Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans — John Shaqi
Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and RomansPlutarch
PhilosophyPhilosophy
Plutarch: Lives of the noble Grecians and Romans
Plutarch
Greece -- Biography -- Early works to 1800; Rome -- Biography -- Early works to 1800
sacrifice for the death of a hundred enemies, Lacedaemonians, slain by
himself. The army being thus routed, Romulus, suffering those that were
left to make their escape, led his forces against the city; they, having
suffered such great losses, did not venture to oppose, but, humbly suing
to him, made a league and friendship for an hundred years; surrendering
also a large district of land called Septempagium, that is, the seven
parts, as also their salt-works upon the river, and fifty noblemen for
hostages. He made his triumph for this on the Ides of October, leading,
among the rest of his many captives, the general of the Veientes, an
elderly man, but who had not, it seemed, acted with the prudence of age;
whence even now, in sacrifices for victories, they lead an old man
through the market place to the Capitol, appareled in purple, with a
bulla, or child's toy, tied to it, and the crier cries, Sardians to be
sold; for the Tuscans are said to be a colony of the Sardians, and the
Veientes are a city of Tuscany.
This was the last battle Romulus ever fought; afterwards he, as most,
nay all men, very few excepted, do, who are raised by great and
miraculous good-haps of fortune to power and greatness, so, I say, did
he; relying upon his own great actions, and growing of an haughtier
mind, he forsook his popular behavior for kingly arrogance, odious to
the people; to whom in particular the state which he assumed was
hateful. For he dressed in scarlet, with the purple-bordered robe over
it; he gave audience on a couch of state, having always about him some
young men called Celeres, from their swiftness in doing commissions;
there went before him others with staves, to make room, with leather
thongs tied on their bodies, to bind on the moment whomever he
commanded. The Latins formerly used ligare in the same sense as now
alligare, to bind, whence the name lictors, for these officers, and
bacula, or staves, for their rods, because staves were then used. It is
probable, however, they were first called litores, afterwards, by
putting in a c, lictores, or, in Greek, liturgi, or people's officers,
for leitos is still Greek for the commons,
and laos for the people in general.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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