8.8

Antoninus Pius Emperor, 138–161 CE

Historia Augusta, The Life of Antoninus Pius

(1) T. Antōnīnus Fulvius Bōiōnius: his full name was Titus Aurelius Fulvius Boionius Antoninus, called Pius because he persuaded the senate to grant to his adopted father Hadrian the apotheosis and other honors usually paid to deceased emperors.

genere clārō: ablative of source (AG 403.2.a)

meritō: "deservedly" "justly"

quī ... cōnferātur: "who might be compared," (LS confero B.4), subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic (AG 535).

Numae Pompiliō: dative after cōnferātur (AG 370). For more information on Numa, see Eutropius, Brev. 1.3

ita ut: "just as"

aequētur: "could be compared," subjunctive, like conferātur.

(2) honestāte: "integrity," "honesty"

prīvātus: "as a private citizen,"  i.e. before he became emperor

māiōre: supply honestāte

moderātā glōriā: ablative of description (or quality) (AG 415)

studēns: "eager to" + infin.

aequissimōs: "very fair," "highly equitable" (LS aequus II.B.1)

ad administrandam rem pūblicam: "to administer the state," gerundive denoting purpose (AG 500.4)

bonīs honōrem habēns: "paying respect to the good" (Hazzard)

amīcīs: "allied" 

adeō: "so much so," introducing a result clause (AG 537)

dēpositīs armīs: ablative absolute with a perfect passive participle (AG 419). Neither Eutropius nor Victor mention the wars that Pius was forced to wage in Britain, where he built the Antonine Wall, western Mauretania, Germany, Dacia, Egypt, Greece and against the Judaeans (H.A. Pius 5.4–5) (Bird).

sententiaeque: "verdict," "judgment," dative object of pārērent (AG 367)

(3) ante imperium dītissimus: concessive: "(though) very rich before (taking) power" 

quidem: "yet," "however," in a qualification or opposing thought (LS quidem B.2)

circā: "to each of" (various persons situated in various places) + acc. (LS circa II.A.4)

vērum: "however," despite his generosity

Pius…dictus est: According to the Historia Augusta,

Read more

The Senate honored him with the name Pius. Perhaps they did this because he assisted the mobility of his elderly father-in-law so that he could be present at the senate house, (although, truth be told, it can be argued that this act alone is not that pious, since it is expected). Perhaps they did this because he spared those whom Hadrian ordered to be executed when the emperor was in the throes of illness. Perhaps it was because he bestowed countless and boundless honors upon Hadrian after he had died, contrary to popular opinion. Perhaps it was because he put safeguards and care into preserving Hadrian's life when the emperor had wished to kill himself. Perhaps they did this because he was simply a very kind-hearted man, and did nothing cruel throughout his lifetime (Ant. Pius. 2.3–7).

(4) Obiit: "he died" > obeō

apud Lorium: Pius died at his villa in Lorium in 161 CE.

mīliāriō ab urbe duodecimō: The Roman milestones were set up at intervals of 1000 paces, 5000 Roman feet, on the military roads. They gave the distance from the place from which the measurement was made, its name, the name of the person who erected the stone, and the name of the reigning emperor (Hazzard).

inter dīvōs: "among the gods." See apotheosis