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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §10.7.1-10.7.6

Volscius Testifies on Caeso's Murderous Assault

Passage 747 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Virginius calls upon his colleague Marcus Volscius as a witness to accuse Caeso. Volscius relates how Caeso once beat his brother Lucius to death and assaulted Volscius himself, leaving him half-dead, and explains the obstacles to seeking justice since then.

§10.7.1ταῦτʼ εἰπὼν ἀνίστησιν ἐκ τῶν συναρχόντων Μάρκον Οὐολούσκιον καὶ λέγειν ἐκέλευσεν, ἃ σύνοιδε τῷ μειρακίῳ.
Having said this, he made Marcus Volscius stand up from among his colleagues and ordered him to tell what he knew about the youth.
σιωπῆς δὲ γενομένης καὶ πολλῆς ἐξ ἁπάντων προσδοκίας μικρὸν ἐπισχὼν ὁ Οὐολούσκιος εἶπεν· §10.7.2ἐγὼ μάλιστα ἐβουλόμην ἄν, ὦ πολῖται, δίκην ἰδίαν, ἣν ὁ νόμος δίδωσί μοι, παρὰ τούτου λαβεῖν δεινὰ καὶ πέρα δεινῶν πεπονθώς·
When silence fell and there was great expectation from everyone, Volscius, after waiting a moment, said: "I should have most wished, citizens, to obtain from this man the private satisfaction which the law gives me, having suffered terrible things, and things even beyond terrible.
κωλυθεὶς δὲ τούτου τυχεῖν διὰ πενίαν καὶ ἀσθένειαν καὶ τὸ τῶν πολλῶν εἷς εἶναι, νῦν γʼ ἡνίκα ἔξεστί μοι τὸ τοῦ μάρτυρος σχῆμα, ἐπειδὴ οὐ τὸ τοῦ κατηγόρου, λήψομαι.
But having been prevented from obtaining this because of poverty, weakness, and being one of the many, now indeed, when the role of a witness is open to me, since that of an accuser is not, I will take it up.
ἃ δὲ §10.7.3πέπονθα, ὡς ὠμὰ καὶ ἀνήκεστα, ἀκούσατέ μου.
And as to what I have suffered, how cruel and incurable it is, listen to me.
ἀδελφὸς ἦν μοι Λεύκιος, ὃν ἐγὼ πάντων ἀνθρώπων μᾶλλον ἠγάπησα.
I had a brother, Lucius, whom I loved more than all other men.
οὗτός μοι συνεδείπνει παρὰ φίλῳ, καὶ μετὰ ταῦτʼ ἀναστάντες τῆς ἐχομένης νυκτὸς ᾠχόμεθα.
He was dining with me at a friend's house, and after this, we got up and went away during the following night.
διεληλυθόσι δʼ ἡμῖν τὴν ἀγορὰν περιτυγχάνει Καίσων οὑτοσὶ κωμάζων σὺν ἑτέροις ἀγερώχοις μειρακίοις.
As we had passed through the forum, this Caeso fell in with us, revelling with other insolent youths.
καὶ οὗτοι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἔσκωπτόν τε καὶ ὕβριζον εἰς ἡμᾶς, οἷα μεθύοντες ἂν νέοι καὶ αὐθάδεις εἰς ταπεινοὺς καὶ πένητας, ὡς δʼ ἠγανακτοῦμεν πρὸς αὐτούς, ἐλεύθερον ῥῆμα εἰς τοῦτον εἶπε.
And at first, they mocked and insulted us, as young and arrogant men who are drunk might do to the humble and poor; but when we became indignant at them, Lucius spoke a free word to this man.
δεινὸν δʼ ἡγησάμενος οὑτοσὶ Καίσων ἀκοῦσαί τι, ὧν οὐκ ἐβούλετο, προσδραμὼν αὐτῷ παίων καὶ λακτίζων καὶ πᾶσαν ἄλλην ὠμότητα καὶ ὕβριν ἐνδεικνύμενος ἀποκτείνει.
And this Caeso, deeming it a terrible thing to hear something he did not wish to, ran up to him, and by striking and kicking him, and displaying every other cruelty and insolence, killed him.
§10.7.4ἐμοῦ δὲ κεκραγότος καὶ ἀμυνομένου τοσαῦτα ὅσα ἐδυνάμην, ἐκεῖνον ἤδη νεκρὸν κείμενον ἀφεὶς ἐμὲ πάλιν ἔπαιε καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἐπαύσατο, πρὶν ἀκίνητόν τε καὶ ἄφωνον εἶδεν ἐρριμμένον, δόξας εἶναι νεκρόν.
While I was crying out and defending him as much as I could, he left Lucius already lying dead and beat me in turn, and did not stop until he saw me thrown down, motionless and speechless, believing that I was dead.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα οὗτος μὲν ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο χαίρων ὥσπερ ἐπὶ καλῷ ἔργῳ· ἡμᾶς δὲ οἱ παραγενόμενοι μετὰ ταῦτα αἵματι πεφυρμένους αἴρουσι καὶ εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἀπεκόμισαν, τὸν μὲν ἀδελφόν μου νεκρόν, ὥσπερ ἔφην, ἐμὲ δὲ ἡμιθανῆ καὶ ἐλπίδας ἔχοντα τοῦ ζῆν ὀλίγας.
After this, he went away rejoicing as if for a noble deed; and those who arrived afterward lifted us up, covered in blood, and carried us back to our house—my brother dead, as I said, and me half-dead and having little hope of living.
§10.7.5ταῦτα δʼ ἐγένετο Ποπλίου Σερουιλίου καὶ Λευκίου Αἰβουτίου τὴν ὑπατείαν ἐχόντων, ὅτε ἡ μεγάλη νόσος κατέλαβε τὴν πόλιν, ἧς ἀπελαύσαμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀμφότεροι.
And these things happened when Publius Servilius and Lucius Aebutius held the consulship, when the great plague seized the city, from which we both also suffered.
τότε μὲν οὖν δίκην οὐχ οἷόν τʼ ἦν μοι παρʼ αὐτοῦ λαβεῖν τεθνηκότων ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων· Λευκίου δὲ Λοκρητίου καὶ Τίτου Οὐετουρίου παραλαβόντων τὴν ἀρχὴν βουλόμενος αὐτὸν ἀγαγεῖν ὑπὸ δίκην ἐκωλύθην διὰ τὸν πόλεμον, ἐκλελοιπότων ἀμφοτέρων τῶν ὑπάτων τὴν πόλιν.
At that time, then, it was not possible for me to obtain justice from him since both consuls had died; but when Lucius Lucretius and Titus Veturius took over the office, wishing to bring him to justice, I was prevented by the war, since both consuls had left the city.
§10.7.6ὡς δὲ ἀνέστρεψαν ἀπὸ τῆς στρατείας, πολλάκις αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν καλῶν, ὁσάκις προσέλθοιμι — καὶ ταῦτα δὴ πολλοὶ τῶν πολιτῶν ἴσασι — πληγὰς ἐλάμβανον ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.
And when they returned from the campaign, though I often called him before the magistrates whenever I approached him—and indeed many of the citizens know this—I received blows from him.
ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν ἃ πέπονθα, ὦ δημόται, μετὰ πάσης ἀληθείας εἰρημένα πρὸς ὑμᾶς.
These are the things I have suffered, citizens, spoken to you with all truth."

