Γάϊος Λαυτώριος
Gaius Laetorius, Gaios Lautorios
Translated by Jennifer Benedict20 Jun 2002Vetting: high4 revisions
Translation
Cognomen Marcus.1 The Romans' hatred of knavery and their lack of mercy towards those who trespass the common values and customs of human nature are illustrated by this man. For he was appointed tribunus militum in the Samnite war2 and up to a certain point he tried to persuade a certain youth among his tentmates who surpassed the others in appearance to willingly let him enjoy the beauty of his body, but since the youth was not won by gifts nor by any other friendliness, [Laetorius], unable to restrain his desire, made an attempt to use force. When the disorderly conduct of this man became well-known among all in the encampment, the tribunes [of the plebs], considering it to be a crime against the state in common, brought an indictment against him in public, and the people by unanimous vote condemned him, having determined the punishment for the crime [to be] death, not considering it proper that those who are in command should do violence to free people fighting for the freedom of others with outrages which are irreparable and contrary to the nature of males.
Another thing which was the most remarkable [happened a few years earlier], although the outrage concerned the body of a slave.3 For [a person] who was the son of Publius,4 one of the tribuni militum who had surrendered the army to the Samnites and had passed under the yoke, had been left in great poverty and was compelled to take out a loan, in hopes that he would would get contributions [sc. for repayment] from his relatives. But he was cheated of this hope and was seized for the debt when the appointed time came, while he was still quite young and beautiful in appearance. This man undertook and endured the rest of the things which it was customary for slaves [to do] for their masters; but when he was ordered to let [the creditor] enjoy the beauty of his body, he got angry and fought it to the utmost. And after he had taken many lashes of the whip on account of this he ran out into the Forum and stood on a certain high point and described the licentiousness of the money-lender and showed them the stripes of the lashes. When the people became incensed and considered the matter worthy of public rage, and when the tribunes [of the plebs] brought an indictment against [the creditor], he was condemned with a sentence of death. And because of this incident all the Romans who were enslaved for debt had their original freedom restored by a ratified law.
Another thing which was the most remarkable [happened a few years earlier], although the outrage concerned the body of a slave.3 For [a person] who was the son of Publius,4 one of the tribuni militum who had surrendered the army to the Samnites and had passed under the yoke, had been left in great poverty and was compelled to take out a loan, in hopes that he would would get contributions [sc. for repayment] from his relatives. But he was cheated of this hope and was seized for the debt when the appointed time came, while he was still quite young and beautiful in appearance. This man undertook and endured the rest of the things which it was customary for slaves [to do] for their masters; but when he was ordered to let [the creditor] enjoy the beauty of his body, he got angry and fought it to the utmost. And after he had taken many lashes of the whip on account of this he ran out into the Forum and stood on a certain high point and described the licentiousness of the money-lender and showed them the stripes of the lashes. When the people became incensed and considered the matter worthy of public rage, and when the tribunes [of the plebs] brought an indictment against [the creditor], he was condemned with a sentence of death. And because of this incident all the Romans who were enslaved for debt had their original freedom restored by a ratified law.