Mucius Scaevola and Cloelia Flashcards
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
He went to the senate. He said ‘I want to cross the Tiber, senators, and enter,
if I can, camp of the enemy, not as a member of an ambush
nor an avenger of the plundering in return; if the
gods help, a greater crime is my intention.’
The senators approved; having hidden his sword
inside his clothing he set off.
ubi eo venit, in confertissima turba prope
regium tribunal constitit. ibi cum stipendium militibus
forte daretur et scriba cum rege sedens pari fere ornatu
multa ageret eumque milites volgo adirent,
. When he came there, he stopped in the densest part of the crowd near
the royal platform. There, when their pay
was by chance being given to the soldiers and the secretary sitting with the king, in almost the same costume,
was doing many things and the soldiers were generally approaching him,
timens
sciscitari uter Porsenna esset, ne ignorando regem semet
ipse aperiret quis esset, quo temere traxit fortuna facinus,
scribam pro rege obtruncat.
] being afraid
to enquire which of the two was Porsenna, in case he himself
would reveal who he was by failing to recognise the king, as fortune blindly directed the deed,
he killed the secretary instead of the king.
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
As he was going from there, where he himself had made a path
for himself through the fearful crowd with his bloodstained sword,
when the royal bodyguards, having made a rush towards the shouting, arrested him
and dragged him back, having been left in front of the king’s platform, even then
to be feared amongst such great threats of fortune more than
being afraid
“Romanus sum” inquit,
“civis; C. Mucium vocant. 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.
, he said ‘I am a Roman citizen;
they call me Gaius Mucius. As an enemy, I wanted to kill the enemy, and I have no less courage to face death
than I had for the slaughter; it is a Roman characteristic both to do and to suffer brave (deeds).
And I am not the (only) one to have made this resolve against you;
after me there is a long line of men seeking the same glory.
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.”
So then
prepare yourself for this struggle, if you like, so that you may fight
for your life every hour, so that you may have a sword and an enemy in the entrance
of the royal residence. We, the Roman young men, declare this war on you.
You will fear no battle-line, no battle; the matter will be for you alone and with individuals.’
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 incensed by anger and terrified by the danger
menacingly ordered fires to be placed around (him) and Mucius said
‘look so that you may realise how cheap the body is to those who see great
glory’;
and he threw his right hand into fire which had been lit for a sacrifice
quam cum velut alienato ab sensu torreret animo, prope
attonitus miraculo rex cum ab sede sua prosiluisset
amoverique ab altaribus iuvenem iussisset,
When he scorched it as if his mind was devoid of feeling, the king, almost
astonished by the miracle, when he had jumped up from his seat
and had ordered the young man to be removed from the altars,
“tu vero abi”
inquit, “in te magis quam in me hostilia ausus. iuberem
macte virtute esse, si pro mea patria ista virtus staret;
said ‘Go away
indeed having dared hostile actions more against yourself than against me. I
would congratulate your courage, if that courage was for the sake of
my country
nunc iure belli liberum te, intactum inviolatumque hinc
dimitto.” 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.
now by the law of war I send you away from here free, untouched
and unviolated.’
Then Mucius, as if paying back the kindness,
Said ‘Since indeed you hold courage in high regard, as you have obtained from
me by
kindness that which you were unable to by threats, we, three hundred
chiefs of the Roman youths, have sworn that
we will attack you on this road
. mea prima sors fuit; ceteri ut cuiusque
ceciderit primi quoad te opportunum fortuna dederit, suo
quisque tempore aderunt.”
Mine was the first lot;
the others will be here, each at his own time, as each man’s lot will have fallen
(first) ,
until fortune gives a favourable chance against you.’
ergo ita honorata virtute, feminae quoque ad publica
decora excitatae, et Cloelia virgo una ex obsidibus, cum
castra Etruscorum forte haud procul ripa Tiberis locata
essent,
Therefore after his courage had been honoured in this way, the women were also roused to public honours,
and Cloelia, a girl, one of the hostages, since the camp
of the Etruscans had by chance been placed not far from the bank of the Tiber,
frustrata custodes, dux agminis virginum inter tela
hostium Tiberim tranavit, sospitesque omnes Romam ad
propinquos restituit
having deceived the guards, as the leader of a group of girls
swam across the Tiber amidst the weapons of the enemy, and restored them all safely to Rome to their families
quod ubi regi nuntiatum est, primo
incensus ira oratores Romam misit ad Cloeliam obsidem
deposcendam: alias haud magni facere.
When this was announced to the king, at first, incensed by anger
he sent orators to Rome to demand Cloelia as a hostage:
he did not care about the others.
deinde in
admirationem versus, supra Coclites Muciosque dicere id
facinus esse, et prae se ferre quemadmodum si non
dedatur obses, pro rupto foedus se habiturum, sic deditam
intactam inviolatamque ad suos remissurum.
Then turning to admiration,
he said that this deed was above Coclites and Mucius, and
he announced that just as if a hostage was not surrendered, he would consider the treaty broken,
so he would send her back, once she had been surrendered, untouched and unviolated to her family
Utrimque
constitit fides; et Romani pignus pacis ex foedere
restituerunt, et apud regem Etruscum non tuta solum sed
honorata etiam virtus fuit, laudatamque virginem parte
obsidum se donare dixit; ipsa quos vellet legeret….
The treaty stood firm on both sides; both the Romans restored her as a pledge of peace
according to the treaty, and at the house of the Etruscan king
her courage was not only safe but also honoured, and he said that he was giving the praised girl s
ome of the hostages; she herself could choose whom she wanted. …
pace
redintegrata Romani novam in femina virtutem novo
genere honoris, statua equestri, donavere; in summa
Sacra Via fuit posita virgo insidens equo.
After peace had been restored the Romans presented the new courage
in a woman with a new type of honour, a statue of a horse;
at the top of the Via Sacra was placed a girl sitting on a horse.
