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

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [3] For his speech has done you no harm, whereas his actions have done you great service. However, if you cannot be reconciled to this man, at least as a favour to us and the senate yield him up to our entreaties, be at last firmly reconciled to us, and cause the commonwealth to be united as it was in the beginning. But if you do not yield to our persuasions, be assured that we shall not yield to your violence either; but this testing of the populace will be either the source of a sincere friendship and of still greater benefits for all, or the fresh beginning of civil war and irreparable evils.”

  [1] τοιαῦτα τοῦ Μηνυκίου διεξελθόντος ὁρῶντες οἱ δήμαρχοι τῇ τε μετριότητι τῶν λόγων καὶ τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τῶν ὑποσχέσεων ἐπαγόμενον τὸ πλῆθος ἤχθοντο καὶ χαλεπῶς ἔφερον, μάλιστα δὲ Γάιος Σικίννιος Βελλοῦτος, ὁ πείσας τοὺς πένητας ἀποστῆναι τῶν πατρικίων καὶ στρατηγὸς ἀποδειχθεὶς ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν, ἕως ἦσαν ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις, ἔχθιστος ἀνὴρ ἀριστοκρατίᾳ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο προηγμένος ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν εἰς ἐπιφάνειαν τήν τε δημαρχικὴν ἐξουσίαν δεύτερον ἤδη παρειληφώς, ἁπάντων ἥκιστα τῶν δημαγωγῶν ἑαυτῷ συμφέρειν ὁμονοῆσαι οἰόμενος τὴν πόλιν καὶ τὸν ἀρχαῖον ἀναλαβεῖν κόσμον.

  [33.1] After Minucius had spoken in this manner, the tribunes, seeing the populace moved by the moderation of his speech and the humanity of his promises, were offended and displeased, and particularly Gaius Sicinius Bellutus, the one who had persuaded the poor to secede from the patricians and had been appointed by them to be their general while they were in arms. He was a most bitter foe of the aristocracy, and having for that reason been raised by the multitude to a position of eminence and given the tribunician power for the second time already, he, least of all the demagogues, thought it to his interest that the commonwealth should become harmonious and recover its ancient good order.

  [2] οὐ γὰρ ὅσον τὰς τιμὰς καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις ἕξειν ἔτι τὰς αὐτὰς ὑπελάμβανεν ἀριστοκρατίας πολιτευομένης, γεγονώς τε κακῶς καὶ τεθραμμένος ἀδόξως καὶ λαμπρὸν οὐθὲν ἀποδειξάμενος οὔτε κατὰ πολέμους οὔτ᾽ ἐν εἰρήνῃ, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων κινδυνεύσειν, ὡς διεστασιακὼς τὴν πόλιν καὶ πολλῶν αὐτῇ κακῶν γεγονὼς αἴτιος.

  [2] For not only did he not expect to enjoy the same honours and powers any longer under an aristocracy, since he was of lowly birth, poorly educated, and had never distinguished himself in either war or peace, but he knew he should even be in peril of his life for having caused a sedition in the state and brought upon it many other evils.

  [3] ἐνθυμηθεὶς δὴ ὅσα [p. 50] χρῆν λέγειν τε καὶ πράττειν καὶ μετὰ τῶν συναρχόντων βουλευσάμενος, ἐπειδὴ κἀκείνους ἔσχεν ὁμογνώμονας, ἀνέστη καὶ μικρὰ περὶ τῆς κατεχούσης τὸν δῆμον ἀτυχίας ἀποδυράμενος τούς θ᾽ ὑπάτους ἐπῄνεσεν, ὅτι λόγον ἠξίωσαν ὑποσχεῖν τοῖς δημόταις οὐχ ὑπεριδόντες αὐτῶν τῆς ταπεινότητος, καὶ τοῖς πατρικίοις εἰδέναι χάριν ἔφησεν, εἴ τις αὐτοῖς ἤδη ποτὲ φροντὶς εἰσέρχεται τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν πενήτων: καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἔφη μετὰ πάντων ἐκμαρτυρήσειν, ἐὰν ὅμοια παράσχωνται τοῖς λόγοις τὰ ἔργα.

