Notes to Tacitus. Agricola 4.1-3

inlustris, -e
distinguished, famous, renowned; noble. Agricola continues to be celebrated for his achievements with this statue in the modern town of Frejus (see SPQR).
Foroiulienses, -ium m. pl.
inhabitants of Forum Julii; an adjectival formation of the name of the town (modern Frejus, northeast of Massilia, located on the coast of Gallia Narbonensis: see SPQR). The colony was founded by and named after Julius Caesar in 46 BC and served as an important naval port.
orior, oriri, ortus,-a,-um sum
arise, be born of, followed by the ablative of place of origin.
uterque, -traque, trumque
each of two, either, both. Perhaps both of Agricola’s grandfathers held this office.
avus, -i m.
grandfather.
procurator, -oris m.
procurator, an imperial officer of finance. The procurator Caesarum/Augustorum was a member of the equestrian class paid by the emperor to represent his financial interests in the provinces.
quae=haec, which modifies nobilitas.
equester, -tris, -tre
of or belonging to the equestrian order; translate as a predicate adjective. In early Rome the equites, the military cavalry, were the highest class but became second after the rise of the senatores, who held elected office. Equites were distinguished by their tunic which was decorated with two narrow crimson bands (click on SPQR).
nobilitas, -tatis f.
nobility. Agricola’s grandfather's rank is differentiated in the following sentence from his father's (senatorius).
ille, illa, illud
he, she, it; that one; dative of possession; supply fuit.
Graecinus, -i m.
Graecinus. His name suggests descent from a Greek family, likely from the Greek colony Massilia, founded in 6th century BCE. Seneca in De Beneficiis 2.21 praises him for his honorable behavior.
senatorius, -a,-um
senatorial; with ordinis, a genitive of quality; supply fuit. Senators wore the tunica laticlavia, the wide crimson striped tunic, beneath their toga (click on SPQR).
eloquentia, -ae f.
oratory, eloquence.
sapientia, -ae f.
prudence, intelligence, wisdom, philosophy.
notus, -a, -um
noted for, known.
virtus, -tutis f.
attribute of manliness; bravery; excellence; ablative of cause.
meritus, -a, -um
incurred, earned, gained; perfect active participle of the deponent verb mereor, mereri, meritus sum. Gaius Caesar is Caligula, Rome's third emperor, 37-41 CE (click on SPQR).
namque conjunction
for in fact, for example.
Marcus Junius Silanus (born c. 26 BCE), suffect consul in 15 CE; though highly respected by all, he was driven by his son-in-law Caligula to commit suicide in 38 CE.
iubeo, -ere, iussi, iussum
order, command; understand est. The subject is Agricola's father Graecinus.
quia conjunction
because.
abnuo, -ere, -nui, -nutum
refuse, deny. Note the pluperfect and what it implies for the timeline: Agricola was born in 40 CE, so his father could not have died prior to 39 CE.
interficio, -ere, -feci, -fectum
kill, destroy.
rarus, -a, -um
rare, few, scattered far apart; genitive of quality or characteristic modifying castitatis.
castitas, -tatis f.
chastity (not in the sense of remaining unmarried, but of being faithful in marriage). The phrase, rarae castitatis, is often found on tombstones praising exemplary women (e.g., CIL 6.8508, 9.1893).
sinus, -us m.
bosom; lap; fold (of the upper part of the toga).
indulgentia, -ae f.
kindness, tenderness; indulgence, forbearance; huius refers to Julia Procilla, who provided both physical and emotional attention.
educo (1)
educate; bring up.
cultus, -us m.
cultivation; training; care. Followed here by an objective genitive (honestarum artium). The disciplines of the training of a gentleman were: grammar, logic, rhetoric, music, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy.
transago, -ēre, -egi, -actum
spend, pass time, complete.
arceo, arcēre, arcui, arctum
keep away; enclose.
inlecebra, -ae f.
allurement, attraction, lure.
pecco (1)
transgress, commit a fault; the present participle here stands in for an abstract noun such as vitii.
praeter preposition
beyond, besides; followed by the accusative case.
integer -gra, -grum
blameless, untainted; whole, untouched.
quod conjunction
in that, because, the fact that; introduces a clause (quod. . . habuit) that serves as the subject of arcebat.
parvulus, -a, -um
very small; a child; here a substantive noun, modified by the adverb statim.
sedes, -is f.
seat, dwelling, abode.
magistra, -ae f.
teacher.
Massilia, -ae f.
Massilia (modern Marseilles), a center of learning, an alternate option to Athens for university education.
comitas, -tatis f.
affability, congeniality; ablative folowing mixtum.
provincialis, -e
provincial.
parsimonia, -ae f.
frugality, thrift.
compono, -ere, posui, positum
arrange, put in order.
soleo, -ere, -lui, solitum
be accustomed, do habitually; followed by an infinitive. It modifies ipsum and acts as a semi-deponent with esse dropped by ellipsis, so that the passive participle takes an active force as both accusative subject and verb of the indirect statement introduced by memoria teneo.
iuventa, -ae f.
youth.
studium, -ii n.
interest, pursuit, study; object of haussise in an awkward metaphor.
acer, acris, acre
ardent, eager, fierce; comparative adverb followed by the comparative preposition ultra quam.
concedo, -ere, -cessi, -cessum
grant, pardon, permit, allow; substantive past participle with a dative of person to whom something is conceded.
haurio, -ire, hausi, haustum
drink down, drain; the main verb of the indirect statement introduced by narrare, it is the apodosis of the contrary to fact condition introduced by ni.
ni conjunction
if...not; introduces the contrary to fact condition.
coerceo, -ere, -ui, coercitum
restrain, control, confine, shut in.
scilicet adverb
certainly, evidently, indeed.
erigo, -ere, -rexi, -rectum
set upright, raise; perfect passive participle used here as a simple adjective.
pulchritudo, -inis f.
beauty, excellence.
species, speciei f.
splendor, beauty; outward appearance, form.
excelsus, -a, -um
elevated, lofty, high.
vehemens, -ntis
forceful, vehement, ardent, violent; comparative adverb vehementius.
cautus, -a, -um
careful, circumspect, wary; adverb caute
adpeto, -ere, -petivi/-petii, -petitum
strive after, seize upon, seek after.
mitigo (1)
tone down, lessen; the subject is ratiō et aetās.
retineo, -ere, -ui, -tentum
hold back, detain, restrain; the subject is ratiō et aetās.
difficilis, -e
difficult, awkward; superlative adjective neuter, modifying quod.
modus, -i m.
proper measure; limit; moderation; object of retinuit.


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