UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY A 000769810 3 ie Interpreters of Poreig] Among the Ancients A Study Based on Greek and Latin Sources HENRY STSTYDER GERMAN, A. M. A DISSERTATION PRESENTED To THF. FACCLTT OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PEKNSTtVAMA, IN PABTIAL FULnt-LMENT OF TflE REQUIREMENTS TOR THE DEGBKE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. A Study Based on Greek and Latin Sources BT HENRY SNYDER GEHMAN, A. M. A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVEBMTT OF PENNSYLVANIA, IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY. LANCASTER, PA. INTELLIGENCER PRINTING Co. 1914 PREFACE The following dissertation on Interpreters was suggested by Professor Rolfe's article "Did Liscus Speak Latin?" published in the Classical Journal, Vol. VII, pp. 126 sqq. It is a subject on which the handbooks and lexicons furnish very little informa- tion. The present investigation has been based on the Greek and Latin authors from the earliest times to Ammianus Marcel- linus. The collection of the various incidents resulted in an array of examples of the most diverse nature, many of which have absolutely no relation to one another. To establish order out of chaos has proved to be a very difficult task, especially since it seems impossible to find a scheme of classification which is at the same time both logical and consistent. Some of the di- visions naturally shade into one another and some of the ex- amples could equally well be put under various headings. In such instances, the author has followed what appeared to him to be the most practical arrangement. Thus Chapters III and IV have much in common and might very properly be blended. But since Chapter III refers especially to polyglots, the acqui- sition of foreign languages, and the profession in general, it seemed better to make two chapters instead of one. The classification of the examples has been based primarily on the languages interpreted, and under the various linguistic headings a chronological order has been followed so far as possible. Fictitious incidents have been introduced before historical ones, but strict chronology could not always be fol- lowed ; sometimes it has been sacrificed for the sake of observing the linguistic attainments of a certain individual, or in other instances it has seemed better to treat together several incidents that took place in the same district. In Chapter VI, miscel- 3 S1 6348 Claoslcal^anguages 4 Preface laneous barbarian languages are taken up before proceeding to Thracian, a barbarian language of Europe. Again, the inci- dents narrated in Chapter IX might logically be treated under Chapters VII and VIII; but it seemed more useful to treat Roman executive and judicial administration by itself, to limit it to senatorial and provincial affairs, and to exclude diplomatic business. Although the general classification is primarily linguistic, a deviation appeared more practical in this case. In Chapter VIII it happened that an arrangement according to language did not interfere with the chronology. The treatment of various episodes may not seem consistent. Some have been expanded to greater length than others on account of their human interest, with the hope that the dis- sertation may thus be made more attractive to the reader. Grateful acknowledgement for helpful suggestions, kindly criticism, and careful proof-reading is due to Professors J. C. Rolfe and W. B. McDaniel and Assistant Professors R. G. Kent and G. D. Hadzsits of the University of Pennsylvania. H. S. G. CONTENTS Bibliography 7 I. Difficulties Occasioned by a Difference of Lan- guage 9 II. The Use of Signs and Gestures 13 III. The Institution of Interpreters 16 IV. General References to Interpreters 20 V. Interpreters of one Barbarian Language into An- other 23 VI. Interpreters of Greek and Barbarian Languages. . 30 1. Greek and Egyptian 30 2. Greek and Semitic 30 3. Greek and Indian 33 4. Greek and Persian 35 5. Greek and Miscellaneous Barbarian Lan- guages 43 6. Greek and Thracian 44 VII. Interpreters of Latin and Greek 47 VIII. Interpreters of Latin and Barbarian Languages. . 49 IX. Interpreters in Roman Executive and Judicial Administration 54 X. Interpreters of a Barbarian Language and one or the other of the Classical Languages 59 XI. Failure of Writers to Consider Differences of Lan- guage 6 1 XII. Conclusion 63 BIBLIOGRAPHY ANTHON, C. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, edited by Wm. Smith, third American edition, New York, 1858, s. v. interpres. BROCKELMANN, C. Grundriss der vergleichenden Grammatik der semi- tischen Sprachen, Berlin, 1908. Bd. I, Einleitung, see Aramaic, FORCELLINI, A. Totius Latinitatis Lexicon, Prati, 1865, s. v. interpres. LEWIS, C. T., and C. SHORT. A New Latin Dictionary, New York, s. v. interpres. LIDDELL, H. G., and R. SCOTT. A Greek-English Lexicon, eighth edition, New York, s. w. !p[xiqveu<;, p(AT)ve6o>. LUBKER, F. Reallexikon des klassischen Altertums ftir Gymnasien, siebente verbesserte Auflage herausgegeben von M. Erler, Leipzig, 1891, s. v. interpres. MOMMSEN, T. The History of Rome. Translated by W. D. Dickson, New York, 1900, Vol. V, p. 10; p. 30. MOMMSEN, T. Romisches Staatsrecht, Leipzig, 1876-1888, I, p. 352; III, p. 960. PAULY, A. Real-Encyclopadie der classischen Altetthumswissenschaft in alphabetischer Ordnung, Stuttgart, 1846, s. v. interpres. PECK, H. T. A History of Classical Philology, New York, 1911, pp. 52- 54- PECK, H. T. Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, New York, s. v. interpres. RAWLINSON, G. The History of Herodotus, in four volumes, New York, 1861-1893, notes on IV, 24; 87. ROLFE, J. C. Did Liscus Speak Latin? Classical Journal, Vol. VII, pp. 126 sqq. SITTL, C. Die Gebarden der Griechen und Romer, Leipzig, 1890; especially Chapter XII, Zeichensprache. SMITH, W. (Wayte, W., and G. E. Marindin.) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, London, 1890, s. v. interpres. SMITH, W. A Smaller Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, sec- ond edition, London, 1853, s. v. interpres. STEPHANUS, H. Thesaurus Graecae Linguae, Paris, 1835, s. vv. lpiiT]ve6<;, Biblical quotations are according to the American Revised Version of 1901, published by Thomas Nelson and Sons, New York. CHAPTER I DIFFICULTIES OCCASIONED BY A DIFFERENCE OF LANGUAGE According to the account in the Old Testament, the whole earth was originally of one speech; and as the children of men had built a city and a tower in a plain in the land of Shinar, Jehovah said (Gen. XI): "6. Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do. 7. Come, let us go down, and there confound their lang- uage, that they may not understand one another's speech. 8. So Jehovah scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off building the city. 9. Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because Jehovah did there confound the language of all the earth." Thus the ancient Hebrews explain the origin of the divers tongues, an account which is accepted also by Josephus. 1 Pliny, 2 realizing the importance of linguistic differences, says that the existence of so many languages among the various nations, so many modes of speech, so great a variety of expres- sions, is a trifling thing apparently, but really of incalculable importance; for to another, a man who is of a different country is almost the same as no man at all. Similarly Cicero,* in speaking of the Roman Epicureans who did not understand Greek and of the Greeks who did not understand Latin, says that they are reciprocally deaf as to each other's language. This principle, he says, applies to other tongues also; and so he makes the general statement, that we are truly deaf with regard to the innumerable languages which we do not understand. 1 Joseph. Antiq. lud. I, 4, 3. s Plin. N. H. VII, I, I, 7. *Cic. Tusc. V, 40, 116. 10 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients Again referring to the barrier offered by foreign languages, in i Cor. XIV, St. Paul says that one does not understand the man who speaks an unknown tongue. 4 In this chapter, he makes the following interesting comparison; "7. Even things without life, giving a voice, whether pipe or harp, if they give not a distinction in the sounds, how shall it be known what is piped or harped? 