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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §6.2.1-6.2.3

Appointment of Postumius as Dictator and War Preparations

Passage 408 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Aulus Postumius and Titus Verginius assume the consulship as war preparations with the Latins resume, leading many disgruntled Latins to defect to Rome. Postumius is appointed dictator with absolute authority, organizing the Roman forces into four divisions for defense and campaign.

§6.2.1μετὰ δὲ τούτους παραλαμβάνουσι τὴν ἀρχὴν Αὖλος Ποστόμιος καὶ Τῖτος Οὐεργίνιος, ἐφʼ ὧν αἱ μὲν ἐνιαύσιοι ἀνοχαὶ πρὸς Λατίνους διελέλυντο, παρασκευαὶ δὲ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον ὑφʼ ἑκατέρων ἐγίνοντο μεγάλαι.
After these, Aulus Postumius and Titus Verginius took over the office, under whom the one-year truce with the Latins had expired, and great preparations for the war were being made by both sides.
ἦν δὲ τὸ μὲν Ῥωμαίων πλῆθος ἅπαν ἑκούσιον καὶ σὺν πολλῇ προθυμίᾳ χωροῦν ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα· τοῦ δὲ Λατίνων τὸ πλέον ἀπρόθυμον καὶ ὑπʼ ἀνάγκης κατειργόμενον, τῶν μὲν δυναστευόντων ἐν ταῖς πόλεσιν ὀλίγου δεῖν πάντων δωρεαῖς τε καὶ ὑποσχέσεσιν ὑπὸ Ταρκυνίου τε καὶ Μαμιλίου διεφθαρμένων, τῶν δὲ δημοτικῶν, ὅσοις οὐκ ἦν βουλομένοις ὁ πόλεμος, ἀπελαυνομένων ἀπὸ τῆς περὶ τῶν κοινῶν φροντίδος·
The Roman multitude was entirely voluntary and marched to the contest with great eagerness, but the greater part of the Latins was unwilling and held in constraint by necessity, since almost all of the rulers in the cities had been corrupted by gifts and promises by Tarquin and Mamilius, while those of the plebeians who did not desire the war were being excluded from the care of public affairs.
§6.2.2οὐδὲ γὰρ λόγος ἔτι τοῖς βουλομένοις ἀπεδίδοτο.
For no opportunity to speak was any longer granted to those who wished it.
ἠναγκάζοντο δὴ χαλεπαίνοντες ἐπὶ τούτῳ συχνοὶ καταλιπεῖν τὰς πόλεις καὶ πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους αὐτομολεῖν· κωλύειν γὰρ οὐκ ἠξίουν οἱ διʼ ἑαυτῶν πεποιημένοι τὰς πόλεις, ἀλλὰ πολλὴν τοῖς διαφόροις, τῆς ἑκουσίου φυγῆς χάριν ᾔδεσαν.
Many, therefore, being resentful of this, were forced to leave their cities and defect to the Romans; for those who held the cities in their own power did not think fit to prevent them, but felt much gratitude to their opponents for their voluntary flight.
ὑποδεχόμενοι δʼ αὐτοὺς οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι τοὺς μὲν ἅμα γυναιξὶ καὶ τέκνοις ἀφικνουμένους εἰς τὰς ἐντὸς τείχους κατέταττον στρατιὰς τοῖς πολιτικοῖς ἐγκαταμιγνύντες λόχοις, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς εἰς τὰ περὶ τὴν πόλιν ἀποστέλλοντες φρούρια καὶ ταῖς ἀποικίαις ἀπομερίζοντες, ἵνα μή τι νεωτερίσειαν, εἶχον ἐν φυλακῇ.
The Romans, receiving them, enrolled those who arrived with their wives and children in the forces within the walls, mixing them with the civic companies, while the rest they sent to the garrisons around the city and distributed among the colonies, keeping them under guard lest they should make any revolution.
§6.2.3ἁπάντων δὲ τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην λαβόντων, ὅτι μιᾶς δεῖ πάλιν τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐφειμένης ἅπαντα διοικεῖν κατὰ τὸν αὑτῆς λογισμὸν ἀνυπευθύνου ἀρχῆς, δικτάτωρ ἀποδείκνυται τῶν ὑπάτων ὁ νεώτερος Αὖλος Ποστόμιος ὑπὸ τοῦ συνάρχοντος Οὐεργινίου·
And when all had adopted the same opinion, that the state again stood in need of a single, irresponsible magistracy, entrusted with everything to manage all affairs according to its own judgment, Aulus Postumius, the younger of the consuls, was appointed dictator by his colleague Verginius.
ἱππάρχην δʼ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ προσείλετο κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον τῷ προτέρῳ δικτάτορι Τῖτον Αἰβούτιον Ἔλβαν· καὶ καταγράψας ἐν ὀλίγῳ χρόνῳ τοὺς ἐν ἥβῃ Ῥωμαίους ἅπαντας καὶ διελὼν εἰς τέτταρα μέρη τὴν δύναμιν, μιᾶς μὲν αὐτὸς ἡγεῖτο μοίρας, ἑτέρας δὲ τὸν συνύπατον Οὐεργίνιον ἔταξεν ἄρχειν, τῆς δὲ τρίτης Αἰβούτιον τὸν ἱππάρχην, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς τετάρτης κατέλιπεν ἔπαρχον Αὖλον Σεμπρώνιον, ᾧ τὴν πόλιν φυλάττειν ἐπέτρεψεν.
He himself, in the same manner as the former dictator, chose Titus Aebutius Elva as his master of the horse; and having in a short time enrolled all the Romans of military age and divided the force into four parts, he himself led one division, appointed his colleague Verginius to command another, the master of the horse Aebutius the third, and left Aulus Sempronius as prefect over the fourth, to whom he entrusted the guarding of the city.

Notes

  1. 6.2.1ὅσοις οὐκ ἦν βουλομένοις — An idiomatic construction consisting of the dative pronoun `ὅσοις`, the participle `βουλομένοις` ("wishing"), the copula `ἦν`, and the subject `ὁ πόλεμος`. It literally means "to whom the war was pleasing," referring here to those plebeians who did not desire the war.
  2. 6.2.2οἱ διʼ ἑαυτῶν πεποιημένοι — The perfect middle participle of the verb `ποιέω` with the prepositional phrase `διʼ ἑαυτῶν` ("through themselves," i.e., "at their own disposal"). It is an idiomatic expression meaning "those who had brought the cities under their own exclusive control."
  3. 6.2.3μιᾶς... ἀρχῆς — The genitive case (`μιᾶς ... ἀρχῆς`) is used as the complement of the impersonal verb `δεῖ` ("there is need of"). The intervening participle `ἐφειμένης` is the perfect passive participle of `ἐφίημι` ("entrusted with"), modifying `ἀρχῆς`.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §6.2.1-6.2.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.2.1-6.2.3

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