Meaning of vae victis | Babel Free

Definitions

woe to the conquered

Examples

“Inde inter Q. Sulpicium tribūnum mīlitum et Brennum rēgulum Gallōrum conloquiō trānsācta rēs est, et mīlle pondō aurī pretium populī gentibus mox imperātūrī factum. Reī foedissimae per sē adiecta indignitās est: pondera ab Gallīs allāta inīqua, et, tribūnō recūsante, additus ab īnsolente Gallō ponderī gladius, audītaque intoleranda Rōmānīs vōx: "vae victīs!"”

Hence a meeting took place between Q. Sulpicius, the tribune, and Brennus, chieftain of the Gauls, who agreed on 1000 pounds of gold as the ransom price of a people soon about to rule the nations. This transaction was foul on its own, and yet was aggravated by an indignity: the Gauls brought forth unjust weights, and when the tribune protested, the insolent Gaul threw his sword onto the scale, with a phrase intolerable to the Romans, "Woe to the conquered!"

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