Humanitext Reader

Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §11.38.1-11.38.5

Appius's Attempt to Suppress the Crowd and His Expulsion

Passage 838 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Appius, furious upon learning of the girl's death, orders the arrest of Icilius and others and the removal of her body, but faces stiff resistance from the crowd. When Appius himself enters the forum, he is violently driven back by young men led by Valerius and Horatius.

§11.38.1ὁ δὲ Ἄππιος, ὡς τὸ περὶ τὴν κόρην ἐπέγνω πάθος, ἀναπηδᾷ τε ἀπὸ τοῦ δίφρου καὶ διώκειν τὸν Οὐεργίνιον ἐβούλετο πολλὰ καὶ λέγων καὶ πράττων ἄκοσμα.
And Appius, when he learned of the tragic event concerning the girl, leaped up from his seat and wished to pursue Verginius, both saying and doing many indecent things.
περιστάντων δʼ αὐτὸν τῶν φίλων καὶ μηδὲν ἐξαμαρτάνειν ἀξιούντων ἀπῄει πρὸς ἅπαντας ἀγανακτῶν.
But when his friends surrounded him and begged him to commit no rash error, he departed, full of indignation against everyone.
§11.38.2ἤδη δʼ αὐτῷ κατʼ οἰκίαν ὄντι προσαγγέλλουσι τῶν ἑταίρων τινές, ὅτι περὶ τὸ πτῶμα τῆς κόρης Ἰκίλιός τε ὁ κηδεστὴς καὶ Νομιτώριος ὁ θεῖος σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἑταίροις τε καὶ συγγενέσιν ἑστῶτες ῥητὰ καὶ ἄρρητα κατʼ αὐτοῦ λέγουσι καὶ καλοῦσι τὸν δῆμον ἐπὶ τὴν ἐλευθερίαν.
And when he was already at home, some of his companions reported to him that around the body of the girl, Icilius her betrothed and Numitorius her uncle, standing with the other companions and kinsmen, were saying things both speakable and unspeakable against him and were calling the people to freedom.
§11.38.3ὁ δʼ ὑπʼ ὀργῆς ὡς εἶχε πέμπει τῶν ῥαβδούχων τινὰς κελεύσας ἀπάγειν εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον τοὺς κεκραγότας καὶ τὸ πτῶμα μεταφέρειν ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς· ἀφρονέστατον πρᾶγμα ποιῶν καὶ τοῖς τότε καιροῖς ἥκιστα ἁρμόττον.
And he, under the influence of anger, just as he was, sent some of the lictors, ordering them to drag those who were shouting to prison and to remove the body from the forum; doing a most foolish thing and one least suited to those circumstances.
δέον γὰρ ἀποθεραπεύειν τὸν ὄχλον ὀργῆς εἰληφότα δικαίαν πρόφασιν, εἴξαντα μὲν ἐν τῷ παραχρῆμα χρόνῳ, ὕστερον δὲ τὰ μὲν ἀπολογούμενον, τὰ δὲ παραιτούμενον, τὰ δʼ ἑτέραις τισὶν εὐεργεσίαις ἀναλαβόντα, ἐπὶ τὸ βιαιότερον ἐνεχθεὶς εἰς ἀπόνοιαν αὐτοὺς ἠνάγκασε τραπέσθαι.
For whereas he ought to have pacified the crowd, which had conceived a just cause for anger, by yielding for the immediate time, and later partly defending his actions, partly begging for indulgence, and partly winning them back with some other benefits, he, being carried away to harsher violence, forced them to turn to desperation.
§11.38.4οὐ γὰρ ἀνέσχοντο τῶν ἐπιβαλλομένων ἕλκειν τὴν νεκρὰν ἢ τοὺς ἄνδρας εἰς τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀπάγειν, ἀλλʼ ἐμβοήσαντες ἑαυτοῖς σὺν ὠθισμῷ τε καὶ πληγαῖς τῶν βιαζομένων ἐξέβαλον αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῆς ἀγορᾶς.
For they did not tolerate those who attempted to drag away the dead girl or to lead the men away to prison, but calling out to one another, with shoving and blows, they drove those who used force out of the forum.
ὥστʼ ἠναγκάσθη ἀκούσας ταῦθʼ ὁ Ἄππιος ἅμα συχνοῖς ἑταίροις καὶ πελάταις εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν πορεύεσθαι παίειν κελεύων καὶ ἀνείργειν ἐκποδὼν τοὺς ἐν τοῖς στενωποῖς.
So that Appius, having heard this, was forced to go into the forum together with many of his companions and clients, ordering them to strike and drive out of the way those who were in the narrow streets.
πυθόμενοι δὲ τὴν διάνοιαν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἐξόδου Οὐαλέριός τε καὶ §11.38.5Ὁράτιος, οὓς ἔφην ἡγεμονικωτάτους εἶναι τῶν ἀντιποιουμένων τῆς ἐλευθερίας, πολλὴν καὶ ἀγαθὴν νεότητα περὶ αὑτοὺς ἄγοντες ἵστανται πρὸ τοῦ νεκροῦ καὶ ἐπειδὴ πλησίον αὐτῶν οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἄππιον ἐγίνοντο, πρῶτον μὲν εἰς λόγους ἐπαχθεῖς καὶ προπηλακιστὰς κατὰ τῆς ἐξουσίας αὐτῶν ἐχώρουν, ἔπειτα καὶ τὰ ἔργα ὅμοια τοῖς λόγοις παρείχοντο παίοντές τε καὶ ἀνατρέποντες τοὺς ὁμόσε χωροῦντας.
But Valerius and Horatius, whom I have said to be the most leading figures of those claiming freedom, having learned his intention of going out, bringing a large and brave body of young men around themselves, stood before the corpse; and when Appius and his followers came near them, first they proceeded to offensive and abusive words against their authority, then they also displayed actions corresponding to their words, striking and overthrowing those who advanced against them.

Notes

  1. §11.38.1πολλὰ καὶ λέγων καὶ πράττων ¦2253¦ ἄκοσμα — A hyperbaton where the adjectives `πολλὰ` and `ἄκοσμα` (both neuter plural accusative) bracket the participles `λέγων καὶ πράττων`, functioning together as the direct object meaning 'saying and doing many indecent things'.
  2. §11.38.2ῥητὰ καὶ ἄρρητα — Literally meaning 'things speakable and unspeakable', this idiomatic phrase functions as the direct object (neuter plural accusative) of the verb `λέγουσι`, signifying 'all kinds of abuse' or 'utterly shameful words'.
  3. §11.38.3δέον γὰρ ... ἠνάγκασε τραπέσθαι — The accusative absolute `δέον` (while he ought to have) governs the infinitive `ἀποθεραπεύειν`. The participles in the accusative (`εἴξαντα... ἀπολογούμενον... παραιτούμενον... ἀναλαβόντα`) agree with the implied subject of the infinitive (Appius). Conversely, the main clause features the nominative participle `ἐνεχθεὶς` agreeing with the subject of the main verb `ἠνάγκασε`, structurally contrasting what he ought to have done with what he actually did through the change of grammatical case.
  4. §11.38.5οὓς ἔφην ἡγεμονικωτάτους εἶναι — The relative pronoun `οὓς` (referring to Valerius and Horatius) functions as the subject accusative in the accusative-and-infinitive construction (with `εἶναι`) introduced by the verb of saying `ἔφην` ('whom I said to be...').

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §11.38.1-11.38.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:11.38.1-11.38.5

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.