8.6. In like manner Numa’s fiction was the love which a certain goddess or mountain nymph bore him, arid her secret meetings with him, as already mentioned, and his familiar converse with the Muses. For he ascribed the greater part of his oracular teachings to the Muses, and he taught the Romans to pay especial honours to one Muse in particular, whom he called Tacita, that is, the silent, or speechless one; thereby perhaps handing on and honouring the Pythagorean precept of silence.
8.6. τὰ γὰρ· πλεῖστα τῶν μαντευμάτων εἰς Μούσας ἀνῆγε, καὶ μίαν Μοῦσαν ἰδίως καὶ διαφερόντως ἐδίδαξε σέβεσθαι τοὺς Ῥωμαίους, Τακίταν προσαγορεύσας, οἷον σιωπηλὴν ἢ ἐνεάν· ὅπερ εἶναι δοκεῖ τὴν Πυθαγόρειον ἀπομνημονεύοντος ἐχεμυθίαν καὶ τιμῶντος.
8.7. Furthermore, his ordinances concerning images are altogether in harmony with the doctrines of Pythagoras. For that philosopher maintained that the first principle of being was beyond sense or feeling, was invisible and uncreated, and discernible only by the mind. And in like manner Numa forbade the Romans to revere an image of God which had the form of man or beast. Nor was there among them in this earlier time any painted or graven likeness of Deity, but while for the first hundred and seventy years they were continually building temples and establishing sacred shrines, they made no statues in bodily form for them, convinced that it was impious to liken higher things to lower, and that it was impossible to apprehend Deity except by the intellect.
8.7. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν ἀφιδρυμάτων νομοθετήματα παντάπασιν ἀδελφὰ τῶν Πυθαγόρου δογμάτων, οὔτε γὰρ ἐκεῖνος αἰσθητὸν ἢ παθητόν, ἀόρατον δὲ καὶ ἄκτιστον καὶ νοητὸν ὑπελάμβανεν εἶναι τὸ πρῶτον, οὗτός τε διεκώλυσεν ἀνθρωποειδῆ καὶ ζῳόμορφον εἰκόνα θεοῦ Ῥωμαίους νομίζειν. οὐδʼ ἦν παρʼ αὑτοῖς οὔτε γραπτὸν οὔτε πλαστὸν εἶδος θεοῦ πρότερον, ἀλλʼ ἐν ἑκατὸν ἑβδομήκοντα τοῖς πρώτοις ἔτεσι ναοὺς μὲν οἰκοδομού μεν οι καὶ καλιάδας ἱερὰς ἱστῶντες, ἄγαλμα δὲ οὐδὲν ἔμμορφον ποιούμενοι διετέλουν, ὡς οὔτε ὅσιον ἀφομοιοῦν τὰ βελτίονα τοῖς χείροσιν οὔτε ἐφάπτεσθαι θεοῦ δυνατὸν ἄλλως ἢ νοήσει, κομιδῆ δὲ καὶ τὰ τῶν θυσιῶν ἔχεται τῆς Πυθαγορικῆς ἁγιστείας·
8.8. Their sacrifices, too, were altogether appropriate to the Pythagorean worship; for most of them involved no bloodshed, but were made with flour, drink-offerings, and the least costly gifts.
8.8. ἀναίμακτοι γάρ ἦσαν αἵ γε πολλαί, διʼ ἀλφίτου καὶ σπονδῆς καὶ τῶν εὐτελεστάτων πεποιημέναι.
8.9. And apart from these things, other external proofs are urged to show that the two men were acquainted with each other. One of these is that Pythagoras was enrolled as a citizen of Rome. This fact is recorded by Epicharmus the comic poet, in a certain treatise which he dedicated to Antenor; and Epicharmus was an ancient, and belonged to the school of Pythagoras. Another proof is that one of the four sons born to king Numa was named Mamercus, after the son of Pythagoras.
8.9. χωρὶς δὲ τούτων ἑτέροις ἔξωθεν ἐπαγωνίζονται τεκμηρίοις οἱ τὸν ἄνδρα τῷ ἀνδρὶ συνοικειοῦντες. ὧν ἓν μέν ἐστιν ὅτι Πυθαγόραν Ῥωμαῖοι τῇ πολιτείᾳ προσέγραψαν, ὡς ἱστόρηκεν Ἐπίχαρμος ὁ κωμικὸς ἔν τινὶ λόγῳ πρὸς Ἀντήνορα γεγραμμένῳ, παλαιὸς ἀνήρ καὶ τῆς Πυθαγορικῆς διατριβῆς μετεσχηκώς ἕτερον δὲ ὅτι τεσσάρων υἱῶν βασιλεῖ Νομᾷ γενομένων ἕνα Μάμερκον ἐπὶ τῷ Πυθαγόρου παιδὶ προσηγόρευσεν.
8.10. And from him they say that the patrician family of the Aemilii took its name, Aemilius being the endearing name which the king gave him for the grace and winsomeness of his speech. Moreover, I myself have heard many people at Rome recount how, when an oracle once commanded the Romans to erect in their city monuments to the wisest and the bravest of the Greeks, they set up in the forum two statues in bronze, one of Alcibiades, and one of Pythagoras. However, since the matter of Numa’s acquaintance with Pythagoras is involved in much dispute, to discuss it at greater length, and to win belief for it, would savour of youthful contentiousness.
8.10. ἀπʼ ἐκείνου δὲ καὶ τὸν Αἰ μιλίων οἶκον ἀναμιχθέντα τοῖς πατρικίοις ὀνομασθῆναί φασιν, οὕτως ὑποκοριζομένου τοῦ βασιλέως τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις τοῦ ἀνδρὸς αἱμυλίαν καὶ χάριν, αὐτοὶ δ’ ἀκηκόαμεν πολλῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ διεξιόντων ὅτι χρησμοῦ ποτε Ῥωμαίοις γενομένου τὸν φρονιμώτατον καὶ τὸν ἀνδρειότατον Ἑλλήνων ἱδρύσασθαι παρʼ αὑτοῖς, ἔστησαν ἐπὶ τῆς ἀγορᾶς εἰκόνας χαλκᾶς δύο, τὴν μὲν Ἀλκιβιάδου, τὴν δὲ Πυθαγόρου. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἀμφισβητήσεις ἔχοντα πολλὰς καὶ τὸ κινεῖν διὰ μακροτέρων καὶ τὸ πιστοῦσθαι μειρακιώδους ἔστι φιλονεικίας.
9.1. To Numa is also ascribed the institution of that order of high priests who are called Pontifices, and he himself is said to have been the first of them. According to some they are called Pontifices because employed in the service of the gods, who are powerful and supreme over all the world; and potens is the Roman word for powerful.
