Chunk 8 Flashcards
o magnum atque intolerandum dolorem! o gravem acerbamque
fortunam! non vitam liberum, sed mortis celeritatem pretio 50
redimere cogebantur parentes. atque ipsi etiam adulescentes cum
Sextio suo de plaga et de uno illo ictu loquebantur, idque
postremum parentes suos liberi orabant, ut levandi cruciatus sui
causa lictori pecunia daretur. multi et graves dolores inventi
parentibus et propinquis, multi; verum tamen mors sit extremum. 55
non erit. estne aliquid ultra quo crudelitas progredi possit?
reperietur; nam illorum, cum erunt securi percussi ac necati,
corpora feris obicientur. hoc si luctuosum est parentibus, redimant
pretio sepeliendi potestatem…
O great and unbearable grief! O grievous and bitter fortune! The parents were compelled to ransom not their children’s life, but the speed of their death. Even the young men themselves talked to their Sextius about the blow and that one strike, and the children made this final request to their parents that money be given to the lictor to relieve their torture. Many grievous pains were devised for the parents and their close relatives, many; nevertheless let death be the end. It will not be so. Is there anything further to which cruelty can go? It will be found. For when they are struck by the axe and killed, their bodies will be thrown to wild beasts. If this is grievous to the parents, let them purchase for a fee the opportunity to bury them.
