34.6. Appius replied that so clear a case needed no investigation as if it were not clear. If Philip wished to avert blame from himself he should send Onomastus and Casander, through whom it was said that the plan had been executed, to Rome, in order that the senate might question them.
34.6. negare Appius rem evidentem pro dubia quaerendam; si ab se culpam removere vellet, Onomastum et Casandrum, per quos acta res diceretur, mitteret Romam, ut eos senatus percunctari posset.
34.7. This speech at first so disconcerted the king that he could not control his colour or expression; then, at length collecting his wits, he said that he would send Casander, who had been at Maronea, if they really wished it;
34.7. primo adeo perturbavit ea vox regem, ut non color, non vultus ei constaret; deinde conlecto tandem animo Casandrum, qui Maroneae fuisset, si utique vellent, se missurum dixit;
34.8. but how did this affair concern Onomastus, who had not only not been at Maronea but had not even been in any district close to it?
34.8. ad Onomastum quidem quid eam rem pertinere, qui non modo Maroneae, sed ne in regione quidem propinqua fuisset?
34.9. And in fact he was both careful to spare Onomastus, as a more valued friend, and was likewise much more afraid of him as an informer, because he himself had exchanged views with him and used him as an agent and accomplice in many such affairs.
34.9. et parcebat magis Onomasto, honoratiori amico, et eundem indicem haud paulo plus timebat, quia et ipse sermonem contulerat cum eo et multorum talium ministrum et conscium habebat.
34.10. Casander, moreover, when men were sent to conduct him through Epirus to the sea, was believed to have been done away with by poison, lest in some way his evidence might get out.
34.10. Casander quoque missis, qui per Epirum ad mare prosequerentur eum, ne qua indicium emanaret, veneno creditur sublatus.
35.1. And the commissioners went away from the conference with Philip in such fashion as to advertise the fact that nothing in his conduct pleased them, and Philip had no doubt at all that he would have to resort to war. Yet, since his strength was still insufficient for that, in order to cause delay, he determined to send his younger son Demetrius to Rome, partly to explain away the charges against him, partly to turn aside the wrath of the senate, being well persuaded that he, even though a young man, because while he was a hostage at Rome he had shown signs of possessing a kingly nature, would have some influence.
35.1. et legati a Philippi conloquio ita digressi sunt, ut prae se ferrent, nihil eorum sibi placere, et Philippus minime, quin rebellandum esset, dubius. quia tamen inmaturae ad id vires erant, ad moram interponendam Demetrium minorem filium mittere Romam simul ad purganda crimina, simul ad deprecandam iram senatus statuit, satis credens ipsum etiam iuvenem, quod Romae obses specimen indolis regiae dedisset, aliquid momenti facturum.
35.4. Meanwhile, setting out under the pretence of bringing aid to the Byzantines, but in reality in order to inspire the chiefs of the Thracians with fear, having defeated them in one battle and captured their leader Amadocus, he returned to Macedonia, sending agents to stir up the barbarians living along the Hister river, to the end that they might invade Italy.
35.4. interim per speciem auxilii Byzantiis ferendi, re ipsa ad terrorem regulis Thracum iniciendum profectus, perculsis iis uno proelio et Amadoco duce capto in Macedoniam rediit missis ad adcolas Histri fluminis barbaros, ut in Italiam inrumperent, sollicitandos.
35.5. In the Peloponnesus also the coming of the Roman commissioners, who had been ordered to proceed from Macedonia to Achaia, was being awaited; and in order that they might have their arguments prepared in advance with which to confront the Romans, the praetor Lycortas called a council.
35.5. et in Peloponneso adventus legatorum Romanorum, qui ex Macedonia in Achaim ire iussi erant, expectabatur; adversus quos ut praeparata consilia haberent, Lycortas praetor concilium indixit. ibi de Lacedaemoniis actum:
35.6. There the question concerned the Lacedaemonians: from enemies they had turned accusers, and there was danger that in defeat they would prove more to be feared than they had been when at war. In the war, they reflected, the Achaeans had had the Romans as allies: now the same Romans were more favourably disposed towards the Lacedaemonians than towards the Achaeans, in a situation where even Areus and Alcibiades, both exiles, restored through Achaean influence, had undertaken an embassy to Rome against the Achaean people which had deserved so well of them, and had expressed sentiments so hostile that they seemed to have been driven from their country, not restored to it.
35.6. ex hostibus eos accusatores factos, et periculum esse, ne victi magis timendi forent, quam bellantes fuissent. quippe in bello sociis Romanis Achaeos usos; nunc eosdem Romanos aequiores Lacedaemoniis quam Achaeis esse, ubi Areus etiam et Alcibiades, ambo exules, suo beneficio restituti, legationem Romam adversus gentem Achaeorum ita de ipsis meritam suscepissent, adeoque infesta oratione usi essent, ut pulsi patria, non restituti in eam viderentur.
35.8. A cry went up from all sides that the praetor should offer a motion concerning them by name; and since everything was governed by passion, not deliberation, they were condemned to death. A few days later the Roman commissioners arrived. A council was called for them at Clitor in Arcadia.
35.8. clamor undique ortus, referret nominatim de iis; et cum omnia ira, non consilio gererentur, capitis damnati sunt. paucos post dies Romani legati venerunt. his Clitore in Arcadia datum est concilium.
36.1. Before they did anything, fear struck the Achaeans and the thought came to them on how unequal grounds the argument was likely to be conducted, because they saw Areus and Alcibiades, who had been condemned to death by them at the latest council, with the commissioners; nor did anyone dare to open his mouth.
