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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §6.21.1-6.21.3

Peace with the Latins and the Death of Tarquinius

Passage 427 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Dictator Postumius presents the Latin envoys with moderate peace terms, and upon their compliance, the fourteen-year war against the tyrants comes to an end. Deprived of any other refuge, the former king Tarquinius flees to Aristodemus of Cumae, where he soon dies.

§6.21.1ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τὰ λεχθέντα ὑπὸ τῶν προεστηκότων τῆς βουλῆς, τοῦ δὲ δικτάτορος τὴν Λαρκίου γνώμην προελομένου καὶ οὐδενὸς ἔτι λέξαντος τἀναντία παρῆσαν εἰσκληθέντες εἰς τὸ συνέδριον οἱ πρέσβεις τὰς ἀποκρίσεις ληψόμενοι·
These, then, were the speeches delivered by the leaders of the senate; and when the dictator chose the opinion of Larcius and no one any longer spoke to the contrary, the envoys were summoned into the senate chamber and came forward to receive their answers.
καὶ ὁ Ποστόμιος ὀνειδίσας αὐτοῖς τὴν οὐδέποτε σωφρονισθῆναι δυναμένην κακίαν· δίκαιον μὲν ἦν, ἔφη, τὰ ἔσχατα παθεῖν, ἅτε δὴ καὶ αὐτοὶ πράττειν ἐμέλλετε, εἰ κατωρθώσατε ἃς πολλάκις ἤλθετε ἐπʼ % αὐτοὺς ὁδούς· οὐ μέντοι Ῥωμαίους τὰ δίκαια πρὸ τῶν ἐπιεικῶν προελέσθαι λογιζομένους, ὅτι συγγενεῖς εἰσι καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ἔλεον τῶν ἀδικουμένων καταπεφεύγασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταύτας τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτοῖς ἀζημίους ἀφιέναι θεῶν τε ὁμογνίων ἕνεκα καὶ τύχης ἀτεκμάρτου, παρʼ ἧς τὸ κράτος ἔσχον.
And Postumius, having reproached them for their wickedness which could never be brought to reason, said: "It was just indeed for you to suffer the extreme penalty, even as you yourselves were going to inflict, if you had succeeded in the expeditions which you often undertook against them (the Romans); the Romans, however, did not think fit to prefer justice to clemency, considering that you are kinsmen and have fled to the mercy of those you wronged, but they even remit these offences to you unpunished, for the sake of the gods of our common race and of inscrutable fortune, from whom they obtained their power.
§6.21.2νῦν μὲν οὖν, ἔφη, παντὸς ἠλευθερωμένοι δέους πορεύεσθε, ἐὰν δὲ τοὺς αἰχμαλώτους ἀπολύσητε καὶ τοὺς αὐτομόλους παραδῶτε ἡμῖν καὶ τοὺς φυγάδας ἐξελάσητε, τότε τοὺς περὶ φιλίας τε καὶ συμμαχίας διαλεξομένους πρέσβεις πέμπετε πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ὡς οὐδενὸς ἀτυχήσοντες τῶν μετρίων. ἀπῄεσαν οἱ πρέσβεις ταύτας τὰς ἀποκρίσεις λαβόντες καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγας ἡμέρας ἧκον τούς τʼ αἰχμαλώτους ἀφεικότες καὶ τοὺς ἁλόντας τῶν αὐτομόλων δεσμίους ἄγοντες καὶ τοὺς ἅμα Ταρκυνίῳ φυγάδας ἐξεληλακότες ἐκ τῶν πόλεων.
"Now therefore," he said, "depart, freed from all fear; and if you release the captives and deliver the deserters to us and expel the exiles, then send to us envoys to treat for peace and alliance, with the assurance that you will not fail to obtain any reasonable request." The envoys departed having received these answers, and after a few days they returned, having released the captives, bringing the captured deserters in chains, and having driven from their cities the exiles who were with Tarquinius.
ἀνθʼ ὧν εὕροντο παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς τὴν ἀρχαίαν φιλίαν καὶ συμμαχίαν καὶ τοὺς ὅρκους τοὺς ὑπὲρ τούτων ποτὲ γενομένους διὰ τῶν εἰρηνοδικῶν ἀνενεώσαντο.
In return for these things, they obtained from the senate their ancient friendship and alliance, and renewed through the heralds of peace (fetials) the oaths that had formerly been taken to confirm them.
ὁ μὲν δὴ πρὸς τοὺς τυράννους συστὰς πόλεμος τετρακαιδεκαέτης ἀπὸ τῆς ἐκπτώσεως αὐτῶν γενόμενος τοιαύτης ἔτυχε τελευτῆς.
Thus the war against the tyrants, which had arisen upon their expulsion and lasted fourteen years, came to such an end.
§6.21.3Ταρκύνιος δʼ ὁ βασιλεύς, οὗτος γὰρ ἔτι λοιπὸς ἐκ τοῦ γένους ἦν, ὁμοῦ τι γεγονὼς ἐνενηκονταέτης κατὰ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον, ἀπολωλεκὼς τὰ τέκνα καὶ τὸν τῶν κηδεστῶν οἶκον καὶ γῆρας ἐλεεινὸν καὶ παρʼ ἐχθροῖς διαντλῶν, οὔτε Λατίνων ὑποδεχομένων αὐτὸν ἔτι ταῖς πόλεσιν, οὔτε Τυρρηνῶν οὔτε Σαβίνων οὔτʼ ἄλλης πλησιοχώρου πόλεως ἐλευθέρας οὐδεμιᾶς, εἰς τὴν Καμπανίδα Κύμην ᾤχετο πρὸς Ἀριστόδημον τὸν ἐπικληθέντα Μαλακὸν τυραννοῦντα τότε Κυμαίων· παρʼ ᾧ βραχύν τινα ἡμερῶν ἀριθμὸν ἐπιβιοὺς ἀποθνήσκει καὶ θάπτεται ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.
And Tarquinius the king, for he alone was still left of his house, having become nearly ninety years old at this time, having lost his children and the house of his relations by marriage, and enduring a miserable old age among enemies, since neither the Latins any longer received him in their cities, nor the Etruscans, nor the Sabines, nor any other neighboring free city, went to Cumae in Campania to Aristodemus, surnamed the Mild (Malakos), who was then tyrant of the Cumaeans; surviving but a few days with him, he died and was buried by him.
τῶν δὲ σὺν ἐκείνῳ φυγάδων οἱ μὲν ἐν τῇ Κύμῃ κατέμειναν, οἱ δʼ εἰς ἄλλας τινὰς πόλεις σκεδασθέντες ἐπὶ ξένης τὸν βίον κατέστρεψαν.
Of the exiles who were with him, some remained in Cumae, while others, being scattered to various other cities, ended their lives in exile.

