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Cornelius Nepos · Aristides §1.1-1.5

Rivalry with Themistocles and Ostracism of Aristides

Passage 1 of 3 · Latin

Summary

The rivalry between the Athenian statesmen Aristides and Themistocles is described, along with the anecdote of Aristides' surname "the Just," his ostracism, and his eventual recall during the Persian invasion.

§1.1Aristides, Lysimachi filius, Atheniensis, aequalis fere fuit Themistocli atque cum eo de principatu contendit: namque obtrectarunt inter se.
Aristides, the son of Lysimachus, an Athenian, was a contemporary of almost the same age as Themistocles, and contended with him for the leadership; for they opposed each other.
§1.2in his autem cognitum est, quanto antestaret eloquentia innocentiae.
In their case, however, it was made clear how much eloquence surpassed integrity.
quamquam enim adeo excellebat Aristides abstinentia, ut unus post hominum memoriam, quem quidem nos audierimus, cognomine Iustus sit appellatus, tamen a Themistocle collabefactus testula illa exilio decem annorum multatus est.
For although Aristides so excelled in self-restraint that he alone in human memory—at least of those whom we have heard of—was called by the surname of "the Just," yet, overthrown by Themistocles, he was punished by that well-known potsherd with an exile of ten years.
§1.3qui quidem cum intellegeret reprimi concitatam multitudinem non posse, cedensque animadvertisset quendam scribentem, ut patria pelleretur, quaesisse ab eo dicitur, quare id faceret aut quid Aristides commisisset, cur tanta poena dignus duceretur.
And indeed, when he realized that the excited multitude could not be checked, and as he was withdrawing, he noticed someone writing that he should be expelled from his country; he is said to have asked him why he did so, or what Aristides had committed that he should be deemed worthy of so great a punishment.
§1.4cui ille respondit se ignorare Aristiden, sed sibi non placere, quod tam cupide laborasset, ut praeter ceteros Iustus appellaretur.
To him the man replied that he did not know Aristides, but that it did not please him that he had labored so eagerly to be called "the Just" above all others.
§1.5hic decem annorum legitimam poenam non pertulit.
He did not complete the legal punishment of ten years.
nam postquam Xerxes in Graeciam descendit, sexto fere anno quam erat expulsus, populi scito in patriam restitutus est.
For after Xerxes descended into Greece, in about the sixth year after he had been expelled, he was restored to his country by a decree of the people.

Notes

  1. 1.2antestaret — Subjunctive imperfect. It is used because it is in an indirect question introduced by `quanto`. The tense conforms to the sequence of tenses after the historical perfect `cognitum est` in the main clause.
  2. 1.3qui — A relative pronoun used at the beginning of a sentence to connect clauses (relative connection), referring back to the subject of the preceding sentence, `Aristides`. It functions as the logical subject of `dicitur` in the main clause.
  3. 1.3ut patria pelleretur — A substantive clause of purpose/will introduced by `ut`, depending on the present participle `scribentem` (writing). It expresses the content of what the man was writing on the potsherd: "that he should be expelled from his country."
  4. 1.5sexto fere anno quam — An idiom equivalent to `sexto fere anno postquam`. The relative particle `quam` is used with the noun of time `anno` to express the temporal starting point: "in about the sixth year after he had been expelled."

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Aristides §1.1-1.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo003.humanitext-lat2:1.1-1.5

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