ἀλλὰ καίπερ οὕτω πολιτικῶς καὶ ἀνεπαχθῶς ἀφηγεῖσθαι δοκοῦντες, ὑπονοίαις καὶ θορύβοις περιέπιπτον, ὡς μεθιστάντες εἰς ὀλιγαρχίαν τὰ πράγματα καὶ διαπαιδαγωγοῦντες ἐν σφίσιν αὐτοῖς τὴν πολιτείαν, βασιλεύεσθαι δὲ οὐκ ἐθέλοιεν. ἐκ τούτου συνέβησαν ἀμφότεραι πρὸς ἀλλήλας αἱ στάσεις, ὥστε τὴν ἑτέραν ἐκ τῆς ἑτέρας ἀποδεῖξαι βασιλέα·
But although in this way the senators were thought to rule constitutionally and without oppression, they roused suspicions and clamorous charges that they had changed the form of government to an oligarchy, and were holding the state in tutelage among themselves, and were unwilling to be ruled by a king. Therefore it was agreed by both factions that one should appoint a king from the other.
μάλιστα γάρ ἂν οὕτως ἔν τε τῷ παρόντι παύσασθαι τὴν φιλονεικίαν, καὶ τὸν ἀποδειχθέντα πρὸς ἀμφοτέρους ἴσον γενέσθαι, τοὺς μὲν ὡς ἑλομένους ἀγαπῶντα, τοῖς δὲ εὔνουν ὄντα διὰ συγγένειαν, ἐπιτρεψάντων δὲ προτέροις τοῖς Ῥωμαίοις τῶν Σαβίνων τὴν αἵρεσιν, ἔδοξε μᾶλλον ἑλέσθαι Σαβῖνον αὐτοὺς ἀποδείξαντας ἢ παρασχεῖν Ῥωμαῖον ἐκείνων ἑλομένων.
This was thought the best way to end their prevailing partisanship, and the king thus appointed would be equally well-disposed to both parties, being gracious to the one as his electors, and friendly to the other because of his kinship with them. Then, as the Sabines gave the Romans their option in the matter, it seemed to them better to have a Sabine king of their own nomination, than to have a Roman made king by the Sabines.
καὶ βουλευσάμενοι καθʼ ἑαυτοὺς ἀποδεικνύουσιν ἐκ Σαβίνων Νομᾶν Πομπίλιον, ἄνδρα τῶν μὲν εἰς Ῥώμην ἀπῳκισμένων οὐ γενόμενον. γνώριμον δ’ οὕτω διʼ ἀρετὴν ὄντα πᾶσιν ὥστε τῶν ἑλομένων προθυμότερον ὀνομασθέντος αὐτοῦ δέξασθαι τοὺς Σαβίνους, φράσαντες οὖν τῷ δήμῳ τὰ δεδογμένα, πρέσβεις ἐκπέμπουσι πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα κοινῇ τοὺς πρωτεύοντας ἀπʼ ἀμφοτέρων, ἥκειν δεησομένους καὶ παραλαβεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν.
They took counsel, therefore, among themselves, and nominated Numa Pompilius from among the Sabines, a man who had not joined the emigrants to Rome, but was so universally celebrated for his virtues that, when he was nominated, the Sabines accepted him with even greater readiness than those who had chosen him. Accordingly, after making their decision known to the people, the leading senators of both parties were sent as ambassadors to Numa, begging him to come and assume the royal power.
ἦν δὲ πόλεως μὲν ὁ Νομᾶς ἐπιφανοῦς ἐν Σαβίνοις τῆς Κύρεων, ἀφʼ ἧς καὶ Κυρίτας Ῥωμαῖοι σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἅμα τοῖς ἀνακραθεῖσι Σαβίνοις προσηγόρευσαν, υἱὸς δὲ Πόμπωνος, ἀνδρὸς εὐδοκίμου, τεσσάρων ἀδελφῶν νεώτατος· ἡμέρᾳ δὲ γεγονὼς κατὰ δή τινα θείαν τύχην ἐν ᾗ τὴν Ῥώμην ἔκτισαν οἱ περὶ Ῥωμύλον αὕτη δὲ ἐστι πρὸ δεκαμιᾶς καλανδῶν Μαΐων.
