Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79)

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [6] μόγις δ᾽ ἐκ τοῦ πτώματος ἀναστὰς ὁ πρεσβύτης ὡς εἶδε μεστὰ τὰ πέριξ ἅπαντα τῆς περὶ τὸν Ταρκύνιον ἑταιρείας, τῶν δ᾽ αὐτοῦ φίλων πολλὴν ἐρημίαν, ἀπῄει στένων κρατούντων καὶ παραπεμπόντων αὐτὸν ὀλίγων, αἵματι πολλῷ ῥεόμενος καὶ κακῶς ὅλον ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τοῦ πτώματας ἔχων.

  [6] The old man got up from his fall with great difficulty, and seeing the whole neighbourhood crowded with the followers of Tarquinius and noting a great dearth of his own friends, he set out for home lamenting, only a few persons supporting and escorting him, and as he went he dripped much blood and his entire body was in a wretched plight from his fall.

  [1] τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα δεινὰ μὲν ἀκουσθῆναι, θαυμαστὰ δὲ καὶ ἄπιστα πραχθῆναι, τῆς ἀνοσίας αὐτοῦ θυγατρὸς ἔργα παραδίδοται. πεπυσμένη γὰρ τὴν εἰς τὸ βουλευτήριον τοῦ πατρὸς εἴσοδον καὶ σπουδὴν [p. 70] ἔχουσα μαθεῖν οἷόν τι λήψεται τὰ πράγματα τέλος, ἐπὶ τῆς ἀπήνης καθεζομένη παρῆν εἰς τὴν ἀγοράν. μαθοῦσα δὲ τὰ γενόμενα καὶ τὸν Ταρκύνιον ἐπὶ τῆς κρηπῖδος ἑστῶτα πρὸ τοῦ βουλευτηρίου θεασαμένη βασιλέα τ᾽ αὐτὸν ἠσπάσατο πρώτη μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ καὶ τοῖς θεοῖς εὔξατο ἐπὶ τῷ συμφέροντι τῆς πόλεως τῆς Ῥωμαίων τὴν ἀρχὴν αὐτὸν κατασχεῖν.

  [39.1] What happened next, terrible to hear yet astonishing and incredible to have been done — the deeds of his impious daughter — have been handed down to us. She, having been informed that her father had one to the senate-house, and being in haste to know what would be the outcome of the affair, entered her carriage and rode to the Forum; and there, hearing what had passed and seeing Tarquinius standing upon the steps before the senate-house, she was the first person to salute him as king, which she did in a loud voice, and prayed to the gods that his seizing of the sovereignty might redound to the advantage of the Roman state.

  [2] ἀσπασαμένων δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων αὐτὸν ὡς βασιλέα τῶν συγκατασκευασάντων τὴν ἀρχὴν λαβοῦσα μόνον αὐτόν: τὰ μὲν πρῶτα, ἔφη, πέπρακταί σοι, Ταρκύνιε, κατὰ τὸ δέον: βεβαίως δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν ἔχειν Τυλλίου περιόντος οὐκ ἔνεστί σοι. ἐκδημαγωγήσει γὰρ αὖθις ἐπὶ σοὶ τὸν ὄχλον, ἐὰν καὶ ὁποσονοῦν ταύτης τῆς ἡμέρας περιγένηται χρόνον: ἐπίστασαι δ᾽, ὡς εὔνους ἐστὶν αὐτῷ τὸ δημοτικὸν ἅπαν: ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὶν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν αὐτὸν εἰσελθεῖν, ἀποστείλας τοὺς διαχρησομένους ἐκποδῶν ποίησον.

  [2] And after all the rest who had assisted him in gaining the sovereignty had also saluted him as king, she took him aside and said to him: “The first steps, Tarquinius, you have taken in the manner that was fitting; but it is impossible for you to hold the kingship securely so long as Tullius survives. For by his harangues he will again stir up the populace against you if he remains alive but the least part of this day; and you know how attached the whole body of the plebeians is to him. But come, even before he gets home, send some men and put him out of the way.”

