Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §11.48.1-11.48.3

Victory of Horatius over the Sabines and Booty Division

Passage 848 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Horatius quickly marches against the Sabines, who are numerous and high-spirited, and wins a brilliant victory, capturing their camp and rescuing Roman prisoners. He then distributes the booty appropriately among the gods, the soldiers, and the original owners.

§11.48.1Μάρκος δʼ Ὁράτιος ἐπὶ τὸν κατὰ Σαβίνων πόλεμον ἐπειδὴ τὰ κατὰ τὸν συνάρχοντα ἔγνω προαγαγὼν καὶ αὐτὸς ἐκ τοῦ χάρακος τὰς δυνάμεις ἀντεπῆγε θᾶττον ὅλῃ δυνάμει πρὸς οὐκ ἐλάττους ἀριθμὸν τοὺς Σαβίνους καὶ τὰ πολέμια φρόνημά τε καὶ τόλμαν ἐκ τῶν προτέρων κατορθωμάτων πολλὴν πρὸς τοὺς ἀντιμαχομένους, καὶ κοινῶς πάντες καὶ ἰδίως ὁ τούτων προηγούμενος· ἦν γὰρ οὐ μόνον στρατηγὸς ἀγαθός, ἀλλὰ καὶ §11.48.2πολεμιστὴς κατὰ χεῖρα γενναῖος·

Marcus Horatius, who had set out for the war against the Sabines, when he learned of the situation of his colleague, led out his own forces from the camp and marched against them more quickly with his entire army, facing the Sabines who were not inferior in number and who, from their former successes, possessed great military spirit and daring against their opponents—both all of them in common and their leader in particular; for he was not only a good general, but also a brave warrior in hand-to-hand combat.

καὶ τῶν ἱππέων μεγάλην προθυμίαν παρασχομένων νίκην ἀναιρεῖται λαμπροτάτην, πολλοὺς μὲν ἀποκτείνας τῶν πολεμίων, πολλῷ δʼ ἔτι πλειόνων αἰχμαλώτων τετυχηκὼς τοῦ τε χάρακος αὐτῶν ἐρήμου κρατήσας, ἐν ᾧ τήν τʼ ἀποσκευὴν τῶν πολεμίων πολλὴν εὗρε καὶ τὴν λείαν ἅπασαν, ἣν ἐκ τῆς Ῥωμαίων γῆς ἐληίσαντο, αἰχμαλώτους τε πάνυ πολλοὺς τῶν σφετέρων ἀνεσώσατο.

And with the cavalry displaying great eagerness, he won a most brilliant victory, having killed many of the enemy, taken far more captives, and made himself master of their abandoned camp, in which he found much of the enemy's baggage and all the booty which they had plundered from the Roman territory, and rescued a great many of his own captive citizens.

οὐ γὰρ ἔφθασαν ἀνασκευασάμενοι τὰς ὠφελείας οἱ Σαβῖνοι διὰ καταφρόνησιν.

For the Sabines, out of contempt, did not manage to pack up their spoils in time.

§11.48.3τὰ μὲν οὖν τῶν πολεμίων χρήματα τοῖς στρατιώταις ὠφέλειαν ἐφῆκε ποιεῖσθαι προεξελόμενος ἐκ τῶν λαφύρων, ὅσα τοῖς θεοῖς καθιερώσειν ἔμελλε· τὴν δὲ λείαν τοῖς ἀφαιρεθεῖσιν ἀπέδωκε.

Therefore, he permitted the soldiers to take the property of the enemy as booty, after first setting aside from the spoils whatever he was to consecrate to the gods; but the plundered property he restored to those from whom it had been taken.

Notes

11.48.1τὰ κατὰ τὸν συνάρχοντα — Meaning 'the affairs concerning his colleague.' Here it refers to the victory and success achieved by the other consul, Valerius, against the Aequi and Volsci as narrated in the previous section (11.47).
2280τὰ πολέμια φρόνημά τε καὶ τόλμαν — A clause modifying 'τοὺς Σαβίνους' with a participle like 'ἔχοντας' (having) omitted: 'the Sabines, who possessed military spirit and daring...'
11.48.2οὐ γὰρ ἔφθασαν ἀνασκευασάμενοι — The construction of 'οὐ φθάνω' with a participle, meaning 'to not succeed in doing something before another event' or 'to have no time to do something'. Here it expresses that they did not have enough time to pack up their spoils before the Romans arrived.
11.48.3ὠφέλειαν ἐφῆκε ποιεῖσθαι — The construction of 'ἐφίημι' (to permit) followed by an accusative and infinitive. 'ὠφέλειαν ποιοῦμαι' is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to make a gain' or 'to take as booty,' meaning as a whole 'he permitted the soldiers to take [the enemy's property] as booty.'

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §11.48.1-11.48.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:11.48.1-11.48.3

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