  [3] After he had considered, therefore, what he ought to say and do, and had consulted with his colleagues and gained their assent, he rose up, and after uttering a few words of commiseration over the unhappy lot of the plebeians, he commended the consul for vouchsafing to give them an account of their actions without despising their low condition, and also said he was grateful to the patricians if now at last they were taking some that for the preservation of the poor; and he declared that he should still more heartily join with all the rest in bearing witness to the fact if they would make their actions conform to their words.

  [1] εἰπὼν δὲ ταῦτα καὶ δόξας μέτριος ὀργὴν εἶναι καὶ διαλλακτικὸς ἐπιστρέφει πρὸς τὸν Μάρκιον παρεστηκότα τοῖς ὑπάτοις καὶ λέγει: σὺ δέ, τί οὐκ ἀπολογῇ πρὸς τοὺς σαυτοῦ πολίτας, ὦ γενναῖε, περὶ ὧν εἶπας ἐν τῇ βουλῇ; μᾶλλον δὲ τί οὐκ ἀντιβολεῖς καὶ παραιτῇ τὰς ὀργὰς αὐτῶν, ἵνα μετριωτέραν ἐπιθῶσί σοι ζημίαν; ἀρνεῖσθαι μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἂν ἀξιώσαιμί σε τοσούτων ἀνδρῶν εἰδότων οὐδ᾽ εἰς ἀναισχύντους καταφεύγειν ἀπολογίας, Μάρκιον ὄντα καὶ φρόνημα μεῖζον ἢ κατ᾽ ἰδιώτην ἔχοντα: εἰ μὴ ἄρα τοῖς μὲν ὑπάτοις καὶ τοῖς πατρικίοις καλῶς ἔχει πείθειν ὑπὲρ σοῦ τὸν δῆμον, σοὶ δ᾽ οὐκ ἄρα καλῶς ἕξει ταὐτὸ

  [34.1] Having spoken thus and given the impression that he was moderate and conciliatory in disposition, he turned to Marcius, who stood near the consuls, and said: “And you, sir, why do you not clear yourself before your fellow-citizens in regard to what you said in the senate? Or rather, why do you not entreat them and deprecate their anger, that they may impose a milder penalty upon you? For I would not advise you to deny the fact, as so many are acquainted with it, or to have recourse to shameless excuses, since you are Marcius and have a spirit above that of a man in private station — unless, indeed, it is seemly for the consuls and the patricians to intercede for you with the populace, but will not be seemly for you to do this same thing for yourself.”

  [2] τοῦτο περὶ σεαυτοῦ ποιήσαντι; ταῦτα δ᾽ ἔλεγεν οὐκ [p. 51] ἀγνοῶν, ὅτι μεγαλόφρων ἀνὴρ οὐχ ὑπομενεῖ κατήγορος ἑαυτοῦ γενόμενος ὡς ἡμαρτηκὼς ἄφεσιν αἰτεῖσθαι τῆς τιμωρίας, οὐδ᾽ εἰς ὀλοφυρμοὺς καὶ δεήσεις καταφεύξεται παρὰ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ τρόπον, ἀλλ᾽ ἤτοι καὶ τὸ παράπαν ἀπαξιώσει τὴν ἀπολογίαν, ἢ τὴν ἔμφυτον αὐθάδειαν φυλάττων οὐθὲν ὑποθωπεύσει τὸν δῆμον μετριάσας περὶ τοὺς λόγους: ὅπερ καὶ συνέβη.

  [2] This he said, well knowing that a man of his proud spirit would never submit to be his own accuser, and, as if he had transgressed, to ask for a remission of his punishment or, contrary to his character, to have recourse to lamentations and entreaties, but that he would either scorn to make any defence at all or, preserving his innate arrogance, would indulge in no flattery of the populace by showing moderation in his words.

