LV.
At (at: at can express contrast between persons, things, or, as here, places.) Romae nihil trepidationis; Ceriales ludi (Ceriales ludi: the festival of Ceres, the goddess of crops, was celebrated between the 12th and the 19th of April.) ex more spectabantur. ut cessisse Othonem et a Flavio Sabino praefecto urbis quod erat in urbe militum sacramento Vitellii adactum certi auctores in theatrum attulerunt, (ut cessisse Othonem et a Flavio Sabino …quod erat in urbe militum sacramento Vitellii adactum [esse] certi auctores in theatrum attulerunt: ‘when reliable sources brought the news in the theatre that Otho was dead and that the troops in the city had been administered the oath to Vitellius by Flavius Sabinus, …’. ut …attulerunt: temporal ut is normally followed by perf. indicative. quod erat in urbe militum sacramento Vitellii adactum [esse]: lit. ‘what of soldiers was in Rome had been impelled to the oath of Vitellius’; adactum agrees in number and gender with quod rather than with militum, which is partitive gen. after the neuter quod. sacramento, dative with the verb adigo, is short for sacramento in verba Vitellii; cf. provinciae … in verba Vitellii adactae in ch. 14. a Flavio Sabino: abl. of agent; Flavius Sabinus was Vespasian’s elder brother; cf. Book 1, ch. 46.) Vitellio plausere; populus cum lauru ac floribus Galbae imagines circum templa tulit, congestis in modum tumuli coronis iuxta lacum Curtii, (lacum Curtii: for Lacus Curtius cf. Book 1, ch. 41) quem locum Galba moriens sanguine infecerat. (Galbae imagines …Galba moriens: Tacitus implies that by their pious attitude towards Galba the fawning multitude were currying favor with Vitellius as Galba’s avenger and vanquisher of Otho.) in senatu cuncta longis aliorum principatibus composita statim decernuntur; additae erga Germanicum exercitum laudes gratesque et missa legatio quae gaudio fungeretur. (quae gaudio fungeretur: ‘to act as the conveyer of the people’s joy’; fungeretur is subjunctive in rel. clause of purpose; gaudio: abl. with fungor.) recitatae Fabii Valentis epistulae ad consules scriptae haud immoderate: gratior Caecinae modestia fuit quod non scripsisset. (gratior Caecinae modestia fuit quod non scripsisset: it was considered improper for a general in the field, unless he held the highest command, to address the senate or the consuls directly. quod non scripsisset: subjunctive after quod when the reason given is perceived, not factual.)