8. For if the trumpet give an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war? 9. So also ye, unless ye utter by the tongue speech easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? II. If then I know not the mean- ing of the voice, I shall be to him that speaketh a barbarian,' and he that speaketh will be a barbarian unto me." In order to avoid such difficulties, he advises that if any one speak in a tongue, one shall interpret, while two, or at the most three, speak in turn. But if there be no interpreter, he commands them to remain silent in the church. 4 In this chapter St. Paul discourses on speaking in tongues, i. e., unknown languages under divine inspiration. In this connexion, compare the tongues on the day of Pentecost, Acts II, i-n: "And when the day of Pentecost was now come, they were all together in one place. 2. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3. And there appeared unto them tongues parting asunder, like as of fire; and it sat upon each one of them. 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5. Now there were dwelling at Jeru- salem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6. And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speaking in his own language. 7. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying, Behold, are not all these that speak Galilaeans? 8. And how hear we, every man in our own language wherein we were born? 9. Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, 10. in Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, II. Cretans and Arabians, we hear them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of God." B Cf. Ovid's experience at Tomi, Trist. V, 10, 37 sqq.: "Barbarus hie ego sum, qui non intellegor ulli, Et rident stolidi verba Latina Getae; Meque palam de me tuto male saepe loquuntur Forsitan obiciunt exsiliumque mihi, Utque fit, in me aliquid, si quid dicentibus illis Abnuerim quotiens adnuerimque, putant." The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 11 The Romans wondered where Numa Pompilius received his legal and religious training. Some wrongly assumed that he studied under Pythagoras, but according to Roman tradition, the latter lived more than a hundred years later in the reign of Servius Tullius. Livy 6 says that the tradition must be wrong even though the two had been contemporaries; "for in what common language could they have communicated, or with what safety could one man have made his way through so many nations, differing in language and manners?" 7 In the face of such difficulties, he believed rather that Numa's mind was by nature virtuously endowed and that the instruction which he received was not so much in foreign learning as through the rough and strict discipline of the Sabines, who were as uncor- rupted as any race of men. Xenophon 8 also gives us an example of the difficulty which men of different languages have in understanding one another. Socrates asked Hippias, "Can you then assert of these unwritten laws that man made them?" "Nay, how could that be;" answered Hippias, "for how could they all have come together? And even if they had done so, men are not all of one speech." He means that there would have been a babel of tongues. Differences of language, it appears, have proved to be serious obstacles in the way of international relations. Sallust, 9 in mentioning the Persians who settled in Africa, observes that they used the inverted hulls of ships as huts, since they had no timber in their own fields. He also asserts that they could not obtain any timber from the Spaniards, because the great sea and an unknown speech prevented commercial relations. How- ever, the language could not have been the more serious ob- stacle, since we shall later see that commerce could be trans- acted without the use of speech. On account of the difference of language, the vanquished in battle sometimes failed to make themselves understood. Thus Liv. I, 18. 7 Yet Livy in I, i does not call our attention to the difference of language between Aeneas and Latinus. 8 Xen. Mem. IV, 4, 19. 9 Sail. lug. 1 8. 12 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients when Sulla 10 in the Mithridatic war, in the year 86 B. C., was fighting against Archelaus, the flight and slaughter of the bar- barians followed. Some were driven into a neighboring lake, and not knowing how to swim, perished while begging for mercy in their own vernacular, which was not understood by the Romans. For one of the best examples of an army that spoke many languages, with the attendant difficulties, we may take the Carthaginian forces. The diversity of tongues assumed great importance during the revolt of the mercenaries and at the battle of Zama. However, since polyglottous officers acted as in- terpreters, the narration of those incidents has been reserved for a later chapter. The foregoing examples suffice to show the inconvenience that was occasioned by the differences of language, and make us realize that interpreters were a necessary institution. In fact, St. Paul expressly states the need for them. So does Aeschylus 11 in a particular instance, when Cassandra does not understand Clytemnestra and the chorus observes that the foreign woman seems to need a skillful interpreter. Men of different tongues in a concourse cannot work in harmony, and the man confronted by an unknown tongue simply hears a conglomeration of sounds which are entirely meaningless. "Appian, De Bella Mith. 50. 11 Aesch. Again. 1046-7 (Wecklein, Aeschyli Fabulae, Berlin, 1885). CHAPTER II THE USE OF SIGNS AND GESTURES "There was speech in their dumbness, language in their very gesture." Shak. The Winter's Tale, V, 2. Now the difficulty of communicating with foreigners may, by means of signs or gestures, be overcome without a knowledge of their language. According to Quintilian 12 , gestures are a universal means of conversation. They are often, however, wholly conventional, and just as hard to understand by the untutored as a new language itself. Pointing to the mouth very evidently indicates hunger, but all gestures are not of this sort. Modern Italians use a marvelous system, in which cer- tain movements seem to be quite arbitrary. The signs and gestures of supplication are very simple. Thus Lucan 13 says that Pompey should use tears in addressing the Oriental. Turning from poetry to prose, we read 14 that in the year 52 B. C., Vercingetorix appeared before Caesar to ask for pardon; he came in without any announcement by herald, and on account of his sudden appearance, alarmed some that were present. When quiet had been restored, he uttered not a word, but fell upon his knees and remained so with clasped hands. 12 Quint. Inst. XI, 3, 85-7: "Nam ceterae partes loquentem adiuvant, hae (manus), prope est ut dicam, ipsae loquuntur. An non his poscimus, pollicemur, vocamus, dimittimus, minamur, supplicamus, abominamur, timemus, interrogamus, negamus? Gaudium, tristitiam, dubitationem, con- fessionem, paenitentiam, modum, copiam, numerum, tempus ostendimus? Non eaedem concitant, inhibent, supplicant, probant, admirantur, verecun- dantur? Non in demonstrandis locis atque personis adverbiorum atque pro- nominum obtinent vicem? Utintanta per omnis gentes nationesque linguae diversitate hie mihi omnium hominum communis sermo videatur. " 13 Lucan, Phars. VIII, 348-9: "Exiget ignorans Latiae commercia lin- guae | Ut lacrimis se, Magne, roges. " 14 Cassius Dio, XL, 41. 