ὁ δὲ Μάρκιος ἀκούσας ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐξετραχύνθη, καὶ τὴν πολιορκίαν ἀπολιπὼν ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν ὑπʼ ὀργῆς ἐχώρει, καὶ περὶ τὰς λεγομένας Κλοιλίας τάφρους κατεστρατοπέδευσε τεσσαράκοντα τῆς πόλεως σταδίους ἀφεστώς. ὀφθεὶς δὲ φοβερὸς καὶ πολὺν θόρυβον παρασχών, ὅμως ἐν τῷ παρόντι τὴν στάσιν ἔπαυσεν· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἔτι τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐτόλμησεν ἀντειπεῖν οὔτʼ ἄρχων οὔτε βουλευτὴς περὶ τοῦ τὸν Μάρκιον κατάγειν,
But Marcius, when he heard of it, was yet more exasperated, and raising the siege of Lavinium, marched against Rome in wrath, and encamped at the so-called Fossae Cluiliae, only five miles distant from the city. Although the sight of him produced terror and great confusion there, still, it put a stop for the present to their dissensions; for no one longer, whether consul or senator, dared to oppose the people in the matter of restoring Marcius.
ἀλλʼ ὁρῶντες ἐν τῇ πόλει διαδρομὰς γυναικῶν καὶ πρὸς ἱεροῖς ἱκεσίας καὶ δάκρυα πρεσβυτῶν καὶ δεήσεις, πάντα δʼ ἐνδεᾶ τόλμης καὶ σωτηρίων λογισμῶν, συνέγνωσαν ὀρθῶς τὸν δῆμον ἐπὶ τὰς διαλλαγὰς τοῦ Μαρκίου τραπέσθαι, τὴν δὲ βουλὴν τοῦ παντὸς ἁμαρτάνειν, ὅτε παύσασθαι καλῶς εἶχεν ὀργῆς καὶ μνησικακίας, ἀρχομένην. ἔδοξεν οὖν πᾶσι πρέσβεις ἀποστεῖλαι πρὸς τὸν Μάρκιον ἐκείνῳ τε κάθοδον διδόντας εἰς τὴν πατρίδα καὶ τὸν πόλεμον αὐτοῖς λῦσαι δεομένους.
On the contrary, when they saw the women running frantic in the city, and the aged men resorting to the sacred shrines with suppliant tears and prayers, and everywhere an utter lack of courage and saving counsels, then all agreed that the people had done well to seek a reconciliation with Marcius, but that the senate had made a total mistake in beginning then to indulge its wrath and revengeful spirit, when it had been well to lay such feelings aside. It was, therefore, unanimously decided to send ambassadors to Marcius, offering him the privilege of returning to his country, and begging him to stop his war upon them.
οἱ δὲ πεμφθέντες ἀπὸ βουλῆς ἦσαν μὲν ἐπιτήδειοι τῷ Μαρκίῳ, προσεδέχοντο δὲ πολλὴν περί γε τὰς πρώτας ἀπαντήσεις φιλοφροσύνην παρʼ ἀνδρὸς οἰκείου καὶ συνήθους, ἐγίνετο τοιοῦτον οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ στρατοπέδου τῶν πολεμίων ἀχθέντες ἐνετύγχανον αὐτῷ μετʼ ὄγκου καθεζομένῳ καὶ βαρύτητος οὐκ ἀνεκτῆς.
Moreover, the messengers from the senate were kinsmen and friends of Marcius, and expected to be treated with great friendliness in their first interview with a man who was a relative and associate of theirs. But matters turned out quite otherwise; for after being led through the camp of the enemy, they found him seated in great state, and looking insufferably stern.
ἔχων δὲ τοὺς πρώτους τῶν Οὐολούσκων περί αὑτόν, ἐκέλευε λέγειν ὧν δεόμενοι τυγχάνουσιν. εἰπόντων δὲ λόγους ἐπιεικεῖς καὶ φιλανθρώπους ἐν ἤθει τῷ πρέποντι καὶ παυσαμένων, ἀπεκρίνατο τὰ μὲν πικρῶς ὑπὲρ αὑτοῦ καὶ πρὸς ὀργὴν ὧν ἔπαθε, τὰ δʼ ὑπὲρ τῶν Οὐολούσκων ὡς στρατηγός, ἀποδοῦναι τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὴν χώραν, ὅσην ἀπετέμοντο πολέμῳ, κελεύων, καὶ ψηφίσασθαι Οὐολούσκοις ἰσοπολιτείαν ἥνπερ Λατίνοις·
Surrounded by the chief men of the Volscians, he bade the Romans declare their wishes. They did so, in reasonable and considerate language, and with a manner suitable to their position, and when they had ceased, he made an answer which, so far as it concerned himself; was full of bitterness and anger at their treatment of him, and in behalf of the Volscians, as their general, he ordered the restitution of the cities and territory which had been torn from them in war, and the passage of a decree granting the Volscians, as allies, equal civic rights, as had been done for the Latins.
