XLII.
Magnam eo die pietatis eloquentiaeque famam Vipstanus Messala adeptus est, (famam Vipstanus Messala adeptus est: ‘he acquired notoriety’; Messala was not yet twenty-five years old: for details see Book 3, ch. 9.) nondum senatoria aetate, ausus pro fratre Aquilio Regulo deprecari. Regulum subversa Crassorum et Orfiti domus in summum odium extulerat: (Regulum subversa Crassorum et Orfiti domus in summum odium extulerat: ‘the downfall of the house of the Crassi and of that of Orfitus had raised Regulus to the peak of infamy.’ Aquilius Regulus was a notorious informer under Nero and, later, Domitian. He had caused the execution of Servius Cornelius Orfitus, consul in 51 A.D., and of L. Licinius Crassus Frugi, consul in 64 A.D., the brother of Scribonianus Crassus, mentioned in ch. 39, and of Piso, the adopted son of Galba.) sponte [ex sc] accusationem subisse iuvenis admodum, nec depellendi periculi sed in spem potentiae videbatur; (sponte [ex sc] accusationem subisse iuvenis admodum … videbatur: ‘he appeared to have deliberately taken on, when still quite young (iuvenis admodum), the prosecution of the aged ex-consuls’: [ex sc] is an insertion in the text of the Mediceus MS, generally accepted to stand for senum consularium; for the personal construction in subisse iuvenis … videbatur see note on ferebatur Antonius Scribonianum Crassum …hortatus in ch. 39. ) et Sulpicia Praetextata Crassi uxor quattuorque liberi, si cognosceret (si cognosceret: potential or ideal condition in past time, as yet not proven either true or false) senatus, ultores aderant. igitur Messala non causam neque reum tueri, sed periculis fratris semet opponens (periculis fratris semet opponens: ‘opposing himself as a shield to his brother’s perils’; the reflexive semet is for emphasis; periculis is dat. with opponens) flexerat quosdam. occurrit truci oratione Curtius Montanus, (occurrit truci oratione Curtius Montanus: ‘Montanus counterattacked with a biting speech.’ Curtius Montanus: see ch. 40. ) eo usque progressus ut post caedem Galbae datam interfectori Pisonis pecuniam a Regulo adpetitumque morsu Pisonis caput (adpetitumque morsu Pisonis caput: ‘that he had attacked Piso’s head with his teeth’) obiectaret. (eo usque progressus ut … obiectaret: consecutive sentence: ‘he went so far as to reproach him with …’; obiectare has here the sense of ‘to fling in one’s face’, ‘to throw in one’s teeth’.) ‘hoc certe’ inquit ‘Nero non coegit, nec dignitatem aut salutem illa saevitia redemisti. sane toleremus istorum defensiones qui (sane toleremus istorum defensiones qui …: hortatory subjunctive, here for sarcastic effect: ‘by all means, let us bear with the excuses put forward by the defense of those there who …’; istorum denotes dislike and contempt. Montanus had himself been the victim if informers, so his words ring all the more true.’ ) perdere alios quam periclitari ipsi maluerunt: (qui perdere alios quam periclitari ipsi maluerunt: ‘who preferred to ruin others rather than themselves be exposed to danger’; ipsi is nominative because subject of both maluerunt and the infinitive periclitari.) te securum reliquerat exul pater et divisa inter creditores bona, nondum honorum capax aetas, nihil quod ex te concupisceret Nero, nihil quod timeret. (nihil quod ex te concupisceret Nero, nihil quod timeret: concupisceret and timeret are potential subjunctives: ‘nothing that Nero might have desired or feared from you’. ex te is abl. of source.) libidine sanguinis et hiatu praemiorum (libidine sanguinis et hiatu praemiorum: ablatives of cause) ignotum adhuc ingenium et nullis defensionibus expertum (nullis defensionibus expertum: ‘without experience as defence lawyer’) caede nobili imbuisti, cum ex funere rei publicae raptis consularibus spoliis, (ex funere rei publicae raptis consularibus spoliis: abl. abs.:’the spoils of consular men beig snatched from the lifeless body of the state’; the image is that of a dead man being stripped of his possessions by his killer. septuagiens sestertio saginatus (septuagiens sestertio saginatus: ‘stuffed with seven million sesterces’: sestertio, here abl. of instrument, is short for [centena milia] sestertio; septuagiens is adverb meaning ‘seventy times’. Thus, 70 x 100,000 = 7 million sesterces, the reward Regulus received for informing against Crassus and Orfitus.) et sacerdotio fulgens (sacerdotio fulgens: ‘shining in the dignity of priesthood’) innoxios pueros, inlustris senes, conspicuas feminas eadem ruina prosterneres, cum segnitiam Neronis incusares, (caede nobili imbuisti, cum … prosterneres, cum … incusares: ‘you imbrued your hands with noble blood when you struck down …, when you reproved …’; temporal cum is with subjunctive to give the circumstances influencing the action of the main verb.) quod per singulas domos seque et delatores fatigaret: (quod … fatigaret: cf. note for quod … defendisset in ch. 40.) posse universum senatum una voce subverti. (posse universum senatum una voce subverti: the infinitive clause is in indir. discourse introduced by incusares or other (implied) verb of saying: ‘[you reminded him] that the entire Senate could be overthrown with one word’. ) retinete, patres conscripti, et reservate hominem tam expediti consilii ut omnis aetas instructa sit, et quo modo senes nostri Marcellum, (Marcellum: another notorious informer; cf. Book 2, ch. 53.) Crispum, (Crispum: see the end of previous chapter.) iuvenes Regulum imitentur. (quo modo … imitentur: subjunctive in indir. question) invenit aemulos etiam infelix nequitia: quid si floreat vigeatque? (quid si floreat vigeatque?: subjunctive to express supposition: ‘what would be the case, supposing that …?’) et quem adhuc quaestorium offendere non audemus, praetorium et consularem ausuri sumus? (quem adhuc quaestorium offendere non audemus, praetorium et consularem ausuri sumus?: equivalent to a conditional sentence, with rel. clause as protasis and direct question as apodosis: ‘if we do not dare to stop him now, as yet an ex-questor, will we dare [to stop him] as an ex-praetor and an ex-consul?’) an Neronem extremum dominorum putatis? (an Neronem extremum dominorum putatis?: direct question with an, to indicate indignation or surprise) idem crediderant qui Tiberio, qui Gaio superstites fuerunt, cum interim intestabilior et saevior exortus est. non timemus Vespasianum; ea principis aetas, ea moderatio: (ea principis aetas, ea moderatio: ea …ea: in place of talis …talis, ‘such being his age, such being his moderation) sed diutius durant exempla quam mores. elanguimus, patres conscripti, nec iam ille senatus sumus qui occiso Nerone delatores et ministros more maiorum puniendos flagitabat. optimus est post malum principem dies primus.’