LXXX.
Isdem diebus Mucianus Vitellii filium interfici iubet, (Vitellii filium interfici iubet: the son Vitellius had named Germanicus, previously mentioned in Book 2, ch. 59, a six-years old child with a stammer so severe as to render him almost a mute, a poignant innocent victim of the civil war. iubet is historical present, which is here felt as historical tense for purposes of sequence of tenses.) mansuram discordiam obtendens, ni semina belli restinxisset. (mansuram discordiam obtendens, ni semina belli restinxisset: conditional sentence in indir. speech (condition of the potential kind or of Type II): ‘maintaining that dissention would persist unless (ni = nisi) the seeds of war had been stamped out’; the apodosis is infinitive (mansuram [esse]) after obtendens and the protasis has plup. subjunctive in accord with the sequence of tenses for the perfect subjunctive of direct speech (direct: ni semina belli restinxerit). Cf. A.G. 585, 484, and 516. c.) neque Antonium Primum adsciri inter comites a Domitiano passus est, favore militum anxius et superbia viri aequalium quoque, adeo superiorum intolerantis. (anxius …superbia viri aequalium quoque, adeo superiorum intolerantis: ‘troubled by the high-handedness of the man, intolerant even (quoque) of equals, still more (adeo) of superiors’; intolerantis governs both aequalium and superiorum.) profectus ad Vespasianum Antonius ut non pro spe sua excipitur, ita neque averso imperatoris animo. (ut non pro spe sua excipitur, ita neque averso imperatoris animo: lit. ‘in the measure that he is not received according to his hopes, so neiter [is he received] with hostile feelings of the emperor’; comparative sentence: both the dependent or ut clause and the main or ita clause normally take indicative; the present excipitur is historical. ) trahebatur in diversa, (trahebatur in diversa: the subject is Vespasian: ‘he was drawn in opposite directions’.) hinc meritis Antonii, cuius ductu confectum haud dubie bellum erat, inde Muciani epistulis: simul ceteri ut infestum tumidumque insectabantur, prioris vitae adiunctis criminibus. (prioris vitae adiunctis criminibus: abl. abs.: ‘misdeeeds of his former life having been adduced’) neque ipse deerat adrogantia vocare offensas, nimius commemorandis quae meruisset: (neque ipse deerat adrogantia vocare offensas, nimius commemorandis quae meruisset: ‘he himself lost no opportunity by his arrogance to provoke resentment, being excessive in his harping on about the services he had performed’. commemorandis quae meruisset: ‘by constant mention of things worthy to be remembered on account of the services he had procured by his actions’; meruisset is subjunctive in rel. clause of causal sense. commemorandis is abl. plur. of commemoranda, ‘things one ought to remember’.) alios ut imbellis, Caecinam ut captivum ac dediticium increpat. (Caecinam ut captivum ac dediticium increpat: ‘he upbraided Caecina for being a captive prone to surrender’. Cf. Book 3, ch 13-14.) unde paulatim levior viliorque haberi, manente tamen in speciem amicitia. (unde paulatim levior viliorque haberi, manente tamen in speciem amicitia: ‘so step by step he became rather unimportant and unworthy of respect; yet friendship, to all appearances remained’. haberi is historical infinitive; levior viliorque: comparatives without the second term of comparison (absolute comparatives), the Latin way to express the English ‘rather’, ‘somewhat’, ‘too …’ preceding the positive adjective. Here Antonius Primus exits the Historiae never to return. From one of Martialis’ epigrams we know that he retired to his estate near Tolosa (Toulouse), his native town, where he died, most likely of natural death, around 100 A.D.)