ἄλλην γὰρ οὐκ εἶναι βέβαιον ἢ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἴσοις καὶ δικαίοις ἀπαλλαγὴν τοῦ πολέμου, χρόνον δὲ βουλῆς ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἡμέρας τριάκοντα· καὶ τῶν πρέσβεων ἀπελθόντων εὐθὺς ἀνέζευξεν ἐκ τῆς χώρας.
For no respite from the war would be secure and lasting, he said, except it be based on just and equal rights. Moreover, he gave them thirty days for deliberation, and when the ambassadors were gone, he immediately withdrew his forces from the country.
τοῦτο δὴ πρῶτον αἰτίαμα τῶν Οὐολούσκων οἱ πάλαι βαρυνόμενοι τὴν δύναμιν αὐτὸν καὶ φθονοῦντες ἐλάμβανον· ὧν ἦν καὶ ὁ Τύλλος, ἰδίᾳ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ Μαρκίου μηδὲν ἀδικούμενος, ἐν δʼ ἀνθρωπίνῳ πάθει γεγονώς. ἤχθετο γὰρ ἠμαυρωμένος παντάπασι τῇ δόξῃ καὶ παρορώμενος ὑπὸ τῶν Οὐολούσκων, πάντα μόνον ἡγουμένων αὐτοῖς εἶναι τὸν Μάρκιον, τοὺς δὲ ἄλλους ἀξιούντων, ὅσον ἐκεῖνος αὐτοῖς μεταδώσει δυνάμεως καὶ ἀρχῆς, ἀγαπᾶν ἔχοντας.
This was the first ground of complaint against him which was laid hold of by those of the Volscians who had long been jealous of him, and uneasy at the influence which he had acquired. Among these was Tullus also, not because he had been personally wronged at all by Marcius, but because he was only too human. For he was vexed to find his reputation wholly obscured and himself neglected by the Volscians, who thought that Marcius alone was everything to them, and that their other leaders should be content with whatever share of influence and authority he might bestow upon them.
ὅθεν αἱ πρῶται κατηγορίαι κρύφα διεσπείροντο, καὶ συνιστάμενοι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἠγανάκτουν, καὶ προδοσίαν ἐκάλουν τὴν ἀνάζευξιν, οὐ τειχῶν οὐδʼ ὅπλων, ἀλλὰ καιρῶν, οἷς καὶ τἆλλα πάντα σῴζεσθαι καὶ πάλιν ἀπόλλυσθαι πέφυκεν, ἡμερῶν τριάκοντα τῷ πολέμῳ δεδομένων, οὗ μείζονας οὐδὲν ἐν ἐλάττονι χρόνῳ λαμβάνειν μεταβολάς.
This was the reason why the first seeds of denunciation were sown in secret, and now, banding together, the malcontents shared their resentment with one another, and called the withdrawal of Marcius a betrayal, not so much of cities and armies, as of golden opportunities, which prove the salvation or the loss of these as well as of everything else; for he had granted a respite of thirty days from war, although in war the greatest changes might occur in much less time than this.
καίτοι τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ὁ Μάρκιος οὐκ ἀργὸν διῆγεν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς συμμάχους τῶν πολεμίων ἔφθειρεν ἐπιὼν καὶ περιέκοπτε καὶ πόλεις ἑπτὰ μεγάλας καὶ πολυανθρώπους ἔλαβεν. οἱ δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι βοηθεῖν μὲν οὐκ ἐτόλμων, ἀλλʼ ὄκνου πλήρεις ἦσαν αὐτῶν αἱ ψυχαί, καὶ τοῖς ἐκνεναρκηκόσι κομιδῇ καὶ παραλελυμένοις σώμασιν ὁμοίως διέκειντο πρὸς τὸν πόλεμον.
And yet Marcius did not spend this time in idleness, but fell upon the enemy’s allies, harassed and ravaged their territories, and captured seven of their large and populous cities. And the Romans did not venture to come to their aid, but their spirits were full of hesitation, and their attitude toward the war was that of men who are completely benumbed and paralyzed.
ἐπεὶ δʼ ὁ χρόνος διῆλθε καὶ παρῆν αὖθις ὁ Μάρκιος μετὰ τῆς δυνάμεως ἁπάσης, ἐκπέμπουσι πρεσβείαν πάλιν τοῦ Μαρκίου δεησομένην ὑφέσθαι τῆς ὀργῆς καὶ τοὺς Οὐολούσκους ἐκ τῆς χώρας ἀπαγαγόντα πράττειν καὶ λέγειν ὅ τι ἂν ἀμφοτέροις οἴηται βέλτιον εἶναι· φόβῳ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲν ἐνδώσειν Ῥωμαίους, ἐὰν δέ τινος τῶν φιλανθρώπων οἴηται δεῖν τυχεῖν τοὺς Οὐολούσκους, ἅπαν αὐτοῖς γενήσεσθαι τὰ ὅπλα καταθεμένοις.
