Delphi Complete Works of Dionysius of Halicarnassus (Illustrated) (Delphi Ancient Classics Book 79)

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [3] In doing this he was following a very natural line of reasoning, as the event bore witness. For he assumed that the Romans would not submit to being plundered but would rush to arms, and he would thus have an opportunity of accusing them to his people as the aggressors in the war; and he also believed that the majority of the Albans, envying the prosperity of their colony, would gladly listen to these false accusations and would begin war against the Romans. And that is just what happened.

  [4] αὐτῶν πόλεμον ἐξοίσειν, ὅπερ καὶ συνέβη. ἀγόντων γὰρ καὶ φερόντων ἀλλήλους τῶν κακουργοτάτων ἐξ ἑκατέρας πόλεως καὶ στρατιᾶς ποτε Ῥωμαϊκῆς ἐμβα- λούσης εἰς τὴν Ἀλβανῶν, ὑφ᾽ ἧς πολλοὶ τῶν λῃστῶν οἱ μὲν ἀνῃρέθησαν, οἱ δὲ συνελήφθησαν, συγκαλέ- σας τὸ πλῆθος εἰς ἐκκλησίαν ὁ Κλοίλιος, ἐν ᾗ πολλὴν ἐποιήσατο τῶν Ῥωμαίων κατηγορίαν, τραυματίας τε συχνοὺς ἐπιδεικνύμενος καὶ τοὺς προσήκοντας τοῖς ἡρπασμένοις ἢ τεθνηκόσι παράγων καὶ πλείω τῶν γεγονότων ἐπικαταψευδόμενος, πρεσβείαν πέμπειν πρῶτον ἐψηφίσατο δίκας αἰτήσουσαν τῶν γεγονότων: ἐὰν δὲ ἀγνωμονῶσι Ῥωμαῖοι τότε τὸν πόλεμον ἐπ᾽ αὐτοὺς ἐκφέρειν.

  [4] For when the worst elements of each city fell to robbing and plundering each other and at last a Roman army made an incursion into the territory of the Albans and killed or took prisoner many of the bandits, Cluilius assembled the people and inveighed against the Romans at great length, showed them many who were wounded, produced the relations of those who had been seized or slain, and at the same time added other circumstances of his own invention; whereupon it was voted on his motion to send an embassy first of all to demand satisfaction for what had happened, and then, if the Romans refused it, to begin war against them.

  [1] ἀφικομένων δὲ τῶν πρεσβευτῶν εἰς Ῥώμην ὑποπτεύσας ὁ Τύλλος, ὅτι δίκας αἰτήσοντες ἥκοιεν, [p. 272] αὐτὸς τοῦτο ποιῆσαι πρότερος ἔγνω περιστῆσαι βουλόμενος εἰς ἐκείνους τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ λύειν τὰ πρὸς τὴν ἀποικίαν συγκείμενα. συνθῆκαι γὰρ ἦσαν ταῖς πόλεσιν ἐπὶ Ῥωμύλου γενόμεναι τά τε ἄλλα ἔχουσαι δίκαια καὶ ἵνα μηδετέρα πολέμου ἄρχῃ: ἡ δ᾽ ἐγκαλοῦσα ὅ τι δή ποτε ἀδίκημα δίκας αἰτοῖ παρὰ τῆς ἀδικούσης, εἰ δὲ μὴ τυγχάνοι τότε τὸν ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἐπιφέροι πόλεμον, ὡς λελυμένων ἤδη τῶν σπονδῶν.

  [3.1] Upon the arrival of the ambassadors at Rome, Tullius, suspecting that they had come to demand satisfaction, resolved to anticipate them in doing this, since he wished to turn upon the Albans the blame for breaking the compact between them and their colony. For there existed a treaty between the two cities which had been made in the reign of Romulus, wherein, among other articles, it was stipulated that neither of them should begin a war, but if either complained of any injury whatsoever, that city would demand satisfaction from the city which had done the injury, and failing to obtain it, should then make war as a matter of necessity, the treaty being looked upon as already broken.