Numa belonged to a conspicuous city of the Sabines called Cures, from which the Romans, together with the incorporated Sabines, took the joint name of Quirites. He was a son of Pompon, an illustrious man, and was the youngest of four brothers. He was born, moreover, by some divine felicity, on the very day when Rome was founded by Romulus, that is, the twenty-first day of April.
φύσει δὲ πρὸς πᾶσαν ἀρετὴν εὖ κεκραμένος τὸ ἦθος, ἔτι μᾶλλον αὑτὸν ἐξημέρωσε διὰ παιδείας καὶ κακοπαθείας καὶ φιλοσοφίας, οὐ μόνον τὰ λοιδορούμενα πάθη τῆς ψυχῆς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν εὐδοκιμοῦσαν ἐν τοῖς βαρβάροις βίαν καὶ πλεονεξίαν ἐκποδὼν ποιησάμενος, ἀνδρείαν δὲ ἀληθῆ τὴν ὑπὸ λόγου τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν ἐν αὑτῷ κάθειρξιν ἡγούμενος.
By natural temperament he was inclined to the practice of every virtue, and he had subdued himself still more by discipline, endurance of hardships, and the study of wisdom. He had thus put away from himself not only the infamous passions of the soul, but also that violence and rapacity which are in such high repute among Barbarians, believing that true bravery consisted in the subjugation of one’s passions by reason.
ἐκ δὲ τούτου πᾶσαν οἴκοθεν ἅμα τρυφὴν καὶ πολυτέλειαν ἐξελαύνων, παντὶ δὲ πολίτῃ καὶ ξένῳ χρῆσθαι παρέχων ἑαυτὸν ἄμεμπτον δικαστὴν καὶ σύμβουλον, αὐτὸς δ’ ἑαυτῷ σχολάζοντι χρώμενος οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡδυπαθείας καὶ πορισμούς, ἀλλὰ θεραπείαν θεῶν καὶ θεωρίαν διὰ λόγου φύσεώς τε αὐτῶν καὶ δυνάμεως, ὄνομα μέγα καὶ δόξαν εἶχεν, ὥστε καὶ Τάτιον τὸν ἐν Ῥώμῃ συμβασιλεύσαντα Ῥωμύλῳ, μιᾶς αὐτῷ θυγατρὸς οὔσης Τατίας, ποιήσασθαι γαμβρὸν ἐκεῖνον.
On this account he banished from his house all luxury and extravagance, and while citizen and stranger alike found in him a faultless judge and counsellor, he devoted his hours of privacy and leisure, not to enjoyments and money-making, but to the service of the gods, and the rational contemplation of their nature and power. In consequence he had a great name and fame, so that Tatius, the royal colleague of Romulus at Rome, made him the husband of his only daughter, Tatia.
οὐ μὴν ἐπήρθη γε τῷ γάμῳ μετοικίσασθαι πρὸς τὸν πενθερόν, ἀλλʼ αὐτοῦ περιέπων πατέρα γηραιὸν ἐν Σαβίνοις ὑπέμενεν, ἅμα καὶ τῆς Τατίας ἑλομένης τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἰδιωτεύοντος ἡσυχίαν πρὸ τῆς ἐν Ῥώμῃ διὰ τὸν πατέρα τιμῆς καὶ δόξης, αὕτη μὲν οὖν λέγεται τρίτῳ καὶ δεκάτῳ μετὰ τὸν γάμον ἔτει τελευτῆσαι.
He was not, however, so exalted by his marriage as to go to dwell with his royal father-in-law, but remained among the Sabines ministering to his aged father. Tatia, too, preferred the quiet life which her husband led as a private citizen to the honour and fame which she had enjoyed at Rome because of her father. But she died, as we are told, in the thirteenth year after her marriage.
