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Livy · History of Rome §6.26.1-6.26.8

Plea of the Tusculan Envoys and Grant of Citizenship

Passage 340 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Camillus sends the Tusculans to the Roman senate after being moved by their peaceful response; the envoys plead their innocence in Rome and obtain both peace and citizenship.

§6.26.1victus igitur patientia hostium senatum eorum vocari iussit.
Defeated, therefore, by the patience of the enemy, Camillus ordered their senate to be called.
“soli adhuc” inquit, “Tusculani, vera arma verasque vires, quibus ab ira Romanorum vestra tutaremini, invenistis.
"You alone," he said, "Tusculans, have up to this time found the true weapons and the true strength with which to protect your possessions from the wrath of the Romans.
§6.26.2ite Romam ad senatum; aestimabunt patres, utrum plus ante poenae an nunc veniae meriti sitis; non praecipiam gratiam publici beneficii; deprecandi potestatem a me habueritis; precibus eventum vestris senatus, quem videbitur, dabit. ” §6.26.3postquam Romam Tusculani venerunt senatusque paulo ante fidelium sociorum maestus in vestibulo curiae est conspectus, moti extemplo patres vocari eos iam tum hospitaliter magis quam hostiliter iussere.
Go to Rome to the senate; the senators will judge whether you have deserved more punishment before or more pardon now; I will not forestall the gratitude for a public benefit; you shall have from me the opportunity of entreating them; the senate will give to your prayers such an issue as shall seem fit." After the Tusculans arrived in Rome and the sorrowful sight of their senate—a little before faithful allies—was seen in the vestibule of the Senate-house, the senators, immediately moved, ordered them to be called in, even then in a hospitable rather than a hostile manner.
dictator Tusculanus ita verba fecit: §6.26.4“quibus bellum indixistis intulistisque, patres conscripti, sicut nunc videtis nos stantes in vestibulo curiae vestrae, ita armati paratique obviam imperatoribus legionibusque vestris processimus.
The Tusculan dictator spoke as follows: "Conscript Fathers, against those whom you declared and brought war, just as you now see us standing in the vestibule of your Senate-house, so armed and prepared we went out to meet your generals and legions.
§6.26.5hic noster, hic plebis nostrae habitus fuit eritque semper, nisi si quando a vobis proque vobis arma acceperimus.
This was and always will be our habit, and that of our commons, unless we shall at any time receive arms from you and for you.
gratias agimus et ducibus vestris et exercitibus, quod oculis magis quam auribus crediderunt et, ubi nihil hostile erat, ne ipsi quidem fecerunt.
We give thanks both to your generals and to your armies, because they believed their eyes rather than their ears, and, where there was nothing hostile, they themselves did nothing hostile.
§6.26.6pacem, quam nos praestitimus, ea a vobis petimus; bellum eo, sicubi est, avertatis precamur; in nos quid arma polleant vestra, si patiendo experiundum est, inermes experiemur.
The peace which we have maintained, that we ask from you; we pray that you may avert war thither, if there is any anywhere; if we must experience by suffering what power your arms have against us, we will experience it unarmed.
haec mens nostra sit, di inmortales faciant, tam felix, quam pia.
May the immortal gods make this mind of ours as fortunate as it is pious.
§6.26.7quod ad crimina attinet, quibus moti bellum indixistis, etsi revicta rebus verbis confutare nihil attinet, tamen, etiam si vera sint, vel fateri nobis ea, cum tam evidenter paenituerit, tutum censemus.
As for the charges by which you were moved to declare war, although it is of no purpose to refute with words what has been disproved by facts, yet, even if they were true, we think it safe for us even to confess them, since we have so clearly repented.
peccetur in vos, dum digni sitis, quibus ita satisfiat. ” §6.26.8tantum fere verborum ab Tusculanis factum.
Let offenses be committed against you, as long as you are worthy to be thus satisfied." Almost only so many words were spoken by the Tusculans.
pacem in praesentia nec ita multo post civitatem etiam impetraverunt.
They obtained peace for the present, and not so long after, citizenship as well.
ab Tusculo legiones reductae.
The legions were withdrawn from Tusculum.

Notes

  1. 6.26.1quibus ab ira Romanorum vestra tutaremini — In the clause introduced by the relative pronoun `quibus` with the antecedent `vera arma verasque vires`, the imperfect subjunctive `tutaremini` is used to express purpose or characteristic. `vestra` is the neuter plural accusative of the possessive adjective used substantively, meaning "your possessions."
  2. 6.26.2plus ante poenae an nunc veniae meriti sitis — This is a double indirect question introduced by `utrum... an...` depending on `aestimabunt` in the main clause, which requires the subjunctive `sitis` (perfect). `poenae` and `veniae` are partitive genitives depending on `plus` and the implied quantity with `nunc` ("more of punishment" and "now [more] of pardon").
  3. 6.26.4quibus bellum indixistis intulistisque... obviam — The antecedent of the relative pronoun `quibus` (the demonstrative pronoun `eis`) is omitted, which serves as both the dative governed by the verbs `indixistis` and `intulistis` ("against whom you declared and brought war") and the dative depending on `obviam` ("to meet [them]").
  4. 6.26.6pacem, quam nos praestitimus, ea a vobis petimus — The noun `pacem` is brought to the beginning of the sentence and followed by the relative clause `quam nos praestitimus`, then redundantly picked up by the demonstrative pronoun `ea` as the direct object of the main verb `petimus`. This is a case of prolepsis or transposition for emphasis.
  5. 6.26.7peccetur in vos, dum digni sitis, quibus ita satisfiat — `peccetur` is the third-person singular passive subjunctive of the intransitive verb `pecco`, used impersonally to express concession ("let offenses be committed"). `dum` ("provided that," "as long as") introduces a conditional clause of limitation and takes the subjunctive `sitis`. The clause starting with `quibus` is a relative clause of characteristic completing the adjective `digni`, taking the impersonal passive subjunctive `satisfiat` (from `satisfacio`).

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §6.26.1-6.26.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:6.26.1-6.26.8

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