13 14 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients Since gestures are a universal means of conversation, more complicated ideas may be expressed by them. Once upon a time during their invasion of Scythia, the Amazons were en- camped near an army of Scythian youths. Herodotus 18 in narrating the incident tells us that they did not understand each other's language. When some incident brought a youth and an Amazon together, the man easily gained the good graces of the woman, communicating by means of signs. Aeschylus 16 also refers to the use of gestures. When Clytemnestra was taunting the captive Cassandra and received no reply, she told her that, if she did not understand her, she should use her bar- barian 17 hand instead of her voice. The tragedian inconsistent- ly assumes that the Trojan maid was able to comprehend what Clytemnestra said without being able to express herself in the language. The effective use of gestures depends upon the temperament of the individual. Thus to-day the vivacious southern Euro- pean has a command over them that is altogether unattainable by the more phlegmatic Teuton. In fact, a rather wide and complicated range of ideas may be so expressed. For example, we are told by Lucian 18 of a certain man from the barbarians of Pontus, a semi-Graecus of royal rank, who was at the court of Nero on official business. There he beheld a remarkable pan- tomimic dancer, whose actions were so expressive that he under- stood everything, although he could not follow the words which were sung. When the ambassador prepared to leave, Nero promised to give him whatever he desired. He asked for the dancer, because he ruled barbarians of different languages, and since it was difficult to obtain interpreters for his people, the dancer by his movements might make known the king's wishes to his subjects, whatever their language. Commerce may be transacted even without the use of gestures. Herodotus 19 tells us that the Carthaginians carried on a dumb "Hdt. IV, in; 113. 18 Aesch. A gam. 1045. 17 Aeschylus, not considering the Trojans to be Greeks, calls them bar- barians. 18 Lucian, De Sal. 64. M Hdt. IV, 196. The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 15 commerce in Western Africa beyond the Pillars of Hercules. When the Carthaginians came to these people, they took out their cargo, and having arranged it on the shore, went back to their boats and raised a smoke. On seeing this the natives came to the sea and laid some gold opposite the wares and then with- drew. Then the Carthaginians landed again, and if the gold appeared to them sufficient for the goods, they took it up and departed. But if it was not enough, they went back to their boats. Again the natives came forth and added gold until they satisfied the traders. It is said that no one cheated. The traders did not take the precious metal until it seemed to them to compensate for the value of the goods, nor did the natives seize the goods before the traders took the gold. In a similar instance, Pliny 20 asserts that the Seres had no language of their own, but simply made an uncouth sort of noise by way of talking. But apparently this presented no obstacle to trade. The merchandise for sale was left by merchants on the bank of a river, and it was then removed by the natives if they thought proper to make an exchange of goods. a Plin. N. H. VI, 22, 24, CHAPTER III THE INSTITUTION OF INTERPRETERS Even if certain linguistic differences, as we have seen, may be overcome by the use of gestures, the ideas thus expressed are naturally limited. If men who do not understand each other's language wish to hold a parley on a subject which cannot be expressed by gestures, the only resource left is an interpreter, or even a series of interpreters. The use of them must have been very general, since references to interpreters are found in the Greek and Latin literature of all periods. We hear of remarkable historical characters, who spoke many languages with great ease, and so did not need any inter- mediaries. Most conspicuous of these is Mithri dates the Great, of whom Pliny 21 says that he knew twenty-two languages. Again in N. H. VII, 24, 24, 88, he states that, as king over twenty-two races, Mithridates pronounced justice in as many tongues. Valerius Maximus 22 informs us of the same attain- ment. Aulus Gellius" increases to twenty-five the number of languages which the king spoke fluently. A later writer," not content with these low figures, ascribes to him a knowledge of fifty tongues. A polyglot of the other sex is Cleopatra, who according to Plutarch** spoke most languages and answered most of the a Plin. N. H. XXV, 2, 3, 6: "ilium solum mortalium viginti duabus linguis locutum certum est. " H Val. Max. VIII, 7, 1 6. a Cell. XVII, 17: "quinque et viginti gentium, quas sub dicione habuit, linguas percalluit earumque omnium gentium viris haut umquam per inter- pretem conlocutus est, sed ut quemque ab eo appellari usus fuit, proinde lingua et oratione ipsius non minus scite, quam si gentilis eius esset, locutus est." Ps. Aur. Viet. Vir. itt. LXXVI, i. " Plut. Anton. 27. 16 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 17 foreign ambassadors in their own vernacular. He maintains that she gave audience herself to the Ethiopians, the Troglo- dytes, the Hebrews, the Arabs, the Syrians, the Medes, and the Parthians. Nor were these all the languages that she under- stood, though the kings of Egypt who preceded her could hardly ever acquire a knowledge of Egyptian, and some of them for- got even their original Macedonian. Besides these two remarkable polyglots, we read of men of smaller attainments; but usually in mentioning bilinguists or polyglots the authors state the fact without assigning the reason for the acquisition of the languages. We may suppose that some interpreters had parents of dif- ferent nationalities. For example, a man who was bilingual 16 that is, he knew Greek and Persian having a Lycian father and a Persian mother, offered himself as a guide to Alexander on the latter's entrance into Persia. Furthermore, Herodotus 17 narrates that Scylas, son of the Scythian king Ariapithes, was the child, not of a native Scythian, but of a woman of Istria, from whom he gained an acquaintance with the Greek language and letters. Without doubt Scylas knew Scythian too, al- though the mention of him here does not, of course, mean that he ever served as a professional interpreter. As linguists were in demand in international, diplomatic, and commercial affairs, a man so fortunate as to be a polyglot might be tempted to enter such a field in preference to spending his time in learning a trade or profession. Also, a polyglot who was not a professional interpreter might, by his accidental presence on an occasion where an interpreter was demanded, perform duties as such. But no doubt some men studied languages for the express purpose of acting as interpreters; or even if their original in- tention was not to serve in that capacity, later developments may have induced them to enter that field. Alexander 28 se- 28 Plut. Alex. 37. Since his father was a Lycian, no doubt he spoke Lycian also; but Greek and Persian were the languages he needed in his services and so were vividly in the writer's mind. For this reason, Plutarch ignores his knowledge of Lycian and does not call him trilingual. 27 Hdt. IV, 78. 28 Plut. Alex. 47, 3. 18 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients lected thirty thousand Persian boys and furnished masters to instruct them in the Greek tongue. From the various na- tions of Spain, Sertorius" collected the children of the nobility into the city of Osca and appointed masters to teach them the Greek and Roman learning. The spread of the Macedonian and Roman arms was followed by the study of the Greek and Latin languages, not only for cultural purposes, but quite naturally also for practical ends. Thus the native of a con- quered province, who knew either speech, could act as inter- preter between his compatriots and the conquerors. Probably very few men become expert polyglots by deliber- ately studying languages, although we are told that Themis- tocles devoted himself to a study of Persian with a definite purpose. In his day there were no grammars, lexicons, and chrestomathies, and a man who wished to study a foreign lang- uage had many disadvantages not existing in our day. The most natural way of acquiring a foreign speech was to live in a district where several tongues were spoken and where their acquisition was a necessity and was accomplished without any conscious effort. In a cosmopolitan city or in a region inhabited by several nationalities, the children by associating with each other acquire various languages with great facility. A man thus favored was Quintus Ennius 30 , who was born near Rudiae in Calabria and said that he had three hearts, because he could speak Greek, Oscan, and Latin. It seems very probable that most interpreters came from the lower classes. In many cases they were freedmen or slaves, and the language which they interpreted, especially into Greek and Latin, was their own vernacular. 