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

by Dionysius of Halicarnassus

  [3.1] Caeso Fabius, the other consul, though as a general his performance was second to none, was nevertheless deprived of the praise that his achievements deserved, not through any fault of his own, but because he did not enjoy the goodwill of the plebeians from the time when he had denounced and put to death the consul Cassius for aiming at a tyranny.

  [2] οὔτε γὰρ ὅσα δέοι σὺν τάχει στρατηγῷ κελεύσαντι τοὺς ὑπηκόους πειθαρχεῖν, οὔθ᾽ ὅσα τῷ προθύμῳ καὶ πρέποντι χρησαμένους βίᾳ κατασχεῖν, οὔθ᾽ ὅσα λάθρα τῶν ἀντιπολεμίων χωρία εἰς πλεονεξίαν εὔθετα σφετερίσασθαι, οὔτ᾽ ἄλλο πράττειν οὐδὲν ἕτοιμοι ἦσαν, ἐξ οὗ τιμήν τινα ὁ στρατηγὸς καὶ δόξαν ἀγαθὴν ἐξοίσεσθαι ἔμελλε. καὶ τἆλλα μὲν αὐτῶν, ὅσα ὑβρίζοντες τὸν ἡγεμόνα διετέλουν, ἐκείνῳ θ᾽ ἧττον λυπηρὰ ἦν καὶ τῇ πόλει βλάβης οὐ μεγάλης ἄξια, ὃ δὲ τελευτῶντες ἐξειργάσαντο κίνδυνον οὐ μικρὸν ἤνεγκε καὶ πολλὴν αἰσχύνην ἀμφοῖν.

  [2] For they never showed any alacrity either in those matters in which men under authority ought to yield a prompt obedience to the orders of their general, or when they should through eagerness and a sense of duty seize positions by force, or when it was necessary to occupy advantageous positions without the knowledge of the enemy, or in anything else from which the general would derive any honour and good repute. Most of their conduct, to be sure, by which they were continually insulting their general was neither very troublesome to him nor the occasion of any great harm to the commonwealth; but their final action brought no small danger and great disgrace to both.

  [3] γενομένης γὰρ παρατάξεως ἐν τῷ μεταξὺ τῶν λόφων, ἐφ᾽ οἷς ἦσαν ἐστρατοπεδευκότες ἀμφότεροι, πάσῃ τῇ παρ᾽ ἑκατέρων δυνάμει, πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ ἔργα ἀποδειξάμενοι καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους ἀναγκάσαντες ἄρξαι φυγῆς, οὔτ᾽ ἠκολούθησαν ἀπιοῦσι τοῦ στρατηγοῦ πολλὰ ἐπικελεύοντος οὔτε παραμείναντες ἐκπολιορκῆσαι τὸν χάρακα ἠθέλησαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐάσαντες ἀτελὲς ἔργον καλὸν ἀπῄεσαν εἰς τὴν αὑτῶν στρατοπεδείαν.

  [3] For when the two armies had arrayed themselves in battle order in the space between the hills on which their camps were placed, using all the forces on either side, and the Romans had performed many gallant deeds and forced the enemy to begin flight, they neither pursued them as they retreated, notwithstanding the repeated exhortations of the general, nor were they willing to remain and think the enemy’s camp by siege; on the contrary, they left a glorious action unfinished and returned to their own camp.

  [4] ἐπιχειρησάντων δ᾽ αὐτοκράτορα τὸν ὕπατον ἀναγορεῦσαί τινων μέγα [p. 276] ἐμβοήσαντες ἀθρόοι κακιζούσῃ τῇ φωνῇ τὸν ἡγεμόνα ἐλοιδόρουν, ὡς πολλοὺς σφῶν καὶ ἀγαθοὺς ἀπολωλεκότα δἰ ἀπειρίαν τοῦ στρατηγεῖν: καὶ ἄλλῃ πολλῇ βλασφημίᾳ καὶ ἀγανακτήσει χρησάμενοι λύειν τὸν χάρακα καὶ ἀπάγειν σφᾶς εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἠξίουν, ὡς οὐχ ἱκανοὺς ἐσομένους, ἐὰν ἐπίωσιν οἱ πολέμιοι, δευτέραν ὑπομεῖναι μάχην.

