Notes to Tacitus, Annales5.1-3

consul, -is m.
consul. Tacitus records his history year by year (thus the title Annales); it is Roman practice to identify the year by naming the two consuls in office. The year of the consulship of Gaius Fufius Geminus and Lucius Rebellius Geminus was 29 CE.

obeo, -ire, -ivi/-ii, itum
die; go to; visit.

extremus, -a, -um
extreme; greatest. Livia must have been about 85 years of age, as her son Tiberius was 70.

Claudius, -i m. a patrician family name whose members descended from the famous Appius Claudius Caecus and included as well such diverse figures as Clodia Metelli and the Emperor Claudius.

Livius, -i m. a Roman family name; daughters were usually given the feminine form of the family name, hence Livia; her father was Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, adopted son of Livius Drusus.

Iulius, -i m. a Roman family name, famous members of which were Julius Caesar and Augustus; the name is commonly derived from Iulus, the alternate name of Aeneas’ son Ascanius. Click on the SPQR icon beside the Latin text to see the coins Augustus and his successors minted in her image.

primum adverb
for the first time; first.

liberi, -orum m.
children; i.e. Tiberius and Drusus who would later be adopted by Octavian.

fuere= alternate form of fuerunt.

Tiberius Claudius Nero (-onis), c. 85-33 BCE: first husband of Livia, who was his kinswoman in the Claudian gens. Click on the SPQR icon beside the Latin text for a basalt portrait bust of the young Livia.

exim/exinde adverb
thereafter; next; accordingly.

Caesar, -aris m.: as adopted son of Caesar, Octavian, not yet princeps or Augustus, used his adopted father’s name at this time (39 BCE).

cupido, -inis f.
desire, passion, lust; ablative of cause.


forma, -ae f
appearance, beauty.

aufero, -ferre, -abstuli, ablatum
take away, carry away; steal; obtain.

maritus, -i m.
husband.

incertum an [est]:
it is uncertain whether
.

invitus. -a, -um
reluctant, unwilling.

adeo ... ut:
so ... that .

properus, -a, -um
quick, hasty.

ne quidem: not even.

enitor, eniti, enisus/a sum
give birth to. Nitendum = gerund with ad, expressing purpose, following the ablative absolute spatio dato.

penates, -ium m. pl.
household gods, spirits of the larder; home. Click on the SPQR icon beside the Latin text to see a representation.

gravidus, -a, um
pregnant; full.

induco, -ere, -duxi, -ductum
bring in, introduce.

posthac adverb
hereafter, in future.

suboles, -s f.
offspring.

edo, -ere, didi, ditum
give birth to; put forth; produce.

sanguis, -inis m.
blood; descent; offspring; family.

coniunctio, -onis f.
union; connection; affinity.

Agrippina Maior (14 BCE-33 CE): daughter of Julia, the daughter of Augustus, and Agrippa. Click on the SPQR icons beside the Latin text for images of Agrippina and her husband Germanicus.

Germanicus (15 BCE- 19 CE ): son of Antonia Minor, the daughter of Octavia and Antony, and Drusus, the son of Livia and Tiberius Claudius Nero.

adnecto, -ere, -nexui, -nexum
connect, tie.

communis, -e
common; universal; general.

pronepos, -otis m.
great grandson.

sanctitas, -tatis f.
integrity, chastity; sacredness; an ablative of description.

priscus, -a, um
ancient; former; old-fashioned. Understand erat here and with each of the following phrases.

mos, -moris m.
custom, practice; nature, manner.

comis, -e
agreeable; friendly; courteous.

ultra, adverb,
often followed by quam = beyond.

antiquus, -a, um
old-fashioned; honest; former.

probo (1)
approve; recommend; probatum [erat] = impersonal use. Suetonius Augustus 71 reveals that Augustus’ libido was such that his wife supplied maidens for him.

inpotens, -entis
headstrong, violent; powerless, weak. Suetonius IV.23 notes that Caligula was said to have irreverently named his great-grandmother, Livia Augusta, “Ulysses in a stola" (see stola).

