XL.
Quintus Plautius Sex. Papinius consules (Quintus Plautius Sex. Papinius consules: the new consuls for the year 36 A.D.: Quintus Plautius was possibly the brother of Plautius Silvanus, the praetor who had thrown his wife out of a window (cf. Book 4, ch. 20). Sextus Papinius is mentioned here for the first time in the Annals.) sequuntur. eo anno neque quod L. Aruseius * * * morte adfecti forent, adsuetudine malorum ut atrox advertebatur, (eo anno neque quod L. Aruseius * * * morte adfecti forent, adsuetudine malorum ut atrox advertebatur: there is a lacuna in the original text and any translation can only be tentative: lit. ‘in view of continuous exposure to terrible deeds, the fact that (quod) in that year Lucius Aruseius [was condemned?], and that [others?] had been put to death was not seen as something sinister.’ adfecti forent is subjunctive for a quod clause in indirect discourse introduced by advertebatur Aruseius had appeared in ch. 7 as an accuser of L. Arruntius.) sed exterruit quod Vibulenus Agrippa eques Romanus, cum perorassent accusatores, (cum perorassent accusatores: ‘when the prosecutors had closed their case. … ‘; for use of narrative or historical cum with subjunctive see note for sacrificantibus, cum hic more Romano suovetaurilia daret in ch. 37.) in ipsa curia depromptum sinu venenum hausit (exterruit quod Vibulenus Agrippa … in ipsa curia depromptum sinu venenum hausit: ‘the fact that (quod) Vibulenus Agrippa swallowed in the curia itself a poison, taken out from under his clothes, caused terror.’ Nothing else is known about this knight. Suetonius says that the desperate act reported here was a frequent occurrence in the senate, not a single incident.) prolapsusque ac moribundus festinatis lictorum manibus in carcerem raptus est faucesque iam exanimis laqueo vexatae. (prolapsusque ac moribundus festinatis lictorum manibus in carcerem raptus est faucesque iam exanimis laqueo vexatae: ‘collapsed and expiring, he was rushed off to prison by the prompt hands of lictors, and strangled with a noose, though already lifeless.’ faucesque iam exanimis laqueo vexatae: lit. ‘the throat (fauces, plur.) of the already lifeless man being squeezed with a halter’; the reason for the great hurry to finish off the condemned man was that suicide was the one way to prevent expropriation of one’s estate.) ne Tigranes quidem, Armenia quondam potitus ac tunc reus, nomine regio supplicia civium effugit. (ne Tigranes quidem … tunc reus, nomine regio supplicia civium effugit: ‘not even Tigranes, then under impeachment, escaped the fate of common citizens on the strength of his royal title.’ This Tigranes was the grandson of Herod the Great and may have briefly ruled Amenia, but later, while in Rome, he was accused and executed. Tacitus had presumably failed to mention him in Book 2, ch. 4, when dealing with events in the Orient for 16 A.D.) at C. Galba consularis et duo Blaesi (C. Galba consularis et duo Blaesi: Gaius Sulpicius Galba, consul for 22 A.D., was the elder brother of Servius Sulpicius Galba, the future emperor and successor of Nero. The two Blaesi were the sons of Quintus Junius Blaesus (cf. Book 1, ch. 16ff. and Book 3, ch. 35.) and apparently the cousins of Sejanus.) voluntario exitu cecidere, Galba tristibus Caesaris litteris provinciam sortiri prohibitus: Blaesis sacerdotia, integra eorum domo destinata, convulsa distulerat, tunc ut vacua contulit in alios; (sacerdotia, integra eorum domo destinata, convulsa distulerat, tunc ut vacua contulit in alios: ‘he had withdrawn the priesthoods reserved for them when their family was yet untouched, then, when oppressed, he assigned them to others as being vacant.’ integra eorum domo … convulsa: abl. abs. of temporal sense, lit. ‘their house being prosperous, [later] harassed’) quod signum mortis intellexere et executi sunt. et Aemilia Lepida, quam iuveni Druso nuptam rettuli, crebris criminibus maritum insectata, quamquam intestabilis, tamen impunita agebat, (Aemilia Lepida, quam iuveni Druso nuptam rettuli, crebris criminibus maritum insectata, quamquam intestabilis, tamen impunita agebat, … : ‘Aemilia Lepida, who, as I reported, had been married to the young Drusus, though detestable, having maligned her husband with numberless crimes, kept on living unpunished, …’; Aemilia Lepida is almost certainly the daughter of Marcus Lepidus (cf. Book 3, ch. 32). Her marriage to Drusus, the second son of Germanicus, was probably mentioned in the missing part of Book 5. quamquam intestabilis: the use of quamquam and other subordinating conjunctions in combinations with adjectives is not rare at any time, but became more frequent later, especially in Tacitus.) dum superfuit pater Lepidus: (dum superfuit pater Lepidus: ‘ … as long as her father Lepidus was alive’; dum, meaning ‘as long as’ is found with any tense of the indicative.) post a delatoribus corripitur ob servum adulterum, (corripitur ob servum adulterum: ‘she was assailed with accusations for adultery with a slave.’ corripitur is historical present.) nec dubitabatur de flagitio: ergo omissa defensione finem vitae sibi posuit.