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

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [3] And when the augurs declared that the gods were foretelling the capture of the camp and the death of the most important persons in it, Manlius roused his forces about midnight and led them to the other camp, where he took up quarters with his colleague.

  [4] μαθόντες οὖν οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ τὴν ἀπανάστασιν τοῦ στρατηγοῦ καί, δι᾽ ἃς αἰτίας ἐγένετο, [p. 280] παρά τινων αἰχμαλώτων ἀκούσαντες ἐπήρθησάν τε ταῖς γνώμαις ἔτι μᾶλλον, ὡς πολεμοῦντος τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις τοῦ δαιμονίου, καὶ πολλὴν εἶχον ἐλπίδα κρατήσειν αὐτῶν: οἵ τε μάντεις ἀκριβέστερον τῶν ἄλλοθί που δοκοῦντες ἐξητακέναι τὰ μετάρσια, πόθεν τε αἱ τῶν κεραυνῶν γίνονται βολαὶ καὶ τίνες αὐτοὺς ὑποδέχονται μετὰ τὰς πληγὰς ἀπιόντας τόποι, θεῶν τε οἷς ἕκαστοι ἀποδίδονται καὶ τίνων ἀγαθῶν ἢ κακῶν μηνυταί, χωρεῖν ὁμόσε τοῖς πολεμίοις παρῄνουν διαιρούμενοι τὸ γενόμενον τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις σημεῖον κατὰ τάδε.

  [4] The Tyrrhenians, learning of the general’s departure and hearing from some of the prisoners the reasons for his action, grew still more elated in mind, since it seemed that the gods were making war upon the Romans; and they entertained great hopes of conquering them. For their augurs, who are reputed to have investigated with greater accuracy than those anywhere else the signs that appear in the sky, determining where the thunderbolts come from, what quarters receive them when they depart after striking, to which of the gods each kind of bolt is assigned, and what good or evil it portends, advised them to engage the enemy, interpreting the omen which had appeared to the Romans on this wise:

  [5] ἐπειδὴ τὸ βέλος εἰς ὑπάτου σκηνὴν κατέσκηψεν, ἐν ᾗ τὸ στρατήγιον ἐνῆν, καὶ πᾶσαν αὐτὴν ἄχρι τῆς ἑστίας ἠφάνισεν, ὅλῃ προσημαίνειν τὸ δαιμόνιον τῇ στρατιᾷ τοῦ χάρακος ἔκλειψιν βίᾳ κρατηθέντος καὶ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ὄλεθρον.

  [5] Since the bolt had fallen upon the consul’s tent, which was the army’s headquarters, and had utterly destroyed it even to its hearth, the gods were foretelling to the whole army the wiping out of their camp after it should be taken by storm, and the death of the principal persons in it.

  [6] εἰ μὲν οὖν, ἔφασαν, ἔμειναν ἐν ᾧ κατέσκηψε χωρίῳ τὸ βέλος οἱ κατέχοντες αὐτό, καὶ μὴ μετηνέγκαντο τὰ σημεῖα ὡς τοὺς ἑτέρους, μιᾶς τε παρεμβολῆς ἁλώσει καὶ ἑνὸς ὀλέθρῳ στρατοῦ τὸ νεμεσῶν αὐτοῖς δαιμόνιον ἀπεπλήρωσεν ἂν τὸν χόλον: ἐπειδὴ δὲ σοφώτεροι τῶν θεῶν εἶναι ζητοῦντες εἰς τὸν ἕτερον χάρακα μετεστρατοπεδεύσαντο, καταλιπόντες ἔρημον τὸν τόπον, ὡς οὐ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τοῦ θεοῦ προδηλοῦντος τὰς συμφοράς, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τόποις, κοινὸς ἅπασιν αὐτοῖς ὁ παρὰ τοῦ δαίμονος ἥξει χόλος, τοῖς τ᾽ ἀπαναστᾶσι καὶ τοῖς ὑποδεξαμένοις.

  [6] “If, now,” they said, “the occupants of the place where the bolt fell had remained there instead of removing their standards to the other army, the divinity who was wroth with them would have satisfied his anger with the capture of a single camp and the destruction of a single army; but since they endeavoured to be wiser than the gods and changed their quarters to the other camp, leaving the place deserted, as if the god has signified that the calamities should fall, not upon the men, but upon the places, the divine wrath will come upon all of them alike, both upon those who departed and upon those who received them.

