Humanitext Reader

Plutarch · Life of Sertorius §5.1-5.5

Opposition to Marius and Purge of the Slave Soldiers

Passage 5 of 27 · Greek

Summary

When Marius returned from Africa to join Cinna, Sertorius opposed his admission due to concerns over Marius's ruthless ambition, but ultimately deferred to Cinna's invitation. After the war, while other leaders indulged in cruelty, Sertorius maintained moderation and executed Marius's violent slave soldiers to restore order.

§5.1Μαρίου δὲ καταπλεύσαντος ἐκ Λιβύης καὶ τῷ Κίννᾳ προστιθέντος ἑαυτὸν ὡς ἰδιώτην ὑπάτῳ, τοῖς μὲν ἄλλοις ἐδόκει δέχεσθαι, Σερτώριος δὲ ἀπηγόρευεν, εἴτε τὸν Κίνναν ἧττον οἰόμενος ἑαυτῷ προσέξειν ἀνδρὸς ἡγεμονικωτέρου παρόντος, εἴτε τὴν βαρύτητα τοῦ Μαρίου δεδοικώς, μὴ πάντα τὰ πράγματα συγχέῃ θυμῷ μέτρον οὐκ ἔχοντι, πέρα δίκης ἐν τῷ κρατεῖν προερχόμενος.
When Marius sailed back from Libya and offered his services as a private citizen to Cinna, who was consul, the others thought they should receive him, but Sertorius opposed it, either because he thought Cinna would pay less attention to him now that a man of greater leadership was present, or because he feared the harshness of Marius, lest he should throw all their affairs into confusion through a wrath that had no limits, exceeding the bounds of justice in his hour of victory.
§5.2ἔλεγεν οὖν μικρὸν εἶναι τὸ ὑπολειπόμενον ἔργον αὐτοῖς ἤδη κρατοῦσι, δεξαμένων δὲ τὸν Μάριον τὸ σύμπαν οἴσεσθαι τῆς δόξης ἐκεῖνον καὶ τῆς δυνάμεως, χαλεπὸν ὄντα πρὸς κοινωνίαν ἀρχῆς καὶ ἄπιστον.
Therefore he said that the work remaining for them, who were already victorious, was small, but if they received Marius, the latter would carry off all the glory and power, being a man difficult to share power with and untrustworthy.
εἰπόντος δὲ τοῦ Κίννα ταῦτα μὲν ὀρθῶς ὑπολογίζεσθαι τὸν Σερτώριον, αἰδεῖσθαι δὲ καὶ διαπορεῖν ὅπως ἀπώσεται τὸν Μάριον αὐτὸς ἐπὶ κοινωνίᾳ πραγμάτων κεκληκώς, §5.3ὑπολαβὼν ὁ Σερτώριος εἶπεν ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ μὲν αὐτὸν ἀφʼ ἑαυτοῦ Μάριον ἥκειν νομίζων εἰς Ἰταλίαν τὸ συμφέρον ἐσκόπουν σοὶ δὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ βουλεύεσθαι καλῶς εἶχεν ἥκοντος ὃν αὐτὸς ἐλθεῖν ἠξίωσας, ἀλλὰ χρῆσθαι καὶ δέχεσθαι, τῆς πίστεως μηδενὶ λογισμῷ χώραν διδούσης οὕτως μεταπέμπεται τὸν Μάριον Κίννας· καὶ τριχῇ τῆς δυνάμεως διανεμηθείσης ἦρχον οἱ τρεῖς.
When Cinna replied that Sertorius argued these things correctly, but that he felt ashamed and embarrassed as to how he should reject Marius, whom he himself had invited to share in their affairs, Sertorius, interrupting, said: "Indeed, I thought Marius had come to Italy on his own accord, and so I was considering what was useful; but for you, since he has come whom you yourself saw fit to invite, it was not even proper to deliberate, but you must employ and receive him, since good faith leaves no room for any calculation." Thus Cinna sent for Marius; and their force being divided into three parts, the three commanded.
§5.4διαπολεμηθέντος δὲ τοῦ πολέμου καὶ τῶν περὶ τὸν Κίνναν καὶ Μάριον ἐμφορουμένων ὕβρεώς τε καὶ πικρίας ἁπάσης, ὥστε χρυσὸν ἀποδεῖξαι Ῥωμαίοις τὰ τοῦ πολέμου κακά, Σερτώριος λέγεται μόνος οὔτε ἀποκτεῖναί τινα πρὸς ὀργὴν οὔτε ἐνυβρίσαι κρατῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῷ Μαρίῳ δυσχεραίνειν καὶ τὸν Κίνναν ἐντυγχάνων ἰδίᾳ καὶ δεόμενος μετριώτερον ποιεῖν.
When the war was brought to an end, and those around Cinna and Marius were filled with all insolence and bitterness, so that the evils of the war seemed like gold to the Romans, Sertorius alone is said neither to have killed anyone in anger nor to have behaved insolently in victory; but he was displeased with Marius, and meeting Cinna in private, begged him to act with greater moderation.
§5.5τέλος δὲ τῶν δούλων, οὓς Μάριος συμμάχους μὲν ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ δορυφόρους δὲ τῆς τυραννίδος ἔχων ἰσχυροὺς καὶ πλουσίους ἐποίησε, τὰ μὲν ἐκείνου διδόντος καὶ κελεύοντος, τὰ δὲ καὶ βίᾳ παρανομούντων εἰς τοὺς δεσπότας, σφαττόντων μὲν αὐτούς, ταῖς δὲ δεσποίναις πλησιαζόντων καὶ βιαζομένων τοὺς παῖδας, οὐκ ἀνασχετὰ ποιούμενος ὁ Σερτώριος ἅπαντας ἐν ταὐτῷ στρατοπεδεύοντας κατηκόντισεν, οὐκ ἐλάττους τετρακισχιλίων ὄντας.
Finally, regarding the slaves whom Marius had made powerful and rich, having them as allies in the war and bodyguards of his tyranny, who committed outrages against their masters, partly by Marius's giving and commanding, and partly by their own violence, slaughtering them, violating their mistresses, and abusing their children—Sertorius, deeming these things intolerable, had them all speared to death while they were encamped in the same place, though they were not less than four thousand in number.

