XXXVII.
At Vitellius profugo Artabano et flexis ad novum regem popularium animis, (profugo Artabano et flexis ad novum regem popularium animis: abl. abs. of causal force: lit. ‘Artabanus being [now] a refugee and the hearts of the people being inclined to the new king, … ‘) hortatus Tiridaten parata capessere, robur legionum sociorumque ripam ad Euphratis ducit. (Vitellius … hortatus Tiridaten parata capessere, robur legionum sociorumque ripam ad Euphratis ducit: ’Vitellius encouraged Tiridates to embrace the opening offered [to him] and led the pick of his army and auxiliaries to the Euphrates.’ hortatus … capessere: normally with ut, ne, or subjunctive alone, hortor is with infinitive in Tacitus.) sacrificantibus, cum hic more Romano suovetaurilia daret, ille equum placando amni adornasset, nuntiavere accolae (sacrificantibus, cum hic more Romano suovetaurilia daret, ille equum placando amni adornasset, nuntiavere accolae: lit. ‘to them performing a sacrifice, when the one (hic), in keeping with Roman custom, was immolating a boar, a ram, and a bull, and the other (ille) had made ready [for sacrifice] a horse to conciliate the river deity, the local people told them that …’; cum … daret … adornasset: temporal cum + subjunctive, also called historical or narrative cum, gives prominence to the circumstance immediately preceding or accompanying, or even causing the action or situation expressed by the main verb. The same construction occurs again below in cum Delmaticum bellum conficeret. suovetaurilia: neuter plural, sus + ovis + taurus: the sacrifice, especially to Mars, of a boar, a ram, and a bull; placando amni: abl. of motive or cause, ‘for the river to be propitiated’) Euphraten nulla imbrium vi sponte et immensum attolli, simul albentibus spumis in modum diadematis sinuare orbis, auspicium prosperi transgressus. (simul albentibus spumis in modum diadematis sinuare orbis, auspicium prosperi transgressus: ‘… and also (simul) that circles were forming in the shape of diadems on the whitish foam, an auspicious sign of a successful crossing’) quidam callidius interpretabantur initia conatus secunda neque diuturna, quia eorum quae terra caelove portenderentur certior fides, fluminum instabilis natura simul ostenderet omina raperetque. (quidam callidius interpretabantur initia conatus secunda neque diuturna, quia eorum quae terra caelove portenderentur certior fides, fluminum instabilis natura simul ostenderet omina raperetque: ‘some more penetratingly suggested that the start of the undertaking [would be] favorable, but not durable, since the credibility (fides) of those omens which were revealed by heaven and earth [was] greater: the changeable nature of rivers showed the omens and [immediately] erased them.’ secunda neque diturna: the particle neque can imply contrast after a positive concept, ‘yet … not’, ‘but … not’. The purpose of the crossing of the Euphrates was to discourage opposition to Tiridates’ becoming the new king of Armenia, and so far the mission was successful, but Tiridates lasted on the throne only briefly, thus the prediction was altogether accurate. quae … portenderentur, quia … ostenderet … raperet: subjunctive for rel. clause and quia clause respectively in oratio obliqua brought in by interpretabantur) sed ponte navibus effecto tramissoque exercitu primus Ornospades multis equitum milibus in castra venit, exul quondam et Tiberio, cum Delmaticum bellum conficeret, haud inglorius auxiliator (Ornospades … Tiberio, cum Delmaticum bellum conficeret, haud inglorius auxiliator: ‘Ornospades [had been] not an ignoble helper to Tiberius when he was completing the war in Dalmatia.’ Nothing else is known about Ornospades beyond what is stated here, except that an opera was written about him by an 18th century Italian composer. Dalmatia, now part of Croatia along the east course of the Adriatic, was made a Roman province by Tiberius in 6-9 A.D.) eoque civitate Romana donatus, mox repetita amicitia regis multo apud eum honore, praefectus campis qui Euphrate et Tigre inclutis amnibus circumflui Mesopotamiae nomen acceperunt. (mox repetita amicitia regis multo apud eum honore, praefectus campis qui Euphrate et Tigre inclutis amnibus circumflui Mesopotamiae nomen acceperunt: ‘later, the king’s favor having been regained, he [won] much honor with him, having been made governor of the plains (campis: dat., lit. ‘to the plains’) which, encircled by the celebrated rivers Euphrates and Tigris, have received the name of Mesopotamia.’ circumflui is not the passive of circumfluo, but the masc. plural of circumfluus, an adjective in its own right, found mostly in poetry.) neque multo post Sinnaces auget copias, et columen partium Abdagaeses gazam et paratus regios adicit. (columen partium Abdagaeses gazam et paratus regios adicit: ‘Abdagaeses, the champion of the faction [favoring Tiridates over Artabanus] brought in addition the treasure and all the adjuncts of the crown.’ columen, normally the summit of a building, here for ‘the highest exponent’, ‘the corner stone’, ‘the mainstay’, etc.) Vitellius ostentasse Romana arma satis ratus monet Tiridaten primoresque, hunc, Phraatis avi et altoris Caesaris quaeque utrubique pulchra meminerit, illos, obsequium in regem, reverentiam in nos, decus quisque suum et fidem retinerent. (Vitellius … monet Tiridaten primoresque, hunc, Phraatis avi et altoris Caesaris quaeque utrubique pulchra meminerit, illos, obsequium in regem, reverentiam in nos, decus quisque suum et fidem retinerent: ‘Vitellius exhorted Tiridates and the grandees [of Armenia], him (hunc), to remember Phraates, his grandfather, and Tiberius, his foster-father and all that was splendid in either one, the nobles, that they should maintain obedience to the king, respect towards us, and each keep faith to his honor and to his word.’ Phraatis avi et altoris Caesaris quaeque utrubique pulchra meminerit: the defective verb memini, which has only perfect and the tenses derived from it, governs the genitive of the person (here Phratis avi and altoris Caesaris) and acc. of things (quae pulchra); utrubique is adverb, ‘on the one side and on the other’; king Phraates IV, Tiridates’ grandfather, was mentioned in ch. 31. monet … meminerit, … retinerent: here, monet is followed by two jussive subjunctives (‘he enjoins that he should remember,…that they should retain …’); as a historical present (one of four in the chapter, the others being ducit, auget, and adigit above) monet can take either the primary or the historical sequence of tenses. Tacitus being Tacitus, monet takes here both: the primary with meminerit, which has perfect form but present force, and the historical with retinerent. See B. 267, 268, 3.) exim cum legionibus in Syriam remeavit.