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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §10.48.1-10.48.4

New Consuls and Preliminary Decree on the Tribunes

Passage 788 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Tarpeius and Termenius assume the consulship and, fearing the precedent of the previous year's consuls being prosecuted by the people, prepare a preliminary decree concerning the tribunes.

§10.48.1ἐν δὲ τῷ μετὰ τούτους τοὺς ὑπάτους ἔτει Σπόριος Ταρπήιος καὶ Αὖλος Τερμήνιος παραλαμβάνουσι τὴν ἀρχήν· οἳ τά τʼ ἄλλα θεραπεύοντες τὸν δῆμον διετέλεσαν καὶ τὸ περὶ τῶν δημάρχων δόγμα προεβούλευσαν, ἐπειδὴ πλέον μὲν οὐδὲν ἑώρων τοῖς πατρικίοις γινόμενον ἐκ τοῦ κωλύειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ φθόνον καὶ μῖσος, καὶ βλάβας δὲ ἰδίας καὶ συμφορὰς τοῖς προθυμότατα ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀγωνιζομένοις.
In the year following these consuls, Spurius Tarpeius and Aulus Termenius took over the office; they both in other respects continually courted the people and prepared a preliminary decree concerning the tribunes, since they saw that no advantage accrued to the patricians from their opposition, but only envy and hatred, and personal losses and calamities to those who fought most zealously in their behalf.
§10.48.2μάλιστα δʼ αὐτοὺς εἰς δέος ἤγαγεν ἡ τῶν ὑπατευσάντων τὸν παρελθόντα ἐνιαυτὸν συμφορὰ νεωστὶ γενομένη δεινὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου παθόντων, οὐδεμίαν δὲ παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς εὑρομένων βοήθειαν.
But what brought them into fear most of all was the calamity recently occurred to those who had been consuls the previous year, who suffered terrible things at the hands of the people and found no assistance from the senate.
Σίκκιος μὲν γὰρ ὁ τὸν Αἰκανῶν στρατὸν αὐτῷ χάρακι ἀράμενος δήμαρχος τότʼ ἀποδειχθείς, ὥσπερ ἔφην, τῇ πρώτῃ τῆς ἀρχῆς ἡμέρᾳ θύσας εἰσιτήρια κατὰ νόμον, πρὶν ὁτιοῦν ἄλλο διαπράξασθαι τῶν κοινῶν, προεῖπεν ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ Τίτον Ῥωμίλιον ἥκειν ἀπολογησόμενον ἀδικήματος δημοσίου δίκην ἐπὶ δικαστῇ τῷ δήμῳ, τὸν χρόνον ἀποδείξας τοῦ ἀγῶνος.
For Siccius, who had destroyed the army of the Aequians along with their camp, having been appointed tribune at that time, as I said, on the first day of his magistracy, after offering the inaugural sacrifices according to the law, before performing any other public business, gave notice in the assembly to Titus Romilius to appear to make his defense in a trial for a public offense before the people as judge, having appointed the time of the trial.
§10.48.3Λεύκιος δὲ τότʼ ἀγορανομῶν, δήμαρχος δὲ τῷ παρελθόντι ἔτει γεγονώς, τὸν ἕτερον τῶν περυσινῶν ὑπάτων Γάιον Οὐετούριον εἰς ὁμοίαν δίκην προσεκαλέσατο.
And Lucius, who was then aedile, having been tribune the previous year, summoned the other of the last year's consuls, Gaius Veturius, to a similar trial.
πολλῆς δὲ γενομένης ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τοῦ ἀγῶνος χρόνῳ σπουδῆς τε καὶ παρακλήσεως ἀμφοτέρων οἱ μὲν ὑπόδικοι πολλὰς ἐλπίδας εἶχον ἐπὶ τῇ βουλῇ καὶ τὸ κινδύνευμα ἐν ἐλαφρῷ ἐποιοῦντο, ὑπισχνουμένων αὐτοῖς πρεσβυτέρων τε καὶ νέων οὐκ ἐάσειν τὸν ἀγῶνα ἐπιτελεσθῆναι.
Although much zeal and solicitation were made by both sides during the time between the trial, the defendants had great hopes in the senate and made light of the danger, as both the older and the younger men promised them that they would not permit the trial to be carried through.
§10.48.4οἱ δὲ δήμαρχοι πάντα ἐκ πολλοῦ φυλαττόμενοι καὶ οὔτε δεήσεις οὔτε ἀπειλὰς οὔτε κίνδυνον οὐδένα ὑπολογιζόμενοι, ἐπειδὴ καθῆκεν ὁ τοῦ ἀγῶνος καιρός, ἐκάλουν τὸν δῆμον· ἦν δὲ παλαίτερον ἔτι συνερρυηκὼς ἐκ τῶν ἀγρῶν ὁ χερνήτης καὶ αὐτουργὸς ὄχλος, καὶ προσνεμηθεὶς τῷ κατὰ πόλιν τήν τε ἀγορὰν ἐνέπλησε καὶ τοὺς φέροντας εἰς αὐτὴν στενωπούς.
But the tribunes, guarding against everything long beforehand and taking into account neither entreaties nor threats nor any danger, when the time of the trial came, called the people; and the crowd of laborers and smallholders had already flowed in from the country still earlier, and having joined themselves to that of the city, they filled both the Forum and the narrow streets leading into it.

Notes

  1. 10.48.1δόγμα προεβούλευσαν — The verb προεβούλευσαν (from προβουλεύω) refers to the act of preparing a preliminary decree (probouleuma) in the senate before submitting it to the popular assembly. Here, it indicates that the consuls prepared a draft concerning the tribunes beforehand.
  2. 10.48.1γινόμενον — A supplementary participle agreeing with the accusative πλέον ... οὐδὲν (the object of the verb of perception ἑώρων), accompanied by the dative of interest τοῖς πατρικίοις. The subsequent accusatives φθόνον καὶ μῖσος and βλάβας ... καὶ συμφορὰς are also governed by ἑώρων (with the participle implied).
  3. 10.48.2ἀράμενος — The first aorist middle participle of αἴρω, used here in the sense of "destroying utterly" or "sweeping away". Accompanied by the dative of accompaniment αὐτῷ χάρακι ("with the camp itself"), it emphasizes the thoroughness of the destruction.
  4. 10.48.2ἥκειν ἀπολογησόμενον — The infinitive ἥκειν is governed by the verb of ordering/notifying προεῖπεν in an accusative-and-infinitive construction, with Τίτον Ῥωμίλιον as its subject accusative. The future participle ἀπολογησόμενον expresses purpose ("in order to defend himself").

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §10.48.1-10.48.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.48.1-10.48.4

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