36.1. priusquam agerent quicquam, terror Achaeis iniectus erat et cogitatio, quam non ex aequo disceptatio futura esset, quod Areum et Alcibiadem capitis ab se concilio proximo damnatos cum legatis videbant;
36.3. Appius stated that the conduct of which the Lacedaemonians had complained before the senate was displeasing to the senate: first, the slaughter which took place at Compasium of those Lacedaemonians who had come in response to the summons of Philopoemen to plead their cause;
36.3. nec hiscere quisquam audebat. Appius ea, quae apud senatum questi erant Lacedaemonii, displicere senatui ostendit, caedem primum ad Compasium factam eorum, qui a Philopoemene ad causam dicendam evocati venissent;
36.4. second, that after they had treated men with such violence, that they might overlook no form of cruelty, they had torn down the walls of a most illustrious city, had repealed their most ancient laws, and had done away with the discipline of Lycurgus, famed as it was throughout the world.
36.4. deinde cum in homines ita saevitum esset, ne ulla parte crudelitas eorum cessaret, muros dirutos urbis nobilissimae esse, leges vetustissimas abrogatas inclutamque per gentes disciplinam Lycurgi sublatam.
36.5. When Appius had said this, Lycortas, both because he was praetor and because he belonged to the party of Philopoemen, who was responsible for whatever had been done in Lacedaemon, replied thus: "It is more difficult for us, Appius Claudius, to speak in your presence than it was recently in Rome before the senate.
36.5. haec cum Appius dixisset, Lycortas, et quia praetor et quia Philopoemenis, auctoris omnium, quae Lacedaemone acta fuerant, factionis erat, ita respondit:
36.6. For then our task was to answer the accusations of the Lacedaemonians: now we have been accused by you, before whom we must plead our cause.
36.6. ”difficilior nobis, Ap. Claudi, apud vos oratio est, quam Romae nuper apud senatum fuit.
36.7. This disadvantage of situation we accept in the hope that you will listen in the spirit of a judge, laying aside the vehemence of a prosecutor with which you spoke a little while ago.
36.7. tunc enim Lacedaemoniis accusantibus respondendum erat; nunc a vobis ipsis accusati sumus, apud quos causa est dicenda.
36.8. I at any rate, when these complaints which were presented, both here previously before Quintus Caecilius and in Rome later by the Lacedaemonians, were repeated by you a little while ago, shall believe that I am replying, not to you, but to them in your presence. You bring up the murder of those men who were killed when they had been summoned by the praetor Philopoemen to plead their cause. This charge, in my opinion, should not only not have been made against us by you, Romans, but not even by them before you. Why so?
36.8. quam iniquitatem condicionis subimus illa spe, iudicis animo te auditurum esse posita contentione, qua paulo ante egisti. ego certe, cum ea, quae et hic antea apud Q. Caecilium et postea Romae questi sunt Lacedaemonii, a te paulo ante relata sint, non tibi, sed illis me apud te respondere credam.
36.9. Because it was stated in your treaty that the Lacedaemonians should keep their hands off the towns on the coast. At the time when they took up arms and seized, by a night attack, those cities which they had been ordered to let alone, if Titus Quinctius, if a Roman army, as before, had been in the Peloponnesus, the captured and oppressed would doubtless have fled to them. Since you were far away, where else could they flee except to us, whom they had previously seen bringing aid to Gytheum and besieging Lacedaemon in common cause with you? On your behalf, then, we undertook a legal and righteous war.
36.9. caedem obicitis eorum, qui a Philopoemene praetore evocati ad causam dicendam interfecti sunt. hoc ego crimen non modo a vobis, Romani, sed ne apud vos quidem nobis obiciendum fuisse arbitror. quid ita? quia in vestro foedere erat, ut maritimis urbibus abstinerent Lacedaemonii.
36.10. Since others applaud it, since not even the Lacedaemonians can criticize it, and since the very gods themselves, by giving us the victory, have approved it, how can those things which took place under the law of war come into dispute? Yet the greatest part of those things have nothing to do with us.
36.10. quo tempore armis captis urbes, a quibus abstinere iussi erant, nocturno impetu occupaverunt si T. Quinctius, si exercitus Romanus, sicut antea, in Peloponneso fuisset, eo nimirum capti et obpressi confugissent;
36.11. It is our affair that we summoned to plead their cause those who had called the multitude to arms, who had captured the coast towns, who had plundered them, who had caused the murder of the leading men. But as to the fact that they were killed while they were coming to our camp, that is your affair, Areus and Alcibiades —who now (heaven help us!) are accusing us —not ours.
36.11. cum vos procul essetis, quo alio, nisi ad nos, socios vestros, quos antea Gytheo opem ferentes, quos Lacedaemonem vobiscum simili de causa obpugnantes viderant, confugerent?
36.12. The exiles of the Lacedaemonians, to which number even these two belonged, were indeed at that time with us, and because they had chosen as their places of residence the towns on the coast believing that they were being sought out, they made an attack on those men thanks to whose efforts they saw with indignation that they, exiles from home, could not grow old even in a safe place of exile.
36.12. pro vobis igitur iustum piumque bellum suscepimus. quod cum alii laudent, reprehendere ne Lacedaemonii quidem possint, dii quoque ipsi comprobaverint, qui nobis victoriam dederunt, quonam modo ea, quae belli iure acta sunt, in disceptationem veniunt? quorum tamen maxima pars nihil pertinet ad nos.
