Tacitus, Annals, 15.20­-23, 33­-45. Latin Text, Study Aids with Vocabulary, and Commentary, 2013a

ficta and quasi return us to a favourite
theme of Tacitus: the gulf between reality and presentation. Here, even the
noble Seneca resorts to deceit – such is the nature of Roman political life
under Nero. Seneca chose to simulate a muscular disease that restricted
his mobility, presumably because it would have been difficult to prove
that he faked it; it also offered a good pretext to stay away from court and
he kept it going till his number was up (15.61.1). valetudo can mean both
‘good health’ and ‘ill health’ and here of course means the latter. In the
gruesome event, the old valetudinarian bird was so tough he took a great
deal of killing to see himself off (15.63.3, 64.3-4).
The subject is secessus. For the tense
(postquam + imperfect) see Miller’s note at 37.3: ‘postquam with the
imperfect indicative describes an action which continues up to the time
of the main verb. Because of this, it often conveys a causal connection too,
“now that”.’ 200
cubiculum non egressus [sc. esse]The infinitive egressus esse, which here
takes an accusative object (cubiculum), depends like oravisse on ferebatur.
tradidere quidam venenum ei per libertum ipsius, cui nomen [sc. erat]
Cleonicus, paratum [sc. esse] [sc. esse] a
tradidere [= tradiderunt]
introduces an indirect statement with venenum as subject accusative and
paratum (esse) and vitatum (esse) as infinitives. The marked position of
venenum gives special emphasis to the horrifying fact that Nero tried to
poison his old friend and teacher. Note again that it is a freedman involved
in this skulduggery, with ipsius (his own) emphasising Nero’s role.
The detail cui nomen Cleonicus may render the story more concrete
and hence plausible but, as John Henderson reminds us, the usual point
in Tacitus’ naming especially Greek ‘extras’ for walk-on parts is that they
tote ‘speaking names’: so, enter ‘Glory-Be-Victory’ [from kleos = glory and
nike = victory]. (A favourite is ‘Invincible’ ‘Anicetus’, whose persistence
finally clinched another staggered sequence of (botched) butchery, when
eliminating Nero’s mother Agrippina to inaugurate Annals 14 and Nero’s
first break out from the shackles of boyhood (notably Seneca’s control)).
200 Miller (1973) 87.