31 In traveling either as a tourist or as a man of fortune, a person would acquire a good many languages as a matter of necessity, provided that he stayed long enough in one place. The poet Ovid in his exile M Plut. Sertorius 14, 2. 10 Cell. XVII, 17. n Cf. the Macronian who had been a slave at Athens, Xen. Anab. IV, 8, 4. The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 19 learned to speak" Getic and Sarmatian, and actually wrote 33 in the former tongue. In conference with the remote barbar- ians, probably the most available interpreters were the mer- chants, the "lixae ac negotiatores, quos ius commercii, dein cupido augendi pecuniam, postremum oblivio patriae suis quemque ab sedibus hostilem in agrum transtulerat. " M For the definite mention of professionally trained linguists, we have to turn to Herodotus' account of Egypt. According to the historian 36 the people of that country were divided into seven classes: priests, warriors, cowherds, swineherds, trades- men, interpreters, and boatmen. To the lonians and Carians who had lent him their assistance, Psammetichus 36 assigned as abodes two places opposite to each other, one on either side of the Nile, which were called STpaToxeSa. Further, he entrusted to their care certain Egyptian children, whom they were to teach Greek. These children, thus instructed, became the parents of the entire class of interpreters in Egypt. Ov. Trist. V, 12, 58-59: "Ipse mihi videor iam dedidicisse Latine; Nam didici Getice Sarmaticeque loqui. " Cf. Ov. Pont. Ill, 2, 40. 11 Ov. Pont. IV, 13, 17 sqq.: "Nee te mirari, si sint vitiosa, decebit Carmina, quae faciam paene poeta Getes. A! pudet, et Getico scripsi sermone libellum, Structaque sunt nostris barbara verba modis." M Tac. Ann. II, 62. 35 Hdt. II, 164. 36 Hdt. II, 154- CHAPTER IV GENERAL REFERENCES TO INTERPRETERS In reading the classics, we find that sometimes the authors refer to interpreters without implying a specific conference, or if a parley was held, they do not mention the languages inter- preted. While the Ten Thousand Greeks were within the con- fines of the Persian Empire, they had frequent occasions to use interpreters, usually, we may suppose, to translate Persian or dialects of Persian into Greek. Xenophon 37 informs us that the interpreter of the Greeks (apparently when he was not perform- ing his duties as such) said that he saw and recognized the brother of Tissaphernes with Ariaeus, Artaozus, and Mithri- dates. On account of the many languages 38 within the Persian Empire, the Great King must have needed linguistic experts continually. In narrating the conquests of Alexander, Quintus Curtius 39 mentions the capture of Melon, the interpreter of Darius. 37 Xen. Anab. II, 5, 35. 38 See Xen. Cyr. I, 1,4: " Kupoq 8 iuapaXa@(bv waaiiTGx; OUTCO xal T ' Aa(a eOviQ auTOvojxa ovia Sp^Gelq auv 6X{yn Ilepawv atpaTt? x6vTwv [ikv fjYTjaaTO M-rjBtov, x6vTwv Si 'Ypxavlwv, xatwrpitjMCTO 81 26pou?, 'Aaaupfoug, 'Apa^lou?, KaTCTCa86xa<;, ^puyaq d^OT^pouc;, AuSoiii;, Kapaq, ^ofvcxaq, Ba^uXwvloui;, ^p^s k BaxTptwv xal 'IvSwv xal KtX(xwv, waaurox; 8^ Saxtov xal nac^Xayovwv xal MaptavBuvwv xal SXXwv 8^ TuafxicdXXwv ^0vwv, (liv 068' <2v Ta 6v6(xaTa exot TI? eficetv, ^ojp^s 8^ xal 'EXXiQVwv T' 4au-cov xal Ta<; [ie6' autou Buvct|xei<;- TO!? 8 Kapx*]8ov(oi<; xXEuaeTo5(; tJYounevou<; TO: xepl texvtov xal Yuvatxwv Iapt0[xeca0ai xal TtOlvac xpo 6 KXsapx

. 100 Curt. VI, 5, 19; Diod. Sic. XVII, 76, "8t(i Ik TWV &[AOa>vtoV TO!? lyX^P^ 01 ? KTJptaTeiv. " It is very probable that Diodorus Siculus refers to the dialect of the region, unless he is speaking loosely and means Persian. Doubtless an interpreter who spoke Persian with colloquial and provincial elements, had no difficulty in being underscood in Margiana. 42 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients the influence of Persia's power, it is probable that a good many of the Mardians had an acquaintance with Persian. If this was the case, an interpreter making Alexander's proclamation in the Persian tongue, had no difficulty in being understood. On the other hand, it is very probable the announcement was made in the dialect of the country. Again he used interpreters in Sogdiana. Among the cap- tives 101 that were taken in this country were thirty of the high- est nobility, who had remarkable strength of body. As these were led before the king and informed in their own language that they were condemned to death by his order, they began to sing a song of a joyous strain and with dances and wanton motions of their body to express a cheerfulness of mind. Alex- ander, struck by their conduct, asked them how they could be so joyful when they had death before their eyes. They replied that if they had been killed by any other, they would have died in sorrow; but now since they were to be restored to their an- cestors by so great a king, the conqueror of all nations, they celebrated with these songs an honorable death a death which brave men would seek most eagerly. On their pledge of fidelity with their lives, they were released. Sogdiana had long been under Persian influence; for we find in the Behisttin inscrip- tion 102 that it formed a part of the realm of Darius. Probably the people of this province spoke a dialect resembling Persian, and that tongue may also have been fairly well known. At any rate, we should expect the nobility to know the language of the ruling country. This makes it probable that the inter- preters spoke Persian and Greek. Still it appears that Alexander had a man who could speak the language of Sogdiana. News came to Alexander that Spitamenes 103 was besieging those whom he had left as a garri- son in the citadel at Maracanda, in Sogdiana. He dispatched troops there, among them fifteen hundred mercenary infantry 101 Curt. VII, 10, 4 sqq. 102 Cf. The Sculptures and Inscription of Darius the Great on the Rock of Behistun in Persia, ed. by L. W. King and R. C. Thomson, London, 1907: p. 4, Persian text, Column I, 16; p. 96, Susian Version, Column I, 13; p. 161, Babylonian Version, 6. 103 Arrian, Anab. IV, 3. The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 43 over whom he placed Pharnuches, 104 the interpreter, who, though by birth a Lycian, was skilled in the language of the barbarians of this country and in other respects appeared clever in dealing with them. Whether Alexander's interpreters with the Mardians and the Sogdians spoke Persian or not, we do not know; but if a man speaking Persian was understood by the Armenian women, it is reasonable to suppose that that tongue was also understood by the Mardians and the Sogdians, es- pecially by the latter. 5. GREEK AND MISCELLANEOUS BARBARIAN LANGUAGES As we return to the mercenaries of Cyrus the Younger, Xeno- phon calls our attention to a very interesting episode. On one occasion during their retreat, the Ten Thousand, simply by accident, happened to have among them a person who could speak the language of the country through which they passed. As the Macrones obstructed their march, 105 one of the peltasts came up to Xenophon and said that he had been a slave at Athens and that he wished to tell him that he recognized the speech of these people. "I think," said he, "this is my native country and, if there is no objection, I will have a talk with them." "No objection at all," replied Xenophon, "pray do, and ask them first who they are. " In answer to this question, they said that they were Macrones. "Well, then," said Xeno- phon, "ask them why they are drawn up in battle and want to fight with us." They answered, "Because you are invading our country." The generals bade him say that they intended no harm, but had been at war with the King and were now re- turning to Hellas, while all they wanted was to reach the sea. The Macrones asked whether they were willing to give pledges to that effect. The Greeks replied that they were willing both to give and to receive them. Then the Macrones gave a bar- baric lance to the Greeks and they in turn a Hellenic lance to them. These the Macrones said would serve as pledges, and 104 L. c., "IxtTaauet 8 ai-roT? apvouxT}v, ^[xxefpox; 8 TTJC; TS (JxovTJq TWV TCCUTH @ap@ap(ov e^ovTa, xal Tii #XXa 6[/.tX7Jaai auTOtq 8et&v v evtat Btaaw^ovrat." Plutarch does not state in what language Artavasdes wrote, but we may infer that he means Greek. Now if these two Orientals knew that language, it is safe to assume that Tiridates, who lived at a later period, did also. CHAPTER VIII INTERPRETERS OF LATIN AND BARBARIAN V LANGUAGES Again, leaving out of consideration in this chapter the use of interpreters in Roman executive and judicial administration, we find that Etruscan was interpreted into Latin, and Latin into Etruscan. In 301 B. C., after the Romans had been defeated by their northern neighbors, the dictator M. Valerius Maxi- mus advanced into the territory of Rusellae. 