Papirius's Hoax
I mentioned previously that Cicero's Pro Archia Poeta was one of the first pieces of "real" Latin that I read. Also early in my introduction to Latin literature I was exposed to a few selections from Aulus Gellius's Attic Nights.
Aulus Gellius may not have been a great author, but he was certainly a great note taker! Attic Nights is a compilation of notes on things he found interesting, and includes stories, legal matters, discussions of philosophical issues, short biographies, explanations on words and grammar, and other items. If he were alive today, perhaps he would be writing a blog on things from old literature that he particularly liked.
The story of Papirius Praetextatus is an entertaining read. I’ll mention that the toga praetexta was the purple-bordered toga worn by free-born boys until they reached manhood and donned the toga virilis. Too much discussion of other matters, such as whether there really was such a custom of Senators bringing their sons to work with them, can ruin the fun, so I’ll just let the story speak for itself.
Mos antea senatoribus Romae fuit in curiam cum praetextatis filiis introire. Tum, cum in senatu res major quaepiam consultata eaque in diem postrerum prolata est placuitque ut eam rem super qua tractavissent ne quis enuntiaret priusquam decreta esset, mater Papirii pueri, qui cum parente suo in curia fuerat, percontata est filium quidnam in senatu patres egissent.
It used to be customary for the senators at Rome to enter the Senate Chamber with their young sons. Then, when an important matter was discussed and postponed to the next day, it was decided that nobody should talk about the matter discussed before it was decided. Papirius's mother, when he had gone to the Senate Chamber with his father, asked what the Senators had been up to in the Senate.
Puer respondit tacendum esse neque id dici licere. Mulier fit audiendi cupidior; secretum rei et silentium pueri animum ejus ad inquirendum everberat; quaerit igitur compressius volientiusque.
The boy responded that he must maintain silence; it wasn't permitted to say. The woman became more desirous of hearing: The secrecy of the matter and the boy's silence excited her mind to inquiry. Therefore, she pressed the matter all the more urgently.
Tum puer, matre urgente, lepidi atque festivi mendacii consilium capit. Actum in senatu dixit, utrum videretur utilius exque republica esse unusne ut duas uxores haberet, an ut una apud duos nupta esset.
Then the boy, at his mother's insistence, came up with a witty and humorous lie. He said that the Senate had raised the issue of whether it seemed more useful and advantageous to the republic that a man should have two wives, or a woman be married to two men.
Hoc illa ubi audivit, animus compavescit, domo trepidans egreditur, ad ceteras matronas perfert. Venit ad senatum postridie matrum familias caterva. Lacrimantes atque obsecrantes orant una potius ut duobus nupta fieret quam ut uni duae. Senatores, ingredientes in curiam, quae illa mulierum intemperies et quid sibi postulatio istaec vellet, mirabantur.
When she heard this, she was shaken to the core, and rushed out of the house to carry the news to the other women. The next day a mob of housewives came to the Senate. Crying and pleading, they asked that a woman might have two husbands rather than a man two wives. The senators arriving in the Senate Chamber wondered at the insanity of the women and what they meant by this demand.
Puer Papirius in medium curiae progressus, quid mater audire institisset, quid ipse matri dixisset, rem, sicut fuerat, denarrat. Senatus fidem atque ingenium pueri exosculatur, consultum facit uti posthac pueri cum patribus in curiam ne introeant, praeter ille unus Papirius, atque puero postea cognomentum honoris gratia inditum "Praetextatus" ob tacendi loquendique in aetate praetextae prudentiam.
The boy Papirius stepped out into the middle of the Senate Chamber and explained what his mother insisted on hearing, what he said to his mother, and the whole matter as it happened. The Senate praised the boy's cleverness and faithfulness, and decided that from then on boys should not enter the Senate Chamber with their fathers, except for Papirius himself. From that time on, the boy was given the cognomen "Praetextatus" as an honor because of his prudence in remaining silent and speaking while still in his youth.