36.13. Lacedaemonians, then, were killed by Lacedaemonians, not by Achaeans; whether they were killed justly or unjustly it is not important to inquire. "But, you say, those other actions were at any rate your acts, Achaeans —the abolition of the laws and the most ancient discipline of Lycurgus, and the destruction of the walls. But how can both these criticisms be made by the same persons, since the walls of Lacedaemon were not built by Lycurgus, but were constructed a few years ago to overthrow the system of Lycurgus? For the tyrants recently erected them, a citadel and protection for themselves, not for the city; and if Lycurgus should rise from the dead to-day he would rejoice in their destruction and would say that now he recognized his home and the ancient Sparta. You yourselves, Lacedaemonians, should not have waited for Philopoemen and the Achaeans, but should with your own hands have torn down and destroyed all traces of the tyranny. For they were yours —those disfiguring scars of servitude, if I may so call them, and while, without walls, you had been free for eight hundred years and for a considerable period even the first state in Greece, when the walls were thrown around you like shackles you were bound in slavery for a hundred years. As far as the abolition of the laws is concerned, I consider that the tyrants took away their ancient laws from the Lacedaemonians; that we did not take from them what they did not possess, but gave them our own laws; I believe, too, that the measures we took were not for the disadvantage of the Lacedaemonian state, since we made it part of our League and united it with us, so that there was one body and one council for the whole Peloponnesus. Then and then only, in my judgment, if we ourselves lived under one code and imposed another upon them, would they be able to complain and feel indignant that their status was unfair. “I know, Appius Claudius, that the speech that I have thus far delivered is neither that of allies in the presence of allies nor that of a free people, but in reality that of slaves arguing before their masters. For if those words of the herald, with which you Romans ordered the Achaeans first of all to be free, were not a mere sham, if the treaty was in fact valid, if the alliance and friendship are being impartially observed, why do I not ask what you Romans did when you took Capua, as you demand an explanation of what we Achaeans did when the Lacedaemonians were conquered in war?” “Some of them, let us assume, were killed by us: what of it? Did you not behead Campanian senators? But, you say, we tore down their walls: you destroyed, not the walls alone, but the city, the farm lands. The treaty, you say, looks as if it were between equals: in fact, among the Achaeans liberty is a thing bestowed as a favour, among the Romans it amounts even to sovereignty.” “I know this, Appius, and if I should not I do not object; but at any rate I beg you, no matter how great the difference may be between the Romans and the Achaeans, not to permit your enemies and ours to be on an equal footing before you with us, your allies, or rather on a better footing. For we brought it about that they were equal when we gave them our laws, when we made them members of the Achaean League. That is too little for the conquered which is sufficient for the conquerors; enemies demand more than allies possess!”
36.13. nostrum est, quod evocavimus ad causam dicendam eos, qui ad arma multitudinem exciverant, qui expugnaverant maritima oppida, qui diripuerant, qui caedem principum fecerant; quod vero illi venientes in castra interfecti sunt, vestrum est, Areu et Alcibiade, qui nunc nos, si diis placet, accusatis, non nostrum. exules Lacedaemoniorum, quo in numero hi quoque duo fuerunt, et tunc nobiscum erant, et, quod domicilio sibi delegerant maritima oppida, se petitos credentes, in eos, quorum opera patria extorres ne in tuto quidem exilio posse consenescere se indignabantur, impetum fecerunt. Lacedaemonii igitur Lacedaemonios, non Achaei interfecerunt; nec iure an iniuria caesi sint argumentari refert” ”at enim illa certe veste vestra sunt, Achaei, quod leges disciplinamque vetustissimam Lycurgi sustulistis, quod muros diruistis. quae utraque ab iisdem obici qui possunt, cum muri Lacedaemonis non ab Lycurgo, sed paucos ante annos ad dissolvendam Lycurgi disciplinam exstructi sint? tyranni enim nuper eos arcem et munimentum sibi, non civitati paraverunt; et si exsistat hodie ab inferis Lycurgus, gaudeat ruinis eorum et nunc se patriam et Spartam antiquam agnoscere dicat. non Philopoemenem expectare nec Achaeos, sed vos ipsi, Lacedaemonii, vestris manibus amoliri et diruere omnia vestigia tyrannidis debuistis. vestrae enim illae deformes veluti notae servitutis erant, et, cum sine muris per octingentos prope annos liberi, aliquando etiam principes Graeciae fuissetis, muris velut compedibus circumdatis vincti per centum annos servistis. quod ad leges ademptas adtinet, ego antiquas Lacedaemoniis leges tyrannos ademisse arbitror, nos non suas ademisse, quas non habebant, sed nostras leges dedisse, nec male consuluisse civitati, cum concilii nostri eam fecerimus et nobis miscuerimus, ut corpus unum et concilium totius Peloponnesi esset. tunc, ut opinor, si aliis ipsi legibus viveremus, alias istis iniunxissemus, queri se iniquo iure esse et indignari possent. scio ego, Ap. Claudi, hanc orationem, qua sum adhuc usus, neque sociorum apud socios neque liberae gentis esse, sed vere severum disceptantium apud dominos. nam si non vana illa vox praeconis fuit. qua liberos esse omnium primos Achaeos iussistis, si foedus ratum est, si societas et amicitia ex aequo observatur, cur ego quid Capua capta feceritis Romani non quaero, vos rationem reposcitis, quid Achaei Lacedaemoniis bello victis fecerimus? interfecti aliqui sunt; finge a nobis; quid? vos senatores Campanos securi non percussistis? muros diruimus; vos non muros tantum, sed urbem agrosque ademistis. specie, inquis, aequum est foedus; est. sentio, Appi, et, si non oportet, non indignor; sed oro vos, quantumlibet intersit inter Romanos et Achaeos, modo ne in aequo hostes vestri nostrique apud vos sint ac nos socii, immo ne meliore iure sint, nam, ut in aequo essent, nos fecimus, cum leges iis nostras dedimus, cum, ut, Achaici concilii essent, effecimus. parum est victis, quod victoribus satis est; plus postulant hostes, quam socii habent. quae iure iurando, quae monumentis litterarum in lapide insculptis in aeternam memoriam sancta atque sacrata sunt, ea cum periurio nostro tollere parant. veremur quidem vos, Romani, et, si ita vultis, etiam timemus; sed plus et veremur et timemus deos inmortales.’ cum adsensu maximae partis est auditus, et locutum omnes pro maiestate magistratus censebant, ut facile adpareret molliter agendo dignitatem suam tenere Romanos non posse. tum Appius suadere se magnopere Achaeis dixit, ut, dum liceret voluntate sua facere, gratiam inirent, ne mox inviti et coacti facerent. haec vox audita quidem cum omnium gemitu est, sed metum iniecit imperata recusandi, id modo petierunt, ut Romani, quae viderentur; de Lacedaemoniis mutarent nec Achaeos religione obstringerent irrita ea, quae iure iurando sanxissent, faciendi. damnatio tantum Arei et Alcibiadis, quae nuper facta erat, sublata est. Romae principio eius anni, cum de provinciis consulum et praetorum actum est, consulibus Ligures, quia bellum nusquam alibi erat, decreti. praetores C. Decimius Flavus urbanam, P. Cornelius Cethegus inter cives et peregrinos sortiti sunt, C. Sempronius Blaesus Siciliam, Q. Naevius Matho Sardiniam et ut idem quaereret de veneficiis, A. Terentius Varro Hispaniam citeriorem P. Sempronius Longus Hispaniam ulteriorem. de iis duabus provinciis legati per id fere tempus L. Iuventius Thalna et T. Quinctilius Varus venerunt, qui quantum bellum iam profligatum in Hispania esset senatu edocto postularunt simul, ut pro rebus tam prospere gestis diis inmortalibus haberetur honos et ut praetoribus exercitum deportare liceret.
