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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §13.8.1-13.8.4

Valour of Marcus Manlius and Punishment of the Guard

Passage 888 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Marcus Manlius repels the night-attacking Celts and is rewarded, while the commander of the negligent guards is executed; this leads to strict watchfulness, forcing the Celts to negotiate for peace through a ransom.

§13.8.1ἐνθάδε τις τῶν ἐσχηκότων τὴν ὕπατον ἀρχήν, Μάρκος Μάλλιος, ἁρπάσας τὰ ὅπλα καὶ συστὰς τοῖς βαρβάροις τόν τε πρῶτον ἀναβάντα καὶ κατὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ τὸ ξίφος φέροντα φθάσας παίει κατὰ τοῦ βραχίονος καὶ ἀποκόπτει τὸν ἀγκῶνα·
Hereupon Marcus Manlius, one of those who had held the consulship, snatched up his arms and engaged with the barbarians; anticipating the first man who had ascended and who was bringing down his sword upon his head, he struck him on the arm and cut off his elbow.
§13.8.2καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ πρὶν εἰς χεῖρας ἐλθεῖν ὀρθῷ τῷ θυρεῷ πατάξας εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον ἀνατρέπει καὶ κείμενον ἀποσφάττει, ἔπειτα τοὺς ἄλλους τεταραγμένους ἤδη ἐλαύνων ὑπὸ πόδας, οὓς μὲν ἀπέκτεινεν, οὓς δὲ κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ διώκων ἐξέχεεν.
And the next one after him, before they came to close quarters, he struck in the face with his shield held upright, overturned him, and slaughtered him as he lay; then, driving underfoot the others who were already thrown into confusion, some he killed, and others he pursued and hurled down the cliff.
ἀντὶ ταύτης εὕρετο τῆς ἀριστείας τὴν πρέπουσαν τῷ τότε καιρῷ δωρεὰν παρὰ τῶν κατεχόντων τὸ Καπιτώλιον, οἴνου καὶ §13.8.3ζέας τὴν ἐφήμερον ἀνδρὸς ἑκάστου τροφήν.
In return for this valor, he received from those who held the Capitol a reward well suited to the circumstances of that time, namely, each man's daily ration of wine and spelt.
περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ τόπῳ τὴν φυλακὴν ἐκλιπόντων, καθʼ ὃν ἀνέβησαν οἱ Κελτοί, ζητήσεως γενομένης ὅ τι χρὴ ποιεῖν, ἡ μὲν βουλὴ θάνατον ἁπάντων κατεψηφίσατο, ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἐπιεικέστερος γενόμενος ἑνὸς τοῦ §13.8.4ἡγεμόνος αὐτῶν ἠρκέσθη τῇ κολάσει.
But concerning those who had abandoned their guard in that place where the Celts had ascended, an inquiry being held as to what ought to be done, the senate voted death for all of them, but the people, showing themselves more lenient, were satisfied with the punishment of their commander alone.
ἵνα δὲ φανερὸς γένοιτο τοῖς βαρβάροις ὁ θάνατος αὐτοῦ, δεθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας ὀπίσω κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ βάλλεται πρὸς αὐτούς.
And in order that his death might be visible to the barbarians, he was bound with his hands behind his back and cast down the cliff toward them.
ἐκείνου δὲ τιμωρηθέντος οὐδὲν ἔτι ῥᾴθυμον ἦν τῶν περὶ τὰς φυλακάς, ἀλλὰ παννύχιοι διετέλουν ἅπαντες ἐγρηγορότες, ὥστε τοὺς Κελτοὺς ἀπογνόντας δι’ ἀπάτης ἢ κλοπῆς καθέξειν τὸ φρούριον περὶ λύτρων διαλέγεσθαι, ἃ τοῖς βαρβάροις δόντες κομιοῦνται τὴν πόλιν.
Once he had been punished, there was no longer any slackness among those on guard, but they all continued awake throughout the night, so that the Celts, despairing of capturing the fortress by trickery or stealth, parleyed for a ransom, by paying which to the barbarians they were to recover their city.

Notes

  1. 13.8.1φθάσας — The participle φθάσας modifies the main verb παίει, expressing the idea of anticipating the enemy's move and acting before him ('anticipating him, he struck').
  2. 13.8.2τὸν ἐπὶ τούτῳ — The demonstrative pronoun τούτῳ refers to the previously mentioned first climber (τὸν πρῶτον ἀναβάντα), and with the preposition ἐπί, the phrase functions as the accusative object meaning 'the one next after him.'
  3. 13.8.4δεθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας — The passive participle δεθείς is accompanied by the accusative of specification (or retained accusative) τὰς χεῖρας, meaning 'having his hands bound behind him.'
  4. 13.8.4ἀπογνόντας ... καθέξειν — The participle ἀπογνόντας (from ἀπογιγνώσκω) is construed with the future infinitive καθέξειν to express the meaning 'despairing of capturing/holding.'

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §13.8.1-13.8.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:13.8.1-13.8.4

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