LII.
At Romae commota principis domo, (at Romae commota principis domo: at opens a new topic after the Thracian excursus; Romae is locative; commota principis domo: lit. ‘the imperial house having been shaken [by tragedies]’) ut series futuri in Agrippinam exitii inciperet Claudia Pulchra sobrina eius postulatur accusante Domitio Afro. (ut series futuri in Agrippinam exitii inciperet Claudia Pulchra sobrina eius postulatur accusante Domitio Afro: ‘in order to begin the chain of events towards Agrippina’s downfall, Claudia Pulchra, her cousin, was arraigned before the court, the accuser being Domitius Afer. Not all agree with Tacitus’ scathing verdict of Afer, as given in the rest of the chapter. Tiberius himself, not an indifferent judge of merit, admired him deeply and Quintilian thought him the greatest orator he had ever heard.) is recens praetura, modicus dignationis et quoquo facinore properus clarescere, (modicus dignationis et quoquo facinore properus clarescere: ‘of mediocre fame (lit. ‘mediocre of fame’) and impatient to gain consideration by whatever action’; modicus dignationis: Tacitus is fond of objective genitives of specification after adjectives; in Book 2, ch. 73, modicus voluptatum is found. clarescere: infinitive of purpose after properus; cf. l. 2164 – 2166.) crimen impudicitiae, adulterum Furnium, veneficia in principem et devotiones obiectabat. Agrippina semper atrox, tum et periculo propinquae accensa, (Agrippina semper atrox, tum et periculo propinquae accensa: ‘Agrippina, always impulsive, now also (et) indignant in view of her relative’s danger, …’) pergit ad Tiberium ac forte sacrificantem patri repperit. quo initio invidiae non eiusdem ait mactare divo Augusto victimas et posteros eius insectari. (quo initio invidiae non eiusdem [esse] ait mactare divo Augusto victimas et posteros eius insectari: ‘making this circumstance the base of her reproaches, she told him that it was not consistent for the same man to immolate victims to the divine Augustus and to persecute his progeny.’ quo initio invidiae: abl. abs.: ‘that circumstance being the point of departure of her reproaches; quo refers to Tiberius sacrificing to Augustus; ait is present indicative, the verb aio lacking perfect and most other tenses.) non in effigies mutas divinum spiritum transfusum: se imaginem veram, caelesti sanguine ortam, intellegere discrimen, suscipere sordis. (se … intellegere discrimen, suscipere sordis: ‘that she understood her deadly peril and wore mourning garments [to lament her own fate]’) frustra Pulchram praescribi cui sola exitii causa sit quod Agrippinam stulte prorsus ad cultum delegerit oblita Sosiae ob eadem adflictae. (frustra Pulchram praescribi cui sola exitii causa sit quod Agrippinam stulte prorsus ad cultum delegerit oblita Sosiae ob eadem adflictae: ‘in vain was Pulchra used as a pretext for whom the only cause of ruin was the fact that (quod) she had quite (prorsum) foolishly chosen Agrippina for her veneration (ad cultum), forgetful of Sosia persecuted for the same error’; Sosiae: cf. ch. 19. stulte prorsum: the adverb prorsum either precedes or follows the word it modifies. sit …delegerit: subjunctives for relative clause in oratio obliqua after ait; both present and perfect are according to the sequence of tenses when the leading verb (here ait) is primary, since the historical present can take either the primary or the secondary sequence.) audita haec raram occulti pectoris vocem elicuere, correptamque Graeco versu admonuit non ideo laedi quia non regnaret. (audita haec raram occulti pectoris vocem elicuere, correptamque Graeco versu admonuit non ideo laedi quia non regnaret: lit. ‘these words being heard [by him] elicited a rare response from that impenetrable heart: taking hold of her he rebuked her with a Greek verse that she was not necessarily wronged because she was not queen’, meaning that the real cause of her bitter, but unprovoked resentment lay in the fact that she held no power. correptam: lit. ‘she having been taken hold of’: the perfect participle of transitive (non-deponent) verbs is always passive in meaning, quite unlike English. quia non regnaret: subjunctive after quia in indirect discourse.) Pulchra et Furnius damnantur. Afer primoribus oratorum additus, divulgato ingenio et secuta adseveratione Caesaris qua suo iure disertum eum appellavit. (secuta adseveratione Caesaris qua suo iure disertum eum appellavit: abl. abs. governing a relative clause: lit. ‘Tiberius’ praise following, whereby he called Afer a great orator in his own right’; suo iure: though Afer is not the subject of the clause, suo refers to him, since it has the emphatic meaning of ‘his very own’; cf. G. 309, 2.) mox capessendis accusationibus aut reos tutando prosperiore eloquentiae quam morum fama fuit, (mox capessendis accusationibus aut reos tutando prosperiore eloquentiae quam morum fama fuit: lit. ‘afterwards, by conducting prosecutions (lit. ‘by prosecutions to be conducted’) and by defending culprits he became (fuit) a man with greater fame of eloquence than of moral conduct.’ prosperiore eloquentiae quam morum fama: eloquentiae and morum are genitives of quality with fama. reos tutando: the abl. gerund without preposition admits a direct object. Tacitus here switches from gerundive to gerund for no other reason than to avoid using the same construction twice.) nisi quod aetas extrema multum etiam eloquentiae dempsit, dum fessa mente retinet silentii impatientiam. (nisi quod aetas extrema multum etiam eloquentiae dempsit, dum fessa mente retinet silentii impatientiam: ‘except that (nisi quod: ‘except the fact that’) old age took away much of even his eloquence, while his weakened intellect conserved the unwillingness to keep silent.’ dum …retinet: dum, ‘while’, with indicative present.