Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

15 τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐμφανῆ σεαυτόν, εἰ μὴ θέλεις κακῶς ὑπ ̓ αὐτῶν ἀποθανεῖν ὡς ἐμοὶ συμπράξας τὸν θάνατον.” Ἐξελθόντος δὲ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ ξίφος ὑποστήσας ὀρθὸν ἀμφοτέραις ταῖς χερσὶ καὶ περιπεσὼν ἄνωθεν ὅσον ἅπαξ στενάξαι μόνον ᾔσθετο κ τοῦ πόνου καὶ τοῖς ἐκτὸς αἴσθησιν παρέσχεν. ̓Αραμένων δὲ τῶν παίδων οἰμωγὴν εὐθὺς ἅπαν τὸ στρατόπεδον καὶ τὴν πόλιν ἐπεῖχε κλαυθμός· καὶ μετὰ βοῆς οἱ στρατιῶται εἰσέπεσον ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας καὶ ὠλοφύροντο περιπαθοῦντες καὶ λοιδοροῦντες ἑαυτοὺς μὴ φυλάξαντας τὸν αὐτοκράτορα μηδε κωλύσαντας ἀποθανεῖν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. ̓Απέστη δὲ οὐδεὶς τῶν κατ ̓ αὐτὸν ἐγγὺς ὄντων τῶν πολεμίων, ἀλλὰ κοσμήσαντες τὸ σῶμα καὶ πυρὰν κατασκευάσαντες ἐξεκόμιζον ἐν τοῖς ὅπλοις οἱ φθάσαντες 30 ὑποδῦναι καὶ βαστάσαι τὸ λέχος ἐπιγαυρούμενοι. Τῶν δὲ ἄλλων οἱ μὲν τὸ τραῦμα τοῦ νεκροῦ κατε φίλουν προσπίπτοντες, οἱ δὲ ἥπτοντο τῶν χειρῶν, οἱ δὲ προσεκύνουν πόρρωθεν. Ενιοι δὲ τῇ πυρᾷ λαμπάδας ὑφέντες ἑαυτοὺς ἀπέσφαξαν, οὐδὲν ἐκδή 35 λως οὔτε πεπονθότες χρηστὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ τεθνηκότος οὔτε πείσεσθαι δεινὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ κρατοῦντος δεδιότες. Αλλ' ἔοικε μηδενὶ τῶν πωποτε τυράννων ἢ βασιλέων δεινὸς οὕτως ἔρως ἐγγενέσθαι καὶ περιμανὴς τοῦ ἄρχειν, ὡς ἐκεῖνοι τοῦ ἄρχεσθαι καὶ ὑπακούειν 4ο Οθωνος ηράσθησαν· οὕς γε μηδ' ἀποθανόντος ὁ πόθος προὔλιπεν, ἀλλὰ παρέμεινεν εἰς ἀνήκεστον ἔχθος Ουϊτελλίῳ τελευτήσας.

27. κατ' αὐτὸν, coni. Cor.; καθ' αὐτὸν, Bod. i. vulg.34. ὑφέντες, Coni. Sol. ; ἀφέντες, Bod. H. i.a.

CHAPTER XVIII.

The events which followed will be told in their proper place. The soldiers buried the remains of Otho in a modest tomb, with no splendid monument, and no boastful inscription. I saw it myself in Brizellum. The title runs, being interpreted, “To the memory of M. Otho." He had lived 37 years, and reigned 3 months. He left behind quite as many who praised his end as who condemned his life. The latter was no better than Nero's, but his death was far nobler. The soldiers, rejecting the advice of Plotius to take the oath to Vitellius, rushed with arms in their hands to the house of Verginius Rufus, whom they urged either to accept the imperial power or to act as their ambassador. Refusing both demands, he escaped by a postern door and fled. Then they had no alternative but to take the oath and join Caecina.

Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἄλλα καιρὸν οἰκεῖον ἔχει λεχθῆναι· κρύψαντες δὲ τῇ γῇ τὰ λείψανα τοῦ Οθωνος οὔτε μεγέθει σήματος οὔτ ̓ ἐπιγραφῆς ὄγκῳ τὸν τάφον ἐποίησαν ἐπίφθονον. Εἶδον δε ἐν Βριξίλλῳ γενόμενος καὶ μνῆμα μέτριον καὶ τὴν ἐπιγραφὴν οὕτως 5 ἔχουσαν, εἰ μεταφρασθείη “Δαίμοσι Μάρκου Όθωνος. Απέθανε δὲ Όθων ἔτη μὲν ἑπτὰ καὶ τριάκοντα βιώσας, ἄρξας δὲ τρεῖς μήνας, ἀπολιπὼν δὲ μὴ χείρονας μηδ' ἐλάττους τῶν τὸν βίον αὐτοῦ ψεγόντων τοὺς ἐπαινοῦντας τὸν θάνατον. Βιώσας το γὰρ οὐδὲν ἐπιεικέστερον Νέρωνος ἀπέθανεν εὐγενέστ

τερον.

Οἱ δὲ στρατιῶται Πολλίωνος τοῦ ἑτέρου τῶν ἐπάρχων ομνύειν εὐθὺς εἰς τὸν Ουϊτέλλιον

β. Δαίμοσι, coni. Lobeck ; Δηλώσει, Bod. H. i.a. et cett.

ΠΛΟΥΤΑΡΧΟΥ ΟΘΩΝ.

κελεύσαντος ἐδυσχέραινον· καὶ πυθόμενοι τῶν συγ15 κλητικῶν ἐνίους ἔτι παρεῖναι τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους ἀφῆκαν, Οὐεργινίῳ δὲ Ρούφῳ πράγματα παρεῖχον ἅμα τοῖς ὅπλοις ἐλθόντες ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ κατακαλοῦντες αὖθις καὶ κατακελεύοντες ἄρχειν ἢ πρεσβεύειν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν. Ὁ δὲ τὴν ἡγεμονίαν ἡττωμένων παραλαβεῖν 20 νενικηκότων πρότερον μή θελήσας μανικὸν ἡγεῖτο πρεσβεύειν δὲ πρὸς Γερμανούς δεδιὼς πολλὰ βεβιάσθαι παρά γνώμην ὑπ' αὐτοῦ δοκοῦντας ἔλαβε δι'

ἑτέρων θυρῶν

τοῦτο ἔγνωσαν οἱ στρατιῶται, τούς τε ὅρκους

ἐκποδὼν ποιήσας ἑαυτόν, Ὡς δὲ

25 ἐδέξαντο καὶ

τοῖς περὶ τὸν Κεκίναν προσέθεντο

συγγνώμης τυχόντες.

18. κελεύοντες, coni. Sint.

NOTES.

CHAPTER I.

1. Ο μὲν Αθηναῖος Ιφικράτης. For an account of Iphicrates, the well-known Athenian general, see Grote, Hist. of Gr. ix. p. 161 seq. and Smith's Dictionary. The corps of mercenary troops, the training and equipment of which made him so famous and so successful, first came under his command at Corinth in 393 B. C. He armed these reλraoral in a manner which combined the advantages of ὁπλῖται and ψιλοί. (Conf. Corn. Nep. Iphic. i., and Diodorus xv. 44.) The first action in which they were engaged, that at Lechaeum, was not successful (Xen. Hell. iv. 4. 9), but later campaigns secured for him the very highest reputation as a general. Polyaenus in his Strategemata devotes a considerable space to the sayings and doing of Iphicrates. Frontinus in his treatise with the same title several times cites his achievements, while Plutarch himself attributes six of his dropéyuara to the Athenian general.

...

1-2. τον μισθοφόρον ἠξίου καὶ φιλόπλουτον εἶναι, κ.τ.λ. So Polyaenus says (iii. 9. 35), “ εἰ εὐποροίη χρημάτων ήγεν αὐτοὺς (τοὺς στρατιώτας) ἐς πόλεις καὶ χωρία εὐδαίμονα ὅπου τάχιστα τὸν μισθὸν ἀναλώσαντες σπουδάζοιέν τι πράττειν διὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀργυρίου Evdelar." A striking saying of his is recorded by Plutarch (Mor. p. 224, 26), ο χειρίστην στρατηγοῦ φωνὴν εἶναι, τὴν οὐκ a роσedbкnoα," the worst thing a general can say is-I should never have expected it.'