ὁ δὲ Νομᾶς ἐκλείπων τὰς ἐν ἄστει διατριβὰς ἀγραυλεῖν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ πλανᾶσθαι μόνος ἤθελεν, ἐν ἄλσεσι θεῶν καὶ λειμῶσιν ἱεροῖς καὶ τόποις ἐρήμοις ποιούμενος τὴν δίαιταν. ὅθεν οὐχ ἥκιστα τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁ περὶ τῆς θεᾶς ἔλαβε λόγος, ὡς ἄρα Νομᾶς ἐκεῖνος οὐκ ἀδημονίᾳ τινὶ ψυχῆς καὶ πλάνῃ τὸν μετὰ ἀνθρώπων ἀπολέλοιπε βίον,
Then Numa, forsaking the ways of city folk, determined to live for the most part in country places, and to wander there alone, passing his days in groves of the gods, sacred meadows, and solitudes. This, more than anything else, gave rise to the story about his goddess. It was not, so the story ran, from any distress or aberration of spirit that he forsook the ways of men, but he had tasted the joy of more august companionship
ἀλλὰ σεμνοτέρας γεγευμένος ὁμιλίας καὶ γάμων θείων ἠξιωμένος, Ἠγερίᾳ δαίμονι συνὼν ἐρώσῃ καὶ συνδιαιτώμενος, εὐδαίμων ἀνήρ καὶ τὰ θεῖα πεπνυμένος γέγονεν. ὅτι μὲν οὖν ταῦτα πολλοῖς τῶν πάνυ παλαιῶν μύθων ἔοικεν, οὓς οἱ Φρύγες τε περὶ Ἄττεω καὶ Βιθυνοὶ περὶ Ἡροδότου καὶ περὶ Ἐνδυμίωνος Ἀρκάδες ἄλλοι τε περὶ ἄλλων εὐδαιμόνων δή τινων καὶ θεοφιλῶν γενέσθαι δοκούντων παραλαβόντες ἠγάπησαν, οὐκ ἄδηλόν ἔστι.
and had been honoured with a celestial marriage; the goddess Egeria loved him and bestowed herself upon him, and it was his communion with her that gave him a life of blessedness and a wisdom more than human. However, that this story resembles many of the very ancient tales which the Phrygians have received and cherished concerning Attis, the Bithynians concerning Herodotus, the Arcadians concerning Endymion, and other peoples concerning other mortals who were thought to have achieved a life of blessedness in the love of the gods, is quite evident.
καί που λόγον ἔχει τὸν θεόν, οὐ φίλιππον οὐδὲ φίλορνιν, ἀλλὰ φιλάνθρωπον ὄντα, τοῖς διαφερόντως ἀγαθοῖς ἐθέλειν συνεῖναι, καὶ μὴ δυσχεραίνειν μηδὲ ἀτιμάζειν ἀνδρὸς ὁσίου καὶ σώφρονος ὁμιλίαν. ὡς δὲ καὶ σώματος ἀνθρωπίνου καὶ ὥρας ἐστί τις θεῷ καὶ δαίμονι κοινωνία καὶ χάρις, ἔργον ἤδη καὶ τοῦτο πεισθῆναι.
And there is some reason in supposing that Deity, who is not a lover of horses or birds, but a lover of men, should be willing to consort with men of superlative goodness, and should not dislike or disdain the company of a wise and holy man. But that an immortal god should take carnal pleasure in a mortal body and its beauty, this, surely, is hard to believe.
καίτοι δοκοῦσιν οὐκ ἀπιθάνως Αἰγύπτιοι διαιρεῖν ὡς γυναικὶ μὲν οὐκ ἀδύνατον πνεῦμα πλησιάσαι θεοῦ καί τινας ἐντεκεῖν ἀρχὰς γενέσεως, ἀνδρὶ δὲ οὐκ ἔστι σύμμιξις πρὸς θεὸν οὐδὲ ὁμιλία σώματος. ἀγνοοῦσι δὲ ὅτι τὸ μιγνύμενον ᾧ μίγνυται τὴν ἴσην ἀνταποδίδωσι κοινωνίαν. οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ φιλίαν γε πρὸς ἄνθρωπον εἶναι θεῷ καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ ταύτῃ λεγόμενον ἔρωτα καὶ φυόμενον εἰς ἐπιμέλειαν ἤθους καὶ ἀρετῆς, πρέπον ἂν εἴη.
And yet the Aegyptians make a distinction here which is thought plausible, namely, that while a woman can be approached by a divine spirit and made pregnant, there is no such thing as carnal intercourse and communion between a man and a divinity. But they lose sight of the fact that intercourse is a reciprocal matter, and that both parties to it enter into a like communion. However, that a god should have affection for a man, and a so-called love which is based upon affection, and takes the form of solicitude for his character and his virtue, is fit and proper.
