XXXVII.
Per idem tempus Hispania ulterior (Hispania ulterior: the southwestern part of Spain when the Iberian Peninsula was divided into the two provinces of Ulterior and Citerior. Augustus divided Hispania Ulterior into Lusitania (mainly Portugal) and Baetica (modern Andalusia).) missis ad senatum legatis oravit ut exemplo Asiae (exemplo Asiae: see ch. 15.) delubrum Tiberio matrique eius extrueret. qua occasione Caesar, validus alioqui spernendis honoribus et respondendum ratus iis quorum rumore arguebatur in ambitionem flexisse, (validus alioqui spernendis honoribus et respondendum ratus iis quorum rumore arguebatur in ambitionem flexisse …: ‘[Tiberius], quite forceful at other times in refusing honors, thinking he should respond to those (iis) who in their idle talk (rumore) accused him of having given in to ambition, …’; respondendum [esse]: impersonal use of the passive periphrastic conjugation to express obligation, lit. ‘that it was to be responded’; quorum rumore arguebatur: impersonal use of passive, ‘in whose idle talk it was argued that …’) huiusce modi (huiusce modi: the enclitic -ce reinforces the demonstrative huius, or other words, in the way ‘here’ and ‘there’ do in English (‘this here’, ‘that there’); often the final e of -ce is left out, as in sic, illic and others.) orationem coepit: ‘scio, patres conscripti, constantiam meam a plerisque desideratam (scio …constantiam meam a plerisque desideratam [esse]: desideratam is here with the sense that something is lacking, wanting, missing, in this case constantia; changed to active sense, the sentence means ‘I know many feel that my consistency has left much to be desired,’) quod Asiae civitatibus nuper idem istud petentibus non sim adversatus. (quod Asiae civitatibus nuper idem istud petentibus non sim adversatus: ‘because I was not opposed to the cities of Asia petitioning this very same thing’; the subjunctive sim adversatus after quod is required by the fact that the relative clause is governed by the infinitive desideratam [esse] (modal attraction). Cf. G. 629, A.G. 593. civitatibus petntibus is dative with adversor.) ergo et prioris silentii defensionem et quid in futurum statuerim simul aperiam. cum divus Augustus sibi atque urbi Romae templum apud Pergamum (Pergamum: on the Aegean (western) coast of Mysia, facing the island of Lesbos, but 15 miles inland from the coast.) sisti non prohibuisset, (cum … non prohibuisset: causal cum + subjunctive) qui omnia facta dictaque eius vice legis observem, ([ego] qui omnia facta dictaque eius vice legis observem: ‘I who would respect as law all of Augustus’ action and sayings’; vice legis: vice is one of the ablatives, like gratia and causa, that are followed by genitive: ‘in the manner of’; observem is potential subjunctive.) placitum iam exemplum promptius secutus sum quia cultui meo veneratio senatus adiungebatur. ceterum (ceterum: here with the adversative value the adverb acquired in imperial times. Compare with ceterum at the head of ch. 36.) ut semel recepisse veniam habuerit, ita per omnis provincias effgie numinum sacrari ambitiosum, superbum; (ut semel recepisse veniam habuerit, ita per omnis provincias effgie numinum sacrari ambitiosum, superbum [esse]: in indirect discourse: ‘that just as having accepted once [the honor] may be pardoned, so to be venerated throughout the provinces in the effigy of a god would be an impudent and arrogant thing.’ ut …sic introduce the dependent and main clause of a comparative sentence. In indirect discourse, the first is necessarily with subjunctive, the second with infinitive.) et vanescet Augusti honor si promiscis adulationibus vulgatur.