Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §7.4.1-7.4.7

Charges Brought Against Manlius for His Cruelty

Passage 360 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Lucius Manlius, having resigned the dictatorship, is prosecuted in the following year by the tribune Marcus Pomponius. The main charges include his cruelty in the levy and his abusive treatment of his own son, whom he banished to the country and forced into servile labor due to his speech impediment.

§7.4.1neque eo minus principio insequentis annis Q. Servilio Ahala L. Genucio consulibus dies Manlio dicitur a M. Pomponio tribuno plebis.
Nevertheless, at the beginning of the following year, in the consulship of Quintus Servilius Ahala and Lucius Genucius, a day was appointed for Manlius by Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs.
§7.4.2acerbitas in dilectu, non damno modo civium sed etiam laceratione corporum cumulata, §7.4.3partim virgis caesis, qui ad nomina non respondissent, partim in vincula ductis, invisa erat, et ante omnia invisum ipsum ingenium atrox cognomenque Imperiosi, grave liberae civitati, ab ostentatione saevitiae adscitum, quam non magis in alienis quam in proximis ac sanguine ipse suo exerceret.
His severity in the levy, increased not only by the loss inflicted on the citizens but also by the laceration of their bodies— some being beaten with rods because they had not answered to their names, others being dragged into chains—was detested; and above all, his own fierce disposition and the cognomen of Imperiosus, offensive to a free state, was hated, a name assumed from an ostentation of cruelty which he exercised no less on his nearest of kin and his own blood than on strangers.
criminique ei tribunus inter cetera dabat, §7.4.4quod filium iuvenem, nullius probri conpertum, extorrem urbe domo penatibus, foro luce congressu aequalium prohibitum, in opus servile, §7.4.5prope in carcerem atque in ergastulum dederit, ubi summo loco natus dictatorius iuvenis cotidiana miseria disceret vere imperioso patre se natum esse.
And among other things, the tribune brought it as a charge against him, namely, that he had banished his young son, convicted of no dishonor, from the city, his home, and his household gods, debarred him from the forum, the light of day, and the society of his equals, and put him to servile labor, almost in a prison and a workhouse, where this youth of noble birth, the son of a dictator, might learn by daily misery that he was indeed born of an "overbearing" father.
at quam ob noxam? quia infacundior sit et lingua inpromptus.
And for what fault? Because he was somewhat lacking in eloquence and slow of speech.
§7.4.6quod naturae damnum utrum nutriendum patri, si quidquam in eo humani esset, an castigandum ac vexatione insigne faciendum fuisse? ne mutas quidem bestias minus alere ac fovere, si quid ex progenie sua parum prosperum sit; §7.4.7at hercule L. Manlium malum malo augere filii et tarditatem ingenii insuper premere et, si quid in eo exiguum naturalis vigoris sit, id extinguere vita agresti et rustico cultu inter pecudes habendo.
Should that defect of nature have been nurtured by a father, if there were any humanity in him, or should it have been punished and made conspicuous by persecution? Even dumb beasts do not cherish and foster their offspring any the less if there is something imperfect among them; but, by Hercules, Lucius Manlius aggravated his son's misfortune with misfortune, and further depressed his dullness of mind, and if there was any little spark of natural vigor in him, he extinguished it by a wild life and rustic upbringing, keeping him among the cattle.

Notes

  1. 7.4.1dies Manlio dicitur — The idiom `dies dicitur` (literally "a day is named") means "to appoint a day for trial" or "to prosecute." `Manlio` is a dative of disadvantage.
  2. 7.4.3qui ad nomina non respondissent — The verb in the relative clause `qui ... respondissent` is in the subjunctive (pluperfect) to express a characteristic or sub-oblique clause representing the perspective or charges brought forward.
  3. 7.4.4nullius probri conpertum — `conpertum` is a participle modifying `filium iuvenem`. `nullius probri` is a genitive of charge depending on `conpertum` (found guilty of no crime or dishonor).
  4. 7.4.6quod naturae damnum utrum nutriendum patri ... an castigandum ... fuisse — The tribune's speech is reported in indirect discourse (oratio obliqua). `quod naturae damnum` is the accusative subject of the indirect question in indirect discourse, where `nutriendum [fuisse]` and `castigandum [fuisse]` are gerundives with `fuisse` understood. `patri` is the dative of agent with the gerundive.
  5. 7.4.7habendo — A gerund in the ablative case, taking `id` (the small spark of natural vigor) as its direct object, construed with `vita agresti et rustico cultu` and `inter pecudes` to express means ("by keeping [him]...").

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §7.4.1-7.4.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.4.1-7.4.7

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