9.1. Νομᾷ δὲ καὶ τὴν τῶν ἀρχιερέων, οὓς Ποντίφικας καλοῦσι, διάταξιν καὶ κατάστασιν ἀποδιδόασι, καί φασιν αὐτὸν ἕνα τούτων τὸν πρῶτον γεγονέναι. κεκλῆσθαι δὲ τοὺς Ποντίφικας οἱ μὲν ὅτι τοὺς θεοὺς θεραπεύουσι δυνατοὺς καὶ κυρίους ἁπάντων ὄντας· ὁ γάρ δυνατὸς ὑπὸ Ῥωμαίων ὀνομάζεται πότηνς·
9.2. Others say that the name was meant to distinguish between possible and impossible functions; the lawgiver enjoining upon these priests the performance of such sacred offices only as were possible, and finding no fault with them if any serious obstacle prevented. But most writers give an absurd explanation of the name; Pontifices means, they say, nothing more nor less than bridge-builders, from the sacrifices which they performed at the bridge over the Tiber, sacrifices of the greatest antiquity and the most sacred character; for pons is the Latin word for bridge.
9.2. ἕτεροι δέ φασι πρὸς ὑπεξαίρεσιν γεγονέναι τοὔνομα τῶν δυνατῶν, ὡς τοῦ νομοθέτου τὰς δυνατὰς ἐπιτελεῖν ἱερουργίας τοὺς ἱερεῖς κελεύοντος, ἂν δὲ ᾖ τι κώλυμα μεῖζον, οὐ συκοφαντοῦντος. οἱ δὲ πλεῖστοι μάλιστα καὶ τὸ γελώμενον τῶν ὀνομάτων δοκιμάζουσιν, ὡς οὐδὲν ἀλλʼ ἢ γεφυροποιοὺς τοὺς ἄνδρας ἐπικληθέντας ἀπὸ τῶν ποιουμένων περὶ τὴν γέφυραν ἱερῶν, ἁγιωτάτων καὶ παλαιοτάτων ὄντων πόντεμ γάρ οἱ Λατῖνοι τὴν γέφυραν ὀνομάζουσιν.
9.3. They say, moreover, that the custody and maintenance of the bridge, like all the other inviolable and ancestral rites, attached to the priesthood, for the Romans held the demolition of the wooden bridge to be not only unlawful, but actually sacrilegious. It is also said that it was built entirely without iron and fastened together with wooden pins in obedience to an oracle. The stone bridge was constructed at a much later period, when Aemilius was quaestor.
9.3. εἶναι μέντοι καὶ τὴν τήρησιν αὐτῆς καὶ τὴν ἐπισκευήν, ὥσπερ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀκινήτων καὶ πατρίων ἱερῶν, προσήκουσαν τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν. οὐ γάρ θεμιτόν, ἀλλʼ ἐπάρατον ἡγεῖσθαι Ῥωμαίους τὴν κατάλυσιν τῆς ξυλίνης γεφύρας, λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὸ πάμπαν ἄνευ σιδήρου κατὰ δή τι λόγιον συγγεγομφῶσθαι διὰ τῶν ξύλων, ἡ δὲ λιθίνη πολλοῖς ὕστερον ἐξειργάσθη χρόνοις ὑπʼ Αἰμιλίου ταμιεύοντος.
9.4. However, it is said that the wooden bridge also was later than the time of Numa, and was completed by Ancus Marcius, the grandson of Numa by his daughter, when he was king. The chief of the Pontifices, the Pontifex Maximus, had the duty of expounding and interpreting the divine will, or rather of directing sacred rites, not only being in charge of public ceremonies, but also watching over private sacrifices and preventing any departure from established custom, as well as teaching whatever was requisite for the worship or propitiation of the gods.
9.4. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ξυλίνην τῶν Νομᾶ χρόνων ἀπολείπεσθαι λέγουσιν, ὑπὸ Μαρκίου τοῦ Νομᾶ θυγατριδοῦ βασιλεύοντος ἀποτελεσθεῖσαν. ὁ δὲ μέγιστος τῶν Ποντιφίκων οἷον ἐξηγητοῦ καὶ προφήτου, μᾶλλον δὲ ἱεροφάντου τάξιν εἴληχεν, οὐ μόνον τῶν δημοσίᾳ δρωμένων ἐπιμελούμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἰδίᾳ θύοντας ἐπισκοπῶν καὶ· κωλύων παρεκβαίνειν τὰ νενομισμένα, καὶ διδάσκων ὅτου τις δέοιτο πρὸς θεῶν τιμὴν ἢ παραίτησιν.
9.5. He was also overseer of the holy virgins called Vestals; for to Numa is ascribed the consecration of the Vestal virgins, and in general the worship and care of the perpetual fire entrusted to their charge. It was either because he thought the nature of fire pure and uncorrupted, and therefore entrusted it to chaste and undefiled persons, or because he thought of it as unfruitful and barren, and therefore associated it with virginity. Since wherever in Greece a perpetual fire is kept, as at Delphi and Athens, it is committed to the charge, not of virgins, but of widows past the age of marriage.
9.5. ἦν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἱερῶν παρθένων ἐπίσκοπος, ἃς Ἑστιάδας προσαγορεύουσι. Νομᾷ γὰρ δὴ καὶ τὴν τῶν Ἑστιάδων παρθένων καθιέρωσιν καὶ ὅλως τὴν περὶ τὸ πῦρ τὸ ἀθάνατον, ὃ φυλάττουσιν αὗται, θεραπείαν τε καὶ τιμὴν ἀποδιδόασιν, εἴτε ὡς καθαρὰν καὶ ἄφθαρτον τὴν τοῦ πυρὸς οὐσίαν ἀκηράτοις καὶ ἀμιάντοις παρατιθεμένου σώμασιν, εἴτε τὸ ἄκαρπον καὶ ἄγονον τῇ παρθενίᾳ συνοικειοῦντος. ἐπεί τοι τῆς Ἑλλάδος ὅπου πῦρ ἄσβεστόν ἐστιν, ὡς Πυθοῖ καὶ Ἀθήνησιν, οὐ παρθένοι, γυναῖκες δὲ πεπαυμέναι γάμων ἔχουσι τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν·
9.6. And if by any chance it goes out, as at Athens during the tyranny of Aristion the sacred lamp is said to have been extinguished, and at Delphi when the temple was burned by the Medes, and as during the Mithridatic and the Roman civil wars the altar was demolished and the fire extinguished, then they say it must nor be kindled again from other fire, but made fresh and new, by lighting a pure and unpolluted flame from the rays of the sun.
