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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §8.36.1-8.36.4

Marcius' Conquest of Latin Cities and Rome's Decree

Passage 614 of 962 · Greek

Summary

Marcius captured or subdued the remaining Latin cities within thirty days and encamped near Rome. Meanwhile, the Romans resolved, in accordance with their traditional principle of never yielding under command, to pass no favorable decree as long as the enemy remained in their territory.

§8.36.1ταῦτʼ εἰπὼν ἀνέστη καὶ διέλυσε τὸν σύλλογον.
Having said this, he arose and dismissed the assembly.
τῇ δʼ ἐπιούσῃ νυκτὶ περὶ τὴν τελευταίαν φυλακὴν ἀναστήσας τὴν στρατιὰν ἦγεν ἐπὶ τὰς λοιπὰς τῶν Λατίνων πόλεις εἴτε κατʼ ἀλήθειαν πεπυσμένος, ὅτι μέλλοι τις ἐκεῖθεν ἐπικουρία Ῥωμαίοις ἀφικέσθαι, ὡς τότε δημηγορῶν ἔφησεν, εἴτʼ αὐτὸς πλασάμενος τὸν λόγον, ἵνα μὴ δόξειε χαριζόμενος τοῖς ἐχθροῖς καταλελοιπέναι τὸν πόλεμον.
On the following night, about the last watch, having aroused the army, he led them against the remaining cities of the Latins, whether because he had truly heard that some assistance was about to arrive from there for the Romans, as he had said then in his speech, or because he had fabricated the story himself, so that he might not seem to have abandoned the war to curry favor with his enemies.
§8.36.2ἐπιβαλὼν δὲ τῇ καλουμένῃ Λογγόλᾳ καὶ δίχα πόνου γενόμενος αὐτῆς ἐγκρατὴς καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον ὅνπερ τὰς ἑτέρας ἐξανδραποδισάμενός τε καὶ διαρπάσας ἐπὶ τὴν Σατρικανῶν ἤλαυνε πόλιν.
And having attacked the city called Longola and made himself master of it without trouble, and having enslaved and plundered it in the same manner as the others, he marched against the city of the Satricani.
ἑλὼν δὲ καὶ ταύτην ὀλίγον ἀντισχόντων τῶν ἐν αὐτῇ χρόνον, καὶ τὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀμφοτέρων ὠφελείας μέρει τῆς στρατιᾶς κελεύσας ἀπάγειν εἰς Ἐχέτραν, τὴν λοιπὴν ἀναλαβὼν δύναμιν ἦγεν ἐπὶ πόλιν ἄλλην τὴν καλουμένην Κετίαν.
Having taken this also, since those in it resisted for only a short time, and having ordered a part of the army to carry away the spoils from both of them to Ecetra, he took the remaining force and led them against another city called Cetia.
γενόμενος δὲ καὶ ταύτης ἐγκρατὴς καὶ διαρπάσας εἰς τὴν Πολυσκανῶν χώραν ἐνέβαλεν.
Having made himself master of this too and plundered it, he invaded the territory of the Poluscani.
οὐ δυνηθέντων δʼ ἀντισχεῖν τῶν Πολυσκανῶν κατὰ κράτος ἑλὼν καὶ τούτους ἐπὶ τὰς ἑξῆς ἐχώρει.
Since the Poluscani were unable to resist, he took them by storm and proceeded to the next.
Ἀλβιήτας μὲν οὖν καὶ Μογιλλανοὺς ἐκ τειχομαχίας αἱρεῖ, % χωριελανοὺς δὲ καθʼ ὁμολογίας παραλαμβάνει.
Thus he took the Albietae and the Mugillani by siege, and received the Chorielani by agreement.
§8.36.3γενόμενος δʼ ἐν ἡμέραις τριάκοντα πόλεων ἑπτὰ κύριος ἧκεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥώμην ἄγων πολὺ πλείω στρατιὰν τῆς προτέρας καὶ σταδίους ἀποσχὼν τῆς πόλεως ὀλίγῳ πλείους τῶν τριάκοντα παρὰ τὴν ἐπὶ Τυσκλανοὺς φέρουσαν ὁδὸν κατεστρατοπέδευσεν.
Having become master of seven cities in thirty days, he came against Rome leading a much larger army than before, and encamped a little more than thirty stades away from the city, beside the road leading to Tusculum.
ἐν ᾧ δὲ τὰς Λατίνων ἐξῄρει τε καὶ προσήγετο πόλεις, Ῥωμαίοις πρὸς τὰς ἐπιταγὰς αὐτοῦ πολλὰ βουλευσαμένοις ἔδοξε μηδὲν ἀνάξιον ποιεῖν τῆς πόλεως, ἀλλʼ ἐὰν μὲν ἀπέλθωσιν αὐτῶν ἐκ τῆς χώρας Οὐολοῦσκοι καὶ τῆς τῶν συμμάχων τε καὶ ὑπηκόων, καὶ καταλυσάμενοι τὸν πόλεμον πρέσβεις ἀποστείλωσι τοὺς διαλεξομένους περὶ φιλίας, προβουλεῦσαι τὸ συνέδριον, ἐφʼ οἷς ἔσονται δικαίοις φίλοι, καὶ τὰ βουλευθέντα εἰς τὸν δῆμον ἐξενεγκεῖν·
While he was destroying and winning over the cities of the Latins, the Romans, having deliberated much concerning his demands, resolved to do nothing unworthy of the city, but that if the Volscians should depart from their territory and from that of their allies and subjects, and, having ended the war, should send ambassadors to treat for friendship, the senate should deliberate beforehand on what terms they should be friends, and lay their decisions before the people; but as long as they remained in their territory and did the deeds of enemies to them and their allies, to pass no favorable decree for them.
ἕως δʼ ἂν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ μένοντες αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν συμμάχων ἔργα πράττωσι πολεμίων, §8.36.4μηθὲν αὐτοῖς ψηφίζεσθαι φιλάνθρωπον. πολὺς γὰρ δὴ Ῥωμαίοις ἀεὶ λόγος τοῦ μηθὲν δρᾶσαί ποτʼ ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος μηδὲ φόβῳ πολεμίων εἴξαντας, σπεισαμένοις δὲ τοῖς διαφόροις καὶ παρασχοῦσιν ἑαυτοὺς ὑπηκόους χαρίζεσθαί τε καὶ ἐπιτρέπειν ὅτου δέοιντο τῶν μετρίων.
For indeed, the Romans always had a great principle of never doing anything by command nor yielding from fear of enemies, but of showing favor and granting whatever reasonable requests they might make to those of their adversaries who made peace and submitted themselves as subjects.
καὶ τοῦτο τὸ φρόνημα ἐν πολλοῖς καὶ μεγάλοις κινδύνοις φυλάττουσα ἡ πόλις κατά τε τοὺς ὀθνείους καὶ τοὺς ἐμφυλίους πολέμους μέχρι τοῦ καθʼ ἡμᾶς χρόνου διατετέλεκε.
And this pride the city has continued to maintain in many great dangers, during both foreign and civil wars, down to our own time.