And when the time had passed, and Marcius was at hand again with his entire force, they sent out another embassy to entreat him to moderate his wrath, withdraw the Volscian army from the country, and then make such proposals and settlements as he thought best for both nations; for the Romans would make no concessions through fear, but if he thought that the Volscians ought to obtain certain favours, all such would be granted them if they laid down their arms.
πρὸς ταῦθʼ ὁ Μάρκιος ἔφη μηδὲν ὡς Οὐολούσκων ἀποκρίνεσθαι στρατηγός, ὡς δὲ Ῥωμαίων ἔτι πολίτης παραινεῖν καὶ παρακαλεῖν μετριώτερα φρονήσαντας ἐπὶ τοῖς δικαίοις ἥκειν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν ἡμέραις τρισίν, ἃ προκαλεῖται ψηφισαμένους· εἰ δʼ ἕτερα δόξειε, γιγνώσκειν οὐκ οὖσαν αὐτοῖς ἄδειαν αὖθις μετὰ λόγων κενῶν βαδίζουσιν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον.
Marcius replied that, as general of the Volscians, he would make no answer to this, but as one who was still a citizen of Rome, he advised and exhorted them to adopt more moderate views of what justice required, and come to him in three days with a ratification of his previous demands; but if they should decide otherwise, they must know well that it was not safe for them to come walking into his camp again with empty phrases.
ἐπανελθόντων δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων ἀκούσασα ἡ βουλή, καθάπερ ἐν χειμῶνι πολλῷ καὶ κλύδωνι τῆς πόλεως, ἄρασα τὴν ἀφʼ· ἱερᾶς ἀφῆκεν. ὅσοι γὰρ ἦσαν ἱερεῖς θεῶν ἢ μυστηρίων ὀργιασταὶ ἢ φύλακες ἢ τὴν ἀπʼ οἰωνῶν πάτριον οὖσαν ἐκ παλαιῶν μαντικὴν ἔχοντες, τούτους πάντας ἀπιέναι πρὸς τὸν Μάρκιον ἐψηφίσαντο, κεκοσμημένους ὡς ἦν ἑκάστῳ νόμος ἐν ταῖς ἱερουργίαις· λέγειν δὲ ταὐτὰ, καὶ παρακαλεῖν ὅπως ἀπαλλάξας τὸν πόλεμον οὕτω διαλέγηται περὶ τῶν Οὐολούσκων τοῖς πολίταις.
When the embassy had returned and the senate had heard its report, it was felt that the city was tossing on the billows of a great tempest, and therefore the last and sacred anchor was let down. A decree was passed that all the priests of the gods, and the celebrants or custodians of the mysteries, and those who practised the ancient and ancestral art of divination from the flight of birds,—that all these should go to Marcius, arrayed as was the custom of each in the performance of their sacred rites, and should urge him in the same manner as before to put a stop to the war, and then to confer with his fellow-citizens regarding the Volscians.
ἐδέξατο μὲν οὖν εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον τοὺς ἄνδρας, ἄλλο δʼ οὐδὲν ἔδωκεν οὐδʼ ἔπραξεν οὐδʼ εἶπε μαλακώτερον, ἀλλʼ ἐφʼ οἷς πρότερον ἐκέλευε ποιεῖσθαι τὰς διαλύσεις ἢ δέχεσθαι τὸν πόλεμον. ἐπανελθόντων οὖν τῶν ἱερέων ἔδοξεν ἀτρεμοῦντας ἐν τῇ πόλει τὰ τείχη φυλάττειν καὶ προσβάλλοντας ἀποκρούεσθαι τοὺς πολεμίους,
He did, indeed, admit this embassy into his camp, but made no other concession, nor did he act or speak more mildly, but told them to make a settlement on his former terms, or else accept the war. Accordingly, when the priests had returned, it was decided to remain quietly in the city, guarding its walls, and repulsing the enemy, should he make an attack.
ἐν τῷ χρόνῳ μάλιστα καὶ τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς τύχης παραλόγοις τιθεμένοις τὰς ἐλπίδας, ἐπεὶ διʼ αὑτῶν γε σωτήριον οὐδὲν ἠπίσταντο πράττοντες, ἀλλὰ ταραχὴ καὶ πτοία καὶ φήμη πονηρὰ τὴν πόλιν κατεῖχεν, ἄχρι οὗ συνέβη τι πρᾶγμα τῷ πολλάκις ὑφʼ Ὁμήρου λεγομένῳ, μὴ τάνυ δὲ πείθοντι τοὺς πολλούς, ὅμοιον.
