XXX.
Dictis dein sententiis ut Serenus more maiorum puniretur, quo molliret invidiam, intercessit. (dictis dein sententiis ut Serenus more maiorum puniretur, quo molliret invidiam, intercessit: abl. abs. followed by two purpose clauses, one with ut, the other with quo, before the main verb: lit. ‘then opinions having been expressed [in the senate] in order for Serenus to be punished in the ancient way, [Tiberius] interposed his veto to soften the unpopularity [of the verdict].’ quo …molliretur: quo is usually found replacing ut in final clauses when a comparative is present. Here it merely enables a fastidious Tacitus to avoid repeating the use of ut. more miorum: the traditional punishment consisted in beating the criminal offender with rods until dead, followed by decapitation. The two actions are symbolized by the fasces, bundles of rods with a protruding axe. intercessit: the autocratic power of the emperor was masked by the pretense that he was invested with the veto powers of the traditional tribunes of the plebs.) Gallus Asinius cum Gyaro aut Donusa claudendum censeret, (Gallus Asinius cum Gyaro aut Donusa claudendum [esse] censeret …: ‘when Asinius Gallus proposed that [Serenus] ought to be confined in the island of Gyarus or of Donusa, …’; cum …censeret: when temporal cum is followed by imperfect or plupf. subjunctive is known as narrative cum; in such cases the action of the cum clause is contemporaneous with or immediately precedes that of the main clause; claudendum [esse]: use of gerundive to express action advisable or necessary. For Asinius Gallus see note in ch. 20. Gyarus and Donusa are tiny islands in the group of the Cyclades of the Aegean sea, between southern Greece and Turkey.) id quoque aspernatus est, egenam aquae utramque insulam referens dandosque vitae usus cui vita concederetur. (referens dandosque vitae usus cui vita concederetur: ‘pointing out that to whom life is granted the necessities of life ought also to be given’; dandosque vitae usus = dandos [esse] et vitae usus, ‘the necessaries of life must also (et) be allowed’; for use of gerundive as the Latin way to express suitability, necessity, or obligation, see also previous and next note.) ita Serenus Amorgum reportatur. et quia Cornutus sua manu ceciderat, actum de praemiis accusatorum abolendis, si quis maiestatis postulatus ante perfectum iudicium se ipse vita privavisset. (actum [est] de praemiis accusatorum abolendis, si quis maiestatis postulatus ante perfectum iudicium se ipse vita privavisset: lit. ‘it was proposed about the advisability of abolishing (abolendis) the rewards of the informers, if anyone prosecuted for treason had of his own accord (ipse) deprived himself (se) of life before the completed trial.’ si quis …se ipse vita privavisset: conditional clause in indirect discourse after actum [est]; privavisset corresponds to privaverat of direct discourse, the condition being logical; maiestatis postulatus: genitive of the crime and penalty after a judicial verb like postulo; vita is abl. with privavisset; quis is always for aliquis after si, nisi, sin, ne, num, an, aut, seu, sive.) ibaturque in eam sententiam ni durius contraque morem suum palam pro accusatoribus Caesar inritas leges, rem publicam in praecipiti conquestus esset: (ibatur in eam sententiam ni durius … Caesar … conquestus esset: lit. ‘it was proceeded towards that motion, had not Tiberius rather sharply complained.’ Conditional sentence with contrary-to-fact (type III) condition: imperfect indicative in the apodosis for action interrupted (see A.G. 517, b.), plup. subjunctive in protasis for condition referring to past time; ibatur: impersonal use of the passive of an intransitive verb, ‘it was going to go’; durius: for the use of absolute comparatives see note for proniores in previous chapter.) subverterent potius iura quam custodes eorum amoverent. (subverterent potius iura quam custodes eorum amoverent: subverterent and amoverent are hortatory subjunctives in indirect discourse; they correspond to present imperatives in direct discourse.) sic delatores, genus hominum publico exitio repertum et ne, poenis quidem umquam satis coercitum, (ne poenis quidem umquam satis coercitum: lit. ‘not even by penalties were they ever sufficiently restrained.’ ne goes with quidem, ‘not even’; coercitum [est] is again impersonal use of the passive, ‘it was restrained’, only here coerceo is transitive, unlike eo in ibatur above; poenis is instrumental abl., replacing the abl. of the agent with a or ab, reserved for human agents.) per praemia eliciebatur.