Notes

  1. 8.36.1εἴτε κατʼ ἀλήθειαν πεπυσμένος ... εἴτʼ αὐτὸς πλασάμενος τὸν λόγον — The two participles (πεπυσμένος and πλασάμενος) coordinated by εἴτε ... εἴτε ... present two alternative explanations for Marcius's military movement, representing either an objective piece of information or his subjective, political motive.
  2. 8.36.3Ῥωμαίοις ... ἔδοξε μηδὲν ἀνάξιον ποιεῖν ... ἀλλʼ ἐὰν μὲν ... προβουλεῦσαι ... ἕως δʼ ἂν ... μηθὲν αὐτοῖς ψηφίζεσθαι — The dative Ῥωμαίοις acts as the logical subject of the impersonal verb ἔδοξε ('it was resolved'). The subsequent infinitives ποιεῖν, προβουλεῦσαι, and ψηφίζεσθαι (appearing in 8.36.4) all depend on ἔδοξε, with the latter two functioning as the main verbs in correlation with the conditional clause 'ἐὰν μὲν...' and the temporal clause 'ἕως δʼ ἂν...' respectively.
  3. 8.36.4πολὺς γὰρ δὴ Ῥωμαίοις ἀεὶ λόγος τοῦ μηθὲν δρᾶσαί ποτʼ ἐξ ἐπιτάγματος — Ῥωμαίοις is a dative of possession with the copula ἐστί omitted. The noun λόγος ('reputation, principle, pride') is modified appositionally by the genitive infinitive phrase τοῦ μηθὲν δρᾶσαι ('never doing anything'), explaining the Romans' guiding principle.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §8.36.1-8.36.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:8.36.1-8.36.4

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