  [3] γενομένης γὰρ ἡσυχίας καὶ πολλῆς ἐμπεσούσης ὀλίγου δεῖν πᾶσι τοῖς δημοτικοῖς προθυμίας ἀπολύειν αὐτόν, εἰ τὸν παρόντα θεραπεύσειε καιρόν, τοιαύτην αὐθάδειαν ἐπεδείξατο λόγων, καὶ τοσοῦτον αὐτῶν κατεφρόνησεν, ὥστε παρελθὼν ἔξαρνος μὲν ὑπὲρ οὐθενὸς ἦν τῶν πρὸς τὴν βουλὴν εἰρημένων κατὰ τοῦ πλήθους, οὐδ᾽ ὡς μεταγινώσκων ἐπ᾽ αὐ�
�οῖς εἰς οἴκτους καὶ παραιτήσεις ἐτρέπετο: ἀρχὴν δ᾽ οὐδὲ δικασταῖς αὐτοῖς ἠξίου χρῆσθαι περὶ οὐδενὸς πράγματος, ὡς οὐδεμίαν ἔχουσιν ἐξουσίαν νόμιμον: εἰ δὲ βουλήσεταί τις ἐπὶ τῶν ὑπάτων αὐτοῦ κατηγορεῖν εἴτ᾽ ἔργων εὐθύνας ἀπαιτῶν εἴτε λόγων,

  [3] And this is just what happened. For when silence prevailed and almost all the plebeians felt a strong desire to acquit him if he would make the most of the present opportunity, he showed such arrogance in his words and so great a contempt of the plebeians that he did not deny a single thing he had said in the senate against them, nor, as if he repented of what he had said, resort to appeals for pity or to prayers for mercy. Indeed, he absolutely refused even to let them be his judges in any matter, as having no lawful authority; but if anyone should think fit to accuse him before the consuls and require an accounting of either his words or his actions, he was ready to stand trial in a place appointed by law.

  [4] ἔνθα νόμος ἐστὶν ἕτοιμος εἶναι δίκην ὑπέχειν. παρεληλυθέναι δὲ πρὸς τοὺς δημότας ἔλεγεν, ἐπειδὴ καλοῦσιν αὐτοί, τὰ μὲν ἐπιτιμήσων ταῖς παρανομίαις αὐτῶν καὶ πλεονεξίαις, αἷς ἐχρήσαντο περί τε τὴν ἀπόστασιν καὶ μετὰ τὴν κάθοδον: τὰ δὲ συμβουλεύσων ἐπισχεῖν ἤδη ποτὲ καὶ συστεῖλαι τὰς ἀδίκους ἐπιθυμίας.

  [4] He said that he had come before the plebeians since they themselves summoned him, partly to reprimand them for the lawlessness and the grasping for more power in which they had indulged both in connection with their secession and after their return, and partly to advise them now at last to check and restrain their unjust desires.

  [5] καὶ μετὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἐπιστρεφῶς πάνυ καὶ θρασέως ἁπάντων αὐτῶν καθήπτετο καὶ μάλιστα τῶν δημάρχων. προσῆν δ᾽ αὐτοῦ τοῖς λόγοις οὐχ ὡς πολίτου δῆμον ἀναδιδάσκοντος εὐλόγιστος αἰδώς, οὐδ᾽ ὡς ἰδιώτου [p. 52] πολλοῖς ἀπεχθομένου σώφρων εὐλάβεια πρὸς τὰς τοῦ κρατοῦντος ὀργάς, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς ἐχθροῦ προπηλακίζοντος ἀδεῶς τοὺς ὑπὸ χεῖρας ἄκρατός τις χολὴ καὶ βαρεῖα τοῦ κακῶς πάσχοντος ὑπεροψία.

  [5] After that he inveighed against them all with great vehemence and boldness, and particularly against the tribunes. In his speech there was not the calculated deference of the political leader instructing a popular assembly, nor the prudent caution of one in private station who, hated by many, faces the angry outbursts of his ruler, but rather the untempered wrath of an enemy fearlessly insulting those under his power and a harsh contempt for his victim.