  [4] And when some of the soldiers attempted to salute the consul as imperator, all the rest joined in a loud outcry, reproaching and taunting their commander with the loss of many of their brave comrades through his want of ability to command; and after many other insulting and indignant remarks they demanded that he break camp and lead them back to Rome, pretending that they would be unable, if the enemy attacked them, to sustain a second battle.

  [5] καὶ οὔτε μεταδιδάσκοντος ἐπείθοντο τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, οὔτ᾽ ὀλοφυρομένου καὶ ἱκετεύοντος ἔπασχόν τι πρὸς τὰς δεήσεις, οὔτ᾽ ἀπειλὰς καὶ ἀνατάσεις, ὁπότε καὶ ταύταις χρήσαιτο, δι᾽ εὐλαβείας ἐλάμβανον, ἀλλὰ πρὸς ἅπαντα τραχυνόμενοι ταῦτα διέμενον. τοσαύτη δ᾽ ἀναρχία καὶ καταφρόνησις τοῦ ἡγεμόνος πᾶσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν παρέστη, ὥστε περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἐξαναστάντες τάς τε σκηνὰς ἔλυον καὶ τὰ ὅπλα ἀνελάμβανον καὶ τοὺς τραυματίας ἐβάσταζον οὐδενὸς κελεύσαντος.

  [5] And they neither gave heed when their commander endeavoured to show them the error of their course, nor were moved by his entreaties when he turned to lamentations and supplications, nor were they alarmed by the violence of his threats when he made use of these too; but they continued exasperated in the face of all these appeals. Indeed, some of them were possessed with such a spirit of disobedience and such contempt for their general that they rose up about midnight and without orders from anyone proceeded to strike their tents, take up their arms, and carry off their wounded.

  [1] ταῦθ᾽ ὁ στρατηγὸς μαθὼν ἠναγκάσθη πᾶσι δοῦναι τὸ παράγγελμα τῆς ἐξόδου δείσας τὴν ἀναρχίαν αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ θράσος. οἱ δ᾽ ὥσπερ ἐκ φυγῆς ἀνασωζόμενοι τάχει πολλῷ συνάπτουσι τῇ πόλει περὶ τὸν ὄρθρον. καὶ οἱ ἐπὶ τῶν τειχῶν ἀγνοήσαντες, ὅτι φίλιον ἦν στράτευμα, ὅπλα τ᾽ ἐνεδύοντο καὶ ἀλλήλους ἀνεκάλουν, ἥ τ᾽ ἄλλη πόλις, ὡς ἐπὶ συμφορᾷ μεγάλῃ, ταραχῆς ἐγεγόνει μεστὴ καὶ θορύβου: καὶ οὐ πρότερον ἀνέῳξαν αὐτοῖς τὰς πύλας οἱ φύλακες, ἢ λαμπράν τε ἡμέραν γενέσθαι καὶ γνωσθῆναι τὸ οἰκεῖον στράτευμα. [p. 277]

  [4.1] When the general was informed of this, he was forced to give the command for all to depart, so great was his fear of their disobedience and audacity. And the soldiers retired with as great precipitation as if they were saving themselves from a rout, and reached the city about daybreak. The guards upon the walls, not knowing that it was an army of friends, began to arm themselves and call out to one another, while all the rest of the city was full of confusion and turmoil, as if some great disaster had occurred; and the guards did not open the gates to them till it was broad day and they could distinguish their own army.

