LXIX.
Praevenerat rumor eiurari ab eo imperium, scripseratque Flavius Sabinus cohortium tribunis ut militem cohiberent. igitur tamquam omnis res publica in Vespasiani sinum cecidisset, (tamquam …cecidisset: ‘had fallen, so to speak, into Vespasian’s lap’; tamquam, ‘as if’, opens a conditional clause of comparison and is as a rule followed by subjunctive) primores senatus et plerique equestris ordinis omnisque miles urbanus et vigiles domum Flavii Sabini complevere. illuc (illuc: i.e. at Sabinus’ house) de studiis vulgi et minis Germanicarum cohortium adfertur. longius iam progressus erat quam ut regredi posset; et suo quisque metu, (suo quisque metu: ‘each from fear for himself’) ne disiectos eoque minus validos Vitelliani consectarentur, (ne …Vitelliani consectarentur: negative purpose clause: ‘lest the Vitellians should come after them and attack.’) cunctantem in arma impellebant: (cunctantem in arma impellebant: ‘were pushing the dithering Sabinus to have recourse to arms.’) sed quod in eius modi rebus accidit, (quod in eius modi rebus [accidere solet] accidit: ‘what [usually happens] in such cases happened.’) consilium ab omnibus datum est, periculum pauci sumpsere. circa lacum Fundani descendentibus qui Sabinum comitabantur armatis occurrunt promptissimi Vitellianorum. (circa lacum Fundani descendentibus qui Sabinum comitabantur armatis occurrunt promptissimi Vitellianorum: ‘the most fanatic among the Vitellians ran into the armed men who were escorting Sabinus as they descended [the Quirinal hill] near the Lake of Fundanus.’ lacum Fundani: a water reservoir at the south end of the Quirinal hill on the way to the Forum; descendentibus: dative with occurrunt, historical present. ) modicum ibi proelium improviso tumultu, sed prosperum Vitellianis fuit. Sabinus re trepida, (re trepida: abl. abs., ‘the situation being perilous’ ) quod tutissimum e praesentibus, arcem Capitolii insedit (quod tutissimum e praesentibus, arcem Capitolii insedit: ‘Sabinus occupied the citadel on the Capitol, the safest course of action then open to him.’ arcem Capitolii: the fortified area on the more south-westerly of the two summits of the Capitoline hill. It included the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, so that Capitolium came to be used interchangeably to designate the hill itself, the arx or fortified area, and the temple of Jupiter.) mixto milite et quibusdam senatorum equitumque, quorum nomina tradere haud promptum est, quoniam victore Vespasiano multi id meritum erga partis simulavere. (quoniam victore Vespasiano multi id meritum erga partis simulavere: ‘because after Vespasian’s victory many professed to have performed this meritorious service to the party.’ quoniam … simulavere: like quod, quia, and quando, quoniam is followed by indicative.) subierunt obsidium etiam feminae, inter quas maxime insignis Verulana Gratilla, neque liberos neque propinquos sed bellum secuta. Vitellianus miles socordi custodia clausos circumdedit; (Vitellianus miles socordi custodia clausos circumdedit: ‘the Vitrellian soldiers formed a ring around the besieged, but maintained a careless watch.’) eoque concubia nocte (concubia nocte: ‘at dead of night’; concubium = ‘the time of first sleep’) suos liberos Sabinus et Domitianum fratris filium in Capitolium accivit, misso per neglecta ad Flavianos duces nuntio qui circumsideri ipsos et, ni subveniretur, artas res nuntiaret. (misso per neglecta ad Flavianos duces nuntio qui circumsideri ipsos et, ni subveniretur, artas res nuntiaret: abl. abs. with dependent relative clause in turn introducing an infinitive clause and a conditional sentence in indir. discourse; thus: ‘a messenger having been sent by a poorly guarded path to the Flavian leaders to tell that they were besieged and, unless they received help, that their plight was desperate.’ per neglecta: ‘through breaks in the enemy line left unwatched’; ipsos: emphatic acc. subject of the infinitive clause, in place of se or even se ipsos; ni subveniretur, artas res [esse]: conditional clause with infinitive apodosis in indir. speech and protasis in the subjunctive, subveniretur being impersonal use of passive of intrans. verb, ‘unless it was not come to help.’ artas res [esse]: ‘that things were critical’) noctem adeo quietam egit ut digredi sine noxa potuerit: (noctem adeo quietam egit ut digredi sine noxa potuerit: consective sentence with adeo …ut: ‘Sabinus spent so quiet a night that he could have escaped without trouble.’ potuerit: perfect subjunctive for single action in the past. Note: for result (consecutive) clauses the subjunctive tense depends on sense rather than sequence of tenses. ) quippe miles Vitellii adversus pericula ferox, laboribus et vigiliis parum intentus erat, (quippe miles Vitellii adversus pericula ferox, laboribus et vigiliis parum intentus erat: quippe has here causal force, ‘for’, ‘the reason being’: ‘for, fierce fighters though they were in the face of danger, the Vitellian troops cared little for irksome guard duties.’ laboribus et vigiliis: hendiadys) et hibernus imber repente fusus oculos aurisque impediebat.