XL.
Agebatur huc illuc Galba vario turbae fluctuantis impulsu, completis undique basilicis ac templis, lugubri prospectu. (completis undique basilicis ac templis, lugubri prospectu: abl. abs. where lugubri prospectu is apposition of completis … basilicis ac templis: ‘all public halls and temples being filled [with people], a dismal spectacle indeed’.) neque populi aut plebis ulla vox, sed attoniti vultus et conversae ad omnia aures; non tumultus, non quies, quale magni metus et magnae irae silentium est. (quale magni metus et magnae irae silentium est: elliptic for tale silentium quale magni metus et magnae irae est, ‘such silence as is [typical] of great terror and of great rage’.) Othoni tamen armari plebem nuntiabatur; ire praecipitis et occupare pericula (ire praecipitis et occupare pericula: ‘that they rush forth at once and anticipate the danger’) iubet. igitur milites Romani, quasi Vologaesum aut Pacorum avito Arsacidarum solio depulsuri ac non imperatorem suum inermem et senem trucidare pergerent, (quasi Vologaesum aut Pacorum avito Arsacidarum solio depulsuri ac non imperatorem suum …trucidare pergerent: ‘as if they were going to force Vologaesus or Pacorus from the ancestral throne of the Arsacidae and not to kill their own emperor’: quasi introduces a conditional clause of comparison, with verb in the subjunctive and tense in keeping with the rules of sequence rather than those governing conditional sentences; cf. G. 602. In 69 A.D. Vologaesus was king of Parthia (today’s Iran) and his brother Pacorus king of Media (today’s Iraq); they descended from Arsaces, who founded a dynasty that was never defeated by the Romans.) disiecta plebe, proculcato senatu, truces armis, rapidi equis forum inrumpunt. (truces armis, rapidi equis: ‘horrid with arms, swift on their horses’) nec illos Capitolii aspectus (Capitolii aspectus: for Capitolius see note in ch. 33.) et imminentium templorum religio et priores et futuri principes terruere quo minus facerent scelus (nec … terruere quo minus facerent scelus: quo minus or quominus introduces a final clause after verbs of preventing, refusing, etc. and is often a replacement for final ne.) cuius ultor est quisquis successit. (cuius ultor est quisquis successit: ‘the avenger of which is anyone who happened to succeed to the throne’; successit is gnomic perfect, expressive of something valid for all times: in this case, it implies that the punishment for the crime described will always inevitably follow in the same manner; cf. A.G. 475.)