[8.1] (17.13) When the Tarentines wished to summon Pyrrhus from Epirus to aid in the war against the Romans and were banishing those who opposed this course, a certain Meton, himself a Tarentine, in order to gain their attention and show them all the evils that would come in the train of royalty into a free and luxury-loving state, came into the theatre, at a time when the multitude was seated there, wearing a garland, as if returning from a banquet, and embracing a young flute-girl who was playing on her flute tunes appropriate to songs of revelry. [2] (14) When the seriousness of all gave way to laughter and some of them bade him to sing, others to dance, Meton looked round him on every side and waved his hand for silence; then, when he had quieted the disturbance, he said: “Citizens, of these things which you see me doing now you will not be able to do a single one if you permit a king and a garrison to enter the city.” [3] When he saw that many were moved and paying attention and were bidding him to prospect on, he proceeded, while still preserving the pretence of drunkenness, to enumerate all the evils that would befall them. But while he was still speaking, the remain responsible for these evils seized him and threw him head first out of the theatre.
[9.1] (17.15) “The King of the Epirots, Pyrrhus, son of King Aeacides, to Publius Valerius, consul of the Romans, greetings. You have presumably learned from others that I have come with my army to the aid of the Tarentines and other Italiots in response to their summons; presumably also you are not unaware from what men I am sprung and what exploits I myself have performed and of the size of the army I bring with me and its excellence in warfare. [2] Convinced as I am, then, that as you appraise each of these factors you are not waiting to learn from fact and experience our valour in battle, but having desisted from arms, are proceeding to words, I not only advise you to leave to me the settlement of your differences with the Tarentines, Lucanians and Samnites — for I will arbitrate your differences with complete justice — but I will cause my friends to make good all the damage that I find them to have caused. [3] (16) You Romans also will do well to offer sureties yourselves, with respect to any charges that some of them may bring against you, that you will abide by my decisions as valid. If you do this, I promise to give you peace and to be your friend and to aid you zealously in any wars to which you may summon me; [4] but if you do not do so, I shall not permit you to make desolate the country of men who are my allies, to plunder Greek cities and sell freemen at auction, but I shall prevent you by force of arms, in order that you may at last stop pillaging all Italy and treating all men arrogantly as if they were slaves. I shall wait ten days for your answer; longer I cannot wait.”
[10.1] (17.17) In reply to this the Roman consul wrote back, rebuking the man’s arrogance and displaying the lofty spirit of the Roman commonwealth: “Publius Valerius Lavinius, general and consul of the Romans, to King Pyrrhus, greetings. [2] It seems to me to be the part of a prudent man to send threatening letters to his subjects; but to despise those whose might he has not tested and whose valour he has not learned to know, as if they were insignificant and of no account, seems to me to be evidence of a disposition that is foolish and does not know how to discriminate. [3] As for us, we are wont to punish our enemies, not by words, but by deeds, and we are neither making you a judge in the matter of our charges against the Tarentines, Samnites or our other foes nor accepting you as a surety for the payment of any penalty, but we shall decide the contest by our own arms and exact the penalties as we ourselves wish. Now that you are forewarned of this, make yourself ready as our opponent, not as our judge. [4] (18) As for the wrongs you yourself have done us, take thought whom you will offer as sureties for the payment of penalties; do not expect the Tarentines or our other enemies to offer just redress. But if you have determined to make war upon us by all means, know that the same thing will happen to you that must needs happen to all who wish to fight before investigating against whom they will be waging the contest. [5] Bearing these things in mind, if you want anything that is ours, first put aside your threats and drop your regal boastfulness, then go to the senate and inform and persuade its members, confident that you will not fail of anything that is either just or reasonable.”
[11.1] (18.1) Lavinius, the Roman consul, having caught a spy of Pyrrhus, armed and drew up the whole army in line of battle, and showing to the spy, bade him tell the whole truth to the one who had sent him, and, in addition to reporting what he had seen, to tell him that Lavinius, the Roman consul, bade him not to send any more men secretly as spies, but to come himself, openly, to see and learn the might of the Romans.
