Cornelius Nepos
100-24 BCE
Trans RMBullard
Latin (Republican Era/Golden Age of Latin Literature)
CORNELI NEPOTIS CIMON
[1] Cimon, Miltiadis filius, Atheniensis,
[Cimon was the son of Miltiades, an Athenians,]
duro admodum initio usus est adulescentiae.
[From a very stern upbringing, he quickly became of use in his teenhood.]
Nam cum pater eius litem aestimatam populo solvere non potuisset ob eamque causam in vinclis publicis decessisset,
[You see, when his father could not drop the lawsuit that was filed by his population, and account of this, was taken away in the chains of the state,]
Cimon eadem custodia tenebatur
[Cimon was tended to by the very same custody,]
neque legibus Atheniensium emitti poterat,
[and he could not be released from the legal constraints of the Athenians,]
nisi pecuniam,
[without the use of money]
qua pater multatus erat, solvisset.
[by which his father was fined, and so <Cimon> had paid.]
2 Habebat autem matrimonio sororem germanam suam nomine Elpinicen,
[In any event, he married his twin sister, her name being Elpinices,]
non magis amore quam more ductus.
[something done no more out of love than out of custom.]
Namque Atheniensibus licet eodem patre natas uxores ducere.
[You see, it was allowed among the Athenians to take for men to take wives from daugthers from the same family.]
3 Huius coniugii cupidus Callias quidam, non tam generosus quam pecuniosus, qui magnas pecunias ex metallis fecerat,
[A certain man named Callias, desirous of his wife, and not so much generous as he was manipulative with his money, and a man who had made an outstanding fortune from owning mines]
egit cum Cimone,
[he made an agreement with Cimon,]
ut eam sibi uxorem daret:
[that the latter would give his wife to him:]
id si impetrasset,
[and that if he had performed his end of the bargain,]
se pro illo pecuniam soluturum.
[that the former would pay him money.]
4 Is cum talem condicionem aspernaretur,
[As soon as he turn down such a proposal,]
Elpinice negavit se passuram Miltiadis progeniem in vinclis publicis interire,
[he refused for Elpinice, the daughter of Miltiades, to perish in the chains of the state,]
quoniam prohibere posset,
[as long as he could prevent it,]
seque Calliae nupturam, si ea, quae polliceretur, praestitisset.
[and for her to be married to Callias, if she, who was bethroted, had stood forth.]
[2] Tali modo custodia liberatus Cimon celeriter ad principatum pervenit.
[Cimon, freed from custody through such a tactic, quickly reach the height of power.]
Habebat enim satis eloquentiae, summam liberalitatem, magnam prudentiam cum iuris civilis tum rei militaris,
[You see, he had an adequate grasp of eloquence, the greatest generosity you've seen seen, tremendous good judgment not only in civil affairs but military ones,]
quod cum patre a puero in exercitibus fuerat versatus.
[something which he had been well instructed from his childhood alongside his father in the ranks of the armies.]
Itaque hic et populum urbanum in sua tenuit potestate
[And so, at this point, he held the city's population in his power,]
et apud exercitum plurimum valuit auctoritate.
[and he gained even more to his authority among the ranks of the armies.]
2 Primum imperator apud flumen Strymona magnas copias Thracum fugavit,
[As his very first stint as the commander in chief, he put to flight tremendous masses of Thracians at the River Strymon,]
oppidum Amphipolim constituit
[and he founded the city of Amphipolis]
eoque X milia Atheniensium in coloniam misit.
[and there, he sent 10,000 Athenians to this colony.]
Idem iterum apud Mycalen Cypriorum et Phoenicum ducentarum navium classem devictam cepit
[By the same token, he once again captured a fleet of 200 Cypriot and Phoenician ships, after they had been thoroughly beaten at Mycale,]
eodemque die pari fortuna in terra usus est:
[and he enjoyed the exact same fortune in his land campaign, on the very same day:]
3 namque hostium navibus captis statim ex classe copias suas eduxit
[By this account, he led his forces immediately from his fleet, after capturing the ships of the enemy,]
barbarorumque maximam vim uno concursu prostravit.
