LIX.
Vt terrorem Italiae possessa Mevania (possessa Mevania: part subject of intulerat: ‘Mevania being occupied’) ac velut renatum ex integro bellum (velut renatum ex integro bellum: second part of the subject of intulerat: ‘the war being, as it were, revived’; ex integro: ‘afresh’, ‘anew’) intulerat, ita haud dubium erga Flavianas partis studium tam pavidus Vitellii discessus addidit. erectus Samnis Paelignusque et Marsi aemulatione quod Campania praevenisset, ut in novo obsequio, ad cuncta belli munia acres erant. (erectus Samnis Paelignusque et Marsi aemulatione quod Campania praevenisset, ut in novo obsequio, ad cuncta belli munia acres erant: ‘the Samnites, the Peligni, and the Marsi, stirred into action by rivalry because Campania had preceded them, were keen in performing all duties of war, as happens in a change of vassalage.’ quod …praevenisset: quod + subjunctive for reason not factual (i.e. assigned by the writer), but the opinion or perception of someone else. Samnis Paelignusque et Marsi: the Samnites were a warlike race inhabiting Samnium, a region in the center of Italy southeast of Latium and east of Campania; the Peligni were a tribe on the eastern slopes of the Apennines in what is today Abruzzo; the Marsi dwelt also in Abruzzo in the modern province of L’Aquila.) sed foeda hieme per transitum Appennini conflictatus exercitus, et vix quieto agmine nives eluctantibus patuit quantum discriminis adeundum foret, ni Vitellium retro fortuna vertisset, (vix quieto agmine nives eluctantibus patuit quantum discriminis adeundum foret, ni Vitellium retro fortuna vertisset: vix modifies eluctantibus, not quieto: ‘although the march was undisturbed, it became clear to the men barely able to fight the snow to open a way how much danger they would have to undergo, had not fortune turned Vitellius back [towards Rome].’ quieto agmine: abl. abs. of concessive force; eluctantibus patuit: eluctantibus is dative of indirect object with patuit. quantum discriminis adeundum foret, ni …vertisset: conditional sentence contrary to fact with passive periphrastic in apodosis. discriminis is partitive gen. after the neuter quantum.) quae Flavianis ducibus non minus saepe quam ratio adfuit. obvium illic (illic: i.e. on the march) Petilium Cerialem habuere, (obvium … habuere: ‘they met coming towards them’) agresti cultu et notitia locorum custodias Vitellii elapsum. propinqua adfinitas Ceriali cum Vespasiano, nec ipse inglorius militiae, (nec ipse inglorius militia: ‘nor himself devoid of military fame’) eoque inter duces adsumptus est. Flavio quoque Sabino ac Domitiano patuisse effugium (Flavio quoque Sabino ac Domitiano patuisse effugium: ‘that the escape had been possible also for Sabinus and Domitianus’; Flavius Sabinus and Domitianus were respectively Vespasian’s brother and son. Flavio quoque: note that quoque is never the first word in a clause, but follows the word it emphasizes.) multi tradidere; et missi ab Antonio nuntii per varias fallendi artis (per varias fallendi artis: ‘by means of various deceptive artifices’) penetrabant, locum ac praesidium monstrantes. Sabinus inhabilem labori et audaciae valetudinem causabatur: (Sabinus inhabilem labori et audaciae valetudinem causabatur: ‘Sabinus adduced as an excuse his poor health, unfit for the daring effort’; labori et audaciae: hendiadys ) Domitiano aderat animus, sed custodes a Vitellio additi, quamquam se socios fugae promitterent, tamquam insidiantes timebantur. (quamquam se socios fugae promitterent, tamquam insidiantes timebantur: ‘even though they engaged themselves as party to the escape, they were mistrusted as waiting to entrap him.’ quamquam … promitterent: quamquam is regularly found with subjunctive in Tacitus, both in dir. and indir. speech.) atque (atque: can have slight adversative sense.) ipse Vitellius respectu suarum necessitudinum (suarum necessitudinum: ‘of his own relatives’) nihil in Domitianum atrox parabat.