118 The enemy fol- lowed and endeavored to use a stratagem. There were, at a short distance from the Roman camp, the half-ruined houses of a town burnt in the devastation of the country. Among these they concealed a body of troops, and then drove on some cattle within view of a Roman post commanded by the lieu- tenant Cn. Fulvius. Since this temptation did not induce any of the Romans to stir from his station, one of the herdsmen advanced close to the works and called out to the other Etrus- cans, who at their leisure were driving out the cattle from the ruins of the town. He asked why they remained idle when they might safely drive the herd through the middle of the Ro- man camp. This was interpreted to the lieutenant by some natives of Caere, and soon great impatience was felt through every company of the soldiers, who nevertheless dared not move without orders. Then Fulvius commanded some who were skilled in the language, to observe attentively whether the dialect of the herdsmen was that of rustics or that of townsmen. These reported that the enemy's accent in speaking, as well as their manner and appearance, was of a more polished cast than suited rustics. "Go then," said Fulvius, "tell them that they may uncover the ambush which they evidently conceal ; that the Romans understand all their devices, and can now be no more taken by stratagem than they can be conquered by u Liv. X, 4. 49 50 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients arms." When these words were heard and reported to those who lay in ambush, they immediately disclosed themselves. We may safely assume that a good many people on the bor- der of Etruria and Latium knew both Latin and Etruscan, and that it was an easy matter to find interpreters of the two lan- guages. One would think that it was more difficult to find, on the spur of the moment, a man who knew both Latin and Punic. Yet we have record of an interpreter who could read the latter tongue. Livy 117 tells us that the four Gallic horsemen and the two Numidians who had been sent with a letter by Hasdrubal to Hannibal were caught and sent to the consul Claudius Nero. Claudius had the letters read to him by an interpreter, and learned that Hasdrubal was going to meet Hannibal in Um- bria. Whether this linguist was a professional or not, we do not know. It is possible that during a war of such great im- portance, the Romans had experts in the Carthaginian language. They certainly could not put absolute confidence in Punic prisoners of war in momentous matters. Again, interpreters were used when the two great heroes of the Second Punic War met face to face. 118 Before the battle of Zama, Scipio and Hannibal had a colloquy, each having ad- vanced from his camp accompanied by a few attendants. When they came near each other, they left these escorts and met in the middle of the intervening space, each accompanied by an interpreter. Surely Scipio knew Greek, since every cultured Roman in his day learned that language. Cornelius Nepos 11 * informs us that Hannibal knew Greek. He also knew Latin, 110 but he spoke it with a foreign accent. 111 Under these conditions m Liv. XXVII, 43, 5. ^Polyb. XV, 6; Liv. XXX, 30. " Nep. Hann. 13, 2. 130 Cassius Dio, Zonaras VIII, 24, 8, in Boissevain, Vol. I, p. 207. m Plut. Fab. Max. 6, i; Liv. XXII, 13. In 217 B. C., Hannibal resolved to march from Samnium into Campania and commanded his guide (Plutarch gives it in the plural) to conduct him into the territory of Casinum. But since he spoke with a Carthaginian accent and mispronounced the Latin words, the guide misunderstood him and thought that he said Casilinum instead of Casinum; so that turning from the high road, he led him through the territories of Allifae, Calatia, and Cales down into the plain of Stellas. Hannibal called the man and asked him where he was. He replied that he would lodge that night at Casilinum; but when Hannibal discovered the mistake and learned that Casinum lay at a very great distance in quite a different direction, he had his guide scourged and crucified. The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 51 they could have held their parley without interpreters, but national pride demanded that each man speak the vernacular of his own people. Later on in Roman history, interpreters were used in a secret conference 122 held by Sulla and Bocchus, the king of Maure- tania and father-in-law of Jugurtha. To preserve secrecy, they employed only such linguists as they could trust. That interpreters were regularly used by the Romans in dealing with the Gauls during the time of Julius Caesar, is shown by the words cotidianis interpretibus in Caesar B. G. 1 1 !9i 3i where he narrates his conversation with Diviciacus, the friend of the Roman people. Caesar (/. c.) describes the colloquy thus: "Diviciacum ad se vocari iubet et, cotidianis interpretibus remotis, per C. Valerium Procillum (Troucillum?), principem Galliae provinciae, familiarem suum, cui summam omnium rerum fidem habebat, cum eo colloquitur. To quote Professor Rolfe: 123 "Apparently the only other direct reference to interpreters in Caesar's works besides the one quoted above, although he must have made constant use of them, is in B. G. v. 36. i: 'his rebus permotus Q. Titurius, cum procul Ambio- rigem suos cohortantem conspexisset interpretem suum Cn. Pompeium ad eum mittit rogatum ut sibi militibusque parcat.' The use of an interpreter is implied in B. G. i. 47. 4, where C. Valerius Procillus is sent to talk with Ariovistus, 'propter linguae Gallicae scientiam, qua multa iam Ariovistus longinqua consuetudine utebatur.' Ariovistus, then, in spite of his ap- parent knowledge of what was going on in Rome, did not speak Latin (at least not readily) and the message from the nobiles principesque populi Romani who would have been glad to hear of Caesar's taking off (B. G. i. 44. 12) were doubtless conveyed to him through the medium of Gallic- speaking interpreters. Probably the interchange of speeches between Ariovistus and Caesar was made in the same way. At any rate it is obvious that in the speeches of Ariovistus we have the substance of his remarks reported in Caesar's own language. m Sail. lug. 109, 4. 1M Classical Journal VII, p. 128. 52 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients "The interpreters who are mentioned by name by Caesar appear to be Romans, or more probably Romanized Gauls. Doubtless a few Romans spoke Celtic, although Caesar ap- parently did not at the beginning of his campaigns in Gaul, but as has been said, it is highly improbable that any consider- able number of the inhabitants of Gallia Comata spoke any- thing more than traders' Latin. Whether the mercatores from whom Caesar obtained information at various times (e. g., B. G. iv. 20. 4), and from whom his army heard terrifying reports of the size and courage of the German followers of Ariovistus, were Italians or Gauls is not stated. In either case they prob- ably had a slight and mainly professional command of Latin or of Celtic, as the case may be." No doubt many Romans in Northern Italy spoke Gallic, just as many Gauls in the same section could probably speak Latin. Possibly a good many Gauls 1 " and Germans learned Latin by serving in the Roman army. Thus, according to Tacitus, 125 Arminius learned Latin while serving in a camp as leader of a detachment of his people. 