PRE-REGENTS
1. Livy, AbUrbe Condita 21.41.14-17
Scipio harangues his troops on the eve of the battle with Hannibal at the Ticinus River.
“Non de possessione Siciliae ac Sardiniae, de quibus quondam agebatur, sed pro Italia vobis est
pugnandum. Nec est alius ab tergo exercitus qui, nisi nos vincimus, hosti obsistat, nec Alpes aliae sunt,
quas dum superant, comparari nova possint praesidia; hic est obstandum, milites, velut si ante Romana
moenia pugnemus. Unusquisque se non corpus suum sed coniugem ac liberos parvos armis protegere
putet; nec domesticas solum agitet curas sed identidem hoc animo reputet nostras nunc intueri manus
senatum populumque Romanum: qualis nostra vis virtusque fuerit, talem deinde fortunam illius urbis
ac Romani imperii fore.” Haec apud Romanos consul.
You have got to fight not for the ownership of Sicily and Sardinia, which were formerly in dispute, but
for Italy. There is no second army at our back to stop the enemy, in case we fail to beat him, nor are
there other Alps to obstruct his advance while we prepare new defenses. Here, soldiers, is the spot
where we must make our stand, as though we were fighting before the walls of Rome. Let each and
every one of you consider that his arms protect, not his own person, but his wife and little children;
nor let him be concerned for his family alone, but remember that ours are the hands to which the
senate and the Roman people are now looking, and that even as our might and valor shall prove to
be, such henceforward will be the fortune of that City and the Roman empire.” So spoke the consul to
the Romans.
2. Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 2.12.6-9
Mucius Scaevola – A display of Roman valor in the face of adversity.
Ubi eo venit, in confertissima turba prope regium tribunal constitit. Ibi cum stipendium militibus forte
daretur et scriba cum rege sedens pari fere ornatu multa ageret eumque milites volgo adirent, timens
sciscitari uter Porsinna esset, ne ignorando regem semet ipse aperiret quis esset, quo temere traxit
fortuna facinus, scribam pro rege obtruncat. Vadentem inde qua per trepidam turbam cruento mucrone
sibi ipse fecerat viam, cum concursu ad clamorem facto comprehensum regii satellites retraxissent,
ante tribunal regis destitutus, tum quoque inter tantas fortunae minas metuendus magis quam metuens,
"Romanus sum" inquit, "civis; C. Mucium uocant. Hostis hostem occidere volui, nec ad mortem minus
animi est, quam fuit ad caedem; et facere et pati fortia Romanum est.
When he arrived there [at the camp], he took up his stand in the thick of the crowd near the royal
tribunal. It happened that at that moment the soldiers were being paid; a secretary, who sat beside the
king and wore nearly the same costume, was very busy. To him the soldiers, for the most part,
addressed themselves. Mucius was afraid to ask which was Porsinna, lest his ignorance of the king’s
identity should betray his own and, following the blind guidance of Fortune, he slew the secretary
instead of the king. As he strode off through the frightened crowd, making a way for himself with his
bloody blade, there was an outcry. The royal guards came running in from every side, seized him, and
dragged him back before the tribunal of the king. But friendless as he was, even then, amidst such
misfortune, like a person more to be feared than aftraid, he cried, “I am a Roman citizen. Men call me
Gaius Mucius. I am your enemy, and as an enemy I would have slain you. I can die as resolutely as I
could kill; it is the Roman way to do harsh deeds and to endure them.
3. Cicero - 1st Catilinarian
Cicero publicly berates the traitorous Catiline.
Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? quem
ad finem sese effrenata iactabit audacia? Nihilne te nocturnum praesidium Palati, nihil urbis vigiliae,
nihil timor populi, nihil concursus bonorum omnium, nihil hic munitissimus habendi senatus locus,
nihil horum ora voltusque moverunt? Patere tua consilia non sentis, constrictam iam horum omnium
scientia teneri coniurationem tuam non vides? Quid proxima, quid superiore nocte egeris, ubi fueris,
quos convocaveris, quid consilii ceperis, quem nostrum ignorare arbitraris? [2] O tempora, o mores!
Senatus haec intellegit. Consul videt; hic tamen vivit. Vivit? immo vero etiam in senatum venit.
When, O Catiline, do you mean to cease abusing our patience? How long is that madness of yours still
to mock us? When is there to be an end of that unbridled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it
does now? Do not the nightly guards placed on the Palatine Hill--do not the watches posted
throughout the city--does not the alarm of the people, and the union of all good men--does not the
precaution taken of assembling the senate in thus most defensible place--do not the looks and
countenances of this venerable body here present, have any effect upon you? Do you not feel that your
plans are detected? Do you not see that your conspiracy is already arrested and rendered powerless
by the knowledge which every one here possesses of it? What is there that you did last night, what the
night before-- where is it that you were--who was there that you summoned to meet you--what design
was there which was adopted by you, with which you think that any one of us is unacquainted? Shame
on the age and on its principles! The senate is aware of these things; the consul sees them; and yet this
man lives. Lives! aye, he comes even into the senate.
4. Caesar – De bello Gallico
Caesar gives a geography lesson.
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui
ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt.
Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit. Horum omnium fortissimi
sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos
mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important, proximique
sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt. Qua de causa
Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt, quod fere cotidianis proeliis cum Germanis
contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt.
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who
in their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in
language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and
the Seine separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are
furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort
to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate the mind; and they are the nearest to the
Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine , with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason
the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valor, as they contend with the Germans in almost
daily battles, when they either repel them from their own territories, or themselves wage war on their
frontiers.
5. Pliny – Vesuvius – Letters, Liber VI, 16
Pliny’s eyewitness account of the eruption of Vesuvius.
