VIII.
Et hic quidem Romae, tamquam in tanta multitudine, habitus animorum fuit. e provinciis (e provinciis: ‘from among the provinces’) Hispaniae praeerat Cluvius Rufus, (Cluvius Rufus: he wrote a history, now lost, of the reign of Nero, Galba, Otho, and Vitellius; Tacitus mentions him by name as one of his main sources.) vir facundus et pacis artibus, bellis inexpertus. (vir facundus et pacis artibus, bellis inexpertus: lit. ‘an eloquent man, with skills of civil life, inexperienced in wars’; pacis artibus is dscriptive abl., also called abl. of quality.) Galliae super memoriam Vindicis (Galliae super memoriam Vindicis obligatae [sunt] …: super = praeter; ‘in addition to the memory of Vindex, the Gallic provinces were tied [to Galba] by …’: the reference to Vindex’s memory means that the Gallic provinces, supporting Vindex during the revolt against Nero, had now good reasons to favor Galba, who had also risen up against Nero.) obligatae recenti dono Romanae civitatis et in posterum tributi levamento. proximae tamen Germanicis exercitibus (Germanicis exercitibus: i.e. the Roman armies stationed in the two German provinces west of the Rhine) Galliarum civitates (proximae …Germanicis exercitibus …civitates: such as the Treveri and the Lingones) non eodem honore habitae, (non eodem honore habitae: ‘not held in the same regard’) quaedam etiam finibus ademptis pari dolore commoda aliena ac suas iniurias metiebantur. Germanici exercitus, quod periculosissimum in tantis viribus, solliciti et irati, superbia recentis victoriae (recentis victoriae: i.e. the victory over Vindex: Verginius Rufus, at the head of the legions from Upper Germany, had defeated Vindex, who then committed suicide.) et metu (superbia …metu: ablatives of cause) tamquam alias partis fovissent. (tamquam alias partis fovissent: Tacitus tends to use tamquam in a nearly causal sense: ‘inasmuch as they had supported the other side’) tarde a Nerone desciverant, nec statim pro Galba Verginius. an imperare noluisset dubium: (an imperare noluisset dubium: the particle an usually introduces the second part of an alternative question, but like the English ‘whether’ it may introduce a single alternative, the other being implied, or a simple question; cf. A.G. 335. b.) delatum ei a milite imperium conveniebat. Fonteium Capitonem occisum etiam qui queri non poterant, tamen indignabantur. (Fonteium Capitonem occisum etiam qui queri non poterant, tamen indignabantur: ‘even those who could not regret the murdered Fonteius Capito were nonotheless indignant’.) dux deerat abducto Verginio per simulationem amicitiae; quem non remitti atque etiam reum esse tamquam suum crimen accipiebant. (quem non remitti atque etiam reum esse tamquam suum crimen accipiebant: ‘that this [man] was not permitted to return and was even awaiting trial they considered it as if the crime was their own’; quem is equivalent to a demonstrative adj. or pron., such as hunc or eum; cf. B. 314, 4.)