Translation aid – Seneca Suasoria VI.5

Arelli Fusci Patris

Ab armis ad arma discurritur; foris victores domi trucidamur, domi nostro sanguini intestinus hostis incubat; quis non hoc populi Romani statu Ciceronem ut non vivat cogi putat?

Armis/arma: literally ‘weapons’ but can be taken as metonymy for ‘battles’

Discurritur: an impersonal form used in poetry. It suggests a general activity, i.e. ‘there is a rushing about’. However, the 1st person plural verb in the next clause implies a personal reading, i.e. ‘we rush about’

Incubat: This figurative use may derive from OLD 1c ‘to rest or be placed (upon)’, 1d ‘to brood (over) or 2a ‘to have as one’s abode or lair’

Quis…putat: Reorder as quis non putat Ciceronem cogi ut non vivat, hoc statu populi Romani.

Hoc populi Romani statu: Ablative absolute with implied present participle of esse

Ut non vivat: Result clause

One Comment

  1. Perhaps discurritur might be better translated as ‘we rush’ – dropping the about. Prepositions in poetry can just emphasize the meaning of the verb, which is probably going on here. The phrase seems borrowed from Virgil in part, which adds an especially poetic touch to this phrase.

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