Humanitext Reader

Plutarch · Life of Fabius Maximus §27.1-27.2

The Illness and Death of Fabius and His Public Funeral

Passage 27 of 27 · Greek

Summary

While Scipio saved the state from crisis by defeating Carthage, Fabius died of illness before seeing the end of the war, and was buried by the Romans who deeply mourned him as the 'father of the people.'

§27.1ἀλλὰ Σκηπίων μὲν οὐ μετὰ πολὺν χρόνον αὐτόν τε νικήσας μάχῃ κατὰ κράτος Ἀννίβαν καὶ καταβαλὼν τὸ φρόνημα καὶ καταπατήσας τῆς Καρχηδόνος ὑποπεσούσης, ἀπέδωκε μείζονα χαρὰν ἁπάσης ἐλπίδος τοῖς πολίταις, καὶ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ὡς ἀληθῶς πολλῷ σάλῳ σεισθεῖσαν ὤρθωσε πάλιν· Φάβιος δὲ Μάξιμος οὐ διήρκεσε τῷ βίῳ πρὸς τὸ τοῦ πολέμου τέλος, οὐδʼ ἤκουσεν Ἀννίβαν ἡττημένον, οὐδὲ τὴν μεγάλην καὶ βέβαιον εὐτυχίαν τῆς πατρίδος ἐπεῖδεν, ἀλλὰ περὶ ὃν χρόνον Ἀννίβας ἀπῆρεν ἐξ Ἰταλίας νόσῳ καμὼν ἐτελεύτησεν.
But Scipio, not long after, having defeated Hannibal himself in battle by main force and cast down his pride, and having trodden underfoot Carthage which had submitted, gave to the citizens a joy greater than all expectation, and truly set upright again the hegemony which had been shaken by many a tempest; but Fabius Maximus did not survive in life until the end of the war, nor did he hear of Hannibal defeated, nor did he look upon the great and secure prosperity of his country, but about the time when Hannibal departed from Italy, he died, worn out by illness.
§27.2Ἐπαμεινώνδαν μὲν οὖν Θηβαῖοι δημοσίᾳ διὰ πενίαν, ἣν ἀπέλιπεν ὁ ἀνὴρ, ἔθαψαν οὐδὲν γὰρ οἴκοι τελευτήσαντος εὑρεθῆναι πλὴν ὀβελίσκον σιδηροῦν λέγουσι· Φάβιον δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι δημοσίᾳ μὲν οὐκ ἐκήδευσαν, ἰδίᾳ ὁ ἑκάστου τὸ σμικρότατον αὐτῷ τῶν νομισμάτων ἐπενεγκόντος, οὐχ ὡς διʼ ἔνδειαν προσαρκούντων, ἀλλʼ ὡς πατέρα τοῦ δήμου θάπτοντος, ἔσχε τιμὴν καὶ δόξαν ὁ θάνατος αὐτοῦ τῷ βίῳ πρέπουσαν.
Now the Thebans buried Epaminondas publicly because of the poverty which the man left behind; for they say that when he died nothing was found in his house except an iron spit; but the Romans did not bury Fabius publicly, but privately, each bringing him the smallest of their coins, not as if they were assisting him because of need, but as if burying a father of the people, so that his death had an honor and glory fitting for his life.

Notes

  1. §27.1τῆς Καρχηδόνος ὑποπεσούσης — A genitive absolute construction ('Carthage having submitted' or 'after Carthage had fallen'). It functions logically as the object or temporal background of the preceding participle `καταπατήσας` (having trodden underfoot).
  2. §27.1πολλῷ σάλῳ σεισθεῖσαν ὤρθωσε πάλιν — A poetic or tragic expression/quotation ('set upright again ... shaken by many a tempest'), comparing the hegemony (`ἡγεμονίαν`) to a ship tossed in a storm.
  3. §27.2ὁ ἑκάστου τὸ σμικρότατον αὐτῷ τῶν νομισμάτων ἐπενεγκόντος, οὐχ ὡς διʼ ἔνδειαν προσαρκούντων, ἀλλʼ ὡς πατέρα τοῦ δήμου θάπτοντος — This is a genitive absolute construction starting with `ὁ` and the singular `ἑκάστου ... ἐπενεγκόντος`. In the subsequent adverbial participle clauses with `ὡς`, the plural `προσαρκούντων` refers to the Romans as a whole, while the singular `θάπτοντος` returns to agree with the individual `ἑκάστου`. This shift in number dynamically links individual action to collective sentiment.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Fabius Maximus §27.1-27.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg013.humanitext-grc2:27.1-27.2

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