LXX.
Sed Caesar sollemnia incipientis anni kalendis Ianuariis epistula precatus (sollemnia incipientis anni … epistula precatus: ‘extending in a letter the prayers of the year just starting’; in keeping with a republican custom, prayers for the safety of the magistrates were offered on their entering office.) vertit in Sabinum, corruptos quosdam libertorum et petitum se arguens, ultionemque haud obscure poscebat. nec mora quin decerneretur; (nec mora quin decerneretur: ‘[there was] no hesitation in deciding what to do.’ quin decerneretur: quin introduces here a supplementary clause of consecutive sense, in place of ut non after a negative main clause: lit. ‘so that they should not decide’; cf. A.G. 559, 1. and Note.) et trahebatur damnatus, quantum obducta veste et adstrictis faucibus niti poterat, clamitans (quantum obducta veste et adstrictis faucibus niti poterat, clamitans: ‘shouting as much as he could endeavor (niti poterat), his toga being drawn around [his head] and his neck constricted [by a noose]’; obducta veste et adstrictis faucibus is abl. abs.) sic inchoari annum, has Seiano victimas cadere. quo intendisset oculos, quo verba acciderent, fuga vastitas, deseri itinera fora. (quo intendisset oculos, quo verba acciderent, fuga vastitas, deseri itinera fora: ‘in whichever direction (quo) he might have directed his eyes, wherever his words might reach, [there was] universal flight, then an empty vastness; streets and public places became deserted’; fuga vastitas: if fuga is abl., the sense could be: ‘a confused mass of people in flight’ or similar. intendissent and acciderent appear to be potential subjunctives rather than subjunctives of repeated action. The passive deseri is historical infinitive.) et quidam regrediebantur ostentabantque se rursum id ipsum paventes quod timuissent. (id ipsum paventes quod timuissent: ‘fearing the very fact that they had shown fear’, i.e. to show fear was a tacit admission of guilt. The subjunctive after quod is to express a reason not real, but merely supposed by someone.) quem enim diem vacuum poena ubi inter sacra et vota, quo tempore verbis etiam profanis abstineri mos esset, vincla et laqueus inducantur? (quem enim diem vacuum poena [esse] ubi inter sacra et vota, quo tempore verbis etiam profanis abstineri mos esset, vincla et laqueus inducantur?: the passage is in oratio obliqua, revealing the thoughts of the people; the verb of saying must be inferred from the context (see G. 649, Note 2): ‘which day indeed was free from executions, people asked, when amid divine worship and vows, at which time it was customary to refrain from even profane words, shackles and nooses were being exhibited?’ quem diem …[esse] …?: the indirect question is purely rhetorical, thus infinitive with acc. in indirect discourse. Cf. G. 651, R.1. ubi inducantur, quo tempore …mos esset: a temporal clause with ubi and a relative clause with quo take subjunctive in indirect discourse, as do all subordinate clauses.) non imprudentem Tiberium tantam invidiam adisse: (non imprudentem Tiberium tantam invidiam adisse: ‘that Tiberius had not incurred such unpopularity unaware [of the consequences]’) quaesitum meditatumque, ne quid impedire credatur quo minus novi magistratus, quo modo delubra et altaria, sic carcerem recludant. (quaesitum meditatumque, ne quid impedire credatur quo minus novi magistratus, quo modo delubra et altaria, sic carcerem recludant: still in indirect discourse: lit. ‘it was all pre-planned and well studied, they said, to prevent (ne) it might be believed (credatur) that anything would stop (impedire) the new magistrates from throwing open the dungeons in the manner in which (quo modo) [they throw open] the temples and the altars’; quaesitum meditatumque [esse]: impersonal use in the third person singular of the passive, as is also credatur next and dubitabatur at the end of the chapter; the first two verbs are supplemented by a ne clause that explains their meaning and impedire in turn is supplemented by a quominus clause, often found after verbs of preventing or refusing (A.G. 558, b.). quo modo delubra et altaria, sic carcerem recludant: quo modo or quomodo is in place of ut, the correlative of ita in a comparative sentence governed by the quominus clause and using the same verb: ‘just as [they open up] temples and shrines, so they do dungeons.’ The subordinate clause of the comparative sentence, introduced by quo modo, has no verb since it is the same as that of the main or ita clause, a common occurrence with this type of sentence. ne quid … credatur: quis and quid are always in place of aliquis and aliquid after ne. See note for seu quis alius regum in ch. 65.) secutae insuper litterae grates agentis (secutae insuper litterae grates agentis: ‘upon that a letter followed of [the emperor] expressing thanks.’ agentis is gen. singular and refers to Tiberius.) quod hominem infensum rei publicae punivissent, adiecto trepidam sibi vitam, suspectas inimicorum insidias, nullo nominatim compellato; (adiecto trepidam sibi vitam, suspectas inimicorum insidias, nullo nominatim compellato: adiecto and compellato are ablatives abs., the first followed by complementary clauses explaining it: lit. ‘being added that life [was] full of anxieties for him, that treasonable schemes of enemies [were] expected, no one being reproached by name’; sibi is dat of interest. adiecto …compellato: perfect participles ending in -to are found used alone in an impersonal sense as ablatives abs.) neque tamen dubitabatur in Neronem et Agrippinam intendi. (neque tamen dubitabatur in Neronem et Agrippinam intendi: ‘yet it was not doubted that Nero and Agrippina were intended.’)