Meditations — Page 5
Avidius Cassius, an able captain who had won renown in the Parthian wars, was at this time chief governor of the eastern provinces.
Avidio Cassio, un abile capitano che si era guadagnato rinomanza nelle guerre partiche, era in quel momento governatore supremo delle province orientali.
By whatever means induced, he had conceived the project of proclaiming himself emperor as soon as Marcus, who was then in feeble health, should die; and a report having been conveyed to him that Marcus was dead, Cassius did as he had planned.
Per qualunque motivo indottovi, aveva concepito il progetto di proclamarsi imperatore non appena Marco, che si trovava allora in precarie condizioni di salute, fosse morto; e avendo ricevuto la notizia che Marco era morto, Cassio fece come aveva pianificato.
Marcus, on hearing the news, immediately patched up a peace and returned home to meet this new peril.
Marco, udita la notizia, concluse immediatamente una pace di fortuna e tornò a casa per affrontare questo nuovo pericolo.
The emperors great grief was that he must needs engage in the horrors of civil strife.
Il grande dolore dell'imperatore era che doveva necessariamente immergersi negli orrori della guerra civile.
He praised the qualities of Cassius, and expressed a heartfelt wish that Cassius might not be driven to do himself a hurt before he should have the opportunity to grant a free pardon.
Lodò le qualità di Cassio, ed espresse il sincero desiderio che Cassio non fosse spinto a farsi del male prima che egli avesse avuto l'opportunità di concedere un pieno perdono.
But before he could come to the east news had come to Cassius that the emperor still lived; his followers fell away from him, and he was assassinated.
Ma prima che egli potesse raggiungere l'oriente, a Cassio era giunta la notizia che l'imperatore era ancora vivo; i suoi seguaci lo abbandonarono, ed egli fu assassinato.
Marcus now went to the east, and while there the murderers brought the head of Cassius to him; but the emperor indignantly refused their gift, nor would he admit the men to his presence.
Marco si recò allora in oriente, e mentre si trovava là gli assassini gli portarono la testa di Cassio; ma l'imperatore rifiutò sdegnosamente il loro dono, né volle ammettere quegli uomini alla sua presenza.
On this journey his wife, Faustina, died.
Durante questo viaggio morì sua moglie, Faustina.
At his return the emperor celebrated a triumph (176).
Al suo ritorno l'imperatore celebrò un trionfo (176).
Immediately afterwards he repaired to Germany, and took up once more the burden of war.
Immediatamente dopo si recò in Germania, e riprese ancora una volta il peso della guerra.
Vocabulary
- un
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'
- abile
- Skilled, capable, or talented in a particular area
- capitano
- Captain; military leader or commander of troops
- che
- Relative pronoun or conjunction meaning 'who,' 'that,' 'which'
- si
- Reflexive pronoun meaning 'oneself' or 'himself/herself'
- era
- Third-person singular imperfect of 'essere,' meaning 'was'
- guadagnato
- Past participle of 'guadagnare'; earned or gained something
- rinomanza
- Renown, fame, or widespread recognition for achievements
- nelle
- Contraction of 'in' and 'le,' meaning 'in the'
- guerre
- Plural of 'guerra'; wars or armed conflicts
- in
- Preposition meaning 'in,' 'at,' or 'into'
- quel
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'that' before a consonant
- momento
- Moment; a specific point or period in time
- governatore
- Governor; official administrator of a region or province
- supremo
- Supreme; highest in authority, rank, or importance
- delle
- Contraction of 'di' and 'le,' meaning 'of the'
- province
- Provinces; administrative territorial divisions of a country
- orientali
- Eastern; relating to the east or oriental regions
- Per
- Preposition meaning 'for,' 'through,' or 'by'
- qualunque
- Whatever, whichever; any at all without distinction
- motivo
- Reason, motive, or cause behind an action
- aveva
- Third-person singular imperfect of 'avere,' meaning 'had'
- concepito
- Past participle of 'concepire'; conceived or devised a plan
- il
- Definite article meaning 'the' for masculine singular nouns
- progetto
- Project, plan, or scheme devised for a purpose
- di
- Preposition meaning 'of,' 'from,' or 'about'
- proclamarsi
- To proclaim oneself; to declare oneself something publicly
- imperatore
- Emperor; supreme ruler of an empire
- non
- Negation adverb meaning 'not' or 'no'
- appena
- As soon as; hardly or barely; just now
- trovava
- Third-person singular imperfect of 'trovare'; was finding or in
- allora
- Then, at that time; used to indicate a past moment
- precarie
- Precarious; unstable, uncertain, or fragile conditions
- condizioni
- Conditions; circumstances or state of health or affairs
- salute
- Health; general physical or mental condition of a person
- fosse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'essere'; used in hypothetical clauses
- morto
- Dead; past participle of 'morire,' meaning 'died'
- e
- Conjunction meaning 'and,' connecting words or clauses
- avendo
- Gerund of 'avere'; having; used in participial constructions
- ricevuto
- Past participle of 'ricevere'; received news or something given
- la
- Definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her/it'
- notizia
- News, piece of information, or notification of an event
- fece
- Third-person singular past of 'fare'; did or made something
- come
- How, as, like; used for comparison or manner
- pianificato
- Past participle of 'pianificare'; planned or organized in advance
- udita
- Past participle of 'udire'; heard; upon hearing something
- concluse
- Third-person singular past of 'concludere'; concluded or ended
- immediatamente
- Immediately; without delay, at once, right away
- una
- Indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an' for feminine nouns
- pace
- Peace; absence of war or conflict; tranquility
- fortuna
- Fortune, luck, or fate; good or bad chance
- tornò
