LVI.
Contionanti–prodigiosum dictu—(prodigiosum dictu: ‘marvelous to relate’, an example of the only use of the abl. supine as abl. of specification: marvelous in what respect? In the telling.) tantum foedarum volucrum supervolitavit ut nube atra diem obtenderent. (contionanti … tantum foedarum volucrum supervolitavit ut nube atra diem obtenderent: contionanti …supervolitavit: supervolito, usually transitive, is here intransitive and contionanti is indir. object. tantum foedarum volucrum: partitive genitive after a neuter pronoun; tantum …ut introduces a consecutive sentence, with its subordinate clause in the subjunctive.) accessit dirum omen, profugus altaribus taurus (profugus altaribus taurus: ‘a bull escaped from the altars’; altaribus: abl. of separation either alone or with a, ab, ex.) disiecto sacrificii apparatu, longe, nec ut feriri hostias mos est, confossus. sed praecipuum ipse Vitellius ostentum erat, ignarus militiae, improvidus consilii, quis ordo agminis, quae cura explorandi, (cura explorandi: ‘the collection of information’) quantus urgendo trahendove bello modus, alios rogitans (quis ordo…, quae cura …, quantus …modus, alios rogitans: indir. questions after rogitans: ‘continually asking others about the order of march, the gathering of intelligence, the extent to which the war ought to be pushed forward or dragged out’) et ad omnis nuntios quoque vultu et incessu trepidus, dein temulentus. (ad omnis nuntios quoque vultu et incessu trepidus, dein temulentus: ‘he trembled at any new report coming in, even in his face and gait, then would drink until intoxicated.’ quoque, according to rule, comes after the word(s) it accentuates, but here applies more properly to vultu and incessu than to nuntios.) postremo taedio castrorum et audita defectione (Misenensis classis: Misenum in the gulf of Naples was the base of the Tyrrhenian fleet, just as Ravenna was of the Adriatic.) Romam revertit, recentissimum quodque vulnus pavens, (recentissimum quodque vulnus pavens: lit. ‘dreading each most recent blow’) summi discriminis incuriosus. nam cum transgredi Appenninum integro exercitus sui robore (integro exercitus sui robore: ‘with the entire force of his army’) et fessos hieme atque inopia hostis adgredi in aperto foret, (cum … hostis adgredi in aperto foret, …: cum is concessive: ‘though the way was open for him to attack the enemy …’) dum dispergit viris, acerrimum militem et usque in extrema obstinatum trucidandum capiendumque tradidit, (dum dispergit viris, … acerrimum militem … trucidandum capiendumque tradidit: ‘while he allowed his forces to become dispersed, he handed over his bravest soldiers to be slaughtered and captured.’ dum here has practically causal sense: ‘since he dispersed his forces …’ or ‘by dispersing his forces, he …’; present indicative after dum is retained.) peritissimis centurionum dissentientibus et, si consulerentur, vera dicturis. arcuere eos intimi amicorum Vitellii, (peritissimis centurionum dissentientibus et, si consulerentur, vera dicturis arcuere eos intimi amicorum Vitellii: abl. abs. with dependent conditional clause, the apodosis of which (vera dicturis) is part of the ablative: ‘the most qualified centutrions, being critical [of Vitellius’ conduct of the war], and ready to tell the truth if consulted, the closest of his (Vitellius’) friends kept them at a distance’. Tacitus, an ever regular user of the abl. abs., is constantly exploring its possibilities and enlarging its limits, often violating conventional rules, such as the principle of total independence of the construction from the rest of the sentence. Here eos, direct object of the main verb, arcuere, is borrowed from centurionibus, the substantive in the abl. abs. Tacitus’ habit of attaching subordinate clauses to the construct finds rare precedents before Cicero. The use of the active future participle (here dicturis) in an abl. abs. was avoided in classical times. The purpose of these violations, as Gildersleeve suggests, is to make the narrative less stiff, more vigorous and conversational. See G. 410.) ita formatis principis auribus ut aspera quae utilia, nec quidquam nisi iucundum et laesurum acciperet. (ita formatis principis auribus ut aspera quae utilia, nec quidquam nisi iucundum et laesurum acciperet: abl. abs. with dependent consecutive clause introduced by ita …ut : ‘his ears having been so conditioned that he heard nothing but what was pleasant and led to ruin, and [found] helpful counsel grating.’ nec quidquam nisi iucundum et laesurum: after negative nouns or pronouns nisi corresponds to the English ‘except’, ‘save’, ‘but’. Cf. B. 306, 4. Tacitus likes to pair contrasting adjectives or even nouns together, like iucundum et laesurum here or blandae et intempestivae and luctum et bonam famam in ch. 67 ahead. Other examples occur.)