XXXV.
Tum vero non populus tantum et imperita plebs in plausus et immodica studia (tum vero … in plausus et immodica studia: it was thought best to assign in translation a new verb to this part of the long Latin period ending with levaretur, one suggested by the drift of the narrative, such as ‘joined in’, ‘engaged in’, ‘launched into”. This was done also in view of the fact that the two main verbs of the period, ruere and se ostentare, hardly apply to plausus and studia.) sed equitum plerique ac senatorum, posito metu incauti, (posito metu incauti: ‘incautious from discarded fear’) refractis Palatii foribus ruere intus ac se Galbae ostentare, praereptam sibi ultionem querentes, ignavissimus quisque (ignavissimus quisque: cf. note for rapacissimo cuique ac perditissimo in ch. 20) et, ut res docuit, in periculo non ausurus, nimii verbis, linguae feroces; (nimii verbis, linguae feroces: ‘tough with words, red-hot of tongue’) nemo scire et omnes adfirmare, (omnes scire et omnes adfirmare: hist. infinitives, like ruere and ostentare above) donec inopia veri et consensu errantium victus sumpto thorace Galba inruenti turbae neque aetate neque corpore [re]sistens sella levaretur. (donec …levaretur: donec requires subjunctive whenever its meaning is akin to the English ‘until’, rather than to ‘as long as’, i.e. when the action is prospective or anticipated) obvius in Palatio Iulius Atticus speculator, cruentum gladium ostentans, occisum a se Othonem exclamavit; et Galba “commilito”, inquit, “quis iussit?” insigni animo ad (insigni animo ad …: abl. abs., ‘his strength of will being unswerving in …’) coercendam militarem licentiam, minantibus intrepidus, (minantibus intrepidus: ‘untroubled by those threatening him’) adversus blandientis incorruptus.