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Dionysius of Halicarnassus · Roman Antiquities §9.3.1-9.3.5

Mutinous Roman Soldiers Abandon Caeso Fabius

Passage 672 of 962 · Greek

Summary

The consul Caeso Fabius conducts an excellent campaign against the Etruscans, but his soldiers, who harbor deep resentment against him, abandon the fight just before achieving complete victory. After insulting their general, they break camp without orders in the middle of the night and retreat to Rome.

§9.3.1Καίσων δὲ Φάβιος ὁ ἕτερος τῶν ὑπάτων, οὐδενὸς χεῖρον στρατηγήσας, ἀφῃρέθη τὸν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἔπαινον παρʼ οὐδὲν ἁμάρτημα ἴδιον, ἀλλʼ ὅτι τὸ δημοτικὸν οὐκ εἶχε κεχαρισμένον αὐτῷ, ἐξ οὗ τὸν ὕπατον Κάσσιον ἐπὶ τῇ τυραννίδι προσαγγείλας ἀπέκτεινεν.
And Caeso Fabius, the other of the consuls, having performed his duties as general second to none, was deprived of the praise arising from his achievements, not through any fault of his own, but because the populace was not well-disposed toward him, ever since he had denounced the consul Cassius for aiming at tyranny and had put him to death.
§9.3.2οὔτε γὰρ ὅσα δέοι σὺν τάχει στρατηγῷ κελεύσαντι τοὺς ὑπηκόους πειθαρχεῖν, οὔθʼ ὅσα τῷ προθύμῳ καὶ πρέποντι χρησαμένους βίᾳ κατασχεῖν, οὔθʼ ὅσα λάθρα τῶν ἀντιπολεμίων χωρία εἰς πλεονεξίαν εὔθετα σφετερίσασθαι, οὔτʼ ἄλλο πράττειν οὐδὲν ἕτοιμοι ἦσαν, ἐξ οὗ τιμήν τινα ὁ στρατηγὸς καὶ δόξαν ἀγαθὴν ἐξοίσεσθαι ἔμελλε.
For they were not ready to perform either what the subjects ought to obey with speed when the general commanded, nor what they ought to seize by force using zeal and proper conduct, nor what places convenient for advantage they ought to appropriate secretly from the enemy, nor to do any other thing from which the general was likely to carry off any honor and good reputation.
καὶ τἆλλα μὲν αὐτῶν, ὅσα ὑβρίζοντες τὸν ἡγεμόνα διετέλουν, ἐκείνῳ θʼ ἧττον λυπηρὰ ἦν καὶ τῇ πόλει βλάβης οὐ μεγάλης ἄξια, ὃ δὲ τελευτῶντες ἐξειργάσαντο κίνδυνον οὐ μικρὸν ἤνεγκε καὶ πολλὴν αἰσχύνην ἀμφοῖν.
And while the rest of their actions, by which they continued to insult their commander, were less painful to him and of no great damage to the state, yet that which they did in the end brought no small danger and much disgrace to both.
§9.3.3γενομένης γὰρ παρατάξεως ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τῶν λόφων, ἐφʼ οἷς ἦσαν ἐστρατοπεδευκότες ἀμφότεροι, πάσῃ τῇ παρʼ ἑκατέρων δυνάμει, πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ ἔργα ἀποδειξάμενοι καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀναγκάσαντες ἄρξαι φυγῆς, οὔτʼ ἠκολούθησαν ἀπιοῦσι τοῦ στρατηγοῦ πολλὰ ἐπικελεύοντος οὔτε παραμείναντες ἐκπολιορκῆσαι τὸν χάρακα ἠθέλησαν, ἀλλʼ ἐάσαντες ἀτελὲς ἔργον καλὸν ἀπῄεσαν εἰς τὴν αὑτῶν στρατοπεδείαν.
For when a battle was joined in the plain between the hills on which both parties were encamped, with the entire force of each side, after they had displayed many noble deeds and forced the enemy to begin to flee, they neither followed them as they retreated, though the general gave many encouragements, nor were they willing to remain and capture the enemy's camp by siege, but, leaving a noble work unfinished, they went back to their own camp.
§9.3.4ἐπιχειρησάντων δʼ αὐτοκράτορα τὸν ὕπατον ἀναγορεῦσαί τινων μέγα ἐμβοήσαντες ἀθρόοι κακιζούσῃ τῇ φωνῇ τὸν ἡγεμόνα ἐλοιδόρουν, ὡς πολλοὺς σφῶν καὶ ἀγαθοὺς ἀπολωλεκότα δι’ ἀπειρίαν τοῦ στρατηγεῖν· καὶ ἄλλῃ πολλῇ βλασφημίᾳ καὶ ἀγανακτήσει χρησάμενοι λύειν τὸν χάρακα καὶ ἀπάγειν σφᾶς εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἠξίουν, ὡς οὐχ ἱκανοὺς ἐσομένους, ἐὰν ἐπίωσιν οἱ πολέμιοι, δευτέραν ὑπομεῖναι μάχην.
And when some attempted to proclaim the consul as imperator, they cried out in a body with a voice of censure and abused their commander, on the ground that he had lost many of their brave men through his lack of experience in generalship; and using many other revilings and expressions of indignation, they demanded that he break camp and lead them back to the city, on the ground that they would not be able to withstand a second battle if the enemy should attack.
§9.3.5καὶ οὔτε μεταδιδάσκοντος ἐπείθοντο τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, οὔτʼ ὀλοφυρομένου καὶ ἱκετεύοντος ἔπασχόν τι πρὸς τὰς δεήσεις, οὔτʼ ἀπειλὰς καὶ ἀνατάσεις, ὁπότε καὶ ταύταις χρήσαιτο, διʼ εὐλαβείας ἐλάμβανον, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἅπαντα τραχυνόμενοι ταῦτα διέμενον.
And they neither obeyed their commander when he tried to instruct them otherwise, nor did they feel anything toward his entreaties when he lamented and implored, nor did they take precautions against his threats and warnings whenever he might use these, but they persisted in being harsh toward all these things.
τοσαύτη δʼ ἀναρχία καὶ καταφρόνησις τοῦ ἡγεμόνος πᾶσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν παρέστη, ὥστε περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἐξαναστάντες τάς τε σκηνὰς ἔλυον καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἀνελάμβανον καὶ τοὺς τραυματίας ἐβάσταζον οὐδενὸς κελεύσαντος.
And such great anarchy and contempt for their commander arose among them all, that about midnight they arose, struck their tents, took up their arms, and carried away the wounded without anyone's order.

