XLIV.
Proximo senatu, inchoante Caesare de (inchoante Caesare de …: ‘Domitian beginning to speak about …’) abolendo dolore iraque et priorum temporum necessitatibus, censuit Mucianus prolixe pro accusatoribus; simul eos qui coeptam, deinde omissam actionem repeterent, monuit (eos qui coeptam, deinde omissam actionem repeterent, monuit: ‘he admonished those who intended to take up again a legal action once brought, then dropped.’ repeterent is potential subjunctive, ‘those who might think of …’) sermone molli et tamquam rogaret. (tamquam rogaret: ‘as if he were pleading’; subjunctive after tamquam for unreal comparison.) patres coeptatam libertatem, postquam obviam itum, omisere. (coeptatam libertatem postquam obviam itum omisere: ‘the liberty just experienced they gave up as soon as it was opposed.’ postquam obvium itum: lit. ‘after it [was] gone against’, ‘after it was first opposed’; itum is impersonal use of the passive of an intransitive verb.) Mucianus, ne sperni senatus iudicium et cunctis sub Nerone admissis data impunitas videretur, (ne sperni senatus iudicium et cunctis sub Nerone admissis data impunitas videretur: negative purpose clause: ‘to avoid giving the impression that the decisions of the Senate were being ignored and that impunity was granted to all crimes under Nero, …’; admissis = criminibus. Note that iudicium and impunitas are nominative subjects in infinitive clauses with personal construction; cf. note for ferebatur Antonius Scribonianum Crassum …hortatus in ch. 39.) Octavium Sagittam et Antistium Sosianum senatorii ordinis egressos exilium in easdem insulas redegit. Octavius Pontiam Postuminam, stupro cognitam (stupro cognitam: stupro cognoscere means ‘to come to know carnally’, ‘to possess sexually’) et nuptias suas (nuptias suas: ‘his offer of marriage’) abnuentem, impotens amoris (impotens amoris: ’incapable of control over his love’; objective genitive after adj. denoting passion; cf. A.G. 349, a.) interfecerat, Sosianus pravitate morum (pravitate morum: two nouns, one a sort of possessive genitive to define the other; cf. A.G. 342.) multis exitiosus. ambo gravi senatus consulto damnati pulsique, quamvis concesso aliis reditu, (quamvis concesso aliis reditu: abl, abs.: ‘though return being granted to others’; the use of a subordinating conjunction like quamvis at the head of an abl. abs. is definitely post-classical.) in eadem poena retenti sunt. nec ideo lenita erga Mucianum invidia: (nec ideo lenita erga Mucianum invidia: ‘the ill will against Mucianus [was] not placated for that reason’; lenita is from lenio, lenire.) quippe Sosianus ac Sagitta viles, etiam si reverterentur: accusatorum ingenia et opes et exercita malis artibus potentia timebantur. (accusatorum ingenia et opes et exercita malis artibus potentia timebantur: ‘the ingenuity of the informers, their financial clout, and their faculties trained in evil arts were feared.’)