(1) Multās lēgēs rogāvit, quāsdam ex bonō et aequō, plērāsque superfluās, nōnnūllās sevērās. Prīmusque urbem nōminis suī ad tantum fastīgium ēvehere mōlītus est, ut Rōmae aemulam faceret.
(2) Bellum adversus Parthōs mōliēns, quī iam Mesopotamiam fatīgābant, ūnō et trīcēsimō annō imperiī, aetātis sextō et sexāgēsimō Nicomediae in vīllā pūblicā obiit. Dēnūntiāta mors eius est etiam per crīnītam stellam, quae inūsitātae māgnitūdinis aliquamdiū fulsit; eam Graecī comētēn vocant. Atque inter dīvōs meruit referrī.
notes
The death of Constantine, 337 CE.
(1) ex bonō et aequō: "in accordance with justice and fairness," a stock legal phrase
urbem: Constantinople, a city which Constantine built on the site of ancient Byzantium. This he aimed to make his capital city. Here he had a second senate, a praefect of the city, regions, and even largesses; all of which showed that the supremacy of Rome was at an end (Hazzard).
ad tantum fastīgium ... ut: "to such a height ... that"; introducing a result clause (AG 537)
(2) moliēns: "while planning," "while getting started"
ūnō et trīcēsimō annō imperiī: 337 CE
Nicomediae: "at Nicomedia" (locative case, AG 427.3)
in villā pūblicā: a building intended for a lodging house or hotel for foreign ambassadors (Hazzard)
inūsitātae māgnitūdinis: "of extraordinary size," genitive of quality (AG 345)
comētēn: The first Roman Emperor to use a comet to justify apotheosis was Augustus, who saw the omen as the deification of Julius Caesar. See Smith, Apotheosis.
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
|
superfluus, a, um [super + fluō], adj. |
superfluous; unnecessary |
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nōnnūllus, a, um [nōn + nūllus], adj. |
some, several |
|
sevērus, a, um, adj. |
serious, strict, harsh |
|
fastīgium, ī, n. |
top, height; slope, descent; rank, dignity |
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ēvehō, ere, vexī, vectus |
to lift, raise, elevate |
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mōlior, īrī, ītus sum [mōlēs, mass] |
to undertake, attempt |
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aemula, ae [aemulus], f. |
a rival |
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Parthī, ōrum, pl. m. |
a Scythian people southeast of the Caspian Sea 2 |
|
Mesopotamia, ae, f. |
Mesopotamia, a division of Asia between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers |
|
fatīgō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to tire, vex; test |
|
Nīcomēdia, ae, f. |
the capital city of Bithynia in Asia Minor |
|
vīlla, ae, f. |
a country house, farm, villa |
|
obeō, īre, īvī (iī), itus |
to go to meet; attend to, perform; die, perish |
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dēnūntiō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to announce, denounce, order, threaten |
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crīnītus, a, um [crīnis, hair], adj. |
covered with hair |
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inūsitātus, a, um [in + ūsitātus, usual], adj. |
unusual, unfamiliar, novel |
|
aliquamdiū [aliquis + diū], adv. |
for a while, for some time |
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fulgeō, ēre, fulsī, -- |
to flash, gleam |
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Graecī, ōrum, pl. m. |
the Greeks |
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comētēs, ae, Gr. acc. comētēn, m. |
a comet |