ἡ δὲ σύγκλητος εἰς τὸ δέκατον ἔτος τοῦ πολέμου καταλύσασα τὰς ἄλλας ἀρχὰς δικτάτορα Κάμιλλον ἀπέδειξεν ἵππαρχον δʼ ἐκεῖνος αὑτῷ προσελόμενος Κορνήλιον Σκηπίωνα, πρῶτον μὲν εὐχὰς ἐποιήσατο τοῖς θεοῖς ἐπὶ τῷ πολέμῳ τέλος εὐκλεὲς λαβόντι τὰς μεγάλας θέας ἄξειν καὶ νεὼν θεᾶς, ἣν Μητέρα Ματοῦταν καλοῦσι Ῥωμαῖοι, καθιερώσειν.
In the tenth year of the war, the Senate abolished the other magistracies and appointed Camillus dictator. After choosing Cornelius Scipio as his master of horse, in the first place he made solemn vows to the gods that, in case the war had a glorious ending, he would celebrate the great games in their honour, and dedicate a temple to a goddess whom the Romans call Mater Matuta.
ταύτην ἄν τις ἀπὸ τῶν δρωμένων ἱερῶν μάλιστα Λευκοθέαν νομίσειεν εἶναι, καὶ γὰρ θεράπαιναν εἰς τὸν σηκὸν εἰσάγουσαι ῥαπίζουσιν, εἶτʼ ἐξελαύνουσι καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τέκνα πρὸ τῶν ἰδίων ἐναγκαλίζονται καὶ δρῶσι περὶ τὴν θυσίαν ἃ ταῖς Διονύσου τροφοῖς καὶ τοῖς διὰ τὴν παλλακὴν πάθεσι τῆς Ἰνοῦς προσέοικε. μετὰ δὲ τὰς εὐχὰς ὁ Κάμιλλος εἰς τὴν Φαλίσκων ἐνέβαλε, καὶ μάχῃ μεγάλῃ τούτους τε καὶ Καπηνάτας προσβοηθήσαντας αὐτοῖς ἐνίκησεν.
From the sacred rites used in the worship of this goddess, she might be held to be almost identical with Leucothea. The women bring a serving-maid into the sanctuary and beat her with rods, then drive her forth again; they embrace their nephews and nieces in preference to their own children; and their conduct at the sacrifice resembles that of the nurses of Dionysus, or that of Ino under the afflictions put upon her by her husband’s concubine. After his vows, Camillus invaded the country of the Faliscans and conquered them in a great battle, together with the Capenates who came up to their aid.
ἔπειτα πρὸς τὴν πολιορκίαν τραπόμενος τῶν Οὐηΐων καὶ τὸν ἐκ προσβολῆς ἀγῶνα χαλεπὸν καὶ δύσεργον ὁρῶν ὑπονόμους ἔτεμνε, τῶν περὶ τὴν πόλιν χωρίων ἐνδιδόντων τοῖς ὀρύγμασι καὶ καταδεχομένων εἰς βάθος ἄγειν ἄδηλον τοῖς πολεμίοις τὰ ἔργα. διὸ καὶ προϊούσης ὁδῷ τῆς ἐλπίδος αὐτὸς μὲν ἔξωθεν προσέβαλλεν, ἐκκαλούμενος ἐπὶ τὰ τείχη τοὺς πολεμίους, ἄλλοι δʼ ἀδήλως ὑποπορευόμενοι διὰ τῶν ὑπονόμων ἔλαθον ἐντὸς γενόμενοι τῆς ἄκρας κατὰ τὸ τῆς Ἥρας ἱερόν, ὃ μέγιστον ἦν ἐν τῇ πόλει καὶ μάλιστα τιμώμενον.
Then he turned to the siege of Veii, and seeing that direct assault upon the city was a grievous and difficult matter, he went to digging mines, since the region round the city favoured such works, and allowed their being carried to a great depth without the enemy’s knowing about it. So then, when his hopes were well on their way to fulfilment, he himself assaulted the city from the outside, and thus called the enemy away to man their walls; while others secretly made their way along the mines and reached unnoticed the interior of the citadel, where the temple of Juno stood, the largest temple in the city, and the one most held in honour.
