LXXXV.
Et oratio ad perstringendos mulcendosque militum animos (oratio ad perstringendos mulcendosque militum animos: for use of passive gerundive with ad to express purpose, in place of active gerund, see note for ad capessendam … fortunam in ch 77; cf. also ad studia partium noscenda below.) et (et … et: ‘both …and’) severitatis modus (neque enim in pluris quam in duos animadverti iusserat) grate accepta compositique ad praesens qui coerceri non poterant. non tamen quies urbi redierat: strepitus telorum et facies belli, [et] militibus ut nihil in commune turbantibus, ita sparsis per domos occulto habitu, (occulto habitu: ‘in disguise’) et maligna cura in omnis, quos (militibus ut nihil in commune turbantibus, ita sparsis per domos … maligna cura in omnis, quos …: an entire comparative sentence as abl. absolute, with dependent rel. clause at the end. The sense is: ‘just as the soldiers were no longer causing troubles in common, so they were now dispersed among the private houses keeping a malicious eye on those who …’) nobilitas aut opes aut aliqua insignis claritudo rumoribus obiecerat: Vitellianos quoque milites venisse in urbem ad studia partium noscenda (ad studia partium noscenda: ‘to find out the support the two parties had [among the people]’) plerique credebant: unde plena omnia suspicionum et vix secreta domuum sine formidine. (vix secreta domuum sine formidine: ‘hardly [was] the privacy of the houses without fear.’) sed plurimum trepidationis (plurimum trepidationis: partitive genitive after the neuter plurimum) in publico, ut quemque nuntium fama attulisset, (ut quemque nuntium fama attulisset: ‘whenever rumors brought some news’; when ut, like ubi, has iterative sense, it is found with the subjunctive, especially in Tacitus; cf. G. 567, Note.) animum vultumque conversis, ne diffidere dubiis ac parum gaudere prosperis viderentur. (animum vultumque conversis, ne diffidere dubiis ac parum gaudere prosperis viderentur: conversis is abl. abs. and animum vultumque is Greek accusative, rarely found in prose; cf. B. 180: ‘[men] being changed as to their emotions and facial expression to avoid appearing diffident because of dubious news and in particular not overjoyed by successes.’) coacto vero in curiam senatu arduus rerum omnium modus, ne contumax silentium, ne suspecta libertas; (arduus rerum omnium modus, ne contumax silentium, ne suspecta libertas [videretur]: ‘the proper measure in all things was hard to find, lest silence might seem morose or freedom of speech suspect.’) et privato Othoni nuper atque eadem dicenti nota adulatio. (privato Othoni nuper atque eadem dicenti nota adulatio: ‘insincerity [was] well known to Otho, himself a private citizen not long before and speaking the same language’.) igitur versare sententias et huc atque illuc torquere, hostem et parricidam (parricidam: here a traitor, one who brings ruin to his own country) Vitellium vocantes, providentissimus quisque vulgaribus conviciis, (vulgaribus conviciis: ‘using banal expressions of abuse’) quidam vera probra iacere, (versare … torquere … iacere: hist. infinitives) in clamore tamen et ubi plurimae voces, aut tumultu verborum sibi ipsi obstrepentes. (tumultu verborum sibi ipsi obstrepentes: ‘and themselves overpowering their own meaning with a tumult of words’; sibi , ‘for themselves’, is dative with the intransitive obstrepere.)