XXXIV.
Cornelio Cosso Asinio Agrippa consulibus (Cornelio Cosso Asinio Agrippa consulibus: the consuls for the new yeas, 25 A.D. Cossus Cornelius Lentulus was the son of Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus. consul in 1 B.C. and known for having repressed a rebellion of the Gaetuli in North Africa; Asinius Agrippa was one of the sons of Asinius Gallus and Vipsania, Tiberius’ first wife.) Cremutius Cordus postulatur novo ac tunc primum audito crimine, (Cremutius Cordus postulatur novo ac tunc primum audito crimine: ‘Cremutius Cordus is arraigned on a new charge heard then for the first time.’ Cremutius Cordus was the author of a history of Augustus’ reign. His biting sarcasm made him a sworn enemy of Sejanus. Seneca says that, on hearing that the senate had decreed a statue to Sejanus to be placed in the theater of Pompey which had just survived a fire (see Book 3. ch. 72), he exclaimed ‘tunc vere theatrum perire!’) quod editis annalibus laudatoque M. Bruto C. Cassium (M. Bruto C. Cassium: Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius were the heads of the conspiracy to assassinate Julius Caesar in 44 B.C.) Romanorum ultimum (Romanorum ultimum: in fact, the title was first given by Brutus himself to Cassius who had killed himself thinking he had lost the battle at Philippi in 42 B.C.) dixisset. accusabant Satrius Secundus et Pinarius Natta, (Satrius Secundus et Pinarius Natta: both Sejanus’ creatures, not much is known abut Satrius Secundus and Pinarius Natta aside from their action against Cordus. Satrius later betrayed Sejanus and as to Natta it appears from an inscription that he may have reached the rank of aedile.) Seiani clientes. id perniciabile reo et Caesar truci vultu defensionem accipiens, (id perniciabile reo et Caesar truci vultu defensionem accipiens: ‘this [was] ruinous to the accused and also (et) the emperor listening to his defense with a dark scowl.’) quam Cremutius relinquendae vitae certus (relinquendae vitae certus: ‘determined to end his life’; certus is here followed by genitive gerundive, lit. ‘certain of his life to be relinquished’; relinquendae vitae is objective genitive after an adjective.) in hunc modum exorsus est: ‘verba mea, patres conscripti, arguuntur: adeo factorum innocens sum. sed neque haec in principem aut principis parentem, quos lex maiestatis amplectitur: Brutum et Cassium laudavisse dicor, (laudavisse dicor: personal construction of passive with infinitive; compare with dicunt me laudavisse, impersonal construction. See G. 528.) quorum res gestas cum plurimi composuerint, nemo sine honore memoravit. (quorum res gestas cum plurimi composuerint, nemo sine honore memoravit: ‘whose deeds very many have recorded, though none have written without respect.’ cum …composuerint: cum appears to be concessive, thus regularly with subjunctive. See A.G. 549.) Titus Livius, eloquentiae ac fidei praeclarus in primis, (Titus Livius, eloquentiae ac fidei praeclarus in primis: ‘above all Titus Livius, renowned for his style and fairness’; Livy wrote Ab urbe condita, an awe-inspiring history of Rome.) Cn. Pompeium tantis laudibus tulit ut Pompeianum eum Augustus appellaret; (Cn. Pompeium tantis laudibus tulit ut Pompeianum eum Augustus appellaret: consecutive sentence with tantis and ut introducing the main and the subordinate clause respectively, the latter with subjunctive: ‘he exalted Gnaeus Pompeius with such praise that Augustus called him ‘Pompeianus’; Pompey was the arch-rival of Julius Caesar, therefore not a favorite of the Julian house.) neque id amicitiae eorum offecit. (neque id amicitiae eorum offecit: ‘nor was this an impediment to their friendship.’ amicitiae is dative with officio, which is intransitive.) Scipionem, Afranium, (Scipionem, Afranium (Scipionem, Afranium: Scipio Metellus Pius and Lucius Afranius, the first Pompey’s father-in-law, the other Pompey’s lieutenant. Both died, the first committed suicide after Caesar’s victory at Pharsalus in Thessaly in 48 B.C., the other was killed after the disaster of Thapsus in North Africa in 46 B.C.) hunc ipsum Cassium, hunc Brutum nusquam latrones et parricidas, quae nunc vocabula imponuntur, saepe ut insignis viros nominat. Asinii Pollionis scripta egregiam eorundem memoriam tradunt; Messala Corvinus (Asinii Pollionis … Messala Corvinus: Asinius Pollio wrote a history of the Augustan period in seventeen books; Messala Corvinus, orator and historian, wrote the history of the struggle between Caesar and Pompey. At the battle of Philippi between Marc Antony and Octavian (later Augustus) on one side and Brutus and Cassius on the other, he was second in command under Cassius. After the defeat and death of Brutus and Cassius, he followed Antony, then Augustus. He was mentioned, indirectly, in Book 3, ch. 34 as the father of Valerius Messalinus.) imperatorem suum Cassium praedicabat: et uterque opibusque atque honoribus perviguere. Marci Ciceronis libro quo Catonem caelo aequavit, (Marci Ciceronis libro quo Catonem caelo aequavit …: ‘in the book of Marcus Cicero by means of which he pays high tribute to Cato …’; the reference is to Marcus Tullius Cicero, the famous statesman, orator and writer active at the very end of the republic. He wrote a eulogy of Cato Uticensis, a staunch defender of the republic who preferred to kill himself than to live under the dictator Julius Caesar. The latter promptly responded with a book of his own titled Anticato. Both Cicero’s Cato and Caesar’s Anticato are now lost.) quid aliud dictator Caesar quam rescripta oratione velut apud iudices respondit? (quid aliud dictator Caesar quam rescripta oratione velut apud iudices respondit?: lit. ‘what else did the dictator Caesar answer than with a speech written in reply (rescripta), just as if he were before judges?’ quid aliud …quam: the turn of phrase replaces nisi; it occurs in negative or interrogative contexts after alius, aliter, secus (Ernout).) Antonii epistulae Bruti contiones falsa quidem in Augustum probra set multa cum acerbitate habent; carmina Bibaculi et Catulli referta contumeliis Caesarum leguntur: (Antonii epistulae Bruti contiones … carmina Bibaculi et Catulli referta contumeliis Caesarum leguntur: ‘the letters of Antony, the speeches of Brutus the poems of Bibaculus and Catullus, filled (referta) with abuse of the Caesars, are read [even today].’ Antonii epistulae: probably letters Antony wrote from Egypt to his rival Octavian in Rome; Bibaculi et Catulli: M. Furius Bibaculus and C. Valerius Catullus, both poets of the first century B.C.) sed ipse divus Iulius, ipse divus Augustus et tulere ista et reliquere, (et tulere ista et reliquere: et …et, ‘not only … but also’: ‘they both not only put up with these things, but also left [the poets] be.’) haud facile dixerim, moderatione magis an sapientia. namque spreta exolescunt: si irascare, adgnita videntur. (si irascare, adgnita videntur: ‘if you get angry, the things [you resent] seem acknowledged.’ Conditional sentence of the logical kind (type I): indicative in both protasis and apodosis; irascare is another form od irasceris, use of the second person singular as indefinite subject.)