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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §11.5.1-11.5.4

Horatius' Denunciation of the Tyranny of the Decemvirs

Passage 805 of 962 · Greek

Summary

When Valerius is prevented from speaking, Marcus Horatius Barbatus stands up and fiercely denounces the decemvirs for their unlawful rule beyond their term and their suppression of free speech.

§11.5.1ὡς δὲ ταῦτʼ εἶπεν, ὁ Φάβιος ἐκάθητο ὑπʼ αἰσχύνης οὐδὲν ἀποκρινόμενος, Ἄππιος δὲ καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ δέκα πάντες ἀναπηδήσαντες ἐκώλυον αὐτὸν λέγειν.
When Valerius had said this, Fabius sat answering nothing out of shame, but Appius and all the other remaining decemvirs leaped up and prevented him from speaking.
θορύβου δὲ πολλοῦ κατασχόντος τὸ συνέδριον καὶ τῶν μὲν πλείστων ἀγανακτούντων, τῶν δʼ ἐκ τῆς ἑταιρείας αὐτοὺς λέγειν ὀρθῶς ἡγουμένων, ἀνίσταται Μάρκος Ὁράτιος ὁ Βαρβᾶτος ἐπικληθεὶς ἀπόγονος Ὁρατίου τοῦ συνυπατεύσαντος Ποπλίῳ Οὐαλερίῳ Ποπλικόλᾳ μετὰ τὴν ἐκβολὴν τῶν βασιλέων, ἀνὴρ καὶ τὰ πολεμικὰ δεινὸς καὶ λέγειν οὐκ ἀδύνατος, Οὐαλερίῳ δʼ ἐκ παλαιοῦ φίλος· ὃς οὐκέτι κατασχὼν τὴν χολὴν ἔφησε· §11.5.2θᾶττόν μʼ ἀναγκάσετε, Ἄππιε, τοὺς χαλινοὺς διαρρῆξαι οὐκέτι μετριάζοντες, ἀλλὰ τὸν Ταρκύνιον ἐκεῖνον ἐνδυόμενοι, οἵ γʼ οὐδὲ λόγου τυχεῖν ἐᾶτε τοὺς περὶ σωτηρίας τῶν κοινῶν βουλομένους λέγειν. πότερον ὑμῶν ἐξελήλυθεν ἐκ τῆς διανοίας, ὅτι σώζονται μὲν οἱ Οὐαλερίων ἀπόγονοι τῶν ἐξελασάντων τὴν τυραννίδα, λείπεται δὲ διαδοχὴ τῆς Ὁρατίων οἰκίας, οἷς πάτριόν ἐστιν. ὁμόσε χωρεῖν τοῖς καταδουλουμένοις τὴν πατρίδα καὶ μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ μόνοις;
And when a great uproar seized the senate, while most of them were indignant, but those of their faction thought they were acting rightly, Marcus Horatius, surnamed Barbatus, stood up, a descendant of the Horatius who had been consul with Publius Valerius Publicola after the expulsion of the kings, a man skilled in military affairs and not incapable of speaking, and a long-time friend of Valerius; who, no longer containing his anger, said: "You will all the sooner compel me, Appius, to break the reins, by no longer showing moderation but rather putting on the character of that Tarquin, you who do not even permit those wishing to speak on the safety of the public to obtain a hearing.
§11.5.3ἤ τοσαύτην κατεγνώκατε καὶ ἡμῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων Ῥωμαίων ἀνανδρίαν, ὥστʼ ἀγαπήσειν ἐάν τις ἐᾷ ζῆν ἡμᾶς ὁπωσδήποτε, ὑπὲρ ἐλευθερίας δὲ καὶ παρρησίας μήτʼ ἐρεῖν μήτε πράξειν μηθέν;
Or have you condemned us and the rest of the Romans to such cowardice that we will be content if someone allows us to live in any manner whatsoever, and will neither say nor do anything for freedom and outspokenness?
ἢ μεθύετε τῷ μεγέθει τῆς ἐξουσίας;
Or are you drunk with the greatness of your power?
ὑμεῖς Οὐαλερίου λόρον ἀφελεῖσθε ἢ τῶν ἄλλων τινὸς βουλευτῶν τίνες ὄντες ἢ ποίαν ἀρχὴν ἔχοντες νόμιμον;
Who are you, or what lawful office do you hold, that you would deprive Valerius, or any other of the senators, of speech?
οὐκ εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν ἀπεδείχθητε τῶν κοινῶν προστάται;
Were you not appointed guardians of the public affairs for a year?
οὐ παρῴχηκεν ὁ τῆς ἀρχῆς ὑμῶν χρόνος;
Has not the time of your office expired?
οὐκ ἰδιῶται τῷ νόμῳ γεγόνατε;
Have you not by law become private citizens?
ταῦτʼ εἰς τὸν δῆμον βουλεύεσθε ἐξενεγκεῖν.
Do you plan to bring these matters before the people?
§11.5.4τί γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὸ κωλῦον ἔσται τὸν βουλόμενον ἡμῶν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν συγκαλεῖν, καὶ τὴν ἐξουσίαν ὑμῶν, ἣν παρὰ τοὺς νόμους ἔχετε, κατηγορεῖν;
For what indeed will prevent any of us who wishes from calling an assembly and denouncing your power, which you hold contrary to the laws?
ἀνάδοτε τοῖς πολίταις ψῆφον ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τούτου, πότερα δεῖ μένειν τὴν δεκαδαρχίαν ὑμῶν, ἢ τὰς πατρίους πάλιν ἀποδείκνυσθαι ἀρχάς· κἂν τοῦτο μανεὶς ὁ δῆμος ὑπομείνῃ, πάλιν τὴν αὐτὴν κατάστασιν ἔχετε καὶ κωλύετε λέγειν, ὁπόσα βούλεταί τις ὑπὲρ τῆς πατρίδος.
Submit to the citizens a vote on this very point, whether your decemvirate ought to remain, or the ancestral offices be appointed once again; and if the people in their madness submit to this, hold that same position again and prevent anyone from saying whatever they wish for the sake of the fatherland.
ἄξιοι γὰρ ἂν εἴημεν καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ἔτι χείρονα τούτων πάσχειν ἐφʼ ὑμῖν γενόμενοι καὶ ῥυπαίνοντες αἰσχρῷ βίῳ τὰς ἑαυτῶν τε καὶ τῶν προγόνων ἀρετάς.
For we would deserve to suffer both these things and even worse than these, if we fell under your power and defiled with a shameful life both our own virtues and those of our ancestors."

