Section 20

ut minora tantis inseram: 'so that I might include lesser events with such great achievements'. The subjunctive is a kind of purpose clause used parenthetically, like the common ut ita dicam, 'so to speak'.

quamvis . . . praecipuum sit: 'although, as is the age of our times, in which all things are now depraved and corrupt, it is almost an exceptional achievement'. sit is subjunctive after the conjunction quamvis, which is normal (AG 527).

adūlātiōnī . . . cōnstantiam: 'for priestly constancy not to yield to royal flattery', i.e. for priests not to yield to the temptation to flatter the emperor so as to gain personal advantage. This infinitive phrase is the subject of the preceding verb, sit, specifying what counts as an exceptional achievement nowadays.

imperatorem Maximum: Magnus Maximus, Roman emperor AD 383-8.

elatum: 'puffed up, arrogant' (> effero).

notaretur: 'was observed'.

seque degenere inconstantiā regiae clientelae sacerdotalis dignitas subdidisset: 'and with contemptible weakness, priestly dignity had subjected itself to royal clientage'. degenere is ablative > degener, subdidisset > subdo. The elaborate syntax and emotive terms are a sign of Sulpicius' emotional involvement in this issue. As he describes in more detail in the Chronica, Sulpicius saw clerics of this period sometimes flatter and manipulate emperors into persecuting rival Christian sects and factions. In his view the church should be separate from and above the state, but many bishops became entangled in imperial politics. Martin set a good example by staying true to his principles and not flattering the emperors for his own personal advantage.

et si pro aliquibus regi supplicandum fuit: 'even if it was necessary to petition the emperor on somebody's behalf'. As a bishop Martin might have to intercede with the emperor on behalf of a member of his flock.

mensae eius . . . qui: 'the table of that man who', i.e., Maximus.

imperatores unum regno, alterum vita expulisset: 'had expelled one emperor from office, another from life'. In his rise to power Maximus had killed the western emperor Gratian and later invaded Italy, displacing Valentinian II.[3]

cum Maximus . . . affirmaret: 'when Maximus declared that' (>affirmo (1)). This is followed by a series of infinitives in indirect statement.

se . . . defendisse: 'that he had defended'.

divino nutu: 'with divine approval' (> nutus, -us, m., nod).

non alienam ab: 'not unfriendly to'.

penes quem . . . victoria fuisset: 'since the victory had been due to Him'. fuisset is subjunctive because the relative clause is causal (AG 535e).

tandem victus: 'won over at last' (the antecedent is Martin).

impetrasset: 'had obtained' (> impetro (1) = impetravisset), subjunctive because it gives the reason on the authority of another, not the writer himself (AG 540).

convivae autem aderant: 'Moreover, there were present as his fellow diners . . . ' There follows a list of notables, some of the most powerful men of that time.

Euodius: Flavius Euodius, consul 386.

vir quo nihil umquam iustius fuit: 'a man than whom no one (lit. nothing) was ever more just'.

ut moris est: 'as is customary' (> mos moris, f.).

pateram: a broad, shallow bowl or dish, used in making libations.

ambiens: 'seeking'.

ut ab illius dextera poculum sumeret: 'that he (Maximus) would receive the drinking vessel from that man's (Martin's) right hand'--which would be a sign of respect to Maximus. According to Roman drinking custom a person proposing a toast tastes the wine in his cup and then hands it over to be drunk by the person honored (propinatio).

digniorem, qui post se prior biberet: 'more worthy to drink immediately after him'. Subj. is regular in a relative clause after dignus (AG 535f).

nec integrum sibi fore: 'and (thinking) that it would not be morally upright for him'.

ut hoc ipsum eis, in quo contempti fuerant, placeret: 'that this very thing, in which they had been treated with contempt, was pleasing to them'.

celeberrimum . . . fuit: 'it was much talked about that'.

fecisse Martinum . . . quod: 'that Martin had done . . . that which'.

futurum: 'the future, what was to come'

sciret se . . . periturum: 'he ought to be aware that he would be victorious in the first onslaught, at any rate, but that he would die soon after'. sciret is subjunctive in a noun clause, as is regular after verbs of warning and admonishing (AG 563), the notion of admonishing being implicit in praedixit futurum. esse periturum > pereo, -ire.

quod quidem ita vidimus: 'And this is in fact what we have seen'.

Aquileiae:  'of Aquileia, an important city at the northern extremity of the Adriatic. Satellite image.