The second half of today’s passage is a little harder.
non sine superbia dicebant se ratione ordinaria vivendi uti neque se paenitere illius rationis
Non you know. Sine means without, and it’s worth learning. You will see it a lot. Superbia is pride. Dicebant is the same past tense as vivebant. It means “used to say.” The last phrase becomes clear if we rearrange the words a little:
Dicebant se uti ordinaria ratione vivendi: they used to say themselves (se) to use (uti) an ordinary way (ratione) of living (vivendi).
This oddly formal construction is very common in Latin. Where we might write “She said she was a dancer”, a Roman would probably write “She said herself to be a dancer.” This is called the “accusative plus infinitive” construction, and you will see it all the time. You can find out more about it in the grammar section here.