Livy Flashcards
TRANSLATE
senatum adit. ‘transire Tiberim’, inquit, ‘patres, et intrare, si possim, castra hostium volo, non praedo nec populationum in vicem ultor; maius si di iuvant in animo est facinus.’ adprobant patres; abdito intra vestem ferro proficiscitur. Ubi eo venit, in confertissima turba prope regium tribunal constitit.
He went to the senate. “Senators”, he said, “I want to cross the river Tiber and enter, if I can, the enemy’s camp, not as a bandit and not as an avenger of plundering in return; if the God’s help, I have a greater deed in mind.” The senators approve; he sets out with a sword concealed inside his clothes. When he arrived, he stood in the densest part of the crowd next to the royal platform.
ANALYSE
senatum adit. ‘transire Tiberim’, inquit, ‘patres, et intrare, si possim, castra hostium volo, non praedo nec populationum in vicem ultor; maius si di iuvant in animo est facinus.’ adprobant patres; abdito intra vestem ferro proficiscitur. Ubi eo venit, in confertissima turba prope regium tribunal constitit.
- ‘adit’ - vivid present draws the reader in
- ‘patres’ and ‘si possim’ - polite and humble when addressing senators
- ‘si di iuvant’ - introduces Gaius Mucius Scaevola as a pious man
- ‘facinus’ - can mean crime or deed, amibigious
- ‘adprobant’ - hyperbaton emphasises immediate approval
- ‘abdito’ - hyperbaton emphasises the secrecy of the knife in the clothing as well as the secrecy from the senators
- ‘proficiscitur’ - vivid present draws the reader in
- ‘confertissima’ - superlative emphasises density of crowd
TRANSLATE
ibi cum stipendium militibus forte daretur et scriba cum rege sedens pari fere ornatu multa ageret eumque milites volgo adirent, timens sciscitari uter Porsenna esset, ne ignorando regem semet ipse aperiret quis esset, quo temere traxit fortuna facinus, scribam pro rege obtruncat.
There, since payment was by chance being given out to the soldiers, and the scribe, sitting with the king in almost the same costume, was carrying out lots of business, and the soldiers were generally going up to him; [Mucius] afraid to ask which of the two was Porsenna, in case by not recognising the king, he should reveal who he really was, as fortune blindly directed the deed, killed the scribe instead of the king.
ANALYSE
ibi cum stipendium militibus forte daretur et scriba cum rege sedens pari fere ornatu multa ageret eumque milites volgo adirent, timens sciscitari uter Porsenna esset, ne ignorando regem semet ipse aperiret quis esset, quo temere traxit fortuna facinus, scribam pro rege obtruncat.
- one whole sentence with lots of clauses, mimicking the chaos and confusion around him
- ‘daretur […] ageret […] adirent’ - tricolon of things going on around him, emphasises confusion and bewilderement
- ‘obtruncant’ - end of sentence reflecting the end of the scribe’s life as well as all the general activity which will be disrupted
- ‘fortuna facinus’ - fricative alliteration speeds up reader emphasising the haste and confusion of the killing of the scribe, the fates decided it/not a calculated decision
TRANSLATE
vadentem inde qua per trepidam turbam cruento mucrone sibi ipse fecerat viam, cum concursu ad clamorem facto comprehensum regii satellites retraxissent, ante tribunal regis destitutus, tum quoque inter tantas fortunae minas metuendus magis quam metuens, “Romanus sum”, inquit, “civis; Gaium Mucium vocant”
From there, as he was proceeding along the way which he had made for himself through the anxious crowd with a bloody sword, when - having rushed to the uproar - the royal bodyguards had siezed him and dragged him back; having been left in front of the king’s platform, then too amongst such great threats of fortune, more frightening than frightened he said, “I am a Roman citizen; they call me Gaius Mucius.”
ANALYSE
vadentem inde qua per trepidam turbam cruento mucrone sibi ipse fecerat viam, cum concursu ad clamorem facto comprehensum regii satellites retraxissent, ante tribunal regis destitutus, tum quoque inter tantas fortunae minas metuendus magis quam metuens, “Romanus sum”, inquit, “civis; Gaium Mucium vocant”
- ‘vadentem’ - hyperbaton emphasises Scaevola’s confidence and lack of hesitation
- ‘trepidam turbam’ vs ‘cruento mucrone’ - contrasting alliteration highlights the contrast between the ‘anxious crowd’ and Scaevola’s confidence with his ‘bloody sword’. The sharpness of the cacophony is audibly cutting through the alliteration of the Ts, symbolising the sword cutting through the crowd.
