LXXXIV.
Igitur navium militum armorum paratu strepere provinciae, sed nihil aeque fatigabat quam pecuniarum conquisitio: eos esse belli civilis nervos dictitans (dictitans: dictitare is the frequentative form of dicere.) Mucianus non ius aut verum in cognitionibus, (cognitionibus: ‘assessments’, ‘evaluations’) sed solam magnitudinem opum spectabat. passim delationes, et locupletissimus quisque in praedam correpti. (locupletissimus quisque in praedam correpti [sunt]: ‘all the most affluent people were seized on’. Note that quisque, usually singular, is here followed by plural verb, as is also rarissimus quisque near the end of the chapter.) quae gravia atque intoleranda, sed necessitate armorum excusata etiam in pace mansere, ipso Vespasiano inter initia imperii ad obtinendas iniquitates haud perinde obstinante, (inter initia imperii ad obtinendas iniquitates haud perinde obstinante: abl. abs., ‘he being not particularly bent on perpetrating unfair practices during the initial period of his empire) donec indulgentia fortunae et pravis magistris didicit aususque est. (donec …didicit aususque est: with donec, ‘until’, + indicative the factual limit or terminus is considered more relevant than the time leading up to it.) propriis quoque opibus Mucianus bellum iuvit, largus privatim, quod avidius de re publica sumeret. (quod avidius de re publica sumeret: ‘because the more avidly he might take from the state’. Causal quod is followed by subjunctive when the reason given is perceived as probable, not factual) ceteri conferendarum pecuniarum exemplum (conferendarum pecuniarum exemplum: to Latin ears better than the gerund conferendi pecunias exemplum) secuti, rarissimus quisque eandem in reciperando licentiam habuerunt. (rarissimus quisque eandem in reciperando licentiam habuerunt: ‘[only] the rarest ones had the same opportunity in recovering [their money]’.)