9.6. ἐὰν δὲ ὑπὸ τύχης τινὸς ἐκλίπῃ, καθάπερ Ἀθήνησι μὲν ἐπὶ τῆς Ἀριστίωνος λέγεται τυραννίδος ἀποσβεσθῆναι τὸν ἱερὸν λύχνον, ἐν Δελφοῖς δὲ τοῦ ναοῦ καταπρησθέντος ὑπὸ Μήδων, περὶ δὲ τὰ Μιθριδατικὰ καὶ τὸν ἐμφύλιον Ῥωμαίων πόλεμον ἅμα τῷ βωμῷ τὸ πῦρ ἠφανίσθη, οὔ φασι δεῖν ἀπὸ ἑτέρου πυρὸς ἐναύεσθαι, καινὸν δὲ ποιεῖν καὶ νέον, ἀνάπτοντας ἀπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου φλόγα καθαρὰν καὶ ἀμίαντον.
9.7. And this they usually effect by means of metallic mirrors, the concavity of which is made to follow the sides of an isosceles rectangular triangle, and which converge from their circumference to a single point in the centre. When, therefore, these are placed opposite the sun, so that its rays, as they fall upon them from all sides, are collected and concentrated at the centre, the air itself is rarefied there, and very light and dry substances placed there quickly blaze up from its resistance, the sun’s rays now acquiring the substance and force of fire.
9.7. ἐξάπτουσι δὲ μάλιστα τοῖς σκαφείοις, ἃ κατασκευάζεται μὲν ἀπὸ πλευρᾶς ἰσοσκελοῦς ὀρθογωνίου τριγώνου κοιλαινόμενα, συννεύει δ’ εἰς ἓν ἐκ τῆς περιφερείας κέντρον. ὅταν οὖν θέσιν ἐναντίαν λάβῃ πρὸς τὸν ἥλιον, ὥστε τὰς αὐγὰς πανταχόθεν ἀνακοπτομένας ἀθροίζεσθαι καὶ συμπλέκεσθαι περὶ τὸ κέντρον, αὐτόν τε διακρίνει τὸν ἀέρα λεπτυνόμενον, καὶ τὰ κουφότατα καὶ ξηρότατα τῶν προστιθεμένων ὀξέως ἀνάπτει κατὰ τὴν ἀντέρεισιν, σῶμα καὶ πληγὴν πυρώδη τῆς αὐγῆς λαβούσης.
9.8. Some, moreover, are of the opinion that nothing but this perpetual fire is guarded by the sacred virgins; while some say that certain sacred objects, which none others may behold, are kept in concealment by them. What may lawfully be learned and told about these things, I have written in my Life of Camillus.
9.8. ἔνιοι μὲν οὖν οὐδὲν ὑπὸ τῶν ἱερῶν παρθένων ἀλλʼ ἢ τὸ ἄσβεστον ἐκεῖνο φρουρεῖσθαι πῦρ νομίζουσιν ἔνιοι δὲ εἶναί τινὰ φασιν ἀθέατα τοῖς ἄλλοις ἱερὰ κρυπτόμενα, περὶ ὧν ὅσα καὶ πυθέσθαι καὶ φράσαι θεμιτὸν ἐν τῷ Καμίλλου βίῳ γέγραπται.
10.1. In the beginning, then, they say that Gegania and Verenia were consecrated to this office by Numa, who subsequently added to them Canuleia and Tarpeia; that at a later time two others were added by Servius, making the number which has continued to the present time. It was ordained by the king that the sacred virgins should vow themselves to chastity for thirty years; during the first decade they are to learn their duties, during the second to perform the duties they have learned, and during the third to teach others these duties.
10.1. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν ὑπὸ Νομᾶ καθιερωθῆναι λέγουσι Γεγανίαν καὶ Βερηνίαν, δεύτερον δὲ Κανουληΐαν καὶ Ταρπηΐαν· ὕστερον δὲ Σερβίου δύο προσθέντος ἄλλας τῷ ἀριθμῷ διατηρεῖσθαι μέχρι τῶν χρόνων τούτων τὸ πλῆθος, ὡρίσθη δὲ ταῖς ἱεραῖς παρθένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἁγνεία τριακονταέτις, ἐν ᾗ τὴν μὲν πρώτην δεκαετίαν ἃ χρὴ δρᾶν μανθάνουσι, τὴν δὲ μέσην ἃ μεμαθήκασι δρῶσι, τὴν δὲ τρίτην ἑτέρας αὐταὶ διδάσκουσιν.
10.2. Then, the thirty years being now passed, any one who wishes has liberty to marry and adopt a different mode of life, after laying down her sacred office. We are told, however, that few have welcomed the indulgence, and that those who did so were not happy, but were a prey to repentance and dejection for the rest of their lives, thereby inspiring the rest with superstitious fears, so that until old age and death they remained steadfast in their virginity.
10.2. εἶτα ἀνεῖται τῇ βουλομένῃ μετὰ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ἤδη καὶ γάμου μεταλαμβάνειν καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον τραπέσθαι βίον, ἀπαλλαγείσῃ τῆς ἱερουργίας, λέγονται δὲ οὐ πολλαὶ ταύτην ἀσπάσασθαι τὴν ἄδειαν, οὐδὲ ἀσπασαμέναις χρηστὰ πράγματα συντυχεῖν, ἀλλὰ μετανοίᾳ καὶ κατηφείᾳ συνοῦσαι τὸν λοιπὸν βίον ἐμβαλεῖν τὰς ἄλλας εἰς δεισιδαιμονίαν, ὥστε μέχρι γήρως καὶ θανάτου διατελεῖν ἐγκαρτερούσας καὶ παρθενευομένας.
10.3. But Numa bestowed great privileges upon them, such as the right to make a will during the life time of their fathers, and to transact and manage their other affairs without a guardian, like the mothers of three children. When they appear in public, the fasces are carried before them, and if they accidentally meet a criminal on his way to execution, his life is spared; but the virgin must make oath that the meeting was involuntary and fortuitous, and not of design.
10.3. τιμὰς δὲ μεγάλας ἀπέδωκεν αὐταῖς, ὧν ἔστι καὶ τὸ διαθέσθαι ζῶντος ἐξεῖναι πατρὸς καὶ τἆλλα πράττειν ἄνευ προστάτου διαγούσας, ὥσπερ αἱ τρίπαιδες. ῥαβδουχοῦνται δὲ προϊοῦσαι· κἂν ἀγομένῳ τινὶ πρὸς θάνατον αὐτομάτως συντύχωσιν, οὐκ ἀναιρεῖται, δεῖ δὲ ἀπομόσαι τὴν παρθένον ἀκούσιον καὶ τυχαίαν καὶ οὐκ ἐξεπίτηδες γεγονέναι τὴν ἀπάντησιν. ὁ δὲ ὑπελθὼν κομιζομένων ὑπὸ τὸ φορεῖον ἀποθνήσκει.