  [3] ταῦτ᾽ εἰποῦσα καὶ καθεζομένη πάλιν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀπήνης ᾤχετο: Ταρκύνιος δὲ καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ὀρθῶς δόξας τὴν ἀνοσιωτάτην γυναῖκα ὑποτίθεσθαι πέμπει τινὰς τῶν θεραπόντων ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἔχοντας ξίφη: οἳ τάχει πολλῷ τὴν μεταξὺ διανύσαντες ὁδὸν ἐγγὺς ὄντα τῆς οἰκίας ἤδη τὸν Τύλλιον καταλαβόντες κατέσφαξαν. ἔτι δὲ νεοσφαγοῦς ἐρριμμένου τοῦ σώματος καὶ σπαίροντος

  [3] Having said this, she again entered her carriage and departed. Tarquinius upon this occasion also approved of the advice of his most impious wife, and sent some of his servants against Tullius armed with swords; and they, swiftly covering the interval, overtook Tullius when he was already near his house and slew him. While his body lay freshly slain and quivering where it had been flung, his daughter arrived;

  [4] ἡ θυγάτηρ παρῆν. στενοῦ δ᾽ ὄντος πάνυ τοῦ στενωποῦ, δι᾽ οὗ τὴν ἀπήνην ἔδει διελθεῖν, αἱ ἡμίονοι τὸ πτῶμα ἰδοῦσαι διεταράχθησαν, καὶ ὁ προηγούμενος αὐτῶν ὀρεοκόμος παθών τι πρὸς τὸ τῆς ὄψεως ἐλεεινὸν [p. 71] ἐπέστη καὶ πρὸς τὴν δέσποιναν ἀπέβλεψε. πυνθανομένης δ᾽ ἐκείνης, τί παθὼν οὐκ ἄγει τὸ ζεῦγος: οὐχ ὁρᾷς, εἶπεν, ὦ Τυλλία, τὸν πατέρα σου νεκρὸν κείμενον καὶ πάροδον οὐκ οὖσαν ἄλλην, εἰ μὴ διὰ

  [4] and, the street through which her carriage was obliged to pass being very narrow, the mules became fractious at the sight of the body, and the groom who was leading them, moved by the piteous spectacle, stopped short and looked at his mistress. Upon her asking what possessed him not to lead the team on, he said: “Do you not see your father lying dead, Tullia, and that there is no other way but over his body?”

  [5] τοῦ πτώματος; ἡ δ᾽ ἐκπικρανθεῖσα καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ποδῶν τὸ βάθρον ἁρπάσασα βάλλει τὸν ὀρεοκόμον καί φησιν: οὐκ ἄξεις, ἀλιτήριε, καὶ διὰ τοῦ νεκροῦ; κἀκεῖνος ἐπὶ τῷ πάθει μᾶλλον ἢ τῇ πληγῇ στενάξας ἄγει βίᾳ τὰς ἡμιόνους κατὰ τοῦ πτώματος. οὗτος ὁ στενωπὸς ὄρβιος καλούμενος πρότερον ἐξ ἐκείνου τοῦ δεινοῦ καὶ μυσαροῦ πάθους ἀσεβὴς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων κατὰ τὴν πάτριον γλῶτταν καλεῖται.

  [5] This angered her to such a degree that she snatched up the stool from under her feet and hurled it at the groom, saying “Will you not lead on, accursed wretch, even over the body” Thereupon the groom, with lamentations caused more by the shocking deed than by the blow, led the mules forcibly over the body. This street, which before was called Orbian Street, is, from this horrid and detestable incident, called by the Romans in their own language Impious Street, that is, vicus Sceleratus.