facilis, -e
well-suited; good-natured; the whole phrase is facilis et ... bene composita.

ars, artis f,
skill; artifice; quality.

simulatio, -onis f.
hypocrisy; presents; understand et cum.

compono, -ere, posui, positum
match; oppose; supply erat.

funus, -eris n.
funeral.

modicus, -a, um
moderate; small, mean.

testamentum , -i n.
will.

diu adverb
for a long time; not until Caligula's accession in 37 CE; he paid all of her legacies.

inritus, -a, um
invalid; useless.

pro preposition + ablative
in front of.

rostra, -orum n. pl. Rostra, the speaker’s platform in the Forum. Click on the SPQR icon beside the Latin text for a reconstruction drawing of the Rostra.

Gaius Caesar: Livia’s great-grandson, Caligula, Emperor 37-41 CE. Suetonius, IV.10.1 notes that at that time Caligula was still praetextatus, i.e., wearing the toga praetexta of a boy and therefore under the age of 17.

mox adverb
next; presently.

res, rei f.
possessions, wealth; the State.

potior, potiri, potitus/a + genitive
acquire, get hold of.

at conjunction
but, on the other hand.

quod conjunction
in that; because.

suprema, -orum n. pl.
moment of death; funeral rites/duties (with officiis).

in preposition + accusative
towards, for.

desum, -esse, -fui + dative
fail in one’s duty; be missing; pluperfect subjunctive.

magnitudo, -inis f.
size; large amount.

negotium, -i n.
business, work.

litterae, -arum f.
letter, dispatch; see epistula below.

excuso (1)
plead as an excuse; apologize for; Tiberius does not return from Capri for his mother’s funeral.

honor, -oris m.
honor, tribute.

large adverb
generously.

decerno, -ere, -crevi, -cretum
decree; determine.

quasi adverb
as it were; as if; translate with per modestiam.

imminuo, -ere, -minui, minutum
lessen, shorten.

admodum adverb
very, quite; modifies paucis.

recipio, -ere, -cepi, -ceptum
admit, accept; ablative absolute with paucis.

addo, -ere, didi, -ditum
add; ablative absolute, understand uno or some such word.

ne conjunction + subjunctive (decerneretur)
that not.

caelestis, -e
divine; heavenly.

religio, -onis f.
reverence; sanctity.

malo, -ere, -ui
prefer; wish rather; this is an infinitive in indirect statement introduced by the understood Tiberius dixit.

quin adverb
indeed, rather.

pars, partis, f.
part; understand in + ablative.

idem, eadem, idem pronoun
the same one.

increpo, -ere, -ui, -itum
exclaim against, rebuke.

amicitia, ae, f.
alliance; friendship. While this was a traditional and honorable bond between men, Tiberius used it against his enemies, isolating them by punishing their friends, a notable case being Agrippina Maior. Tacitus tells us this slighting remark is aimed at the consul Fufius, who won his consulship through Livia’s favor, whose behavior Tiberius found woman-like and whose barbed jokes he would long remember.

muliebris, -e
woman’s; feminine.

ceterum adverb
but.

ex eo: understand tempore (i.e., his mother's death).

praeruptus, -a, -um
steep, rugged; here used metaphorically as hard, stern to describe Tiberius' rule from this point on; together with urgens, it modifies dominatio.

urguo = alternate form of urgeo, -ere, ursi, --
burden, oppress; press, force, urge.

nam conjunction
for.

incolumis, -e
safe, unharmed; ablative absolute with Augusta.

adhuc adverb
till now; still.

perfugium, -i n.
a place to flee to, refuge, asylum; shelter.

quia conjunction
because.

inveteratus, a, um
long-standing; unchanging.

erga preposition + accusative
towards; against.

obsequium, -i n.
compliance; obedience; allegiance; understand erat. Click on the SPQR icon beside the Latin text for a cameo portrait of Livia in the guise of Venus, observed by the young Tiberius or Drusus.


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