Ep. 3.14.1Rem atrōcem nec tantum epistulā dignam Larcius Macedō vir praetōrius ā servīs suīs passus est, superbus aliōquī dominus et saevus, et quī servīsse patrem suum parum, immō nimium meminisset.Larcius Macedo, a man of praetorian rank, has suffered at the hands of his slaves an atrocious thing, worthy of more than a letter, though he was in other respects a proud and cruel master, and one who remembered too little — or rather too much — that his father had been a slave. Ep. 3.14.2Lavābātur in vīllā Formiānā.He was bathing at his villa at Formiae. Ep. 3.14.2Repente eum servī circumsistunt.Suddenly his slaves surround him. Ep. 3.14.2Alius faucēs invādit, alius ōs verberat, alius pectus et ventrem, atque etiam - foedum dictū - verenda contundit;One goes for his throat, another strikes his face, another his chest and belly, and even — shameful to say — batters his private parts; Ep. 3.14.2et cum exanimem putārent, abiciunt in fervēns pavīmentum, ut experīrentur an vīveret.and when they thought him lifeless, they throw him on to the scalding floor, to find out whether he was alive.
Ep. 3.14.2Ille sīve quia nōn sentiēbat, sīve quia sē nōn sentīre simulābat, immōbilis et extentus fidem perāctae mortis implēvit.He, whether because he felt nothing or because he pretended not to feel, lying motionless and stretched out, made their belief that he was dead complete. Ep. 3.14.3Tum dēmum quasi aestū solūtus effertur;Only then is he carried out, as if overcome by the heat; Ep. 3.14.3excipiunt servī fidēliōrēs, concubīnae cum ululātū et clamōre concurrunt.the more faithful slaves take him up, and his concubines come running with wailing and shrieks. Ep. 3.14.3Ita et vōcibus excitātus et recreātus locī frīgore sublātīs oculīs agitātōque corpore vīvere sē - et iam tūtum erat - cōnfitētur.So, roused by their voices and revived by the coolness of the place, he opens his eyes, moves his body, and shows — by now it was safe — that he is alive. Ep. 3.14.4Diffugiunt servī;The slaves scatter in flight; Ep. 3.14.4quōrum magna pars comprehēnsa est, cēterī requīruntur.a great part of them have been caught, the rest are being hunted for. Ep. 3.14.4Ipse paucīs diēbus aegrē focilātus nōn sine ultiōnis sōlāciō dēcessit ita vīvus vindicātus, ut occīsī solent.He himself, kept alive with difficulty for a few days, died not without the consolation of revenge, avenged while still alive as murdered men usually are.
Ep. 3.14.5Vidēs quot perīculīs quot contumēliīs quot lūdibriīs sīmus obnoxiī;You see to how many dangers, how many insults, how many mockeries we are exposed; Ep. 3.14.5nec est quod quisquam possit esse sēcūrus, quia sit remissus et mītis;nor is there any reason why anyone should feel safe because he is lenient and gentle; Ep. 3.14.5nōn enim iūdiciō dominī sed scelere perimuntur.for masters are murdered not on a judgement of their character but out of sheer wickedness. Ep. 3.14.6Vērum haec hāctenus.But enough of this. Ep. 3.14.6Quid praetereā novī?What else is new? Ep. 3.14.6Quid?What? Ep. 3.14.6Nihil, aliōquī subiungerem;Nothing, otherwise I would add it; Ep. 3.14.6nam et charta adhūc superest, et diēs fēriātus patitur plūra contexī.for there is still paper left, and the holiday allows more to be woven in. Ep. 3.14.6Addam quod opportūnē dē eōdem Macedone succurrit.I will add something about the same Macedo that opportunely comes to mind. Ep. 3.14.6Cum in pūblicō Rōmae lavārētur, notābilis atque etiam, ut exitus docuit, ōminōsa rēs accidit.When he was bathing in a public bath at Rome, a remarkable and even, as the outcome showed, ominous thing happened.
Ep. 3.14.7Eques Rōmānus ā servō eius, ut trānsitum daret, manū leviter admonitus convertit sē nec servum, ā quō erat tāctus, sed ipsum Macedonem tam graviter palmā percussit ut paene concīderet.A Roman knight, lightly touched with the hand by his slave to make him give way, turned round and struck, not the slave who had touched him, but Macedo himself, so hard with the flat of his hand that he almost fell down. Ep. 3.14.8Ita balineum illī quasi per gradūs quōsdam prīmum contumēliae locus, deinde exitiī fuit.Thus the bath was for him, as if by certain stages, first the scene of insult, then of death. Ep. 3.14.8Valē.Farewell.