  [1] τοιαύτης τελευτῆς ἔτυχε Τύλλιος ἔτη τετταράκοντα καὶ τέτταρα τὴν βασιλείαν κατασχών. τοῦτον τὸν ἄνδρα λέγουσι Ῥωμαῖοι πρῶτον τὰ πάτρια ἔθη καὶ νόμιμα κινῆσαι, τὴν ἀρχὴν λαβόντα οὐ παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς καὶ τοῦ δήμου, καθάπερ οἱ πρὸ αὐτοῦ πάντες, ἀλλὰ παρὰ μόνου τοῦ δήμου, δεκασμοῖς δὲ καὶ δωροδοκίαις καὶ ἄλλαις πολλαῖς κολακείαις ἐκθεραπεύσαντα τοὺς ἀπόρους: καὶ ἔχει τἀληθὲς οὕτως.

  [40.1] Such was the death which fell to the lot of Tullius after he had reigned forty-four years. The Romans say that this man was the first who altered ancestral customs and laws by receiving the sovereignty, not from the senate and the people jointly, like all the former kings, but from the people alone, the poorer sort of whom he had won over by bribery and many other ways of courting popular favour; a
nd this is true.

  [2] ἐν γὰρ τοῖς πρότερον χρόνοις, ὁπότε βασιλεὺς ἀποθάνοι, τὴν μὲν ἐξουσίαν ὁ δῆμος ἐδίδου τῷ συνεδρίῳ τῆς βουλῆς, οἵαν προέλοιτο καταστήσασθαι πολιτείαν: ἡ δὲ βουλὴ μεσοβασιλεῖς ἀπεδείκνυεν: ἐκεῖνοι δὲ τὸν ἄριστον ἄνδρα, εἴτ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ἐπιχωρίων, εἴτ᾽ ἐκ τῶν πολιτῶν, εἴτ᾽ ἐκ τῶν ξένων, βασιλέα καθίστασαν. εἰ [p. 72] μὲν οὖν ἥ τε βουλὴ τὸν αἱρεθέντα ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐδοκίμασε, καὶ ὁ δῆμος ἐπεψήφισε καὶ τὰ μαντεύματα ἐπεκύρωσε, παρελάμβανεν οὗτος τὴν ἀρχήν: ἐλλείποντος δέ τινος τούτων ἕτερον ὠνόμαζον, καὶ τρίτον, εἰ μὴ συμβαίη μηδὲ τῷ δευτέρῳ τά τε παρ᾽ ἀνθρώπων καὶ

  [2] For before this time, upon the death of a king it was the custom for the people to grant to the senate authority to establish such a form of government as they should think fit; and the senate created interreges, who appointed the best man king, whether he was a native Roman or a foreigner. And if the senate approved of the one so chosen and the people by their votes confirmed the choice, and if the auguries also gave their sanction to it, he assumed the sovereignty; but if any one of these formalities was lacking, they named a second, and then a third, if it so happened that the second was likewise not found unobjectionable by both men and gods.

  [3] τὰ παρὰ τῶν θεῶν ἀνεπίληπτα. ὁ δὲ Τύλλιος ἐπιτρόπου βασιλικοῦ σχῆμα κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς λαβών, ὡς εἴρηταί μοι πρότερον, ἔπειτα φιλανθρωπίαις τισὶ τὸν δῆμον οἰκειωσάμενος ὑπ᾽ ἐκείνου βασιλεὺς ἀπεδείχθη μόνου. ἐπιεικὴς δὲ καὶ μέτριος ἀνὴρ γενόμενος ἔλυσε τὰς ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ πάντα τὰ κατὰ τοὺς νόμους πρᾶξαι. διαβολὰς τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτ᾽ ἔργοις, παρέσχε τε πολλοῖς ὑπόληψιν ὡς, εἰ μὴ θᾶττον ἀνῃρέθη, μεταστήσων τὸ σχῆμα τῆς πολιτείας εἰς δημοκρατίαν.

  [3] Tullius, on the contrary, at first assumed the guise of royal guardian, as I said before, after which he gained the affections of the people by certain ingratiating acts and was appointed king by them alone. But as he proved to be a man of mildness and moderation, by his subsequent actions he put an end to the complaints caused by his not having observed the laws in all respects, and gave occasion for many to believe that, if he had not been made away with too soon, he would have changed the form of government to a democracy.

