Augustan Histories [Historia Augusta]
Scriptores Historiae Augustae
117-284 AD
Trans RMBullard
Latin (Imperial Era)
MAXIMINI DUO IULI CAPITOLINI
I. 1 Ne fastidiosum esset clementiae tuae, Constantine maxime, singulos quosque principes vel principum liberos per singulos legere,
[Let's it become a matter of annoyance to your sense of clemency, most amazing Constantine, to read about each individual emperors, or the children of the emperors, one by one,]
adhibui moderationem,
[I found good measure,]
qua in unum volumen duos Maximinos,
patrem filiumque, congererem;
[whereby I compiled both the two Maximians, father and son, in a single volume;]
2 servavi deinceps hunc ordinem,
[after which I preserved the order,]
quem pietas tua etiam ab Tatio Cyrillo, clarissimo viro, qui Graeca in Latinum vertit, servari voluit.
[which your own sense of piety wished to be kept intact by Tatius Cyrillus also, an most distinguished of all, who translated Greek works to Latin.]
3 Quod quidem non in uno tantum libro sed etiam in plurimis deinceps reservabo,
[In fact, it is something which I will not only keep intact in only a single book, but in several ones from then on,]
exceptis magnis imperatoribus,
[with the great emperors left out,]
quorum res gestae plures atque clariores longiorem desiderant textum.
[whose many more and more distinguished accomplishments require a longer expanse of text.]
4 Maximinus senior sub Alexandro imperatore enituit.
[Maximinus the Elder was fostered under the emperor Alexander.]
Militare autem sub Severo coepit.
[And nevertheless, he began to serve in the military under Severus.]
5 Hic de vico Threiciae vicino barbaris, barbaro etiam patre et matre genitus, quorum alter e Gothia, alter ex Alanis genitus esse perhibetur.
[This man was born in local region of Thrace, even from a barbarian father and mother, one of whom belonged to the tribes of Goths, and the other thought to be born among the Alanni.]
6 Et patri quidem nomen Micca,
[And in fact, his father's name was Micca,]
matri Hababa fuisse dicitur.
[and his mother's name is said to be Hababa.]
7 Sed haec nomina Maximinus primis temporibus ipse prodidit,
[But Maximinus, as soon as he could, dismissed these family names, for his part,]
postea vero, ubi ad imperium venit, occuli praecepit,
[and actually, later on, when he came to power, he sought to keep them hidden]
ne utroque parente barbaro genitus imperator esse videretur.
[so as to prevent himself from being perceived as emperor born from a barbarian father.]
II. 1 Et in prima quidem pueritia fuit pastor,
[And actually, in the first stages of his boyhood, he was a shepherd,]
iuvenum etiam procer
[and even the chief of the young men]
et qui latronibus insidiaretur
[and a youth who used to set ambushes against highway robbers]
et suos ab incursionibus vindicaret.
[and restore the property of his own people when they were plundered.]
2 Prima stipendia equestria huic fuere.
[He gained his first military experience as a cavalryman.]
Erat enim magnitudine corporis conspicuus,
[You see, he was easy to spot from the sheer size of his body,]
virtute inter omnes milites clarus,
[and he was distinguished among all the soldiers for his courage,]
forma virili decorus, ferus moribus asper, superbus, contemptor, saepe tamen iustus.
[he was gifted by virtue of his handsome physique, but terrible fierce by virtue of his habits, and proud, easily the subject of scorn, but very often fair.]
3 Innotescendi sub Severo imperatore prima haec fuit causa:
[The following was the first reason why he became a figure of note under Emperor Severus:]
4 natali Getae, filii minoris, Severus militares dabat ludos propositis praemiis argenteis, id est armillis, torquibus et balteolis.
[on the birthday of his younger son Geta, Severus gave public games, accompanied by rewards in silver, to be specific, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.]
5 Hic adulescens et semibarbarus et vix adhuc Latinae linguae, prope Thraecica imperatorem publice petit,
[At this point, he, still a young man, and halfway uncivilized, scarcely able to speak Latin, sought out the emperor in public, in his journey around Thrace,]
ut sibi daret licentiam contendendi cum his,
[and so it happened that he gave him the right to contend with those men,]
qui iam non mediocri loco militarent.
[who at the time were serving in the military, at quite significant ranks.]
6 Magnitudinem corporis Severus miratus primum eum cum lixis conposuit,
[At first, Severus, fascinated at the sheer size of his body, set up matches for him,]
sed fortissimis quibusque,
[but only with the strongest of men,]
ne disciplinam militarem conrumperet.
[to prevent him from breaking his military discipline.]
I N F I N I T A
