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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §15.9.1-15.9.2

Fetial Declaration of Treaty Breach and Prayer to the Gods

Passage 915 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The Roman fecial priest declares the Samnites' violation of the peace treaty, and upon his departure, prays to the gods for Rome's destruction if she is guilty, but for her victory if she is innocent.

§15.9.1μετὰ τοῦτο παραλαβὼν τὸν λόγον ὁ τῶν Ῥωμαίων εἰρηνοδίκης εἶπεν· οὐθὲν ἔτι τὸ κωλῦσόν ἐστιν, οὕτω φανερῶς ἀνῃρηκότων ὑμῶν τὰ περὶ τῆς εἰρήνης ὅρκια. . . . βουλεύεσθε τὸν Ῥωμαίων δῆμον αἰτιάσασθαι.
After this, the fecial priest of the Romans, taking up the discourse, said: "There is nothing any longer to prevent [it], since you have so openly annulled the oaths concerning peace.... you deliberate to accuse the Roman people.
πάντα γὰρ αὐτῷ πέπρακται κατὰ τοὺς ἱερούς τε καὶ πατρίους νόμους, τά τε πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς ὅσια καὶ τὰ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους δίκαια, δικασταὶ δὲ τῶν μενόντων ἐν ταῖς ὁμολογίαις οἱ λαχόντες πολέμους ἐπισκοπεῖν ἔσονται θεοί.
For everything has been done by them in accordance with both sacred and ancestral laws, both what is holy towards the gods and what is just towards men, and the gods, whose lot it is to oversee wars, will be the judges of those who remain true to the agreements.
§15.9.2μέλλων δʼ ἀπιέναι τήν τε περιβολὴν κατὰ κεφαλῆς εἵλκυσε καὶ τὰς χεῖρας ἀνασχὼν εἰς τὸν οὐρανόν, ὡς ἔθος ἐστίν, ἀρὰς ἐποιήσατο τοῖς θεοῖς· εἰ μὲν ἄδικα πάσχουσα ὑπὸ Σαυνιτῶν ἡ Ῥωμαίων πόλις καὶ μὴ δυναμένη μετὰ λόγου καὶ κρίσεως διαλῦσαι τὰς διαφορὰς ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα χωρήσαι, βουλάς τʼ ἀγαθὰς αὐτῇ θεοὺς καὶ δαίμονας ἐπὶ νοῦν ἄγειν, καὶ % πράξειεν πᾶσι διδόναι τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐντυχεῖν, εἰ δʼ αὐτή τι πλημμελοῦσα περὶ τὰ τῆς φιλίας ὅρκια προφάσεις κατασκευάζεται τῆς ἔχθρας οὐκ ἀληθεῖς, μήτε βουλὰς ὀρθοῦν αὐτοῖς μήτε πράξεις.
And being about to depart, he drew his cloak over his head and, lifting his hands to heaven as is the custom, made imprecations to the gods: 'If indeed the Roman state, suffering injustice at the hands of the Samnites and not being able to settle the differences through reason and judgment, should proceed to deeds, may the gods and guardian spirits bring good counsels to her mind, and grant success in all her actions when encountering the enemies; but if she herself, committing some offense concerning the oaths of friendship, fabricates false pretexts of hostility, may they guide neither their counsels aright nor their actions.'"

Notes

  1. §15.9.1εἰρηνοδίκης — A Greek translation referring to the Roman fecial priest (specifically the *pater patratus*, who was in charge of treaty negotiations and declaring war). Literally meaning "judge of peace," it designates the official performing this sacral-diplomatic role in Roman institutions.
  2. §15.9.1αὐτῷ — A dative of agent accompanying the perfect passive verb `πέπρακται`, referring back to the singular collective noun `τὸν Ῥωμαίων δῆμον` (the Roman people). It is to be understood as "by them (the Roman people)."
  3. §15.9.2ἄγειν — An independent infinitive expressing a prayer or command (infinitive of prayer). Its subject is the accusative `θεοὺς καὶ δαίμονας` (the gods and guardian spirits), functioning as a prayer to the gods ("may they bring..."). The subsequent infinitives `διδόναι` and `ὀρθοῦν` share the same construction.
  4. §15.9.2πράξειεν — A corrupted point in the manuscript text. Many critical editions emend this to `πράξεσιν` (dative plural, "in deeds") to reconstruct "grant [success] in all deeds," or regard it as a corruption of `πράξεις` (accusative plural, "deeds") serving as the object of the subsequent `διδόναι` ("grant [successful] deeds"). The translation follows the context of praying for success in action.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §15.9.1-15.9.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:15.9.1-15.9.2

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