XXXIX.
Iam exterritus Piso fremitu crebrescentis seditionis et vocibus in urbem usque resonantibus, (in urbem usque resonantibus: the praetorian camp was located in the NE corner of Rome, but outside the city wall.) egressum interim Galbam et foro adpropinquantem (foro adpropinquantem: adpropinquo is intransitive and takes dative, as does contra dico or contradico further down.) adsecutus erat; iam Marius Celsus haud laeta rettulerat, cum alii in Palatium redire, alii Capitolium petere, plerique rostra occupanda censerent, plures tantum sententiis aliorum contra dicerent, utque evenit in consiliis infelicibus, optima viderentur (cum …censerent …dicerent …viderentur: the lengthy cum clause has been replaced by independent clauses in translation; cum is here temporal, followed by subjunctive, as required when tense is imperfect.) quorum tempus effugerat. agitasse Laco ignaro Galba de occidendo Tito Vinio dicitur, (agitasse Laco …dicitur: personal construction with passive of verb of saying followed by infinitive clause with subject in the nominative; compare with impersonal construction agitasse Laconem dicunt.) sive ut poena eius animos militum mulceret, seu conscium Othonis credebat, ad postremum vel (sive … seu … vel: the three disjunctive particles are equivalent in meaning and function.) odio. haesitationem attulit tempus ac locus, quia initio caedis orto difficilis modus; (quia initio caedis orto difficilis modus: ‘since restraint is difficult once the butchery begins’; initio … orto: abl. abs., lit. ‘a beginning having come into being’) et turbavere consilium trepidi nuntii ac proximorum diffugia, languentibus omnium studiis qui primo alacres fidem atque animum ostentaverant.