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Cornelius Nepos · Cimon §2.1-2.5

Cimon's Rise and Victories over the Persians

Passage 2 of 4 · Latin

Summary

After his release, Cimon quickly rises to power and achieves great military successes as a general by defeating the Thracians and Persians, subduing rebellious islands, and adorning the Athenian citadel.

§2.1Tali modo custodia liberatus Cimon celeriter ad principatum pervenit.
Having been released from custody in this manner, Cimon quickly rose to the leading position.
habebat enim satis eloquentiae, summam liberalitatem, magnam prudentiam cum iuris civilis tum rei militaris, quod cum patre a puero in exercitibus fuerat versatus.
For he possessed sufficient eloquence, the greatest liberality, and a great knowledge of both civil law and military affairs, because he had been experienced in armies with his father from his boyhood.
itaque hic et populum urbanum in sua tenuit potestate et apud exercitum plurimum valuit auctoritate. §2.2primum imperator apud flumen Strymona magnas copias Thraecum fugavit, oppidum Amphipolim constituit eoque decem milia Atheniensium in coloniam misit.
Thus, he both held the city population under his own power and was extremely influential by his authority in the army. First, as general, he routed large forces of the Thracians near the river Strymon, founded the town of Amphipolis, and sent ten thousand Athenians there as a colony.
idem iterum imperator apud Mycalen Cypriorum et Phoenicum ducentarum navium classem devictam cepit eodemque die pari fortuna in terra usus est. §2.3namque hostium navibus captis statim ex classe copias suas eduxit barbarorumque maximam vim uno concursu prostravit. §2.4qua victoria magna praeda potitus cum domum reverteretur, quod iam nonnullae insulae propter acerbitatem imperii defecerant, bene animatas confirmavit, alienatas ad officium redire coegit. §2.5Scyrum, quam eo tempore Dolopes incolebant, quod contumacius se gesserant, vacuefecit, possessores veteres urbe insulaque eiecit, agros civibus divisit.
Likewise, again as general, he defeated and captured a fleet of two hundred ships of the Cypriots and Phoenicians near Mycale, and on the same day enjoyed a similar fortune on land. For, having captured the enemies' ships, he immediately led his forces out of the fleet and overthrew an immense host of the barbarians in a single onset. When he was returning home, having obtained great booty by this victory, since some islands had already revolted on account of the severity of the rule, he encouraged those that were well-disposed and compelled those that were alienated to return to their duty. He cleared Scyros, which at that time the Dolopes inhabited, because they had behaved too insolently, ejected the ancient possessors from the city and the island, and divided the lands among the citizens.
Thasios opulentia fretos suo adventu fregit.
He crushed the Thasians, who relied on their wealth, by his very arrival.
his ex manubiis arx Athenarum, qua ad meridiem vergit, est ornata.
Out of these spoils, the citadel of Athens, where it slopes toward the south, was adorned.

Notes

  1. §2.1cum iuris civilis tum rei militaris — The correlative adverbs 'cum ... tum ...' mean 'both ... and ...'. Here they connect two objective genitives ('iuris civilis' and 'rei militaris') modifying the noun 'prudentiam' (knowledge).
  2. §2.2pari fortuna ... usus est — The deponent verb 'utor' (to use, enjoy) governs the ablative case; therefore, 'pari fortuna' is in the ablative.
  3. §2.4qua victoria — This is a relative connection (connecting relative) at the beginning of the clause, referring back to the previous victory. It functions as an ablative of means ('by this victory'), and should not be confused with 'magna praeda,' which is governed by the participle 'potitus.'
  4. §2.5Scyrum ... vacuefecit — The accusative 'Scyrum' at the beginning of the sentence is the direct object of 'vacuefecit,' but in the subsequent clauses, the direct objects shift to 'possessores veteres' for 'eiecit' and 'agros' for 'divisit.' This word order serves as a topicalization to emphasize the main subject of Cimon's actions regarding Scyros.

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Cimon §2.1-2.5. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo005.humanitext-lat2:2.1-2.5

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