- ‘ipse fecerat’ - making his own way, showing his confidence
- ‘minas metuendus magis quam metuens’ - softness of the Ms slows the reader, showing Scaevola’s calmness
- ‘Romanus sum’ - Scaevola is proud to be a Roman, appeals to readers
TRANSLATE
“hostis hostem occidere volui, nec ad mortem minus animi est quam fuit ad caedem; et facere et pati fortia Romanum est. nec unus in te ego hos animos gessi; longus post me ordo est idem petentium decus. proinde in hoc discrimen, si iuvat, accingere, ut in singulas horas capite dimices tuo, ferrum hostemque in vestibulo habeas regiae. hoc tibi iuventus Romana indicimus bellum. nullam aciem, nullum proelium timueris; uni tibi et cum singulis res erit.”
“As an enemy, I wanted to kill an enemy. I have no less courage to face death than I had to face slaughter, both to do and to endure bravely is the Roman way. I’m not the only one who thinks this way towards you; there is a long line behind me of men seeking the same glory. So then, prepare yourself for this struggle, if you like: to fight for your life every single hour; to have an armed enemy in the entrance of your palace. We Roman Youth declare this war on you! You’ll fear no battle-line, no battle: the issue will be for you alone and with one man at a time.”
ANALYSE
“hostis hostem occidere volui, nec ad mortem minus animi est quam fuit ad caedem; et facere et pati fortia Romanum est. nec unus in te ego hos animos gessi; longus post me ordo est idem petentium decus. proinde in hoc discrimen, si iuvat, accingere, ut in singulas horas capite dimices tuo, ferrum hostemque in vestibulo habeas regiae. hoc tibi iuventus Romana indicimus bellum. nullam aciem, nullum proelium timueris; uni tibi et cum singulis res erit.”
- ‘hostis hostem’ - polyptoton shows the contrast between the two characters but also the similarities
- ‘hostis hostem […] nec ad mortem […] Romanum est’ - ascending tricolon to describe the reasoning for Scaevola’s actions, starting from him as an individual, building up to him as a Roman
- ‘et facere et pati fortia’ - contrasting fricative and dental alliteration shows the suffering a Roman will endure, emphasising Roman bravery
- ‘unus in te ego’ - word referring to king (‘te’) is surrounded by Romans like Scaevola. King is surrounded, his fate is decided.
- ‘si iuvat’ - bating/intimidating the king
- ‘in singulas horas capite dimices tuo’ - emphasis on the scale that awaits, he will be fighting this his whole life
- ‘hoc tibi iuventus Romana indicimus bellum’ - chiasmus - Romans at the centre to show how they are causing the terror, ‘tibi’ (referring to the king) is surrounded by war.
- ‘nulam […] nullum’ - anaphora emphasises threat, repeating all the things that won’t happen builds suspense for what will come
- ‘uni tibi et cum singulis’ - ‘you alone’ (singular) contrasts with ‘individuals’ (plural), showing how the Roman’s have more manpower and so are more powerful
- ‘erit’ - future tense shows inevitability
TRANSLATE
cum rex simul ira incensus periculoque conterritus circumdari ignes minitabundus iuberet… “en tibi” inquit, “ut sentias quam vile corpus sit iis qui magnam gloriam vident”; dextramque accenso ad sacrificium foculo inicit.
When the king, at the same time inflamed with anger and terrified by the danger, was ordering him to be surrounded and was threatening him with fire… [Mucius] said, “Look here, so that you may feel how cheap a body is to those who see great glory!”; and he thrust his right hand into the blazing fire for sacrifice.
ANALYSE
cum rex simul ira incensus periculoque conterritus circumdari ignes minitabundus iuberet… “en tibi” inquit, “ut sentias quam vile corpus sit iis qui magnam gloriam vident”; dextramque accenso ad sacrificium foculo inicit.
- ‘incensus’ - passive verb shows his lack of control
- ‘ira’ vs ‘conterritus’ - contrasting emotions shows the extent of the King’s reaction to Scaevola’s speech. Emphasises by the intensifying prefix ‘conterritus’
- ‘vile corpus’ vs ‘magnam gloriam’ - contrast shows how nothing is more important than the glory of Rome
- ‘dextramque’ - promoted to show the speed of Scaevola’s hand.