  [7] καὶ ἐπειδὴ ἁλῶναι σφῶν τὸν ἕτερον χάρακα βίᾳ θείας ἐπιθεσπιζούσης ἀνάγκης οὐ περιέμειναν τὸ χρεών, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτοὶ [p. 281] παρέδοσαν τοῖς ἐχθροῖς, ἐκεῖνος ὁ χάραξ ὁ τὸν ἐκλειφθέντα ὑποδεξάμενος ἀντὶ τοῦ καταλειφθέντος ἁλώσεται βίᾳ κρατηθείς.

  [7] And since, when destiny had foretold that one camp should be taken by storm, they did not wait for their fate, but of their own accord handed their camp over to the enemy, the camp which received the deserted camp shall be taken by storm instead of the one that was abandoned.”

  [1] ταῦτα παρὰ τῶν μάντεων οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ ἀκούσαντες μέρει τινὶ τῆς ἑαυτῶν στρατιᾶς τὴν ἐρημωθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τῶν Ῥωμαίων καταλαμβάνονται στρατοπεδείαν ὡς ἐπιτείχισμα ποιησόμενοι τῆς ἑτέρας: ἦν δὲ πάνυ ἐχυρὸν τὸ χωρίον καὶ τοῖς ἀπὸ Ῥώμης ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον ἰοῦσι κωλύσεως ἐν καλῷ κείμενον. πραγματευσάμενοι δὲ καὶ τἆλλα, ἐξ ὧν πλεονεκτήσειν τοὺς πολεμίους ἔμελλον, ἐξῆγον εἰς τὸ πεδίον τὰς δυνάμεις.

  [7.1] The Tyrrhenians, hearing this from their augurs, sent a part of their army to take possession of the camp deserted by the Romans, with the intention of making it a fort to serve against the other camp. For the place was a very strong one and was conveniently situated for intercepting any who might come from Rome to the enemy’s camp. After they had also made the other dispositions calculated to give them an advantage over the enemy, they led out their forces into the plain.

  [2] μενόντων δὲ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἐφ᾽ ἡσυχίας προσιππεύοντες ἐξ αὐτῶν οἱ τολμηρότατοι καὶ πλησίον τοῦ χάρακος ἱστάμενοι, γυναῖκάς τ᾽ ἀπεκάλουν ἅπαντας καὶ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας αὐτῶν τοῖς δειλοτάτοις τῶν ζώων ἐοικέναι λέγοντες ἐκάκιζον, καὶ δυεῖν θάτερον ἠξίουν: εἰ μὲν ἀντιποιοῦνται τῆς περὶ τὰ πολέμια ἀρετῆς, καταβάντας εἰς τὸ πεδίον μιᾷ τὸν ἀγῶνα κρῖναι μάχῃ, εἰ δ᾽ ὁμολογοῦσιν εἶναι κακοί, παραδόντας τὰ ὅπλα τοῖς κρείττοσι καὶ δίκας ὑποσχόντας, ὧν ἔδρασαν, μηδενὸς ἔτι τῶν μεγάλων ἑαυτοὺς ἀξιοῦν.

  [2] Then, when the Romans remained quiet, the boldest of the Tyrrhenians rode up and, halting near the camp, called them all women and taunted their leaders, likening them to the most cowardly of animals; and they challenged them to do one of two things — either to descend into the plain, if they laid claim to any warlike valour, and decide the contest by a single battle, or, if they owned themselves to be cowards, to deliver up their arms to those who were their betters, and after paying the penalty for their deeds, never again to hold themselves worthy of greatness.