Erat Miseni classemque imperio praesens regebat. Nonum Kal. Septembres hora fere septima mater
mea indicat ei apparere nubem inusitata et magnitudine et specie. Usus ille sole, mox frigida,
gustaverat iacens studebatque; poscit soleas, ascendit locum ex quo maxime miraculum illud conspici
poterat. Nubes - incertum procul intuentibus ex quo monte; Vesuvium fuisse postea cognitum est oriebatur, cuius similitudinem et formam non alia magis arbor quam pinus expresserit. Nam
longissimo velut trunco elata in altum quibusdam ramis diffundebatur, credo quia recenti spiritu
evecta, dein senescente eo destituta aut etiam pondere suo victa in latitudinem vanescebat, candida
interdum, interdum sordida et maculosa prout terram cineremve sustulerat.
He was at that time with the fleet under his command at Misenum. On the 24th of August, about one in
the afternoon, my mother desired him to observe a cloud which appeared of a very unusual size and
shape. He had just taken a turn in the sun93 and, after bathing himself in cold water, and making a
light luncheon, gone back to his books: he immediately arose and went out upon a rising ground from
whence he might get a better sight of this very uncommon appearance. A cloud, from which mountain
was uncertain, at this distance (but it was found afterwards to come from Mount Vesuvius), was
ascending, the appearance of which I cannot give you a more exact description of than by likening it to
that of a pine tree, for it shot up to a great height in the form of a very tall trunk, which spread itself
out at the top into a sort of branches; occasioned, I imagine, either by a sudden gust of air that
impelled it, the force of which decreased as it advanced upwards,or the cloud itself being pressed back
again by its own weight, expanded in the manner I have mentioned; it appeared sometimes bright and
sometimes dark and spotted, according as it was either more or less impregnated with earth and
cinders.
6. Bible – 110 Genesis 1:1-8
The Vulgate version of creation.
in principio creavit Deus caelum et terram
terra autem erat inanis et vacua et tenebrae super faciem abyssi et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas
dixitque Deus fiat lux et facta est lux
et vidit Deus lucem quod esset bona et divisit lucem ac tenebras
appellavitque lucem diem et tenebras noctem factumque est vespere et mane dies unus
dixit quoque Deus fiat firmamentum in medio aquarum et dividat aquas ab aquis
et fecit Deus firmamentum divisitque aquas quae erant sub firmamento ab his quae erant super
firmamentum et factum est ita
vocavitque Deus firmamentum caelum et factum est vespere et mane dies secundus.
I. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. [2] Now the earth was formless and empty.
Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God's Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. [3]
God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. [4] God saw the light, and saw that it was good.
God divided the light from the darkness. [5] God called the light Day, and the darkness he called
Night. There was evening and there was morning, one day. [6] God said, "Let there be an expanse in
the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters." [7] God made the expanse, and
divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse, and
it was so. [8] God called the expanse sky. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
7. SUETONI TRANQVILII VITA DIVI IVLI
Julius Caesar laments his shortcomings in front of the statue of Alexander the Great.
[7] Quaestori ulterior Hispania obvenit; ubi cum mandatu pr(aetoris) iure dicundo conventus circumiret
Gadisque venisset, animadversa apud Herculis templum Magni Alexandri imagine ingemuit et quasi
pertaesus ignaviam suam, quod nihil dum a se memorabile actum esset in aetate, qua iam Alexander
orbem terrarum subegisset, missionem continuo efflagitavit ad captandas quam primum maiorum
rerum occasiones in urbe. Etiam confusum eum somnio proximae noctis nam visus erat per quietem
stuprum matri intulisse coiectores ad amplissimam spem incitaverunt arbitrium terrarum orbis portendi
interpretantes, quando mater, quam subiectam sibi vidisset, non alia esset quam terra, quae omnium
parens haberetur.
VII. As quaestor it fell to his lot to serve in Hispania Ulterior. When he was there, while making the
circuit of the towns, to hold court under commission from the praetor, he came to Gades, and noticing
a statue of Alexander the Great in the temple of Hercules, he heaved a sigh, and as if out of patience
with his own incapacity in having as yet done nothing noteworthy at a time of life when Alexander had
already brought the world to his feet, he straightway asked for his discharge, to grasp the first
opportunity for greater enterprises at Rome. Furthermore, when he was dismayed by a dream the
following night (for he thought that he had offered violence to his mother) the soothsayers inspired him
with high hopes by their interpretation, which was that he was destined to rule the world, since the
mother whom he had seen in his power was none other than the earth, which is regarded as the
common parent of all mankind.
8. SUETONI TRANQVILII VITA DIVI IVLI
Caesar arrogantly rebukes a distinguished senator.
[78] Verum praecipuam et exitiabilem sibi inuidiam hinc maxime mouit. adeuntis se cum plurimis
honorificentissimisque decretis uniuersos patres conscriptos sedens pro aede Veneris Genetricis
excepit. quidam putant retentum a Cornelio Balbo, cum conaretur assurgere; alii, ne conatum quidem
omnino, sed etiam admonentem Gaium Trebatium ut assurgeret minus familiari uultu respexisse. idque
factum eius tanto intolerabilius est uisum, quod ipse triumphanti et subsellia tribunicia praeteruehenti
sibi unum e collegio Pontium Aquilam non assurrexisse adeo indignatus sit, ut proclamauerit: 'repete
ergo a me Aquila rem publicam tribunus!' et nec destiterit per continuos dies quicquam cuiquam nisi
sub exceptione polliceri: 'si tamen per Pontium Aquilam licuerit.'
LXXVIII. But it was the following action in particular that roused deadly hatred against him. When the
Senate approached him in a body with many highly honorary decrees, he received them before the
temple of Venus Genetrix without rising. Some think that when he attempted to get up, he was held
back by Cornelius Balbus; others, that he made no such move at all, but on the contrary frowned
angrily on Gaius Trebatius when he suggested that he should rise. And this action of his seemed the
more intolerable, because when he himself in one of his triumphal processions rode past the benches
of the tribunes, he was so incensed because a member of the college, Pontius Aquila by name, did not
rise, that he cried: "Come then, Aquila, take back the republic from me, you tribune"; and for several
days he would not make a promise to any one without adding, "That is, if Pontius Aquila will allow
me."
