XLIX.
Dum hac totius orbis nutatione fortuna imperii transit, (dum …transit: dum, ‘while’, is regularly with historical present.) Primus Antonius nequaquam pari innocentia post Cremonam agebat, satis factum bello ratus et cetera ex facili, seu ([sive] satis factum bello ratus et cetera ex facili [esse], seu …: ‘either convinced that he had done enough for the war and that the rest was easy, or …’. [sive] …seu: Tacitus tends to omit the first of the two disjunctive particles. ex facilis [esse] is idiom.) felicitas in tali ingenio avaritiam superbiam ceteraque occulta mala patefecit. ut captam Italiam persultare, ut suas legiones colere; omnibus dictis factisque viam sibi ad potentiam struere. (persultare … colere … struere: historical infinitives or infinitives if narration) utque licentia militem imbueret (utque licentia militem imbueret: purpose clause: ‘to imbue the troops with disregard for authority’) interfectorum centurionum ordines legionibus offerebat. eo suffragio turbidissimus quisque delecti; (eo suffragio turbidissimus quisque delecti: ‘because of that voting privilege, the worst troblemakers were elected’. turbidissimus quisque delecti [sunt]: Tacitus often uses a plural verb after quisque, especially if quisque refers to a group. Cf. G. 211.) nec miles in arbitrio ducum, sed duces militari violentia trahebantur. (violentia trahebantur: were forced to go along by the men’s violence’.) quae seditiosa et corrumpendae disciplinae mox in praedam vertebat, (quae seditiosa et corrumpendae disciplinae mox in praedam vertebat: lit. ‘and these seditious practices of discipline to be subverted he soon turned to his profit’. et is the third word in the clause to avoid placement before quae . For the genitive corrumpendae disciplinae see note for mox Patavii secretum componendae proditionis quaesitum in Book 2, 100.) nihil (nihil: here adverb, ‘not at all’, ‘not in the least’) adventantem Mucianum veritus, quod exitiosius erat quam Vespasianum sprevisse. (quod exitiosius erat quam Vespasianum sprevisse: ‘which [disregard] was more deadly than to have ignored Vespasian’)