67. A Prudent Hero A Roman soldier, who had been rewarded for leading a forlorn hope, was less willing to run risks a second time now that he was rich. Luculli miles collecta viatica multis Aerumnis, lassus dum noctu stertit, ad assem Perdiderat; post hōc vehemens lupus, et sibi et hosti Īrātus pariter, iēiūnīs dentibus ācer, 5 Praesidium rēgāle loco deiecit, ut aiunt, Summē mūnītō et multārum dīvite rērum. Clarus ob id factum dōnīs ornatur honestīs, Accipit et bis dēna super sestertia nummûm. Forte sub hoc tempus castellum ēvertere praetor 10 Nescio quod cupiens hortārī coepit eundem Verbis, quae timido quoque possent addere men tem: ‘Ì, bone, quò virtūs tua tē vocat! ī pede faustō, Grandia lātūrus meritōrum praemia! Quid stās?' Post haec ille catus, quantumvis rusticus, 'Ibit, 15 Ibit eò quò vīs, qui zōnam perdidit' inquit. HORACE, Epistles ii 2, 26-40. The Last Speech of Crassus 68. The Last Speech of Crassus 65 Lucius Crassus, a Roman statesman and one of the greatest of Roman orators, died in B. c. 91, seven days after he had delivered a speech of extraordinary power in the Senate. The Social War broke out the next year; Marius fled from Italy in 88 B. C.; and his restoration in 87 was followed by atrocious massacres of his political opponents. Illa tamquam cycnea fuit dīvīnī hominis vox et ōrātiō; namque tum latus ei dicenti condoluisse sūdōremque multum consecutum esse audiēbāmus ; ex quo cum cohorruisset, cum febrī domum rediit, dieque septimō lateris dolōre consumptus est. 5 Ō fallacem hominum spem fragilemque fortunam et inānēs nostras contentiōnēs, quae mediō in spatiō saepe franguntur et corruunt, aut ante in ipsō cursu obruuntur quam portum conspicere potuerunt! Nam, quamdiu Crassi fuit ambitionis 10 labōre vīta districta, tamdiū prīvātīs magis officiīs et ingenii laude flōruit quam fructū amplitūdinis aut rei publicae dignitāte; qui autem annus ei prīmus ab honōrum perfunctiōne aditum, omnium concessu, ad summam auctoritatem dabat, is eius 15. omnem spem atque omnia vitae consilia morte pervertit. Fuit hoc luctuosum suis, acerbum patriae, grave bonis omnibus; sed ei tamen rei publicae casus consecuti sunt, ut mihi nōn ērepta L. Crassō a dīs immortalibus vīta sed dōnāta mors 20 esse videatur. Nōn vīdit flagrantem bellō Italiam, D. S. L. 5 5 nōn ardentem invidia senatum, non acerbissimam C. Marii fugam, non illam post reditum ēius caedem omnium crūdēlissimam. CICERO, De Oratore iii 6-8. 69. A Storm at Sea This is part of the narrative of his wanderings told by Aeneas to Dido when she shewed hospitality to the Trojan fugitives. Postquam altum tenuēre ratēs, nec iam amplius ullae Apparent terrae, caelum undique et undique pontus, Tum mihi caeruleus supra caput adstitit imber, Noctem hiememque ferens, et inhorruit unda tenēbris. Continuo venti volvunt mare, magnaque surgunt Aequora; dispersi iactāmur gurgite vastō; Involvere diem nimbi, et nox ūmida caelum Abstulit; ingeminant abruptīs nūbibus ignēs. Excutimur cursū, et caecīs errāmus in undis. 10 Ipse diem noctemque negat discernere caelō Nec meminisse viae media Palinurus in undā. Tres adeō incertos caeca cālīgine sōlēs Errāmus pelagō, totidem sine sidere noctes. Quartō terra diē prīmum sẽ attollere tandem 15 Visa, aperire procul montes ac volvere fumum. Vēla cadunt; rēmīs insurgimus; haud mora nautae Adnixī torquent spūmās et caerula verrunt. VIRGIL, Aeneid iii 192-208. 70. Pyramus and Thisbe Long ago in Babylon two lovers, when prevented by their parents from meeting, talked to each other through a hole in the wall which separated their houses. The fate of the lovers may be read in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. Pyramus et Thisbe, iuvenum pulcherrimus alter, Altera, quās oriens habuit, praelāta puellīs, Contiguas tenuēre domōs, ubi dicitur altam Coctilibus mūrīs cinxisse Semīramis urbem. Notitiam primōsque gradus vīcīnia fecit; Tempore crevit amor. Taedae quoque issent, iure co 5 Sed vetuere patrēs. Quod non potuēre vetārī, 15 20 71. The Revolt of Athamania Amynander, the king of Athamania in Aetolia, had been driven out, and the country was now ruled by the officers of Philip, king of Macedonia. As their rule was harsh and unpopular, a plot for their expulsion was formed and carried out successfully. Exulanti tum Amynandro in Aetōliā litteris suōrum, indicantium statum Athamaniae, spēs recuperandi regni facta est. Remissique ab eō nuntiant principibus Argitheam (id enim caput 5 Athamaniae erat), sī populārium animōs satis perspectōs haberet, impetrātō ab Aetōlīs auxilio, in Athamaniam sē ventūrum cum Aetōlōrum dēlectīs. Quōs ubi ad omnia parātōs esse vidit, certiōrēs subinde facit, quo die cum exercitū 10 Athamaniam ingressurus esset. Quattuor prīmō fuerunt coniurati adversus Macedonum praesidium. Hī sēnōs sibi adiūtōrēs ad rem gerendam adsumpsērunt; dein paucitāte parum frētī, quae cēlandae rei quam agendae aptior erat, parem priōrī nu15 merum adiēcērunt. Ita duo et quinquagintā factī quadrifariam sẽ dīvīsērunt; pars ūna Heracleam, altera Tetraphyliam petit, ubi custōdia rēgiae pecuniae esse solita erat, tertia Theudōriam, quarta Argitheam. Ita inter omnes convenit, ut prīmō 20 quiētī, velut ad privātam rem agendam venissent, in forō obversarentur, die certa multitudinem omnem convocarent ad praesidia Macedonum arcibus expellenda. Ubi ea dies advenit, et |