Notes

  1. 11.5.1αὐτοὺς λέγειν ὀρθῶς ἡγουμένων — The accusative αὐτούς refers to the decemvirs, functioning as the subject of the infinitive λέγειν. It sets up a contrast with the majority (τῶν μὲν πλείστων) who were indignant, showing that the decemvirs' faction members (τῶν δʼ ἐκ τῆς ἑταιρείας) 'thought they (the decemvirs) were speaking (or acting) rightly' in suppressing the speech.
  2. 11.5.2οἵ γʼ — The relative pronoun οἵ combined with the intensive/causal particle γε (equivalent to qui-causal in Latin), referring to the second person plural (the decemvirs). It introduces a clause of reason: 'since you are those who do not even permit...'.
  3. 11.5.3τίνες ὄντες ἢ ποίαν ἀρχὴν ἔχοντες — A characteristically Greek construct where interrogative pronouns qualify the participles. It functions as a circumstantial participle of manner or means: 'being who, or holding what lawful office (do you deprive us of speech)?'—vividly questioning the legitimacy of their current status.
  4. 11.5.4ἐφʼ ὑμῖν γενόμενοι — An adverbial participle acting as the protasis (condition) for the potential optative with ἄν (ἄξιοι γὰρ ἂν εἴημεν...πάσχειν) in the main clause. The construction of ἐπί with the dative here denotes condition: 'if we should come under your power' or 'if we were at your mercy'.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §11.5.1-11.5.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:11.5.1-11.5.4

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