Romulus et Rémus
The Price of Ambition
Remus confronts Romulus in the afterlife, arguing that the fratricidal path to power was ultimately hollow and unjust.
Greatness that can only be reached through crime can never give solid glory or solid happiness. Remus. So here you are at last, brother, in the same state as me; killing me for that wasn't worth it. The few years you reigned alone are over; nothing remains of them, and you would have spent them more gently if you had lived in peace, sharing authority with me. Romulus. — If I'd had that moderation, I wouldn't have founded the powerful city I established, nor made the conquests that immortalized me. Remus. It would have been better to be less powerful and more just and virtuous; I leave that to Minos and his two colleagues, who are about to judge you.
The Judgment of Inhumanity
Remus rebukes Romulus for his crimes, asserting that true greatness requires moral integrity rather than the pursuit of fleeting glory.
Romulus. That's pretty harsh. On earth, no one would have dared to judge me. Remus. My blood, which you stained your hands with, will condemn you here below, and on earth it will forever blacken your reputation. You wanted authority and glory. Authority only passed through your hands; it slipped away from you like a dream. As for glory, you'll never have it. Before you can be a great man, you first have to be an upright man; and you must keep clear of crimes unworthy of human beings before you aspire to the virtues of the gods.1 You had a monster's inhumanity, and you claimed to be a hero!
The Illusion of Immortality
Romulus admits that his supposed divinity was merely a fabrication believed by a foolish populace, stripping away the final layer of his worldly vanity.
Romulus. You wouldn't have gotten away with talking to me like that back when we were laying out our city. Remus. That's true; and I felt it only too well. But how is it that you've come down here? People said you'd become immortal. Romulus. — My people were foolish enough to believe it.
Read the original Latin
La grandeur à laquelle on ne parvient que par le crime ne saurait donner ni gloire ni bonheur solide.
Rémus. — Enfin vous voilà, mon frère, au même état que moi ; cela ne valait pas la peine de me faire mourir. Quelques années où vous avez régné seul sont finies ; il n’en reste rien, et vous les auriez passées plus doucement si vous aviez vécu en paix, partageant l’autorité avec moi.
Romulus. — Si j’avais eu cette modération, je n’aurais ni fondé la puissante ville que j’ai établie ni fait les conquêtes qui m’ont immortalisé.
Rémus. — Il valait mieux être moins puissant et être plus juste et plus vertueux ; je m’en rapporte à Minos et à ses deux collègues, qui vont vous juger.
Romulus. — Cela est bien dur. Sur la terre personne n’eût osé me juger.
Rémus. — Mon sang, dans lequel vous avez trempé vos mains, fera votre condamnation ici-bas, et sur la terre noircira à jamais votre réputation. Vous vouliez de l’autorité et de la gloire. L’autorité n’a fait que passer dans vos mains ; elle vous a échappé comme un songe. Pour la gloire, vous ne l’aurez jamais. Avant que d’être grand homme il faut être honnête homme, et on doit s’éloigner des crimes indignes des hommes avant que d’aspirer aux vertus des dieux. Vous aviez l’inhumanité d’un monstre et vous prétendiez être un héros !
Romulus. — Vous ne m’auriez pas parlé de la sorte impunément quand nous tracions notre ville.
Rémus. — Il est vrai ; et je ne l’ai que trop senti. Mais d’où vient que vous êtes descendu ici ? On disait que vous étiez devenu immortel.
Romulus. — Mon peuple a été assez sot pour le croire.
Notes
- 1 ↩honnête homme carries the classical French sense of moral integrity and decency (not merely truth-telling); rendered as 'upright man' to keep the parallel with grand homme.
Dialogues des morts, composés pour l'éducation de Mgr le Duc de Bourgogne companion
Rule yourself daily, not just on retreat
Chosen Portion turns the mirror into a daily practice — a short reading and examining question each morning before you lead anyone.
Chosen Portion makes the mirror daily: the ruler-formation questions this collection preserves become a two-minute morning examination in the app.
- A daily formation reading drawn from centuries of counsel to those in authority
- One pointed examination question a day — two minutes, before the meetings start
- Track your practice over weeks and watch the examined life become a habit