ἐνταῦθα λέγεται τυχεῖν κατʼ ἐκεῖνο καιροῦ τὸν ἡγεμόνα τῶν Τυρρηνῶν ἐφʼ ἱεροῖς· τὸν δὲ μάντιν εἰς τὰ σπλάγχνα κατιδόντα καὶ μέγα φθεγξάμενον εἰπεῖν, ὅτι νίκην ὁ θεὸς δίδωσι τῷ κατακολουθήσαντι τοῖς ἱεροῖς ἐκείνοις· ταύτης δὲ τῆς φωνῆς τοὺς ἐν τοῖς ὑπονόμοις Ῥωμαίους ἐπακούσαντας ταχὺ διασπάσαι τὸ ἔδαφος, καὶ μετὰ βοῆς καὶ ψόφου τῶν ὅπλων ἀναδύντας, ἐκπλαγέντων τῶν πολεμίων καὶ φυγόντων, ἁρπάσαντας τὰ σπλάγχνα κομίσαι πρὸς τὸν Κάμιλλον.
There, it is said, at this very juncture, the commander of the Tuscans chanced to be sacrificing, and his seer, when he beheld the entrails of the victim, cried out with a loud voice and said that the god awarded victory to him who should fulfill that sacrifice. The Romans in the mines below, hearing this utterance, quickly tore away the pavement of the temple and issued forth with battle cries and clash of arms, whereat the enemy were terrified and fled away. The sacrificial entrails were then seized and carried to Camillus.
ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἴσως ἐοικέναι δόξει μυθεύμασιν. ἁλούσης δὲ τῆς πόλεως κατὰ κράτος καὶ τῶν Ῥωμαίων ἀγόντων καὶ φερόντων ἄπειρόν τινα πλοῦτον, ἐφορῶν ὁ Κάμιλλος ἀπὸ τῆς ἄκρας τὰ πραττόμενα, πρῶτον μὲν ἑστὼς ἐδάκρυσεν, εἶτα μακαρισθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν παρόντων ἀνέσχε τὰς χεῖρας τοῖς θεοῖς καὶ προσευχόμενος εἶπε·
But possibly this will seem like fable. At any rate the city was taken by storm, and the Romans were pillaging and plundering its boundless wealth, when Camillus, seeing from the citadel what was going on, at first burst into tears as he stood, and then, on being congratulated by the bystanders, lifted up his hands to the gods and prayed, saying:
Ζεῦ μέγιστε καὶ θεοὶ χρηστῶν ἐπίσκοποι καὶ πονηρῶν ἔργων, αὐτοί που σύνιστε Ῥωμαίοις, ὡς οὐ παρὰ δίκην, ἀλλὰ κατʼ ἀνάγκην ἀμυνόμενοι μετερχόμεθα δυσμενῶν ἀνδρῶν καὶ παρανόμων πόλιν. εἰ δʼ ἄρα τις, ἔφη, καὶ ἡμῖν ἀντίστροφος ὀφείλεται τῆς παρούσης νέμεσις εὐπραξίας, εὔχομαι ταύτην ὑπέρ τε πόλεως καὶ στρατοῦ Ῥωμαίων εἰς ἐμαυτὸν ἐλαχίστῳ κακῷ τελευτῆσαι.
O greatest Jupiter, and ye gods who see and judge men’s good and evil deeds, ye surely know that it is not unjustly, but of necessity and in self-defence that we Romans have visited its iniquity upon this city of hostile and lawless men. But if, as counterpoise to this our present success, some retribution is due to come upon us, spare, I beseech you, the city and the army of the Romans, and let it fall upon my own head, though with as little harm as may be.
ταῦτʼ εἰπών, καθάπερ ἐστὶ Ῥωμαίοις ἔθος ἐπευξαμένοις καὶ προσκυνήσασιν ἐπὶ δεξιὰ ἐξελίττειν, ἐσφάλη περιστρεφόμενος, διαταραχθέντων δὲ τῶν παρόντων πάλιν ἀναλαβὼν ἑαυτὸν ἐκ τοῦ πτώματος εἶπεν, ὡς γέγονεν αὐτῷ κατʼ εὐχὴν σφάλμα μικρὸν ἐπʼ εὐτυχίᾳ μεγίστῃ.
With these words, as the Romans’ custom is after prayer and adoration, he wheeled himself about to the right, but stumbled and fell as he turned. The bystanders were confounded, but he picked himself up again from his fall and said: My prayer is granted! a slight fall is my atonement for the greatest good fortune.
