Complex sentence: This shows that Pliny the Younger wanted it to be conveyed that Pliny the Elder was a'Good Roman', which means that he maintained the customs of the great Roman forefathers etc. This statement would have pleased Tacitus.
Split into simpler sentences: This shows that Pliny the Younger wanted it to be conveyed that Pliny the Elder was a'Good Roman'. Which means that he maintained the customs of the great Roman forefathers etc. This statement would have pleased Tacitus.