9. CORNELI NEPOTIS HANNIBAL
Hannibal’s steely hatred of all things Roman.
[1] HANNIBAL, Hamilcaris filius, Carthaginiensis. Si verum est, quod nemo dubitat, ut populus
Romanus omnes gentes virtute superarit, non est infitiandum Hannibalem tanto praestitisse ceteros
imperatores prudentia, quanto populus Romanus antecedat fortitudine cunctas nationes. 2 Nam
quotienscumque cum eo congressus est in Italia, semper discessit superior. Quod nisi domi civium
suorum invidia debilitatus esset, Romanos videtur superare potuisse. Sed multorum obtrectatio devicit
unius virtutem. 3 Hic autem velut hereditate relictum odium paternum erga Romanos sic conservavit,
ut prius animam quam id deposuerit, qui quidem, cum patria pulsus esset et alienarum opum indigeret,
numquam destiterit animo bellare cum Romanis.
1. Hannibal the Carthaginian, son of Hamilcar. If it be true, as no one doubts, that the Roman people
have surpassed all other nations in valor, it must be admitted that Hannibal excelled all other
commanders in skill as much as the Roman people are superior to all nations in bravery. For as often
as he engaged with that people in Italy, he invariably came off victor; and if his strength had not been
impaired by the jealousy of his fellow-citizens at home, he would have been able, to all appearance, to
conquer the Romans. But the disparagement of the multitude overcame the courage of one man. Yet
after all, he so cherished the hatred of the Romans which had, as it were, been left him as an
inheritance by his father, that he would have given up his life rather than renounce it. Indeed, even
after he had been driven from his native land and was dependent on the aid of foreigners, he never
ceased to war with the Romans in spirit.
10. CORNELI NEPOTIS HANNIBAL
Hannibal crosses the Alps.
3.2 Sic Hannibal, minor V et XX annis natus imperator factus, proximo triennio omnes gentes
Hispaniae bello subegit; Saguntum, foederatam civitatem, vi expugnavit; tres exercitus maximos
comparavit. 3 Ex his unum in Africam misit, alterum cum Hasdrubale fratre in Hispania reliquit,
tertium in Italiam secum duxit. Saltum Pyrenaeum transiit. Quacumque iter fecit, cum omnibus incolis
conflixit: neminem nisi victum dimisit. 4 Ad Alpes posteaquam venit, quae Italiam ab Gallia
seiungunt, quas nemo umquam cum exercitu ante eum praeter Herculem Graium transierat, quo facto
is hodie saltus Graius appellatur, Alpicos conantes prohibere transitu concidit; loca patefecit, itinera
muniit, effecit, ut ea elephantus ornatus ire posset, qua antea unus homo inermis vix poterat repere.
Hac copias traduxit in Italiamque pervenit.
So it was that when he was less than twenty-five years old, Hannibal became commander-in-chief; and
within the next three years he subdued all the peoples of Spain by force of arms, stormed Saguntum, a
town allied with Rome, and mustered three great armies. Of these armies he sent one to Africa, left the
second with his brother Hasdrubal in Spain, and led the third with him into Italy. He crossed the range
of the Pyrenees. Wherever he marched, he warred with all the natives, and he was everywhere
victorious.
When he came to the Alps separating Italy from Gaul, which no one before him had ever crossed with
an army except Hercules (the Greek) because of which that place is called the Greek Pass, he cut to
pieces the Alpine tribes that tried to keep him from crossing, opened up the region, built roads, and
made it possible for an elephant with its equipment to go over places along which before that a single
unarmed man could barely crawl. By this route he led his forces across the Alps and came into Italy.
11. MEDIEVAL LATIN
Epistolae Abaelardi et Heloysae, 2
The beauty of writing and receiving personal letters.
Quam iocunde vero sint absentium littera amicorum, ipse nos exemplo proprio Seneca docet, ad
amicum Lucilium quodam loco sic scribens: "Quod frequenter mihi scribis, gratias ago: nam quo uno
modo potes, te mihi ostendis. Numquam epistolam tuam accipio, quin protinus una simus. Si imagines
nobis amicorum absentium iocundae sunt, quae memoriam renovant et desiderium absentis falso atque
inani solatio levant, quanto iocundiores sunt litterae, quae amici absentis veras notas afferunt?" Deo
autem gratias, quod hoc saltem modo presentiam tuam nobis reddere nulla invidia prohiberis, nulla
difficultate prepedîris, nulla, obsecro, negligentia retarderis.
For how pleasant are the letters of absent friends. Seneca himself by own example teaches us, writing
thus in a certain passage to his friend Lucilius: "Because you write me often, I thank you. For in the
one way possible you show yourself to me. Never do I receive a letter from you, but immediately we
are together." If the portraits of our absent friends are pleasant to us, which renew our memory of
them and relieve our regret for their absence by a false and empty consolation, how much more
pleasant are letters which bring us the written characters of the absent friend. But thanks be to God,
that in this way at least no jealousy prevents you from restoring to us your presence, no difficulty
impedes you, no neglect (I beseech you) need delay you.
12. MARTINI EPISCOPI BRACARENSIS De Correctione Rusticorum
God creates angels, and one falls.
[3] Cum fecisset in principio deus caelum et terram, in illa caelesti habitatione fecit spiritales creaturas,
id est angelos, qui in conspectu ipsius adstantes laudarent illum. Ex quibus unus, qui primus omnium
archangelus fuerat factus, videns se in tanta gloria praefulgentem, non dedit honorem deo creatori suo,
sed similem se illi dixit; et pro hac superbia cum aliis plurimis angelis qui illi consenserunt de illa
caelesti sede in aere isto qui est sub caelo deiectus est; et ille, qui fuerat prius archangelus, perdita luce
gloriae suae, factus est tenebrosus et horribilis diabolus. Similiter et illi alii angeli qui consentientes illi
fuerant cum ipso de caelo proiecti sunt et, perdito splendore suo, facti sunt daemones.
In the beginning, having God created Heaven and the Earth, he made for the dwelling heavenly
spiritual creatures, that is, angels, so that they would worship Him in His presence. One of them,
which had first been made archangel, seeing himself in the splendor of so much glory, honored not
God, his creator, but considered himself equal to Him. By this loftiness he was expelled from that
celestial residence to this air under the heavens, in the company of many other angels which had been
solidary to him. He, which had been the first archangel, having lost the glory of his light, became a
dark and horrible devil. In the same way, the other angels, which made a common cause with him,
were also brought down and, losing their splendor, became demons.
ADVANCED
13. VERGIL, AENEID 1.180-207
Aeneas goes hunting and gives a pep talk to his men.
Aeneas scopulum interea conscendit, et omnem
180
prospectum late pelago petit, Anthea si quem
iactatum vento videat Phrygiasque biremis,
aut Capyn, aut celsis in puppibus arma Caici.
Navem in conspectu nullam, tris litore cervos
prospicit errantis; hos tota armenta sequuntur
185
a tergo, et longum per vallis pascitur agmen.
Constitit hic, arcumque manu celerisque sagittas
corripuit, fidus quae tela gerebat Achates;
ductoresque ipsos primum, capita alta ferentis
cornibus arboreis, sternit, tum volgus, et omnem
190
miscet agens telis nemora inter frondea turbam;
nec prius absistit, quam septem ingentia victor
corpora fundat humi, et numerum cum navibus aequet.
Hinc portum petit, et socios partitur in omnes.
Vina bonus quae deinde cadis onerarat Acestes
195
litore Trinacrio dederatque abeuntibus heros,
dividit, et dictis maerentia pectora mulcet:
'O socii—neque enim ignari sumus ante malorum—
O passi graviora, dabit deus his quoque finem.
Vos et Scyllaeam rabiem penitusque sonantis
200
accestis scopulos, vos et Cyclopea saxa
experti: revocate animos, maestumque timorem
mittite: forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.
Per varios casus, per tot discrimina rerum
tendimus in Latium; sedes ubi fata quietas
205
ostendunt; illic fas regna resurgere Troiae.
Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.'
Aeneas climbs the mountain's airy brow,
And takes a prospect of the seas below,
If Capys thence, or Antheus he could spy,
Or see the streamers of Caicus fly.
No vessels were in view; but, on the plain,
Three beamy stags command a lordly train
Of branching heads: the more ignoble throng
Attend their stately steps, and slowly graze along.
He stood; and, while secure they fed below,
He took the quiver and the trusty bow
Achates us'd to bear: the leaders first
He laid along, and then the vulgar pierc'd;
Nor ceas'd his arrows, till the shady plain
Sev'n mighty bodies with their blood distain.
For the sev'n ships he made an equal share,
And to the port return'd, triumphant from the war.
The jars of gen'rous wine (Acestes' gift,
When his Trinacrian shores the navy left)
He set abroach, and for the feast prepar'd,
In equal portions with the ven'son shar'd.
Thus while he dealt it round, the pious chief
With cheerful words allay'd the common grief:
“Endure, and conquer! Jove will soon dispose
To future good our past and present woes.
With me, the rocks of Scylla you have tried;
th' inhuman Cyclops and his den defied.
What greater ills hereafter can you bear?
Resume your courage and dismiss your care,
An hour will come, with pleasure to relate
Your sorrows past, as benefits of Fate.
Thro' various hazards and events, we move
To Latium and the realms foredoom'd by Jove.
Call'd to the seat (the promise of the skies)
Where Trojan kingdoms once again may rise,
Endure the hardships of your present state;
Live, and reserve yourselves for better fate.”
14. VERGIL, AENEID 4. 365-387
The scorned Dido berates Aeneas.
'nec tibi diua parens generis nec Dardanus auctor,
365
perfide, sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens
Caucasus Hyrcanaeque admorunt ubera tigres.
nam quid dissimulo aut quae me ad maiora reseruo?
num fletu ingemuit nostro? num lumina flexit?
num lacrimas uictus dedit aut miseratus amantem est?
370
quae quibus anteferam? iam iam nec maxima Iuno
nec Saturnius haec oculis pater aspicit aequis.
nusquam tuta fides. eiectum litore, egentem
excepi et regni demens in parte locaui.
amissam classem, socios a morte reduxi
375
(heu furiis incensa feror!): nunc augur Apollo,
nunc Lyciae sortes, nunc et Ioue missus ab ipso
interpres diuum fert horrida iussa per auras.
scilicet is superis labor est, ea cura quietos
sollicitat. neque te teneo neque dicta refello:
380
i, sequere Italiam uentis, pete regna per undas.
spero equidem mediis, si quid pia numina possunt,
supplicia hausurum scopulis et nomine Dido
saepe uocaturum. sequar atris ignibus absens
et, cum frigida mors anima seduxerit artus,
385
omnibus umbra locis adero. dabis, improbe, poenas.
audiam et haec Manis ueniet mihi fama sub imos.'
“False as thou art, and, more than false, forsworn!
Not sprung from noble blood, nor goddess-born,
But hewn from harden'd entrails of a rock!
And rough Hyrcanian tigers gave thee suck!
Why should I fawn? what have I worse to fear?
Did he once look, or lent a list'ning ear,
Sigh'd when I sobb'd, or shed one kindly tear?--/L>
All symptoms of a base ungrateful mind,
So foul, that, which is worse, 't is hard to find.
Of man's injustice why should I complain?
The gods, and Jove himself, behold in vain
Triumphant treason; yet no thunder flies,
Nor Juno views my wrongs with equal eyes;
Faithless is earth, and faithless are the skies!
Justice is fled, and Truth is now no more!
I sav'd the shipwrack'd exile on my shore;
With needful food his hungry Trojans fed;
I took the traitor to my throne and bed:
Fool that I was--'t is little to repeat
The rest--I stor'd and rigg'd his ruin'd fleet.
I rave, I rave! A god's command he pleads,
And makes Heav'n accessary to his deeds.
Now Lycian lots, and now the Delian god,
Now Hermes is employ'd from Jove's abode,
To warn him hence; as if the peaceful state
Of heav'nly pow'rs were touch'd with human fate!
But go! thy flight no longer I detain--/L>
Go seek thy promis'd kingdom thro' the main!
Yet, if the heav'ns will hear my pious vow,
The faithless waves, not half so false as thou,
Or secret sands, shall sepulchers afford
To thy proud vessels, and their perjur'd lord.
Then shalt thou call on injur'd Dido's name:
Dido shall come in a black sulph'ry flame,
When death has once dissolv'd her mortal frame;
Shall smile to see the traitor vainly weep:
Her angry ghost, arising from the deep,
Shall haunt thee waking, and disturb thy sleep.
At least my shade thy punishment shall know,
And Fame shall spread the pleasing news below.”
15 Catullus – Carmina 2 and 3 are considered one presentation
CARMINA 2
His sweet Lesbia’s pet sparrow.
PASSER, deliciae meae puellae,
quicum ludere, quem in sinu tenere,
cui primum digitum dare appetenti
et acris solet incitare morsus,
cum desiderio meo nitenti
carum nescio quid lubet iocari
et solaciolum sui doloris,
credo ut tum grauis acquiescat ardor:
tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem
et tristis animi leuare curas!
tam gratum est mihi quam ferunt puellae
pernici aureolum fuisse malum,
quod zonam soluit diu ligatam.
Sparrow, darling of my girl, with which she plays, which she presses to her bosom, to whom she gives
her fingertip, arousing sharp bites as he seeks after it, when gleaming with desire of me she jests a
light joke of it, so that, I think, it is a solace for her pain when the heavy burning is at rest. Could I but
play with you just as she does and lighten the sad cares of mind. ... This was as pleasing to me as the
golden apple was to the fleet footed girl, which unloosed her girdle long-time fastened.
CARMINA 3
The death of the sparrow.
LUGETE, o Veneres Cupidinesque,
et quantum est hominum uenustiorum:
passer mortuus est meae puellae,
passer, deliciae meae puellae,
quem plus illa oculis suis amabat.
nam mellitus erat suamque norat
ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem,
nec sese a gremio illius mouebat,
sed circumsiliens modo huc modo illuc
ad solam dominam usque pipiabat.
qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum
illuc, unde negant redire quemquam.
at uobis male sit, malae tenebrae
Orci, quae omnia bella deuoratis:
tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis
o factum male! o miselle passer!
tua nunc opera meae puellae
flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli.
O mourn, you Loves and Cupids, and all men of gracious mind. Dead is the sparrow of my girl,
sparrow, darling of my girl, which she loved more than her eyes; for it was sweet as honey, and its
mistress knew it as well as a girl knows her own mother. Nor did it move from her lap, but hopping
round first one side then the other, to its mistress alone it continually chirped. Now it fares along that
path of shadows from where nothing may ever return. May evil befall you, savage glooms of Orcus,
which swallow up all things of fairness: which have snatched away from me the comely sparrow. O
wretched deed! O hapless sparrow! Now on your account my girl's sweet eyes, swollen, redden with
tear-drops.
16. CARMINA 76
A rejected lover’s lament.
SIQUA recordanti benefacta priora uoluptas
est homini, cum se cogitat esse pium,
nec sanctam uiolasse fidem, nec foedere nullo
diuum ad fallendos numine abusum homines,
multa parata manent in longa aetate, Catulle,
ex hoc ingrato gaudia amore tibi.
nam quaecumque homines bene cuiquam aut dicere possunt
aut facere, haec a te dictaque factaque sunt.
omnia quae ingratae perierunt credita menti.
quare iam te cur amplius excrucies?
quin tu animo offirmas atque istinc teque reducis,
et dis inuitis desinis esse miser?
difficile est longum subito deponere amorem,
difficile est, uerum hoc qua lubet efficias:
una salus haec est. hoc est tibi peruincendum,
hoc facias, siue id non pote siue pote.
o di, si uestrum est misereri, aut si quibus umquam
extremam iam ipsa in morte tulistis opem,
me miserum aspicite et, si uitam puriter egi,
eripite hanc pestem perniciemque mihi,
quae mihi subrepens imos ut torpor in artus
expulit ex omni pectore laetitias.
non iam illud quaero, contra me ut diligat illa,
aut, quod non potis est, esse pudica uelit:
ipse ualere opto et taetrum hunc deponere morbum.
o di, reddite mi hoc pro pietate mea.
If there is any pleasure in a man's recalling the good deeds of the past, when he knows that he is pious
and has not violated any sacred trust or abused the divinity of the gods to deceive men in any pact,
great store of joys awaits you during your length of years, Catullus, from this thankless love of yours.
For whatever people can say or do well for someone, such have been your sayings and your doings,
and all your confidences have been squandered on a thankless mind. So then why do you torture
yourself further? Why don't you strengthen your resolve and lead yourself out of this and, since the
gods are unwilling, stop being miserable? It is difficult suddenly to set aside a love of long standing; it
is difficult, this is true, no matter how you do it. This is your one salvation, this you must fight to the
finish; you must do it, whether it is possible or impossible. O gods, if it is in you to have pity, or if ever
you brought help to men in death's very extremity, look on pitiful me, and if I have lived my life with
purity, snatch from me this canker and pest! Ah! like a numbness creeping through my inmost veins it
has cast out every happiness from my breast. Now I no longer pray that she may love me in return, or
(what is not possible) that she should become chaste: I wish but for health and to cast aside this foul
disease. O gods, grant me this in return for my piety.
17. TRANQVILII VITA DIVI IVLI
The prophesies of Caesar’s murder.
[81] Sed Caesari futura caedes euidentibus prodigiis denuntiata est. paucos ante menses, cum in
colonia Capua deducti lege Iulia coloni ad extruendas uillas uetustissima sepulcra dis[s]icerent
idque eo studiosius facerent, quod aliquantum uasculorum operis antiqui scrutantes reperiebant,
tabula aenea in monimento, in quo dicebatur Capys conditor Capuae sepultus, inuenta est
conscripta litteris uerbisque Graecis hac sententia: quandoque ossa Capyis detecta essent, fore
ut illo prognatus manu consanguineorum necaretur magnisque mox Italiae cladibus
uindicaretur. cuius rei, ne quis fabulosam aut commenticiam putet, auctor est Cornelius Balbus,
familiarissimus Caesaris. proximis diebus equorum greges, quos in traiciendo Rubiconi flumini
consecrarat ac uagos et sine custode dimiserat, comperit pertinacissime pabulo abstinere
ubertimque flere. et immolantem haruspex Spurinna monuit, caueret periculum, quod non ultra
Martias Idus proferretur. pridie autem easdem Idus auem regaliolum cum laureo ramulo
Pompeianae curiae se inferentem uolucres uarii generis ex proximo nemore persecutae ibidem
discerpserunt. ea uero nocte, cui inluxit dies caedis, et ipse sibi uisus est per quietem interdum
supra nubes uolitare, alias cum Ioue dextram iungere
LXXXI. Now Caesar's approaching murder was foretold to him by unmistakable signs. A few
months before, when the settlers assigned to the colony at Capua by the Julian Law were
demolishing some tombs of great antiquity, to build country houses, and plied their work with
the greater vigor because as they rummaged about they found a quantity of vases of ancient
workmanship, there was discovered in a tomb, which was said to be that of Capys, the founder
of Capua, a bronze tablet, inscribed with Greek words and characters to this purport:
"Whenever the bones of Capys shall be moved, it will come to pass that a son of llium shall be
slain at the hands of his kindred, and presently avenged at heavy cost to Italia." And let no one
think this tale a myth or a lie, for it is vouched for by Cornelius Balbus, an intimate friend of
Caesar. Shortly before his death, as he was told, the herds of horses which he had dedicated to
the river Rubicon when he crossed it, and had let loose without a keeper, stubbornly refused to
graze and wept copiously. Again, when he was offering sacrifice, the soothsayer Spurinna
warned him to beware of danger, which would come not later than the Ides of March; and on
the day before the Ides of that month a little bird called the king-bird flew into the Curia of
Pompeius with a sprig of laurel, pursued by others of various kinds from the grove hard by,
which tore it to pieces in the hall. In fact the very night before his murder he dreamt now that
he was flying above the clouds, and now that he was clasping the hand of Jupiter.
18. CORNELI NEPOTIS ALCIBIADES
The contrary nature of the famous Alcibiades.
[1] ALCIBIADES, Cliniae filius, Atheniensis. In hoc, quid natura efficere possit, videtur experta.
Constat enim inter omnes, qui de eo memoriae prodiderunt, nihil illo fuisse excellentius vel in vitiis vel
in virtutibus. 2 Natus in amplissima civitate summo genere, omnium aetatis suae multo formosissimus,
ad omnes res aptus consiliique plenus - namque imperator fuit summus et mari et terra, disertus, ut in
primis dicendo valeret, quod tanta erat commendatio oris atque orationis, ut nemo ei [dicendo] posset
resistere -, dives; 3 cum tempus posceret, laboriosus, patiens; liberalis, splendidus non minus in vita
quam victu; affabilis, blandus, temporibus callidissime serviens: 4 idem, simulac se remiserat neque
causa suberat, quare animi laborem perferret, luxuriosus, dissolutus, libidinosus, intemperans
reperiebatur, ut omnes admirarentur in uno homine tantam esse dissimilitudinem tamque diversam
naturam. [2] Educatus est in domo Pericli - privignus enim eius fuisse dicitur -, eruditus a Socrate;
socerum habuit Hipponicum, omnium Graeca lingua loquentium ditissimum: ut, si ipse fingere vellet,
neque plura bona comminisci neque maiora posset consequi, quam vel natura vel fortuna tribueret.
Alcibiades the Athenian was the son of Clinias. It looks as if in him Nature tried what she could turno
ut. For there is a consensus among his biographers that for good and for bad, there was nothing to
surpass him. Born in a magnificent city, of exalted family, the handsomest man of his day, he was a
paragon of versatility, abounding in resource – he acted both as High-Admiral and as Generalissimo.
Fluency gave him signal power in speech, because his looks and language were so winning that no one
could resist him. Wealthy, hard-working and enduring whenever need demanded, generous, splendid
no less in life than in living, approachable and courteous, he proved a consummate opportunist. But
give him a leisure hour with no reason for mental exertion, and he was discovered to be luxurious,
profligate, lustful, and intemperate, so that it was a world’s wonder that within one human being there
could be so much unlikeness – such a conflict of nature. He was reared in Pericles’ house – for he is
said to have been his stepson – and educated by Socrates; he had Hipponicus as a father-in-law, the
wealthiest man of all the Greek-speaking world: so much so, that even if he wanted to imagine it, he
couldn’t have acquired more or greater goods than nature or luck provided him.
19. GESTA ROMANORUM De inexsecrabili dolo vetularum (28)
A beautiful girl transformed… into a weeping dog!
Tunc vetula ad domum dominae perrexit cum canicula, quam iuvenis dilexit tantum. Statim a domina
est honorifice suscepta, eo quod reputabatur sancta. Dum autem adinvicem sederent, domina parvam
caniculam lacrimantem respexit, admirabatur multum et quaesivit causam. Ait vetula: "O carissima
amica, noli quaerere, quare lacrimatur, quia tantum dolorem habet, quod vix potero tibi intimari."
Domina vero magis ac magis instigabat, ut diceret. Cui vetula: "Haec canicula erat filia mea casta
nimis et decora, quam iuvenis quidam vehementer adamavit, sed adeo casta erat, ut omnino sperneret
eius amorem, unde iuvenis tantum dolens prae dolore mortuus est, pro qua culpa deus convertit filiam
meam in caniculam, sicut tu vides." His dictis incepit vetula flere dicens: "Quotiens filia mea recolit,
quod tam pulchra puella erat et modo est canicula, flet et consolari nequit, immo omnes ad fletum
excitat prae nimio dolore."
Then the old woman, accompanied by her little dog, went to the house of the lady whom the young
man loved, and immediately she was honorably received, because she was regarded as sanctified. As
they sat together, the lady noticed the weeping dog, was much amazed and asked the cause. The old
woman said “O dear friend, don’t ask why it cries, since the there’s so much grief in it that I will
scarcely be able to tell you.” The lady indeed urged her to tell more and more. So the old woman said
to her “This little dog was my daughter - too chaste and honorable – whom a certain young man
earnestly adored; but she was so chaste that she completely rejected his love, whereupon the young
man, grieving so, died of grief. For this cruelty god changed my daughter into a little dog, as you see.”
And with these words the old woman began to cry, saying “Whenever my daughter recalls that she was
a beautiful girl and is now a little dog, she cries and cannot be consoled. Indeed, she brings out the
tears in everyone with this overwhelming sadness.”
20. Livy 1.58.6-59.1
The sad demise of the noble Lucretia.
Lucretiam sedentem maestam in cubiculo inveniunt. Adventu suorum lacrimae obortae, quaerentique
viro "Satin salve?" "Minime" inquit; "quid enim salvi est mulieri amissa pudicitia? Vestigia viri alieni,
Collatine, in lecto sunt tuo; ceterum corpus est tantum violatum, animus insons; mors testis erit. Sed
date dexteras fidemque haud impune adultero fore. Sextus est Tarquinius qui hostis pro hospite priore
nocte vi armatus mihi sibique, si vos viri estis, pestiferum hinc abstulit gaudium." Dant ordine omnes
fidem; consolantur aegram animi avertendo noxam ab coacta in auctorem delicti: mentem peccare, non
corpus, et unde consilium afuerit culpam abesse. "Vos" inquit "videritis quid illi debeatur: ego me etsi
peccato absolvo, supplicio non libero; nec ulla deinde impudica Lucretiae exemplo vivet." Cultrum,
quem sub veste abditum habebat, eum in corde defigit, prolapsaque in vulnus moribunda cecidit.
Conclamat vir paterque.
Brutus illis luctu occupatis cultrum ex vulnere Lucretiae extractum, manantem cruore prae se tenens,
"Per hunc" inquit "castissimum ante regiam iniuriam sanguinem iuro, vosque, di, testes facio me L.
Tarquinium Superbum cum scelerata coniuge et omni liberorum stirpe ferro igni quacumque dehinc vi
possim exsecuturum, nec illos nec alium quemquam regnare Romae passurum."
They found Lucretia sitting sadly in her bedroom. The entrance of her friends brought tears to her
eyes. To her husband’s question, “Is all well?” she replied, “Far from it; for what can be well with a
woman when she has lost her honor? The print of a strange man, Collatinus, is in your bed. But tonly
my body has been violated; my heart is guiltless, as death shall be my witness. But pledge yout right
hands and your words that the adulterer shall not go unpunished. Sextus Tarquinius is the one who last
night returned hostility for hospitality and, armed with force, brought ruin on me, and on himself no
less—if you are men—when he worked his pleasure with me.” They tell her it is the mind that sins, not
the body; and that where there has been no consent, there is no guilt. “It is for you to determine,” she
answers, “what is due to him; For my own part, though I acquit myself of the sin, I so not absolve
myself from punishment; in the future no unchaste woman will live through the example of Lucretia.”
Taking a knife that she had concealed beneath her dress, she plunged it into her heart. Sinking forward
upon the wound, she died as she fell. The wail for the dead was raised by her husband and her father.
Brutus, while the others were absorbed in grief, drew out the knife from Lucretia’s wound and, holding
it up, dripping with gore, exclaimed, “By this blood, most chaste until a prince wronged it, I swear,
and I take you, gods, to witness, that I will pursue Lucius Tarquiniius Superbus and his wicked wife
and all his children, with sword, with fire, with whatsoever violence I may, and that I will allow neither
them nor any other to be king in Rome!”
21. Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum 85.31-36
Marius promises to be a good general, despite his humble origins.
Non possum fidei causa imagines neque triumphos aut consulatus maiorum meorum ostentare, at, si
res postulet, hastas, vexillum, phaleras, alia militaria dona, praeterea cicatrices adverso corpore. Hae
sunt meae imagines, haec nobilitas, non hereditate relicta, ut illa illis, sed quae ego meis plurimis
laboribus et periculis quaesivi.
Non sunt composita verba mea: parvi id facio. Ipsa se virtus satis ostendit; illis artificio opus est, ut
turpia facta oratione tegant. Neque litteras Graecas didici: parum placebat eas discere, quippe quae ad
virtutem doctoribus nihil profuerant. At illa multo optima rei publicae doctus sum: hostem ferire,
praesidia agitare, nihil metuere nisi turpem famam, hiemem et aestatem iuxta pati, humi requiescere,
eodem tempore inopiam et laborem tolerare. His ego praeceptis milites hortabor, neque illos arte
colam, me opulenter, neque gloriam meam, laborem illorum faciam. Hoc est utile, hoc civile
imperium. Namque cum tute per mollitiem agas, exercitum supplicio cogere, id est dominum, non
imperatorem esse. Haec atque alia talia maiores vestri faciendo seque remque publicam celebravere.
I cannot, to justify your confidence, display family portraits or the triumphs or consulships of my
forefathers. But, if the occasion requires, I can show spears, a banner, trappings, and other military
prizes, as well as scars on my breast. These are my portraits, these the relics of my nobility, not left me
by inheritance as theirs were, but won by my own innumerable efforts and perils.
