XL.
Ad ea Tiberius laudata pietate Seiani suisque in eum beneficiis modice percursis, (in eum beneficiis modice percursis: abl. abs.: ‘his services to him having been briefly mentioned’) cum tempus tamquam ad integram consultationem petivisset, adiunxit: (cum tempus tamquam ad integram consultationem petivisset, adiunxit: ‘after he had asked time for full consideration, he answered.’ tamquam: Tacitus at times uses tamquam to give an assumed reason, ‘by reason of’. See G. 602, Note 4. cum …petivisset: for use of narrative cum + subjunctive, see note below for cum …distraheretur …provideret; adiunxit: Tiberius asked for more time in a first note, then, after consideration, he sent his full answer.) ceteris mortalibus in eo stare consilia quid sibi conducere putent; (ceteris mortalibus in eo stare consilia quid sibi conducere putent: word for word: ‘for other mortals decisions depend on this question, what do they think is of use to themselves’; in eo stare: idiom, ‘to rest on this’, ‘to be confined to this’; quid … putent: subjunctive in indirect question with quid. Indirect discourse begins with this sentence and continues down to ‘falleris enim, Seiane’ where direct discourse takes over the rest of the chapter.) principum diversam esse sortem quibus praecipua rerum ad famam derigenda. (quibus praecipua rerum ad famam derigenda: ‘by whom affairs of national importance must be managed in accordance with public opinion’; quibus (referred to principes) is dative of agent with derigenda or dirigenda [esse]. The dat. of agent is used almost exclusively with the passive periphrastic conjugation in place of a or ab + abl.) ideo se non illuc decurrere, quod promptum rescriptu, posse ipsam Liviam statuere, nubendum post Drusum an in penatibus isdem tolerandum haberet; (ideo se non illuc decurrere, quod promptum rescriptu, posse ipsam Liviam statuere, nubendum [esset] post Drusum an in penatibus isdem tolerandum haberet: lit. ‘that therefore he (se) did not run straight to (illuc) what was easy to answer (rescriptu: ‘in the answering’), [namely] that Livia herself could decide whether to remarry after Drusus or continue living in the same house’; promptum rescriptu: abl. of rescriptum, supine of rescribo, after an adjective; an introduces the second part of a double indirect question, both parts with subjunctive as required; in penatibus isdem tolerandum haberet: penatibus, the guardian spirits of the home, is metonymy for the house or family: lit. ‘she had to submit [to staying] in the same house; tolerandum is impersonal use of the gerundive, ‘it was to be submitted to’; haberet in this context means ‘to have in one’s power.’) esse illi matrem et aviam, propiora consilia. simplicius acturum, de inimicitiis primum Agrippinae, quas longe acrius arsuras si matrimonium Liviae velut in partis domum Caesarum distraxisset. (simplicius acturum, de inimicitiis primum Agrippinae, quas longe acrius arsuras si matrimonium Liviae velut in partis domum Caesarum distraxisset: ‘[he wrote] that he would deal with him more frankly, first of all in relation to Agrippina’s hostility, which would flare up far more violently, if Livia’s marriage should tear asunder, as it were, the house of the Caesars.’ Until now the rivalry was between the house of Drusus, Tiberius’ son, and that of Agrippina. If Livia remarried, a third faction would be created. acrius arsuras si … distraxisset: conditional sentence in indirect discourse: condition is future (potential or type II), hence future infinitive in apodosis and subjunctive in protasis according to sequence of tenses after the perf. adiunxit, the main verb of saying. distruxisset: lit. ‘it would have torn asunder’, future in time past.) sic quoque erumpere aemulationem feminarum, eaque discordia nepotes suos convelli: (sic quoque erumpere aemulationem feminarum, eaque discordia nepotes suos convelli: ‘that even as things were, the rivalry of the women were erupting and his grandsons were distracted by the infighting’; nepotes: included the sons of Germanicus, Nero, Drusus, and Gaius (later emperor Caligula), and the twin sons of Drusus (Tiberius’ son), and Livilla, namely Tiberius and Germanicus. sic quoque: both words are adverbs, ‘even in the present state of things’) quid si intendatur certamen tali coniugio? (quid si intendatur certamen tali coniugio?: ‘what if the conflict were made worse by such marriage?’ intendatur is subjunctive for question in indirect speech.) ‘falleris enim, Seiane, si te mansurum in eodem ordine putas, et Liviam, quae G. Caesari, mox Druso nupta fuerit, ea mente acturam ut cum equite Romano senescat. (‘falleris enim, Seiane, si te mansurum in eodem ordine putas, et Liviam, quae G. Caesari, mox Druso nupta fuerit, ea mente acturam ut cum equite Romano senescat: Tacitus switches here to direct speech: ‘you in fact deceive yourself, Sejanus, if you think that you (te) will remain in the same position and that Livia, who was married to Gaius Caesar then to Drusus, would stand by her decision to grow old with a Roman knight.’ ea mente acturam ut …: lit. ‘would act with such resolution as to …’; ea is used her with the force of talis, as often in Tacitus. The sense is consecutive. G. Caesari: Gaius Caesar was the son of Marcus Agrippa and Augustus’ daughter Julia. He died in Asia Minor (Turkey) in 4 A.D. at the age of 24. falleris …si …putas: conditional sentence of the potential kind (future or type II) with present subjunctive in protasis, but with future indicative in apodosis, in that the result is viewed as a fact. Cf. A.G. 516, b., Note. falleris is reflexive rather than passive: ‘you will deceive yourself’, rather than ‘you will be deceived’.) ego ut sinam, credisne passuros qui fratrem eius, qui patrem maioresque nostros in summis imperiis videre? (ego ut sinam, credisne passuros [esse] qui fratrem eius, qui patrem maioresque nostros in summis imperiis videre?: ut is here concessive + subjunctive: ‘even though I give my permission, do you think that those who saw her brother, her father, and our ancestors in the highest offices of state would countenance it?’ Claudia Livia Julia, also know as Livilla was the sister of Germanicus and the daughter of Drusus, Tiberius’ brother. Her mother, Antonia Minor, was the daughter of Marc Antony and of Augustus’ daughter Octavia, so among her immediate forefathers, Livilla counted both Augustus and Marc Antony. passuros [esse]: use of active periphrastic conjugation; credisne: the interrogative particle -ne, in expressions like videsne, videmusne, credisne may suggest a negative answer, like num does (Rescigno).) vis tu quidem istum intra locum sistere: sed illi magistratus et primores, qui te invitum perrumpunt omnibusque de rebus consulunt, excessisse iam pridem equestre fastigium longeque antisse patris mei amicitias non occulti ferunt (vis tu quidem istum intra locum sistere: sed illi magistratus et primores, qui te invitum perrumpunt omnibusque de rebus consulunt, excessisse iam pridem equestre fastigium longeque antisse patris mei amicitias non occulti ferunt: ‘indeed you [say’] that you desire to remain within your station, but those magistrates and prominent citizens, who thrust themselves on you uninvited and ask your advice on all kinds of things, say openly that you have long exceeded the eminence of your class and far surpassed in favor the friends of my father.’ fastigium is the gable end or highest point of a house, here used in an abstract sense. amicitias is in place of amicos, i.e. friends of Augustus who also were, like Sejanus, of equestrian or even lower origin, such as Maecenas, Sallust, Proculeius.) perque invidiam tui me quoque incusant. (perque invidiam tui me quoque incusant: ‘through disdain of you they also accuse me’; per + acc. denotes instrument in place of simple abl.) at enim Augustus filiam suam equiti Romano tradere meditatus est. (at enim Augustus filiam suam equiti Romano tradere meditatus est: the sentence anticipates an objection in respect of a point in Sejanus’; letter: ‘but certainly, [you will say], Augustus was considering giving his daughter to a Roman knight.’) mirum hercule, si cum