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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §13.2.1-13.2.3

Punishment of the Schoolmaster and Surrender of Falerii

Passage 882 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Camillus, authorized by the senate to act at his discretion, punishes the treacherous schoolmaster before the Faliscans. He orders the children to beat the teacher back into the city, which deeply moves the Faliscans to surrender the city to Rome.

§13.2.1ὁ δὲ Κάμιλλος εἰς φυλακὴν παραδιδοὺς τὸν γραμματιστὴν καὶ τοὺς παῖδας ἐπιστέλλει τῇ βουλῇ διὰ γραμμάτων τὰ γενόμενα καὶ τί χρὴ ποιεῖν ἤρετο.
But Camillus, delivering the schoolmaster and the children into custody, sent a letter to the senate reporting what had happened, and asked what ought to be done.
§13.2.2ἐπιτρέψαντος δʼ αὐτῷ τοῦ συνεδρίου πράττειν, ὅ τι ἂν αὐτῷ φαίνηται κράτιστον, προαγαγὼν ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου τὸν γραμματιστὴν ἅμα τοῖς παισὶ καὶ οὐ μακρὰν ἀπὸ τῶν πυλῶν τὸ στρατηγικὸν βῆμα προστάξας τεθῆναι, πολλοῦ συνδραμόντος ὄχλου, τοῦ μὲν ἐπὶ τὰ τείχη, τοῦ δʼ ἐπὶ τὰς πύλας, πρῶτον μὲν ἐδήλωσε τοῖς Φαλίσκοις, οἷα ὁ γραμματιστὴς εἰς αὐτοὺς ἐτόλμησε παρανομεῖν·
When the senate permitted him to do whatever seemed best to him, he brought the schoolmaster along with the children out of the camp, and having ordered the general's tribunal to be set up not far from the gates—while a great crowd ran together, some upon the walls and others to the gates—he first of all made clear to the Faliscans what kind of lawless deed the schoolmaster had dared to commit against them.
ἔπειτα περικαταρρῆξαι τὴν ἐσθῆτα τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐκέλευσε τοῖς ὑπηρέταις καὶ §13.2.3ξαίνειν τὸ σῶμα μάστιξι πάνυ πολλαῖς.
Then he ordered his attendants to strip off the man's clothes and to scourge his body with very many lashes.
ὡς δὲ ταύτης ἅλις εἶχε τῆς τιμωρίας, ῥάβδους τοῖς παισὶν ἀναδοὺς ἀπάγειν αὐτὸν ἐκέλευσεν εἰς τὴν πόλιν δεδεμένον τὼ χεῖρε ὀπίσω παίοντάς τε καὶ πάντα τρόπον αἰκιζομένους.
When he had had enough of this punishment, he handed rods to the children and ordered them to drive him back into the city with his hands bound behind his back, striking him and abusing him in every way.
κομισάμενοι δὲ τοὺς παῖδας οἱ Φαλίσκοι καὶ τὸν γραμματιστὴν ἀξίως τῆς κακῆς διανοίας τιμωρησάμενοι παρέδοσαν τῷ Καμίλλῳ τὴν πόλιν.
The Faliscans, having recovered their children and having punished the schoolmaster in a manner worthy of his evil intent, surrendered the city to Camillus.

Notes

  1. 13.2.1εἰς φυλακὴν παραδιδοὺς — The participle παραδιδοὺς (present active participle, masculine singular nominative) modifies the subject Κάμιλλος, indicating the temporary securing of the schoolmaster and the children before writing to the senate.
  2. 13.2.2πολλοῦ συνδραμόντος ὄχλου, τοῦ μὲν ... τοῦ δʼ — This is a genitive absolute construction (πολλοῦ συνδραμόντος ὄχλου) in which partitive appositives in the genitive (τοῦ μὲν... τοῦ δʼ...) are inserted, indicating 'a great crowd having run together, some to... and others to...'.
  3. 13.2.3ὡς δὲ ταύτης ἅλις εἶχε τῆς τιμωρίας — The idiom ἅλις ἔχω with a genitive (ταύτης τῆς τιμωρίας) means 'to have enough of something.' Here, with Camillus as the implied subject, it means 'when he had had enough of this punishment.'
  4. 13.2.3δεδεμένον τὼ χεῖρε ὀπίσω — The dual form τὼ χεῖρε (accusative) is an accusative of specification (or respect) modifying the perfect passive participle δεδεμένον (from δέω, 'to bind'), meaning 'having his two hands bound behind his back.'

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §13.2.1-13.2.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:13.2.1-13.2.3

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