§24.5.1Vix quidem vel bono moderatoque regi facilis erat favor apud Syracusanos succedenti tantae caritati Hieronis; §24.5.2verum enim vero Hieronymus, velut suis vitiis desiderabilem efficere vellet avum, primo statim conspectu omnia quam disparia essent ostendit.
Indeed, even for a good and moderate king, it was not easy to win the favor of the Syracusans when succeeding to such great affection as had been felt for Hiero; but Hieronymus, as if he wished to make his grandfather regretted by means of his own vices, showed at the very first sight how completely different everything was.
§24.5.3nam qui per tot annos Hieronem filiumque eius Gelonem nec vestis habitu nec alio ullo insigni differentes a ceteris civibus vidissent, §24.5.4ei conspexere purpuram ac diadema ac satellites armatos quadrigisque etiam alborum equorum interdum ex regia procedentem more Dionysi tyranni.
For those who for so many years had seen Hiero and his son Gelon differing from the other citizens neither in the style of their dress nor by any other emblem, now beheld him proceeding from the palace in the manner of the tyrant Dionysius, wearing purple and a diadem, accompanied by armed guards, and sometimes even in a chariot drawn by four white horses.
§24.5.5hunc tam superbum apparatum habitumque convenientes sequebantur contemptus omnium hominum, superbae aures, contumeliosa dicta, rari aditus non alienis modo sed tutoribus etiam, libidines novae, inhumana crudelitas.
Corresponding to this arrogant display and attire were his contempt for all men, his haughty ears, abusive words, rare access allowed not only to strangers but even to his guardians, strange lusts, and inhuman cruelty.
§24.5.6itaque tantus omnis terror invaserat, ut quidam ex tutoribus aut morte voluntaria aut fuga praeverterent metum suppliciorum.
Consequently, such a great terror seized everyone that some of his guardians anticipated the fear of punishments either by a voluntary death or by flight.
§24.5.7tres ex iis, quibus solis aditus in domum familiarior erat, Adranodorus et Zoippus, generi Hieronis, et Thraso quidam, de aliis quidem rebus haud magnopere audiebantur; §24.5.8tendendo autem duo ad Carthaginienses, Thraso ad societatem Romanam, certamine ac studiis interdum in se convertebant animum adulescentis, §24.5.9cum coniuratio in tyranni caput facta indicatur per Callonem quendam, aequalem Hieronymi et iam inde a puero in omnia familiaria iura adsuetum.
Three of them, who alone had more familiar access to the house, Adranodorus and Zoippus, the sons-in-law of Hiero, and a certain Thraso, were indeed not listened to much on other matters; but by leaning, the two toward the Carthaginians and Thraso toward the Roman alliance, they occasionally drew the young man's attention to themselves by their rivalry and zeal, when a conspiracy against the tyrant's life was disclosed by a certain Callo, a contemporary of Hieronymus who from boyhood had been accustomed to all the privileges of intimacy.
§24.5.10index unum ex coniuratis Theodotum, a quo ipse appellatus erat, nominare potuit;
The informer was able to name only one of the conspirators, Theodotus, by whom he himself had been approached.
qui conprensus extemplo traditusque Adranodoro torquendus de se ipse haud cunctanter fassus conscios celabat.
Theodotus, immediately arrested and handed over to Adranodorus to be tortured, confessed without hesitation regarding himself but kept his accomplices secret.
§24.5.11postremo, cum omnibus intolerandis patientiae humanae cruciatibus laceraretur, §24.5.12victum malis se simulans avertit ab consciis in insontes indicium, Thrasonem esse auctorem consilii mentitus, — nec nisi tam potenti duce confisos rem tantam ausuros fuisse —,socios ignobiles quosdam viros ab latere tyranni, §24.5.13quorum capita vilissima fingenti inter dolores gemitusque occurrere.
At last, when he was being torn by all the tortures beyond human endurance, pretending to be overcome by his sufferings, he turned the disclosure away from his accomplices to the innocent, falsely claiming that Thraso was the author of the plan—adding that they would never have dared so great an enterprise unless they had trusted in so powerful a leader—and named as accomplices certain worthless men from the tyrant's entourage, whose most cheap lives occurred to him as he was inventing names amidst his pain and groans.
maxime animo tyranni credibile indicium Thraso nominatus fecit; itaque extemplo traditur ad supplicium, adiectique poenae ceteri iuxta insontes.
The naming of Thraso made the disclosure especially credible to the tyrant's mind; therefore, he was immediately handed over for execution, and the others, equally innocent, were added to the punishment.
§24.5.14consciorum nemo cum diu socius consilii torqueretur, aut latuit aut fugit; tantum illis in virtute ac fide Theodoti fiduciae fuit tantumque ipsi Theodoto virium ad arcana occultanda.
None of the accomplices, although their partner in the design was tortured for a long time, either hid themselves or fled, so great was their confidence in the courage and fidelity of Theodotus, and so great was the strength of Theodotus himself in keeping the secrets.