XVI.
Sub idem tempus de flamine Diali in locum Servi Maluginensis defuncti legendo, simul roganda nova lege disseruit Caesar. (de flamine Diali in locum Servi Maluginensis defuncti legendo, simul roganda nova lege disseruit Caesar: lit. ‘Tiberius spoke about the priest of Jupiter to be chosen in place of the deceased Servius Maluginensis and about a new law to be requested.’ legendo is not active gerund, but passive gerundive, i.e. an adjective of passive meaning modifying flamine, in the same way roganda modifies lege, at the same time suggesting suitability or urgency. For Maluginensis cf. Book 3, ch. 58.) nam patricios confarreatis parentibus genitos tres simul nominari, ex quis unus legeretur, vetusto more; (nam patricios confarreatis parentibus genitos tres simul nominari … vetusto more: in indirect speech after disseruit: ‘the custom being archaic that three patricians issued from confarreate parents were nominated at the same time’; confarreation was the most complicated of the three forms of Roman marriages: it basically entailed the exchange of cakes of spelt (panis farreus) in an elaborate ceremony before the pontifex maximus, the flamen Dialis, and no less than ten witnesses. vetusto more is abl. abs.) neque adesse, ut olim, eam copiam, omissa confarreandi adsuetudine (omissa confarreandi adsuetudine: ‘abl. abs.: ‘the habit of marrying by confarreation having been dropped’) aut inter paucos retenta (pluresque eius rei causas adferebat, potissimam penes incuriam virorum feminarumque; accedere ipsius caerimoniae difficultates quae consulto vitarentur) (pluresque eius rei causas adferebat, potissimam penes incuriam virorum feminarumque; accedere ipsius caerimoniae difficultates quae consulto vitarentur: ‘he adduced several reasons, the chief rested with (penes) the disinterest of both men and women, and an additional factor were the difficulties of the ceremony itself which would be intentionally avoided’; penes incuriam: the prep. penes takes the acc.; consulto is adverbial abl., ‘deliberately’; vitarentur: subjunctive for relative clause in indirect discourse after adferebat) et quoniam exiret e iure patrio qui id flamonium apisceretur quaeque in manum flaminis conveniret. (et quoniam exiret e iure patrio qui id flamonium apisceretur quaeque in manum flaminis conveniret: a causal clause with quoniam and two relative clauses, all three subjunctive in oratio obliqua: ‘and given that he who attained this priesthood would pass out of the parental jurisdiction and she who came under her husband’s control’; i.e. both the flamen and his wife changed allegiance, the flamen from the father to his god, his wife from her father to the husband: the situation, naturally enough, was regarded with disfavor by the parents, and becoming a flamen was often regarded as an imposition, rather than an honor. in manum … convenire is said of a woman coming under the husband’s authority from the father’s potestas; legally she became the husband’s daughter.) ita medendum senatus decreto aut lege, (ita medendum [esse] senatus decreto aut lege: ‘[Tiberius said], that therefore it must be remedied with a decree of the senate or with a law.’ The difference between a senate decree and the law was that the latter required calling an assembly of the Roman people (comitia) in the Forum. medendum [esse] is impersonal use of the passive periphrastic conjugation; cf. G. 251.) sicut Augustus quaedam ex horrida illa antiquitate ad praesentem usum flexisset. (sicut Augustus quaedam ex horrida illa antiquitate ad praesentem usum flexisset: still in oratio obliqua: ‘just in the way Augustus had adapted several [rules] from a notoriously crude ancient past to modern needs’) igitur tractatis religionibus placitum instituto flaminum nihil demutari: (igitur tractatis religionibus placitum instituto flaminum nihil demutari: ‘hence, all religious aspect having been considered, it was decided that nothing be altered in the status of the flamens.’) sed lata lex qua flaminica Dialis sacrorum causa in potestate viri, cetera promisco feminarum iure ageret. (lata lex qua flaminica Dialis sacrorum causa in potestate viri [esse], cetera promisco feminarum iure ageret: ‘a law was introduced (lata [est]) whereby the wife of the flamen of Jupiter was under the authority of the husband for the purpose (causa) of her religious duties, in other respects she would partake of the common rights of women.’ cetera promisco feminarum iure ageret: lit. ‘she should live with the rights possessed by women’; ageret is hortatory or jussive subjunctive (cf. A.G. 439) in virtual oratio obliqua, as the actual words of the law are being quoted. Corresponds in direct discourse to agat, ‘let her live’ or ‘let her conduct herself’. cetera (neuter plural as adverb) means ‘otherwise’) et filius Maluginensis patri suffectus. utque glisceret dignatio sacerdotum atque ipsis promptior animus foret ad capessendas caerimonias decretum (utque glisceret dignatio sacerdotum atque ipsis promptior animus foret ad capessendas caerimonias decretum …: lit. ‘in order to increase the prestige of the priests and so that they should have a more willing heart in their sacred duties to be performed, it was decreed …’; ipsis is dat. of possessor with foret, the subject being animus.) Corneliae virgini, quae in locum Scantiae capiebatur, (Corneliae …quae in locum Scantiae capiebatur: ‘to Cornelia who was accepted in place of the vestal Scantia, …’; the use of indicative in a relative clause occurring within indirect discourse (here after decretum [est]) points to the explanatory function of the clause; see G. 628, Remark. capiebatur: lit. ‘she was captured’; the verb was used with the same meaning, also applied to a vestal, in Book 2, ch. 86. Cornelia and Scantia are only mentioned here, otherwise unknown.) sestertium viciens, (sestertium viciens: sestertium, as opposed to sestertius, the unit of currency, stands for centena milia sestertium (100,000 sesterces), thus 20 x 100,000 = two million sesterces; viciens is numeral adverb answering to the question ‘how many times?’) et quotiens Augusta theatrum introisset ut sedes inter Vestalium consideret. (quotiens Augusta theatrum introisset ut sedes inter Vestalium consideret: relative clause with quotiens followed by ut clause complementing decretum [est], both in oratio obliqua. Note that introisset is future (potential) in the past, ‘each time she would have entered’ and corresponds not to the plup. indicative introierat of direct speech, but to the future anterior introierit.)