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?

    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)

    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

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