  [3] τοῦτ᾽ ἐποίουν ὁσημέραι καὶ ἐπεὶ οὐδὲν ἐπέραινον, ἀποτειχίζειν αὐτοὺς ἔγνωσαν ὡς λιμῷ προσαναγκάσοντες παραστῆναι. οἱ δ᾽ ὕπατοι περιεώρων τὰ γινόμενα μέχρι πολλοῦ, δι᾽ ἀνανδρίαν μὲν ἢ μαλακίαν οὐδεμίαν — ἀμφότεροι γὰρ εὔψυχοί τε καὶ φιλοπόλεμοι ἦσαν — τὸ δὲ τῶν στρατιωτῶν ἐθελόκακόν [p. 282] τε καὶ ἀπρόθυμον, διαμένον ἐν τοῖς δημοτικοῖς, ἐξ οὗ περὶ τῆς κλ
ηρουχίας διεστασίασαν, ὑφορώμενοι: ἔτι γὰρ αὐτοῖς ἔναυλα καὶ πρὸ ὀμμάτων ἦν, ἃ τῷ παρελθόντι ἐνιαυτῷ κατὰ τὸ ἔγκοτον τῆς πρὸς τὸν ὕπατον τιμῆς αἰσχρὰ καὶ ἀνάξια τῆς πόλεως εἰργάσαντο, παραχωρήσαντες τῆς νίκης τοῖς ἡττηθεῖσι καὶ φυγῆς ὄνειδος οὐκ ἀληθὲς ὑπομείναντες, ἵνα μὴ καταγάγῃ τὸν ἐπινίκιον θρίαμβον ὁ ἀνήρ.

  [3] This they did every day, and when it had no effect, they resolved to block them off by a wall with the purpose of starving them into surrender. The consuls permitted this to go on for a considerable time, not through any cowardice or weakness — for they were both men of spirit and fond of war — but because they feared the soldiers’ wilful shirking of duty and their apathy, which had persisted among the plebeians ever since the sedition over the allotment of land. For they still had ringing in their ears and fresh before their eyes the shameful behaviour, unworthy of the commonwealth, which the soldiers, because of their begrudging the honour that would come to the consul, had been guilty of the year before, when they had yielded up the victory to the vanquished and endured the false reproach of flight in order that their general might not celebrated the triumph awarded for victory.

  [1] βουλόμενοι δὴ τὸ στασιάζον ἐκ τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐξελεῖν εἰς τέλος καὶ καταστῆσαι πάλιν εἰς τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁμόνοιαν ἅπαν τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ εἰς ἓν τοῦτο πᾶσαν εἰσφερόμενοι βουλήν τε καὶ πρόνοιαν, ἐπειδὴ οὔτε κολάσει μέρους τινὸς σωφρονέστερον ἀποδοῦναι τὸ λοιπὸν ἦν, πολὺ καὶ αὔθαδες ὑπάρχον καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν ἔχον, οὔτε πειθοῖ προσαγαγέσθαι λόγων τοὺς οὐδὲ πεισθῆναι βουλομένους, δύο ταύτας ὑπέλαβον ἔσεσθαι τῶν στασιαζόντων αἰτίας τῆς διαλλαγῆς, τοῖς μὲν ἐπιεικεστέρας μετειληφόσι φύσεως — ἐνῆν γάρ τι καὶ τοιοῦτον ἐν τῷ πολλῷ — τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ὀνειδισμοῖς τῶν πολεμίων αἰσχύνην, τοῖς δὲ δυσαγώγοις ἐπὶ τὸ καλόν,

  [8.1] Desiring, therefore, to banish sedition from the army once and for all and to restore the whole rank and file to their original harmony, and devoting to this single end all their counsel and all their thought, since it was not in their power by punishing some of them to reform the rest, who were numerous, bold, and had arms in their hands, or to attempt by the persuasion of words to win over those who did not even wish to be persuaded, they assumed that the following two motives would bring about the reconciliation of the seditious: first, for those of a more reasonable disposition (for there was an admixture of these also among the mass of the troops), the shame of being taunted by the enemy, and second, for those who were not easily led to adopt the honourable course, the thing of which all human nature stands in dread — necessity.

  [2] ἣν ἅπασα δέδοικεν ἀνθρώπου φύσις ἀνάγκην. ἵνα δὴ ταῦτα γένοιτο ἀμφότερα, ἐφῆκαν τοῖς πολεμίοις λόγῳ τ᾽ αἰσχύνειν κακίζοντας σφῶν ὡς ἄνανδρον τὴν ἡσυχίαν, καὶ ἔργοις ὑπεροψίας τε καὶ καταφρονήσεως πολλῆς γινομένοις ἀναγκάζειν ἀγαθοὺς γενέσθαι τοὺς ἑκουσίως [p. 283] εἶναι μὴ βουλομένους. γινομένων γὰρ τούτων πολλὰς ἐλπίδας εἶχον ἥξειν ἐπὶ τὸ στρατήγιον ἅπαντας ἀγανακτοῦντας καὶ καταβοῶντας καὶ κελεύοντας ἡγεῖσθαι σφῶν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους: ὅπερ καὶ συνέβη.

  [2] In order, however, to accomplish both these results, they allowed the enemy not only to shame them by words, but also by repeated deeds of scorn and contempt to compel those to show themselves brave men who were not disposed to be so of their own accord. For if these insults should be continued, they had great hopes that all the soldiers would come to headquarters, giving vent to their indignation, reproaching the consuls, and demanding that they lead them against the enemy; and that is just what happened.

  [3] ὡς γὰρ ἤρξαντο τὰς ἐξόδους τοῦ χάρακος ἀποταφρεύειν τε καὶ ἀποσταυροῦν οἱ πολέμιοι, δυσανασχετήσαντες οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπὶ τῷ ἔργῳ, τέως μὲν κατ᾽ ὀλίγους, ἔπειτ᾽ ἀθρόοι συντρέχοντες ἐπὶ τὰς σκηνὰς τῶν ὑπάτων ἐκεκράγεσάν τε καὶ προδοσίαν αὐτοῖς ἐνεκάλουν, καὶ εἰ μή τις ἡγήσεται σφίσι τῆς ἐξόδου, δίχα ἐκείνων αὐτοὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἔχοντες ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἔλεγον ἐξελεύσεσθαι.

  [3] For when the enemy began to block the outlets of the camp with ditches and kinds, the Romans, growing indignant at their action, ran to the tents of the consuls, first in small numbers and then in a body, and crying out, accused them of treachery, and declared that if no one would lead them in a sortie, they themselves would take their arms and without their generals sally out against the enemy.

  [4] ὡς δ᾽ ἐξ ἁπάντων ἐγίνετο τοῦτο, παρεῖναι τὸν χρόνον, ὃν περιέμενον, οἱ στρατηγοὶ νομίσαντες ἐκέλευον τοῖς ὑπηρέταις συγκαλεῖν τὸ πλῆθος εἰς ἐκκλησίαν: καὶ προελθὼν Φάβιος τοιάδε εἶπε:

  [4] This being the general cry, the consuls thought the opportunity for which they had been waiting had now come, and they ordered the lictors to call the troops to an assembly. Then Fabius, coming forward, spoke as follows:

  [1] βραδεῖα μὲν ἡ ἀγανάκτησις ὑμῶν γίνεται περὶ ὧν ὑβρίζεσθε ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, ἄνδρες στρατιῶταί τε καὶ ἡγεμόνες: καὶ τὸ βουλόμενον ἑκάστου χωρεῖν ὁμόσε τοῖς ἐναντίοις πολὺ τοῦ δέοντος ὕστερον φαινόμενον ἄωρόν ἐστι. παλαίτερον γὰρ ἔτι τοῦθ᾽ ὑμᾶς ἔδει πράττειν, ὅτε πρῶτον αὐτοὺς εἴδετε καταβαίνοντας ἐκ τῶν ἐρυμάτων καὶ μάχης ἄρχειν βουλομένους. τότε γὰρ δήπου καλὸς ὁ περὶ τῆς ἡγεμονίας ἦν ἀγὼν καὶ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων φρονήματος ἄξιος. νῦν δ᾽ ἀναγκαῖος ἤδη γίνεται, καὶ οὐδ᾽, ἂν τὸ κράτιστον λάβῃ

  [9.1] “Long delayed is your indignation at the insults you are receiving from the enemy, soldiers and officers, and the eagerness which you one and all have to come to grips with your opponents, by showing itself much too late, is untimely. For you should have done this still earlier, when you first saw them come down from their entrenchments and eager to begin battle. Then, no doubt, the contest for the supremacy would have been glorious and worthy of the Roman spirit; as things are, it is already becoming a matter of necessity, and however successful its outcome may be, it will not be equally glorious.

  [2] τέλος, ὁμοίως καλός. εὖ δὲ καὶ νῦν ποιεῖτε ὅμως ἐπανορθώσασθαι τὴν βραδυτῆτα βουλόμενοι καὶ τὰ [p. 284] παραλειφθέντα ἀναλαβεῖν, καὶ πολλὴ χάρις ὑμῖν τῆς ἐπὶ τὰ κράτιστα ὁρμῆς, εἴ γ᾽ ὑπ᾽ ἀρετῆς γίνεται: κρεῖττον γάρ ἐστιν ὀψὲ ἄρξασθαι τὰ δέοντα πράττειν
ἢ μηδέποτε: εἴτ᾽ οὖν ἅπαντες ὁμοίους ἔχετε περὶ τῶν συμφερόντων λογισμούς, καὶ ἡ προθυμία τῆς ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα ὁρμῆς ἅπαντας ἡ αὐτὴ κατείληφε.

  [2] Yet even now you do well in desiring to atone for your slowness and to retrieve what you have lost by neglect, and great thanks are due to you for your eagerness to follow the best course, whether this springs from valour — for it is better to begin late to do one’s duty than never — or whether indeed you have all come to the same logical conclusions as to what is example, and the same eagerness for rushing into battle has seized all of you.

  [3] νῦν δὲ φοβούμεθα, μὴ τὰ περὶ τῆς κληρουχίας προσκρούσματα τῶν δημοτικῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἐν τέλει μεγάλης αἴτια τῷ κοινῷ γένηται βλάβης: ὑποψία τε ἡμᾶς κατείληφεν, ὡς ἡ περὶ τῆς ἐξόδου καταβοὴ καὶ ἀγανάκτησις οὐκ ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς προαιρέσεως παρὰ πάντων γίνεται, ἀλλ᾽ οἱ μὲν ὡς τιμωρησόμενοι τοὺς πολεμίους προθυμεῖσθε

  [3] But as it is, we are afraid that the grievances of the plebeians against the authorities over the allotment of land may be the cause of great mischief to the commonwealth. And the suspicion has come to us that this clamour and indignation about a sortie do not spring from the same motive with all of you, but that while some desire to go out of the camp in order to take revenge on the enemy, others do so in order to run away.

  [4] τοῦ χάρακος ἐξελθεῖν, οἱ δ᾽ ὡς ἀποδρασόμενοι. ἐξ ὧν δὲ παρέστηκεν ἡμῖν ταῦθ᾽ ὑποπτεύειν, οὐ μαντεῖαί εἰσιν οὐδὲ στοχασμοί, ἀλλ᾽ ἔργα ἐμφανῆ καὶ οὐδὲ ταῦτα παλαιά, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι ἐνιαυτῷ γενόμενα, ὡς ἅπαντες ἴστε, ὅτ᾽ ἐπὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς πολεμίους τούτους πολλῆς καὶ ἀγαθῆς ἐξελθούσης στρατιᾶς, καὶ τῆς πρώτης μάχης τὸ κράτιστον ἡμῖν λαβούσης τέλος, δυνηθέντος ἂν τοῦ τότ᾽ ἄγοντος ὑμᾶς ὑπάτου Καίσωνος, ἀδελφοῦ δ᾽ ἐμοῦ τουδὶ καὶ τὸν χάρακα τῶν πολεμίων ἐξελεῖν καὶ νίκην τῇ πατρίδι καταγαγεῖν λαμπροτάτην, φθονήσαντες αὐτῷ δόξης τινές, ὅτι δημοτικὸς οὐκ ἦν, οὐδὲ τὰ κεχαρισμένα τοῖς πένησι διετέλει πολιτευόμενος, τῇ πρώτῃ νυκτὶ μετὰ τὴν μάχην ἀνασπάσαντες τὰς σκηνὰς ἄνευ παραγγέλματος ἀπέδρασαν [p. 285] ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος, οὔτε τὸν κίνδυνον ἐνθυμηθέντες τὸν καταληψόμενον αὐτοὺς ἀτάκτως καὶ χωρὶς ἡγεμόνος ἀπιόντας ἐκ πολεμίας γῆς καὶ ταῦτ᾽ ἐν νυκτί, οὔτε τὴν αἰσχύνη, ὅση καθέξειν αὐτοὺς ἔμελλεν, ὑπολογισάμενοι, ὅτι παρεχώρουν τοῖς πολεμίοις τῆς ἡγεμονίας, τὸ γοῦν ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς μέρος, καὶ ταῦθ᾽ οἱ