Humanitext Reader

Cornelius Nepos · Thrasybulus §3.1-3.3

Reconciliation in Athens and the Law of Oblivion

Passage 3 of 4 · Latin

Summary

Through the mediation of the Spartan king Pausanias, peace was established and democracy was restored to Athens. Thrasybulus proposed the "law of oblivion" to prevent retribution and strictly enforced its observance.

§3.1Hoc deiecto Pausanias venit Atticis auxilio, rex Lacedaemoniorum.
Upon his defeat, Pausanias, the king of the Lacedaemonians, came to the aid of the Atticans.
is inter Thrasybulum et eos, qui urbem tenebant, fecit pacem his condicionibus: ne qui praeter triginta tyrannos et decem, qui postea praetores creati superioris more crudelitatis erant usi, afficerentur exilio neve bona publicarentur: rei publicae procuratio populo redderetur. §3.2praeclarum hoc quoque Thrasybuli, quod reconciliata pace, cum plurimum in civitate posset, legem tulit, ne quis ante actarum rerum accusaretur neve multaretur, eamque illi oblivionis appellarunt. §3.3neque vero hanc tantum ferendam curavit, sed etiam ut valeret effecit.
He made peace between Thrasybulus and those who held the city on these conditions: that no one, except the thirty tyrants and the ten who had afterwards been appointed praetors and had followed the cruel manner of their predecessors, should be punished with exile, nor should their property be confiscated; and that the government of the state should be restored to the people. This also was a noble act of Thrasybulus, that when peace was restored, although he had the greatest power in the state, he proposed a law that no one should be accused or punished for past transactions; and this law they called the law of oblivion. Nor indeed did he only take care that this law should be passed, but he also saw to it that it was enforced.
nam cum quidam ex iis, qui simul cum eo in exilio fuerant, caedem facere eorum vellent, cum quibus in gratiam reditum erat publice, prohibuit et id quod pollicitus erat praestitit.
For when some of those who had been in exile with him wished to make a slaughter of those with whom a reconciliation had been publicly made, he prevented them and performed what he had promised.

Notes

  1. §3.1Atticis auxilio — Double dative construction. Atticis is the dative of interest ("for the Atticans"), and auxilio is the dative of purpose ("as an aid"), which together with the verb venit mean "came to the aid of the Atticans."
  2. §3.2Thrasybuli — Genitive of possession. Signifying "belonging to Thrasybulus" or "characteristic of Thrasybulus," it is used with the predicate adjective praeclarum and the subject pronoun hoc to mean "this too was an illustrious deed (character) of Thrasybulus."
  3. §3.2ante actarum rerum — Genitive of charge or cause. It modifies the passive verb accusaretur ("be accused"), expressing the ground for accusation, i.e., "for past transactions."
  4. §3.2oblivionis — Genitive of quality. It functions as the second accusative (object complement) with appellarunt, where the noun legem (law) is understood, meaning "they called it the law of oblivion."
  5. §3.3cum quibus in gratiam reditum erat publice — The verb reditum erat in the relative clause is the impersonal pluperfect passive of the intransitive phrase in gratiam redire ("to return into favor/reconcile"). It translates to "those with whom a reconciliation had been publicly made."

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Thrasybulus §3.1-3.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo008.humanitext-lat2:3.1-3.3

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.