38.6. “Those things which were made sanctified and sacred by oath, by written records carved on stone for eternal preservation, they are trying, by making us perjurers, to destroy. Indeed we respect you, Romans, and, if you wish it so, we even fear you; but still more do we both respect and fear the immortal gods.” Lycortas was heard with applause on the part of the majority, and all said that he had spoken in a manner consistent with the dignity of his office, so that it was readily apparent that by a soft answer the Romans could not maintain their position. Then Appius said that he earnestly advised the Achaeans to come to terms while it was still possible to do so of their own free will, lest presently they be forced to take the same action against their will and under compulsion. This speech was received with a general groan, but it made the Achaeans fear to refuse what was ordered. They requested only this, that the Romans should make such changes as seemed proper to them regarding the Lacedaemonians and should not involve the Achaeans in the religious difficulty of making void what they had ratified by oath. Only the vote of condemnation which had recently been passed on Areus and Alcibiades was repealed. XXXVIII. At Rome, in the beginning of this year, when the question of the provinces for the consuls and praetors came up, the Ligurians were decreed to the consuls, since there was war nowhere else. Of the praetors, Gaius Decimius Flavus received the civil jurisdiction, Publius Cornelius Cethegus that between citizens and aliens, Gaius Sempronius Blaesus Sicily, Quintus Naevius Matho Sardinia and the additional task of investigating cases of poisoning, Aulus Terentius Varro Nearer Spain, Publius Sempronius Longus Farther Spain. From these two provinces at about the same time came the lieutenants, Lucius Juventius Talna and Titus Quinctilius Varus, who, after informing the senate how great a war had now been finished in Spain, asked at the same time that by reason of such victories honour should be paid to the immortal gods and that the praetors should be permitted to bring home their armies. A thanksgiving for two days was decreed: as to bringing back the legions, they ordered that the question should be brought up anew when the matter of troops for the consuls and praetors was discussed. A few days later the consuls were assigned, for service against the Ligurians, two legions each, which had been under the command of Appius Claudius and Marcus Sempronius. With respect to the Spanish armies, great strife arose between the new praetors and the friends of the absent, Calpurnius and Quinctius. Each side had tribunes of the people, each a consul. The one side threatened that they would veto a decree of the senate if they should vote that the armies should be brought home: the others, that if this veto should be used they would permit no other decree to be passed. In the end the influence of the absent praetors proved unavailing, and a decree of the senate was passed that the praetors should enlist four thousand Roman infantry, three hundred cavalry, and of the allies of the Latin confederacy five thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry, whom they should take with them to Spain. When they had assigned these four thousand to the legions, in proportion as they numbered more than five thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry per legion, they should discharge the surplus; first, those who had completed their terms of service, second, those individuals whose conspicuous services Calpurnius and Quinctius had enjoyed in the battle. When this strife had calmed down, another straightway arose as a consequence of the death of Gaius Decimius the praetor. Gnaeus Sicinius and Lucius Pupius, who had been aediles the preceding year, and Gaius Valerius the flamen Dialis and Quintus Fulvius Flaccus —he, because he was curule aedile elect, did not wear the toga candida, but was canvassing more energetically than the rest —were the candidates.
38.6. supplicatio in biduum decreta est; de legionibus deportandis, cum de consulum praetorumque exercitibus ageretur, rem integram referri iusserunt. paucos post dies consulibus in Ligures binae legiones, quas Ap. Claudius et M. Sempronius habuerant, decretae sunt. de Hispaniensibus exercitibus magna contentio fuit inter novos praetores et amicos absentium, Calpurni Quinctique. utraque causa tribunos plebis, utraque consulem habebat. hi se intercessuros senatus consulto, si deportandos censerent exercitus, denuntiabant; illi, si haec intercessio fieret, nullam rem aliam se decerni passuros. victa postremo absentium gratia est, et senatus consultum factum, ut praetores quattuor milia peditum Romanorum scriberent, trecentos equites, et quinque milia peditum sociorum Latini nominis, quingentos equites, quos secum in Hispaniam portarent. cum eos in legiones quattuor discripsissent, quo plus quam quina milia peditum, treceni equites in singulis legionibus essent, dimitterent, eos primum, qui emerita stipendia haberent, deinde ut cuiusque fortissima opera Calpurnius et Quinctius in proelio uis essent. hac sedata contentione alia subinde C. Decimi praetoris morte exorta est. Cn. Sicinius et L. Pupius, qui aediles proximo anno fuerant, et C. Valerius flamen Dialis et Q. Fulvius Flaccus —is, quia aedilis curulis designatus erat, sine toga candida, sed maxima ex omnibus contentione—petebant; certamenque ei cum flamine erat.
