VIII.
Marcellus non suam sententiam impugnari, sed consulem designatum censuisse dicebat, (non suam sententiam impugnari sed consulem designatum censuisse dicebat: ‘he said that it was not his opinion that was attacked, but that the consul elect had so decided.’ The consul elect was Valerius Asiaticus, as mentioned towards the end of ch. 4. dicebat: introduces indir. speech, that lasts until the end of Eprius’ rejoinder.) secundum vetera exempla quae sortem legationibus posuissent, ne ambitioni aut inimicitiis locus foret. (ne ambitioni aut inimicitiis locus foret: neg. purpose clause, ‘to avoid leaving room for cabals and enmities’) nihil evenisse cur antiquitus instituta exolescerent aut principis honor in cuiusquam contumeliam verteretur; (nihil evenisse cur antiquitus instituta exolescerent aut principis honor in cuiusquam contumeliam verteretur: lit. ‘that nothing had occurred why precedents from of old should lose effect or why the homage of the prince should be turned into slight of anyone’; cur here ushers in a question in indirect speech (cf. A.G. 586). antiquitus is adverb, ‘of long stasnding’.) sufficere omnis obsequio. (sufficere omnis obsequio: lit. ‘that each one of them was adequate for the homage’; obsequio is dat. of purpose. ) id magis vitandum ne pervicacia quorundam inritaretur animus novo principatu suspensus (id magis vitandum ne pervicacia quorundam inritaretur animus novo principatu suspensus: ‘that above all this was to be avoided, that the state of mind [of the emperor], already uneasy on account of the recent elevation, be upset by the intransigence of certain persons among them’) et vultus quoque ac sermones omnium circumspectans. se meminisse temporum quibus natus sit, quam civitatis formam patres avique instituerint; (se meminisse temporum quibus natus sit, quam civitatis formam patres avique instituerint: se meminisse … civitatis formam quam patres avique instituerint: ‘he remembered, ‘[he said], the times in which he was born and the kind of civic rule their ancient fathers had instituted.’ Born under Augustus (emperor 27 B.C. – 14 A.D.), Eprius may have seen some remnants of republican government before they were completely swept away. meminisse takes either gen. or acc. of the thing remembered. instituerint, in place of instituissent is repraesentatio, for which see note in previous chapter. The same applies to servierit below.) ulteriora mirari, praesentia sequi; bonos imperatores voto expetere, (bonos imperatores voto expetere: ‘that he asked for good emperors in his prayers’) qualiscumque tolerare. non magis sua oratione Thraseam quam iudicio senatus adflictum; saevitiam Neronis per eius modi imagines inlusisse, (saevitiam Neronis per eius modi imagines inlusisse: ‘that Nero’s cruel nature had found amusement through such mockeries of the law [as Thrasea’s tial]’) nec minus sibi anxiam talem amicitiam quam aliis exilium. (nec minus sibi anxiam talem amicitiam quam aliis exilium: ‘that [Nero’s] so-called friendship had been a greater source of anxiety to him (sibi) than exile to others’; a sarcastic allusion to Helvidius Priscus’ confinement to the pleasant resort of Apollonia in Albania. On the other hand, no matter how much one may admire Eprius’ great forensic skills, it is hard to forget that he received five million sesterces from Nero as reward for destroying Thrasea. sibi: either dative of interest or dative of possessor with implied esse or fuisse.) denique constantia fortitudine Catonibus et Brutis aequaretur Helvidius: (constantia fortitudine Catonibus et Brutis aequaretur Helvidius: ‘ let Helvidius, [he said], be a match in constancy and fortitude to the Catos and the Brutuses.’ aequaretur: hortatory subjunctive in indir. speech; Catonibus et Brutis: both Marcus Junius Brutus and his uncle Cato the Younger died fighting against Caesar’ tyrannical ideas of government.) se unum esse ex illo senatu, qui simul servierit. (qui simul servierit: ‘who had been slaves at the same time’) suadere etiam Prisco ne supra principem scanderet, ne Vespasianum senem triumphalem, (Vespasianum senem triumphalem: Vespasian was 59 years old at this time and had won the triumphalia (see note in ch. 4) in Britain) iuvenum liberorum patrem, praeceptis coerceret. quo modo pessimis imperatoribus sine fine dominationem, ita quamvis egregiis modum libertatis placere. (quo modo pessimis imperatoribus sine fine dominationem, ita quamvis egregiis modum libertatis placere: comparative sentence in indir. discourse with quo modo introducing the dependent clause with subjunctive verb implied and ita the infinitive main clause: ‘in the same way that the worst emperors long for power without end, so those as good as you may wish desire a limit to liberty.’) haec magnis utrimque contentionibus iactata diversis studiis accipiebantur. (diversis studiis accipiebantur: ‘were received with anything but unanimous approval) vicit pars quae sortiri legatos malebat, etiam mediis patrum adnitentibus retinere morem; (mediis patrum adnitentibus retinere morem: abl abs.: ‘the undecided among the senators supporting the observance of tradition’; retinere morem: lit. ‘to hold the custom in place’ ) et splendidissimus quisque eodem inclinabat metu invidiae, si ipsi eligerentur. (splendidissimus quisque eodem inclinabat metu invidiae, si ipsi eligerentur: ‘the foremost among the senators inclined the same way (eodem is adverb) out of fear of envy, in case they were chosen themselves.’ si eligerentur: potential condition.)