  [1] τοιγάρτοι λέγοντός τ᾽ αὐτοῦ μεταξὺ πολὺς θόρυβος ἐγίνετο τῇδε καὶ τῇδε θαμινὰ μεθελκομένοις, ὡς ἐν διαφόροις, πλήθεσι καὶ οὐ ταὐτὰ βουλομένοις, τῶν μὲν ἡδομένων ἐπὶ τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῦ, τῶν δὲ πάλιν ἀχθομένων. καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἐπαύσατο λέγων, ἔτι πλείων ἀνέστη βοὴ καὶ θόρυβος.

  [35.1] For these reasons, while he was yet speaking, there arose a great tumult, his hearers frequently shifting their opinion now this way now that, as happens in crowds of diverse elements and different inclinations, some being pleased at his word and others in turn offended. And when he had done speaking, a still greater clamour and tumult arose.

  [2] οἱ μὲν γὰρ πατρίκιοι κράτιστον ἀνδρῶν λέγοντες ἐπῄνουν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τῇ παρρησίᾳ καὶ μόνον ἀπέφαινον ἐξ ἁπάντων σφῶν ἐλεύθερον, ὃς οὔτε πολεμίων ἔδεισεν ἐπιόντων ὄχλον οὔτε πολιτῶν αὐθάδεις καὶ παρανόμους ἐκολάκευσεν ὁρμάς: οἱ δὲ δημοτικοὶ δυσανασχετοῦντες ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀνειδισμοῖς βαρὺν καὶ πικρὸν καὶ πολεμίων ἁπάντων ἔχθιστον αὐτὸν ἀπεκάλουν.

  [2] For the patricians, calling him the bravest of men, commended him for his frankness of speech and said he was the only free man of their whole body, since he had neither feared a host of enemies advancing upon him nor flattered the insolent and illegal impulses of his fellow-citizens; on the other hand, the plebeians, chafing under his reproaches, called him overbearing and harsh and the bitterest of all enemies.

  [3] προθυμίαν δὲ πολλὴν εἶχόν τινες ἤδη, οἷς πολὺ προσῆν τὸ εὐχερές, ἐν χειρῶν αὐτὸν διαφθεῖραι νόμῳ. συνήργουν δ᾽ αὐτοῖς εἰς τοῦτο καὶ συνελάμβανον οἱ δήμαρχοι, καὶ μάλιστα Σικίννιος ἐνεδίδου τοῖς βουλήμασι τὰς ἡνίας. τελευτῶν γοῦν, ἐπειδὴ πολλὴν αὐτοῦ καταδρομὴν ἐποιήσατο καὶ τοὺς θυμοὺς ἐξέκαυσε τῶν δημοτῶν, πολὺς ἐμπνεύσας τῇ κατηγορίᾳ τέλος ἐξήνεγκεν, ὅτι θάνατον αὐτοῦ καταψηφίζεται τὸ [p. 53] ἀρχεῖον τῆς εἰς τοὺς ἀγορανόμους ὕβρεως ἕνεκεν, οὓς τῇ προτέρᾳ τῶν ἡμερῶν ἄγειν αὐτὸν κελευσθέντας ὑφ᾽ αὑτῶν τύπτων ἀπήλασεν: οὐ γὰρ ἑτέρων τινῶν εἶναι τὸν προπηλακισμὸν τὸν εἰς τοὺς ὑπηρέτας σφῶν γενόμενον ἢ τῶν κελευσάντων.

  [3] And some who were very reckless were already doing their best to have him summarily put to death. In this they were assisted and abetted by the tribunes, and Sicinius in particular gave a loose rein to their desires. At any rate, after he had delivered a long tirade against Marcius and inflamed the minds of the plebeians, he became most vehement in his accusations and then pronounced sentence, saying that the college of the tribunes condemned him to death because of his insolence toward the aediles, whom he had day before driven away with blows when they were ordered by the tribunes to bring him before them; for they alleged that the insult committed by him against their assists was aimed at no others than those who had given them their orders.