39.3. The race was between Fulvius and the flamen. And when Fulvius seemed at first to be on equal terms with Valerius and then even to be passing him, part of the tribunes of the people declared that his candidacy ought not to be accepted because one man could not seek or hold two offices simultaneously, especially curule offices;
39.3. et postquam primo aequare, mox superare etiam est visus, pars tribunorum plebis negare rationem eius habendam esse, quod duos simul unus magistratus, praesertim curules, neque capere posset nec gerere;
39.4. part thought that he should be exempted from the operation of the laws, so that the people might have the opportunity of electing whomsoever they wished to the praetorship.
39.4. pars legibus eum solvi aequum censere, ut quem vellet praetorem creandi populo potestas fieret.
39.5. Lucius Porcius the consul was at first of the opinion that he should not accept his name; then, that he might take this action with the authorization of the senate, calling together the Fathers, he said that he was referring the matter to them because there was neither any law nor any precedent, acceptable in a free state, that a curule aedile elect might seek the praetorship; unless something else seemed best to them, it was his intention to hold the election in accordance with the law.
39.5. L. Porcius consul primo in ea sententia esse, ne nomen eius acciperet, deinde, ut ex auctoritate autoritate senatus idem faceret, convocatis patribus referre se ad eos dixit, quod nec iure ullo nec exemplo tolerabili liberae civitati aedilis curulis designatus praeturam peteret; sibi, nisi quid aliud iis videretur, in animo esse e lege comitia habere.
39.7. The Fathers voted that the consul Lucius Porcius should appeal to Quintus Fulvius not to stand in the way of the election of a praetor, as a successor to Gaius Decimius, being held in accordance with the law. When the consul made this appeal in accordance with the decree of the senate, Flaccus replied that he would do nothing which was unworthy of himself.
39.7. patres censuerunt, uti L. Porcius consul cum Q. Fulvio ageret, ne inpedimento esset, quo minus comitia praetoris in locum C. Decimi subrogandi e lege haberentur.
39.8. By this ambiguous answer he had created, in the minds of men who interpreted it to suit their own desires, the hope that he would yield to the authority of the Fathers.
39.8. agenti consuli ex senatus consulto respondit Flaccus, nihil, quod se indignum esset, facturum. medio responso ad voluntatem interpretantibus fecerat spem cessurum patrum auctoritati esse;
39.9. At the election he continued his canvassing even more actively than before, charging that the consul and the senate were wresting from him the gift of the Roman people and were arousing hostility to him by their talk of duplicated offices, as if it were not evident that when he should be elected praetor he would immediately resign the aedileship.
39.9. comitiis acrius etiam quam ante petebat criminando extorqueri sibi a consule et senatu populi Romani beneficium et invidiam fieri geminati honoris, tamquam non adpareret, ubi designatus praetor esset, extemplo aedilitate se abdicaturum.
39.10. When the consul saw both that the stubbornness of the candidate increased and that the favour of the people was turning more and more to him, he adjourned the assembly and summoned the senate. A full meeting declared that, since the authority of the Fathers had had no influence with Flaccus, the appeal to Flaccus should be made before the assembly.
39.10. consul cum et pertinaciam petentis crescere et favorem populi magis magisque in eum inclinari cerneret, dimissis comitiis senatum vocavit. censuerunt frequentes, quoniam Flaccum auctoritas patrum nihil movisset, ad populum cum Flacco agendum.
39.11. When the consul had called an informal meeting and presented his plea, Flaccus, not even then moved from his position, expressed his gratitude to the Roman people because with such enthusiasm, as often as the opportunity to declare their desires had been granted to them, they had wished to make him praetor: it was not his intention to disappoint these desires of his fellow-citizens.
39.11. contione advocata cum egisset consul, ne tum quidem de sententia motus gratias populo Romano egit, quod tanto studio, quotienscumque declarandae voluntatis potestas facta esset, praetorem se voluisset facere;
39.12. This speech, obstinate though it was, aroused so much enthusiasm for him that he would be praetor beyond a doubt if the consul would accept his candidacy.
39.12. ea sibi studia civium suorum destituere non esse in animo. haec vero tam obstinata vox tantum ei favorem accendit, ut haud dubius praetor esset, si consul accipere nomen vellet.
39.13. Then the tribunes had a great argument, both among themselves and with the consul, until the senate was convoked by the consul and passed this decree: that since the stubbornness of Quintus Flaccus and the base desires of men prevented the holding, in accordance with the laws, of the election to fill a vacancy among the praetors, the senate decreed that there were enough praetors; Publius Cornelius should hold both jurisdictions in the City and should preside at the games to Apollo.
39.13. ingens certamen tribunis et inter se ipsos et cum consule fuit, donec senatus a consule est habitus decretumque, quoniam praetoris subrogandi comitia ne legibus fierent, pertinacia Q. Flacci et prava studia hominum inpedirent, senatum censere satis praetorum esse; P. Cornelius utramque in urbe iurisdictionem haberet Apollinique ludos faceret.
40.1. When this election had been avoided by the wisdom and courage of the senate, another followed, involving a greater contest, as it was both for a more important prize and participated in by more and more powerful men.
40.1. his comitiis prudentia et virtute senatus sublatis alia maioris certaminis, quo et maiore de re et inter plures potentioresque viros, sunt exorta.