[12.1] (18.2) A certain man named Oblacus, with the cognomen Volsinius, a leader of the Ferentan nation, observing that Pyrrhus did not remain in one fixed place but appeared suddenly to all his men in turn as they fought, kept his attention on him alone and wherever Pyrrhus rode up he would bring up his own horse opposite him. [2] One of the king’s companions, Leonnatus, the son of Leophantus, a Macedonian, observing him, became suspicious, and pointing him out to Pyrrhus, said: “Beware of that man, O King; for he is a keen warrior, and does not fight remaining in one position, but watches you and has his attention fixed on you.” [3] (3) To which the king answered: “But what could he, being but one man, do to me who have so many defenders about me?” and with youthful bravado he even uttered some boast about his own strength, to the effect that even if he engaged alone with a single adversary the other would not get off unpunished. The Ferentan Oblacus, having thus found the opportunity for which he was waiting, charged with his companions into the midst of the royal squadron; and breaking through the crowd of attendant horsemen, he bore down upon the king himself, grasping his spear with both hands. [4] But at the same moment Leonnatus, who had warned Pyrrhus to beware of the man, swerved a little to one side and struck the foe’s horse through the flank with his spear, but Oblacus even while falling to the ground ran the king’s horse through the breast; and both fell with their horses. [5] (4) As for the king, the most faithful man of his bodyguards mounted him on his own horse and rode away. In the case of Oblacus, after he had fought on for a long time and then succumbed to innumerable wounds, some of his companions took him up, after a sharp struggle had taken place for the possession of his body, and bore him away. [6] Thereafter the king, in order not to be conspicuous to his enemies, ordered that his own cloak, purple-dyed and shot with gold, which he was accustomed to wear in battle, and his armour, which was more costly than that of the others in point both of material and workmanship, should be worn by the most faithful of his companions and the bravest in battle, Megacles, while he himself took the other’s dun cloak, breastplate and his felt head-gear. And this seemed to be the reason for his escape.
[13.1] (18.5) When Pyrrhus, the king of the Epirots, led an army against Rome, they voted to send ambassadors to ask him to release to them for ransom the prisoners he had taken, either exchanging them for others or setting a price he says each man; and they chose as ambassadors Gaius Fabricius, who while serving as consul two years earlier had conquered the Samnites, Lucanians and Bruttians in stubborn battles and had raised the siege of Thurii; Quintus Aemilius, who had been Fabricius’ colleague and had been in command of the Tyrrhenian war; and Publius Cornelius, who while consul three years earlier had waged war on the whole tribe of Gauls and had slain all their adult males. [2] (6) These men, when they had come to Pyrrhus and had said everything that was appropriate for such a mission, pointing out that fortune is an incalculable thing, that the changes in war are swift, and that it is not easy for mortals to know in advance any of the things that are going to happen, left to him the choice whether he wished to receive money for the prisoners or to get other prisoners in their stead.
[3] (7) Pyrrhus, after taking counsel with his friends, answered them as follows: “You are acting perversely, Romans, when you are unwilling to join friendship with me, but ask to get back your men who have been captured in war, in order that you may have these same persons to use in your war against me. [4] But if you are planning
to act in the best manner and if you have the common advantage of us both as your goal, put an end to the war against me and my allies and receive back all your men from me gratis, both your citizens and your allies. Otherwise I could never consent to hand over to you so many brave men.”