- ‘inicit’ - vivid present further emphasises the speed and suddeness
TRANSLATE
quam cum velut alienato ab sensu torreret animo, prope attonitus miraculo rex cum ab sede sua prosiluisset amoverique ab altaribus iuvenem iussisset, “tu vero abi” inquit, “in te magis quam in me hostilia ausus. Iuberem macte virtute esse, si pro mea patria ista virtus staret; nunc iure belli liberum te, intactum inviolatumque hinc dimitto”.
When he was scorching it as if with his mind devoid of feeling, the king, almost stunned by the portent, when he had leapt forth from his seat and had ordered the young man to be removed from the altar, said “you clear off now, having dared hostile actions against yourself more than against me. I would tell you to continue to be courageous, if this courage were displayed on behalf of my country; now I send you away from here free from the law of war, untouched and unviolated. “
ANALYSE
quam cum velut alienato ab sensu torreret animo, prope attonitus miraculo rex cum ab sede sua prosiluisset amoverique ab altaribus iuvenem iussisset, “tu vero abi” inquit, “in te magis quam in me hostilia ausus. Iuberem macte virtute esse, si pro mea patria ista virtus staret; nunc iure belli liberum te, intactum inviolatumque hinc dimitto”.
- ‘quam […] animo’ - separation of body and mind to emphasise Scaevola’s lack of feeling
- ‘prosiluisset […] iussisset […] inquit’ - tricolon of King’s actions emphasises his power as well as his haste.
- ‘tu vero abi’ - an order shows King’s power
- ‘liberum te, intactum inviolatumque’ - tricolon of adjectives to describe freedom emphasises King’s mercy and fairness
TRANSLATE
tunc Mucius, quasi remunerans meritum, “quando quidem”, inquit, “est apud te virtuti honos, ut beneficio tuleris a me quod minis nequisti, trecenti coniuravimus principes iuventutis Romanae ut in te hac via grassaremur. mea prima sors fuit; ceteri ut cuiusque ceciderit primi quoad te opportunum fortuna dederit, suo quis que tempore aderunt.”
Then Mucius, as if paying back a kindness, said: “since you hold courage in high regard, so that you have obtained from me by kindness what you couldn’t have through threats, we have sworn, three hundrend leaders of the youth of Rome, to attack you by this route. Mine was the first lot; as each man’s lot will have fallen, the rest will be present each at his own time, taking turns until fortune has given a favourable chance against you.
ANALYSE
tunc Mucius, quasi remunerans meritum, “quando quidem”, inquit, “est apud te virtuti honos, ut beneficio tuleris a me quod minis nequisti, trecenti coniuravimus principes iuventutis Romanae ut in te hac via grassaremur. mea prima sors fuit; ceteri ut cuiusque ceciderit primi quoad te opportunum fortuna dederit, suo quis que tempore aderunt.”
- ‘quasi’ - mocking the King’s “kindness”
- ‘te virtuti honos’ - courage in the centre, emphasising its importance
- ‘trecenti coniuravimus’ - emphatic placement of ‘three hundrend’ as well as the collective pronoun of ‘we have sworn’ emphasises the number of Roman’s, and subsequently emphasising the threat
- ‘mea prima sors fuit’ - short phrase contrasting the following longer phrase, mimicking Scaevola’s small attempt to kill the king compared to the great Roman effort
- ‘ceteri ut cuiusque ceciderit primi quoad’ - cacophony mimicks harsh hostility/aggression towards the king
- ‘cuiusque […] quisque’ - polyptoton emphasises the mass of individuals in Rome
- ‘aderunt’ - ending on future tense builds suspense and inevitability
TRANSLATE
ergo ita honorata virtue, feminae quoque ad publica decora excitatae, et Cloelia virgo una ex obsidibus, cum castra Etruscorum forte haud procul ripa Tiberis locata essent, frustrata custodes, dux agminis virginum inter tela hostium Tiberim tranavit sopesitesque omnes Romam ad propinquos restituit.
Therefore with courage having been honoured in this way, women were also inspired to public [acts of] glory, and the young woman Cloelia - one of the hostages - since the camp of the Etruscans, by chance, was located not far from the bank of the Tiber - having decieved the guards, swam across the Tiber as the leader of a group of young women amongst the weapons of the enemy, and she brought them all safely back to their families in Rome.
