Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor), 39.9

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

View: By Section

← Previous Next →

[1] The destructive power of this evil spread from Etruria to Rome like the contagion of a pestilence. At first the size of the City, with abundant room and tolerance for such evils, concealed it: at length information came to the consul Postumius in about this manner.

[2] Publius Aebutius, whose father had performed his military service with a horse supplied by the state,¹ was left a ward, and later, on the death of his guardians, was brought under the tutelage of his mother Duronia and his stepfather Titus Sempronius Rutilus.

[3] His mother was devoted to her husband, and his stepfather, who had so administered his guardianship that he could not render an accounting,² desired that the ward should either be done away with or be made dependent upon them by some tie. The one method of corrupting him was through the Bacchanalia. The mother addressed the young man: while he was sick, she said, she had vowed for him that as soon as he had recovered she would initiate him into the Bacchic rites; being compelled, by the kindness of the gods, to pay her vow,³ she wished to fulfil it.

[4] For ten days, she continued, he must practise continence: on the tenth day she would conduct him to the banquet and then, after ritual purification,⁴ to the shrine.

[5] There was a wellknown courtesan, a freedwoman named Hispala⁵ Faecenia, not worthy⁶ of the occupation to which, while still a mere slave, she had accustomed herself, and even after she had been manumitted she maintained herself in the same way.

[6] Between her and Aebutius, since they were neighbours, an intimacy developed, not at all damaging either to the young man's fortune or to his reputation; for he had been loved and sought out without any effort on his part, and, since his own relatives made provision for all his needs on a very small scale, he was maintained by the generosity of the courtesan.

[7] More than that, she had gone so far, under the influence of their intimacy, that, after the death of her patron, since she was under the legal control of no one, having petitioned the tribunes and the praetor for a guardian, when she made her will she had instituted Aebutius as her sole heir.⁷

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor). Medford, MA. .

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library))

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 39.9 focus

[1] huius mali labes ex Etruria Romam veluti contagione morbi penetravit. primo urbis magnitude magnitudo capacior patientiorque talium malorum ea celavit:

[2] tandem indicium hoc maxime modo ad Postumium consuler consulem pervenit. P. Aebutius, cuius pater publico equo stipendia fecerat, pupillus relictus, mortuis deinde tutoribus sub tutela Duroniae matris et vitrici T. Sempronii Rutili educatus fuerat.

[3] et mater dedita viro erat, et vitricus, quia tutelam ita gesserat, ut rationem reddere non posset, aut tolli pupillum aut obnoxium sibi vinculo aliquo fieri cupiebat. via una corruptelae Bacchanalia erant.

[4] mater adulescentem appellat: se pro aegro eo vovisse, ubi primum convaluisset, Bacchis eum se initiaturam; damnatam voti benignitate deum exsolvere id velle. decem dierum castimonia opus esse: decimo die cenatum, deinde pure lautum in sacrarium deducturam.

[5] scortum nobile libertina Hispala Faecenia, non digna quaestu, cui ancillula adsuerat, etiam postquam manumissa erat, eodem se genere tuebatur.

[6] huic consuetudo iuxta vicinitatem cum Aebutio fuit, minime adulescentis aut rei aut famae damnosa: ultro enim amatus appetitusque erat, et maligne omnia praebentibus suis meretriculae munificentia sustinebatur.

[7] quin eo processerat consuetudine capta, ut post patroni mortem, quia in nullius manu erat, tutore ab tribunis et praetore petito, cum testamentum faceret, unum Aebutium institueret heredem.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 43.9 focus

[1]

in Liguribus eo anno ¹ nihil memorabile gestum. nam nec hostes moverunt arma, neque consul in agrum eorum legiones induxit;

[2] et satis explorata pace eius anni milites duarum legionum Romanarum intra dies sexaginta, quam in provinciam venit, dimisit.

[3] sociorum nominis Latini exercitu mature in hiberna Lunam et Pisas deducto ipse cum equitibus Galliae provinciae pleraque oppida adiit.

nusquam alibi quam in Macedonia bellum erat.

[4] suspectum tamen ² Gentium, Illyriorum regem, habebant.

[5] itaque et octo navis ornatas a Brundisio senatus censuit mittendas ad C. Furium legatum Issam, qui cum praesidio duarum Issensium navium ³

[6] insulae praeerat—duo milia ⁴ militum in eas naves sunt imposita, quae M. Raecius praetor ex senatus consulto ⁵ in ea parte Italiae, quae obiecta Illyrico est, conscripsit —, et consul Hostilius Ap. Claudium in Illyricum cum ⁶ quattuor milibus peditum misit, ut accolas Illyrici tutaretur. ⁷

[7] qui non contentus iis quas adduxerat copiis auxilia ab sociis conrogando ad octo milia hominum ex ⁸ vario genere armavit peragrataque omni ea regione ad Lychnidum ⁹ dassaretiorum consedit.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 39.9 focus

[1]

huius mali labes ex Etruria Romam veluti contagione morbi penetravit. primo urbis magnitudo capacior patientiorque talium malorum ea celavit; tandem indicium hoc maxime modo ad Postumium consulem pervenit.

[2] P. Aebutius , cuius pater publico equo stipendia fecerat, pupillus relictus, mortuis deinde ¹ tutoribus sub tutela Duroniae matris et vitrici T. Semproni Rutili educatus fuerat.

