Prosa 2

section 1

postulet: subjunctive of an indirect question.

section 2

Quid: Quid . . . Quam . . . Quae: introducing three separate questions.
ream: "defendant."
Quam: Quid . . . Quam . . . Quae: introducing three separate questions.
Quae: Quid . . . Quam . . . Quae: introducing three separate questions.

section 3

Quouis iudice: "with any judge you like."
cuiusquam mortalium proprium: "belonging to anyone of mortals," i.e., "the property of any mortal"; predicative.
quid horum: "any of these."
tua: accusative plural neuter, antecedent of the following quae.
sponte: adverb, "voluntarily, freely."

section 4

te: object of all the verbs in this sentence.
opibus: < ops; in plural, "wealth."
quod: quod . . . facit: almost parenthetical, "[a thing] which makes . . ."
nostri: objective genitive.
facit: quod . . . facit: almost parenthetical, "[a thing] which makes . . ."
prona: nominative singular, "well-disposed."
mei iuris: "in my power."

section 5

Habes gratiam: "you have thanks [which you owe]."
usus: past participle < utor.
alienis: "[goods] belonging to someone else"; ablative.
prorsus: "entirely."
tua: accusative plural neuter.

section 6

talium: "of such things [like opes and honores]."

section 7

si: si . . . forent (= essent ) . . . perdidisses: mixed condition contrary to fact.
forent: si . . . forent (= essent ) . . . perdidisses: mixed condition contrary to fact.
perdidisses: si . . . forent (= essent ) . . . perdidisses: mixed condition contrary to fact.

section 8

Licet: Licet . . . proferre: licet with a dative and infinitive often has virtually the force of the concessive subjunctive: "[Although ] it is permitted for the sky to bring forth. . ."
proferre: Licet . . . proferre: licet with a dative and infinitive often has virtually the force of the concessive subjunctive: "[Although ] it is permitted for the sky to bring forth. . ."
redimire: "to crown, encircle."
frigoribus: < frigus, "chill, cold weather."
ius est mari: continues the construction with licet above; "[though] it is lawful for the sea . . ."
strato: see on 2M1.9; here, "smooth."

section 9

rotam: cf. note on 2P1.19.
uolubili orbe: "in a whirling circular course."

section 10

ea lege, ne uti cum: "with this provision: that you not think it unjust to descend, when the pattern of my game demands." Either uti or cum is strictly superfluous (some scholars follow a tenth century manuscript and delete cum) but some doubling of conjunctions with cum is possible in late Latin (LHS, 620).

section 11

Croesum: cf. Herodotus 1.86ff; in 1.207.2, Croesus tells Cyrus, "But if you recognize that even you are a man and that you rule over others like yourself, learn this lesson first, that there is a wheel in human affairs and that as it goes around it does not allow the same men always to be fortunate."
formidabilem: formidabilem . . . miserandum . . . traditum . . . defensum: modify Croesum in two pairs, while specifying three stages in his career (miserandum and traditum speak to the same moment).
miserandum: formidabilem . . . miserandum . . . traditum . . . defensum: modify Croesum in two pairs, while specifying three stages in his career (miserandum and traditum speak to the same moment).
traditum: formidabilem . . . miserandum . . . traditum . . . defensum: modify Croesum in two pairs, while specifying three stages in his career (miserandum and traditum speak to the same moment).
defensum: formidabilem . . . miserandum . . . traditum . . . defensum: modify Croesum in two pairs, while specifying three stages in his career (miserandum and traditum speak to the same moment).

section 12

Paulum: L. Aemilius Paulus (consul in 170 B.C.) defeated the last king of Macedonia, Perseus (genitive: Persi); Livy and others told of Paulus's sober reflections on the instability of mortal prosperity.
se: Paulus; where the subject is impersonal, the reference of the reflexive pronoun is directed by common sense.
Quid: Quid . . . uertentem?: A ninth-century commentator, Remigius of Auxerre, attributes this definition of tragedy to the early Roman tragic poet Pacuvius; the words indiscreto . . . uertentem may indeed be such a citation, but Pacuvius's works are lost. The definition was much quoted and discussed in the Middle Ages.
indiscreto: "indiscriminate."
uertentem?: Quid . . . uertentem?: A ninth-century commentator, Remigius of Auxerre, attributes this definition of tragedy to the early Roman tragic poet Pacuvius; the words indiscreto . . . uertentem may indeed be such a citation, but Pacuvius's works are lost. The definition was much quoted and discussed in the Middle Ages.

section 13

DU/O PI/QOUJ: DU/O PI/QOUJ, TO\N ME\N E(/NA KAKW=N TO\N DE| E(/TERON E(A/WN: Iliad 24.527f, where Achilles consoles Priam on the death of Hector: "Two jars, the one [full] of evil things, the other of good things." The line is quoted by many philosophers, from Plato in his Republic to various Neoplatonic authors B. might have known.
iacere: subject is PI\/QOUJ, "jars."

section 14

mei: objective genitive.
tamen ne: Read as tamenne (i.e., tamen + interrogative ne), "do you still [in spite of all this] . . . ?" (Cf. Gruber)
proprio: proprio . . . iure: "as [your] own master."
iure: proprio . . . iure: "as [your] own master."