LXXII.
Isdem diebus Lepidus (Lepidus: Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, rather than his second cousin Manius; see ch 32.) ab senatu petivit ut basilicam Pauli, (basilicam Pauli: built by L. Aemilius Paulus, the grandfather of Marcus Lepidus in 50 B.C. near the Forum and used as a court of justice. It probably was near or incorporated the older Basilica Aemilia , SE of the Senate house, on the east side of the Via Sacra.) Aemilia monimenta, propria pecunia firmaret ornaretque. erat etiam tum in more publica munificentia; nec Augustus arcuerat Taurum, Philippum, Balbum (Taurum, Philippum, Balbum: Statilius Taurus built the first stone amphitheater in Rome in the Campus Martius and dedicated it in 30 B.C. L. Marcius Philippus restored the temple of Hercules of the Muses just north of the theater of Marcellus, near the vertex of the eastward bend of the Tiber in Rome. L. Cornelius Balbus built a theater in the Campus Martius, near the river.) hostilis exuvias aut exundantis opes ornatum ad urbis et posterum gloriam conferre. (ornatum ad urbis: ornatum is noun, ‘for the embellishment of the city’) quo tum exemplo (quo tum exemplo: ‘on this example, then, he …’) Lepidus, quamquam pecuniae modicus, (quamquam pecuniae modicus: the tendency to use subordinating conjunctions like quamquam as adverbs grew from classical times on, reaching its apex with Tacitus, especially with adjectives, as here, less often with participles.) avitum decus recoluit. at Pompei theatrum igne fortuito haustum Caesar extructurum pollicitus est eo quod nemo e familia restaurando sufficeret, (Caesar extructurum pollicitus est eo quod nemo e familia restaurando sufficeret: lit. ‘Tiberius promised he would rebuild (extructurum esse) it, for the reason that (eo quod) no one from the family would have sufficient means for restoring.’ eo quod … sufficeret: subjunctive in that the reason is not assigned by the author, but presumed by Tiberius (virtual oratio obliqua). e familia is abl. of origin.) manente tamen nomine Pompei. (manente tamen nomine Pompei: abl. abs. of concessive sense: ‘yet Pompei’s name remaining [unchanged]’) simul laudibus Seianum extulit tamquam labore vigilantiaque eius tanta vis unum intra damnum stetisset; (tamquam labore vigilantiaque eius tanta vis unum intra damnum stetisset: ‘just as if by his vigilance and efforts such destructive violence [of the fire] had stopped without going beyond (intra) one loss’; unum intra damnum: the prep. intra + acc., as well as inter, extra, supra, is often postponed: lit. ‘within one loss’ or ‘inside of one loss’; tamquam …stetisset: tamquam, ‘as if’, introduces a conditional clause of comparison with subjunctive (see A.G. 524). In most cases (and this is one of them), the use of tamquam suggests that the truth of what is being asserted is doubtful or at least exaggerated.) et censuere patres effigiem Seiano quae apud theatrum Pompei locaretur. neque multo post Caesar, cum Iunium Blaesum pro consule Africae triumphi insignibus attolleret, (cum Iunium Blaesum pro consule Africae triumphi insignibus attolleret: ‘when he paid tribute to Junius Blaesus, the governor od Africa, with the triumphal insignia, …’; temporal cum + subjunctive is called ‘narrative cum’ or ‘historical cum’: it is always with imperfect and pluperfect, most often in narratives, and gives the circumstance which occasions the action of the main verb.) dare id se dixit honori Seiani, cuius ille avunculus erat. ac tamen res Blaesi dignae decore tali fuere. (ac tamen res Blaesi dignae decore tali fuere: ‘and yet Blaesus’ achievements deserved such honor.’ For Junius Blaesus see Book 1, ch. 18ff. and Book 3, ch. 35. dignus and indignus take abl.)