Eo—excedere. Reach the same height of distinction. Eo Old dat. cf. eo inopiae 28, note. Excedere, lit. come out to, arrive at. Cf. Val. Max. 5, 6, 4: ad summum imperii fastigium excessit.
Per abrupta. "Through abrupt and dangerous paths." Ky.
Ambitiosa morte, i.e. morte ultro adita captandae gloriae causa apud posteros. For. and Fac.
XLIII. Luctuosus, afflictive, is stronger than tristis, sad.
Vulgus. The lower classes, the ignorant and indolent rabble.— Populus. The common people, tradesmen, mechanics, and the like. Hence, aliud agens, which implies that they were too busy with something else of a private nature, to give much attention to public affairs or the concerns of their neighbors.—Populus and vulgus are brought together in a similar way, Dial. de Clar. Orat. 7: Vulgus quoque imperitum et tunicatus hic populus, etc.
Nobis—ausim. I should not dare to affirm that we (the friends of A.) found any conclusive proof, that he was poisoned.—Ceterum. But. This implies that the circumstantial evidence, which he goes on to specify, convinced the writer and his friends, as well as the public, that poison administered by direction of Dom., was really the means of hastening A. out of the world. Dion Cassius expressly affirms, that he was poisoned, 66, 20.
Principatus. The imperial government in general, i.e. former Emperors.
Momenta ipsa deficientis. Each successive stage of his decline. Ipsa is omitted in the common editions. But it rests on good authority and it adds to the significance of the clause: the very moments, as it were, were reported to Dom.
Per dispositos cursores. Dom. appears not to have been at Rome at this time, but in the Alban Villa (cf. 45), or somewhere else.
Constabat. That was an admitted point, about which there was entire agreement (con and sto).