40.2. The censorship was sought with the most intense rivalry by Lucius Valerius Flaccus, Publius and Lucius Scipio, Gnaeus Manlius Volso and Lucius Furius Purpurio, patricians, as well as by the plebeians Marcus Porcius Cato, Marcus Fulvius Nobilior, Tiberius Sempronius Longus and Marcus Sempronius Tuditanus.
40.2. censuram summa contentione petebant L. Valerius Flaccus P. et L. Scipiones Cn. Manlius Vulso L. Furius Purpurio, patricii, plebeii autem, M.
40.3. But among all the patricians and plebeians of the most illustrious houses, Marcus Porcius Cato stood out most conspicuously. In this man there was such force of mind and character that in whatever station he had been born it seemed that he would have made his fortune for himself.
40.3. Porcius Cato M. Fulvius Nobilior Ti. et M. Sempronii, Longus et Tuditanus. sed omnes patricios plebeiosque nobilissimarum familiarum M. Porcius longe anteibat.
40.4. No art of conducting either private or public business was lacking to him; he was equally skilled in affairs of the city and of the farm. Some men were advanced to the highest offices by knowledge of the law, others by eloquence, others by military reputation: his comprehensive genius was so adapted to everything alike that you would say that whatever he was doing was the one thing for which he was born: in war he was the bravest of fighters and was famous for many remarkable battles, and after he attained to the highest offices, he was likewise a consummate commander; the same man in peace was, if you asked advice on law, most skilled therein, if there was a case to be pleaded, most eloquent, nor was he merely one whose tongue was potent while he lived but left no record of his
40.4. in hoc viro tanta vis animi ingeniique fuit, ut, quocumque loco natus esset, fortunam sibi ipse facturus fuisse videretur. nulla ars neque privatae neque publicae rei gerendae ei defuit; urbanas rusticasque res pariter callebat. ad summos honores alios scientia iuris, alios eloquentia alios, gloria militaris provexit; huic versatile ingenium sic pariter ad omnia fuit, ut natum ad id unum diceres, quodcumque ageret:
40.6. eloquence: rather, he lives and flourishes by his eloquence, enshrined in books of every kind. There are many orations, both for himself and for and against others; for he wore down his enemies not only by accusing them but also by pleading his own cause.
40.6. in bello manu fortissimus multisque insignibus clarus pugnis; idem postquam ad magnos honores pervenit, summus imperator; idem in pace, si ius consuleres, peritissimus, si causa oranda esset, eloquentissimus;
40.7. Feuds in excessive numbers pursued him and he himself pursued them; nor could you easily say whether the nobility worked harder to suppress him or he to irritate the nobility. Without question he had a stern temper, a bitter tongue and one immoderately free, but he had a soul unconquerable by appetites, an unwavering integrity, and a contempt for influence and wealth.
40.7. nec is tantum, cuius lingua vivo eo viguerit, monumentum eloquentiae nullum exstet, vivit immo vigetque eloquentia eius sacrata scriptis omnis generis.
40.8. In his economy, in his endurance of toil and danger, he was of almost iron-like body and mind, and his mind not even old age, which weakens everything, could break down, since at the age of eighty-six he pleaded a case, spoke and wrote in his own defence, and in his ninetieth year brought Servius Galba to trial before the
40.8. orationes et pro se multae et pro aliis et in alios: nam non solum accusando, sed etiam causam dicendo fatigavit inimicos. simultates nimio plures et exercuerunt eum et ipse exercuit eas, nec facile dixeris, utrum magis presserit eum nobilitas an ille agitaverit nobilitatem.
40.10. assembly. Against him as a candidate on this occasion the nobility, as throughout his life, used their influence; and all the candidates except Lucius Flaccus, who had been his colleague in the consulship, had formed a combination to keep him from the office, not only that they themselves might rather win it nor because they objected to seeing a “new man” chosen censor, but also because they anticipated a stern censorship dangerous to the reputation of many, from a man who had both been injured by many and was eager to do injury.
40.10. asperi procul dubio animi et linguae acerbae et inmodice liberae fuit, sed invicti a cupiditatibus animi, rigidae innocentiae, contemptor gratiae, divitiarum. in parsimonia, in patientia laboris et periculi, ferrei prope corporis animique, quem ne senectus quidem, quae solvit omnia, fregerit, qui sextum et octogesimum annum agens causam dixerit, ipse pro se oraverit scripseritque, nonagesimo anno Ser. Galbam ad populi adduxerit iudicium. hunc, sicut omni vita, tum prensantem premebat nobilitas; coierantque praeter L. Flaccum, qui collega in consulatu fuerat, candidati omnes ad deiciendum honore, non solum ut ipsi potius adipiscerentur, nec quia indignabantur novum hominem censorem videre, sed etiam quod tristem censuram periculosamque multorum famae et ab laeso a plerisque et laedendi cupido expectabant.
41.3. For even then he was canvassing by means of threats, charging that he was being opposed by men who feared a free and courageous censorship.
41.3. etenim tum quoque minitabundus petebat, refragari sibi, qui liberam et fortem censuram timerent, criminando.
41.4. At the same time he canvassed for Lucius Valerius also: with him alone as his colleague could he chastise the new vices and revive the ancient character. Aroused by such arguments and against the opposition of the nobility, the citizens not only chose Marcus Porcius as censor, but also gave him Lucius Flaccus as his colleague.
41.4. et simul L. Valerio subfragabatur: illo uno collega castigare se nova flagitia et priscos revocare mores posse. his accensi homines adversa nobilitate non M. Porcium modo censorem fecerunt, sed collegam ei C. Valerium Flaccum adiecerunt.
41.5. After the election of the censors the consuls and praetors departed for their provinces, with the exception of Quintus Naevius, who was detained for not less than four months before he could set out for Sardinia by the investigation of poisonings, a great part of which he conducted outside the City, in the municipalities and rural communities, because this method seemed more convenient.