- Third-person singular past of 'tornare'; returned or came back
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to,' 'at,' or 'in' a place
- casa
- House, home; the place where someone lives
- per
- Preposition meaning 'for,' 'in order to,' or 'through'
- affrontare
- To face, confront, or deal with a situation or person
- questo
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this,' referring to nearby thing
- nuovo
- New; something recently appeared or not seen before
- pericolo
- Danger, peril, or threat to safety or wellbeing
- Il
- Definite article meaning 'the' for masculine singular nouns
- grande
- Great, large, big; used to describe size or importance
- dolore
- Pain, grief, or sorrow; physical or emotional suffering
- dell'
- Contraction of 'di' and 'l''; meaning 'of the'
- doveva
- Third-person singular imperfect of 'dovere'; had to, must
- necessariamente
- Necessarily; in an unavoidable or indispensable manner
- immergersi
- To immerse oneself; to plunge deeply into something
- negli
- Contraction of 'in' and 'gli'; meaning 'in the'
- orrori
- Horrors; terrible or frightening events or situations
- della
- Contraction of 'di' and 'la'; meaning 'of the'
- guerra
- War; armed conflict between nations or groups
- civile
- Civil; relating to citizens, especially in civil war context
- Lodò
- Third-person singular past of 'lodare'; praised or commended
- le
- Definite article or pronoun meaning 'the' or 'her/them'
- qualità
- Qualities, attributes, or characteristics of a person or thing
- ed
- Conjunction 'and' used before vowels; variant of 'e'
- espresse
- Third-person singular past of 'esprimere'; expressed or conveyed
- sincero
- Sincere, genuine, honest; expressing true feelings
- desiderio
- Desire, wish, or longing for something or someone
- spinto
- Past participle of 'spingere'; pushed, driven, or compelled
- farsi
- Reflexive infinitive of 'fare'; to make oneself or become
- del
- Contraction of 'di' and 'il'; meaning 'of the'
- male
- Harm, evil, or ill; something bad or painful
- prima
- Before; earlier in time or order than something else
- egli
- Subject pronoun meaning 'he,' used in formal or literary contexts
- avesse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'avere'; had; used in hypothetical contexts
- avuto
- Past participle of 'avere'; had; used to form compound tenses
- l'
- Elided definite article 'la' or 'lo' before a vowel
- opportunità
- Opportunity; a favorable occasion or chance to act
- concedere
- To grant, concede, or allow something to someone
- pieno
- Full, complete; total or entire in extent or degree
- perdono
- Pardon, forgiveness; the act of forgiving an offense
- Ma
- Conjunction meaning 'but'; introduces a contrasting statement
- potesse
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'potere'; could, was able to
- raggiungere
- To reach, attain, or catch up with someone or somewhere
- oriente
- Orient, east; the eastern direction or eastern regions
- giunta
- Past participle of 'giungere'; arrived; upon arrival somewhere
- ancora
- Still, yet, again; continuing or happening once more
- vivo
- Alive; living, not dead; full of life or energy
- i
- Definite article meaning 'the' for masculine plural nouns
- suoi
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'their' (pl.)
- seguaci
- Followers, supporters; those who follow a leader or cause
- lo
- Definite article or direct object pronoun meaning 'him/it'
- abbandonarono
- Third-person plural past of 'abbandonare'; abandoned or deserted
- fu
- Third-person singular past of 'essere'; was; simple past tense
- assassinato
- Past participle of 'assassinare'; assassinated or murdered
- recò
- Third-person singular past of 'recarsi'; went or betook himself
- mentre
- While, whereas; conjunction indicating simultaneous actions
- là
- There; referring to a place already mentioned or distant
- gli
- Indirect object pronoun or article meaning 'him' or 'the'
- assassini
- Assassins, murderers; people who kill a targeted individual
- portarono
- Third-person plural past of 'portare'; brought or carried
- testa
- Head; the uppermost part of the human body
- ma
- Conjunction meaning 'but'; introduces contrast or exception
- rifiutò
- Third-person singular past of 'rifiutare'; refused or rejected
- sdegnosamente
- Disdainfully, scornfully; with contempt or indignant rejection
- loro
- Their, them; pronoun or possessive referring to a group
- dono
- Gift, present; something given voluntarily to another person
- né
- Neither, nor; negative conjunction linking two elements
- volle
- Third-person singular past of 'volere'; wanted or wished
- ammettere
- To admit, allow in, or acknowledge something or someone
- quegli
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'those' for masculine plural
- uomini
- Men; plural of 'uomo,' adult male human beings
- alla
- Contraction of 'a' and 'la'; meaning 'to the' or 'at the'
- sua
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its' (fem.)
- presenza
- Presence; the state of being in a particular place
- Durante
- During; throughout the course of a period of time
- viaggio
- Journey, trip, or travel from one place to another
- morì
- Third-person singular past of 'morire'; died or passed away
- moglie
- Wife; a woman in a marriage relationship
- Al
- Contraction of 'a' and 'il'; meaning 'to the' or 'at the'
- suo
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his,' 'her,' or 'its' (masc.)
- ritorno
- Return; the act of coming or going back somewhere
- celebrò
- Third-person singular past of 'celebrare'; celebrated or observed
- trionfo
- Triumph; a great victory or celebratory procession in Rome
- Immediatamente
- Immediately; without delay, right away after something
- dopo
- After, afterward; following in time or sequence
- riprese
- Third-person singular past of 'riprendere'; resumed or took back
- volta
- Time, turn; an instance or occasion of something occurring
- peso
- Weight, burden; something heavy or difficult to bear
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