[4] mater adulescentulum adpellat: se pro aegro eo vovisse, ubi primum convaluisset, Bacchis eum se initiaturam, damnatam voti benignitate deum exsolvere id velle. decem dierum castimonia opus esse; decimo die cenatum, deinde pure lautum in sacrarium deducturam.

[5] scortum nobile, libertina Hispala Fecenia, non digna quaestu, cui ancillula assuerat, etiam ² postquam manumissa erat, eodem se genere tuebatur.

[6] huic consuetudo iuxta vicinitatem cum Aebutio fuit, minime adulescentis aut rei aut famae damnosa; ultro enim amatus adpetitusque erat et maligne omnia praebentibus suis meretriculae munificentia sustinebatur.

[7] quin eo processerat consuetudine capta, ut post patroni mortem, quia in nullius manu erat, tutore ab tribunis et praetore petito, cum testamentum faceret, unum Aebutium institueret heredem.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 39.9 focus

[1]

The infection of this mischief, like that from the contagion of disease, spread from Etruria to Rome; where, the size of the city affording greater room for such evils, and more means of concealment, cloaked it at first; but information of it was at length brought to the consul, Postumius, principally in the following manner.

[2] Publius Aebutius, whose father had held equestrian rank in the army, was left an orphan, and his guardians dying, he was educated under the eye of his mother Duronia, and his stepfather Titus Sempronius Rutilus.

[3] Duronia was entirely devoted to her husband; and Sempronius, having managed the guardianship in such a manner that he could not give an account of the property, wished that his ward should be either made away with, or bound to compliance with his will by some strong tie. The Bacchana- lian rites were the only way to effect the ruin of the youth.

[4] His mother told him, that,

during his sickness, she had made a vow for him, that if he should recover, she would initiate him among the Bacchanalians; that being, through the kindness of the gods, bound by this vow, she wished now to fulfil it; that it was necessary he should preserve chastity for ten days, and on the tenth, after he should have supped and washed himself, she would conduct him into the place of worship.

[5] There was a freedwoman called Hispala Fecenia, a noted courtesan, but deserving of a better lot than the mode of life to which she had been accustomed when very young, and a slave, and by which she had maintained herself since her manumission.

[6] As they lived in the same neighbourhood, an intimacy subsisted between her and Aebutius, which was far from being injurious either to the young man's character or property; for he had been loved and wooed by her unsolicited; and as his friends supplied his wants illiberally, he was supported by the generosity of this woman;

[7] nay, to such a length did she go under the influence of her affection, that, on the death of her patron, because she was under the protection of no one, having petitioned the tribunes and praetors for a guardian, when she was making her will, she constituted Aebutius her sole heir.

History of Rome Perseus (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.) — 39.9 focus

[1]

This pestilential evil penetrated from Etruria to Rome like a contagious disease. At first, the size and extent of the City allowing more scope and impunity for such mischiefs, served to conceal them, but information at length reached the consul, mainly through the following channel.

[2] P. Aebutius, whose father had served in the cavalry and was dead, had been left under guardians. On their death he had been brought up under the care of his mother Duronia and his stepfather T. Sempronius Rutilus.

[3] The mother was completely in her husband's hands; and as the stepfather had so exercised his guardianship that he was not in a position to give a proper account for it, he was anxious that his ward should either be put out of the way or placed at his mercy through his getting some hold upon him. One way of corrupting the youth's morals was through the Bacchanalia.

[4] The mother told the youth that she had made a vow on his behalf during an illness, namely, that as soon as he recovered she would initiate him into the Bacchic mysteries, and in that way would through the kindness of the gods discharge the vow by which she was bound. He must preserve his chastity for ten days, then after supper on the tenth day she would take him to a place set apart for the rite of initiation.

[5] There was a freedwoman named Hispala Fecenia who, though she was a courtesan, was worthy of better things than the gains to which she had been accustomed from her girlhood, and by which she supported herself even after she had been manumitted.

[6] As their houses were near one another, an intimacy had sprung up between her and Aebutius, which was in no way injurious to either his reputation or his purse. She sought his company and his love unsolicited, and as his parents kept him close in every way, he was maintained by the girl's generosity.

[7] Her passion for him had gone so far that after her guardian had died, and she was no longer a ward, she begged the tribunes and the praetor to appoint a guardian for her. Then she could make a will and she constituted Aebutius her sole heir.

Notes on the current edition

Ab Urbe Condita With An English Translation, books 1-10, 21-45, with periochae 11-20

1. He was an eques equo publico, receiving an annual allowance for the purchase and upkeep of his mounts.

2. A tutor rendered to the court which appointed him an account of his administration of the property, at least when the ward came of age.

3. A vow, to a Roman, created a quasi-contractual obligation, which was as effective as the sentence of a court: hence damnatam voti.

4. Paulus Diaconus (p. 248) defines pure lautum as aqua pura lautum.

5. B.C. 186

6. i.e., worthy of something better.

7. A freedwoman was subject to the manus of her patron, who was often her former owner. Faecenia had no patron and no relative who would naturally assume the responsibilities of guardianship, and could therefore petition the praetor and the tribunes jointly for the appointment of a tutor, whose approval was necessary to the performance of any legal act, such as making a will.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 39.9

Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor)

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers