Humanitext Reader

Plutarch · Life of Publicola §23.1-23.3

Death of Poplicola, His Public Funeral, and Burial Privileges

Passage 23 of 23 · Greek

Summary

The passage records the death of Poplicola, his public funeral and the year-long mourning by the women, and the hereditary privilege of burial near the Velia granted to his family along with its ritual declination.

§23.1τοῦτο τὸ κατόρθωμα Ῥωμαῖοι, καίπερ εἰωθότες ἅπασι τοῖς μεγάλοις ἐπιφημίζειν τὸ δαιμόνιον, ἑνὸς ἔργον ἡγοῦντο τοῦ στρατηγοῦ γεγονέναι.
This success the Romans, although they were accustomed to attribute all great events to the divine power, considered to have been the work of a single general.
καὶ τῶν μεμαχημένων πρῶτον ἦν ἀκούειν ὅτι χωλοὺς καὶ τυφλοὺς αὐτοῖς καὶ μόνον οὐ καθείρξας τοὺς πολεμίους Ποπλικόλας παρέδωκε χρῆσθαι τοῖς ξίφεσιν.
And from those who had fought, it was possible first to hear that Poplicola had delivered the enemy to them to use their swords upon, having made them almost lame and blind, and only not shut them up.
ἐρρώσθη δὲ καὶ χρήμασιν ὁ δῆμος ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων καὶ τῶν αἰχμαλώτων.
And the people were also enriched by money from the spoils and the captives.
§23.2ὁ δὲ Ποπλικόλας τόν τε θρίαμβον ἀγαγὼν καὶ τοῖς μετʼ αὐτὸν ἀποδειχθεῖσιν ὑπάτοις παραδοὺς τὴν πόλιν εὐθὺς ἐτελεύτησεν, ὡς ἐφικτόν ἐστιν ἀνθρώποις μάλιστα τοῖς νενομισμένοις καλοῖς καὶ ἀγαθοῖς, τόν ἑαυτοῦ βίον ἐκτελειώσας.
And Poplicola, having celebrated his triumph and handed over the city to the consuls appointed after him, died immediately, having completed his own life in such a way as is most attainable for men, especially those who are considered noble and good.
ὁ δὲ δῆμος ὥσπερ οὐδὲν εἰς ζῶντα τῶν ἀξίων πεποιηκώς, ἀλλὰ πᾶσαν ὀφείλων χάριν, ἐψηφίσατο δημοσίᾳ ταφῆναι τὸ σῶμα, καὶ τεταρτημόριον ἕκαστον ἐπὶ τιμῇ συνεισενεγκεῖν.
And the people, as if they had done nothing worthy of him while he was living, but owed him all gratitude, decreed that his body should be buried at public expense, and that each person should contribute a quadrans for his honor.
§23.3αἱ δὲ γυναῖκες, ἰδίᾳ πρὸς αὑτὰς συμφρονήσασαι, διεπένθησαν ἐνιαυτὸν ὅλον ἐπὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ πένθος ἔντιμον καὶ ζηλωτόν.
And the women, having agreed among themselves privately, mourned for the man for a whole year with an honorable and enviable mourning.
ἐτάφη δὲ καὶ οὕτως τῶν πολιτῶν ψηφισαμένων ἐντὸς ἄστεος παρὰ τὴν καλουμένην Οὐελίαν, ὥστε καὶ γένει παντὶ τῆς ταφῆς μετεῖναι· νῦν δὲ θάπτεται μὲν οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀπὸ γένους, κομίσαντες δὲ τόν νεκρὸν ἐκεῖ κατατίθενται καὶ δᾷδά τις ἡμμένην λαβὼν ὅσον ὑπήνεγκεν, εἶτα ἀναιρεῖται, μαρτυρόμενος ἔργῳ τὸ ἐξεῖναι, φείδεσθαι δὲ τῆς τιμῆς, καὶ τόν νεκρὸν οὕτως ἀποκομίζουσιν.
And he was buried in this way, the citizens having decreed it, within the city near the place called Velia, so that his whole family should share in the burial; but now no one of his family is buried there, but having brought the corpse, they place it there, and someone, taking a lighted torch, brings it under just for a moment and then takes it away, testifying by action that it is permitted, but that they spare the honor, and thus they carry the corpse away.

Notes

  1. 23.1τῶν μεμαχημένων — The perfect middle-passive participle in the genitive, τῶν μεμαχημένων, can be interpreted either as a genitive of source ('to hear from those who had fought') with the impersonal ἦν ἀκούειν ('it was possible to hear'), or as a partitive genitive ('among those who had fought, it was first possible to hear...'). The former interpretation (genitive of source) is adopted here.
  2. 23.2τοῖς νενομισμένοις καλοῖς καὶ ἀγαθοῖς — The participle νενομισμένοις ('considered', 'customary') modifies the well-known phrase for socio-political elites, καλοῖς καὶ ἀγαθοῖς ('noble and good'). This entire dative construction is dependent on the adjective ἐφικτόν ('attainable') as a dative of relation, meaning 'for those who are deemed noble and good'.
  3. 23.3ὥστε καὶ γένει παντὶ τῆς ταφῆς μετεῖναι — The infinitive μετεῖναι (from the impersonal verb μέτειμι, 'to have a share in') governs a dative of possessor (γένει παντὶ) and a genitive of the thing shared (τῆς ταφῆς). The conjunction ὥστε introduces a consecutive (result) clause, describing the hereditary privilege of burial granted to his family as a consequence of the citizens' decree.
  4. 23.3μαρτυρόμενος ἔργῳ τὸ ἐξεῖναι, φείδεσθαι δὲ τῆς τιμῆς — The nominative participle μαρτυρόμενος ('testifying', 'witnessing') takes the articular infinitive τὸ ἐξεῖναι ('that it is permitted') as its direct object, with the parallel infinitive φείδεσθαι ('to spare', 'to refrain from') joined by the conjunction δέ. This construction describes the family's symbolic, twofold attitude: demonstrating they possess the right while voluntarily refraining from exercising the privilege.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Publicola §23.1-23.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg008.humanitext-grc2:23.1-23.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.