10.4. He who passes under the litter on which they are borne, is put to death. For their minor offences the virgins are punished with stripes, the Pontifex Maximus sometimes scourging the culprit on her bare flesh, in a dark place, with a curtain interposed. But she that has broken her vow of chastity is buried alive near the Colline gate. Here a little ridge of earth extends for some distance along the inside of the city-wall; the Latin word for it is agger.
10.4. κόλασις δὲ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ἁμαρτημάτων πληγαὶ ταῖς παρθένοις ἰς, τοῦ μεγίστου Ποντίφικος κολάζοντος ἔστιν ὅτε καὶ γυμνὴν τὴν πλημμελήσασαν, ὀθόνης ἐν παλινσκίῳ παρατεινομένης· ἡ δὲ τὴν παρθενίαν καταισχύνασα ζῶσα κατορύττεται παρὰ τὴν Κολλίνην λεγομένην πύλην ἐν ᾗ τις ἔστιν ἐντὸς τῆς πόλεως ὀφρὺς γεώδης παρατείνουσα πόρρω·
10.5. Under it a small chamber is constructed, with steps leading down from above. In this are placed a couch with its coverings, a lighted lamp, and very small portions of the necessaries of life, such as bread, a bowl of water, milk, and oil, as though they would thereby absolve themselves from the charge of destroying by hunger a life which had been consecrated to the highest services of religion.
10.5. καλεῖται δὲ χῶμα διαλέκτῳ τῇ Λατίνων, ἐνταῦθα κατασκευάζεται κατάγειος οἶκος οὐ μέγας, ἔχων ἄνωθεν κατάβασιν. κεῖται δὲ ἐν αὐτῷ κλίνη τε ὑπεστρωμένη καὶ λύχνος καιόμενος, ἀπαρχαί τε τῶν πρὸς τὸ ζῆν ἀναγκαίων βραχεῖαί τινες, οἷον ἄρτος, ὕδωρ ἐν ἀγγείῳ, γάλα, ἔλαιον, ὥσπερ ἀφοσιουμένων τὸ μὴ λιμῷ διαφθείρειν σῶμα ταῖς μεγίσταις καθιερωμένον ἁγιστείαις.
10.6. Then the culprit herself is placed on a litter, over which coverings are thrown and fastened down with cords so that not even a cry can be heard from within, and carried through the forum. All the people there silently make way for the litter, and follow it without uttering a sound, in a terrible depression of soul. No other spectacle is more appalling, nor does any other day bring more gloom to the city than this.
10.6. αὐτὴν δὲ τὴν κολαζομένην εἰς φορεῖον ἐνθέμενοι καὶ καταστεγάσαντες ἔξωθεν καὶ καταλαβόντες ἱμᾶσιν, ὡς μηδὲ φωνὴν ἐξάκουστον γενέσθαι, κομίζουσι διʼ ἀγορᾶς, ἐξίστανται δὲ πάντες σιωπῇ καὶ παραπέμπουσιν ἄφθογγοι μετά τινος δεινῆς κατηφείας οὐδὲ ἔστιν ἕτερον θέαμα φρικτότερον, οὐδʼ ἡμέραν ἡ πόλις ἄλλην ἄγει στυγνοτέραν ἐκείνης.
10.7. When the litter reaches its destination, the attendants unfasten the cords of the coverings. Then the high-priest, after stretching his hands toward heaven and uttering certain mysterious prayers before the fatal act, brings forth the culprit, who is closely veiled, and places her on the steps leading down into the chamber. After this he turns away his face, as do the rest of the priests, and when she has gone down, the steps are taken up, and great quantities of earth are thrown into the entrance to the chamber, hiding it away, and making the place level with the rest of the mound. Such is the punishment of those who break their vow of virginity.
10.7. ὅταν δὲ πρὸς τὸν τόπον κομισθῇ τὸ φορεῖον, οἱ μὲν ὑπηρέται τοὺς δεσμοὺς ἐξέλυσαν, ὁ δὲ τῶν ἱερέων ἔξαρχος εὐχάς τινας ἀπορρήτους ποιησάμενος καὶ χεῖρας ἀνατείνας θεοῖς πρὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης, ἐξάγει συγκεκαλυμμένην καὶ καθίστησιν ἐπὶ κλίμακος εἰς τὸ οἴκημα κάτω φερούσης. εἶτα αὐτὸς μὲν ἀποτρέπεται μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἱερέων τῆς δὲ καταβάσης ἥ τε κλίμαξ ἀναιρεῖται καὶ κατακρύπτεται τὸ οἴκημα γῆς πολλῆς ἄνωθεν ἐπιφορουμένης, ὥστε ἰσόπεδον τῷ λοιπῷ χώματι γενέσθαι τὸν τόπον, οὕτω μὲν αἱ προέμεναι τὴν ἱερὰν παρθενίαν κολάζονται.
11.1. Furthermore, it is said that Numa built the temple of Vesta, where the perpetual fire was kept, of a circular form, not in imitation of the shape of the earth, believing Vesta to be the earth, but of the entire universe, at the centre of which the Pythagoreans place the element of fire, and call it Vesta and Unit.
11.1. Νομᾶς δὲ λέγεται καὶ τὸ τῆς Ἑστίας ἱερὸν ἐγκύκλιον περιβαλέσθαι τῷ ἀσβέστῳ πυρὶ φρουράν, ἀπομιμούμενος οὐ τὸ σχῆμα τῆς γῆς ὡς Ἑστίας οὔσης, ἀλλὰ τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου, οὗ μέσον οἱ Πυθαγορικοὶ τὸ πῦρ ἱδρῦσθαι νομίζουσι, καὶ τοῦτο Ἑστίαν καλοῦσι καὶ μονάδα·
11.2. And they hold that the earth is neither motionless nor situated in the centre of surrounding space, but that it revolves in a circle about the central fire, not being one of the most important, nor even one of the primary elements of the universe. This is the conception, we are told, which Plato also, in his old age, had of the earth, namely that it is established in a secondary space, and that the central and sovereign space is reserved for some other and nobler body.
11.2. τὴν δὲ γῆν οὔτε ἀκίνητον οὔτε ἐν μέσῳ τῆς περιφορᾶς οὖσαν, ἀλλὰ κύκλῳ περὶ τὸ πῦρ αἰωρουμένην οὐ τῶν τιμιωτάτων οὐδὲ τῶν πρώτων τοῦ κόσμου μορίων ὑπάρχειν. ταῦτα δὲ καὶ Πλάτωνά φασι πρεσβύτην γενόμενον διανενοῆσθαι περὶ τῆς γῆς ὡς ἐν ἑτέρᾳ χώρᾳ καθεστώσης, τὴν δὲ μέσην καὶ κυριωτάτην ἑτέρῳ τινὶ κρείττονι προσήκουσαν.
