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Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Suetonius, Life of Crispus

Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus [Suetonius]
69-130 AD
Trans RMBullard
Latin (Imperial Era)


 C. SVETONI TRANQVILLVI DE POETIS
VITA PASSIENI CRISPI

PASSIENUS CRISPUS, municeps Viselliensis, tirocinio suo in senatu ita coepit:
[Passienus Crispus, from the city of Visellio, began his political career thusly in the senate:]

"Patres conscripti et tu Caesar!" propter quod simulata oratione plenissime a Tiberio conlaudatus est.
["There are the conscripted fathers <senators>, and then there's you Caesar!", was the line in his speech, for which he was a most fully praised en masse by Tiberius.]

 Plurimas sponte causas apud centumviros egit,
[By his own initiative, he tried many cases in the court of the centumviri,]

pro qua re in basilica Iulia eius statua posita est.
[on which account his statue was set up in the Basilica Julia.]

Consulatus duos gessit.
[He completed two terms as consul.]

 Uxores habuit duas, primam Domitiam, deinde Agrippinam, illam amitam, hanc matrem Neronis Caesaris.
[He had two wives, first Domitia, and then Agrippina, the former being the aunt, and the latter the mother of Nero Caesar.]

Possedit bis milies sestertium.
[He collected an estate of 2000 sesterces.]

 Omnium principum gratiam adpetivit,
[He sought the favor of all the emperors,]

 sed praecipue C. Caesaris,
[but most of all, from Gaius Caesar,]

quem iter facientem secutus est pedibus.
[whom he followed on foot, while the latter was on travel.]

Hic nullo audiente ab Nerone interrogatus,
[This man was once asked by Nero, with no other witness present,]

 haberetne sicut ipse cum sorore germana consuetudinem,
[whether he, like Nero, made it a custom to sleep with his sister,]

"Nondum" inquit,
[to which he answered, "Not yet,"]

quantumvis decenter et caute,
[in however a fitting and prudent manner he could manage,]

 ne aut negando eum argueret
[he could not manage ever to say no to him]

 aut adsentiendo semet mendacio dehonestaret.
[and he began to bring shame upon himself by agreeing to stoop to mendacity.]

Periit per fraudem Agrippinae, quam heredem reliquerat,
[He was killed by one of Agrippina's schemes, whom he had beforehand made his heir,]

 et funere publico elatus est.
[and he was carried out in a public funeral.]