  [2] φυλαττόμενος δὲ τὸ μὴ προτέρους αἰτηθέντας δίκας Ῥωμαίους ἀντειπεῖν, ἔπειτα ὑπαιτίους Ἀλβανοῖς γενέσθαι, προσέταξε τοῖς ἐπιφανεστάτοις τῶν ἑαυτοῦ φίλων τοὺς Ἀλβανῶν πρέσβεις ξενίζειν ἁπάσῃ φιλοφροσύνῃ καὶ κατέχειν ἔνδον παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς: αὐτὸς δ᾽ ἐν ἀσχολίαις εἶναι τισὶν ἀναγκαίοις σκηψάμενος διεκρούσατο

  [2] Tullius, therefore, taking care that the Romans should not be the first called upon to give satisfaction and, by refusing it, become guilty in the eyes of the Albans, ordered the most distinguished of his friends to entertain the ambassadors of the Albans with every courtesy and to detain them inside their homes while he himself, pretending to be occupied with some necessary business, put off their audience.

  [3] τὴν πρόσοδον αὐτῶν. τῇ δ᾽ ἔγγιστα νυκτὶ Ῥωμαίων ἄνδρας ἐπιφανεῖς ἐντειλάμενος αὐτοῖς ἃ χρὴ πράττειν ἀπέστειλεν εἰς Ἄλβαν ἅμα τοῖς εἰρηνοδίκαις αἰτήσοντας ὑπὲρ ὧν ἠδίκηντο Ῥωμαῖοι δίκας παρ᾽ Ἀλβανῶν λαβεῖν, οἳ πρὶν ἥλιον ἀνίσχειν διανύσαντες τὴν ὁδὸν πληθυούσης τῆς ἑωθινῆς ἀγορᾶς ἐντυγχάνουσι τῷ Κλοιλίῳ κατ᾽ ἀγορὰν ὄντι καὶ διεξιόντες ὅσα ἠδίκηντο Ῥωμαῖοι πρὸς Ἀλβανῶν ἠξίουν πράττειν τὰ συγκείμενα ταῖς πόλεσιν.

  [3] The following night he sent to Alba some Romans of distinction, duly instructed as to the course they should pursue, together with the fetiales, to demand satisfaction from the Albans for the injuries the Romans had received. These, having performed their journey before sunrise, found Cluilius in the market-place at the time when the early morning crowd was gathered there. And having set forth the injuries which the Romans had received at the hands of the Albans, they demanded that he should act in conformity with the compact between the cities.

  [4] ὁ δὲ Κλοίλιος, ὡς Ἀλβανῶν προτέρων ἀπεσταλκότων εἰς Ῥώμην τοὺς αἰτήσοντας δίκας καὶ μηδὲ ἀποκρίσεως [p. 273] ἠξιωμένων, ἀπιέναι τοὺς Ῥωμαίους ἐκέλευσεν ως παραβεβηκότας τὰς ὁμολογίας καὶ προεῖπεν αὐτοῖς τὸν πόλεμον. ἀπαλλαττόμενος δὲ ὁ τῆς πρεσβείας ἡγεμὼν τοῦτ᾽ ἠξίωσεν ἀκοῦσαι παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ μόνον, εἰ παραβαίνειν τὰς σπονδὰς ὁμολογεῖ τοὺς προτέρους αἰτηθέντας δίκας καὶ μηδὲν ὑπομείναντας ποιεῖν τῶν ὁσίων.

  [4] But Cluilius, alleging that the Albans had been first in sending envoys to Rome to demand satisfaction and had not even been vouchsafed an answer, ordered the Romans to depart, on the ground that they had violated the terms of the treaty, and declared war against them. The chief of the embassy, however, as he was departing, demanded from Cluilius an answer to just this one question, namely, whether he admitted that those were violating the treaty who, being the first called upon to give satisfaction, had refused to comply with any part of their obligation.