  [4] καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ μάλιστα τῇ αἰτίᾳ λέγεται τῶν πατρικίων αὐτῷ τινας συνεπιβουλεῦσαι: ἀδυνάτους δ᾽ ὄντας δι᾽ ἑτέρου τρόπου τὴν ἐξουσίαν αὐτοῦ καταλῦσαι καὶ Ταρκύνιον ἐπὶ τὰ πράγματα παραλαβεῖν καὶ συγκατασκευάσαι τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐκείνῳ, κακῶσαί τε βουλομένους τὸ δημοτικὸν ἰσχύος οὐ μικρᾶς ἐπειλημμένον ἐκ τῆς Τυλλίου πολιτείας, καὶ τὴν ἰδίαν ἀξίωσιν, ἣν πρότερον εἶχον, ἀναλαβεῖν.

  [4] And they say it was for this reason chiefly that some of the patricians joined in the conspiracy against him; that, being unable by any other means to overthrow his power, they took Tarquinius as an ally in their undertaking and aided him in gaining the sovereignty, it being their wish not only to weaken the power of the plebeians, which had received no small addition from the political measures of Tullius, but also to recover their own former dignity.

  [5] θορύβου δὲ γενομένου πολλοῦ κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ὅλην καὶ οἰμωγῆς ἐπὶ τῷ Τυλλίου θανάτῳ δείσας ὁ Ταρκύνιος, εἰ διὰ τῆς ἀγορᾶς ὁ νεκρὸς φέροιτο, ὡς ἔστι Ῥωμαίοις ἔθος, τόν τε βασίλειον κόσμον ἔχων καὶ τἆλλ᾽, ὅσα νόμος ἐπὶ ταφαῖς βασιλικαῖς μή τις εἰς ἑαυτὸν ὁρμὴ γένηται τοῦ δημοτικοῦ, πρὶν ἢ βεβαίως κρατύνασθαι [p. 73] τὴν ἀρχήν, οὐκ εἴασε τῶν νομίμων οὐδὲν αὐτῷ γενέσθαι: ἀλλ᾽ ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ Τυλλίου σὺν ὀλίγοις τισὶ τῶν φίλων, Ταρκυνίου θυγάτηρ οὖσα τοῦ προτέρου βασιλέως, νυκτὸς ἐκκομίζει τὸ σῶμα τῆς πόλεως, ὡς τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων τινός: καὶ πολλὰ μὲν τὸν ἑαυτῆς καὶ ἐκείνου δαίμονα κατοδυραμένη, μυρίας δὲ κατάρας τῷ τε γαμβρῷ καὶ τῇ θυγατρὶ καταρασαμένη κρύπτει γῇ τὸ σῶμα.

  [5] The death of Tullius having occasioned a great tumult and lamentation throughout the whole city, Tarquinius was afraid lest, if the body should be carried through the Forum, according to the custom of the Romans, adorned with the royal robes and the other marks of honour usual in royal funerals, some attack might be made against him by the populace before he had firmly established his authority; and accordingly he would not permit any of the usual ceremonies to be performed in his honour. But the wife of Tullius, who was daughter to Tarquinius, the former king, with a few of her friends carried the body out of the city at night as if it had been that of some ordinary person; and after uttering many lamentations over the fate both of herself and of her husband and heaping countless imprecations upon her son-in-law and her daughter, she buried the body in the ground.