124 Cf. Mommsen, History of Rome, Book V, chap. VIII (Vol. V, p. 30. Eng. translation, 1900): "In free Gaul itself, i. e., among the Arverni, the Roman language was not unknown even before the conquest; although this knowledge was probably still restricted to few, and even the men of rank of the allied canton of the Haedui had to be conversed with through interpre- ters. " His view is that among the "breeches- wearing " Gauls of the south the knowledge of Latin was more general, but that even there its quality was not high. Op. cit., Vol. V, p. 10: "This bad Latin was sufficient to enable even the remote Allobroges to transact business with Rome, and even to give testimony in the Roman courts without an interpreter." Mommsen seems to believe in an early knowledge of Latin among the Gauls. If he is right in his supposition, we must not suppose that Latin, at an early date, supplanted Gallic. Indeed the latter seems to have per- sisted long after the introduction of the Roman culture. Claudian, Epig. I, 19-20, tells us that muleteers used Gallic in driving their animals: "Miraris, si voce feras pacaverit Orpheus, | Cum pronas pecudes Gallica verba regant. " A passage from Ulpian, lib. II fideicommissorum, quoted in Justinian's Digest, XXXII, n, also points, to a rather late persistence of the Gallic speech: "Fideicommissa quocumque sermone relinqui possunt non solum Latina vel Graeca, sed etiam Punica vel Gallicana, vel alterius cuiuscumque gentis. " It seems that the adjectives Latina, Graeca, etc. agree with "lingua" under- stood from "sermone." m Tac. Ann. II, 10. The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 53 It is recorded that on a certain occasion a Roman freedman interpreted the wishes of a distant nation to the people of Rome. During the reign of Claudius, an embassy came from the is- land of Taprobane 126 . This took place under the following circumstances: Annius Plocamus had farmed for the treasury the revenues from the Red Sea. A certain freedman of his, Rachias by name, while sailing around Arabia, was carried away by a gale from the north beyond the coast of Carmania. In the course of fifteen days he had drifted to Hippurus, a port of Taprobane, where he was most kindly and hospitably re- ceived by the king; after a study of six months he became well acquainted with the language and was enabled to answer all his inquiries relative to the Romans and their emperor. But of all that he heard, the king was particularly struck with sur- prise at the Romans' rigid notions of justice. For, this reason especially, he was prompted to form an alliance with them, and accordingly sent to Rome an embassy consisting of four persons, the chief of whom was Rachias, through whom as interpreter the negotiations must have been carried on. Later on in the history of the Roman empire, we find that the emperor Caracalla 127 used interpreters. He would often converse with emissaries sent from the provinces, and in the presence of no one but his linguists, would urge them, in case any catastrophe befell him, to invade Italy and march upon Rome, assuring them that it would be very easy to capture the city. Then to prevent his traitorous advice from being divulged, he would put the interpreters to death immediately. 128 Plin. N. H. VI, 22, 24, 84-5. m Cassius Dio, LXXVIII, 6. CHAPTER IX INTERPRETERS IN ROMAN EXECUTIVE AND JUDI- CIAL ADMINISTRATION Cicero 118 refers to the employment of interpreters in the Roman Senate as the regular custom. One early example con- cerning the Greek tongue indicates the same practice. In 155 B. C., the Athenians sent three philosophers, 119 Carneades of the Academy, Diogenes the Stoic, and Critolaus the Pe- ripatetic, to the Senate, to ask that the Romans remit the fine of almost five hundred talents, which they had imposed on account of the devastation of Oropus. When they were introduced into the Senate, C. Acilius performed the office of interpreter. The feeling of the emperor Tiberius about the etiquette of senatorial business in respect to language was strong, to judge from Suet. Tib. 71: "Sermone Graeco quamquam alioqui promptus et facilis, non tamen usque quaque usus est abstinu- itque maxime in senatu Militem quoque Graece testimonium interrogatum nisi Latine respondere ve- tuit. " Yet according to Cassius Dio, 130 Tiberius was wont to hear many suits that were argued there in the Greek language and to investigate many himself. Probably he did not speak that tongue in the Senate unless it was necessary, as in the case of Hellenes or Greek-speaking foreigners. In those cases he 128 Cic. De div. II, 64, 131: "Qualis autem ista mens est deorum, si neque ea nobis significant in somnis, quae ipsi per nos intellegamus, neque ea, quo- rum interpretes habere possimus? Similes enim sunt dei, si ea nobis obiciunt, quorum nee scientiam neque explanatorem habeamus, tamquam si Poeni aut Hispani in senatu nostro loquerentur sine interprete"; De fin. V, 29, 89: "Ita, quern ad modum in senatu semper est aliquis, qui interpretem pos- tulit, sic isti (Stoici) nobis cum interprete audiendi sunt." 129 Cell. VI, 14, 8 sq.; Plutarch, Cato Maior 22, in noting this incident, mentions only Carneades and Diogenes and the interpreter C. Acilius. 130 Cassius Dio, LVII, 15. 54 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 55 may have been lenient and have allowed the proceedings to be conducted in their vernacular. We may safely say that he did not want Romans to speak Greek in the Senate. Possibly the soldier (Suet. Tib. 71), who according to Cassius Dio (I. c.) was a centurion, and who wished to give his evidence in Greek, was a Roman. If such was the case, Tiberius may have thought it presumptuous 131 for the soldier to speak in the Hellenic tongue, although he allowed him to be questioned in that language. Possibly the centurion had served many years in the East, and consequently his ear may have been more accustomed to Greek than to Latin, even though he were a Roman by birth. Tiberius knew sufficiently well that the soldier had not entirely forgotten his vernacular, and although he made one important concession in the asking of the evidence, he compelled him to use the speech which befitted a native born Roman. According to Valerius Maximus, 1 " the custom of speaking Greek in the Senate, began with Molo at the time of Sulla's dictatorship. Again, we find that Greek was spoken in the Roman Senate in the reign of Claudius, who bestowed consular honors on Agrippa of Palestine and enlarged his domain, since the Jew during his stay at Rome had helped Claudius become emperor. To his brother Herod, he gave praetorial dignities and some authority. The brothers were allowed to enter the Senate and express their thanks to him in Greek. 133 The his- torian adds that these were acts of Claudius himself, which were lauded by all. This is explained by Mommsen (Staatsr. Ill, 960) on the ground that they possessed the privilege of Roman citizenship. Why he resorts to this explanation does not seem clear, since it is evident from the passages quoted from Valerius Maximus and Cassius Dio that to speak Greek in the Roman Senate was not uncommon. Tiberius allowed the centurion U1 When Philotas, the son of Parmenio, was tried for conspiracy against Alexander, he preferred speaking Greek to using his native Macedonian. Cf. Curt. VI, 9, 34 sqq. 132 Val. Max. II, 2, 3: "Quis ergo huic consuetudini, qua nunc Graecis actionibus aures curiae exsurdantur, ianuam patefecit? Ut opinor Molo rhetor, qui studia M. Ciceronis acuit. Eum namque ante omnes exterarum gentium in senatu sine interprete auditum constat." 188 Cassius Dio, LX, 8. 