41.5. secundum comitia censorum consules praetoresque in provincias profecti praeter Q. Naevium, quem quattuor non minus menses, priusquam in Sardiniam iret, quaestiones veneficii, quarum magnam partem extra urbem per municipia conciliabulaque habuit, quia ita aptius visum erat, tenuerunt.
41.6. If one wishes to trust Valerius Antias, he condemned about two thousand persons. And Lucius Postumius the praetor, to whom the province of Tarentum had fallen, broke up large conspiracies of shepherds and diligently prosecuted what was left of the Bacchanalian investigation.
41.6. si Antiati Valerio credere libet, ad duo milia hominum damnavit. et L. Postumius praetor, cui Tarentum provincia evenerat, magnas pastorum coniurationes vindicavit et reliquias Bacchanalium quaestionis cum cura exsecutus est.
41.7. Many who either had not appeared when summoned or had abandoned their sureties, hiding in that part of Italy, he pronounced guilty in some cases, and in others he arrested them and sent them to the senate in Rome. All were thrown into prison by Publius Cornelius.
41.7. multos, qui aut citati non adfuerant aut vades deseruerant, in ea regione Italiae latentes partim noxios iudicavit, partim comprehensos Romam ad senatum misit. in carcerem omnes a P. Cornelio coniecti sunt.
42.1. In Farther Spain, the Lusitanians having been broken in the last campaign, things were quiet; in Nearer Spain Aulus Terentius among the Suessetani took the town of Corbio with sheds and siegeworks and sold the captives: after that the nearer province too had a quiet winter.
42.1. in Hispania ulteriore fractis proximo bello Lusitanis quietae res fuerant; in citeriore A. Terentius in Suessetanis oppidum Corbionem vineis et operibus expugnavit, captivos vendidit; quieta deinde hiberna et citerior provincia habuit.
42.2. The former praetors Gaius Calpurnius Piso and Lucius Quinctius returned to Rome. To each of them a triumph was decreed by the general consent of the Fathers.
42.2. veteres praetores C. Calpurnius Piso et L. Quinctius Romam redierunt. utrique magno patrum consensu triumphus est decretus.
42.3. First Gaius Calpurnius triumphed over the Lusitanians and Celtiberians: he displayed eighty-three golden crowns and twelve thousand pounds of silver. A few days later Lucius Quinctius Crispinus triumphed over the same Lusitanians and Celtiberians: the same amount of gold and silver was carried in this triumph.
42.3. prior C. Calpurnius de Lusitanis et Celtiberis triumphavit; coronas aureas tulit octoginta tres et duodecim milia pondo argenti.
42.4. The censors Marcus Porcius and Lucius Valerius chose the senate amid suspense mingled with fear; they expelled seven from the senate, one of whom was distinguished by both high birth and political success, Lucius Quinctius Flamininus, a man of consular rank.
42.4. paucos post dies L. Quinctius Crispinus ex iisdem Lusitanis Celtiberisque triumphavit; tantundem auri atque argenti in eo triumpho translatum. censores M. Porcius et L. Valerius metu mixta expectatione senatum legerunt; septem moverunt senatu, ex quibus unum insignem et nobilitate et honoribus, L. Quinctium Flamininum consularem.
42.6. Within the memory of our fathers the custom is said to have arisen that the censors should affix the nota to the names of those who are expelled from the senate. But in this case there are speeches of Cato and indeed other bitter orations. against those who were either expelled from the senate or whose horses were taken from them, by far the most vehement being that against Lucius Quinctius, and if he had made this speech as an accuser before the branding rather than as censor after the branding, Lucius Quinctius could not have been kept in the senate even by his brother Titus Quinctius, had he been censor at the time. Among other things he reproached him regarding Philippus, a Carthaginian, a notorius prostitute whom he loved and whom he had attracted from Rome to his province of Gaul by the promise of great gifts.
42.6. patrum memoria institutum fertur, ut censores motis [e] senatu adscriberent notas. Catonis et aliae quidem acerbae orationes exstant in eos, quos aut senatorio loco movit, aut quibus equos ademit; longe gravissima in L. Quinctium oratio est, qua si accusator ante notam, non censor post notam usus esset, retinere L. Quinctium in senatu ne frater quidem T. Quinctius, si tum censor esset, potuisset.
42.8. This boy, says Cato, in the course of his playful jesting, used frequently to reproach the consul because just on the eve of the gladiatorial games he had been carried off from Rome, that he might sell his favours to his lover.
42.8. inter cetera obiecit ei, Philippum Poenum, carum ac nobile scortum, ab Roma in Galliam provinciam spe ingentium donorum perductum. eum puerum, per lasciviam cum cavillaretur, exprobrare consuli persaepe solitum, quod sub ipsum spectaculum gladiatorium abductus ab Roma esset, ut obsequium amatori venditaret.
42.10. By chance, when they were dining and were by now heated with wine, it was announced in the dining-room that a noble Boian, accompanied by his sons, had come as a deserter; he wished, they said, to meet the consul, that he might obtain a safeguard from him personally. Having been introduced into the tent, Cato continued, he began to address the consul through an interpreter.
42.10. forte epulantibus iis, cum iam vino incaluissent, nuntiatum in convivio esse, nobilem Boium cum liberis transfugam venisse; convenire consulem velle, ut ab eo fidem praesens acciperet.
42.11. While he was speaking, Quinctius said to the boy, “Do you wish, since you missed the gladiatorial show, to see now this Gaul dying?”
42.11. introductum in tabernaculum per interpretem adloqui consulem coepisse. inter cuius sermonem Quinctius scorto “vis tu” inquit, “quoniam gladiatorium spectaculum reliquisti, iam hunc Gallum morientem videre?