καὶ οὐ πλημμελοῦσιν οἱ τὸν Φόρβαντα καὶ τὸν Ὑάκινθον καὶ τὸν Ἄδμητον ἐρωμένους Ἀπόλλωνος γεγονέναι μυθολογοῦντες, ὥσπερ αὖ καὶ τὸν Σικυώνιον Ἱππόλυτον, ᾧ δὴ καί φασιν, ὁσάκις τύχοι διαπλέων εἰς Κίρραν ἐκ Σικυῶνος, τὴν Πυθίαν, οἷον αἰσθανομένου τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ χαίροντος, ἀποθεσπίζειν τόδε τὸ ἡρῷον καὶ δ’ αὖθʼ Ἱππολύτοιο φίλον κάρα εἰς ἅλα βαίνει.
And therefore it is no mistake when the ancient poets tell their tales of the love Apollo bore Phorbas, Hyacinthus, and Admetus, as well as the Sicyonian Hippolytus also, of whom it is said, that, as often as he set out to sail from Sicyon to Cirrha, the Pythian priestess, as though the god knew of his coming and rejoiced thereat, chanted this prophetic verse:— Lo, once more doth beloved Hippolytus hither make voyage. /
Πινδάρου δὲ καὶ τῶν μελῶν ἐραστὴν γενέσθαι τὸν Πᾶνα μυθολογοῦσιν. ἀπέδωκε δέ τινα τιμὴν καὶ Ἀρχιλόχῳ καὶ Ἡσιόδῳ τελευτήσασι διὰ τὰς Μούσας τὸ δαιμόνιον. Σοφοκλεῖ δὲ καὶ ζῶντι τὸν Ἀσκληπιὸν ἐπιξενωθῆναι λόγος ἐστὶ πολλὰ μέχρι δεῦρο διασώζων τεκμήρια, καὶ τελευτήσαντι τυχεῖν ταφῆς ἄλλος θεός, ὡς λέγεται, παρέσχεν.
There is a legend, too, that Pan became enamoured of Pindar and his verses. And the divine powers bestowed signal honour on Archilochus and Hesiod after their deaths, for the sake of the Muses. Again, there is a story, still well attested, that Sophocles, during his life, was blessed with the friendship of Aesculapius, and that when he died, another deity procured him fitting burial.
ἆρα οὖν ἄξιὸν ἔστι, ταῦτα συγχωροῦντας ἐπὶ τούτων, ἀπιστεῖν εἰ Ζαλεύκῳ καὶ Μίνῳ καὶ Ζωροάστρῃ καὶ Νομᾷ καὶ Λυκούργῳ βασιλείας κυβερνῶσι καὶ πολιτείας διακοσμοῦσιν εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ ἐφοίτα τὸ δαιμόνιον, ἢ τούτοις μὲν εἰκὸς ἔστι καὶ σπουδάζοντας θεοὺς ὁμιλεῖν ἐπὶ διδασκαλίᾳ καὶ παραινέσει τῶν βελτίστων, ποιηταῖς δὲ καὶ λυρικοῖς μινυρίζουσιν, εἴπερ ρ ἄρα, χρῆσθαι παίζοντας;
Is it worth while, then, if we concede these instances of divine favour, to disbelieve that Zaleucus, Minos, Zoroaster, Numa, and Lycurgus, who piloted kingdoms and formulated constitutions, had frequent audience of the Deity? Is it not likely, rather, that the gods are in earnest when they hold converse with such men as these, in order to instruct and advise them in the highest and best way, but use poets and warbling singers, if at all, for their own diversion?
εἰ δὲ λέγει τις ἄλλως, κατὰ Βακχυλίδην, πλατεῖα κέλευθος. οὐδὲ γὰρ ἅτερος λόγος ἔχει τι φαῦλον, ὃν περὶ Λυκούργου καὶ Νομᾶ καὶ τοιούτων ἄλλων ἀνδρῶν λέγουσιν, ὡς δυσκάθεκτα καὶ δυσάρεστα πλήθη χειρούμενοι καὶ μεγάλας ς ἐπιφέροντες ταῖς πολιτείαις καινοτομίας, προσεποιήσαντο τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ δόξαν, αὐτοῖς ἐκείνοις πρὸς οὓς ἐσχηματίζοντο σωτήριον οὖσαν.
However, if any one is otherwise minded, I say with Bacchylides, Broad is the way. Indeed there is no absurdity in the other account which is given of Lycurgus and Numa and their like, namely, that since they were managing headstrong and captious multitudes, and introducing great innovations in modes of government, they pretended to get a sanction from the god, which sanction was the salvation of the very ones against whom it was contrived.
Cite This Text