LVIII.
Igitur laudata militum alacritate Vitellius ministeria principatus per libertos agi solita (ministeria … per libertos agi solita: ‘the offices customary to be performed through freedmen’) in equites Romanos disponit, vacationes centurionibus ex fisco (ex fisco: fiscus was the imperial exchequer, distinct from the public treasury or aerarium) numerat, saevitiam militum plerosque ad poenam exposcentium saepius adprobat, (saevitiam militum plerosque ad poenam exposcentium … adprobat: lit. ‘approves the cruelty of the soldiers exacting many for punishment’.) raro simulatione vinculorum frustratur. Pompeius Propinquus procurator (Pompeius Propinquus procurator: he had warned Galba of the new rebellion in Germany: see ch. 12; a procurator is a financial administrator or manager of revenues inside an imperial province.) Belgicae statim interfectus; Iulium Burdonem Germanicae classis praefectum astu subtraxit. exarserat in eum iracundia exercitus tamquam crimen ac mox insidias Fonteio Capitoni struxisset. (tamquam … struxisset: for Tacitus’ use of tamquam in a causal sense see note in ch. 48.) grata erat memoria Capitonis, et apud saevientis occidere palam, ignoscere non nisi fallendo licebat: (ignoscere non nisi fallendo licebat: ‘it was not possible to spare lives except by using deceit’.) ita in custodia habitus et post victoriam demum, (post victoriam demum: ‘not until after the victory’) stratis iam militum odiis, dimissus est. interim ut piaculum obicitur centurio Crispinus. sanguine Capitonis [se] cruentaverat eoque et postulantibus manifestior et (et … et: ‘not only …but also’, ‘both …and’) punienti (punienti: to the chastiser, i.e. Vitellius) vilior fuit.