LIX.
Ita mutatis animis Asinius Pollio alae praefectus, e fidissimis Albino, et Festus ac Scipio cohortium praefecti opprimuntur: ipse Albinus dum e Tingitana provincia Caesariensem Mauretaniam petit, (dum …petit: as a rule dum, ‘while’, is followed by present indicative.) adpulsu litoris (adpulsu litoris: ‘on the approach to the shore’) trucidatus; uxor eius cum se percussoribus obtulisset, simul interfecta est, nihil eorum quae fierent Vitellio anquirente: (nihil eorum quae fierent Vitellio anquirente: lit. ‘uncurious of what was being done’; quae fierent: subjunctive in indir. question) brevi auditu quamvis magna transibat, impar curis gravioribus. (brevi auditu quamvis magna transibat, impar curis gravioribus: ‘however important the matter, he passed over it after a hasty hearing, unequal to more serious problems’. quamvis is here adverb modifying magna, not conjunction, as in quamvis …velaret further on in the chapter.) Exercitum itinere terrestri pergere iubet: ipse Arare flumine (Arare flumine: the Saône, which flows south from the Vosges and joins the Rhone at Lyons) devehitur, nullo principali paratu, sed vetere egestate conspicuus, (vetere egestate conspicuous: ‘attracting notice on account of his chronic indigence’) donec Iunius Blaesus Lugudunensis Galliae rector, genere inlustri, (genere inlustri: abl. of quality, ‘of noble extraction’) largus animo et par opibus, circumdaret principi ministeria, comitaretur liberaliter, (donec Iunius Blaesus … circumdaret principi ministeria, comitaretur liberaliter: lit. ‘until Junius Blaesus placed around the prince the ministrations [befitting his state] and attended on him liberally’. According to Suetonius (Vitellius 7), when Vitellius went as legate to Lower Germany in 68 A.D., he had to pawn one of his mother’s earings to pay for the journey. For donec + subjunctive see note for donec omnes inviolati digrederentur in ch. 49. circumdaret principi ministeria: the model is circumdare aliquid alicui, ‘to furnish something to someone’.Cf also donec auditi …uterentur in next chapter.) eo ipso ingratus, (eo ipso ingratus: ‘for that very reason ungrateful’) quamvis odium Vitellius vernilibus blanditiis velaret. (quamvis … velaret: concessive quamvis, like ut, takes the subjunctive.) praesto fuere Luguduni victricium victarumque partium duces. (praesto fuere Luguduni victricium victarumque partium duces: ‘the generals of both victorious and defeated parties were in attendance’; praesto: ‘at hand’, ‘present’; Lugduni: locative; victricium victarumque partium: the adj. victrix is used only to modify feminine nouns, such as partes.) Valentem et Caecinam pro contione laudatos curuli suae ([sellae] curuli suae: a folding seat , inlaid with ivory, used only by the highest state officials) circumposuit. mox universum exercitum occurrere infanti filio iubet, perlatumque et paludamento opertum sinu retinens Germanicum appellavit (Germanicum appellavit: Vitellius himself had been hailed with the same name in Book 1 ch. 62. It was a mark of great honor to be named after Germanicus, the adopted son of Tiberius and likely the best general of the Empire.) cinxitque cunctis fortunae principalis insignibus. nimius honos inter secunda rebus adversis in solacium cessit. (in solacium cessit: ‘turned into solace’; cedere with in + acc. = ‘to result in’.)