XIX
Inde apud senatum non comptior Galbae, non longior quam apud militem sermo: Pisonis comis oratio. et patrum favor aderat: multi voluntate, (multi voluntate: i. e. multi eum fovebant voluntate) effusius qui noluerant, (qui noluerant: sc. adoptionem) medii ac plurimi (medii ac plurimi: ‘those in the middle who were also the largest number’, ‘the indifferent majority’) obvio obsequio, privatas spes agitantes sine publica cura. nec aliud sequenti quadriduo, (quadriduo: quadriduum is a period of four days, in this case between the 11th and the 14th of January, 69 A.D.) quod medium inter (medium inter: ‘intermediate between …’) adoptionem et caedem fuit, dictum a Pisone in publico factumve. crebrioribus in dies (in dies: ‘as the days proceeded’, ‘as time passed’) Germanicae defectionis nuntiis et facili civitate (facili civitate: abl. abs. like crebrioribus …nuntiis in previous line: ‘the city being prone to …’) ad accipienda credendaque omnia nova cum tristia sunt, censuerant patres mittendos ad Germanicum exercitum legatos. agitatum secreto num et Piso proficisceretur, (agitatum [est] secreto num et Piso proficisceretur: agitatum is impersonal use of passive, ‘it was debated in secret whether Piso should go also’; proficisceretur: subjunctive in indir. question introduced by num, which simply means ‘whether’, without the negative suggestion it has in direct questions.) maiore praetextu, (maiore praetextu: ‘for greater prestige’) illi auctoritatem senatus, hic dignationem Caesaris laturus. placebat et Laconem praetorii praefectum simul mitti: is consilio intercessit. (is consilio intercessit: ‘ he vetoed the plan’; the intrans. intercedere takes dative.) legati quoque (nam senatus electionem Galbae permiserat) foeda inconstantia nominati, excusati, substituti, ambitu remanendi aut eundi, (ambitu remanendi aut eundi: ‘because of all the contention of staying behind or going’) ut quemque metus vel spes impulerat. (ut quemque metus vel spes impulerat: ‘according as fear or hope prompted each of them’; ut is here in place of prout, a conj. introducing alternatives and followed by indicative; vel in place of aut is common in post-classical period; cf. G. 494, Note 2.)