  [2] ὥστε πρὸς τῇ αἰσχύνῃ, ἣν ἐκ τοῦ καταλιπεῖν τὸν χάρακα ἠνέγκαντο, καὶ κίνδυνον οὐ τὸν ἐλάχιστον αὐτοὺς ἀναρρῖψαι, σκότους ἀπιόντας διὰ τῆς πολεμίας ἀτάκτως. εἴ γ᾽ οὖν τοῦτο καταμαθόντες οἱ πολέμιοι ἐκ παντὸς ἀπιοῦσιν αὐτοῖς ἠκολούθησαν, οὐδὲν ἂν ἐκώλυσεν ἅπασαν ἀπολωλέναι τὴν στρατιάν. τῆς δ᾽ ἀλόγου ταύτης ἀπάρσεως ἢ φυγῆς τὸ πρὸς τὸν ἡγεμόνα ἐκ τοῦ δήμου μῖσος, ὥσπερ ἔφην, αἴτιον ἦν, καὶ ὁ φθόνος τῆς ἐκείνου τιμῆς, ἵνα μὴ θριάμβου καταγωγῇ

  [2] Thus, in addition to the ignominy they incurred in deserting their camp, they also exposed themselves to great danger in returning in the dark through the enemy’s country, without observing any order. Certainly, if the Tyrrhenians had learned of it
and had followed close on their heels as they departed, nothing could have prevented the army from being utterly destroyed. The motive of this unaccountable withdrawal or flight was, as I have said, the hatred of the populace against the general and the begrudging of any honour to him, lest he should be granted a triumph and so acquire the greatest glory.

  [3] κοσμηθεὶς ἐπιφανέστατος γένηται. τῇ δ᾽ ἑξῆς ἡμέρᾳ μαθόντες οἱ Τυρρηνοὶ τὴν ἄπαρσιν τῶν Ῥωμαίων νεκρούς τ᾽ αὐτῶν ἐσκύλευσαν καὶ τραυματίας ἀράμενοι ἀπήνεγκαν τάς τε καταλειφθείσας ἐν τῷ χάρακι παρασκευάς — πολλαὶ δ᾽ ἦσαν ὡς εἰς χρόνιον παρεσκευασμέναι πόλεμον — διεφόρησαν, καὶ ὡς δὴ κρατοῦντες τῆς χώρας τῶν πολεμίων τὴν ἐγγυτάτω λεηλατήσαντες ἀπῆγον τὴν στρατιάν.

  [3] The next day the Tyrrhenians, having learned of the withdrawal of the Romans, stripped their dead, took up and carried off their wounded, and plundered all the stores they had left in their camp, which were very abundant as having been prepared for a long war; then, like conquerors, they laid waste the adjacent territory of the enemy, after which they returned home with their army.

  [1] οἱ δὲ μετὰ τούτους ἀποδειχθέντες ὕπατοι, Γνάϊος Μάλλιος καὶ Μάρκος Φάβιος τὸ δεύτερον ἄρχειν αἱρεθείς, ψήφισμα τῆς βουλῆς ποιησαμένης στρατὸν ἐξάγειν ἐπὶ τὴν Οὐιεντανῶν πόλιν, ὅσον ἂν πλεῖστον δυνηθῶσι, προὔθηκαν ἡμέραν, ἐν ᾗ τὸν κατάλογον ἔμελλον ποιήσεσθαι τῆς στρατιᾶς. γινομένου δ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἐμποδὼν ἐπὶ κωλύσει τῆς καταγραφῆς ἑνὸς τῶν δημάρχων, Τεβερίου Ποντοφικίου καὶ τὸ περὶ τῆς κληρουχίας ψήφισμα ἀνακαλουμένου, θεραπεύσαντες τῶν συναρχόντων αὐτοῦ [p. 278] τινας, ὥσπερ ἐποίησαν οἱ πρὸ αὐτῶν ὕπατοι, διέστησαν τὸ ἀρχεῖον: καὶ μετὰ τοῦτ᾽ ἔπραττον ἐπὶ πολλῆς ἐξουσίας τὰ δόξαντα τῇ βουλῇ.

