§4.65.1ἐπιστὰς δὲ τῇ κλίνῃ διεγερθείσης ἅμα τῷ συνεῖναι τὸν ψόφον τῆς γυναικὸς καὶ πυνθανομένης, ὅστις εἴη, φράσας τοὔνομα σιωπᾶν ἐκέλευε καὶ μένειν ἐν τῷ δωματίῳ σφάξειν αὐτὴν ἀπειλήσας, ἐὰν ἐπιχειρήσῃ φεύγειν ἢ βοᾶν.
And standing by her bed, when the woman woke up as soon as she perceived the noise and asked who he was, he declared his name and commanded her to be silent and to remain in the chamber, threatening that he would stab her to death if she attempted to flee or cry out.
τούτῳ καταπληξάμενος τῷ τρόπῳ τὴν ἄνθρωπον αἱρέσεις αὐτῇ δύο προὔτεινεν, ὧν ποτέραν αὐτὴ προῃρεῖτο λαβεῖν ἠξίου, θάνατον μετʼ §4.65.2αἰσχύνης ἢ βίον μετʼ εὐδαιμονίας.
Having terrified the woman in this manner, he proposed two alternatives to her, demanding of her to choose which of the two she preferred to accept: death with importantly, dishonor, or life with happiness.
εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὑπομενεῖς, ἔφη, χαρίσασθαί μοι, γυναῖκά σε ποιήσομαι καὶ βασιλεύσεις σὺν ἐμοὶ νῦν μὲν ἧς ὁ πατήρ μοι ἔδωκε πόλεως, μετὰ δὲ τὴν ἐκείνου τελευτὴν Ῥωμαίων τε καὶ Λατίνων καὶ Τυρρηνῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅσων ἐκεῖνος ἄρχει.
"For if you submit," he said, "to grant me this favor, I will make you my wife, and you shall reign with me, now over the city which my father gave to me, and after his death, over the Romans, Latins, Tyrrhenians, and all the others whom he rules.
ἐγὼ γὰρ οἶδʼ, ὅτι παραλήψομαι τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς βασιλείαν, ὥσπερ ἐστὶ δίκαιον, τῶν υἱῶν αὐτοῦ πρεσβύτατος ὤν.
For I know that I shall succeed to my father's kingdom, as is just, being the eldest of his sons.
ὅσα δʼ ὑπάρχει τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν ἀγαθά, ὧν ἁπάντων ἔσῃ σὺν ἐμοὶ κυρία, τί δεῖ σε καλῶς ἐπισταμένην διδάσκειν;
And as for all the blessings that belong to kings, of all of which you shall be mistress with me, why need I instruct you, who know them so well?
§4.65.3εἰ δʼ ἀντιπράττειν ἐπιχειρήσεις σώζειν βουλομένη τὸ σῶφρον, ἀποκτενῶ σε καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων ἐπικατασφάξας ἕνα θήσω τὰ σώματα ὑμῶν ἅμα καὶ φήσω κατειληφὼς ἀσχημονοῦσάν σε μετὰ τοῦ δούλου τετιμωρῆσθαι τὴν τοῦ συγγενοῦς ὕβριν μετερχόμενος, ὥστʼ αἰσχρὰν καὶ ἐπονείδιστόν σου γενέσθαι τὴν τελευτὴν καὶ μηδὲ ταφῆς τὸ σῶμά σου τυχεῖν μηδʼ ἄλλου τῶν νομίμων μηδενός. §4.65.4ὡς δὲ πολὺς ἦν ἀπειλῶν θʼ ἅμα καὶ ἀντιβολῶν καὶ διομνύμενος ἀληθεύειν τῶν λεγομένων ἑκάτερον, εἰς ἀνάγκην ἦλθεν ἡ Λουκρητία φοβηθεῖσα τὴν περὶ τὸν θάνατον ἀσχημοσύνην εἶξαί τε καὶ περιιδεῖν αὐτὸν ἃ προῃρεῖτο διαπραξάμενον.
But if you attempt to oppose me, wishing to preserve your chastity, I will kill you, and having slaughtered one of your servants upon you, I will lay your bodies together and say that I caught you in shameful conduct with the slave and punished you, avenging the insult to my relative, so that your end shall be shameful and reproachful, and your body shall not obtain burial nor any other of the customary rites." And since he was insistent, threatening at the same time and entreating, and swearing that every word of what he said was true, Lucretia, fearing the dishonor attending her death, was brought to the necessity of yielding and permitting him to accomplish what he desired.