56 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients to be questioned in that language, though he required him to answer in Latin. Thus, while the Romans were strict in using interpreters abroad as a matter of principle, it appears that they were more flexible about the matter at home. If in the provinces dignity was added to their rule by conducting their judicial proceedings in Latin, surely no prestige was lost by allowing Greek to be spoken in the Senate of the capital of the world, where it was familiar to every educated man. Still it is possible that sometimes Greek was interpreted into Latin in the Senate. In passing to the use of interpreters by the provincial govern- ors, we note that Verres, 134 like other men of similar position, employed interpreters in Hellenic Sicily. We know that one called Aulus Valentius" 6 served him in this capacity. Probably interpreters were necessary in many of the prov- inces, for we know of no Roman whose linguistic attainments were equal to those of Mithridates or Cleopatra. There, how- ever, it was not a question of linguistic ability, but a matter of national pride 1 " and principle, as Valerius Maximus 137 states, and not of mere necessity. At this point, let us quote once more from Professor Rolfe 188 : "Not many of the names of the interpreters are given in full. m Cic. Verr. II, n, 22, 54; II, iv, 22, 49; II, in, 37, 84; II, iv, 26, 58. U5 Consult last two references of preceding footnote. u * According to Strabo, XIII, 4, 12, C 629, the Romans did not form their judicial districts according to tribes and languages. He maintains that this has contributed not a little to produce confusion in those regions bordering on the Lydians and Mysians towards the south and extending to Mount Taurus. This region was so intermixed that the limits of Phrygia, Lydia, Caria, and Mysia were difficult to distinguish. "Wai. Max. II, 2, 2: "Magistratus vero prisci quantopere suam popu- lique Romani maiestatem retinentes se gesserint hinc cognosci potest, quod inter cetera obtinendae gravitatis indicia illud quoque magna cum perseve- rantia custodiebant, ne Graecis umquam nisi Latine responsa darent. Quin etiam ipsos linguae volubilitate, qua plurimum valent, excussa per interpre- tem loqui cogebant, non in urbe tantum nostra, sed etiam in Graecia et Asia, quo scilicet Latinae vocis honos per omnes gentes venerabilior diffun- deretur. Nee illis deerant studia doctrinae, sed nulla non in re pallium togae subici debere arbitrabantur, indignum esse existimantes inlecebris et suavitati litterarum imperii pondus et auctoritatem donari. " 118 Class. Jour. VII, p. 129. The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients 57 Cn. Publicius Menander was a freedman of Greek birth, as appears both from the form of his name and from Cicero's express statement. It seems probable that in many cases the interpreters were freedmen 139 or slaves, and that the languages which they interpreted into Latin were their native tongues. We may well suppose that their Latin, like the English of foreign guides and dragomans, was fluent rather than idiomatic and elegant. This is especially likely to have been the case outside of Italy, if, as Mommsen thinks (Staatsr. I, 352), the magistrates did not bring their interpreters with them from Rome. "Interpreters formed a part of the apparitor es of the magis- trates and of the imperial court, and are occasionally mentioned in inscriptions." 140 After the battle of Pydna, Perseus was taken prisoner and brought before Aemilius Paulus. He asked the king in Greek 1 " what wrong had led him to undertake a war against the Roman people with such a hostile spirit, thus bringing himself and his- kingdom to ultimate ruin. But the king, looking down upon the earth, wept in silence and made no reply. Again the con- sul addressed him, but Perseus uttered not a word. Then Aemilius Paulus, speaking once more in Latin 142 and pointing^ to Perseus, bade the members of his council, with such a sight before their eyes, not to be too elated in the hour of success, nor to take any extreme or inhuman measures against any one. 189 So was the Menander mentioned Dig. XLIX, 15, 5, 3: "Et ideo in quo- dam interprete Menandro, qui, posteaquam apud nos manumissus erat, missus est ad suos, non est visa necessaria lex, quae lata est de illo, ut maneret civis Romanus; nam sive animus ei fuisset remanendi apud suos, desineret esse civis, sive animus fuisset revertendi, maneret civis, et ideo esset lex super-vacua. " 140 Orelli-Henzen 4204: C. IANVARINVS || SEXTVS || INTERPRES || VIVOS SIBI || FECIT. Orelli-Henzen 6319: D- m- || L- DOmitio- 1- 1- || HELIODORO || DOMI- TIVS- PHILETVS || INTERPRES- AVG. N- || EDVCATORI || DIGNIS- SIMO FECIT. 141 Liv. XLV, 8, 6: "haec Graeco sermone Perseo, Latine deinde suis . . . . inquit." 14J Polyb. XXIX, 20: "6 8 (xsTaXo^uv T^JV 'Pcotxafx^v ScdcXextov 58 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients nor in fact ever to feel the permanence of their present good fortune, since it is uncertain what the evening may bring; rather it was precisely at the time of greatest success, either public or private, that a man should be most alive to the pos- sibility of a reverse; even so it was difficult for a man to exhibit moderation in good fortune; but the distinction between fools and wise men was that the former learned only by their own mis- fortunes, the latter also by those of their neighbors. On the day on which Paulus had ordered ten chiefs from each of the states to assemble at Amphipolis, 143 he seated himself on his tribunal, with the ten commissioners that had been ap- pointed by the Senate. Here he was surrounded by the whole multitude of the Macedonians. When silence had been pro- claimed by the herald, Paulus promulgated in the Latin tongue the regulations adopted by the Senate and by himself with the advice of the council. Then Cn. Octavius, the praetor, repeated the same in Greek. After the battle we see in Aemilius Paulus the generous conqueror who, out of regard for the vanquished king, addressed Perseus directly without interposing the bar- rier of an interpreter; before the assembly at Amphipolis, he is the representative of the Roman people and accordingly speaks Latin. A Roman conqueror, however, did not always use his native tongue in addressing a vanquished nation. Thus Octavian, when pardoning the Egyptians in 30 B. C., addressed them in Greek 144 in order that they might understand him. " Liv. XLV, 29. 144 Cassius Dio, LI, 16. CHAPTER X INTERPRETERS OF A BARBARIAN LANGUAGE AND ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE CLASSICAL LANGUAGES The Greek and Latin authors do not always state whether it was Latin or Greek into which the barbarian languages were interpreted 146 ; and occasionally the period of history at which the events took place does not permit us to form a definite con- clusion. As an incident of this sort, Josephus recounts 148 a most interesting story of the use of an intermediary. When Agrippa had been bound by the order of Tiberius, he, with many others who were in the same condition, stood before the imperial palace, leaning in his grief against a certain tree on which an owl happened to be perched. Then one of the captives, a German, noted the Jew and asked the soldier to whom he was bound, who that man in purple was; and when he was informed that his name was Agrippa, and that he was a Jew and one of the principal men of his nation, he requested the soldier to ap- proach nearer to Agrippa in order that he might converse with him, saying that he had a mind to inquire about certain things that related to his country. When he had obtained this per- mission, he approached him and told him through an inter- preter, appealing to his native gods and those of Rome, that what he was going to say about Agrippa's affairs was done neither with a desire to win favor nor to make him cheerful without cause; for such predictions, if they failed, would make 146 An incident of this nature is recorded by Ammianus Marcellinus, XIX, II, 5. The emperor Constantius II sent two tribunes, each with an inter- preter, to the Limigantes, a Sarmatian tribe. Possibly the tribunes spoke Latin, but it is just as likely, if not more probable, that they spoke Greek to their interpreters. 148 Joseph. Antiq. lud. XVIII, 6, 7. 