Pro Roscio 25

Solon and the ancestral penalty

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Rosc. Am. 25.1Itaque cum multīs ex rēbus intellegī potest maiōrēs nostrōs nōn modo armīs plūs quam cēterās nātiōnēs vērum etiam cōnsiliō sapientiāque potuisse, tum ex hāc rē vel maximē quod in impiōs singulāre supplicium invēnērunt.And so, while it can be understood from many facts that our ancestors surpassed other nations not only in arms but also in counsel and wisdom, it can be seen from this above all, that they devised a singular punishment for the impious. Rosc. Am. 25.1Quā in rē quantum prūdentiā praestiterint eīs quī apud cēterōs sapientissimī fuisse dīcuntur cōnsīderāte.Consider in this matter how far they surpassed in foresight those who are said to have been the wisest among other peoples. Rosc. Am. 25.70Prūdentissima cīvitās Athēniēnsium, dum ea rērum potīta est, fuisse trāditur;The state of the Athenians is said to have been the most sagacious, while it held supremacy; Rosc. Am. 25.70eius porrō cīvitātis sapientissimum Solōnem dīcunt fuisse, eum quī lēgēs quibus hodiē quoque ūtuntur scrīpserit.and of that state, they say, the wisest man was Solon, the one who wrote the laws which they still use today. Rosc. Am. 25.70Is cum interrogārētur cūr nūllum supplicium cōnstituisset in eum quī parentem necāsset, respondit sē id nēminem factūrum putāsse.When he was asked why he had established no penalty against one who had killed a parent, he replied that he had thought no one would do it.

Rosc. Am. 25.70Sapienter fēcisse dīcitur, cum dē eō nihil sānxerit quod anteā commissum nōn erat, nē nōn tam prohibēre quam admonēre vidērētur.He is said to have acted wisely in laying down nothing about a thing that had never before been committed, lest he should seem not so much to forbid it as to suggest it. Rosc. Am. 25.70Quantō nostrī maiōrēs sapientius!How much more wisely our ancestors acted! Rosc. Am. 25.70quī cum intellegerent nihil esse tam sānctum quod nōn aliquandō violāret audācia, supplicium in parricīdās singulāre excōgitāvērunt ut, quōs nātūra ipsa retinēre in officiō nōn potuisset, eī magnitūdine poenae ā maleficiō summovērentur.for, understanding that nothing is so sacred that audacity will not at some time violate it, they devised a singular punishment for parricides, so that those whom nature herself had been unable to keep to their duty might be kept from crime by the severity of the penalty. Rosc. Am. 25.70Īnsuī voluērunt in culleum vīvōs atque ita in flūmen dēicī.They willed that they be sewn alive into a sack and thrown thus into the river.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×3

Latin vocabulary for this passage (99 words)

itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
maiōrēs, -um m. pl.	ancestors
noster, -tra, -trum	our
nōn, adv.	not
modo, adv.	only
arma, -ōrum, n. plur.	arms, weapons
plūs (adv.)	more
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	the other, the remaining, the rest of
nātiō, -ōnis f.	people, nation; birth
vērum (conj.)	but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
cōnsilium, -ī, n.	advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
sapientia, -ae f.	wisdom, good sense
que, enclitic conj.	and
tum, adv.	then, at that time
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
maximē, adv.	very greatly, exceedingly, especially
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
impius, -a, -um	wicked, impious
singulāris, -e	single; remarkable
supplicium, -ī, n.	punishment, torture
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come upon, find
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
quantum, adv.	how much? how?
prūdentia, -ae, f.	prudence
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitus	stand in front; show
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
sapiēns, -entis	wise; as noun, a wise man, a philosopher
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
cōnsīderō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	look at closely, consider, think over
prūdēns, -entis	sensible, shrewd, wise
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
potior, -īrī, -ītus	become master of, get possession of
trādō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give across, over, or up, deliver; hand down, relate, report
porrō (adv.)	further on; moreover
lēx, lēgis f.	law
hodiē (adv.)	today
quoque, adv.	also
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
interrogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask, question
cūr, adv.	why
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
parēns, -entis m./f.	parent
necō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	put to death, slay, kill
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus	reply, answer
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.	no one, nobody
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
sapienter (adv.)	wisely
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
sanciō, -īre, sānxī, sānctum	make binding, ratify
anteā, adv.	before
committō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send together; commit, intrust; expose; proelium committere, to join battle
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
tam, adv.	so
prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus	hold back, prevent, hinder
admoneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	remind, warn, advise
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
sānctus, -a, -um	consecrated, sacred
aliquandō, adv.	at some time or other; finally, at length
violō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	harm, violate
audācia, -ae, f.	boldness, audacity
parricīda, -ae m.	murderer of a parent; traitor, assassin
excōgitō, -cōgitāre, -cōgitāvī, -cōgitātus	think out, contrive, devise, invent
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
nātūra, -ae, f.	nature, character
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
magnitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	greatness, size
poena, -ae, f.	penalty, punishment
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
maleficium, -ī n.	harm, wrongdoing
summoveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtus	drive off, force back
īnsuō, -ere, -suī, -sūtus	sew in, sew up; work into (by stitching)
volō, velle, voluī	wish
culleus (cūleus), -ī m.	leather sack, in which parricides were sewn and drowned
vīvus, -a, -um	alive, living
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
flūmen, -minis, n.	river
dēiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw down, cast, drive out of one's course

Cicero, Pro Roscio Amerino. Latin text: A. C. Clark, M. Tulli Ciceronis Orationes I (Oxford, 1908), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.