Notes

  1. 1998ἐβουλόμην ἄν — Indicative imperfect with the particle `ἄν`, expressing an unfulfilled wish or potentiality in the past ("I should have wished... [but I could not]").
  2. 10.7.3ἃ δὲ — The relative pronoun `ἃ` (including its antecedent, "the things which") placed at the end of section 10.7.2 connects directly with `πέπονθα` and `ἀκούσατέ μου` in section 10.7.3, forming the object clause of the imperative: "Listen to me as to what things I have suffered." This shows an intentional syntactic connection across the section boundary.
  3. 10.7.3διεληλυθόσι δʼ ἡμῖν — A dative phrase consisting of the perfect participle `διεληλυθόσι` and the personal pronoun `ἡμῖν`, modifying the subsequent verb `περιτυγχάνει` (which governs the dative, meaning "to fall in with"). It sets the temporal background: "when we had passed through."
  4. 10.7.3οἷα μεθύοντες ἂν — A combination of `οἷα` (which emphasizes the characteristics or reason, "as being...") and the potential particle `ἄν` modifying the participle `μεθύοντες`. It expresses a hypothetical or typical behavior: "as young men might do when they are drunk."
  5. 2000ἧς ἀπελαύσαμεν — Although the verb `ἀπολαύω` usually means "to enjoy" or "benefit from," here it is used ironically or neutrally to mean "to suffer from" or "be affected by," governing the genitive relative pronoun `ἧς` referring to the antecedent `νόσος` (plague).

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §10.7.1-10.7.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:10.7.1-10.7.6

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