  [5] ὁμολογήσαντος δὲ τοῦ Κλοιλίου, μαρτύρομαι τοίνυν, ἔφη, τοὺς θεούς, οὓς ἐποιησάμεθα τῶν σπονδῶν μάρτυρας, ὅτι Ῥωμαίοις οὐ τυχοῦσι τῶν δικαίων προτέροις ὅσιος ὁ κατὰ τῶν παραβάντων τὰς σπονδὰς πόλεμος ἔσται, οἱ δὲ πεφευγότες τοῦτο τὸ δίκαιον ὑμεῖς ἐστε, ὡς αὐτὰ τὰ ἔργα δηλοῖ. πρότεροί τε γὰρ αἰτηθέντες τὸ δίκαιον οὐχ ὑπέσχετε καὶ πρότερον τὸν πόλεμον ἡμῖν προειρήκατε. τοιγάρτοι τοὺς ἀμυνουμένους ὑμᾶς προσδέχεσθε μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων οὐκ εἰς μακράν.

  [5] And when Cluilius said he did, he exclaimed: “Well, then, I call the gods, whom we made witnesses of our treaty, to witness that the Romans, having been the first
to be refused satisfaction, will be undertaking a just war against the violators of that treaty, and that it is you Albans who have avoided giving satisfaction, as the events themselves show. For you, being the first called upon for satisfaction, have refused it and you have been the first to declare war against us. Look, therefore, for vengeance to come upon you ere long with the sword.”

  [6] ταῦτα παρὰ τῶν πρεσβευτῶν ἀφικομένων εἰς Ῥώμην ἀκούσας ὁ Τύλλος, τότε τοὺς Ἀλβανοὺς προσάγειν ἐκέλευσε καὶ περὶ ὧν ἥκουσι λέγειν. ἀπαγγειλάντων δ᾽ αὐτῶν ὅσα προσέταξεν ὁ Κλοίλιος καὶ τὸν πόλεμον ἀπειλούντων εἰ μὴ τεύξονται τῆς δίκης, Ἐγὼ πρότερος ὑμῶν, ἔφη, τοῦτο πεποίηκα καὶ μηδὲν εὑρόμενος ὧν ἐκέλευον αἱ συνθῆκαι... φαίνονται παρ᾽ ὑμῶν προτέρων αὗται λελυμέναι τε καὶ μηδενὸς λόγου ἠξιωμέναι: ὅθεν δὴ τὸν ἀναγκαῖόν τε καὶ δίκαιον Ἀλβανοῖς παραγγέλλω πόλεμον.

  [6] Tullius, having learned of all this from the ambassadors upon their return to Rome, then ordered the Albans to be brought before him and to state the reasons for their coming; and when they had delivered the message entrusted to them by Cluilius and were threatening war in case they did not obtain satisfaction, he replied: “I have anticipated you in doing this, and having obtained nothing that the treaty directs, I declare against the Albans the war that is both necessary and just.”

  [1] μετὰ δὲ τὰς προφάσεις ταύτας παρεσκευάζοντο [p. 274] ἀμφότεροι τὰ πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον, οὐ μόνον τὰς οἰκείας καθοπλίζοντες δυνάμεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς παρὰ τῶν ὑπηκόων ἐπικαλούμενοι: ὡς δὲ πάντα ἦν αὐτοῖς εὐτρεπῆ συνῄεσαν ὁμόσε καὶ καταστρατοπεδεύονται τετταράκοντα τῆς Ῥώμης σταδίους ἀποσχόντες: οἱ μὲν Ἀλβανοὶ περὶ τὰς καλουμένας Κλοιλίας τάφρους ῾φυλάττουσι γὰρ ἔτι τὴν τοῦ κατασκευάσαντος αὐτὰς ἐπίκλησιν᾽ Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ ὀλίγον ἐνδοτέρω τὸν ἐπιτηδειότατον εἰς στρατοπεδείαν τόπον ἐκλεξάμενοι.

