(1) Dēfūnctō Trāiānō Aelius Hadriānus creātus est prīnceps, sine aliquā quidem voluntāte Trāiānī, sed operam dante Plōtīnā, Trāiānī uxōre; nam eum Trāiānus, quamquam cōnsōbrīnae suae fīlium, vīvus nōluerat adoptāre.
(2) Nātus et ipse Ītalicae in Hispāniā. Quī Trāiānī glōriae invidēns statim prōvinciās trēs relīquit, quās Trāiānus addiderat, et dē Assyriā, Mesopotamiā, Armeniā revocāvit exercitūs ac fīnem imperiī esse voluit Euphrātēn. Idem dē Dāciā facere cōnātum amīcī dēterruērunt, nē multī cīvēs Rōmānī barbarīs trāderentur, proptereā quia Trāiānus victā Dāciā ex tōtō orbe Rōmānō īnfīnītās eō cōpiās hominum trānstulerat ad agrōs et urbēs colendās. Dācia enim diūturnō bellō Decibalī virīs fuerat exhausta.
notes
Hadrian Emperor, 117–138 CE
Dio Cassius 69.1.1–4; Historia Augusta Hadrian 3.10–4.10.
(1) Dēfūnctō Trāiānō: Ablative absolute with a perfect deponent participle (AG 419). Trajan died in 117 CE.
Aelius Hadriānus: Publius Aelius Hadrian was with Trajan when the latter died. With the consent of the Syrian army he assumed the reins of government and this act was ratified by the senate. Although he lost some of the territory that Trajan had added to the Empire, he strengthened and united the remainder. He was, in general, a just and able ruler; yet at times he showed himself revengeful, suspicious and cruel. He died of dropsy at Baiae, 138 CE, in the sixty-third year of his life (Hazzard).
operam dante Plōtīnā: ablative absolute with a present active participle (AG 419). There were many rumors about Plotina's involvement in Hadrian's ascension, including the following anecdote in the Historia Augusta:
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There is a large amount of people who believe that Trajan wanted to make Neratius Priscus his successor, not Hadrian, and that many of his friends agreed with this idea. He even told Priscus, "I entrust you with the provinces, if I should happen to die."
Furthermore, many people say that Trajan also wanted to follow the example of Alexander the Great, and leave the empire behind to no definitive successor; many also think that he wanted to petition the senate that they would appoint an emperor for the Roman people if anything should happen to him, and that he would appoint the best candidate from a list of names that the Senate agreed upon.
There is even a group of people who think that Hadrian was adopted after Trajan had died through Plotina's plotting, using someone impersonating the emperor’s voice and speaking with a strained voice as if he were the emperor. (HA Had. 4.8–10)
cōnsōbrīnae suae: suae refers to Trajan
vīvus: refers to Trajan
nōluerat adoptāre: despite ancient testimonies stating otherwise, "Hadrian was the natural choice to succeed since he was governor of Syria, commander of the eastern army and Trajan’s closest male relative" (Bird). For more details, see Dio 69.1.1–4; H.A. Hadr. 3.10–4.10.
(2) et ipse: like his predecessor Trajan. See Brev. 8.2.1.
Ītalicae: Itálica, Spain
Quī : connecting relative referring to Hadrian (AG 308.f)
glōriae invidēns: "jealous of the glory." gloriae is dative, the normal construction with invideo. More probably Hadrian saw that the Empire had become too large to be governed successfully (Hazzard).
relīquit: "abandoned," with the notion of leaving in the lurch (LS relinquo II.B). According to Bird,
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"The surrender of the new eastern provinces was not poplar with the extreme imperialists such as Lusius Quietus, A. Cornelius Palma, L. Publius Celsus and C. Avidius Nigrinus. Quietus was dismissed by Hadrian and the four were subsequently found guilty of conspiring against Hadrian by Hadrian’s friends in the senate and executed. (Dio 69.5.1; H.A. Hadr. 7.3) They may well have spread the rumor that Hadrian wished to give up Dacia, which probably appeared in Marius Maximus and reached Eutropius via the Kaisergeschichte. It was given some credence by the fact that Hadrian demolished Trajan’s bridge over the Danube. But Dacia was too rich a prize to be given up, as Hadrian realized. In addition to its gold and other metal deposits it had received an influx of settlers from the Danubian provinces and the east" (Bird).
cōnātum: "having attempted," i.e. contemplated (> conor), participle referring to Hadrian.
victā Dāciā: ablative absolute with a perfect passive participle (AG 419)
eō: "there" (adverb)
ad agrōs et urbēs colendās: "to inhabit the countryside and the cities" (Bird), gerundive denoting purpose (AG 500.4)
Decibalī: for the account of Trajan’s wars with Decebalus, see Brev. 8.2
virīs fuerat exhausta: "depopulated," virīs is dative of separation (AG 381)
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
|
dēfungor, fungī, fūnctus sum [dē + fungor, to perform] |
to perform, finish |
|
Trāiānus, ī, m. |
(M.) Ulpius Crīnītus Trāiānus, Roman emperor 98–117 A.D. |
|
Hadriānus, ī, m. |
(P.) Aelius Hadriānus, Roman emperor 117–138 A.D. |
|
Plōtīna, ae, f. |
the wife of the emperor Trajan |
|
cōnsōbrīna, ae [con + soror], f. |
a cousin—german, first cousin |
|
vīvus, a, um [vīvō], adj. |
living, alive |
|
adoptō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to adopt |
|
Ītalica, ae, f. |
a city in Spain 2 |
|
Hispānia, ae, f. |
Spain (including Portugal). It was divided into two provinces, Hispania Citerior and Ulterior; hence the pl. Hispaniae. |
|
invideō, ēre, vīdī, vīsus |
to look askance at, envy |
|
Assyria, ae, f. |
a division of Asia between Media, Mesopotamia, and Babylon |
|
Mesopotamia, ae, f. |
Mesopotamia, a division of Asia between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers |
|
Armenia, ae, f. |
a country of Asia southeast of the Black Sea |
|
Euphrātēs, is, dat. Euphrātae, m. |
the Euphrates, a river in Syria |
|
Dācia, ae, f. |
a country north of the Danube |
|
dēterreō, ēre, uī, itus [dē + terreō, to terrify] |
to frighten away, deter |
|
proptereā [propter + is], adv. |
for this reason, therefore; proptereā quod, because |
|
īnfīnītus, a, um [in + fīniō], adj. |
unbounded, vast, enormous; numberless; as subst., īnfīnītum, ī, n., a large amount, a large number |
|
trānsferō, ferre, tulī, lātus |
to bear or take over or across; transport, transfer |
|
diūturnus, a, um [diū], adj. |
prolonged |
|
Decibalus, ī, m. |
a celebrated king of the Dacians |
|
exhauriō, īre, hausī, haustus |
to take out, empty out, exhaust |