LXIII.
Abrupta undique spe Vitellianus miles transiturus in partis, id quoque non sine decore, (Vitellianus miles transiturus [erant] in partis, id quoque non sine decore [facere] sed …descendere …: ‘the Vitellian troops were ready to change sides, also to do it not without honor, but to march down …’) sed sub signis vexillisque in subiectos Narniae campos descendere. Flavianus exercitus, ut ad proelium intentus armatusque, densis circa viam (circa viam: ‘on both sides of the road’ ; the road is the Via Flaminia (cf. note for ut Carsulas venere in ch. 60). circa is prep. requiring acc.) ordinibus adstiterat. accepti in medium Vitelliani, et circumdatos Primus Antonius clementer adloquitur: (adloquitur: hist. present) pars Narniae, pars Interamnae subsistere iussi. (pars … pars … iussi: note that iussi does not agree with pars, but with an implied milites or Vitelliani.’) relictae simul e victricibus legiones, neque quiescentibus graves et adversus contumaciam validae. (neque quiescentibus graves et adversus contumaciam validae: ‘not harsh to their prisoners if peaceful, yet strong enough against rebellious behaviour’; the present participle quiescentibus has in this case conditional force. gravis is one of the numerous adjectives requiring dative.) non omisere per eos dies Primus ac Varus crebris nuntiis salutem et pecuniam et secreta Campaniae offerre Vitellio, si positis armis seque ac liberos suos Vespasiano permisisset. (si positis armis seque ac liberos suos Vespasiano permisisset: si …permisisset: plup. subjunctive for potential (ideal) condition in the past, to be fulfilled prior to the granting of the promised privileges: ‘if he would have placed himself and his children in Vespasian’s hands’; seque ac liberos suos: -que …ac is equivalent to et …et, ‘both …and.’) in eundem modum et Mucianus composuit epistulas; quibus plerumque fidere Vitellius (quibus plerumque fidere Vitellius: fidere is hist. infinitive and so is loqui next. quibus is abl. if the object of fidere is a thing, but dat. if the object is a person.) ac de numero servorum, electione litorum loqui. tanta torpedo invaserat animum ut, si principem eum fuisse ceteri non meminissent, ipse oblivisceretur. (tanta torpedo invaserat animum ut, si principem eum fuisse ceteri non meminissent, ipse oblivisceretur: consecutive sentence introduced by tanta …ut and governing a conditional clause: ‘so much lethargy had stolen over his spirit that, if others would not remind him he had been emperor, he would have a tendency to forget it himself.’ The plup. meminissent has force of imperf. subjunctive.)