[14.1] (18.8) This much he said while the three ambassadors were present; then, taking Fabricius aside, he said: “I hear that you, Fabricius, are most able in military commands and in your private life are just and prudent and possess all the other virtues, but that you are without pecuniary means, being in this one respect ill-treated by Fortune, so that you continue to be no better off than the poorest senators in the matter of a livelihood. [2] Being eager to supply this defect, I am ready to give you such an amount of silver and gold as will enable you to surpass in wealth all the Romans who are reputed to be the most prosperous. For I consider it an excellent expenditure and one befitting a ruler to confer benefits upon the good men who because of poverty do not fare according to their merit, and I regard this as the most splendid dedication and monument of royal wealth. [3] (9) Now that you have been informed of my purpose, Fabricius, lay aside all modesty and share in the blessings that are to be found with us, knowing that I shall be exceedingly grateful to you; and, by Heaven, no less . . . believe them? to be the most valued of my guest-friends. And to me in return for these things you are not to render any service that is either wrong or shameful, but only services from which you yourself will be more powerful and more honoured in your own country. [4] First, then, with all the power that lies in you, urge the senate, which thus far has been contentious and has shown no disposition toward moderation, to make the truce, showing them that it is not to the detriment of your commonwealth that I have come after promising to aid the Tarentines and the other Italiots, and that it is neither right nor seemly for me to desert them now that I am present with an army and have won the first battle. And very many urgent matters that have arisen at this time call me back to my own kingdom. [5] (10) With regard to my returning home, I offer to you, both alone and together with the other ambassadors, if the Romans would make me their friend, all the pledges which make human compacts binding, in order that you may speak confidently to your fellow citizens, in case there are some who regard the name of king as suspicious and suggestive of deceitfulness in making compacts and, in view of the violations of oaths and treaties of which certain others have been thought guilty, assume the same with regard to me. [6] And when peace has been brought about, come with me to be my adviser in all matters and my lieutenant in war and to share in all the royal good fortune. For I need a good man and a loyal friend, while you need royal largess and kingly emprises. If, then, we combine these needs and abilities for our mutual advantage, we shall receive the greatest benefits from each other.”
[15.1] (18.11) When he had finished, Fabricius, after pausing a short time, said:
“As regards any merit of mine, either in public affairs or in private life, there is no need for me to speak for myself, since you have learned of it from others; nor, indeed, with regard to my slender means need I state that I have a very small farm and a sorry little house and that I do not get my livelihood from either loans or slaves, since you appear to have heard an accurate report of these matters also from others. [2] (12) But as to my being worse off than any other of the Romans on account of my lack of means, or my failing to gain any advantage from practising uprightness because I am not one of the rich, your supposition is false, whether you have heard it from someone else or surmise it yourself. For I never have been nor am I now conscious of any misfortune because I have not acquired great possessions, nor have I bewailed my lot either in public affairs or in my private concerns. [3] (13) Why in the world should I complain of it? Because it has not been possible for me by reason of poverty to get from my country a share in any of the fine and enviable things for which every noble nature strives? But I hold the highest magistracies, am sent on the most distinguished embassies, am entrusted with the most sacred rites in connexion with sacrifices, am thought worthy to express my opinion upon the most urgent matters and am called upon in my proper turn, am praised and envied, am second to none of the most powerful, and am regarded as a model of uprightness for the rest, though spending nothing of my substance for these honours, even as no one else does. [4] (14) For the Roman commonwealth does not interfere with the individual citizen’s means of livelihood, as do some other states in which the public wealth is small and that of the private citizens is great; but she herself provides those who go into public life with everything they need, giving them splendid and magnificent allowances, with the result that the poorest man enjoys no less esteem than the richest when it is a question of awarding honours, but all the Romans who are worthy of these honours by virtue of their uprightness are on an equal footing with one another. [5] When, never, though poor, I am at no disadvantage on that account in comparison with those who possess much, why in the world should I have denounced Fortune because she did not make me equal to you kings who have much gold treasured up? Nay, even in my private affairs I am so far removed from misfortune that I consider myself to be one of a favoured few of the blest, when I compare myself with the rich, and in this I take the greatest pride. [6] (15) For my sorry little farm suffices to furnish me with the necessaries of life if I am industrious and frugal, and Nature does not compel me to seek more than is necessary; on the contrary, all food is pleasing to me which hunger prepares, every drink is sweet when thirst provides it, sleep is gentle when induced by fatigue, the clothing which keeps one from shivering is most adequate, and the cheapest utensil of all that can serve the same purposes is the most suitable. [7] Hence not even on this score should I be justified in denouncing Fortune, since she has given me as much substance as Nature wished me to have; as for things in excess of that, she has neither implanted in me any craving for them nor given me any store of them.