Notes

  1. 1744ἀφῃρέθη τὸν ἐκ τῶν ἔργων ἔπαινον — The active verb ἀφαιρέω takes a double accusative (to deprive someone of something). When made passive (ἀφῃρέθη), the person deprived (Caeso Fabius) becomes the subject, while the thing taken away (τὸν ... ἔπαινον) is retained in the accusative (retained accusative).
  2. 1745οὔτε γὰρ ὅσα δέοι ... οὔτʼ ἄλλο πράττειν οὐδὲν ἕτοιμοι ἦσαν — The main structure of the sentence is οὔτε ... ἕτοιμοι ἦσαν ('they were not ready to...'), where the adjective ἕτοιμοι governs a series of complementary infinitives (πειθαρχεῖν, κατασχεῖν, σφετερίσασθαι, πράττειν). The first three clauses introduced by οὔτε ὅσα δέοι are relative clauses meaning 'whatever was necessary.' The optative δέοι is an optative of past general repetition or oblique optative depending on the past main verb ἦσαν.
  3. 1746ὡς πολλοὺς σφῶν καὶ ἀγαθοὺς ἀπολωλεκότα ... ὡς οὐχ ἱκανοὺς ἐσομένους — Two instances of the ὡς with participle construction. The first, ὡς ... ἀπολωλεκότα, is an attributive participle in the accusative singular modifying the direct object of the main verb, τὸν ἡγεμόνα, expressing the subjective reason for their abuse. The second, ὡς οὐχ ἱκανοὺς ἐσομένους, is an accusative absolute with the future participle ἐσομένους (referring to the soldiers themselves) expressing their subjective claim or pretext.

Cite this passage

Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities §9.3.1-9.3.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0081.tlg001.humanitext-grc2:9.3.1-9.3.5

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