Beware the fury of the Legions (attributed to Marcus Flavius) (1961 English 1960 French)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

On 3/3/2012 12:21 PM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter<wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Beware the fury of the Legions (attributed to Marcus Flavius)
>                (1961 English 1960 French)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> _The Centurions_ is a novel about the Algerian War.  The Wikipedia article
> is apparently informative:
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Centurions_(novel)
>
> JL
>
> On Sat, Mar 3, 2012 at 11:30 AM, Garson O'Toole
> <adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com>wrote:
>
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society<ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Garson O'Toole<adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Beware the fury of the Legions (attributed to Marcus Flavius)
>>               (1961 English 1960 French)
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> An Op-ed published in the Washington Post in 2010 contained part of a
>> letter attributed to a Roman commander named Marcus Flavius.
>>
>> Cite: 2010 June 27, Washington Post, The making of four-star arrogance
>> by Andrew Bacevich, Page B1, Washington, D.C. (ProQuest) [Online
>> title: Endless war, a recipe for four-star arrogance]
>>
>>
>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/25/AR2010062502160_pf.html
>>
>> Professor Jonathan Lighter may have encountered this letter which was
>> excerpted in some books during the Vietnam War era. Here is the
>> version of the text presented in a collection of military quotations.
>>
>> Cite: 1966, "Dictionary of Military and Naval Quotations" edited by
>> Robert Debs Heinl, Category: Home Front, Page 149, Column 2, United
>> States Naval Institute, Annapolis, Maryland. (Verified on paper)
>>
>> [Begin excerpt; Paragraph breaks added for readability]
>>
>> We had been told, on leaving our native soil, that we were going to
>> defend the sacred rights conferred on us by so many of our citizens
>> settled overseas, so many years of our presence, so many benefits
>> brought by us to populations in need of our assistance and
>> civilization. We could verify that all this was true, and, because
>> true, we did not hesitate to shed our share of blood, to sacrifice our
>> youth and hopes.
>>
>> We regretted nothing, but whereas we over here are inspired by this
>> frame of mind, I am told that in Rome factions and conspiracies are
>> rife, that treachery flourishes, and that many in their uncertainty
>> and confusion lend ready ear to the dire temptations of relinquishment
>> and vilify our actions .. . Make haste to reassure me, I beg you, and
>> tell me that our fellow citizens understand us, support us, and
>> protect us, as we ourselves are protecting the glory of the Empire.
>>
>> If it should be otherwise, if we should have to leave our bleached
>> bones on these desert sands in vain, then beware the anger of the
>> Legions.
>>
>> Marcus Flavinius: To his cousin, Tertullus, in Rome. 2d century A. D.
>> (Flavinius was a centurion, 2d Cohort, Augusta Legion.)
>>
>> [End excerpt]
>>
>> Some modern variants use the phrase "fury of the Legions" instead of
>> "anger of the Legions".
>>
>> The earliest instance I have located of this letter is in a book
>> called "The Centurions" by Jean Larteguy. The publication date is 1962
>> and the copyright is 1961. This is a Google Books match which I have
>> not checked on paper.
>>
>> "The Centurions" is an English translation of a French book called
>> "Les Centurions", and Google Books shows snippets of the letter
>> attributed to Marcus Flavinius in French. Here is a link into the
>> French book which has a publication date of 1960.
>>
>> http://books.google.com/books?id=QTAvAAAAIAAJ&q=Flavinius#search_anchor
>>
>> Is this letter a piece of fiction? Earlier evidence for this missive
>> has so far escaped me. Perhaps some list member can trace this text
>> back in time in English, French, Latin or some other language.
>>
>> Thanks for any help you can provide
--

Here is a short discussion of the provenance of Larteguy's text:

http://www.empereurs-romains.net/empret62a.htm#5a

A possible inspiration: Ellis Cornelia Knight's 1792 novel _Marcus
Flaminius_ (written in the form of letters from Marcus) (available
on-line, at G-books and elsewhere, French translation also available).

Incidentally and perhaps irrelevantly, I see that the phrase "la colère
des Légions" is found in French translations of Tacitus (e.g., for
"iracundia legionum" [Historiae_ 4:25], for "contumelia legionum"
[_Annales_ 2:13]).

-- Doug Wilson

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