Transcription
« Alterum, quod extra urbem videas, nimirum extra portam quâ Lugdunum itur, est arcus triumphalis C. Marii Cos. Romani, monumentum totius Galliae antiquissimum. Hunc arcum dicitur posuisse postquam in agro illo Cimbros devicisset, adjutus Catuli subsidio, ita ut uno die C XL M LX fuderit Totum hoc monumentum quadratâ formâ fiat : cujus inferior pars & concava in formam arcûs est fornicata, tribusque portis & cameris dscriminata, quarum lapides veteri artificio sunt incisi & exornati. Anticâ & primâ exterioris muri parte repræsentantur trophæa omnis generis terrâ facta, ut sunt scuta, hastæ, cuspides, clypei, thoraces, parmæ, telorum fasciculi ; lupi item, qui signa erant militaria. Superiori parte nautica extant trophæa, sed vetustate exesa vix lineamenta ostendunt. nec dubium est quin verba quædam superscripta fuerint, testibus vestigiis ; sed vetustate temporis abiêre. de his Ausonius verò :
[466] Miramur periisse homines, monumenta fatiscunt :
Mors etiam saxis nominibusque venit.
Trophæis istis nauticis imposita fuit imago sculpta cujusdam sagæ, quæ digitum auri immittens, videtur eventus consiliorum signare velle. Hæc ex Syria oriunda, aliquando in spectaculo gladiatorio uxori C. Marii prædicens quisnam congredientium futurus esset victor, mox ab uxore ad maritum C. Marium missa est, qui eam honorare secumque in lectica circumducere voluit ; ejusque suasu & præmonstratione prælia solùm inivit. Ad hanc sagam prælia sculpta repræsentantur. Altera arcûs quadra, dextrorsum, habet & nautica & terrestria trophæa ; ibi tres thoraces grandiores, quibus singulis bina præposita sunt semicomesa capita. Tertia, grandiora habet & navalia & terrestria trophæa ; inter illa malus & vela adhuc conspiciuntur, nec non litui, quorum usus erat auguribus in captandis vaticiniis ; Ibidem. Videre est prælium inter Cimbros & Romanos. Quarta ostendit triumphum, quo Cimbros captos vinctosque Roman duxerit. »
= “Another thing to be seen outside the town, placed, not surprisingly, near the gateway giving towards Lyon, is the triumphal arch of C. Marius, Roman consul – the oldest monument in all France. It is said that C. Marius erected the arch in this place after having defeated, with the help of Catulus, the Cimbri here; 140,060 men were shed in a single day. As a whole, the monument is square in shape, but the lower, hollow part is arched; there are three doorways and three vaults, the stones of which have been engraved and adorned with ancient skill. First and foremost, part of the external wall represents all kinds land victories; one can see large shields, spears, daggers, round shields, breastplates, small hand-held shields, bundles of arrows, as well as the military emblem of the she-wolf. The part above this is dedicated to sea victories, but the lines of these have been eroded by time. There were certainly some inscriptions, traces of which remain, but time has taken its toll. As Ausonius rightly says:
'miramur periisse homines ;
monumenta fatiscunt: mors etiam saxis nominibusque venit'
(Should we wonder that men perish? Monuments crumble and death comes even to stones and names).
Along with these sea victories, there is a sculpted image of a certain fortune-teller, with a finger in her ear, which apparently signifies her ability to foresee the future. This fortune-teller, a native of Syria, was present one day at a show of gladiators in which C. Marius was participating and she predicted to his wife that he would be future victor of the combat. Marius' wife immediately sent her to her husband who, it is said, did her the honour of carrying her around in his litter and took her advice and listened to her premonitions before every battle; close by this fortune-teller there are representations of battles. On the right side of the arch, there are more sea and land victories, there are also here three very large breastplates and, above each one, two heads, half eaten away. The third side is also decorated with large images of both sea and land victories; one can still make out a mast and sails, but not the curved staffs that the augurs used to make their predictions. In the same place, one can also see the battle between the Cimbri and the Romans. The fourth side shows the triumphant outcome of this battle, with the defeated and captive Cimbri being led to Rome.”
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