LXIX.
Haud facile dictu (haud facile dictu: example of abl. supine, ‘not easy in the saying’; for example of acc. supine see ultum ibat in ch. 67.) est, legati Helvetiorum minus placabilem imperatorem an militem invenerint. (legati … minus placabilem imperatorem an militem invenerint: alternative question in indirect discourse, without utrum or –ne introducing the first part; invenerint corresponds to invenerunt of direct speech.) civitatis excidium poscunt, tela ac manus in ora legatorum intentant. (tela ac manus … intentant: tela ac manus may be hendiadys, ‘waving their hands bearing arms’; another example of hendiadys is verbis et minis next.) ne Vitellius quidem verbis et minis temperabat, cum Claudius Cossus, unus ex legatis, notae facundiae sed dicendi artem apta trepidatione occultans (dicendi artem apta trepidatione occultans: ‘hiding his art of speaking under convenient nervousness’; apta is either adjective qualifying trepidatione or dir. object of dicendi, i.e. ‘the art of saying the right things’) atque eo validior, (eo validior: validior applies to Cossus: ‘he being thereby more effective’) militis animum mitigavit. ut est mos, vulgus mutabile subitis (subitis: abl. plural of the neuter subita, ‘from sudden swings of mood’; the word has occurred once before, albeit with different meaning: cf. servorum manus subitis avidae, ch. 7) et tam pronum in misericordiam quam immodicum saevitia fuerat: effusis lacrimis et meliora constantius postulando (meliora constantius postulando: ‘demanding more insistently a better treatment’; for use of abl. gerund with direct object see note for coloniam … conatus … legiones … referendo in ch. 65.) impunitatem salutemque civitati impetravere.