Achates and Vatinius

More work for my year 12 class - apologies to everyone else. Normal transmission to resume shortly.


When at length Achates can make out the coast of Italy, Anchises prepares to make the appropriate offering to the gods.


Iamque rubescebat stellis Aurora fugatis
cum procul obscuros collis humilemque videmus
Italiam. Italiam primus conclamat Achates,
Italiam laeto socii clamore salutant.
tum pater Anchises magnum cratera corona
induit implevitque mero, divosque vocavit
stans celsa in puppi:

And now, with the stars having fled (stellis... fugatis), Dawn (Aurora) was reddening (rubescebat), when from afar (cum procul) we see (videmus) the faint hills (obscuros collis) and low-lying Italy (humilem... Italiam). Achates is the first (primus... Achates) to shout (conclamat) ‘Italy’, his friends (socii) great (salutant) Italy with a joyful shout (laeto...clamore). Then father Anchises wreathed (induit) a great bowl (magnum cratera) with a crown (corona) and filled it (implevit) with pure wine (mero), and called upon the gods (divosque vocavit), standing (stans) high in the stern (celsa in puppi).

Virgil, Aeneid III, 521ff

Cicero demolishes the justification he expects the unscrupulous Vatinius to make now that Cicero has levelled charges against him.

age, factum est horum aliquid in aliis: raro, sed tamen factum est ut populus deligeret imperatorem: quis legatos umquam audivit sine senatus consulto? quo etiam maiore es malo mactandus, quod non solum facto tuo sed etiam exemplo rem publicam vulnerasti, neque tantum ipse es improbus sed etiam alios docere voluisti.

Come now (age), something of this sort (aliquid horum) has happened (factum est) in other [times] (in aliis); [it has happened] rarely (raro), yet however (sed tamen) it has happened (factum est) that the people (ut populus) select (deligeret) a general (imperatorem); who (quis) has ever heard (umquam audivit) of ambassadors (legatos) [doing so] without the consultation of the senate (sine senatus consultu)? You are to be punished (es... mactandus) even more greatly (etiam maiore) than that evil [man] (quo... malo), because (quod) you wounded (vulnerasti) the republic (rem publicam) not only by your action (non solum facto) but also by your example (sed etiam exemplo), and [because] you yourself (ipse) are (es) not only (neque tantum) dishonest (improbus), but you even (sed etiam) wanted (voluisti) to teach (docere) others (alios) [to do the same things].

Cicero, in Vatinium XV.36