[ocr errors]

3. ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις χορηγίαν. Polybius (iv. 71) has χορηγία τῶν βελῶν, and (i. 83) χορηγοῦντας τοῖς πολεμίοις, ministering to the enemy.' Conf. xophrynua infra, Oth. 9. 29.

4. παραβολώτερον, ' more recklessly. Of actions, παράβολος means hazardous. Conf. Plut. Tib. Grach. 8, and Hdt. 9. 45. οἱ δὲ πλεῖστοι, κ.τ.λ. 'Most authorities, however, lay it down that a body of soldiers, like the natural body in health,

85

should have no

GALBA.

head.' This is a view with which the saying of Iphicrates make every movement accord with those of its general and was by no means intended to be inconsistent. Thus Polyaenus (iii. 9. 22) relates" Ιφικράτης τὴν σύνταξιν τῶν στρατο

independent impulse of its own, but should

πέδων είκαζε το

σ

τοὺς ψιλούς, τόδας τὴν ἵππον, κεφαλὴν τὸν στρατηγόν "; while and Nepos represent Iphicrates as a strict

σώματι· θώρακα ἐκάλει τὴν φάλαγγα, χεῖρας

both Plutarch

maintainer of discipline.

7-8. Παύλον λαβόντα, κ.τ.λ.

age of 60, in second time,

Αἰμίλιον ... τὴν ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ δύναμιν παρα-
L. Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus, aedile,

192 B.C.; praetor, 191 B.C.; consul I., 182 B.C., was at the 168 B.C., induced to accept the consulship a Macedonia. The circumstance mentioned here is given some and the command against Perseus, king of what more fully by Plutarch in his life of Aemilius Paulus, τοῦντα καὶ λόγῳ πολλὰ διαστρατηγοῦντα τῶν ἀπράκτων ἐπετίμησεν α. 13 “ ὑπ' ἀδείας δὲ τῆς πρόσθεν τὸν στρατὸν ὁρῶν δυσανασχε αὐτοῖς, καὶ παρήγγειλε μηδὲν πολυπραγμονεῖν μηδὲ φροντίζειν ἀλλ' ἢ τὸ σῶμα τὸ ἑαυτοῦ, καὶ τὴν πανοπλίαν ἕκαστον ὅπως ἐνεργὸν παρέξει, καὶ χρήσεται Ρωμαϊκῶς τῇ μαχαίρᾳ, τὸν καιρὸν παραδόντος "Militem haec tria curare debere, corpus ut quam validissimum et pernicissimum habeat, arma apta, cibum paratum ad subita imperia; cetera.

τοῦ στρατηγοῦ.

Similarly Livy (44. 34) makes him say,

[ocr errors]

imperatori suo curae esse.

[ocr errors]

Plut. Vit. Aemil, Paul. (quoted above), and Vit. Phoc. 25. 9. Startpaɣoûrav, 'assuming the general's duties.' Conf. Dio Cassius in the semi-technical sense of 'to serve one's uses the word in the sense of 'to out-manœuvre,'

Polybius

full time as OTPATNYŐS or praetor.'

παρεγγυήσαι

exhort.

=

to pass the word of command, and so to

Conf. Plut. Vit. Camill. 37; Polyb. 7. 18. if his army lacks the virtues of temperance and concord, and neither a good commander nor general can achieve anything 11. O & IIλάTWV, K.T.A. The view of Plato again that his opinion that the virtue of the subject, quite as much as training, which alone can duly reconcile high spirit and that of the king, requires a generous nature and a philosophic activity with mildness and humanity, find their confirmation in many disastrous events, but nowhere more than in those which befell the Romans after Nero's death-events which placed in a position of supremacy when actuated by unguided and unreasoning impulses.' There is no extant passage of Plato which makes exactly the statements in the text, but it

show that

nothing

is more fearful than military power

« ForrigeFortsett »