§26.50.1Captiva deinde a militibus adducitur ad eum adulta virgo adeo eximia forma, ut, quacumque incedebat, converteret omnium oculos.
Then a grown-up captive maiden of such extraordinary beauty was brought to him by the soldiers that, wherever she walked, she turned the eyes of everyone.
§26.50.2Scipio, percunctatus patriam parentesque, inter cetera accepit desponsam eam principi Celtiberorum; adulescenti Allucio nomen erat.
Scipio, having inquired about her country and parents, learned among other things that she was betrothed to a prince of the Celtiberians; the young man's name was Allucius.
§26.50.3extemplo igitur parentibus sponsoque ab domo accitis, cum interim audiret deperire eum sponsae amore, ubi primum venit, accuratiore eum sermone quam parentis adloquitur: §26.50.4“iuvenis” inquit “iuvenem appello, quo minor sit inter nos huius sermonis verecundia.
Immediately, therefore, her parents and betrothed were summoned from home; since in the meantime he heard that the young man was desperately in love with his betrothed, as soon as he arrived, Scipio addressed him in a more careful speech than he did the parents: "Young man," he said, "I, a young man, address a young man, so that there may be less embarrassment between us in this conversation.
ego, cum sponsa tua capta a militibus nostris ad me ducta esset audiremque tibi eam cordi esse et forma faceret fidem, §26.50.5quia ipse, si frui liceret ludo aetatis, praesertim in recto et legitimo amore, et non res publica animum nostrum occupasset, veniam mihi dari sponsam impensius amanti vellem, tuo, cuius possum, amori faveo.
When your betrothed was captured by our soldiers and brought to me, and I heard that she was dear to your heart, and her beauty made me believe it, because if I myself were permitted to enjoy the pleasures of youth, especially in an upright and lawful love, and if public affairs had not occupied my mind, I would wish indulgence to be granted to me if I loved my betrothed too passionately, I favor your love, as I am able to do.
§26.50.6fuit sponsa tua apud me eadem qua apud soceros tuos parentisque suos verecundia; servata tibi est, ut inviolatum et dignum me teque dari tibi donum posset.
Your betrothed has been with me with the same modesty as with her future parents-in-law and her own parents; she has been preserved for you, so that a gift, untouched and worthy of me and you, could be given to you.
§26.50.7hanc mercedem unam pro eo munere paciscor: amicus populo Romano sis et, si me virum bonum credis esse, qualis patrem patruumque meum iam ante hae gentes norant, scias multos nostri similes in civitate Romana esse nec ullum in terris hodie populum dici posse, §26.50.8quem minus tibi hostem tuisque esse velis aut amicum malis. ” §26.50.9cum adulescens simul pudore et gaudio perfusus, dextram Scipionis tenens, deos omnis invocaret ad gratiam illi pro se referendam, quoniam sibi nequaquam satis facultatis pro suo animo atque illius erga se merito esset, parentes inde cognatique virginis appellati;
This one reward I bargain for in return for this gift: that you be a friend to the Roman people, and if you believe me to be an honorable man, such as these nations already knew my father and uncle to be, you should know that there are many like us in the Roman state, and that no people today on earth can be named, whom you would less wish to be an enemy to you and yours, or would prefer to have as a friend." While the young man, overcome at once with modesty and joy, holding Scipio's right hand, was invoking all the gods to return thanks to him on his behalf, since he had by no means enough capability in proportion to his own desire and Scipio's merit toward him, then the parents and relatives of the maiden were summoned.
§26.50.10qui, quoniam gratis sibi redderetur virgo, ad quam redimendam satis magnum attulissent auri pondus, §26.50.11orare Scipionem, ut id ab se donum acciperet, coeperunt, haud minorem eius rei apud se gratiam futuram esse adfirmantes quam redditae inviolatae foret virginis.
Since the maiden was being restored to them without cost, for whose ransom they had brought a sufficiently large weight of gold, they began to entreat Scipio to accept it as a gift from them, asserting that their gratitude for this would be no less than it had been for the maiden restored untouched.
§26.50.12Scipio, quando tanto opere peterent, accepturum se pollicitus poni ante pedes iussit vocatoque ad se Allucio “super dotem” inquit, “quam accepturus a socero es, haec tibi a me dotalia dona accedent” aurumque tollere ac sibi habere iussit.
Scipio, since they begged so earnestly, promised that he would accept it and ordered it to be placed before his feet; and having summoned Allucius to him, he said, "In addition to the dowry which you are going to receive from your father-in-law, these dowry gifts from me shall be added to you," and ordered him to take up the gold and keep it for himself.
§26.50.13his laetus donis honoribusque dimissus domum implevit popularis laudibus meritis Scipionis: venisse dis simillimum iuvenem, vincentem omnia cum armis tum benignitate ac beneficiis.
Sent away happy with these gifts and honors, he filled his home with well-deserved praises of Scipio to his countrymen: that a young man most like the gods had come, conquering all things both by arms and by kindness and benefits.
§26.50.14itaque dilectu clientium habito cum delectis mille et quadringentis equitibus intra paucos dies ad Scipionem revertit.
Therefore, having held a levy of his dependents, he returned to Scipio within a few days with fourteen hundred chosen horsemen.