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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §13.9.1-13.9.2

Celtic False Weights and Woe to the Conquered

Passage 889 of 962 · Greek

Summary

When the Romans pay the ransom in gold, the Celt uses unjust weights and casts his sword onto the scale, exclaiming 'Woe to the conquered', leading the Romans to request time to procure the remainder.

§13.9.1ἐπεὶ δὲ τὰ ὅρκια ἐπετέλεσαν καὶ τὸ χρυσίον οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι κατήνεγκαν, σταθμὸς μὲν ἦν, ὃν ἔδει τοὺς Κελτοὺς λαβεῖν, ε καὶ κ τάλαντα· τεθέντος δὲ τοῦ ζυγοῦ πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὸ τὸ τάλαντον ὁ Κελτὸς βαρύτερον τοῦ δικαίου παρῆν φέρων, ἔπειτα ἀγανακτούντων πρὸς τοῦτο τῶν Ῥωμαίων τοσούτου ἐδέησε μετριάσαι περὶ τὸ δίκαιον, ὥστε καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν ἅμα τῇ θήκῃ καὶ τῷ ζωστῆρι περιελόμενος ἐπέθηκε τοῖς σταθμοῖς.
And when they had performed the oaths and the Romans had brought down the gold, the weight which the Celts were to receive was twenty-five talents; but when the balance was set up, first of all the Celt came bringing the weight itself heavier than was just, and then, when the Romans were indignant at this, he was so far from being moderate in respect of justice that, taking off even his sword together with its scabbard and belt, he cast them onto the weights.
§13.9.2τῷ δὲ ταμίᾳ πυνθανομένῳ, τί θέλει τοῦτʼ εἶναι τὸ ἔργον, ἀπεκρίνατο τούτοις τοῖς ὀνόμασιν· ὀδύνη τοῖς κεκρατημένοις. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ συγκείμενος σταθμὸς οὐκ ἐξεπληροῦτο διὰ τὴν τοῦ Κελτοῦ πλεονεξίαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ τρίτον ἐνέδει μέρος, ἀπῄεσαν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι χρόνον εἰς συμπορισμὸν τοῦ λείποντος αἰτησάμενοι· ὑπέμειναν δὲ ταύτην τὴν ὑπερηφανίαν τῶν βαρβάρων οὐθὲν ἐγνωκότες τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ στρατοπέδου πραττομένων παρὰ Καιδικίου καὶ Καμίλλου, ὡς ἔφαμεν.
And when the quaestor asked what this action meant, he answered with these words: "Woe to the conquered." But when the agreed weight was not being made up because of the greed of the Celt, but even a third part was still wanting, the Romans departed after asking for time to procure what was lacking; and they submitted to this insolence of the barbarians, knowing nothing of what was being done in the camp by Caedicius and Camillus, as we have said.

Notes

  1. 13ε καὶ κ — A numerical notation using Greek letters: ε stands for 5 and κ for 20, representing 25 (talents) in total.
  2. 13τοσούτου ἐδέησε μετριάσαι περὶ τὸ δίκαιον, ὥστε... — An idiomatic construction with the impersonal verb δεῖ (here in the past tense ἐδέησε) with a genitive of degree (τοσούτου) and an infinitive (μετριάσαι), followed by a result clause with ὥστε. Literally, 'it wanted so much for him to show moderation regarding justice, that...', meaning 'he was so far from showing moderation that...'.
  3. 13ὀδύνη τοῖς κεκρατημένοις — The Greek rendering of the famous Latin expression 'Vae victis' (woe to the conquered). The dative τοῖς κεκρατημένοις (perfect passive participle of κρατέω, 'those who have been conquered') is used with the noun ὀδύνη ('pain', 'woe') acting as a predicate, with the copula or jussive verb omitted.
  4. 13οὐθὲν ἐγνωκότες τῶν ἐπὶ τοῦ στρατοπέδου... πραττομένων — The participle ἐγνωκότες (perfect active of γιγνώσκω) functions causally ('since they knew nothing'). The genitive articular participle τῶν πραττομένων ('the things being done') depends on the direct object οὐθέν as a partitive genitive ('nothing of the things being done').

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §13.9.1-13.9.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:13.9.1-13.9.2

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