LXXX.
Parvo interim initio, unde nihil timebatur, orta seditio prope urbi excidio fuit. (urbi excidio fuit: double dative, urbi dat. of reference, excidio dat. of end or purpose: ‘was for the city for ruin’) septimam decimam cohortem e colonia Ostiensi (e colonia Ostiensi: Ostia is near Rome, WSW of the city, on the seacoast; in Roman times it was a major port.) in urbem acciri Otho iusserat; armandae eius cura (armandae eius cura: eius refers to the cohort: ‘the task of its being armed’; for use of passive gerundive in place of the less acceptable active gerund armandi eam cura, cf. note for ad capessendam … fortunam, ch. 77.) Vario Crispino tribuno e praetorianis data. is quo magis vacuus quietis castris iussa exequeretur, (quo magis vacuus … exequeretur: quo, usually followed by a comparative, introduces a final clause; lit. ‘that thereby the better he might execute the orders, free [from crowds or bustle]’.) vehicula cohortis incipiente nocte onerari aperto armamentario (aperto armamentario: abl. abs., ‘the arsenal being open’) iubet. (vehicula … onerari … iubet: for use of passive infinitive after iubeo cf. note for centuriones … occidi iussit, ch. 59.) tempus in suspicionem, causa in crimen, adfectatio quietis in tumultum evaluit, (evaluit: evaluit, from evalesco, intr., has tempus, causa, and adfectatio as subjects of three coordinate clauses: ‘gave rise to …’, ‘resulted in …’.) et visa inter temulentos arma cupidinem sui movere. (visa inter temulentos arma cupidinem sui movere: lit. ‘the seen weapons among drunken soldiers awoke the desire of them’; the reflexive sui is in place of the personal pronoun earum, ‘of them’, because sui refers to the grammatical subject, arma, of the clause; cf. G. 309, 1. Note that sui remains the same for all genders and both numbers.) fremit miles et tribunos centurionesque proditionis arguit, tamquam familiae senatorum ad perniciem Othonis armarentur, (tamquam familiae senatorum … armarentur: in Tacitus tamquam has often causal sense, ‘since [they thought] the houselold slaves of the senators were being armed’.) pars ignari et vino graves, pessimus quisque in occasionem praedarum, vulgus, ut mos est, cuiuscumque (cuiuscumque: ‘of whatever kind’) motus novi cupidum; et obsequia meliorum nox abstulerat. resistentem seditioni tribunum et severissimos centurionum obtruncant; rapta arma, nudari gladii; (rapta [sunt] arma, nudari gladii: ‘weapons were seized, swords were bared’; nudari is hist. passive infinitive.) insidentes equis urbem ac Palatium petunt.