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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §14.12.1

The Gigantic Celt and Licinius Stolo Condemning the People

Passage 904 of 962 · Greek

Summary

This passage mentions a Celt of monstrous size and records the words of Licinius Stolo, who, upon being convicted and fined by the populace despite having proposed their laws, compared them to a beast that does not even spare those who feed it.

§14.12.1ὑπερφυές τι χρῆμα σώματος ἦν ὁ Κελτός, οἷος ὑπεραίρειν πολὺ τὴν κοινὴν φύσιν.
The Celt was a creature of monstrous size of body, such as to far exceed ordinary human stature.
Λικίνιος Στόλων, ὁ δεκάκις δημαρχήσας καὶ τοὺς νόμους εἰσηγησάμενος ὑπὲρ ὧν ἡ δεκαετὴς στάσις ἐγένετο, ἁλοὺς ἐν δίκῃ καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ δήμου καταψηφισθεὶς τίμημα ἀργυρικὸν εἶπεν, ὅτι θηρίον οὐδέν ἐστι δήμου μιαρώτερον, ὃς οὐδὲ τῶν σιτιζόντων ἀπέχεται.
Licinius Stolo—who had been tribune of the plebs ten times and had proposed the laws over which the ten-year sedition arose—having been convicted in court and condemned by the people to a monetary fine, said that there is no beast more abominable than the populace, which does not even spare those who feed it.

Notes

  1. ¦22¦ὑπερφυές τι χρῆμα σώματος — The noun `χρῆμα` (thing, matter) with the genitive `σώματος` (body) is a periphrastic idiom used to emphasize the extraordinary size or marvelous nature of the thing mentioned, meaning "a monstrous size of body" or "an extraordinary physique."
  2. ¦22¦οἷος ὑπεραίρειν — The relative adjective `οἷος` followed by the infinitive `ὑπεραίρειν` expresses a natural consequence or characteristic ("such as to...", "of a kind to..."), characterizing the subject `ὁ Κελτός`.
  3. ¦22¦ὃς — The relative pronoun `ὃς` is masculine singular, showing that its antecedent is not the adjacent neuter noun `θηρίον` (beast), but the genitive of comparison `δήμου` (populace, masculine). This syntax attributes the action of not sparing those who feed them directly to the populace rather than to the beast in general.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §14.12.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:14.12.1

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