IV.
Fuit in senatu Iunius Rusticus, componendis patrum actis delectus a Caesare eoque meditationes eius introspicere creditus. (fuit in senatu Iunius Rusticus, componendis patrum actis delectus a Caesare eoque meditationes eius introspicere creditus: ‘Junius Rusticus was a member in the senate chosen by Tiberius to record the deliberations of the fathers and therefore believed to have access to the prince’s secret intentions.’ componendis patrum actis: dative gerundive to express the end or purpose of an action and often replaced by ad + acc. gerundive; lit. ‘for the debates of the fathers to be recorded’; cf. A.G. 505, b. Suetonius relates that keeping and publishing a daily journal of the senate’s proceedings was first ordered by Julius Caesar when consul in 59 B.C. Augustus waived the requirement, preferring that the debates be kept secret. Tiberius followed his example, but had a senator keep a record for internal reference.) is fatali quodam motu (neque enim ante specimen constantiae dederat) seu prava sollertia, dum imminentium oblitus incerta pavet, inserere se dubitantibus ac monere consules ne relationem inciperent; (is fatali quodam motu (neque enim ante specimen constantiae dederat) seu prava sollertia, dum imminentium oblitus incerta pavet, inserere se dubitantibus ac monere consules ne relationem inciperent: ‘from a kind of (quodam) fateful urge (he had in fact never before given sign of bravery) or from foolish anxiety, oblivious of imminent danger while he feared uncertain perils, he ranged himself with the hesitant senators and warned the consuls not to bring on the question.’ dum imminentium oblitus incerta pavet: the meaning is that he ignored the present danger of offending Tiberius by preventing the senate from acting for fear of uncertain future punishment should the emperor come to regret the destruction of Germanicus’ family resulting from such action. The words following make this quite clear. dum …pavet: the particle dum, ‘while’, is regularly found with present indicative; monere …ne …incipernt: a complementary final clause with ut or ne is usual after moneo and many other verbs; cf. G. 546. monere is here historical infinitive.) disserebatque brevibus momentis summa verti: (disserebatque brevibus momentis summa verti: ‘he contended that issues of the utmost importance (summa) are turned upside down within instants.’ brevibus momentis: abl. of time when or within which; see A.G. 423.) posse quandoque domus Germanici exitium paenitentiae esse seni. (posse quandoque domus Germanici exitium paenitentiae esse seni: lit. ‘that the destruction of Germanicus’ house could some day (quandoque) be for repentance to the aged emperor’; paenitentiae esse seni: double dative, the first final (also called Dative of the Object for Which), the second Dative of Interest (also variously called Dative of Reference, Dative of Advantage or Disadvantage, and Dativus commodi aut incommodi). Double datives are found with certain verbs, as sum, fio, do, verto, habeo, tribuo, venio, mitto, relinquo, etc. See G. 356, A.G. 376.) simul populus effgies Agrippinae ac Neronis gerens circumsistit curiam faustisque in Caesarem ominibus (faustisque in Caesarem ominibus: ‘amid warm professions of loyalty towards the emperor, …’; faustis … ominibus: abl. of place where; the people believed Tiberius to be the victim of Sejanus’ duplicity.) falsas litteras et principe invito exitium domui eius intendi clamitat. (falsas litteras et principe invito exitium domui eius intendi clamitat: ‘they kept shouting that the letter was counterfeit and that the ruin of his own house was schemed in spite of the will of the prince.’ principe invito: abl. abs. and idiom of adverbial force, ‘against one’s wishes’) ita nihil triste illo die patratum. ferebantur etiam sub nominibus consularium fictae in Seianum sententiae, exercentibus plerisque per occultum atque eo procacius libidinem ingeniorum. (ferebantur etiam sub nominibus consularium fictae in Seianum sententiae, exercentibus plerisque per occultum atque eo procacius libidinem ingeniorum: ‘spurious speeches under the name of men of consular rank were even reported [to have been delivered in the senate] against Sejanus, many individuals, under the cover of anonymity, thus (eo) all the more licentiously, giving free rein to the whims of their imagination.’ exercentibus plerisque and the dependencies that follow form abl. abs.) unde illi ira violentior et materies criminandi: (unde illi ira violentior et materies criminandi: lit. ‘as a result, more violent [were] anger to him and grounds for accusing.’ Freely, ‘this made him more furious and gave him material for new accusations’; illi, emphatic, here designating someone notorious for all the wrong reasons, is dat. of possessor with implied erat or erant; materies criminandi: dative of the gerund denoting purpose (to what end) after a noun) spretum dolorem principis ab senatu, descivisse populum; audiri lam et legi novas contiones, nova patrum consulta: quid reliquum nisi ut caperent ferrum et, quorum imagines pro vexillis secuti forent, duces imperatoresque deligerent? (quid reliquum nisi ut caperent ferrum et, quorum imagines pro vexillis secuti forent, duces imperatoresque deligerent?: rhetorical indirect question introduced by interrogative quid: ‘what [was] left except that they should take up arms and choose as leaders and emperors those whose images ([eos] quorum imagines) they had [already] followed as a substitute for banners?’ secuti forent: plup. subjunctive for relative clause in oratio obliqua, corresponding to the plup. indicative of direct speech; nisi ut: here nisi is not conditional conjunction, but adverb without verb, meaning ‘except’, ‘but’, ‘otherwise than’ after a negative phrase, and followed by a ut clause completing reliquum [esse] (Oxf. Latin dict.); pro vexillis: pro + abl., ‘in place of’)