12.1. The Pontifices also explain and direct the ancestral rites of burial for those who desire it, and they were taught by Numa not to regard any such offices as a pollution, but to honour the gods below also with the customary rites, since they receive into their keeping the most sovereign part of us, and particularly the goddess called Libitina, who presides over the solemn services for the dead, whether she is Proserpina, or, as the most learned Romans maintain, Venus; thereby not inaptly connecting man’s birth and death with the power of one and the same goddess.
12.1. οἱ δὲ Ποντίφικες καὶ τὰ περὶ τὰς ταφὰς πάτρια τοῖς χρῄζουσιν ἀφηγοῦνται, Νομᾶ διδάξαντος μηδὲν ἡγεῖσθαι μίασμα τῶν τοιούτων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖ θεοὺς σέβεσθαι τοῖς νενομισμένοις, ὡς τὰ κυριώτατα τῶν ἡμετέρων ὑποδεχομένους ἐξαιρέτως δὲ τὴν προσαγορευομένην Λιβίτιναν, ἐπίσκοπον τῶν περὶ τοὺς θνήσκοντας ὁσίων θεὸν οὖσαν, εἴτε Περσεφόνην εἴτε μᾶλλον, ὡς οἱ λογιώτατοι Ῥωμαίων ὑπολαμβάνουσιν, Ἀφροδίτην, οὐ κακῶς εἰς μιᾶς δύναμιν θεοῦ τὰ περὶ τὰς γενέσεις καὶ τὰς τελευτὰς ἀνάπτοντες.
12.2. Numa himself also regulated the periods of mourning according to ages. For instance, over a child of less than three years there was to be no mourning at all; over one older than that, the mourning was not to last more months than it had lived years, up to ten; and no age was to be mourned longer than that, but ten months was the period set for the longest mourning. This is also the period during which women who have lost their husbands remain in widowhood, and she who took another husband before this term was out, was obliged by the laws of Numa to sacrifice a cow with calf.
12.2. αὐτὸς δὲ καὶ τὰ πένθη καθʼ ἡλικίας καὶ χρόνους ἔταξεν οἷον παῖδα μὴ πενθεῖν νεώτερον τριετοῦς, μηδὲ πρεσβύτερον πλείονας μῆνας ὧν ἐβίωσεν ἐνιαυτῶν μέχρι τῶν δέκα, καὶ περαιτέρω μηδεμίαν ἡλικίαν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ μακροτάτου πένθους χρόνον εἶναι δεκαμηνιαῖον, ἐφʼ ὅσον καὶ χηρεύουσιν αἱ τῶν ἀποθανόντων γυναῖκες, ἡ δὲ πρότερον γαμηθεῖσα βοῦν ἐγκύμονα κατέθυεν ἐκείνου νομοθετήσαντος.
12.3. Numa also established many other orders of priesthood, of which I shall mention two, besides, those of the Salii and the Fetiales, which more than any others give evidence of the man’s reverent piety. The Fetiales were guardians of peace, so to speak, and in my opinion took their name from their office, which was to put a stop to disputes by oral conference, or parley and they would not suffer a hostile expedition to be made before every hope of getting justice had been cut off.
12.3. πολλὰς δὲ καὶ ἄλλας Νομᾶ καταδείξαντος ἱερωσύνας ἔτι δυεῖν μνησθήσομαι, τῆς τε Σαλίων καὶ τῆς τῶν Φιτιαλέων, αἱ μάλιστα τὴν εὐσέβειαν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐμφαίνουσιν. οἱ μὲν γάρ Φιτιαλεῖς εἰρηνοφύλακές τινες ὄντες, ὡς δ’ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, καὶ τοὔνομα λαβόντες ἀπὸ τῆς πράξεως, λόγῳ τὰ νείκη κατέπαυον, οὐκ ἐῶντες στρατεύειν πρότερον ἢ πᾶσαν ἐλπίδα δίκης ἀποκοπῆναι.
12.4. For the Greeks call it peace when two parties settle their quarrels by mutual conference, and not by violence. And the Roman Fetiales often went to those who were doing them a wrong and made personal appeals for fair treatment; but if the unfair treatment continued, they called the gods to witness, invoked many dreadful evils upon themselves and their country in case they resorted to hostilities unjustly, and so declared war upon them.
12.4. καὶ γὰρ εἰρήνην Γ? Ἕλληνες καλοῦσιν ὅταν λόγῳ, μὴ βίᾳ, πρὸς ἀλλήλους χρώμενοι λύσωσι τὰς διαφοράς, οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαίων Φιτιαλεῖς πολλάκις μὲν ἐβάδιζον ὡς τοὺς ἀδικοῦντας αὐτοὶ πείθοντες εὐγνωμονεῖν· ἀγνωμονούντων δὲ μαρτυράμενοι θεούς, καὶ κατευξάμενοι πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ καθʼ αὑτῶν αὐτοὶ καὶ τῆς πατρίδος εἰ μὴ δικαίως ἐπεξίασιν, οὕτω κατήγγελλον αὐτοῖς τὸν πόλεμον.
12.5. But if they forbade it or withheld their consent, neither soldier nor king of Rome could lawfully take up arms. War had to begin with their verdict that it was just, and the ruler, on receiving this verdict, must then deliberate on the proper way to wage it. And it is said that the dreadful disaster which the city experienced at the hands of the Gauls was in consequence of the illegal treatment of these priests.
12.5. κωλυόντων δὲ τούτων ἢ μὴ συναινούντων, οὔτε στρατιώτῃ θεμιτὸν οὔτε βασιλεῖ Ῥωμαίων ὅπλα κινεῖν, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τούτων ἔδει τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ πολέμου δεξάμενον ὡς δικαίου τὸν ἄρχοντα, τότε σκοπεῖν περὶ τοῦ συμφέροντος, λέγεται δὲ καὶ τὸ Κελτικὸν ἐκεῖνο πάθος τῇ πόλει γενέσθαι τούτων τῶν ἱερέων παρανομηθέντων.
12.6. For when the Barbarians were besieging Clusium, Fabius Ambustus was sent from Rome to their camp to bring about a cessation of hostilities on behalf of the besieged. But on receiving an unseemly answer, he thought his office of ambassador was at an end, and committed the youthful folly of taking up arms for the Clusians and challenging the bravest of the Barbarians to single combat.
