tempora
, etc.,
what a time! what a state of things! (
mores
customs of the time.)
immo
,
nay more:
immo
here negatives not the
fact of the preceding statement (
vivit
), but only its
form as not being strong enough;
nay is similarly used in English, as in
Midsummer-Night's Dream, iii, 2, 313: "To strike me, spurn me, nay, to kill me too."
videmur
, etc.
think we do enough for (i.e. fulfil our duty to the state).
si . . . vitemus
: in the dir. form,
satisfacimus si vitamus .
ad mortem
: the consuls originally possessed full powers of judgment in criminal cases, including punishment by death. These highest powers of the
imperium were suspended within the city by laws which gave the right of appeal to the people (note,
p. 110, l. 16
), but the Senate could revive them in cases of danger by the formula
Videant consules ne quid res publica detrimenti capiat, — a proceeding analogous to the proclamation of martial law. This action the Senate had taken Oct.21, nearly three weeks before.
oportebat
, apod. of an implied cond.: §
522
, a (311, c); B. 304, 3, a; G. 254, R1; H. 583 (511, I, N.1); H-B. 582, 3, a; the imperf. is used with
jam pridem, where in English we might expect the pluperf.; §
471
, b (277, b); B. 260,4; G. 234; H. 535(469,2); H.-B. 485;
oportebat
alone would mean "you ought [now] to be [but are not]"; with
jam pridem it means "you ought to have been long ago and still ought to be."
jam diu
: words in brackets are thought to be spurious insertions in the text.