Notes

  1. 6.21.1τοῦ δὲ δικτάτορος τὴν Λαρκίου γνώμην προελομένου — Genitive absolute construction. It indicates that the dictator chose the proposal of Larcius (the moderate policy mentioned in §6.20.1). The participle `προελομένου` is the aorist middle participle of `προαιρέομαι`.
  2. 6.21.1οὐ μέντοι Ῥωμαίους τὰ δίκαια πρὸ τῶν ἐπιεικῶν προελέσθαι λογιζομένους — Infinitives in indirect discourse. Depending on the implicit action of the verb of saying in the preceding `ἔφη`, the infinitives `προελέσθαι` and the subsequent `ἀφιέναι` are used with the subject accusative `Ῥωμαίους`. `λογιζομένους` is a present active participle in the accusative modifying `Ῥωμαίους`.
  3. 6.21.2ὡς οὐδενὸς ἀτυχήσοντες τῶν μετρίων — The conjunction `ὡς` combined with the future participle `ἀτυχήσοντες` expresses expectation or confidence on the part of the speaker regarding the imperative in the main clause. The verb `ἀτυχέω` (to fail to obtain) governs the genitive of separation `οὐδενὸς τῶν μετρίων`.
  4. 6.21.3γῆρας ἐλεεινὸν καὶ παρʼ ἐχθροῖς διαντλῶν — Hyperbaton. The prepositional phrase `παρʼ ἐχθροῖς` ('among enemies') is inserted between the noun phrase `γῆρας ἐλεεινόν` ('a miserable old age') and its governing active participle `διαντλῶν` ('enduring' or 'draining to the dregs').

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §6.21.1-6.21.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.21.1-6.21.3

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