[and he felled the greatest rush of barbarians with a single advance.]
4 Qua victoria magna praeda potitus cum domum reverteretur,
[And by this victory, he gained possession of a tremendous plunder, with which he returned home,]
quod iam nonnullae insulae propter acerbitatem imperii defecerant,
[given that already several islands had previously defected from his side, on account of the severity of his reign,]
bene animatas confirmavit,
[he smartly placated these men who had become enraged,]
alienatas ad officium redire coegit.
[and he forced those who had been stripped of their position, to return to their office of duty.]
5 Scyrum, quam eo tempore Dolopes incolebant, quod contumacius se gesserant, vacuefecit,
[He emptied out Scyros, which the Dolopians used to occupy at this time, given that they had conducted themselves rather arrogantly,]
sessores veteres urbe insulaque eiecit,
[and he exiled their previous rulers from their capital and their island,]
agros civibus divisit.
[and he divided their fields among the citizens there.]
Thasios opulentia fretos suo adventu fregit.
[Upon his arrival, he broke the resources of Thasos, which were opulent at the time.]
His ex manubiis arx Athenarum, qua ad meridiem vergit, est ornata.
[The citadel in Athens was then decorated with their plunder, which shines forth everyday at noon.]
[3] Quibus rebus cum unus in civitate maxime floreret,
[By means of these affairs, since he alone began to enjoy success above all in the city,]
incidit in eandem invidiam, quam pater suus ceterique Atheniensium principes.
[he incurred the very same jealousy that his own father and the rest of the leading men in Athens had.]
Nam testarum suffragiis, quod illi `ostrakismon' vocant, X annorum exsilio multatus est.
[You see, by the votes of potshards, which those men call an ostracism, he was sentenced to 10 years of exile.]
2 Cuius facti celerius Athenienses quam ipsum paenituit.
[But the Athenians came to regret this act more quickly than he himself.]
Nam cum ille animo forti invidiae ingratorum civium cessisset
[You see, when our protagonist had yield to the fierce anger of his ungrateful citizens,]
bellumque Lacedaemonii Atheniensibus indixissent,
[and the Spartans had already declared war on the Athenians,]
confestim notae eius virtutis desiderium consecutum est.
[and speedily he followed his desire to make his courage known.]
3 Itaque post annum quintum, quam expulsus erat, in patriam revocatus est.
[And so, after he had been expelled for five years, he was recalled back to his native country.]
Ille, quod hospitio Lacedaemoniorum utebatur,
[Our protagonist, because he had once employed the good graces of the Spartans,]
satius existimans contendere Lacedaemonem,
[think it more satisfying to go to Sparta,]
sua sponte est profectus
[wen there on his own volition]
pacemque inter duas potentissimas civitates conciliavit.
[and he drafted a peace treaty between these two most powerful city-states.]
4 Post, neque ita multo, Cyprum cum ducentis navibus imperator missus,
[Afterward, and not so much later, he was sent to Cyprus as the commander of 200 ships,]
cum eius maiorem partem insulae devicisset,
[after which he conquered most of this island,]
in morbum implicitus in oppido Citio est mortuus.
[but stricken with plague, he died in the city of Citium.]
[4] Hunc Athenienses non solum in bello,
sed etiam in pace diu desideraverunt.
[For a long time, the Athenians not only longed for him in time of war, but even in times peace.]
Fuit enim tanta liberalitate,
[You see, he had such tremendous generosity,]
cum compluribus locis praedia hortosque haberet,
[when he used to own the mansions and gardens in so many different places,]
ut numquam in eis custodem imposuerit fructus servandi gratia,
[such that he never assigned him guard to watch over the fruit that grew in them,]
ne quis impediretur,
[nor would anyone be disallowed]
quo minus eius rebus, quibus quisque vellet, frueretur.
[to enjoy any less his possessions, should anyone be so yearning.]