  [4.1] After these pretences they both prepared themselves for war, not only arming their own forces but also calling to their assistance those of their subjects. And when they had everything ready the two armies drew near to each other and encamped at the distance of forty stades from Rome, the Albans at the Cluilian Ditches, as they are called (for they still preserve the name of the man who constructed them) and the Romans a little farther inside, having chosen the most convenient place for their camp.

  [2] ἐπεὶ δὲ συνεῖδον ἀλλήλων ἀμφότεροι τὰς δυνάμεις οὔτε πλήθει λειπομένας οὔτε ὁπλισμοῖς εὐτελεῖς οὔτε ταῖς ἄλλαις παρασκευαῖς οὔσας εὐκαταφρονήτους, τῆς μὲν ταχείας ἐπὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα ὁρμῆς, ἣν κατ᾽ ἀρχὰς εἶχον ὡς αὐτῇ ἐφόδῳ τρεψόμενοι τοὺς πολεμίους, ἀπέστησαν: φυλακῆς δὲ μᾶλλον ἢ προεπιχειρήσεως πρόνοιαν ἐλάμβανον ὑψηλοτέρους ἐγείροντες τοὺς χάρακας, εἰσῄει τε αὐτῶν τοῖς χαριεστάτοις λογισμὸς ὡς οὐ τὰ κράτιστα βουλευομένοις, καὶ κατάμεμψις τῶν ἐν τέλει.

  [2] When the two armies saw each other’s forces neither inferior in numbers nor poorly armed nor to be despised in respect of their other preparations, they lost their impetuous ardour for the combat, which they had felt at first because of their expectation of defeating the enemy by their very onset, and they took thought rather of defending themselves by building their ramparts to a greater height than of being the first to attack. At the same time the most intelligent among them began to reflect, feeling that they were not being governed by the best counsels, and there was a spirit of faultfinding against those in authority.

  [3] ἑλκομένου δὲ τοῦ χρόνου διὰ κενῆς ῾οὐδὲν γὰρ ὅ τι καὶ λόγου ἄξιον εἴτε καταδρομαῖς ψιλῶν ἢ συμπλοκαῖς ἱππέων ἔβλαπτον ἀλλήλουσ᾽ ὁ τοῦ πολέμου δόξας αἴτιος γενονέναι Κλοίλιος ἀχθόμενος ἐπὶ τῇ ἀπράκτῳ καθέδρᾳ γνώμην ἔσχεν ἐξάγειν τὴν στρατιὰν καὶ προκαλεῖσθαι τοὺς πολεμίους εἰς μάχην, ἐὰν [p. 275] δὲ μὴ ὑπακούσωσι προσβάλλειν αὐτῶν πρὸς τὰ ἐρύματα.

  [3] And as the time dragged on in vain (for they were not injuring one another to any notable extent by sudden dashes of the light-armed troops or by skirmishes of the horse), the man who was looked upon as responsible for the war, Cluilius, being irked at lying idle, resolved to march out with his army and challenge the enemy to battle, and if they declined it, to attack their entrenchments.

  [4] παρασκευασάμενος δὲ τὰ πρὸς τὸν ἀγῶνα καί, εἰ δεήσει τειχομαχίας, ὅσα τῷ τοιούτῳ πρόσφορα ἔργῳ μηχανησάμενος, ἐπεὶ νὺξ ἐγένετο καθεύδων ἐν τῇ στρατηγικῇ σκηνῇ παρούσης αὐτῷ τῆς εἰωθυίας φυλακῆς περὶ τὸν ὄρθρον εὑρίσκεται νεκρός, οὔτε σφαγῆς οὔτε ἀγχόνης οὔτε φαρμάκων οὔτε ἄλλης βιαίου συμφορᾶς σημεῖον ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος οὐδὲν ἔχων.

