Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, John C. Rolfe (Translator), 14.1.7

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[7] And sometimes it happened that if the head of a household, in the seclusion of his private apartments, with no confidential servant present, had whispered something in the ear of his wife, the emperor learned it on the following day, as if it were reported by Amphiaraus or Marcius, those famous seers of old.¹ And so even the walls, the only sharers of secrets, were feared.

Res Gestae. Ammianus Marcellinus. John C. Rolfe (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1935-1940.

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Current edition Perseus

History (English) (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Res Gestae Perseus (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).) — 14.1.7 focus

[7] Et interdum acciderat, ut siquid in penetrali secreto secroto, nullo citerioris¹ vitae ministro praesente, paterfamilias uxori susurrasset in aurem, velut Amphiarao referente aut Marcio, quondam vatibus inclitis, postridie disceret imperator. Ideoque etiam parites arcanorum soli conscii timebantur.

Notes on the current edition

History

1. Amphiaraüs was a famous seer of the heroic age, who took part in the hunt of the Calydonian boar, the expedition of the Argonauts, and unwillingly, because he saw the outcome, in the war of the Seven against Thebes, in which he lost his life. The prophecies of Marcius, or as some say, of two brothers of that name, were discovered in 213; B.C. According to Livy, xxv. 12, 5, they foretold the defeat at Cannae. Cf. also Pausanias, I. 34. 4 ff. and II. 13. 7. At a later time these prophetic writings were preserved on the Capitol at Rome with the Sibylline books.

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 14.1.7

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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