XX.
Saevitum tamen in bona, non ut stipendiariis pecuniae redderentur, quorum nemo repetebat, sed liberalitas Augusti avulsa, computatis singillatim quae fisco petebantur. (saevitum tamen in bona, non ut stipendiariis pecuniae redderentur, quorum nemo repetebat, sed liberalitas Augusti avulsa, computatis singillatim quae fisco petebantur: lit. ‘it was nevertheless raged against his property, not in order that moneys should be returned to tribute-paying provincials, of whom none claimed money back, but Augustus’ liberal gifts were wrenched away, the sums that (quae) were claimed by the imperial treasury having been calculated one by one.’ tamen: i.e. although Silius had committed suicide, in which case usually the property was not confiscated.) ea prima Tiberio erga pecuniam alienam diligentia fuit. (ea prima Tiberio erga pecuniam alienam diligentia fuit: ‘that was the first sign of interest (diligentia) Tiberius had in other men’s property.’) Sosia in exilium pellitur Asinii Galli sententia, qui partem bonorum publicandam, pars ut liberis relinqueretur (partem bonorum publicandam, pars ut liberis relinqueretur: ‘a part of the property to be confiscated, a part to be left to the children’; pars usually means pars dimidia or ‘one half’ if the division is in equal parts. Both publicandam [esse] and ut relinquertur perform here the same function, yet Tacitus uses both constructions to avoid repetition.) censuerat. contra M’. Lepidus (Asinii Galli … M’. Lepidus: Asinius Gallus is best remembered for being the second husband of Vipsania Agrippina, the first wife of Tiberius. Hated by the emperor (cf. Book 1, ch. 12), he was imprisoned in 30 A.D., and died of starvation three years later (cf. Book 6, ch. 23). M. Lepidus may be either Marcus or Manius Lepidus, references being equally divided between the two; some do not give his full praenomen, thus avoiding being wrong. See note in Book 3, ch. 32.) quartam accusatoribus secundum necessitudinem legis, (secundum necessitudinem legis: ‘according to the requirements of the law’; The law was Augustus’ lex Iulia de maiestate prescribing what was allowed to informers.) cetera liberis concessit. hunc ego Lepidum temporibus illis (temporibus illis: ‘for those times’, ‘considering the amoral character of the times’; illis is here derogatory, ‘those infamous times’.) gravem et sapientem virum fuisse comperior: nam pleraque ab saevis adulationibus aliorum in melius flexit. neque tamen temperamenti egebat, cum aequabili auctoritate et gratia apud Tiberium viguerit. (neque tamen temperamenti egebat, cum aequabili auctoritate et gratia apud Tiberium viguerit: ‘yet he did not lack prudence, since he prospered under Tiberius with consistent influence and favor.’ The genitive after egere, instead of abl., is rare in the post-Augustan period; auctoritate et gratia: abl. of manner; cum …viguerit: Tacitus has a marked preference for the perfect subjunctive over the pluperfect (here required by the sequence of tenses after the historical main verb egebat). The perfect expresses the thought of the speaker more clearly and directly than the pluperfect (Ernout). Its special use became more frequent in silver Latin. For more on the subject see note for quorum tot manus unam mulierculam avexerint in Book 1, ch. 59.) unde dubitare cogor fato et sorte nascendi, ut cetera, ita principum inclinatio in hos, offensio in illos, an sit aliquid in nostris consiliis liceatque inter abruptam contumaciam et deforme obsequium pergere iter ambitione ac periculis vacuum. (unde dubitare cogor [utrum] fato et sorte nascendi, ut cetera, ita [sint] principum inclinatio in hos, offensio in illos, an sit aliquid in nostris consiliis liceatque inter abruptam contumaciam et deforme obsequium pergere iter ambitione ac periculis vacuum: word for word: ‘from which fact I am compelled to question whether ([num]), like everything else, so also the amiability of princes towards these and antipathy towards those are because of fate and the chances of living, or whether (an) there is something in our own decisions and it is permissible (liceat) to follow a course free from cabals and dangers between outright defiance and shameful grovelling.’ A very similar observation is to be found in the last sentence of ch. 42 of Agricola. Tacitus must have struggled long and hard with this problem himself, having been, as a member of the senate, often an unwilling witness and silent subscriber of many of Domitian’s atrocities. [utrum] …an sit: double question with subjunctive; Tacitus usually omits the correlative particle before the first alternative, usually utrum or -ne; ambitione ac periculis vacuum: vacuus is with abl. to indicate what a thing is devoid of.) at (at: signals a change of subject; often ignored in translation if no approximate equivalent can be found in English, a language that does not feel the need of such connective particles as much as Larin.) Messalinus Cotta (at Messalinus Cotta: mentioned earlier in Book 2, ch. 32, Cotta, the son of the famous Valerius Messala Corvinus, was heartily disliked by Tacitus by reason of his servility, although he was equally notorious for his prodigality and for his patronage of poets like Ovid and Juvenal.) haud minus claris maioribus sed animo diversus censuit cavendum senatus consulto, ut quamquam insontes magistratus et culpae alienae nescii provincialibus uxorum criminibus proinde quam suis plecterentur. (censuit cavendum senatus consulto, ut quamquam insontes magistratus et culpae alienae nescii provincialibus uxorum criminibus proinde quam suis plecterentur: ‘he proposed that, by a senate decree, magistrates be warned that (ut) they would be punished for their wives’ crimes in the provinces, just in the same way as their own crimes, even though innocent and unaware of trespasses done by others. cavendum [esse] …ut …magistratus …plecterentur: cavendum is impersonal use of the passive periphrastic conjugation to express obligation; caveo is usually followed by a completive clause with ut or ne; provicialibus …criminibus: probably ‘provincial crimes’, i.e. ‘committed in a province’, although other renderings are possible.)