(1) Offēnsārum et inimīcitiārum immemor fuit, convīcia ā causidicīs et philosophīs in sē dicta lēniter tulit, dīligēns tamen coercitor disciplīnae mīlitāris.
(2) Hic cum fīliō Titō dē Hierosolymīs triumphāvit. Per haec cum senātuī, populō, postrēmō cūnctīs amābilis ac iūcundus esset, prōfluviō ventris extīnctus est in villā propriā circā Sabīnōs, annum agēns aetātis sexāgēsimum nōnum, imperiī nōnum et diem septimum, atque inter dīvōs relātus est.
(3) Genitūram fīliōrum ita cognitam habuit, ut, cum multae contrā eum coniūrātiōnēs fierent, quās patefactās ingentī dissimulātiōne contempsit, in senātū dīxerit aut fīliōs sibi successūrōs aut nēminem.
notes
The character of the Emperor Vespasian; his death (79 CE)
(1) Offēnsārum et inimīcitiārum: immemor takes a genitive object (LS immemor)
in sē: "against him" (LS in II.C)
philosophīs: some philosophers in the early principate were outspoken critics of the emperors, and many, like the famous Stoic teacher Epictetus, were banished from Rome. According to Suetonius, "When the Cynic philosopher Demetrius met [Vespasian] abroad after being condemned to banishment, and without deigning to rise in his presence or to salute him, even snarled out some insult, he merely called him 'cur'" (Vespasian 13).
coērcitor: "enforcer," the word is a hapax legomenon (Hazzard).
(2) dē Hierosolymīs triumphāvit: in 71 CE when Titus returned to Rome after the sack of Jerusalem.
prōfluviō ventris: "diarrhea"
circā Sabīnōs: Vespasian died in his own home in the Sabine district in 79 CE.
inter dīvōs: unlike the other emperors involved in the Year of the Four Emperors, Vespasian was deified after his death (See Smith, Apotheosis).
(3) Genitūram fīliōrum ita cognitam habuit: "he knew the horoscope of his sons so well" (Hazzard). genitura = "the hour of birth" as predictive of fate through the position of the stars at that time.
quās patefactās: refers to coniūrātiōnēs
successūrōs: future active form of succēdō, with esse understood. The verb dīxerit signals the following indirect discourse construction (AG 577).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
| offēnsa, ae, f. | disfavor, offense, hatred, enmity |
| inimīcitia, ae, [inimīcus, unfriendly], f. | enmity |
| immemor, oris [in + memor], adj. | unmindful, careless |
| convīcium, ī [con + vocō], n. | a loud noise, clamor, cry; insult |
| causidicus, ī [causa + dīcō], m. |
a pleader, advocate, special pleader |
| philosophus, ī, m. | a philosopher |
| lēniter [lēnis, soft], adv. | softly, mildly, lightly |
| dīligēns, tis [dīligō], adj. |
careful, diligent, attentive; sparing; fond of |
| coërcitor, ōris [coerceō], m. | one who restrains, an enforcer |
| mīlitāris, e [mīles], adj. |
military; as subst., a soldier; rēs mīlitāris, the art of war, military operations |
| Titus, ī, m. |
T. Flavius Sabīnus Vespasiānus, Roman emperor 79–81 A.D. 2 |
| Hierosolyma, ōrum, pl. n. | Jerusalem |
| triumphō, āre, āvī, ātus | to celebrate a triumph |
| postrēmō [posterus], adv. | at last, finally |
| amābilis, e [amō, to love], adj. | worthy of love, lovely, amiable |
| iūcundus, a, um, adj. | pleasant; pleasing, joyful, dear |
| prōfluvium, ī, n. |
a flowing forth; ventris prōfluvium, diarrhea |
| venter, tris, m. | the stomach; appetite |
| exstinguō, ere, stīnxī, stīnctus [ex + stinguō, to extinguish] |
to quench, kill, blot out, destroy, extinguish, put an end to |
| vīlla, ae, f. | a country house, farm, villa |
| Sabīnī, ōrum, pl. m. |
the Sabines, a race in central Italy, adjoining Latium on the east |
| genitūra, ae, f. | hour of birth; nativity 3 |
| coniūrātiō, ōnis [coniūrō], f. | a conspiracy, plot |
| patefaciō, ere, fēcī, factus [pateō + faciō] |
to lay open, disclose, bring to light |
| dissimulātiō, ōnis [dissimulō, to make unlike], f. |
a disguising, dissembling, concealment |
| succēdō, ere, cessī, cessus |
to come up, advance; succeed, follow |