12.6. ἔτυχον μὲν γὰρ οἱ βάρβαροι Κλουσίνους πολιορκοῦντες· ἐπέμφθη δὲ πρεσβευτὴς Φάβιος Ἄμβουστος εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον διαλύσεις πράξων ὑπὲρ τῶν πολιορκουμένων. λαβὼν δὲ ἀποκρίσεις οὐκ ἐπιεικεῖς καὶ πέρας σχεῖν αὑτῷ τὴν πρεσβείαν οἰόμενος, ἐνεανιεύσατο πρὸ τῶν Κλουσίνων ὅπλα λαβὼν προκαλέσασθαι τὸν ἀριστεύοντα τῶν βαρβάρων.
12.7. Fabius fought successfully, unhorsed his adversary, and stripped him of his armour. But when the Gauls discovered who he was, they sent a herald to Rome denouncing Fabius for violating a truce, breaking his oath, and fighting against them before war was formally declared. At Rome the Fetiales tried to persuade the senate to deliver Fabius into the hands of the Gauls, but he took refuge with the multitude, and through the favour of the populace evaded his punishment. After a little, therefore, the Gauls came up and sacked Rome, with the exception of the Capitol. But this story is more fully given in my Life of Camillus.
12.7. τὰ μὲν οὖν τῆς μάχης εὐτυχεῖτο καὶ καταβαλὼν ἐσκύλευσε τὸν ἄνδρα γνωρίσαντες δὲ οἱ Κελτοὶ πέμπουσιν εἰς Ῥώμην κήρυκα τοῦ Φαβίου κατηγοροῦντες ὡς ἐκσπόνδου καὶ ἀπίστου καὶ ἀκατάγγελτον ἐξενηνοχότος πρὸς αὐτοὺς πόλεμον. ἐνταῦθα τὴν μὲν σύγκλητον οἱ Φιτιαλεῖς ἔπειθον ἐκδιδόναι τὸν ἄνδρα τοῖς Κελτοῖς, καταφυγὼν δὲ ἐκεῖνος εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς καὶ τῷ δήμῳ σπουδάζοντι χρησάμενος διεκρούσατο τὴν δίκην. μετʼ ὀλίγον δὲ ἐπελθόντες οἱ Κελτοὶ τὴν Ῥώμην πλὴν τοῦ Καπιτωλίου διεπόρθησαν. ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐν τοῖς περὶ Καμίλλου μᾶλλον ἀκριβοῦται.
13.1. The priesthood of the Salii Numa is said to have been established for the following reason. In the eighth year of his reign a pestilence, which traversed Italy, distracted Rome also. The story goes that while the people were disheartened by this, a bronze buckler fell from heaven, which came into the hands of Numa, and a wonderful account of it was given by the king, which he learned from Egeria and the Muses.
13.1. τοὺς δὲ Σαλίους ἱερεῖς ἐκ τοιαύτης λέγεται συστήσασθαι προφάσεως. ἔτος ὄγδοον αὐτοῦ βασιλεύοντος λοιμώδης νόσος περιϊοῦσα τὴν Ἰταλίαν ἐστρόβησε καὶ τὴν Ῥώμην. ἀθυμούντων δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἱστορεῖται χαλκῆν πέλτην ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταφερομένην εἰς τὰς Νομᾶ πεσεῖν χεῖρας. ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτῇ θαυμάσιόν τινα λόγον λέγεσθαι ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, ὃν Ἠγερίας τε καὶ τῶν Μουσῶν πυθέσθαι.
13.2. The buckler came, he said, for the salvation of the city, and must be carefully preserved by making eleven others of like fashion, size, and shape, in order that the resemblance between them might make it difficult for a thief to distinguish the one that fell from heaven. He said further that the spot where it fell, and the adjacent meadows, where the Muses usually had converse with him, must be consecrated to them; and that the spring which watered the spot should be declared holy water for the use of the Vestal virgins, who should daily sprinkle and purify their temple with it.
13.2. τὸ μὲν γάρ ὅπλον ἥκειν ἐπὶ σωτηρίᾳ τῆς πόλεως, καὶ δεῖν αὐτὸ φρουρεῖσθαι γενομένων ἄλλων ἕνδεκα καὶ σχῆμα καὶ μέγεθος καὶ μορφὴν ἐκείνῳ παραπλησίων, ὅπως ἄπορον εἴη τῷ κλέπτῃ διʼ ὁμοιότητα τοῦ διοπετοῦς ἐπιτυχεῖν ἔτι δὲ χρῆναι Μούσαις καθιερῶσαι τὸ χωρίον ἐκεῖνο καὶ τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸ λειμῶνας, ὅπου τὰ πολλὰ φοιτῶσαι συνδιατρίβουσιν αὐτῷ. τὴν δὲ πηγὴν ἣ κατάρδει τὸ χωρίον, ὕδωρ ἱερὸν ἀποδεῖξαι ταῖς Ἑστιάσι παρθένοις, ὅπως λαμβάνουσαι καθʼ ἡμέραν ἁγνίζωσι καὶ ῥαίνωσι τὸ ἀνάκτορον.
13.3. Moreover, they say that the truth of all this was attested by the immediate cessation of the pestilence. When Numa showed the buckler to the artificers and bade them do their best to make others like it, they all declined, except Veturius Mamurius, a most excellent workman, who was so happy in his imitation of it, and made all the eleven so exactly like it, that not even Numa himself could distinguish them. For the watch and care of these bucklers, then, he appointed the priesthood of the Salii.
13.3. τούτοις μὲν οὖν μαρτυρῆσαι λέγουσι καὶ τὰ τῆς νόσου παραχρῆμα παυσάμενα. τὴν δὲ πέλτην προθέντος αὐτοῦ καὶ κελεύσαντος ἁμιλλᾶσθαι τοὺς τεχνίτας ὑπὲρ τῆς ὁμοιότητος, τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἀπειπεῖν, Οὐετούριον δὲ Μαμούριον ἕνα α τῶν ἄκρων δημιουργῶν οὕτως ἐφικέσθαι τῆς ἐμφερείας, καὶ κατασκευάσαι πάσας ὁμοίας, ὥστε μηδʼ αὐτὸν ἔτι τὸν Νομᾶν διαγινώσκειν. τούτων οὖν φύλακας καὶ ἀμφιπόλους ἀπέδειξε τοὺς Σαλίους ἱερεῖς.
13.4. Now the Salii were so named, not, as some tell the tale, from a man of Samothrace or Mantinea, named Salius, who first taught the dance in armour; but rather from the leaping which characterized the dance itself. This dance they perform when they carry the sacred bucklers through the streets of the city in the month of March, clad in purple tunics, girt with broad belts of bronze, wearing bronze helmets on their heads, and carrying small daggers with which they strike the shields.
