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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §6.53.1-6.53.3

Appius Warns Against Admitting Immigrants and Allies

Passage 459 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Appius warns that immigrants lacking patriotism will demand land and political equality, threatening the patricians; he also argues that they are militarily useless and that admitting external allies risks enslavement.

§6.53.1τῷ μέν τʼ ἐπιχωρίῳ καὶ τέκνων καὶ γυναικῶν καὶ γονέων καὶ πολλῶν ἄλλων σωμάτων οἰκείων ὅμηρά ἐστιν ἐνθάδε, καὶ αὐτοῦ νὴ Δία τοῦ θρέψαντος αὐτοὺς ἐδάφους ὁ πόθος, ἀναγκαῖος ὢν ἅπασι καὶ οὐκ ἐξαιρετός· ὁ δʼ ἐπίκλητός γε οὑτοσὶ καὶ ἐπίσκηνος ὄχλος, εἰ γένοιτο ἡμῖν σύνοικος, οὐδενὸς αὐτῷ τούτων ἐνθάδε ὄντος, ὑπὲρ τίνος ἂν ἀξιώσειε κινδυνεύειν ἀγαθοῦ, εἰ μή τις αὐτῷ γῆς τε ὑπόσχοιτο μέρη δώσειν καὶ πόλεως μοῖραν ὅσην δή τινα τοὺς νῦν κυρίους αὐτῶν ἀφελόμενος, ὧν οὐκ ἀξιοῦμεν τοῖς πολλάκις ἀγωνισαμένοις ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν πολίταις μεταδιδόναι;
For the native-born, there are here hostages of children, wives, parents, and many other near and dear persons, and indeed, by Zeus, the longing for the very soil that nourished them, which is necessary for all and cannot be eradicated; but this summoned and temporary-resident multitude, if it should become co-dwellers with us, since none of these things belongs to them here, for the sake of what good would it think it right to run risks, unless someone should promise to give to it portions of land and some share of the city, after taking them away from their current owners—things of which we do not think it right to grant a share even to the citizens who have often fought for them?
καὶ ἴσως ἂν οὐδὲ τούτοις ἀρκεσθείη δοθεῖσι μόνοις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τιμῶν καὶ ἀρχῶν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν ἐξ ἴσου τοῖς πατρικίοις ἀξιώσειε μεταλαμβάνειν.
And perhaps it would not be satisfied with these things alone being given, but would also demand to share in honors, offices, and other advantages on an equal footing with the patricians.
§6.53.2οὐκοῦν εἰ μὲν οὐκ ἐπιτρέψομεν ἕκαστα τῶν αἰτουμένων, ἐχθροῖς τοῖς μὴ τυγχάνουσι χρησόμεθα;
Therefore, if we do not permit each of the things demanded, shall we not treat as enemies those who do not obtain them?
εἰ δὲ συγχωρήσαιμεν, ἡ πατρὶς ἡμῖν οἰχήσεται καὶ ἡ πολιτεία πρὸς ἡμῶν αὐτῶν καταλυομένη.
But if we should yield, our fatherland will be gone and our constitution destroyed by ourselves.
καὶ οὐ προστίθημι ἐνταῦθα, ὅτι πολεμεῖν ἐπιτηδείων σωμάτων ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ παρόντι δεῖ, οὐ γεωργῶν οὐδὲ θητῶν οὐδὲ ἐμπόρων οὐδὲ τῶν περὶ τὰς βαναύσους τέχνας ἀσχολουμένων, οὓς ἅμα δεήσει μανθάνειν τὰ πολεμικὰ καὶ πεῖραν αὐτῶν διδόναι· χαλεπὴ δὲ πεῖρα τῶν μὴ ἐν ἔθει· ἀνάγκη δὲ τοιούτους εἶναι τοὺς σύγκλυδας καὶ ἐκ παντὸς ἔθνους μετανισταμένους.
And I do not add here that we need at present bodies fit for fighting, not farmers, nor day-laborers, nor merchants, nor those occupied in sordid crafts, whom it will be necessary to learn military affairs and give proof of them at the same time; and difficult is the trial for those not accustomed; and it is necessary that those who are a rabble and migrating from every nation should be of this sort.
§6.53.3στρατιωτικὴν γὰρ οὔτε ὁρῶ συμμαχίαν ἡμῖν οὐδεμίαν συνεστῶσαν οὔτʼ, εἰ φανείη τις ἐκ τοῦ ἀδοκήτου, παραινέσαιμʼ ἂν ὑμῖν παραδέξασθαι αὐτὴν τοῖς τείχεσι προχείρως, πολλὰς ἄλλας ἐπιστάμενος πόλεις ταῖς εἰσαχθείσαις ἐπὶ φυλακῇ στρατιαῖς δεδουλωμένας.
For I neither see any military alliance established for us, nor, if one should appear unexpectedly, would I advise you to admit it within your walls rashly, knowing that many other cities have been enslaved by armies brought in for their protection.

Notes

  1. 1161τοὺς νῦν κυρίους αὐτῶν ἀφελόμενος — The participle ἀφελόμενος (from ἀφαιρέομαι, 'to deprive, take away') governs a double accusative: the person deprived (τοὺς νῦν κυρίους) and the thing taken (the preceding accusatives indicating portions of land and shares of the city). The genitive pronoun αὐτῶν depends on τοὺς νῦν κυρίους.
  2. 1161ὧν... μεταδιδόναι — The verb μεταδιδόναι ('to grant a share') takes a genitive of the thing shared (the relative ὧν, referring back to the portions of land and shares of the city) and a dative of the recipient (τοῖς... πολίταις). The pronoun αὐτῶν in the phrase ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν also refers to the same antecedent.
  3. p.v.2p.342οἰχήσεται... καταλυομένη — The verb οἴχομαι ('to be gone, ruin') often takes a supplementary participle to denote completion or sudden change. Here, the future singular οἰχήσεται serves as a joint predicate for both ἡ πατρὶς and ἡ πολιτεία... καταλυομένη (with the participle modifying the second subject), meaning 'our fatherland will be gone, and our constitution will perish, being destroyed by ourselves.'
  4. 1162τῶν μὴ ἐν ἔθει — A substantival genitive phrase consisting of the article and the negative prepositional phrase μὴ ἐν ἔθει ('not in habit', i.e., 'unaccustomed'). It functions as an objective genitive dependent on the noun πεῖρα ('trial', 'experience'), meaning 'the trial of/for those who are not accustomed.'

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §6.53.1-6.53.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:6.53.1-6.53.3

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