They put their hopes in time especially, and in the vicissitudes of fortune, since they knew not how to save themselves by their own efforts, but turmoil, terror, and rumours of evil possessed the city. At last something happened that was like what Homer often mentions, although people generally do not wholly believe it.
λέγοντος γὰρ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀναφωνοῦντος ἐπὶ ταῖς μεγάλαις πράξεσι καὶ παραλόγοις· τῷ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θῆκε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη· καὶ τὸ ἀλλά τις ἀθανάτων τρέψεν φρένας, ὅς γʼ ἐνὶ θυμῷ / δήμου θῆκε φάτιν· / καὶ τὸ ἤ τι ὀϊσσάμενος ἢ καὶ θεὸς ὣς ἐκέλευε· καταφρονοῦσιν ὡς ἀδυνάτοις πράγμασι καὶ μυθεύμασιν ἀπίστοις τὸν ἑκάστου λογισμὸν τῆς προαιρέσεως ἄπιστον καθιστάντος.
For when some great and unusual deed is to be done, that poet declares in his stately manner:— He then was inspired by the goddess, flashing-eyed Athene; / and again:— But some immortal turned his mind by lodging in his heart / A fear of what the folk would say; / and again:— Either through some suspicion, or else a god so bade him do; / but people despise Homer and say that with his impossible exploits and incredible tales he makes it impossible to believe in every man’s power to determine his own choice of action.
οὐ ποιεῖ δὲ τοῦτο Ὅμηρος, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν εἰκότα καὶ συνήθη καὶ κατὰ λόγον περαινόμενα τῷ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ἀποδίδωσι, καὶ λέγει δήπου πολλάκις· αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ βούλευσα κατὰ μεγαλήτορα θυμόν· καὶ, ὣς φάτο, Πηλείωνι δʼ ἄχος γένετʼ, ἐν δέ οἱ ἦτορ / στήθεσσιν λασίοισι διάνδιχα μερμήριζεν· / καὶ πάλιν, ἀλλὰ τὸν οὔ τι / πεῖθʼ ἀγαθὰ φρονέοντα, δαΐφρονα Βελλεροφόντην· /
This, however, is not what Homer does, but those acts which are natural, customary, and the result of reasoning, he attributes to our own volition, and he certainly says frequently:— But I formed a plan within my lordly heart; / and also:— So he spake, and Peleus’ son was sore distressed, and his heart / Within his shaggy breast between two courses was divided; / and again:— But him no whit / Could she persuade from his integrity, the fiery hearted Bellerophon; /
ἐν δὲ ταῖς ἀτόποις καὶ παραβόλοις πράξεσι καὶ φορᾶς τινος ἐνθουσιώδους καὶ παραστάσεως δεομέναις οὐκ ἀναιροῦντα ποιεῖ τὸν θεόν, ἀλλὰ κινοῦντα τὴν προαίρεσιν, οὐδʼ ὁρμὰς ἐνεργαζόμενον, ἀλλὰ φαντασίας ὁρμῶν ἀγωγούς, αἷς οὐδὲ ποιεῖ τὴν πρᾶξιν ἀκούσιον, ἀλλὰ τῷ ἑκουσίῳ δίδωσιν ἀρχήν, καὶ τὸ θαρρεῖν καὶ τὸ ἐλπίζειν προστίθησιν.
while in exploits of a strange and extraordinary nature, requiring some rush of inspiration, and desperate courage, he does not represent the god as taking a way, but as prompting, a man’s choice of action; nor yet as creating impulses in a man, but rather conceptions which lead to impulses, and by these his action is not made involuntary, but his will is set in motion, while courage and hope are added to sustain him.
ἢ γὰρ ἀπαλλακτέον ὅλως τὰ θεῖα πάσης αἰτίας καὶ ἀρχῆς τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς, ἤ τις ἂν ἄλλος εἴη τρόπος ᾧ βοηθοῦσιν ἀνθρώποις καὶ συνεργοῦσιν; οὐ τὸ σῶμα δήπου πλάττοντες ἡμῶν, οὐδὲ τὰς χεῖρας, ὡς δεῖ, μετατιθέντες αὐτοὶ καὶ τοὺς πόδας, ἀλλὰ τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ πρακτικὸν καὶ προαιρετικὸν ἀρχαῖς τισι καὶ φαντασίαις καὶ ἐπινοίαις ἐγείροντες ἢ τοὐναντίον ἀποστρέφοντες καὶ ἱστάντες.
For either the influence of the gods must be wholly excluded from all initiating power over our actions, or in what other way can they assist and co-operate with men? They certainly do not mould our bodies by their direct agency, nor give the requisite change to the action of our hands and feet, but rather, by certain motives, conceptions, and purposes, they rouse the active and elective powers of our spirits, or, on the other hand, divert and check them.
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