Notes

  1. 5.1προερχόμενος — Nominative singular participle. Grammatically it agrees with the subject of the sentence, Sertorius (`Σερτώριος`). However, contextually, the person "exceeding the bounds of justice in victory" refers to Marius (`Μαρίου`). This discrepancy is either an anacoluthon (nominative by attraction to the unexpressed subject of the sub-clause `συγχέῃ`), or, less likely, represents Sertorius himself "exceeding [justice]" in his opposition.
  2. 5.2δεξαμένων — Genitive absolute. The semantic subject ("they," i.e., Cinna and Sertorius, or their entire faction) is omitted. It functions as a conditional clause ("if they should receive").
  3. 5.3ἥκοντος ὃν αὐτὸς ἐλθεῖν ἠξίωσας — Genitive absolute construction (`ἥκοντος` [ἐκείνου], "when he has arrived"), within which the relative clause (`ὃν ... ἠξίωσας`, "whom you yourself deemed fit to come") is embedded. The pronoun (`ἐκείνου`) serving as the logical subject of the genitive participle `ἥκοντος` is omitted and acts as the antecedent of the relative pronoun `ὃν`.
  4. 5.5τέλος δὲ τῶν δούλων — The genitive `τῶν δούλων` at the beginning of the sentence is set up as the topic of the clause, but since it is resumed much later by the accusative `ἅπαντας` as the direct object of `κατηκόντισεν` (which governs the accusative), an anacoluthon occurs. This initial genitive functions as a topic marker (prolepsis) or partitive genitive ("as for the slaves..."), initiating a complex, highly nested sentence structure.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Sertorius §5.1-5.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg042.humanitext-grc2:5.1-5.5

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