AM. Vērane est fāma īnferīs
iam sēra reddī iūra et oblītōs suī
sceleris nocentēs dēbitās poenās dare?
quis iste vērī rēctor atque aequī arbiter?730
THE. Nōn ūnus altā sēde quaesītor sedēns
iūdicia trepidīs sēra sortītur reīs:
adītur illō Cnosius Mīnōs forō,
Rhadamanthus illō, Thetidis hōc audit socer.
quod quisque fēcit, patitur; auctōrem scelus735
repetit, suōque premitur exemplō nocēns.
vīdī cruentōs carcere inclūdī ducēs
et impotentis terga plēbēiā manū
scindī tyrannī. quisquis est placidē potēns
dominusque vītae servat innocuās manūs740
et incruentum mītis imperium regit
animaeque parcit, longa permēnsus diū
vīvācis aevī spatia vel caelum petit
vel laeta fēlix nemoris Ēlysiī loca,
iūdex futūrus. sanguine hūmānō abstinē745
quīcumque rēgnās; scelera taxantur modō
maiore vestra.
AM. Certus inclūsōs tenet
locus nocentēs? utque fert fāma, impiōs
supplicia vinclīs saeva perpetuīs domant?
Notes
Amphitryon asks about judgment and punishment for criminals after death.
Theseus describes Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus, the traditional judges of the Underworld. Criminal rulers are punished after death, while virtuous rulers are either deified and live in with the gods above or become judges themselves in Elysium. The details such as the high seats (731) and the forum (733) are meant to evoke the Roman law court.
727–28 Prose word order for this indirect statement (AG 577) would be verane fama est iura (iam sera) inferis reddi. iūra reddere is normal Latin idiom for “to administer justice” (LS ius I). inferīs: dative: “to those below” (Fitch 2018).
728–29 oblītōs suī / sceleris nocentēs: “criminals who have forgotten their own crime,” because of the long delay in punishment. The objective genitive (AG 349) is enclosed in a chiasmus. See 1203 for a similar use of oblitus with the genitive.
730 verī … atque aequī: substantive adjectives: “truth and fairness.”
731 altā sēde: locative ablative (AG 429.4)
732 reīs: dative plural > reus.
733–35 illō … illō … hōc: Minos presides over one court, Rhadamanthus over another, Aeacus over a third. Thetidis … socer: Aeacus.
736 exemplō: ablative of means (AG 408). nocēns: substantive: “the guilty person.”
738–39 The common people take revenge on their tyrants in the Underworld. Prose word order for this indirect statement (AG 577) would be vidi terga impotentis tyranni scindi plebeia manu. Manu is ablative of means (AG 408). The singular impotentis tyranni is in effect plural, designating a class, like cruentos duces above. Seneca depicts an authoritarian world that resembles the imperial court in which he worked. Note the contrast between the tyrant who lacks restraint (impotentis) and the leader who is gentle and self-controlled (potens).
739–45 This Herculean sentence can be made more manageable by paying attention to the main verbs. Here it has been divided into clauses and placed in prose word order:
Quisquis placide potens est
dominusque vitae innocuas manus servat
et mitis incruentum imperium regit
animaeque parcit
permensus diu longa spatia vivacis aevi,
vel caelum petit
vel felix laeta loca nemoris Elysii [petit],
iudex futurus.
742 animaeque parcit: “and spares lives” (LS anima II.C.2), poetic singular for plural. parco governs the dative (AG 367), as usual.
745 sanguine: ablative of separation after abstine (AG 400)
746–47 modō / maiōre: ablative of manner (AG 412), “with heavier penalties” (Fitch 2018).
747–49 Amphitryon asks about punishment for the guilty.
747–48 Supply a question word such as -ne.
749 vinclīs: ablative of means (AG 408)
Vocabulary
sērus –a –um: late, too late
oblīvīscor oblīvīscī oblītus sum: to forget
rēctor –ōris m.: director, leader, ruler
arbiter –trī m.: witness; judge; ruler
quaesītor –ōris m.: a seeker, examiner, investigator
trepidus –a –um: agitated, restless, alarmed
sērus –a –um: late, too late
sortior –ītus sum: to cast lots; share, obtain
rea –ae f.: 0
Cnōsius –a –um: of Knossos; Cretan
Mīnōs –ōis m.: Minos
Rhadamanthus –ī m.: Rhadamanthus
Thetis –idis or idos f.: 0
socer socerī m.: father–in–law
cruentus –a –um: bloody, blood–stained
carcer carceris m.: prison, jail
inclūdō inclūdere inclūsī inclūsus: to shut in, confine
impotens –entis: powerless; lacking control, violent
plēbeius –a –um: of the common people
tyrannus tyrannī m.: tyrant
placidus –a –um: gentle, calm; pleasant
dominus dominī m.: master, lord
innocuus –a –um: harmless
incruentus –a –um: without bloodshed
mītis mīte: mild; ripe
permētior –mēnsus sum: to measure completely; traverse
vīvāx –ācis: long–lived; lasting long
Ēlysius –a –um: Elysian
futūrus –a –um: about to be; future
abstineō abstinēre abstinuī abstentus: to hold back, keep away from
rēgnō rēgnāre rēgnāvī rēgnātus: to rule
taxō, āvi, ātum: to rate; determine the worth of; estimate
inclūdō inclūdere inclūsī inclūsus: to shut in, confine
impius –a –um: disloyal, wicked
domō domāre domuī domitus: to tame, subdue