13.4. σάλιοι δὲ ἐκλήθησαν, οὐχ, ὡς ἔνιοι μυθολογοῦσι, Σαμόθρᾳκος ἀνδρὸς ἢ Μαντινέως, ὄνομα Σαλίου, πρώτου τὴν ἐνόπλιον ἐκδιδάξαντος ὄρχησιν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἀπὸ τῆς ὀρχήσεως αὐτῆς, ἁλτικῆς οὔσης, ἣν ὑπορχοῦνται διαπορευόμενοι τὴν πόλιν, ὅταν τὰς ἱερὰς πέλτας ἀναλάβωσιν ἐν τῷ Μαρτίῳ μηνί, φοινικοῦς μὲν ἐνδεδυμένοι χιτωνίσκους, μίτραις δὲ χαλκαῖς ἐπεζωσμένοι πλατείαις καὶ κράνη χαλκᾶ φοροῦντες, ἐγχειριδίοις δὲ μικροῖς τὰ ὅπλα κρούοντες.
13.5. But the dance is chiefly a matter of step; for they move gracefully, and execute with vigour and agility certain shifting convolutions, in quick and oft-recurring rhythm. The bucklers themselves are called ancilia, from their shape; for this is not round, nor yet completely oval, like that of the regular shield, but has a curving indentation, the arms of which are bent back and united with each other at top and bottom this makes the shape “ancylon,” the Greek for curved.
13.5. ἡ δὲ ἄλλη τῆς ὀρχήσεως ποδῶν ἔργον ἐστί· κινοῦνται γάρ ἐπιτερπῶς, ἑλιγμούς τινας καὶ μεταβολὰς ἐν ῥυθμῷ τάχος ἔχοντι καὶ πυκνότητα μετὰ ῥώμης καὶ κουφότητος ἀποδιδόντες. αὐτὰς ς δὲ τὰς πέλτας ἀγκύλια καλοῦσι διὰ τὸ σχῆμα· κύκλος γάρ οὐκ ἔστιν οὐδὲ ἀποδίδωσιν, ὡς πέλτη, τὴν περιφέρειαν, ἀλλʼ ἐκτομὴν ἔχει γραμμῆς ἑλικοειδοῦς, ἧς αἱ κεραῖαι καμπὰς ἔχουσαι καὶ συνεπιστρέφουσαι τῇ πυκνότητι πρὸς ἀλλήλας ἀγκύλον τὸ σχῆμα ποιοῦσιν·
13.6. Or, they are named from the elbow on which they are carried, which, in Greek, is “ankon.” This is what Juba says, who is bent on deriving the name from the Greek. But the name may come from the Greek “anekathen,” inasmuch as the original shield fell from on high; or from “akesis,” because it healed those who were sick of the plague; or from “auchmon lysis,” because it put an end to the drought; or, further, from “anaschesis,” because it brought a cessation of calamities, just as Castor and Pollux were called Anakes by the Athenians; if, that is, we are bound to derive the name from the Greek.
13.6. ἢ διὰ τὸν ἀγκῶνα περὶ ὃν περιφέρονται, ταῦτα γάρ ὁ Ἰόβας εἴρηκε γλιχόμενος ἐξελληνίσαι τοὔνομα. δύναιτο δὲ ἂν τῆς ἀνέκαθεν φορᾶς πρῶτον ἐπώνυμον γεγονέναι, καὶ τῆς ἀκέσεως τῶν νοσούντων, καὶ τῆς τῶν αὐχμῶν λύσεως, ἔτι δὲ τῆς τῶν δεινῶν ἀνασχέσεως, καθʼ ὃ καὶ τοὺς Διοσκούρους Ἄνακας Ἀθηναῖοι προσηγόρευσαν, εἴ γε δεῖ πρὸς τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν διάλεκτον ἐξάγειν τοὔνομα.
13.7. We are told that Mamertius was rewarded for his wonderful art by having his name mentioned in a song which the Salii sing as they perform their war-dance. Some, however, say that the song does not commemorate Veturius Mamurius, but veterem memoriam, that is to say, ancient remembrance.
13.7. τῷ δὲ Μαμουρίῳ λέγουσι μισθὸν γενέσθαι τῆς τέχνης ἐκείνης μνήμην τινὰ διʼ ᾠδῆς ὑπὸ τῶν Σαλίων ἅμα τῇ πυρρίχῃ διαπεραινομένης. οἱ δὲ οὐ Οὐετούριον Μαμούριον εἶναί φασι τὸν ᾀδόμενον, ἀλλὰ οὐετέρεμ μεμορίαμ, ὅπερ ἐστί, παλαιὰν μνήμην.
14.1. After Numa had thus established and regulated the priestly orders, he built, near the temple of Vesta, the so-called Regia, or royal house. Here he passed most of his time, performing sacred functions, or teaching the priests, or engaged in the quiet contemplation of divine things. He also had another house on the Quirinal hill, the site of which is still pointed out. At all public and solemn processions of the priests, heralds were sent on before through the city, bidding the people make holiday, and putting a stop to all labour.
14.1. ἐπεὶ δὲ διεκόσμησε τὰς ἱερωσύνας, ἐδείματο πλησίον τοῦ τῆς Ἑστίας ἱεροῦ τὴν καλουμένην Ῥηγίαν, οἷόν τι βασίλειον οἴκημα· καὶ τὸ πλεῖστον αὐτόθι τοῦ χρόνου διέτριβεν ἱερουργῶν ἢ διδάσκων τοὺς ἱερεῖς ἢ πρὸς ἐννοίᾳ τινὶ τῶν θείων πρὸς αὑτὸν σχολάζων. οἰκίαν δ’ εἶχεν ἑτέραν περὶ τὸν Κυρίνου λόφον, ἧς ἔτι νῦν τὸν τόπον ἐπιδεικνύουσιν. ἐν δὲ ταῖς προπομπαῖς καὶ ὅλως τῶν ἱερέων ταῖς πομπαῖς προηγοῦντο κήρυκες ἀνὰ τὴν πόλιν ἐλινύειν κελεύοντες καὶ τὰ ἔργα καταπαύοντες.
14.2. For, just as it is said that the Pythagoreans do not allow men to worship and pray to their gods cursorily and by the way, but would have them go from their homes directly to this office, with their minds prepared for it, so Numa thought that his citizens ought neither to hear nor see any divine service while they were occupied with other matters and therefore unable to pay attention. They should rather be free from all distractions and devote their thoughts to the religious ceremony as a matter of the highest importance. They should also rid their streets of noise and clatter and clamour, and all such accompaniments of menial and manual labour, and clear them for the sacred ceremonies. And the Romans still preserve some traces of this earlier feeling. When a magistrate is busy taking auspices or sacrificing, the people cry Hoc age, which means Mind this, and helps to make the bystanders attentive and orderly.
