XXIII.
Isdem consulibus Asinii Galli mors (Asinii Galli mors: Asinius Gallus, the son of Asinius Pollio (cf. Book 4, ch. 34), is mentioned at various points in the Annals, but for his relations with Tiberius see Book 4, ch. 71. In 30 A.D., a year of the Annals Tacitus dealt with in the missing part of Book 5, while visiting Tiberius at Capri, Gallus was condemned by the senate and ordered back to Rome, where he was held prisoner in the house of a magistrate with just enough nourishment to sustain life.) vulgatur, quem egestate cibi peremptum haud dubium, sponte vel necessitate incertum habebatur. (quem egestate cibi peremptum [esse] haud dubium, sponte vel necessitate incertum habebatur: lit. ‘not doubtful that he (quem) had been put an end to by lack of food, [but] it was held uncertain whether by his own will or under duress.’ egestate, sponte, neccessitate: the first is abl. of efficient cause (agent), the last two ablatives of manner.) consultusque Caesar an sepeliri sineret, non erubuit permittere (consultusque Caesar an sepeliri sineret, non erubuit permittere: ‘being consulted whether he allowed that [Gallus] be buried, Caesar did not blush to give his assent.’ Not having been properly tried and sentenced, Gallus was legally entitled to a proper burial, but Tiberius still had the impudence to grant permission as a token of his magnanimity.) ultroque incusare casus qui reum abstulissent antequam coram convinceretur: (ultroque incusare casus qui reum abstulissent antequam coram convinceretur: ‘…and even (ultro) blamed the stars that had removed the accused before he would be convicted in his presence.’ qui abstulissent, antequam convinceretur: subjunctive for dependent clauses (one relative, the other temporal) in indirect discourse after incusare, hist. infinitive of a verb of saying.) scilicet medio triennio defuerat tempus subeundi iudicium consulari seni, tot consularium parenti. (scilicet medio triennio defuerat tempus subeundi iudicium consulari seni, tot consularium parenti: ‘of course, in the intervening space of three years time had not been sufficient for trying an aged ex-consul, the father of so many sons of consular rank.’ The sarcasm is too patent to be missed. tempus subeundi iudicium consulari seni: lit. ‘time for an old consul to be undergoing judgement’; use of dat. gerundive after a noun to indicate the end to which an action is directed, a construction rarely found before Livy. The meaning of the gerundive is always passive, as made evident by the literal translation. tot consularium parenti: Gallus had five children, all from Vipsania, Tiberius’ ex-wife; three of them were consular: C. Asinius Pollius (Book 4, ch. 1), M. Asinius Agrippa (Book 4, ch, 34 and 61), and Asinius Saloninus (Book 3, ch. 75).) Drusus deinde extinguitur, cum se miserandis alimentis, mandendo e cubili tomento, nonum ad diem detinuisset. (Drusus deinde extinguitur, cum se miserandis alimentis, mandendo e cubili tomento, nonum ad diem detinuisset: ‘Drusus was next snuffed out, after he had kept himself alive for eight days by chewing from the stuffing of his bed, a [truly] pitiable fare.’ Drusus is the youngest of Germanicus’ sons. For more on him see Book 4, ch. 60 and the notes for 30 A.D. at the end of ch. 5 in Book 5. mandendo e cubili tomento: normally Tacitus avoids mentioning such lurid details, considering them beneath the lofty level of a historical narrative. The fact has led commentators to suggest that this may be a marginal or interlinear note left by a reader, by way of explanation, which was erroneously incorporated into the text in a later transcription. cum … detinuisset: temporal clause with hist. cum + subjunctive; cf. G. 585. The abl. miserandis alimentis is apposition of tomento, hence in the same case; mandendo is instrumental abl. gerund. extinguitur is hist. present.) tradidere quidam praescriptum fuisse Macroni, si arma ab Seiano temptarentur, extractum custodiae iuvenem (nam in Palatio attinebatur) ducem populo imponere. (tradidere quidam praescriptum fuisse Macroni, si arma ab Seiano temptarentur, extractum custodiae iuvenem (nam in Palatio attinebatur) ducem populo imponere: in oratio obliqua after tradidere quidam: ‘some [historians] have reported that to Macro the order had been given to put the young man, released from custody (for he was kept confined in the imperial palace) at the head of the people, in case an armed revolt was attempted by Sejanus.’ si … temptarentur: see note for si … tolerent, … utantur in previous chapter; Macroni is dative of indirect object with praescribo, and so is populo with imponere. Naevius Sutorius Macro had replaced Sejanus as commander of the praetorian guard. custodiae is dative with estraho.) mox, quia rumor incedebat fore ut nuru ac nepoti conciliaretur Caesar, saevitiam quam paenitentiam maluit. (quia rumor incedebat fore ut nuru ac nepoti conciliaretur Caesar, saevitiam quam paenitentiam maluit: lit. ‘ … as a rumor was spreading such that Caesar was about to reconcile with his daughter-in-law and grandson, he preferred cruelty to (quam) repentance.’ incedebat fore ut … conciliaretur: the periphrasis fore ut (or futurum esse) + subjunctive is often found introducing as subject a clause of consecutive or final sense, replacing the active future infinitive. The construction is obligatory when the verb lacks the supine, from which the future participle is derived. In the passive voice, the usage is more frequent than that of the rather overlooked passive future infinitive (supine + iri), as for example in credo fore ut Roma vinceretur, in place of credo Romam victum iri. See G. 248 and A.G. 569, a. nuru ac nepoti: dat. with concilio; nuru and nurui are both dat. forms of nurus. saevitiam quam paenitentiam: Latin uses quam also to compare nouns.)