§39.13.1mulier haud dubie, id quod erat, Aebutium indicem arcani rata esse, ad pedes Sulpiciae procidit, et eam primo orare coepit, §39.13.2ne mulieris libertinae cum amatore sermonem in rem non seriam modo sed capitalem etiam verti vellet: se terrendi eius causa, non quod sciret quicquam, ea locutam esse.
The woman, without doubt, believing that which was indeed the fact, namely that Aebutius had revealed the secret, fell at Sulpicia's feet and began first to entreat her, not to wish that the talk of a freedwoman with her lover should be turned into a matter not merely serious but even capital; she had said those things, she claimed, for the purpose of frightening him, not because she knew anything.
§39.13.3hic Postumius accensus ira tum quoque ait eam cum Aebutio se amatore cavillari credere, non in domo gravissimae feminae et cum consule loqui.
At this, Postumius, flared up with anger, said that even then she believed she was joking with her lover Aebutius, and did not realize she was speaking in the house of a most grave woman and with a consul.
et Sulpicia attollere paventem, simul illam adhortari, simul iram generi lenire.
Meanwhile Sulpicia raised up the trembling woman, encouraging her at the same time, while also appeasing the anger of her son-in-law.
§39.13.4tandem confirmata, multum incusata perfidia Aebutii, qui optime de ipso meritae talem gratiam rettulisset, §39.13.5magnum sibi metum deorum, quorum occulta initia enuntiaret, maiorem multo dixit hominum esse qui se indicem manibus suis discerpturi essent.
At last, having collected herself, and having bitterly denounced the treachery of Aebutius, who had returned such a favor to one who had deserved so well of him, she said that her fear of the gods, whose hidden mysteries she would be revealing, was great, but her fear of the men, who would tear her to pieces with their own hands as an informant, was much greater.
§39.13.6itaque hoc se Sulpiciam, hoc consulem orare, ut se extra Italiam aliquo ablegarent, ubi reliquum vitae degere tuto posset.
Therefore, she implored Sulpicia and the consul to send her away somewhere outside Italy, where she might spend the remainder of her life in safety.
§39.13.7bono animo esse iubere eam consul, et sibi curae fore dicere, ut Romae tuto habitaret.
The consul bade her be of good courage, and said that he would take care that she should live safely in Rome.
§39.13.8tum Hispala originem sacrorum expromit.
Then Hispala disclosed the origin of the rites.
primo sacrarium id feminarum fuisse, nec quemquam eo virum admitti solitum.
At first, she said, it was a sanctuary for women, and no man was accustomed to be admitted there.
tres in anno statos dies habuisse, quibus interdiu Bacchis initiarentur; sacerdotes in vice matronas creari solitas.
There were three established days in the year on which they were initiated into the Bacchic rites by day; the priestesses were accustomed to be chosen from the matrons in turn.
§39.13.9Pacullam Anniam Campanam sacerdotem omnia, tamquam deum monitu, immutasse: nam et viros eam primam filios suos initiasse, Minium et Herennium Cerrinios; et nocturnum sacrum ex diurno, et pro tribus in anno diebus quinos singulis mensibus dies initiorum fecisse.
Paculla Annia, a Campanian priestess, had altered everything, as if by the admonition of the gods; for she was the first to initiate men, namely her own sons, Minius and Herennius Cerrinius; and she changed the ritual from a daytime to a nighttime service, and instead of three days in the year, she established five days of initiation in each month.
§39.13.10ex quo in promiscuo sacra sint et permixti viri feminis, et noctis licentia accesserit, nihil ibi facinoris, nihil flagitii praetermissum.
From the time the rites became promiscuous, with men mingled with women, and the license of the night was added, no crime, no vice was left uncommitted there.
plura virorum inter sese quam feminarum esse stupra.
There were more acts of debauchery between men themselves than between women.
§39.13.11si qui minus patientes dedecoris sint et pigriores ad facinus, pro victimis immolari.
If any were less tolerant of dishonor and slower to commit crime, they were slaughtered like sacrificial victims.
nihil nefas ducere, hanc summam inter eos religionem esse.
To hold nothing as unspeakable was their highest religious duty.
§39.13.12viros, velut mente capta, cum iactatione fanatica corporis vaticinari; matronas Baccharum habitu crinibus sparsis cum ardentibus facibus decurrere ad Tiberim, demissasque in aquam faces, quia vivum sulpur cum calce insit, integra flamma efferre.
The men, as if out of their minds, with fanatic tossing of their bodies, uttered prophecies; the matrons, dressed as Bacchantes with disheveled hair, ran down to the Tiber with burning torches, and plunging them into the water, drew them out with the flame still burning, because they contained active sulfur and quicklime.
§39.13.13raptos a diis homines dici, quos machinae illigatos ex conspectu in abditos specus abripiant: §39.13.14eos esse, qui aut coniurare aut sociari facinoribus aut stuprum pati noluerint.
Men were said to have been carried off by the gods, whom, bound to machines, they snatched out of sight into hidden caves; these were the ones who had refused either to take the oath of conspiracy, or to associate themselves with the crimes, or to submit to debauchery.
multitudinem ingentem, alterum iam prope populum esse; in his nobiles quosdam viros feminasque.
Their number was immense, almost a second state by now, among whom were certain noble men and women.
biennio proximo institutum esse, ne quis maior viginti annis initiaretur: captari aetates et erroris et stupri patientes.
Within the last two years it had been established that no one older than twenty years should be initiated, because they sought out ages capable of deception and submission to debauchery.