesus in 10 A.D. and his death receives mention in Book 4, ch.16.) ut Asiam sorte haberet postulavit, (ut Asiam sorte haberet postulavit: ‘he demanded that he should have Asia assigned to him by lot’; ut haberet is noun clause (or substantive clause of purpose) object of postulavit. Cf. A.G. 560 ff.) frustra vulgatum dictitans non licere Dialibus egredi Italia neque aliud ius suum quam Martialium Quirinaliumque flaminum: porro, (porro: here meaning ‘then’) si hi duxissent provincias, cur Dialibus id vetitum? (si hi duxissent provincias, cur Dialibus id vetitum [esse]?: the three conditional sentences in the chapter (this and the next with si, the third with quod si) are all of the logical kind in indirect discourse after dictitans. They would have indicative in direct speech in both protasis and apodosis, which in indirect speech changes to subjunctive for the protases and to infinitive for the apodoses: ‘if they had governed provinces, why was this vetoed for the priests of Jupiter?’ cur here introduces a rhetorical indirect question, equivalent to a statement, thus the infinitive is retained. See L. 2313 and A.G. 586.) nulla de eo populi scita, (nulla de eo populi scita: scita is plur. of scitum (from scisco), a noun meaning ‘ordinance’, ‘decree’, ‘statute’: ‘no decree of the people [exists] about this matter’; de eo is abl. of the subject being treated.) non in libris caerimoniarum reperiri. saepe pontifices Dialia sacra fecisse si flamen valetudine aut munere publico impediretur. quinque et septuaginta annis post Cornelii Merulae caedem (Cornelii Merulae caedem: Cornelius Merula was flamen Dialis in 87 B.C., the year he committed suicide when the despot Cinna made himself master of Rome and started a reign of terror. Cf. also Book 1, ch. 1.) neminem suffectum neque tamen cessavisse religiones. quod si per tot annos possit non creari nullo sacrorum damno, quanto facilius afuturum ad unius anni proconsulare imperium? (quod si per tot annos possit non creari nullo sacrorum damno, quanto facilius afuturum ad unius anni proconsulare imperium?: quod si or quodsi is usually translated as ‘and if’, ‘but if’, ‘now if’, or quod is ignored altogether: ‘now, if it is possible not to be appointed for so many years without damage to the religion, how much easier the absence of a single year for proconsular command is going to be?’ afuturum [esse]: future infinitive in place of subjunctive for indirect rhetorical question; cf. note above for si hi duxissent provincias, cur Dialibus id vetitum [esse]?) privatis olim simultatibus effectum ut a pontificibus maximis ire in provincias prohiberentur: (privatis olim simultatibus effectum ut a pontificibus maximis ire in provincias prohiberentur: ‘in the past it came to pass that they were prohibited by the chief pontiffs from going to the provinces because of personal hostlity.’ effectum [est] is impersonal use of the passive: lit. ‘ it was brought about that …’; the ut clause is a substantive clause of result (consecutive), subject of the passive effectum est; see A.G. 567 – 568 and Note 2.) nunc deum munere summum pontificum etiam summum hominum esse, non aemulationi, non odio aut privatis adfectionibus obnoxium.