VI.
Congruens crediderim recensere (congruens crediderim recensere: ‘I should think appropriate to pass in review ..’; crediderim is potential subjunctive, here used to express a modest, guarded opinion in the first person with regard to possible present or future action; both present and perfect subjunctive are found so used.) ceteras quoque rei publicae partis, quibus modis ad eam diem habitae sint, (quibus modis ad eam diem habitae sint: ‘in which way [other branches of the state administration] were conducted up to that moment’; habitae sint: subjunctive in indirect question introduced by interrogative quibus) quoniam Tiberio mutati in deterius principatus initium ille annus attulit. (quoniam … attulit: causal quoniam, like quia, quod, and quando, normally takes indicative.) iam primum (iam primum: ‘first of all’, ‘to begin with’) publica negotia et privatorum maxima apud patres tractabantur, dabaturque primoribus disserere et in adulationem lapsos cohibebat ipse; mandabatque honores, nobilitatem maiorum, claritudinem militiae, inlustris domi artes spectando, (mandabatque honores … inlustris domi artes spectando: ‘he would assign public offices by taking into consideration eminent civic merits.’ spectando is instrumental use of the abl. gerund without preposition, which may take a direct object, as here.) ut satis constaret non alios potiores fuisse. (ut satis constaret non alios potiores fuisse: the sense is final or consecutive: ‘so that it should be quite manifest that no better candidates had been available’) sua consulibus, sua praetoribus species; (sua consulibus, sua praetoribus species [erat]: consulibus and praetoribus are datives of possessor with implied erat: ‘the consuls, the praetors maintained intact their dignity’; lit. ‘to them was their own peculiar grandeur.’) minorum quoque magistratuum exercita potestas; (exercita [est] potestas: ‘their authority was effectively exercised.’) legesque, si maiestatis quaestio eximeretur, bono in usu. (legesque, si maiestatis quaestio eximeretur, bono in usu: ‘and the laws [were] applied with justice, if the trials for treason might be excepted.’ si …eximeretur: subjunctive in protasis with potential condition) at frumenta et pecuniae vectigales, cetera publicorum fructuum (frumenta et pecuniae vectigales, cetera publicorum fructuum: ‘the tribute in corn, the indirect taxes and other public revenues …’; the term vectigalia comprises all sources of public revenues distinct from the tribute; thus, it includes all direct and indirect taxes, the latter known as pecuniae vectigales.) societatibus equitum Romanorum agitabantur. res suas Caesar spectatissimo cuique, quibusdam ignotis ex fama mandabat, (res suas Caesar spectatissimo cuique, quibusdam ignotis ex fama mandabat: ‘Tiberius entrusted his own possessions to men of approved integrity, some merely on account of their reputation, though unknown to him personally.’ ex fama is abl. of cause; the dative quibusdam ignotis agrees with spectatissimo cuique, and the participle ignotis has concessive sense. See G. 609.) semelque adsumpti tenebantur prorsus sine modo, (prorsus sine modo: ‘indeed without limit’ or ‘even to excess’) cum plerique isdem negotiis insenescereut. (cum plerique isdem negotiis insenescereut: causal cum + subjunctive: ‘since many of them became old in the same employment’) plebes acri quidem annona (acri quidem annona: ‘abl. abs., ‘the price of grain being really steep’) fatigabatur, sed nulla in eo culpa ex principe: quin infecunditati terrarum aut asperis maris obviam iit, quantum impendio diligentiaque poterat. (quin infecunditati terrarum aut asperis maris obviam iit, quantum impendio diligentiaque poterat: ‘on the contrary, he checked crop failures and losses of supplies at sea as far as he could with money and effort.’ quin is here emphatic adverb, ‘nay, even …’; obviam iit: obviam ire is idiom, ‘to meet or to face (e,g. an evil)’; asperis maris: ‘the violence of the sea’) et ne provinciae novis oneribus turbarentur utque vetera sine avaritia aut crudelitate magistratnum tolerarent (ne … turbarentur utque … tolerarent: negative and positive purpose clause back to back) providebat: corporum verbera, ademptiones bonorum aberant. (ademptiones bonorum aberant: ‘confiscations of property did not occur’) rari per Italiam Caesaris agri, modesta servitia, intra paucos libertos domus; ac si quando cum privatis disceptaret, forum et ius. (si quando cum privatis disceptaret, forum et ius: ‘whenever he had some difference with private citizens, he had recourse to the courts for justice.’ si quando …disceptaret: both si and quando can introduce repeated action, just as ubi and cum do. At times found as one word, siquando or quandosi. The subjunctive of repetition began to appear at the end of the republican period. Cf. note for si quando in Book 2, ch. 63. forum et ius: a striking example of Tacitean brevity: two nouns, no sentence structure, yet, somehow, meaning is maintained.)