LXXX.
Eo successu (eo successu: abl. of cause) studia populi aucta; vulgus urbanum arma cepit. paucis scuta militaria, (paucis scuta militaria: paucis is dat. of possessor with implied erant; scuta militaria: regulation army shields; cf. gladio military cincta in ch. 77.) plures raptis quod cuique obvium telis (raptis quod cuique obvium telis: ‘abl. abs.: lit. ‘weapons having been seized that presented itself to each’; note that the antecedent of quod …obvium (sing.) is telis (plur.).) signum pugnae exposcunt. agit grates Vitellius et ad tuendam urbem prorumpere iubet. mox vocato senatu deliguntur legati ad exercitus ut praetexto rei publicae (praetexto rei publicae: ‘for the welfare of the state’; praetexto is dat. of destination.) concordiam pacemque suaderent. varia legatorum sors fuit. qui Petilio Ceriali occurrerant extremum discrimen adiere, aspernante milite condiciones pacis. vulneratur praetor Arulenus Rusticus: (praetor Arulenus Rusticus: tribune, praetor, consul, Rusticus was a prominent stoic, who later married Verulana Gratilla, mentioned in ch. 69. He was executed under Domitian in 93 A.D. Tacitus speaks of him also in his De Vita Agricolae.) auxit invidiam super violatum legati praetorisque nomen propria dignatio viri. (auxit invidiam super violatum legati praetorisque nomen propria dignatio viri: ‘what added to the outrage, beside the violation of his status as envoy and praetor, was that the great worth of the man was slighted.’) pulsantur comites, occiditur proximus lictor, dimovere turbam ausus: et ni dato a duce praesidio defensi forent, sacrum etiam inter exteras gentis legatorum ius ante ipsa patriae moenia civilis rabies usque in exitium temerasset. (ni dato a duce praesidio defensi forent, sacrum etiam inter exteras gentis legatorum ius ante ipsa patriae moenia civilis rabies usque in exitium temerasset: conditional sentence contrary to fact and with negative protasis (see note for si …miles … Romam contendisset, etc. in ch. 77.): ‘had they not been protected by an escort given by Antonius, this civil war frenzy would have desecrated, to the point of committing murder before the very walls of Rome, the right of ambassadors, considered sacred even among foreign nations.’ ni dato a duce praesidio defensi forent: praesidio is dat. of agent which may found after compound tenses using perf. participle, in place of abl. of agent with a or ab. Here the dative was perhaps used to avoid two successive ablatives of agent (a duce, a praesidio).) aequioribus animis accepti sunt qui ad Antonium venerant, non quia modestior miles, sed duci plus auctoritatis.