  [5.1] The succeeding consuls, Gnaeus Manlius and Marcus Fabius (the latter chosen for the second time), in pursuance of a decree of the senate ordering them to march against the Veientes with as large an army as they could raise, appointed a day for levying the troops. When Tiberius Pontificius, one of the tribunes, opposed them by forbidding the levy and called upon them to carry out the decree relating to the allotment of land, they courted some of his colleagues, as their predecessors had done, and thus divided the college of tribunes, after which they proceeded to carry out the will of the senate with full liberty.

  [2] γενομένης δὲ τῆς καταγραφῆς ἐν ὀλίγαις ἡμέραις ἐξῄεσαν ἐπὶ τοὺς πολεμίους, δύο μὲν ἑκάτερος ἄγων Ῥωμαίων τάγματα τῶν ἐξ αὐτῆς καταγραφέντων τῆς πόλεως, οὐκ ἐλάττω δὲ ταύτης χεῖρα τὴν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀποίκων τε καὶ ὑπηκόων ἀποσταλεῖσαν. ἀφίκετο δ᾽ αὐτοῖς παρὰ τοῦ Λατίνων τε καὶ Ἑρνίκων ἔθνους διπλάσιον τοῦ κληθέντος ἐπικουρικόν. οὐ μὴν ἐχρήσαντό γε παντί: πολλὴν δὲ χάριν αὐτοῖς εἰδέναι φήσαντες τῆς προθυμίας ἀπέλυσαν τῆς ἀποσταλείσης δυνάμεως τὴν ἡμίσειαν.

  [2] The levy being completed in a few days, the consuls took the field against the enemy, each of them having with him two legions of Romans raised in the city itself a force no less numerous sent by their colonies and subjects. Indeed, there came to them from the Latin and the Hernican nations double the number of auxiliaries they had called for; they did not, however, make use of this entire force, by stating that they were very grateful for their zeal, they dismissed one half of the army that had been sent.

  [3] ἔταξαν δὲ καὶ πρὸ τῆς πόλεως τρίτον ἐκ δυεῖν ταγμάτων τῶν ἐν ἀκμῇ στρατόν, φύλακα τῆς χώρας ἐσόμενον, εἴ τις ἑτέρα δύναμις πολεμίων ἐκ τοῦ ἀδοκήτου φανείη: τοὺς δ᾽ ὑπὲρ τὸν στρατιωτικὸν κατάλογον, οἷς ἔτι δύναμις ἦν ὅπλων χρήσεως, ἐν τῇ πόλει κατέλιπον ἄκρας τε καὶ τείχη φυλάξοντας.

  [3] They also drew up before the city a third army, consisting of two legions of the younger men, to serve as a garrison for the country in case any other hostile force should unexpectedly make its appearance; the men who were above the military age but still had strength sufficient to bear arms they left in the city to guard the citadels and the walls.

  [4] ἀγαγόντες δὲ πλησίον τῆς Οὐιεντανῶν πόλεως τὰς δυνάμεις κατεστρατοπέδευσαν ἐπὶ λόφοις δυσὶν οὐ μακρὰν ἀφεστηκόσιν ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων. ἦν δὲ καὶ ἡ τῶν πολεμίων δύναμις ἐξεστρατευμένη πρὸ τῆς πόλεως πολλή τε καὶ ἀγαθή. συνεληλύθεσαν γὰρ ἐξ ἁπάσης Τυρρηνίας οἱ δυνατώτατοι τοὺς ἑαυτῶν πενέστας ἐπαγόμενοι, καὶ ἐγένετο τοῦ Ῥωμαικοῦ στρατοῦ

  [4] When the consuls had led their forces close to the city of Veii, they encamped on two hills not far apart. The enemy’s army, which was both large and valiant, had also taken the field and lay encamped before the city. For the most influential men from all Tyrrhenia had joined them with their dependents, with the result that the Tyrrhenians’ army was not a little larger than that of the Romans.

