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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §13.10.1-13.10.3

Arruns Betrayed and His Departure to the Celts

Passage 890 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Arruns, whose wife was seduced by the youth (the son of Lucumo) whom he had faithfully raised as a guardian and to whom he had restored all his inheritance, leaves for the land of the Celts under the pretext of trade because he cannot take revenge.

§13.10.1ἡ δὲ αἰτία τῆς εἰς Ἰταλίαν τῶν Κελτῶν ἀφίξεως τοιάδε ἦν.
And the cause of the Celts' arrival in Italy was as follows.
Λοκόμων τις Τυρρηνῶν ἡγεμὼν μέλλων τελευτᾶν τὸν βίον ἀνδρὶ πιστῷ Ἄρροντι ὄνομα παρακατέθετο τὸν υἱὸν ἐπιτροπεύειν·
A certain Lucumo, a ruler of the Tyrrhenians, being about to end his life, entrusted his son to a faithful man, Arruns by name, to be his guardian.
τελευτήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Τυρρηνοῦ παραλαβὼν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τοῦ παιδίου ὁ Ἄρρων ἐπιμελὴς καὶ δίκαιος γέγονε τῆς πίστεως φύλαξ, καὶ εἰς ἄνδρας ἐλθόντι πᾶσαν ἀπέδειξε τῷ παιδὶ τὴν καταλειφθεῖσαν ὑπὸ τοῦ πατρὸς οὐσίαν.
And when the Tyrrhenian died, Arruns, having taken upon himself the care of the child, became a diligent and just guardian of his trust, and when the boy reached manhood, he delivered to him all the property left by his father.
ἀνθʼ ὧν οὐχ ὁμοίας ἐκομίσατο παρὰ τοῦ μειρακίου χάριτας.
In return for which, he did not receive a like gratitude from the youth.
§13.10.2οὔσης γὰρ αὐτῷ γυναικὸς εὐμόρφου καὶ νέας, ἧς περὶ πλείστου τὴν κοινωνίαν ἐποιεῖτο, σώφρονος τὸν ἄλλον χρόνον ἅπαντα γενομένης ἐρασθεὶς ὁ νεανίσκος ἅμα τῷ σώματι καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν τῆς ἀνθρώπου διέφθειρεν, καὶ οὐκέτι κρύβδα, ἀλλʼ ἀναφανδὸν ἐζήτει αὐτῇ διαλέγεσθαι.
For since he had a beautiful and young wife, whose companionship he valued above all things, and who had been virtuous during all the rest of her life, the youth, falling in love with her, corrupted her mind along with her body, and no longer secretly, but openly sought to associate with her.
ἀχθόμενος δὴ ὁ Ἄρρων τῷ ἀποσπασμῷ τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ ἐφʼ οἷς ὑβρίζετο πρὸς ἀμφοτέρων δυσανασχετῶν, τιμωρίαν δὲ οὐ δυνάμενος παρʼ αὐτῶν λαβεῖν, ἀποδημίαν ἐστείλατο πρόφασιν αὐτῆς ποιησάμενος ἐμπορίαν.
Arruns, then, grieving at the loss of his wife and being indignant at the insults he suffered from both of them, but being unable to take vengeance upon them, set out on a journey abroad, making trade his pretext for it.
§13.10.3ἀσμένως δὲ τοῦ νεανίσκου τὴν ἀπαλλαγὴν αὐτοῦ δεξαμένου καὶ παρασχόντος ὅσων εἰς τὴν ἐμπορίαν ἐδεῖτο, πολλοὺς μὲν ἀσκοὺς οἴνου τε καὶ ἐλαίου ταῖς ἁμάξαις ἐπιθέμενος, πολλοὺς δὲ φορμοὺς σύκων ἦγεν εἰς τὴν Κελτικήν.
And when the youth gladly welcomed his departure and provided everything he needed for his trade, Arruns, putting many skins of wine and oil upon his wagons, and bringing many baskets of figs, set out for the land of the Celts.

Notes

  1. 14ἐπιτροπεύειν — Infinitive of purpose, depending on the verb παρακατέθετο ("entrusted"), indicating the purpose for which the son was committed to Arruns.
  2. 14εἰς ἄνδρας ἐλθόντι — Dative singular masculine participle phrase agreeing with the indirect object τῷ παιδί, functioning temporally ("when he reached manhood").
  3. 14ἀνθʼ ὧν — A combination of the preposition ἀντί and the neuter plural relative pronoun ὧν, which refers back to the entire preceding sentence describing Arruns' faithful guardianship. It means "in return for these things."
  4. 15οὔσης γὰρ αὐτῷ γυναικὸς... γενομένης — A long genitive absolute construction containing the relative clause ἧς ... ἐποιεῖτο and the participle γενομένης. It establishes the background circumstance (that Arruns had a virtuous wife) which is distinct from the subject of the main clause (ὁ νεανίσκος). αὐτῷ is a dative of possession.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §13.10.1-13.10.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:13.10.1-13.10.3

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