διαπορθήσας δὲ τὴν πόλιν ἔγνω τὸ ἄγαλμα τῆς Ἥρας μεταφέρειν εἰς Ῥώμην, ὥσπερ εὔξατο. καὶ συνελθόντων ἐπὶ τούτῳ τῶν τεχνιτῶν, ὁ μὲν ἔθυε καὶ προσεύχετο τῇ θεῷ δέχεσθαι τὴν προθυμίαν αὐτῶν καὶ εὐμενῆ γενέσθαι σύνοικον τοῖς λαχοῦσι τὴν Ῥώμην θεοῖς, τὸ δʼ ἄγαλμά φασιν ὑποφθεγξάμενον εἰπεῖν. ὅτι καὶ βούλεται καὶ συγκαταινεῖ.
Λίουιος δέ φησιν εὔχεσθαι μὲν τὸν Κάμιλλον ἁπτόμενον τῆς θεοῦ καὶ παρακαλεῖν, ἀποκρίνασθαι δέ τινας τῶν παρόντων, ὅτι καὶ βούλεται καὶ συνακολουθεῖ καὶ συνακολουθεῖ προθύμως. οἱ δʼ ἰσχυριζόμενοι καὶ τῷ παραδόξῳ βοηθοῦντες μεγίστην μὲν ἔχουσι συνήγορον τὴν τύχην τῆς πόλεως, ἣν ἀπὸ μικρᾶς καὶ καταφρονουμένης ἀρχῆς ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον δόξης καὶ δυνάμεως προελθεῖν δίχα θεοῦ πολλαῖς καὶ μεγάλαις ἐπιφανείαις ἑκάστοτε συμπαρόντος ἀμήχανον·
οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ συνάγουσιν ὁμοειδῆ τινα, τοῦτο μὲν ἱδρῶτας ἀγαλμάτων πολλάκις ἐκχυθέντας, τοῦτο δὲ στεναγμοὺς ἀκουσθέντας ἀποστροφάς τε δεικνύντες καὶ καταμύσεις ξοάνων, ἃς ἱστορήκασιν οὐκ ὀλίγοι τῶν πρότερον. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἀκηκοότες ἀνθρώπων λέγειν ἔχομεν ἄξια θαύματος, ὧν οὐκ ἄν τις εἰκῇ καταφρονήσειεν.
ἀλλὰ τοῖς τοιούτοις καὶ τὸ πιστεύειν σφόδρα καὶ τὸ λίαν ἀπιστεῖν ἐπισφαλές ἐστι διὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην ἀσθένειαν ὅρον οὐκ ἔχουσαν οὐδὲ κρατοῦσαν αὑτῆς, ἀλλʼ ἐκφερομένην ὅπου μὲν εἰς δεισιδαιμονίαν καὶ τῦφον, ὅπου δʼ εἰς ὀλιγωρίαν τῶν θεῶν καὶ περιφρόνησιν ἡ δʼ εὐλάβεια καὶ τὸ μηδὲν ἄγαν ἄριστον.
After he had utterly sacked the city, he determined to transfer the image of Juno to Rome, in accordance with his vows. The workmen were assembled for the purpose, and Camillus was sacrificing and praying the goddess to accept of their zeal and to be a kindly co-dweller with the gods of Rome, when the image, they say, spoke in low tones and said she was ready and willing.
But Livy says that Camillus did indeed lay his hand upon the goddess and pray and beseech her, but that it was certain of the bystanders who gave answer that she was ready and willing and eager to go along with him. Those who insist upon and defend the marvel have a most powerful advocate for their contention in the fortune of the city, which, from its small and despised beginning, could never have come to such a pinnacle of glory and power had God not dwelt with her and made many great manifestations of himself from time to time.
Moreover, they adduce other occurrences of a kindred sort, such as statues often dripping with sweat, images uttering audible groans, turning away their faces, and closing their eyes, as not a few historians in the past have written. And we ourselves might make mention of many astonishing things which we have heard from men of our own time,—things not lightly to be despised. But in such matters eager credulity and excessive incredulity are alike dangerous, because of the weakness of our human nature, which sets no limits and has no mastery over itself, but is carried away now into vain superstition, and now into contemptuous neglect of the gods. Caution is best, and to go to no extremes.
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