14.2. ὡς γάρ φασι τοὺς Πυθαγορικοὺς οὐκ ἐᾶν ἐκ παρόδου προσκυνεῖν καὶ προσεύχεσθαι τοῖς θεοῖς, ἀλλʼ οἴκοθεν εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τοῦτο γνώμῃ παρεσκευασμένους βαδίζειν, οὕτως ᾤετο Νομᾶς χρῆναι τοὺς πολίτας μήτε ἀκούειν τι τῶν θείων μήτε ὁρᾶν ἐν παρέργῳ καὶ ἀμελῶς, ἀλλὰ σχολὴν ἄγοντας ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλωὶ καὶ προσέχοντας τὴν διάνοιαν ὡς πράξει μεγίστῃ τῇ περὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν, ψόφων τε καὶ πατάγων καὶ στεναγμῶν, καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα τοῖς ἀναγκαίοις καὶ βαναύσοις πόνοις ἕπεται, καθαρὰς τὰς ὁδοὺς ταῖς ἱερουργίαις παρέχοντας, ὧν ἴχνος τι μέχρι νῦν διασώζοντες, ὅταν ἄρχων πρὸς ὄρνισιν ἢ θυσίαις διατρίβῃ, βοῶσιν Ὃκ ἄγε· σημαίνει δὲ ἡ φωνὴ τοῦτο πρᾶσσε, συνεπιστρέφουσα καὶ κατακοσμοῦσα τοὺς προστυγχάνοντας.
14.3. Many of his other precepts also resembled those of the Pythagoreans. For instance, the Pythagoreans said: “Don’t use a quart-measure as a seat”; “Don’t poke the fire with a sword”; “When you set out for foreign parts, don’t turn back”; and “To the celestial gods sacrifice an odd number, but an even number to the terrestrial”; and the meaning of all these precepts they would keep hidden from the vulgar. So in some of Numa’s rules the meaning is hidden; as, for instance, “Don’t offer to the gods wine from unpruned vines”; “Don’t make a sacrifice without meal”; “Turn round as you worship”; and “Sit down after worship.”
14.3. ἦν δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων παραγγελμάτων αὐτοῦ πολλὰ τοῖς Πυθαγορικοῖς ἐοικότα. ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι παρῄνουν ἐπὶ χοίνικος μὴ καθῆσθαι, καὶ μαχαίρᾳ πῦρ μὴ σκαλεύειν, καὶ βαδίζοντας εἰς ἀποδημίας μὴ μεταστρέφεσθαι, καὶ τοῖς μὲν οὐρανίοις περισσά, θύειν, ἄρτια δὲ τοῖς χθονίοις, ὧν ἑκάστου τὴν διάνοιαν ἀπεκρύπτοντο πρὸς τοὺς πολλούς, οὕτως ἔνια τῶν Νομᾶ πατρίων ἀπόρρητον ἔχει τὸν λόγον οἷον τὸ μὴ σπένδειν θεοῖς ἐξ ἀμπέλων ἀτμήτων μηδὲ θύειν ἄτερ ἀλφίτων καὶ τὸ προσκυνεῖν περιστρεφομένους καὶ τὸ καθῆσθαι προσκυνήσαντας.
14.4. The first two rules would seem to teach that the subjection of the earth is a part of religion; and the worshippers’ turning round is said to be an imitation of the rotary motion of the universe; but I would rather think that the worshipper who enters a temple, since temples face the east and the Sun, has his back towards the sunrise, and therefore turns himself half round in that direction, and then wheels fully round to face the god of the temple, thus making a complete circle, and linking the fulfilment of his prayer with both deities;
14.4. τὰ μὲν οὖν πρῶτα δύο τὴν γῆς ἐξημέρωσιν ἔοικε διδάσκειν, ὡς μόριον εὐσεβείας οὖσαν ἡ δὲ περιστροφὴ τῶν προσκυνούντων λέγεται μὲν ἀπομίμησις εἶναι τῆς τοῦ κόσμου περιφορᾶς, δόξειε δ’ ἂν μᾶλλον ὁ προσκυνῶν, ἐπεὶ πρὸς ἕω τῶν ἱερῶν βλεπόντων ἀπέστραπται τὰς ἀνατολάς, μεταβάλλειν ἑαυτὸν ἐνταῦθα καὶ περιστρέφειν ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν, κύκλον ποιῶν καὶ συνάπτων τὴν ἐπιτελείωσιν τῆς εὐχῆς διʼ ἀμφοῖν·
14.5. unless, indeed, this change of posture, like the Aegyptian wheels, darkly hints and teaches that there is no stability in human affairs, but that we must accept contentedly whatever twists and turns our lives may receive from the Deity. And as for the sitting down after worship, we are told that it is an augury of the acceptance of the worshipper’s prayers and the duration of his blessings. We are also told, that, as different acts are separated by an interval of rest, so the worshipper, having completed one act, sits down in the presence of the gods, in order that he may begin another with their blessing.
14.5. εἰ μὴ νὴ Δία τοῖς Αἰγυπτίοις τροχοῖς αἰνίττεταί τι καὶ διδάσκει παραπλήσιον ἡ μεταβολὴ τοῦ σχήματος, ὡς οὐδενὸς ἑστῶτος τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων, ἀλλʼ ὅπως ἂν στρέφῃ καὶ ἀνελίττῃ τὸν βίον ἡμῶν ὁ θεός, ἀγαπᾶν καὶ δέχεσθαι προσῆκον, τὸ δὲ καθέζεσθαι προσκυνήσαντας οἰωνισμὸν εἶναι λέγουσι τοῦ βεβαιότητα ταῖς εὐχαῖς καὶ διαμονὴν τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἐπιγίνεσθαι. λέγουσι δὲ καὶ πράξεων διορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν·
14.6. But this, too, can be brought into agreement with what was said above: the lawgiver is trying to accustom us not to make our petitions to the Deity when we are busied with other matters and in a hurry, as it were, but when we have time and are at leisure.
14.6. ὡς οὖν τῇ προτέρᾳ, πράξει πέρας ἐπιτιθέντας καθέζεσθαι παρὰ τοῖς θεοῖς, ἵνα ἑτέρας πάλιν ἀρχὴν παρʼ ἐκείνων λάβωσι. δύναται δὲ καὶ τοῦτο τοῖς εἰρημένοις ὁμολογεῖν, ἐθίζοντος ἡμᾶς τοῦ νομοθέτου μὴ ποιεῖσθαι τὰς πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ἐντεύξεις ἐν ἀσχολίᾳ, καὶ παρέργως οἷον σπεύδοντας, ἀλλʼ ὅταν χρόνον ἔχωμεν καὶ σχολὴν ἄγω μεν.