Plutarch, Aemilius Paulus, ed. Bernadotte Perrin, 2

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[1] ¹ τὸν Αἰμιλίων οἶκον ἐν Ῥώμῃ τῶν εὐπατριδῶν γεγονέναι καὶ παλαιῶν οἱ πλεῖστοι συγγραφεῖς ὁμολογοῦσιν.

[2] ὅτι δʼ ὁ πρῶτος αὐτῶν καὶ τῷ γένει τήν ἐπωνυμίαν ἀπολιπὼν Μάμερκος ἦν, Πυθαγόρου παῖς τοῦ σοφοῦ, διʼ αἱμυλίαν λόγου καὶ χάριν Αἰμίλιος προσαγορευθείς, εἰρήκασιν ἔνιοι τῶν Πυθαγόρᾳ τήν Νομᾶ τοῦ βασιλέως παίδευσιν ἀναθέντων.

[3] οἱ μὲν οὖν πλεῖστοι τῶν εἰς δόξαν ἀπὸ τῆς οἰκίας ταύτης προελθόντων διʼ ἀρετὴν, ἣν ἐζήλωσαν, εὐτύχησαν, Λευκίου δὲ Παύλου τὸ περὶ Κάννας ἀτύχημα τήν τε φρόνησιν ἅμα καὶ τήν ἀνδρείαν ἔδειξεν.

[4] ὡς γὰρ οὐκ ἔπεισε τὸν συνάρχοντα κωλύων μάχεσθαι, τοῦ μὲν ἀγῶνος ἄκων μετέσχεν αὐτῷ, τῆς δὲ φυγῆς οὐκ ἐκοινώνησεν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ συνάψαντος τὸν κίνδυνον ἐγκαταλιπόντος αὐτὸς ἑστὼς καὶ μαχόμενος τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐτελεύτησε.

[5]
τούτου θυγάτηρ μὲν Αἰμιλία Σκηπίωνι τῷ μεγάλῳ συνῴκησεν, υἱὸς δὲ Παῦλος Αἰμίλιος, περὶ οὗ τάδε γράφεται, γεγονὼς ἐν ἡλικίᾳ κατὰ καιρὸν ἀνθοῦντα δόξαις καὶ ἀρεταῖς ἐπιφανεστάτων ἀνδρῶν καὶ μεγίστων, διέλαμψεν, οὐ ταὐτὰ τοῖς εὐδοκιμοῦσι τότε νέοις ἐπιτηδεύματα ζηλώσας, οὐδὲ τήν αὐτὴν ὁδὸν ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς πορευθείς.

[6] οὔτε γὰρ λόγον ἤσκει περὶ δίκας, ἀσπασμούς τε καὶ δεξιώσεις καὶ φιλοφροσύνας, αἷς ὑποτρέχοντες οἱ πολλοὶ τὸν δῆμον ἐκτῶντο θεραπευτικοὶ καὶ σπουδαῖοι γενόμενοι, παντάπασιν ἐξέλιπε, πρὸς οὐδέτερον ἀφυῶς ἔχων, ὡς δʼ ἑκατέρου κρείττονα τήν ἀπʼ ἀνδρείας καὶ δικαιοσύνης καὶ πίστεως δόξαν αὑτῷ περιποιούμενος, οἷς εὐθὺς διέφερε τῶν καθʼ ἡλικίαν.

Aemilius Paulus. Plutarch. ed. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. 1918.

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Αἰμίλιος Παῦλλος (Greek) (Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. VI. Perrin, Bernadotte, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1918.)

Translations (1)

Aemilius Paulus Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. VI. Perrin, Bernadotte, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1918.) — 2 focus

[1] ¹ That the Aemilii were one of the ancient and patrician houses at Rome, most writers agree.

[2] And that the first of them, and the one who gave his surname to the family, was Mamercus, a son of Pythagoras the philosopher, who received the surname of Aemilius for the grace² and charm of his discourse, is the statement of some of those writers who hold that Pythagoras was the educator of Numa the king.³

[3] Now, most of this family who rose to distinction by their cultivation of virtue, were blessed with good fortune; and in the case of Lucius Paulus, his misfortune at Cannae gave testimony alike to his wisdom and valour.

[4] For when he could not dissuade his colleague from giving battle, he took part with him in the struggle, though reluctantly, but would not be a partner in his flight; nay, though the one who had brought on the peril left him in the lurch, he himself kept his post and died fighting the enemy.⁴

[5]
This Paulus had a daughter, Aemilia, who was the wife of Scipio the Great, and a son, Aemilius Paulus, whose Life I now write. He came of age at a time which abounded in men of the greatest reputation and most illustrious virtue, and yet he was a conspicuous figure, although he did not pursue the same studies as the young nobles of the time, nor set out on his career by the same path.

[6] For he did not practise pleading private cases in the courts, and refrained altogether from the salutations and greetings and friendly attentions to which most men cunningly resorted when they tried to win the favour of the people by becoming their zealous servants; not that he was naturally incapable of either, but he sought to acquire for himself what was better than both, namely, a reputation arising from valour, justice, and trustworthiness. In these virtues he at once surpassed his contemporaries.

Notes on the current edition

Aemilius Paulus

1. The first chapter has been transposed to serve as Introduction to both the Timoleon and the Aemilius Paulus.

Plutarch Aemilius Paulus 2

ed. Bernadotte Perrin

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