59 60 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients his grief in the end more real and bitter than if he had never heard of any such thing. But he informed him that the gods would provide for him and that he would soon be delivered out of his bonds and promoted to the highest dignity and power, while he would be envied by all those who then pitied him on account of his hard fortune; that he would be happy until his death and leave his happiness to his children. But he also informed him that, when he saw an owl again, death was but five days off. However, he thought it would have been unjust to deprive him of his knowledge of the future, since he could endure his bondage more lightly in view of what was in store for him. In closing, he bade Agrippa remember him in his prosperity and free him from his misery. When the German said this, Agrippa laughed at him as much as he afterwards marveled when the predicted happiness became a reality. We do not know whether the German spoke Latin and had it inter- preted into Greek, or whether he spoke his Teutonic dialect. At any rate, it seems improbable that his speech was interpreted from German or Latin into Hebrew, i. e., Aramaic. We have seen above that Agrippa could speak Greek, but we have no evidence of his knowledge of Latin. It is possible that he had an acquaintance with that tongue, but could not speak it with sufficient fluency to make an address in the Roman Senate. If he had some knowledge of it, he could probably follow the remarks of the German as they were being interpreted from Teutonic into Latin. CHAPTER XI FAILURE OF WRITERS TO CONSIDER DIFFERENCES OF LANGUAGE Various nations, it appears, have had dealings with one an- other from a very remote period. In describing the intercourse of divers nations, the authors in many cases are not troubled by the difference of language and so do not explain how the difficulty was overcome. In their mind the important thing is the historical event and not the incidental matter of the inter- preters or the linguistic difficulties. Many instances of this sort can be drawn from the classical literatures, but for our purpose it will suffice to quote a few. After the victory at Arbela, 147 Alexander the Great received embassies from the Carthaginians and other African states, as well as from Spain, Sicily, Gaul, Sardinia, and Italy. We are informed that Pythagoras studied 148 in Egypt and in Baby- lon, but no mention is made of his studying foreign languages, as is done in the case of Themistocles. The great traveler Herodotus nowhere intimates that he knew the languages of any of the countries that he visited, and yet he only once tells us that he used an interpreter. 149 It is recorded 180 that the great Mithridates, when he was preparing for war against Rome, sent embassies to distant nations: the Cimbri, the Gallograeci, the Sarmatae, and the Bastarnae; but no mention is made of the difficulties attendant upon the use of foreign tongues. Among later examples, Caesar 161 narrates that during the Gallic War he received information about the enemy from captives Just. XII, 13, i. 148 Just. XX, 4, 3. "Hdt. II, 125. 160 Just. XXXVIII, 3, 6. 161 E. g. Caes. B. G. I, 22; VII, 44. 61 62 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients and deserters, but he does not take the trouble to tell us how he overcame the difference of language. In this connexion, it may not be amiss to call attention to the usage of the poets. Persons of different nationalities, speaking various languages, meet and have no difficulty in ad- dressing and understanding one other. Thus Aeneas narrates his adventures to Dido, and the Carthaginian queen has no difficulty in understanding the Trojan. In Italy Aeneas deals with the Italians as though they were akin to him in language. But Vergil has a story which he wishes to tell, and to him the important thing is to narrate it without stopping to explain things which are of minor importance as compared with the spirit of the whole. His ideal was to write a Roman epic, and not a book on linguistic differences and Italic dialects. CHAPTER XII CONCLUSION From the survey presented in the preceding chapters, it appears that interpreters were used extensively in antiquity in diplomatic, administrative, commercial, and private affairs. In fact, they were frequently used when they were unnecessary, as in the cases where national pride forbade a man to speak any language but his own. However, it is the most satisfactory thing for a man to talk directly with the person of foreign speech, as was so strikingly expressed by Themistocles, who, with his Oriental imagery, likened a man's discourse to a piece of tapes- try. Even if interpreters are indispensable, they are not always practical instruments. We have seen that they could not be employed when the patience of a mutinous army would be ex- hausted by hearing the same speech repeated four or five times in different tongues. Furthermore, a resort to them involves confidence in the polyglot's honesty and ability; but Hanno, the Carthaginian, could not always depend on his officers, who sometimes reported his speeches in a contrary sense, either through malice or through their failure to understand. Still this was probably an exceptional case, and on the whole, we may assume that interpreters rendered the languages as faith- fully and as honestly as they were able. It may seem that the references to interpreters are few, considering the prevalence of the institution and the long period represented by the two literatures. But in the historian's mind, the important things are the facts, the causes and the results of movements, and the ideas expressed by men in their speeches. To him the languages used appeared of minor im- portance, and he probably did not think of the attendant dif- ficulties when he was absorbed in the main purpose of his work. 63 64 The Interpreters of Foreign Languages Among the Ancients Only occasionally did he become aware of the difficulties of communication in cases where the use of the interpreter is too prominent to be overlooked. So we should not be sur- prised that the authors have not referred to linguists more frequently ; affairs of everyday knowledge are those least often mentioned in books. INDEX OF QUOTATIONS FROM ANCIENT AUTHORS Aeschylus Again. 1045, 14 Agam. 1046-7, 12 Ammianus Marcellinus XIX, n, 5, 59 Appian De Bella Mith. 50, 12 III De Rebus Samniticis 7, 47 Aristophanes Acharnians 100 sqq., 35 Arrian Anab. IV, 3 42; 43 VII, 1 34 Cassius Dio, Zonaras VIII, 24, 8, in Boissevain, Vol. I, p. 207, 50 XL, 41 13 LI, 16, 58 LVII, 15 54; 55 LX, 8 55 LXXVIII, 6, 53 Caesar B. G. I, 19, 3 51 I, 22, 61 I, 44. 12, 51 I, 47. 4. 5i IV, 20, 4 52 V, 36, 1 51 VII, 44 61 Cicero Ad fam. XIII, 54 21 Ad AtL I, 12, 2 21 XVI, ii, 7, .... 21 Balb. n, 28 47 De div. II, 64, 131, 54 Defin. V, 29, 89, 54 Tusc. V, 40, 116, 9 Vatin. 15, 35. 21 Verr. II, n, 22, 54, 56 II, in, 37, 84 56 II, iv, 22, 49, .... 56 II, iv, 26, 58 56 Claudian Epig. I, 19-20, 52 Curtius III, 12, 6 41 V, ii, I sqq., 40 V, 13, 7 20 VI, 5. 19 41 VI, 9, 34 sqq 55 VI, ii, 4, 21 VII, 10, 4 sqq 42 VIII, 12, 9 34 X, 3, 5-6 41 Digest XXXII, ii, 52 XLIX, 15, 5, 3 57 Diodorus Siculus XI, 57, 35 XVII, 76 41 Gellius VI, 14, 8 sq 54 XVII, 17 16; 18 Herodotus I, 86, 23 II, 125 30; 61 II, 154. 19 II, 164 19 III, 19 24 III, 38 33 III, 139-140 35 IV, 24 21 IV, 78 17 IV, 87 36 IV, in 14 IV, 113 14 IV, 196, 14 Josephus Antiq. lud. I, 4, 3. 9 XVIII, 6, 7 59 XX, 1 1 (9), 2, 32 65 66 Index of Quotations from Ancient Authors Bell. lud. V, 9, 2 32 VI, 2, i, . . 32 VI, 2, 5, ... 33 VI, 6, 2, . . 33 Contra Apionem I, 9. . 32 Justinus XII, 13, i, 61 XX, 4,3, 61 XX, 5, 11-13 30 XXXVIII, 3, 6, 61 Livy I, i, II I, 18 II X, 4, 49 XXII, 13 50 XXIII, 5, ii 25 XXVII, 43, 5 50 XXX, 30 50 XXX, 33 28 XXX, 34 28 XLV, 8, 6, 57 XLV, 29, 58 Lucan Phars. VIII, 348-9 13 Lucian De Sal. 64, 14 Nepos Hann. 13, 2 31; 50 Them. 10, 35 New Testament i Cor. XIV, 7-11,. 10 Acts II, i-n, . . 10 Old Testament Gen. XI, 6-9,. 9 XLII, 20 sqq., 23 Ovid Pont. Ill, 2, 40 19 IV, 13, 17 sqq 19 IV, 14, 39 sqq 25 Trist. V, 10, 37 sqq 10 V, 12, 58-59, 19 Pliny N. H. VI, 5, 5, 15 22 VI, 22, 24, 84-5, 53 VI, 22, 24, 88, ... 15 VII, i, i, 7 9 VII, 24, 24, 88, 16 XXV, 2, 3, 6, .... 16 Plutarch Moralia, Regunt et im- peratorum apophthegmata 185, Them. 15-16, 35 Vitae Alex. 37 17 47, 3 17 Anton. 27, 16 46.2 31 48, i 31 Cato Maior 12 47 22 54 Crassus 33, 48 Fab. Max. 6, I, 50 Sertorius 14, 2, 18 Sulla 27, 2, 21 Them. 6, 3, 35 28, i sqq., 35 29, 1-3, 35 Polybius I, 67 24 I, 69-70 25 I, 80, 26; 27 III, 44, 29 V, 83 44 XI, 19 25:28 XV, 6, 50 XV, ii 28 XV, 12 28 XXIX, 20 57 Pseudo-Aurelius Victor Vir, ill. LXXVI, i 16 Quintilian Inst. XI, 3, 85-7, ... 13 Sallust lug. 18 ii 109, 4 51 Strabo II, 3, 4, C 98, 34 XIII, 4, 12, 629 56 XV, 1,64, 0716 34 Suetonius Nero 13, 48 Tib. 71 54155 Tacitus A nn. II, I o, 52 II, 60, 30 II, 62, 19 Thucydides I, 137-138, 35 IV, 50 36 Index of Quotations from Ancient Authors 67 Valerius Maximus II, 2, 2 II, 2, 3 VIII, 7, 16,.. VIII, 7, Ext. 15 IX, 5, Ext. 3 Xenophon Anab. ,2, 17, , 4, 16, , 6, 4 sqq.. .. , 7, 2 , 8, I ,8, 12 II, 1,7 sqq.,. . II, 3, 17, II, 5, I sqq.,.. 56 55 16 35 21 37 37 37 37 38 37 38 38 39 II, 5, 35, . ..20:46 IV, 2, 18, . . . . 39 IV, 4- 5 39 IV, 5, 10 40 IV, 5, 33-34-- 40 IV, 8, 4 18 IV, 8, 4 sqq.,. 43 V, 4, 4, 44 VII, 2, 19,. . . 44 VII, 3,24-25,. 45 VII, 6, 8 45 VII, 6, 43, ... 45 Cyr. I, i, 4 20 V, 4, 5i 24 VII, 5, 31, ... 24 VIII, 3, 24-25, 24 Mem. IV, 4, 19, .... n 3AIMI1 padtuejs ajBp JSBJ JLJ, sapSuy so^ viNraojnvD jo