  [4] καὶ ταῦτ᾽ εἰπὼν ἐπέταξεν ἄγειν αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὸν ὑπερκείμενον τῆς ἀγορᾶς λόφον: ἔστι δὲ τὸ χωρίον κρημνὸς ἐξαίσιος, ὅθεν αὐτοῖς ἔθος ἦν βάλλειν τοὺς ἐπιθανατίους. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀγορανόμοι προσῄεσαν ὡς ἐπιληψόμενοι τοῦ σώματος, οἱ δὲ πατρίκιοι μέγα ἐμβοήσαντες ὥρμησαν ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἀθρόοι: ἔπειθ᾽ ὁ δῆμος ἐπὶ τοὺς πατρικίους: καὶ ἦν πολλὴ μὲν ἔργων ἀκοσμία, πολλὴ δὲ λόγων ὕβρις παρ᾽ ἀμφοῖν,

  [4] Having said this, he commanded that he be led to the hill that overlooks the Forum; this is an exceeding high precipice from which they used to hurl those who were condemned to death. The aediles, accordingly, stepped forward in order to lay hold on him, but the patricians, crying out with a loud voice, rushed upon them in a body. Then the plebeians fell upon the patricians, and there followed many disorderly deeds and many insulting words on both sides, as they pushed and laid hold on one another.

  [5] ὠθισμοί τε καὶ χειρῶν ἐπιβολαί. κατελήφθη δὲ καὶ σωφρονεῖν ἠναγκάσθη τὰ παρακ
ινοῦντα ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπάτων βιασαμένων εἰς μέσους καὶ τοῖς ῥαβδούχοις ἀναστέλλειν κελευσάντων τοὺς ὄχλους: τοσαύτη ἄρα τῆς ἀρχῆς αἰδὼς ἦν τοῖς τότε ἀνθρώποις, καὶ οὕτω τίμιον τὸ τῆς βασιλικῆς ἐξουσίας μίμημα. ἐφ᾽ οἷς ὁ Σικίννιος ἀδημονῶν καὶ διαταραττόμενος εὐλαβείας τε μεστὸς ὤν, μὴ προσαναγκάσῃ τοὺς διαφόρους τοῖς βιαίοις τὰ βίαια λῦσαι, ἀποστῆναι τ᾽ οὐκ ἀξιῶν τοῦ ἐγχειρήματος, ἐπειδὴ ἅπαξ ἐπεβάλετο, καὶ μένειν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἔκρινεν οὐ δυνατὸς ὤν, πολὺς ἐν τῷ σκοπεῖν, ὅ τι πρακτέον ἦν.

  [5] However, the moving spirits in the tumult were restrained and compelled to come to their senses by the consuls, who forced their way into the midst of the contending parties and ordered their lictors to keep back the crowds; so great respect did the men of those times feel for this magistracy and so much did they honour the semblance of the royal power. Whereupon Sicinius, being perplexed and disturbed, was filled with apprehension, lest he should force his adversaries to repel violence with violence; but he disdained to desist from his attempt after he had once engaged in it, and finding himself unable to adhere to his resolutions, he considered long what he ought to do.

  [1] κατιδὼν δ᾽ αὐτὸν ἀμηχανοῦντα Λεύκιος Ἰούνιος Βροῦτος, ἐκεῖνος ὁ δημαγωγὸς ὁ τεχνησάμενος, [p. 54] ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἔσονται δικαίοις αἱ διαλλαγαί, δεινὸς ἀνὴρ τά τ᾽ ἄλλα καὶ πόρους εὑρεῖν ἐν ἀπόροις, προσέρχεται μόνος μόνῳ καὶ ὑποτίθεται μὴ φιλονεικεῖν ἐγχειρήματι θερμῷ καὶ παρανόμῳ συναγωνιζόμενον, ὁρῶντα τούς τε πατρικίους ἅπαντας ἠρεθισμένους καὶ ἑτοίμους ὄντας, εἰ κληθεῖεν ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπάτων, ἐπὶ τὰ ὅπλα χωρεῖν, τοῦ δὲ δήμου τὸ καρτερώτατον μέρος ἐνδοιάζον καὶ οὐκ ἀγαπητῶς δεχόμενον ἀνδρὸς ἐπιφανεστάτου τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει παράδοσιν ἐπὶ θανάτῳ καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἀκρίτου.