οὕτω φασὶν ὑπὸ τῶν λόγων τούτων ἀνακοπῆναι καὶ μεταβαλεῖν τὸ στρατιωτικόν ὥστε πάσαις ταῖς φυλαῖς ἐπικυρωθῆναι τῷ Αἰμιλίῳ τὸν θρίαμβον.
This speech, they tell us, so rebuffed the soldiery and changed their minds that the triumph was voted to Aemilius by all the tribes.
πεμφθῆναι δʼ αὐτὸν οὕτω λέγουσιν. ὁ μὲν δῆμος ἔν τε τοῖς ἱππικοῖς θεάτροις, ἃ κίρκους καλοῦσι, περί τε τήν ἀγορὰν ἰκρία πηξάμενοι, καὶ τἆλλα τῆς πόλεως μέρη καταλαβόντες, ὡς ἕκαστα παρεῖχε τῆς πομπῆς ἔποψιν, ἐθεῶντο καθαραῖς ἐσθῆσι κεκοσμημένοι.
And it was conducted, they say, after the following fashion. The people erected scaffoldings in the theatres for equestrian contests, which they call circuses, and round the forum, occupied the other parts of the city which afforded a view of the procession, and witnessed the spectacle arrayed in white garments.
πᾶς δὲ ναὸς ἀνέῳκτο καὶ στεφάνων καὶ θυμιαμάτων ἦν πλήρης, ὑπηρέται τε πολλοὶ καὶ ῥαβδονόμοι τοὺς ἀτάκτως συρρέοντας εἰς τὸ μέσον καὶ διαθέοντας ἐξείργοντες ἀναπεπταμένας τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ καθαρὰς παρεῖχον.
Every temple was open and filled with garlands and incense, while numerous servitors and lictors restrained the thronging and scurrying crowds and kept the streets open and clear.
τῆς δὲ πομπῆς εἰς ἡμέρας τρεῖς νενεμημένης, ἡ μὲν πρώτη μόλις ἐξαρκέσασα τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις ἀνδριάσι καὶ γραφαῖς καὶ κολοσσοῖς ἐπὶ ζευγῶν πεντήκοντα καὶ διακοσίων κομιζομένοις τούτων ἔσχε θέαν.
Three days were assigned for the triumphal procession. The first barely sufficed for the exhibition of the captured statues, paintings, and colossal figures, which were carried on two hundred and fifty chariots.
τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ τὰ κάλλιστα καὶ πολυτελέστατα τῶν Μακεδονικῶν ὅπλων ἐπέμπετο πολλαῖς ἁμάξαις, αὐτά τε μαρμαίροντα χαλκῷ νεοσμήκτῳ καὶ σιδήρῳ, τήν τε θέσιν ἐκ τέχνης καὶ συναρμογῆς ὡς ἂν μάλιστα συμπεφορημένοις χύδην καὶ αὐτομάτως ἐοίκοι πεποιημένα,
On the second, the finest and richest of the Macedonian arms were borne along in many waggons. The arms themselves glittered with freshly polished bronze and steel, and were carefully and artfully arranged to look exactly as though they had been piled together in heaps and at random,
κράνη πρὸς ἀσπίσι καὶ θώρακες ἐπὶ κνημῖσι, καὶ Κρητικαὶ πέλται καὶ Θρᾴκια γέρρα καὶ φαρέτραι μετὰ ἱππικῶν ἀναμεμιγμέναι χαλινῶν, καὶ ξίφη γυμνὰ διὰ τούτων παρανίσχοντα καὶ σάρισαι παραπεπηγυῖαι,
helmets lying upon shields and breast-plates upon greaves, while Cretan targets and Thracian wicker shields and quivers were mixed up with horses’ bridles, and through them projected naked swords and long Macedonian spears planted among them,
σύμμετρον ἐχόντων χάλασμα τῶν ὅπλων, ὥστε τήν πρὸς ἄλληλα κροῦσιν ἐν τῷ διαφέρεσθαι τραχὺ καὶ φοβερὸν ὑπηχεῖν, καὶ μηδὲ νενικημένων ἄφοβον εἶναι τήν ὄψιν.
all the arms being so loosely packed that they smote against each other as they were borne along and gave out a harsh and dreadful sound, and the sight of them, even though they were spoils of a conquered enemy, was not without its terrors.
μετὰ δὲ τὰς ὁπλοφόρους ἁμάξας ἄνδρες ἐπἐπορεύοντο τρισχίλιοι νόμισμα φέροντες ἀργυροῦν ἐν ἀγγείοις ἑπτακοσίοις πεντήκοντα τριταλάντοις, ὧν ἕκαστον ἀνὰ τέσσαρες ἐκόμιζον·
After the waggons laden with armour there followed three thousand men carrying coined silver in seven hundred and fifty vessels, each of which contained three talents and was borne by four men,
ἄλλοι δὲ κρατῆρας ἀργυροῦς καὶ κέρατα καὶ φιάλας καὶ κύλικας, εὖ διακεκοσμημένα πρὸς θέαν ἕκαστα καὶ περιττὰ τῷ μεγέθει καὶ τῇ παχύτητι τῆς τορείας.
while still other men carried mixing-bowls of silver, drinking horns, bowls, and cups, all well arranged for show and excelling in size and in the depth of their carved ornaments.
τῆς δὲ τρίτης ἡμέρας ἕωθεν μὲν εὐθὺς ἐπορεύοντο σαλπιγκταί μέλος οὐ προσόδιον καὶ πομπικόν, ἀλλʼ οἵῳ μαχομένους ἐποτρύνουσιν αὑτοὺς Ῥωμαῖοι, προσεγκελευόμενοι.
On the third day, as soon as it was morning, trumpeters led the way, sounding out no marching or processional strain, but such a one as the Romans use to rouse themselves to battle.
μετὰ δὲ τούτους ἤγοντο χρυσόκερῳ τροφίαι βοῦς ἑκατὸν εἴκοσι, μίτραις ἠσκημένοι καὶ στέμμασιν. οἱ δʼ ἄγοντες αὑτοὺς νεανίσκοι περιζώμασιν εὐπαρύφοις ἐσταλμένοι πρὸς ἱερουργίαν ἐχώρουν, καὶ παῖδες ἀργυρᾶ λοιβεῖα καὶ χρυσᾶ κομίζοντες.
After these there were led along a hundred and twenty stall-fed oxen with gilded horns, bedecked with fillets and garlands. Those who led these victims to the sacrifice were young men wearing aprons with handsome borders, and boys attended them carrying gold and silver vessels of libation.
εἶτα μετὰ τούτους οἱ τὸ χρυσοῦν νόμισμα φέροντες, εἰς ἀγγεῖα τριταλαντιαῖα μεμερισμένον ὁμοίως τῷ ἀργυρίῷ. τὸ δὲ πλῆθος ἦν τῶν ἀγγείων ὀγδοήκοντα τριῶν δέοντα.
Next, after these, came the carriers of the coined gold, which, like the silver, was portioned out into vessels containing three talents; and the number of these vessels was eighty lacking three.
τούτοις ἐπέβαλλον οἵ τε τὴν ἱερὰν φιάλην ἀνέχοντες, ἦν ὁ Αἰμίλιος ἐκ χρυσοῦ δέκα ταλάντων διὰ λίθων κατεσκεύασεν, οἵ τε τὰς Ἀντιγονίδας καὶ Σελευκίδας καὶ Θηρικλείους καὶ ὅσα περὶ δεῖπνον χρυσώματα τοῦ Περσέως ἐπιδεικνύμενοι.
After these followed the bearers of the consecrated bowl, which Aemilius had caused to be made of ten talents of gold and adorned with precious stones, and then those who displayed the bowls known as Antigonids and Seleucids and Theracleian, together with all the gold plate of Perseus’s table.
τούτοις ἐπέβαλλε τὸ ἅρμα τοῦ Περσέως καὶ τὰ ὅπλα καὶ τὸ διάδημα τοῖς ὅπλοις ἐπικείμενον.
These were followed by the chariot of Perseus, which bore his arms, and his diadem lying upon his arms.
εἶτα μικροῦ διαλείμματος ὄντος ἤδη τὰ τέκνα τοῦ βασιλέως ἤγετο δοῦλα, καὶ σὺν αὐτοῖς τροφέων καὶ διδασκάλων καὶ παιδαγωγῶν δεδακρυμένων ὄχλος, αὐτῶν τε τὰς χεῖρας ὀρεγόντων εἰς τοὺς θεατάς καὶ τὰ παιδία δεῖσθαι καὶ λιτανεύειν διδασκόντων.
Then, at a little interval, came the children of the king, led along as slaves, and with them a throng of foster-parents, teachers, and tutors, all in tears, stretching out their own hands to the spectators and teaching the children to beg and supplicate.
ἦν δʼ ἄρρενα μὲν δύο, θῆλυ δὲ ἕν, οὐ πάνυ συμφρονοῦντα τῶν κακῶν τὸ μέγεθος διὰ τὴν ἡλικίαν·
There were two boys, and one girl, and they were not very conscious of the magnitude of their evils because of their tender age;
ᾗ καὶ μᾶλλον ἐλεεινὰ πρὸς τὴν μεταβολὴν τῆς ἀναισθησίας ἦν, ὥστε μικροῦ τὸν Περσέα βαδίζειν παρορώμενον· οὕτως ὑπʼ οἴκτου τοῖς νηπίοις προσεῖχον τὰς ὄψεις οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι, καὶ δάκρυα πολλοῖς ἐκβάλλειν συνέβη, πᾶσι δὲ μεμιγμένην ἀλγηδόνι καὶ χάριτι τὴν θέαν εἶναι μέχρι οὗ τὰ παιδία παρῆλθεν.
wherefore they evoked even more pity in view of the time when their unconsciousness would cease, so that Perseus walked along almost unheeded, while the Romans, moved by compassion, kept their eyes upon the children, and many of them shed tears, and for all of them the pleasure of the spectacle was mingled with pain, until the children had passed by.
αὐτὸς δὲ τῶν τέκνων ὁ Περσεὺς καὶ τῆς περὶ αὐτὰ θεραπείας κατόπιν ἐπορεύετο, φαιὸν μὲν ἱμάτιον ἀμπεχόμενος καὶ κρηπῖδας ἔχων ἐπιχωρίους, ὑπὸ δὲ μεγέθους τῶν κακῶν πάντα θαμβοῦντι καὶ παραπεπληγμένῳ μάλιστα τὸν λογισμὸν ἐοικώς.
Behind the children and their train of attendants walked Perseus himself, clad in a dark robe and wearing the high boots of his country, but the magnitude of his evils made him resemble one who is utterly dumbfounded and bewildered.
καὶ τούτῳ δʼ εἵπετο χορὸς φίλων καὶ συνήθων, βεβαρημένων τὰ πρόσωπα πένθει, καὶ τῷ πρὸς Περσέα βλέπειν ἀεὶ καὶ δακρύειν ἔννοιαν παριστάντων τοῖς θεωμένοις ὅτι τὴν ἐκείνου τύχην ὀλοφύρονται τῶν καθʼ ἑαυτοὺς ἐλάχιστα φροντίζοντες.
He, too, was followed by a company of friends and intimates, whose faces were heavy with grief, and whose tearful gaze continually fixed upon Perseus gave the spectators to understand that it was his misfortune which they bewailed, and that their own fate least of all concerned them.
καίτοι προσέπεμψε τῷ Αἰμιλίῳ δεόμενος μὴ πομπευθῆναι καὶ παραιτούμενος τὸν θρίαμβον. ὁ δὲ τῆς ἀνανδρίας αὑτοῦ καὶ φιλοψυχίας, ὡς ἔοικε, καταγελῶν, ἀλλὰ τοῦτό γʼ, εἶπε, καὶ πρότερον ἦν ἐπʼ αὐτῷ καὶ νῦν ἐστιν, ἂν βούληται·
And yet Perseus had sent to Aemilius begging not to be led in the procession and asking to be left out of the triumph. But Aemilius, in mockery, as it would seem, of the king’s cowardice and love of life, had said: But this at least was in his power before, and is so now, if he should wish it,
δηλῶν τὸν πρὸ αἰσχύνης θάνατον, ὃν οὐχ ὑπομείνας ὁ δείλαιος, ἀλλʼ ὑπʼ ἐλπίδων τινῶν ἀπομαλακισθείς ἐγεγόνει μέρος τῶν αὑτοῦ λαφύρων.
signifying death in preference to disgrace; for this, however, the coward had not the heart, but was made weak by no one knows what hopes, and became a part of his own spoils.
ἐφεξῆς δὲ τούτοις ἐκομίζοντο χρυσοῖ στέφανοι τετρακόσιοι τὸ πλῆθος, οὓς αἱ πόλεις ἀριστεῖα τῆς νίκης τῷ Αἰμιλίῳ μετὰ πρεσβειῶν ἔπεμψαν.
Next in order to these were carried wreaths of gold, four hundred in number, which the cities had sent with their embassies to Aemilius as prizes for his victory.
εἶτʼ αὐτὸς ἐπέβαλλεν ἅρματι κεκοσμημένῳ διαπρεπῶς ἐπιβεβηκώς, ἀνὴρ καὶ δίχα τοσαύτης ἐξουσίας ἀξιοθέατος, ἁλουργίδα χρυσόπαστον ἀμπεχόμενος καὶ δάφνης κλῶνα τῇ δεξιᾷ προτείνων.
Next, mounted on a chariot of magnificent adornment, came Aemilius himself, a man worthy to be looked upon even without such marks of power, wearing a purple robe interwoven with gold, and holding forth in his right hand a spray of laurel.
ἐδαφνηφόρει δὲ καὶ σύμπας ὁ στρατός, τῷ μὲν ἅρματι τοῦ στρατηγοῦ κατὰ λόχους καὶ τάξεις ἑπόμενος, ᾄδων δὲ τὰ μὲν ᾠδάς τινας πατρίους ἀναμεμιγμένας γέλωτι, τὰ δὲ παιᾶνας ἐπινικίους καὶ τῶν διαπεπραγμένων ἐπαίνους εἰς τὸν Αἰμίλιον περίβλεπτον ὄντα καὶ ζηλωτὸν ὑπὸ πάντων, οὐδενὶ δὲ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπίφθονον·
The whole army also carried sprays of laurel, following the chariot of their general by companies and divisions, and singing, some of them divers songs intermingled with jesting, as the ancient custom was, and others paeans of victory and hymns in praise of the achievements of Aemilius, who was gazed upon and admired by all, and envied by no one that was good.
πλὴν εἴ τι δαιμόνιον ἄρα τῶν μεγάλων καὶ ὑπερόγκων εἴληχεν εὐτυχιῶν ἀπαρύτειν καὶ μιγνύναι τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον, ὅπως μηδενὶ κακῶν ἄκρατος εἴη καὶ καθαρός, ἀλλὰ καθʼ Ὅμηρον ἄριστα δοκῶσι πράττειν οἷς αἱ τύχαι τροπὴν ἐπʼ ἀμφότερα τῶν πραγμάτων ἔχουσιν.
But after all there is, as it seems, a divinity whose province it is to diminish whatever prosperity is inordinately great, and to mingle the affairs of human life, that no one may be without a taste of evil and wholly free from it, but that, as Homer says, those may be thought to fare best whose fortunes incline now one way and now another.
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