  [5] μεῖζον τὸ Τυρρηνικὸν οὐκ ὀλίγῳ. τοῖς δ᾽ ὑπάτοις τό τε πλῆθος ὁρῶσι τῶν πολεμίων καὶ τὴν λαμπρότητα τῶν ὅπλων πολὺ δέος ἐνέπεσε, μή ποτ᾽ οὐχ ἱκανοὶ [p. 279] γένωνται στασιαζούσῃ δυνάμει τῇ σφετέρᾳ πρὸς ὁμονοοῦσαν τὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἀντιταξάμενοι ὑπερβαλέσθαι: ἐδόκει τ᾽ αὐτοῖς ὀχυρωσαμένοις τὰ στρατόπεδα τρίβειν τὸν πόλεμον ἐκδεχομένοις, εἴ τινα δώσει πλεονεξίας ἀφορμὴν αὐτοῖς τὸ τῶν πολεμίων θράσος ἀλογίστῳ καταφρονήσει ἐπαρθέν. ἀκροβολισμοὶ δὴ μετὰ τοῦτο συνεχεῖς ἐγίνοντο καὶ ψιλῶν συμπλοκαὶ βραχεῖαι, μέγα δ᾽ ἢ λαμπρὸν ἔργον οὐδέν.

  [5] When the consuls saw the numbers of the enemy and the lustre of their arms, great fear came upon them lest, with their own forces rent by faction, they might not be able to prevail when arrayed against the harmonious forces of the enemy; and they determined to fortify their camps and to prolong the war in the hope that the boldness of the enemy, encouraged by an ill-advised contempt for them, might afford them some opportunity of acting with advantage. After this there were continual skirmishes and brief clashes of the light-armed troops, but no important or signal action.

  [1] οἱ δὲ Τυρρηνοὶ ἀχθόμενοι τῇ τριβῇ τοῦ πολέμου δειλίαν τ᾽ ὠνείδιζον τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις, ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἐξῄεσαν εἰς μάχην, καὶ ὡς παρακεχωρηκότων αὐτῶν σφίσι τῆς ὑπαίθρου μέγα ἐφρόνουν. καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐπήρθησαν εἰς ὑπεροψίαν τοῦ ἀντιπάλου στρατοῦ καὶ καταφρόνησι�
� τῶν ὑπάτων δόξαντες καὶ τὸ θεῖον αὑτοῖς συμμαχεῖν.

  [6.1] The Tyrrhenians, being irked by the prolongation of the war, taunted the Romans with cowardice because they would not come out for battle, and believing that their foes had abandoned the field to them, they were greatly elated. They were still further inspired with scorn for the Roman army and contempt for the consuls when they thought that even the gods were fighting on their side.

  [2] τοῦ γὰρ ἑτέρου τῶν ὑπάτων Γναΐου Μαλλίου κεραυνὸς εἰς τὸ στρατήγιον ἐμπεσὼν τήν τε σκηνὴν διέσπασε καὶ τὴν ἑστίαν ἀνέτρεψε καὶ τῶν πολεμιστηρίων ὅπλων τὰ μὲν ἐσπίλωσε, τὰ δὲ περιέκαυσε, τὰ δ᾽ εἰς τέλος ἠφάνισεν: ἀπέκτεινε δὲ καὶ τὸν λαμπρότατον αὐτοῦ τῶν ἵππων, ᾧ παρὰ τοὺς ἀγῶνας ἐχρῆτο, καὶ τῶν θεραπόντων τινάς.

  [2] For a thunderbolt, falling upon the headquarters of Gnaeus Manlius, one of the consuls, tore the tent in pieces, overturned the hearth, and tarnished some of the weapons of war, while scorching or completely destroying others. It killed also the finest of his horses, the one he used in battle, and some of his servants.

  [3] λεγόντων δὲ τῶν μάντεων τοῦ τε χάρακος ἅλωσιν προσημαίνειν τοὺς θεοὺς καὶ τῶν ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν ἀπώλειαν, ἀναστήσας τὴν δύναμιν ὁ Μάλλιος ἀπῆγε περὶ μέσας νύκτας ἐπὶ τὸν ἕτερον χάρακα καὶ μετὰ τοῦ συνάρχοντος κατεστρατοπέδευσε.