[16.1] (18.16) “Very true, indeed; but I have nothing left over with which to assist my neighbours, nor has God given it to me to possess an over-supply of knowledge and divination with which I might help those who need them, — to say nothing of many other things. Yet so long as I share with both the commonwealth and my friends what faculties I do possess and place at the disposal of those who need them the resources with which I can benefit a few, I should not consider myself lacking in means. And these are the very things which you believe to be the most important, and yet lack the means to purchase even large sums of money. [2] (17) But even if it were ever so true that for the sake of doing kindly services to those in need the acquisition of great wealth merits great zeal and ambition, and if the richest men were the most happy, as you kings think, which kind of affluence would be better for me? [3] An affluence of the riches of which you are now offering me a share dishonourably, or of the wealth which I myself might earlier have acquired honourably? For my public career has afforded me proper opportunities for making money, both earlier on many occasions and especially when, three years ago while I was holding the office of consul, I was sent at the head of an army against the Samnites, Lucanians and Bruttians and ravaged a vast territory, defeated in many battles those who arrayed themselves against me, and took by storm and plundered many prosperous cities, from which I enriched my entire army, gave back to the private citizens the special taxes which they had paid in advance for the prosecution of the war, and turned into the treasury four hundred talents after celebrating my triumph. [4] (18) If, then, when it was possible for me to take as many of those prizes won by the spear as I could wish, I took none, but for the sake of a good reputation scorned even the riches gained in an honest man, just as did Valerius Publicola and very many others besides, man through whom our commonwealth has become so great, shall I accept the gifts you offer and exchange the better affluence for the worse? My kind of acquisition had the advantage that it could also be enjoyed with pleasure, in addition to being gained honourably and justly; but your kind lacks even this advantage. For whatever things men receiv
e from others in advance are loans that oppress the spirit until they are repaid, even though one dress them up with honourable names styling them gratuities, gifts or favours. [5] (19) Come now, suppose I should indeed be mad enough to accept the gold you offer me and this should become known to all the Romans, and then those magistrates who are subject to no accounting for their administration, the officials we call censors, whose duty it is to examine into the lives of all the Romans and to punish those who depart from the ancestral customs, should summon me and order me to render an account of my acceptance of bribes, bringing these charges against me in the presence of every:
[17.1] (18.20) “ ‘We sent you, Fabricius, as ambassador along with two other men of consular rank to King Pyrrhus to treat for the ransoming of prisoners. You have come back from your mission bringing neither the prisoners nor any other advantage for the commonwealth; instead, you, alone of the ambassadors sent with you, accepted royal gifts, and the peace which the people voted against making, you made by yourself alone, not for any advantage to the commonwealth — for how could it be that? — [2] but that you might betray her to the king, and that through you he might bring all Italy into subjection to himself and that through him you might deprive the fatherland of its liberty. For this is the purpose which all pursue who practise, not genuine, but feigned virtue, when they attain to grandeur and importance in affairs. [3] (21) But even if it were not while enjoying the prestige of an ambassador that you accepted a bribe, and if you were not taking it from the enemies of your country, nor for the purpose of betraying and tyrannizing over your fellow citizens, but were receiving it as a private citizen and from an ally and with no detriment to the commonwealth, are you not deserving of the greatest punishment, for the following reasons? First, you are corrupting the youth by introducing into their lives an emulous desire for regal wealth, luxury and extravagance, whereas they need great self-restraint if the south is to be preserved. [4] Again, you are bringing shame upon your ancestors, none of whom departed from the ancestral customs nor chose shameful riches in place of honourable poverty, but without exception remained on the same little estate that you, after inheriting it, regarded as beneath your station. [5] (22) Furthermore, you are destroying the reputation, which you gained from your earlier practices, as a man of self-restraint and moderation, superior to all shameful desires. After this, shall you go unpunished for having become a bad man after having once been a good one, when you ought, even if you were base before, to have ceased to be so? Or shall you continue to share in any of the blessings which are the due of the good, instead of quitting the city — the better course — or at any rate the Forum?’
Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79) Page 114