  [4] And having made his preparations for an engagement and all the plans necessary for an attack upon the enemy’s ramparts, in case that should prove necessary, when night came on he went to sleep in the general’s tent, attended by his usual guard; but about daybreak he was found dead, no signs appearing on his body either of wounds, strangling, poison, or any other violent death.

  [1] παραδόξου δὲ τοῦ πάθους ὥσπερ εἰκὸς ἅπασι φαινομένου καὶ ζητουμένης τῆς αἰτίας ῾οὐδὲ γὰρ νόσον προηγησαμένην εἶχέ τις αἰτιάσασθαἰ οἱ μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν θείαν πρόνοιαν ἁπάσας τὰς ἀνθρωπίνας ἀναφέροντες τύχας κατὰ χόλον δαιμόνιον ἔλεγον αὐτὸν ἀποθανεῖν, ὅτι πόλεμον ἐξέκαυσε τῇ μητροπόλει πρὸς τὴν ἀπόκτισιν οὔτε δίκαιον οὔτε ἀναγκαῖον: οἱ δὲ χρηματισμὸν ἡγούμενοι τὸν πόλεμον καὶ μεγάλων ἀπεστερῆσθαι νομίζοντες ὠφελειῶν εἰς ἐπιβουλὴν καὶ φθόνον ἀνθρώπινον τὸ ἔργον μετέφερον αἰτιώμενοι τῶν ἀντιπολιτευομένων τινὰς ἀφανῆ καὶ δυσεξέλεγκτα ἐξευρόντας φάρμακα διὰ τούτων τὸν ἄνδρα ἀνῃρηκέναι:

  [5.1] This unfortunate event appearing extraordinary to everybody, as one would naturally expect, and the cause of it being enquired into — for no preceding illness could be alleged — those who ascribed all human fortunes to divine providence said that this death had been due to the anger of the gods, because he had handled an unjust and unnecessary war between the mother-city and her colony. But others, who looked upon war as a profitable business and thought they had been deprived of great gains, attributed the event to human treachery and envy, accusing some of his fellow citizens of the opposing faction of having made away with him by secret and untraceable poisons that they had di
scovered.

  [2] οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ λύπης τε καὶ ἀμηχανίας κρατούμενον ἑκουσίῳ χρήσασθαι τελευτῇ αὐτὸν ἔφασαν, ἐπειδὴ πάντα χαλεπὰ καὶ ἄπορα συνέβαινεν αὐτῷ καὶ οὐδὲν ἐχώρει κατὰ νοῦν τῶν ἐν ἀρχαῖς, ὅτε εἰς τὰ πράγματα εἰσῄει, προσδοκηθέντων: τοῖς δ᾽ ἐκτὸς οὖσι φιλίας τε καὶ ἔχθρας τῆς πρὸς τὸν στρατηγὸν [p. 276] καὶ ἀπὸ παντὸς τοῦ βελτίστου κρίνουσι τὸ συμβεβηκὸς οὔτε ἡ θεία νέμεσις οὔτε ὁ τῶν ἀντιπολιτευομένων φθόνος οὔθ᾽ ἡ τῶν πραγμάτων ἀπόγνωσις ἀνῃρηκέναι τὸν ἄνδρα ἐδόκει, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ τῆς φύσεως ἀνάγκη καὶ τὸ χρεὼν ὡς ἐκπεπληρωκότα τὴν ὀφειλομένην μοῖραν, ἧς ἅπασι τοῖς γινομένοις πέπρωται τυχεῖν.

  [2] Still others alleged that, being overcome with grief and despair, he had taken his own life, since all his plans were becoming difficult and impracticable and none of the things that he had looked forward to in the beginning when he first took hold of affairs was succeeding according to his desire. But those who were not influenced by either friendship or enmity for the general and based their judgment of what had happened on the soundest grounds were of the opinion that neither the anger of the gods nor the envy of the opposing faction nor despair of his plans had put an end to his life, but rather Nature’s stern law and fate, when once he had finished the destined course which is marked out for everyone that is born.