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Notes Do not display Latin text | Translated by Rev. Canon Roberts Book II Chapter 13: The story of Cloelia.[507 BC] | Next chapter Return to index Previous chapter |
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Mucius was accordingly dismissed; afterwards he received the sobriquet of Scaevola from the loss of his right hand. Envoys from Porsena followed him to Rome. The king's narrow escape from the first of many attempts which was owing solely to the mistake of his assailant, and the prospect of having to meet as many attacks as there were conspirators, so unnerved him that he made proposals of peace to Rome. One for the restoration of the Tarquins was put forward, more because he could not well refuse their request than because he had any hope of its being granted. The demand for the restitution of their territory to the Veientines, and that for the surrender of hostages as a condition of the withdrawal of the detachment from the Janiculum, were felt by the Romans to be inevitable, and on their being accepted and peace concluded, Porsena moved his troops from the Janiculum and evacuated the Roman territory. As a recognition of his courage the senate gave Gaius Mucius a piece of land across the river, which was afterwards known as the Mucian Meadows. The Story of Cloelia The honour thus paid to courage incited even women to do glorious things for the State. The Etruscan camp was situated not far from the city, and the maiden Cloelia, one of the hostages, escaped, unobserved, through the guards and at the head of her sister hostages swam across the river amidst a shower of javelins and restored them all safe to their relatives. When the news of this incident reached him, the king was at first exceedingly angry and sent to demand the surrender of Cloelia; the others he did not care about. Afterwards his feelings changed to admiration; he said that the exploit surpassed those of Cocles and Mucius, and announced that whilst on the one hand he should consider the treaty broken if she were not surrendered, he would on the other hand, if she were surrendered, send her back to her people unhurt. Both sides behaved honourably; the Romans surrendered her as a pledge of loyalty to the terms of the treaty; the Etruscan king showed that with him courage was not only safe but honoured, and after eulogising the girl's conduct, told her that he would make her a present of half the remaining hostages, she was to choose whom she would. It is said that after all had been brought before her, she chose the boys of tender age; a choice in keeping with maidenly modesty, and one approved by the hostages themselves, since they felt that the age which was most liable to ill-treatment should have the preference in being rescued from hostile hands After peace was thus re-established, the Romans rewarded the unprecedented courage shown by a woman by an unprecedented honour, namely an equestrian statue. On the highest part of the Sacred Way a statue was erected representing the maiden sitting on horseback. | Mucium dimissum, cui postea Scaeuolae a clade dextrae manus cognomen inditum, legati a Porsinna Romam secuti sunt; adeo mouerat eum et primi periculi casus, a quo nihil se praeter errorem insidiatoris texisset, et subeunda dimicatio totiens quot coniurati superessent, ut pacis condiciones ultro ferret Romanis. Iactatum in condicionibus nequiquam de Tarquiniis in regnum restituendis, magis quia id negare ipse nequiuerat Tarquiniis quam quod negatum iri sibi ab Romanis ignoraret. De agro Veientibus restituendo impetratum, expressaque necessitas obsides dandi Romanis, si Ianiculo praesidium deduci uellent. His condicionibus composita pace, exercitum ab Ianiculo deduxit Porsinna et agro Romano excessit. Patres C. Mucio uirtutis causa trans Tiberim agrum dono dedere, quae postea sunt Mucia prata appellata. Ergo ita honorata uirtute, feminae quoque ad publica decora excitatae, et Cloelia uirgo una ex obsidibus, cum castra Etruscorum forte haud procul ripa Tiberis locata essent, frustrata custodes, dux agminis uirginum inter tela hostium Tiberim tranauit, sospitesque omnes Romam ad propinquos restituit. Quod ubi regi nuntiatum est, primo incensus ira oratores Romam misit ad Cloeliam obsidem deposcendam: alias haud magni facere. Deinde in admirationem uersus, supra Coclites Muciosque dicere id facinus esse, et prae se ferre quemadmodum si non dedatur obses, pro rupto foedus se habiturum, sic deditam intactam inuiolatamque ad suos remissurum. Vtrimque constitit fides; et Romani pignus pacis ex foedere restituerunt, et apud regem Etruscum non tuta solum sed honorata etiam uirtus fuit, laudatamque uirginem parte obsidum se donare dixit; ipsa quos uellet legeret. Productis omnibus elegisse impubes dicitur; quod et uirginitati decorum et consensu obsidum ipsorum probabile erat eam aetatem potissimum liberari ab hoste quae maxime opportuna iniuriae esset. Pace redintegrata Romani nouam in femina uirtutem nouo genere honoris, statua equestri, donauere; in summa Sacra uia fuit posita uirgo insidens equo. |