LXXVI.
His pavoribus nutantem et alii legati amicique firmabant et Mucianus, (his pavoribus nutantem et alii legati amicique firmabant et Mucianus: ‘both the other officers or friends and Mucianus steadied Vespasian faltering by reason of these fears’; et …et: ‘both …and’) post multos secretosque sermones iam et coram (iam et coram: ‘now also openly’; et is for etiam.) ita locutus: ‘omnes, qui magnarum rerum consilia suscipiunt, aestimare debent an quod inchoatur rei publicae utile, ipsis gloriosum, promptum effectu (promptum effectu: ‘practicable in the execution’) aut certe non arduum sit; (aestimare debent an …non arduum sit: an, usually associated with disjunctive questions, may be found from Livy on introducing a simple indirect question with the force of the English comj. ‘whether’; non arduum sit: all indir. questions require subjunctive, as does cui summum decus adquiratur below) simul ipse qui suadet considerandus est, adiciatne consilio periculum suum, (adiciatne consilio periculum suum: ‘does he add his own risk to the advice he gives?’. The enclitic –ne opens a simple question to which the answer is ‘Yes or No’. A.G. 332.) et, si fortuna coeptis adfuerit, cui summum decus adquiratur. (si fortuna coeptis adfuerit, cui summum decus adquiratur: conditional sentence of the ideal or potential type: perf, subjunctive in the protasis, present subjunctive in the apodosis, since the action of the first is completed before the action of the second begins. Cf. A.G. 516, c.) ego te, Vespasiane, ad imperium voco, (ego te, …voco: personal pronouns like ego, tu, nos, vos are rarely used, except to express special prominence; ego and te are juxtaposed for the same reason.) quam salutare rei publicae, quam tibi magnificum, iuxta deos in tua manu positum est. (quam salutare rei publicae, quam tibi magnificum, iuxta deos in tua manu positum est: ‘how beneficial to the state [this is], how glorious to you, that is in your hands, next to the gods’.) nec speciem adulantis expaveris: (nec speciem adulantis expaveris: the hortatory perf. subjunctive is often found in prohibitions as an alternative to noli + infinitive: ‘do not fear my imitation of a flatterer’.) a contumelia quam a laude propius fuerit (a contumelia quam a laude propius fuerit: fuerit is future perfect, not perf. subjunctive; it denotes an action completed in the future: lit. ‘it will have been closer to a disgrace than to a distinction’; prope and propius are normally found wit a or ab + abl.) post Vitellium eligi. non adversus divi Augusti acerrimam mentem nec adversus cautissimam Tiberii senectutem, ne contra Gai quidem aut Claudii vel Neronis fundatam longo imperio domum exurgimus; cessisti etiam Galbae imaginibus: torpere ultra et polluendam perdendamque rem publicam relinquere (polluendam perdendamque rem publicam relinquere: ‘to leave the state to be polluted and ruined’; in later Latin the gerundive came to acquire somewhat the force of a passive future participle.) sopor et ignavia videretur, etiam si tibi quam inhonesta, tam tuta servitus esset. (sopor et ignavia videretur, etiam si tibi quam inhonesta, tam tuta servitus esset: videretur …si …esset: imperfect subjunctive in both apodosis and protasis of a conditional sentence for condition contrary to fact in present time; cf. A.G. 517 and B. 304. ) abiit iam et transvectum est tempus quo posses (posses: potential subjunctive) videri non cupisse: confugiendum est ad imperium. (confugiendum est [tibi] ad imperium: impersonal use of the passive periphrastic conjugation, the only use of the gerundive possible with intrans. verbs such as confugio; cf. G. 251.) an excidit trucidatus Corbulo? (an excidit trucidatus Corbulo?: ‘has savagely murdered Corbulo slipped your mind?’ For use of an see note for aestimare debent an …non arduum sit above. Gn. Domitius Corbulo, a distinguished general whose actions are described in Tacitus’ Annales, especially Book 13, ch. 35-40, A.D. 58. He was executed under Nero who was jealous of his fame. ) splendidior origine quam nos sumus, fateor, sed et Nero nobilitate natalium Vitellium anteibat. (Nero nobilitate natalium Vitellium anteibat: Mucianus’ point is this: if noble birth is a prerequisite to becoming emperor, then why is Vitellius, Nero’s inferior by birth, sitting on the throne? Why then should you, Vespasian, not displace Vitellius, though lower born?) satis clarus est apud timentem quisquis timetur. (satis clarus est apud timentem quisquis timetur: ‘anyone who is feared is noble enough in the eyes of the man who fears’.) et posse ab exercitu principem fieri sibi ipse Vitellius documento, (et posse ab exercitu principem fieri sibi ipse Vitellius documento [est]: lit. ‘Vitellius himself is for proof to himself that an emperor can be made by an army’. sibi …documento: double dative, sibi of interest, documento of destination) nullis stipendiis, nulla militari fama, Galbae odio provectus. ne Othonem quidem ducis arte aut exercitus vi, sed praepropera ipsius desperatione victum, iam desiderabilem et magnum principem fecit, (ne Othonem quidem ducis arte aut exercitus vi, sed praepropera ipsius desperatione victum, iam desiderabilem et magnum principem fecit: the subject of fecit is Vitellius: ‘he turned even Otho into a sorely-missed and great emperor, not because of …, but because of …’.) cum interim spargit legiones, exarmat cohortis, nova cotidie bello semina ministrat. (cum …spargit …exarmat …ministrat: temporal cum requires indicative if the tense is present. Cf. B. 289.) si quid ardoris ac ferociae miles habuit, popinis et comissationibus et principis imitatione deteritur: (si quid ardoris ac ferociae miles habuit, popinis et comissationibus et principis imitatione deteritur: indicative in both protasis and apodosis of a logical conditional sentence, in which reference is to actual facts. Cf. G. 595.) tibi (tibi: dative of possessor with implied form of esse) e Iudaea et Syria et Aegypto novem legiones integrae, nulla acie exhaustae, non discordia corruptae, sed firmatus usu miles et belli domitor externi: (belli domitor externi: apposition of miles, ‘the tamer of a foreign war’.) classium alarum cohortium robora et fidissimi reges et tua ante omnis experientia.’