  [6] ἀπελθοῦσα δ᾽ ἀπὸ τοῦ σήματος οἴκαδε καὶ μίαν ἡμέραν ἐπιβιώσασα μετὰ τὴν ταφὴν τῇ κατόπιν νυκτὶ ἀποθνήσκει. τοῦ θανάτου δ᾽ ὁ τρόπος, ὅστις ἦν, ἠγνοεῖτο τοῖς πολλοῖς: ἔλεγον δ᾽ οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ λύπης αὐτοχειρίᾳ τὸ ζῆν προεμένην αὐτὴν ἀποθανεῖν: οἱ δ᾽ ὑπὸ τοῦ γαμβροῦ καὶ τῆς θυγατρὸς ἀναιρεθῆναι τῆς εἰς τὸν ἄνδρα συμπαθείας τε καὶ εὐνοίας ἕνεκα. ταφῆς μὲν οὖν βασιλικῆς καὶ μνήματος ἐπιφανοῦς διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας οὐκ ἐξεγένετο τυχεῖν τῷ Τυλλίου σώματι, μνήμης δ᾽ αἰωνίου τοῖς ἔργοις αὐτοῦ παρὰ πάντα τὸν χρόνον ὑπάρχει τυγχάνειν.

  [6] Then, returning home from the sepulchre, she lived but one day after the burial, during the following night. The manner of her death was not generally known. Some said that in her grief she lost all desire to live and died by her own hand; others, that she was put to death by her son-in-law and her daughter because of her compassion and affection for her husband. For the reasons mentioned, then, the body of Tullius could not be given a royal funeral and a stately monument; but his achievements have won lasting remembrance for all time.

  [7] ἐδήλωσε δέ τι καὶ ἄλλο δαιμόνιον ἔργον, ὅτι θεοφιλὴς ἦν ἁνήρ, ἐξ οὗ καὶ ἡ περὶ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ μυθικὴ καὶ ἄπιστος ὑπόληψις, ὥσπερ εἴρηταί μοι πρότερον, ἀληθὴς εἶναι ὑπὸ πολλῶν ἐπιστεύθη. ἐν γὰρ τῷ ναῷ τῆς Τύχης, ὃν αὐτὸς κατεσκεύασεν, εἰκὼν αὐτοῦ κειμένη ξυλίνη κατάχρυσος ἐμπρήσεως γενομένης καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων διαφθαρέντων μόνη διέμεινεν οὐδ�
�ν λωβηθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρός. καὶ ἔτι νῦν ὁ μὲν νεὼς καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ πάντα, [p. 74] ὅσα μετὰ τὴν ἔμπρησιν εἰς τὸν ἀρχαῖον κόσμον ἐπετελέσθη φανερά, ὅτι τῆς καινῆς ἐστι τέχνης, ἡ δ᾽ εἰκών, οἵα πρότερον ἦν, ἀρχαικὴ τὴν κατασκευήν: διαμένει γὰρ ἔτι σεβασμοῦ τυγχάνουσα ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων. καὶ περὶ μὲν Τυλλίου τοσαῦτα παρελάβομεν.

  [7] And it was made clear by another prodigy that this man was dear to the gods; in consequence of which that fabulous and incredible opinion I have already mentioned concerning his birth also came to be regarded by many as true. For in the temple of Fortune which he himself had built there stood a gilded wooden statue of Tullius, and when a conflagration occurred and everything else was destroyed, this statue alone remained uninjured by the flames. And even to this day, although the temple itself and all the objects in it, which were restored to their formed condition after the fire, are obviously the products of modern art, the statue, as aforetime, is of ancient workmanship; for it still remains an object of veneration by the Romans. Concerning Tullius these are all the facts that have been handed down to us.

  [1] μετὰ δὲ τοῦτον παραλαμβάνει Λεύκιος Ταρκύνιος τὴν Ῥωμαίων δυναστείαν οὐ κατὰ νόμους, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν ὅπλων κατασχών, κατὰ τὸν τέταρτον ἐνιαυτὸν τῆς ἑξηκοστῆς καὶ πρώτης ὀλυμπιάδος, ἣν ἐνίκα στάδιον Ἀγάθαρχος Κερκυραῖος ἄρχοντος Ἀθήνησι Θηρικλέους.

  [41.1] He was succeeded in the sovereignty over the Romans by Lucius Tarquinius, who obtained it, not in accordance with the laws, but by arms, in the fourth year of the sixty-first Olympiad (the one in which Agatharchus of Corcyra won the foot-race), Thericles being archon at Athens.