An Execrable Crime, by Anonymous (‘A. H.’)

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Camillus, struck with horror at the treachery of this man, at length exclaimed, “Execrable villain, offer thy abominable proposals to creatures like thyself, and not to me; we fight not against innocence, but against men - men who have used us ill indeed, but yet whose crimes are virtues, when compared to thine.” He then ordered him to be stripped, his hands tied behind him, and then to be whipped into the town by those very scholars he would have betrayed.

Camillus, after this, when he returned to Rome, met with such ingratitude, that to avoid being brought to trial for some supposed offence,* he determined to leave Rome; and, lifting up his hands to heaven, entreated they might one day be sensible of their ingratitude and injustice.*

by Anonymous (‘A. H.’) 1853

Taken from ‘Anecdotes from Roman, English, and French History’ (1853) by ‘A. H.’. Additional information from the biography of Camillus in ‘The Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans’ by Plutarch (?46-?120).

* He was accused of appropriating the spoils of war for his own use, a handy tool in the hands of unscrupulous rivals if everyone does it but it is technically illegal. It was by the same ruse that Robert Clive fell victim to the East India Company he had served so well: see Clive of India.

* See A Ransom of Iron.

Précis

Instead of seizing the opportunity given to him, Camillus publicly denounced the treacherous schoolmaster, and arranged for the kidnapped children to thrash him all the way back to town. In Rome, however, Camillus was still under a cloud, and some trumped up charges were enough to secure his banishment — vowing as he went that the Senate would regret their decision.

Questions for Critics

1. What is the author aiming to achieve in writing this?

2. Note any words, devices or turns of phrase that strike you. How do they help the author communicate his ideas more effectively?

3. What impression does this passage make on you? How might you put that impression into words?

Based on The English Critic (1939) by NL Clay, drawing on The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910, by J. E. Spingarn, Professor of Comparative Literature in Columbia University, USA.

Jigsaws

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

A schoolmaster took his pupils hostage. He offered them to Camillus. He refused them.

Précis

Questions for Critics

Jigsaws

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