LXXXII.
Prima belli cura agere dilectus, revocare veteranos; destinantur validae civitates exercendis armorum officinis; (exercendis armorum officinis: gerundive dative of purpose with destinantur: lit. ‘for the manufacture of arms to be carried on’; officina is properly a workshop, but the sense extends to its function.) apud Antiochensis aurum argentumque signatur, (destinantur … signatur: use of present indicative for a more vivid narrative) eaque cuncta per idoneos ministros suis quaeque locis (eaque cuncta …suis quaeque locis: ‘and all these doings in their appropriate locations’; the neuter plural of quisque, quaeque, is used in reference to groups of things.) festinabantur. ipse Vespasianus adire, hortari, bonos laude, segnis exemplo incitare (adire, hortari, … incitare: historical infinitives) saepius quam coercere, vitia magis amicorum quam virtutes dissimulans. multos praefecturis et procurationibus, plerosque senatorii ordinis honore percoluit, egregios viros et mox summa adeptos; quibusdam fortuna pro virtutibus fuit. (quibusdam fortuna pro virtutibus fuit: ‘for some of them luck was in place of merit’; quibusdam is dat. plural of quidam, ‘certain persons’.) donativum militi neque Mucianus prima contione nisi modice ostenderat, ne Vespasianus quidem (neque …ne …quidem: ‘neither …nor …even’) plus civili bello obtulit quam alii in pace, egregie firmus adversus militarem largitionem eoque exercitu meliore. (eoque exercitu meliore: abl. abs., ‘and for that reason his army being better’) missi ad Parthum Armeniumque legati, provisumque ne versis ad civile bellum legionibus terga nudarentur. (ne … nudarentur: neg. purpose clause) Titum instare Iudaeae, Vespasianum obtinere claustra Aegypti (Titum instare Iudaeae, Vespasianum obtinere claustra Aegypti: ‘that Titus should keep up the pressure on Judea and Vespasian hold the gateways to Egypt’; Iudaeae is dat. with instare. The two gateways to Egypt were Alexandria and Pelusium: the first, or more particularly the islet of Pharos at the entrance of the port, blocked access to Egypt from the sea; Pelusium in the interior , SSW of Al Mynia, blocked access from land.) placuit: sufficere videbantur adversus Vitellium pars copiarum et dux Mucianus et Vespasiani nomen ac nihil arduum fatis. (nihil arduum fatis: ‘nothing hard for destiny’) ad omnis exercitus legatosque scriptae epistulae praeceptumque ut (praeceptumque [est] ut …: praecipio is found more frequently followed by ut + subjunctive than by infinitive.) praetorianos Vitellio infensos reciperandae militiae praemio (reciperandae militiae praemio: Tacitus occasionally uses gen. gerundive to express purpose; lit. ‘by the inducement of army service to be resumed’. Cf. G. 428, R. 2) invitarent.