Humanitext Reader

Plutarch · Life of Otho §2.1-2.3

The Condemnation and Suicide of Tigellinus

Passage 2 of 18 · Greek

Summary

Otho decides the fate of the infamous Tigellinus, who, pursued by Otho's messenger, fails to bribe him and commits suicide by cutting his own throat.

§2.1ὁμοῦ δὲ Ῥωμαίους πάντας οὐδὲν εὔφρανεν οὕτως οὐδὲ ᾠκειώσατο πρὸς αὐτὸν ὡς τὰ περὶ Τιγελλῖνον.
But, at the same time, nothing delighted all Romans so much, nor won them over to him, as the measures concerning Tigellinus.
ἐλελήθει μὲν γὰρ ἤδη κολαζόμενος αὐτῷ τῷ φόβῳ τῆς κολάσεως ἣν ὡς χρέος ἀπῄτει δημόσιον ἡ πόλις, §2.2καὶ νοσήμασιν ἀνηκέστοις σώματος, αὐτάς τε τὰς ἀνοσίους καὶ ἀρρήτους ἐν γυναιξὶ πόρναις καὶ ἀκαθάρτοις ἐγκυλινδήσεις, αἷς ἔτι προσέσπαιρε δυσθανατοῦντος αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀκόλαστον ἐπιδραττόμενον, ἐσχάτην τιμωρίαν ἐποιοῦντο καὶ πολλῶν ἀντάξια θανάτων οἱ σωφρονοῦντες.
For he had already been unconsciously punished by the very fear of the punishment which the state was demanding as a public debt, and by incurable diseases of the body; and those of a sound mind regarded as the ultimate punishment, and worth many deaths, those very unholy and unspeakable wallowings among harlots and unclean women, in which his lust, still struggling, clung to him even as he lay dying.
ἠνία δὲ τοὺς πολλοὺς ὅμως τόν ἥλιον ὁρῶν μετὰ τοσούτους καὶ τοιούτους διʼ αὐτὸν οὐχ ὁρῶντας.
Yet it vexed the multitude that he should still look upon the sun, after so many and such men had, because of him, ceased to look upon it.
§2.3ἔπεμψεν οὖν ἐπʼ αὐτὸν ὁ Ὄθων εἰς τοὺς περὶ Σινόεσσαν ἀγρούς· ἐκεῖ γὰρ διῃτᾶτο, πλοίων παρορμούντων, ὡς φευξόμενος ἀπωτέρω.
Otho therefore sent to fetch him, in the lands around Sinuessa; for he was living there, with ships lying at anchor, intending to flee further away.
καὶ τόν γε πεμφθέντα χρυσίῳ πολλῷ πείθειν ἐπεχείρησε παρεῖναι· μὴ πεισθέντι δὲ δῶρα μὲν ἔδωκεν οὐδὲν ἧττον, ἐδεήθη δὲ ὑπομεῖναι ἕως ἂν ἀποξύρηται τό γένειον· καὶ λαβὼν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἐλαιμοτόμησεν.
And he tried to persuade the messenger who had been sent, by offering much gold, to let him escape; but when the messenger would not be persuaded, he gave him the gifts none the less, and begged him to wait until he should shave his beard; then, taking his own life, he cut his own throat.

Notes

  1. §2.1ἐλελήθει μὲν γὰρ ἤδη κολαζόμενος — A construction of the pluperfect of `λανθάνω` (`ἐλελήθει`, "to escape notice") with the present participle `κολαζόμενος`, meaning "he was already being punished without being noticed" or "he had already been secretly punished."
  2. §2.2αἷς ἔτι προσέσπαιρε δυσθανατοῦντος αὐτοῦ τὸ ἀκόλαστον ἐπιδραττόμενον — A syntactically complex clause. `αἷς` is a relative pronoun in the dative feminine plural, referring back to `ἐγκυλινδήσεις` ("wallowings"). `δυσθανατοῦντος αὐτοῦ` is a genitive absolute ("while he was dying a lingering death"). The subject of the verb `προσέσπαιρε` ("was gasping/struggling") is the neuter singular `τὸ ἀκόλαστον` ("his lust/unchastity"), accompanied by the participle `ἐπιδραττόμενον` ("clinging to").
  3. §2.3παρεῖναι — The active present infinitive of `παρίημι` ("to let go", "to pass over", "to overlook"). Although identical in form to the infinitive of `πάρειμι` ("to be present"), the context of persuading the messenger to let him escape determines it as the former.

Cite this passage

Plutarch, Life of Otho §2.1-2.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0007.tlg066.humanitext-grc2:2.1-2.3

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.