LIV.
Intererat consiliis frater eius L. Vitellius seque iam adulantibus offerebat, cum repente Coenus libertus Neronis atroci mendacio universos perculit, (cum …perculit: temporal cum requires indicative when the tense is other than imperfect or pluperfect.) adfirmans superventu quartae decimae legionis, iunctis a Brixello viribus, caesos victores; versam partium fortunam. causa fingendi fuit ut diplomata (diplomata: ‘safe-conducts’, ‘passports’, ‘travel warrants’) Othonis, quae neglegebantur, laetiore nuntio revalescerent. et Coenus quidem raptim in urbem vectus paucos post dies iussu Vitellii poenas luit: (poenas luit: poenas luere, idiom: ‘to pay the penalty’) senatorum periculum auctum credentibus Othonianis militibus vera esse quae adferebantur. intendebat formidinem quod publici consilii facie discessum Mutina desertaeque partes forent. (intendebat formidinem quod publici consilii facie discessum Mutina desertaeque partes forent: lit. ‘the fact that their departure from Modena and their deserting [Otho’s] party were to all appearances in the form of an official decision, intensified their fears’; quod …forent: the clause is the subject of intendebant; quod is followed by subjunctive when the reason given is presumed, not factual.) nec ultra in commune congressi sibi quisque consuluere, (sibi quisque consuluere: ‘each of them looked to himself for safety’. Note that quisque is here plural.) donec missae a Fabio Valente epistulae demerent metum. (donec …demerent …: for donec + subjunctive cf. note for donec omnes inviolati digrederentur in ch. 49.) et mors Othonis quo laudabilior eo velocius audita. (quo laudabilior eo velocius: quo …eo: both correlatives followed by comparative, lit. ‘by what the more …, by that the more …’; cf. A.G. 414, a.)