(1) Othō occīsō Galbā invāsit imperium, māternō genere nōbilior quam paternō, neutrō tamen obscūrō.
(2) In prīvātā vītā mollis et Nerōnī familiāris, in imperiō documentum suī nōn potuit ostendere.
(3) Nam cum īsdem temporibus, quibus Othō Galbam occīderat, etiam Vitellius factus esset ā Germāniciānīs exercitibus imperātōr, bellō contrā eum susceptō, cum apud Bēdriacum in Ītaliā levī proeliō victus esset, ingentēs tamen cōpiās ad bellum habēret, sponte sēmet occīdit. Petentibus mīlitibus, nē tam cito dē bellī dēspērāret ēventū, cum tantī sē nōn esse dīxisset, ut propter eum bellum cīvīle movērētur, voluntāriā morte obiit trīcēsimō et octāvō aetātis annō, nōnāgēsimō et quīntō imperiī diē.
notes
Otho Emperor (69 CE)
Tacitus, Histories 1.13–2.50. Suetonius, Otho.
(1) Othō: Marcus Salvius Otho was Roman emperor from January 15 to April 16, 69 CE. He was the husband of the beautiful but infamous Poppaea Sabina, whom Nero took from him and made his own. He was afterwards sent to Lusitania, where he governed with justice and moderation (Hazzard).
Othō occīsō Galbā invāsit imperium: occīsō Galbā = "after Galba had been killed" (Bird). Ablative absolute with perfect passive participle (AG 419). Otho is the subject of the sentence.
(2) In prīvātā vītā: "in his private life," before he became emperor
mollis: "weak," "unmanly," "effeminate" (LS mollis II.A.2) a term often used to mock a Roman statesman’s inability to control his desires.
Nerōnī familiāris: Otho was a close friend of Nero until Otho had an affair with Nero's mistress, Poppaea Sabina.
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Suetonius, Otho 3:
Also when Poppaea Sabina, who up to that time had been Nero's mistress, was separated from her husband and turned over for the time being to Otho, he pretended marriage with her (nuptiarum specie recepit); but not content with seducing her, he became so devoted that he could not endure the thought of having even Nero as a rival. At all events it is believed that he not only would not admit those whom Nero sent to fetch her, but that on one occasion he even shut out the emperor himself, who stood before his door, vainly mingling threats and entreaties and demanding the return of his trust. Therefore, Nero annulled the marriage and under color of an appointment as governor banished Otho to Lusitania, contenting himself with this through fear that by inflicting a severer punishment he would make the whole farce public.
documentum suī: "evidence of his character" (Bird)
(3) Vitellius: see Brev. 7.18.
contrā eum: Vitellius
apud Bēdriacum: on April 6, 69 CE Otho’s forces defeated Vitellius' lieutenant, Caecina, near Bedriacum, but on April 14 Caecina, reinforced by Valens’ army, defeated Otho near Cremona and forced him back to Bedriacum. Two days later Otho committed suicide, ninety-one days after assuming power, at the age of thirty-seven (Suet. Otho 11; Victor Epit. 7) (Bird).
ingentēs tamen cōpiās ad bellum habēret: "although he retained immense forces for the war" (concessive; LS tamen I.A)
Petentibus mīlitibus: "to the soldiers begging," present active participle dative indirect object of dīxisset
nē tam cito dē bellī dēspērāret ēventū: "<begged him> not to despair of the outcome of the war so quickly," (Bird) hortatory negative command governed by petentibus (AG 439)
tantī sē nōn esse: "he was not so important that," dative of reference inside an indirect discourse construction anticipated by dīxisset, while tantī anticipates the following result clause (AG 577, 376, 537).
voluntāriā morte obiit: he put an end to his life at Brixellum in Cisalpine Gaul (Hazzard)
trīcēsimō et octāvō aetātis annō: Otho died in 69 CE. He did not receive deification (See Smith, s.v. Apotheosis).
nōnāgēsimō et quīntō imperiī diē: Eutropius is slightly mistaken (Hazzard), as Suetonius states the length of his reign as ninety-four days (Vit. Otho 11.2) and Aurelius Victor (de Caes. 7) says Otho ruled approximately eighty-five days (Bird).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
| Othō, ōnis, m. |
(M. Salvius) Othō, Roman emperor from January 15 to April 16, 69 A.D. |
| Galba, ae, m. |
Servius (Sulpicius) Galba, Roman emperor 68–69 A.D. |
| invādō, ere, vāsī, vāsus |
to enter; attack; seize, take possession of |
| māternus, a, um [māter], adj. |
of a mother, mother's; maternal, on the mother's side |
| paternus, a, um [pater], adj. | fatherly, of a father |
| neuter, tra, trum [nē + uter], pron. | neither (of two) |
| obscūrus, a, um, adj. |
dark, obscure; ignoble, mean, low |
| familiāris, e [familia], adj. |
belonging to a family, private, intimate, friendly; as subst., an intimate friend; rēs familiārēs, property 2 |
| documentum, ī [doceō], n. |
a lesson, example; evidence, proof |
| Vitellius, ī, m. |
(1) (A.) Vitellius, Roman emperor, 69 A.D.; (2) (L.) Vitellius, brother of (1) 3 |
| Germāniciānus, a, um, adj. |
stationed or serving in Germany (late) |
| Bēdriacum, ī, n. | a small town in Cisalpine Gaul |
| Ītalia, ae, f. | Italy |
| sponte [abl. of spōns, obs.], f. |
voluntarily; with meā, tuā, or suā, of my, your, or his own free will |
| -met | an intensive enclitic particle, self |
| citō | (adv.) quickly, speedily, soon. |
| dēspērō, āre, āvī, ātus [dē + spērō, to hope] | to give up hope, despair |
| ēventus, ūs [ēveniō], m. |
outcome, result; occurrence, event |
| cīvīlis, e [cīvis], adj. |
pertaining to a citizen; civil; polite, moderate |
| voluntārius, a, um [voluntās], adj. | of free will, voluntary |
| obeō, īre, īvī (iī), itus |
to go to meet; attend to, perform; die, perish |