“My words are not well chosen; I care little for that. Merit shows well enough in itself. It is they who
have need of art, to gloss over their shameful acts with specious words. Nor have I studied acts with
specious words. Nor have I studied Greek letters. I did not greatly care to become acquainted with
them, since they had not taught their teachers virtue. But I have learned by far the most important
lesson for my country’s good—to strike down the foe, to keep watch and ward, to fear nothing except
a bad reputation, to endure heat and cold alike, to sleep on the ground, to bear privation and fatigue at
the same time. It is with these lessons that I shall encourage my soldiers; I shall not treat them stingily
and myself lavishly, nor win my own glory at the price of their toil. Such leadership is helpful, such
leadership is democratic. For to live in luxury oneself but control one’s army by punishment is to be a
master of slaves, not a commander, It was by conduct like this that your forefathers made themselves
and their country famous.
22. Caesar
Caesar’s men take courage from an unlikely source.
Quod ubi Caesar animadvertit, naves longas, quarum et species erat barbaris inusitatior et motus ad
usum expeditior, paulum removeri ab onerariis navibus et remis incitari et ad latus apertum hostium
constitui atque inde fundis, sagittis, tormentis hostes propelli ac submoveri iussit; quae res magno usui
nostris fuit. Nam et navium figura et remorum motu et inusitato genere tormentorum permoti barbari
constiterunt ac paulum modo pedem rettulerunt. Atque nostris militibus cunctantibus, maxime propter
altitudinem maris, qui X legionis aquilam gerebat, obtestatus deos, ut ea res legioni feliciter eveniret, '
desilite', inquit, ' milites, nisi vultis aquilam hostibus prodere; ego certe meum rei publicae atque
imperatori officium praestitero.' Hoc cum voce magna dixisset, se ex navi proiecit atque in hostes
aquilam ferre coepit. Tum nostri cohortati inter se, ne tantum dedecus admitteretur, universi ex navi
desiluerunt. Hos item ex proximis primi navibus cum conspexissent, subsecuti hostibus
adpropinquaverunt.
When Caesar remarked this, he commanded the ships of war (which were less familiar in appearance
to the natives, and could move more freely at need) to remove a little from the transports, to row at
speed, and to bring up on the exposed flank of the enemy; and thence to drive and clear them off with
slings, arrows, and artillery. This movement proved of great service to our troops. For the natives,
frightened by the shape of the ships, the motion of the oars, and the unfamiliar type of the artillery,
came to a halt, and retired, but only for a little space. And then, while our troops still hung back,
chiefly on account of the depth of the sea, the eaglebearer of the Tenth Legion, after a prayer to
heaven to bless the legion by his act, cried: “Leap down, soldiers, unless you wish to betray your eagle
to the enemy; it shall be told that I, at any rate, did my duty to my country and my general.” When he
had said this with a loud voice, he cast himself forth from the ship, and began to bear the eagle against
the enemy. Then our troops exhorted one another not to allow so dire a disgrace, and they leapt down
from the ship with one accord. And when the troops on the nearest ships saw them, they likewise
followed on, and drew near to the enemy.
23. Caesar – De bello Gallico
Caesar gives a geography lesson.
Gallia est omnis divisa in partes tres, quarum unam incolunt Belgae, aliam Aquitani, tertiam qui
ipsorum lingua Celtae, nostra Galli appellantur. Hi omnes lingua, institutis, legibus inter se differunt.
Gallos ab Aquitanis Garumna flumen, a Belgis Matrona et Sequana dividit. Horum omnium fortissimi
sunt Belgae, propterea quod a cultu atque humanitate provinciae longissime absunt, minimeque ad eos
mercatores saepe commeant atque ea quae ad effeminandos animos pertinent important, proximique
sunt Germanis, qui trans Rhenum incolunt, quibuscum continenter bellum gerunt. Qua de causa
Helvetii quoque reliquos Gallos virtute praecedunt, quod fere cotidianis proeliis cum Germanis
contendunt, cum aut suis finibus eos prohibent aut ipsi in eorum finibus bellum gerunt. Eorum una,
pars, quam Gallos obtinere dictum est, initium capit a flumine Rhodano, continetur Garumna flumine,
Oceano, finibus Belgarum, attingit etiam ab Sequanis et Helvetiis flumen Rhenum, vergit ad
septentriones. Apud Helvetios longe nobilissimus fuit et ditissimus Orgetorix. Is M. Messala, M.
Pisone consulibus regni cupiditate inductus coniurationem nobilitatis fecit.
All Gaul is divided into three parts, one of which the Belgae inhabit, the Aquitani another, those who
in their own language are called Celts, in our Gauls, the third. All these differ from each other in
language, customs and laws. The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and
the Seine separate them from the Belgae. Of all these, the Belgae are the bravest, because they are
furthest from the civilization and refinement of [our] Province, and merchants least frequently resort
to them, and import those things which tend to effeminate the mind; and they are the nearest to the
Germans, who dwell beyond the Rhine , with whom they are continually waging war; for which reason
the Helvetii also surpass the rest of the Gauls in valor, as they contend with the Germans in almost
daily battles, when they either repel them from their own territories, or themselves wage war on their
frontiers. One part of these, which it has been said that the Gauls occupy, takes its beginning at the
river Rhone ; it is bounded by the river Garonne, the ocean, and the territories of the Belgae; it
borders, too, on the side of the Sequani and the Helvetii, upon the river Rhine , and stretches toward
the north. The Belgae rises from the extreme frontier of Gaul, extend to the lower part of the river
Rhine ; and look toward the north and the rising sun. Aquitania extends from the river Garonne to the
Pyrenaean mountains and to that part of the ocean which is near Spain: it looks between the setting of
the sun, and the north star. Among the Helvetii, Orgetorix was by far the most distinguished and
wealthy. He, when Marcus Messala and Marcus Piso were consuls [61 B.C.], incited by lust of
sovereignty, formed a conspiracy among the nobility.