42.12. And when he nodded, although not really in earnest, the consul, at the boy's nod, seized the sword that was hanging above his head and first struck the head of the Gaul while he was speaking, and then, as the Gaul was fleeing and calling for the protection of the Roman people and of those who were present, he stabbed him through the side.
42.12. ” et cum is vixdum serio adnuisset, ad nutum scorti consulem stricto gladio, qui super caput pendebat, loquenti Gallo caput primum percussisse, deinde fugienti fidemque populi Romani atque eorum, qui aderant, inploranti latus transfodisse.
43.1. Valerius Antias, as one who had never read the speech of Cato and had accepted the story as if it were nothing but a story anonymously circulated, gives another version, similar, however, in its lust and cruelty.
43.1. Valerius Antias, ut qui nec orationem Catonis legisset et fabulae tantum sine auctore editae credidisset, aliud argumentum, simile tamen et libidine et crudelitate, peragit.
43.2. He writes that at Placentia a notorious woman, with whom Flamininus was desperately in love, had been invited to dinner. There he was boasting to the courtesan, among other things, about his severity in the prosecution of cases and how many persons he had in chains, under sentence of death, whom he intended to behead.
43.2. Placentiae famosam mulierem, cuius amore deperiret, in convivium accersitam scribit. ibi iactantem sese scorto inter cetera rettulisse, quam acriter quaestiones exercuisset, et quam multos capitis damnatos in vinculis haberet, quos securi percussurus esset.
43.3. Then the woman, reclining below him, said that she had never seen a person beheaded and was very anxious to behold the sight. Hereupon, he says, the generous lover, ordering one of the wretches to be brought to him, cut off his head with his sword.
43.3. tum illam infra eum adcubantem negasse umquam vidisse quemquam securi ferientem, et pervelle id videre. hic indulgentem amatorem unum ex illis miseris adtrahi iussum securi percussisse.
43.4. This deed, whether it was performed in the manner for which the censor rebuked him, or as Valerius reports it, was savage and cruel: in the midst of drinking and feasting, where it is the custom to pour libations to the gods and to pray for blessings, as a spectacle for a shameless harlot, reclining in the bosom of a consul, a human victim sacrificed and bespattering the table with his blood!
43.4. facinus, sive eo modo, quo censor obiecit, sive, ut Valerius tradit, commissum est, saevum atque atrox, inter pocula atque epulas, ubi libare diis dapes, ubi bene precari mos esset, ad spectaculum scorti procacis, in sinu consulis recubantis, mactatam humanam victimam esse et cruore mensam respersam!
43.5. At the end of the speech a challenge of Cato to Quinctius is reported: if he would deny this act and the other things which Cato had charged, he should defend himself by legal methods, but if he confessed it, would he think that anyone would grieve at his disgrace, since he himself, mad with drink and desire, had played with a man's blood at a feast?
43.5. in extrema oratione Catonis condicio Quinctio fertur, ut, si id factum negaret ceteraque, quae obiecisset, sponsione defenderet sese; sin fateretur, ignominiane sua quemquam doliturum censeret, cum ipse vino et Venere amens sanguine hominis in convivio lusisset?
44.1. In reviewing the equites Cato deprived Lucius Scipio Asiaticus of his horse. Also in accepting assessments his censorship was stern and harsh towards all ranks.
44.1. in equitatu recognoscendo L. Scipioni Asiageni ademptus equus. in censibus quoque accipiendis tristis et aspera in omnes ordines censura fuit.
44.2. Jewels and women's dresses and vehicles which were worth more than fifteen thousand asses he directed the assessors to list at ten times more than their actual value; likewise slaves less than twenty years old, who had been bought since the previous lustrum for ten thousand asses or more, he directed to be assessed at ten times more than their actual cost, and he ordered that on all these articles a tax of three asses per thousand should be imposed. All public water flowing into a private dwelling or lot they shut off; and what private persons had built or erected on public property they tore down on thirty days' notice. Then they let contracts for the public works to be constructed from funds appropriated for that purpose, the paving of fountain basins with stone, the cleaning of sewers wherever that was necessary, and the construction of new sewers on the Aventine and elsewhere where none had yet been
44.2. ornamenta et vestem muliebrem et vehicula, quae pluris quam quindecim milium aeris essent, deciens pluris in censum referre iuratores iussi; item mancipia minora annis viginti, quae post proximum lustrum decem milibus aeris aut pluris eo venissent, uti ea quoque deciens tanto pluris, quam quanti essent, aestimarentur, et his rebus omnibus terni in milia aeris adtribuerentur. aquam publicam omnem in privatum aedificium aut agrum fluentem ademerunt et, quae in loca publica inaedificata inmolitave privati habebant, intra dies triginta demoliti sunt.
44.5. built. And Flaccus separately built a dike at the Neptunian waters that the people might have a footpath there, and a road over the hill at Formiae, and Cato built two markets, the Maenium and the Titium, in the region of the Lautumiae, and bought four shops for the state and erected there the basilica which is called Porcia.
44.5. opera deinde facienda ex decreta in eam rem pecunia, lacus sternendos lapide detergendasque, qua opus esset, cloacas, in Aventino et in aliis partibus, qua nondum erant, faciendas locaverunt.
44.6. The revenues also they farmed at the highest rates and contracted for voluntary services at the lowest. When the senate, moved by the prayers and tears of the publicani, had ordered these contracts to be cancelled and new ones made, the censors, removing by edict from the place of auction those bidders who had evaded the original contracts, let all the same contracts at slightly lowered figures.
44.6. et separatim Flaccus molem ad Neptunias aquas, ut iter populo esset, et viam per Formianum montem, Cato atria duo, Maenium et Titium, in lautumiis et quattor tabernas in publicum emit, basilicamque ibi fecit, quae Porcia adpellata est. et vectigalia summis pretiis, ultro tributa infimis locaverunt.