in omnis curas distraheretur immensumque attolli provideret quem coniunctione tali super alios extulisset, C. Proculeium et quosdam in sermonibus habuit insigni tranquillitate vitae, nullis rei publicae negotiis permixtos. (mirum hercule, si cum in omnis curas distraheretur immensumque attolli provideret quem coniunctione tali super alios extulisset, C. Proculeium et quosdam in sermonibus habuit insigni tranquillitate vitae, nullis rei publicae negotiis permixtos: most translators interpret this complex sentence as if it were a rhetoric question, to better capture its intended meaning: lit. ‘is it really astonishing, by Hercules, if [Augustus], being torn asunder among all the anxieties of government and realizing that by such an alliance [he], whom (quem) he would lift above all others, was to be exalted to an immense height, mentioned in his talk Proculeius and others known for their quiet life and uninvolvement in political matters?’ The point of Tiberius argument is that Augustus, in choosing a husband for his daughter Julia, was about to create a likely rival to himself, unless he chose a quiet man like his friend Gaius Proculeius. Tiberius had faced the same problem with Germanicus, whom he allegedly removed using poison. Anther example is Nero, who had Corbulo, his best general, executed. Even Augustus was at some point advised to eliminate Marcus Agrippa, who ultimately was his choice for Julia. si … extulisset: lit. ‘if he would have raised’: future condition (potential or type II) cast back into past time; cf. A.G. 516, f.; cum …distraheretur …provideret …, in sermonibus habuit: use of narrative or historical cum + subjunctive, which directs the attention to the circumstance that occasions or causes the action of the main clause, here in sermonibus habuit, ‘he mentioned in his talk’; for this reason narrative cum is at times difficult to differentiate from causal cum. immensum, ‘immensely’, is adverbial accusative, like ceterum, postremum, ultimum, etc. See ch. 27at the end.) sed si dubitatione Augusti movemur, quanto validius est quod Marco Agrippae, mox mihi conlocavit? (sed si dubitatione Augusti movemur, quanto validius est quod Marco Agrippae, mox mihi conlocavit?: ‘but if we are affected by Augustus’ hesitation, how much more relevant is the fact that (quod) he [gave] her to Marcus Agrippa and later to me?’ sed si is in place of sin, normally used to contradict a first si in a preceding sentence (see previous note). si movemur …conlocavit: conditional sentence of the logical kind (type I) with indicative in both apodosis and protasis. Marcus Agrippa was Augustus’ best friend and collaborator.) atque ego haec pro amicitia non occultavi: ceterum neque tuis neque Liviae destinatis adversabor. (ceterum neque tuis neque Liviae destinatis adversabor: ‘but I shall not oppose yours and Livia’s plans.’ ceterum: here with the adversative force of sed; destinatis id dative with adversor.) ipse quid intra animum volutaverim, quibus adhuc necessitudinibus immiscere te mihi parem, omittam ad praesens referre: (ipse quid intra animum volutaverim, quibus adhuc necessitudinibus immiscere te mihi parem, omittam ad praesens referre: ‘myself, what I have revolved in my mind, by which bonds I propose to unite you still further (adhuc) to myself, I shall omit to say for the present.’ quid …volutaverim, quibus …parem …omittam: subjunctives in indirect questions governed by the future omittam and introduced by quid and quibus; ad praesens is short for ad praesens tempus.) id tantum aperiam, nihil esse tam excelsum quod non virtutes istae tuusque in me animus mereantur, (id tantum aperiam, nihil esse tam excelsum quod non virtutes istae tuusque in me animus mereantur: ‘only this much I reveal, that there is nothing so sublime that your virtue and your loyalty do not deserve.’ Consecutive clause in indir. speech, hence with infinitive in main clause with tantun and subjunctive in dependent clause with tam.) datoque tempore (datoque tempore: abl. abs.: ‘given the occasion’) vel in senatu s vel in contione non reticebo.’