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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §19.7.1-19.7.2

Interpretation of Omens and the Metaphor of Demagogy

Passage 934 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The passage discusses the interpretation of bird flights as omens depending on one's purpose, and describes the devastation of enemy territory, comparing democratic cities stirred up by demagogues to seas troubled by winds.

§19.7.1. . . φύσιν ἔχουσι τοῖς μὲν διασῶσαι τὰ ἑαυτῶν ἀγαθὰ βουλομένοις οἱ περὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀναστρεφόμενοι τόπον οἰωνοὶ σχολαιοτέρᾳ τῇ πτήσει πρὸς ἀγαθοῦ εἶναι συμβόλου, τοῖς δὲ τῶν ἀλλοτρίων ἐφιεμένοις οἱ τὴν ἐπίτομον καὶ ταχεῖαν ὀρμὴν ἔχοντες εἰς τὰ πρόσω· οὗτοι μὲν γὰρ πορισταί τε καὶ θηρευταὶ τῶν οὐχ ὑπαρχόντων εἰσίν, ἐκεῖνοι δὲ ἐπίσκοποι καὶ φύλακες τῶν παρόντων.
... have a nature that, for those who wish to preserve their own goods, the birds that wheel around the same place are a favorable omen by their slower flight, whereas for those who covet the goods of others, those that make a direct and swift rush forward (are a favorable omen); for the latter are procurers and hunters of what is not at hand, while the former are overseers and guardians of what is present.
§19.7.2ἅπασαν τὴν πολεμίαν διεξῄει ἀρούρας τε ἀκμαῖον ἤδη τὸ σιτικὸν θέρος ἐχούσας πυρὶ διδοὺς καὶ δένδρα καρποφόρα κείρων.
He went through all the enemy's territory, giving to the fire the fields which already had their grain harvest at its height, and cutting down the fruit-bearing trees.
παραπλήσιόν τι πάσχουσιν αἱ δημοκρατούμεναι πόλεις τοῖς πελάγεσιν· ἐκεῖνά τε γὰρ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων ταράττεται φύσιν ἔχοντα ἠρεμεῖν, αὗταί τε ὑπὸ τῶν δημαγωγῶν κυκῶνται μηδὲν ἐν ἑαυταῖς ἔχουσαι κακόν.
Democratic cities suffer something very similar to the seas; for the latter, though having a nature to be calm, are troubled by the winds, while the former, though having no evil in themselves, are stirred up by the demagogues.

Notes

  1. 17.11φύσιν ἔχουσι — A third-person plural verb continuing from the missing beginning of the sentence, with 'birds' or 'omens' assumed as the subject. The following nominative οἱ ... οἰωνοὶ functions as the subject of the infinitive εἶναι, forming a double-nominative-like structure meaning 'birds have a nature to be...'.
  2. 17.11πρὸς ἀγαθοῦ εἶναι συμβόλου — The preposition πρὸς with the genitive means 'to be on the side of, to be favorable to,' and πρὸς ἀγαθοῦ συμβόλου εἶναι means 'to be on the side of a good omen' (i.e., to be a favorable omen).
  3. 17.11οὗτοι μὲν ... ἐκεῖνοι δὲ — In this contrast of demonstrative pronouns, οὗτοι (these) refers to the immediately preceding 'birds rushing forward' (omens for those coveting others' goods), while ἐκεῖνοι (those) refers to the remoter 'birds wheeling around the same place' (omens for those preserving their own goods).
  4. 12φύσιν ἔχοντα — A nominative neuter plural participle agreeing with the subject of the clause ἐκεῖνα (the seas, neuter plural). Taking the infinitive ἠρεμεῖν (to be calm) as its object, it functions concessionally: 'though having a nature to be calm'.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §19.7.1-19.7.2. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:19.7.1-19.7.2

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