Sallust 58
Bella Dickenson /
- Created on 2021-11-18 04:52:58
- Translated by A.J. Woodman
- Aligned by Bella Dickenson
Latin
English
nunc vērō quō locō rēs nostrae sint iuxtā mēcum omnēs intellegitis . 6 exercitūs hostium duo , ūnus ab urbe , alter ā Galliā obstant . diūtius in hīs locīs esse , sī maxumē animus ferat , frūmentī atque aliārum rērum egestās prohibet . 7 quōcumque īre placet , ferrō iter aperiundum est . 8 quāpropter vōs moneō utī fortī atque parātō animō sītis et , cum proelium inībitis , meminerītis vōs dīvitiās , decus , glōriam , praetereā lībertātem atque patriam in dextrīs vostrīs portāre . 9 sī vincimus , omnia nōbīs tūta erunt ; commeātus abundē , mūnicipia atque colōniae patēbunt . 10 sī metū cesserīmus , eadem illa advorsa fīent : neque locus neque amīcus quisquam teget quem arma nōn tēxerint .
11 " praetereā , mīlitēs , nōn eadem nōbīs et illīs necessitūdō impendet : nōs prō patriā , prō lībertāte , prō vītā certāmus ; illīs supervacuāneum est pugnāre prō potentiā paucōrum . 12 quō audācius aggrediminī , memorēs prīstinae virtūtis . 13 licuit vōbīs cum summā turpitūdine in exiliō aetātem agere ; potuistis nōnnūllī Rōmae , āmissīs bonīs , aliēnās opēs exspectāre . 14 quia illa foeda atque intoleranda virīs vidēbantur , haec sequī dēcrēvistis . 15 sī haec relinquere voltis , audāciā opus est ; nēmō nisi victor pāce bellum mūtāvit . 16 nam in fugā salūtem spērāre , cum arma quibus corpus tegitur ab hostibus āvorterīs , ea vērō dēmentia est . 17 semper in proeliō iīs maxumum est perīculum quī maxumē timent ; audācia prō mūrō habētur .
18 " cum vōs cōnsīderō , mīlitēs , et cum facta vostra aestumō , magna mē spēs victōriae tenet . 19 animus , aetās , virtūs vostra mē hortantur , praetereā necessitūdō , quae etiam timidōs fortīs facit . 20 nam multitūdō hostium nē circumvenīre queat prohibent angustiae locī .
11 " praetereā , mīlitēs , nōn eadem nōbīs et illīs necessitūdō impendet : nōs prō patriā , prō lībertāte , prō vītā certāmus ; illīs supervacuāneum est pugnāre prō potentiā paucōrum . 12 quō audācius aggrediminī , memorēs prīstinae virtūtis . 13 licuit vōbīs cum summā turpitūdine in exiliō aetātem agere ; potuistis nōnnūllī Rōmae , āmissīs bonīs , aliēnās opēs exspectāre . 14 quia illa foeda atque intoleranda virīs vidēbantur , haec sequī dēcrēvistis . 15 sī haec relinquere voltis , audāciā opus est ; nēmō nisi victor pāce bellum mūtāvit . 16 nam in fugā salūtem spērāre , cum arma quibus corpus tegitur ab hostibus āvorterīs , ea vērō dēmentia est . 17 semper in proeliō iīs maxumum est perīculum quī maxumē timent ; audācia prō mūrō habētur .
18 " cum vōs cōnsīderō , mīlitēs , et cum facta vostra aestumō , magna mē spēs victōriae tenet . 19 animus , aetās , virtūs vostra mē hortantur , praetereā necessitūdō , quae etiam timidōs fortīs facit . 20 nam multitūdō hostium nē circumvenīre queat prohibent angustiae locī .
You
all
understand
now
,
as
well
as
I
do
,
the
position
our
affairs
are
in
.
Two
enemy
armies
—
one
towards
the
City
,
the
other
towards
Gaul
—
stand
in
our
way
;
a
lack
of
grain
and
of
other
things
prevents
our
being
any
longer
in
this
place
,
even
if
we
really
had
the
heart
for
it
.
Wherever
we
decide
to
go
,
the
route
must
be
opened
up
with
steel
.
Therefore
I
advise
you
to
be
courageous
and
prepared
in
spirit
,
and
,
when
you
enter
the
battle
,
to
remember
that
in
your
hands
you
carry
riches
,
honour
and
glory
,
to
say
nothing
of
freedom
and
the
fatherland
.
If
we
win
,
the
world
will
be
safe
for
us
:
we
shall
have
access
to
supplies
in
abundance
,
municipalities
and
colonies
;
but
,
if
we
yield
through
dread
,
those
same
things
will
be
against
us
:
neither
place
nor
friend
will
protect
the
man
who
has
not
been
protected
by
his
arms
.
‘Besides , soldiers , the constraint looming over us and them is different . Our struggle is for fatherland , for freedom , for life ; theirs is a superfluous fight , for the power of a few . Therefore attack all the more daringly , mindful of your old-time prowess . It was open to you to lead a life of the utmost disgrace in exile ; some of you , having lost your property , could have anticipated wealth from other quarters in Rome ; but , because those alternatives seemed foul and intolerable to true men , you decided to follow this path . If you wish to abandon it , daring is required : no one but the victor exchanges war for peace . For to expect safety in flight , when you turn away from the enemy the arms which protect your body , that indeed is madness . In battle there is always the greatest danger for those whose fear is greatest ; but to have daring is like a barrier .
‘When I contemplate you , soldiers , and when I assess your deeds , I am gripped by a great hope of victory . I am encouraged by your spirit , your age and your prowess , to say nothing of that constraint which makes even cowards courageous . The enemy is present in numbers , yet the narrowness of the place prevents them from surrounding us . But , if Fortune begrudges you your prowess , make sure you neither gasp your last without taking vengeance nor be captured and butchered like cattle , but , fighting in the manner of true men , leave the enemy with a bloody and grievous victory . ’
‘Besides , soldiers , the constraint looming over us and them is different . Our struggle is for fatherland , for freedom , for life ; theirs is a superfluous fight , for the power of a few . Therefore attack all the more daringly , mindful of your old-time prowess . It was open to you to lead a life of the utmost disgrace in exile ; some of you , having lost your property , could have anticipated wealth from other quarters in Rome ; but , because those alternatives seemed foul and intolerable to true men , you decided to follow this path . If you wish to abandon it , daring is required : no one but the victor exchanges war for peace . For to expect safety in flight , when you turn away from the enemy the arms which protect your body , that indeed is madness . In battle there is always the greatest danger for those whose fear is greatest ; but to have daring is like a barrier .
‘When I contemplate you , soldiers , and when I assess your deeds , I am gripped by a great hope of victory . I am encouraged by your spirit , your age and your prowess , to say nothing of that constraint which makes even cowards courageous . The enemy is present in numbers , yet the narrowness of the place prevents them from surrounding us . But , if Fortune begrudges you your prowess , make sure you neither gasp your last without taking vengeance nor be captured and butchered like cattle , but , fighting in the manner of true men , leave the enemy with a bloody and grievous victory . ’