Prayer to Jupiter

Cato related in his Origines how the Etruscan Mezentius demanded of the Rutulians that the first-fruits owed to the gods be handed over to him instead. The Latins, expecting the same treatment, made this vow to Jupiter. The fragment survives through Macrobius; the formula itself is given here, the surrounding narrative is not.

The prayer works by jealousy. No merits are recited to the god and no temple promised — he is informed that a rival has appeared and invited to choose: "if it is more to your heart that we give these things to you rather than to Mezentius". The condition is framed so that to refuse would be to yield to a mortal.

Uti nos victores facias — make us the victors. Not a word about the justice of the cause; the whole argument is about who is to receive the offerings. Religion here is still thoroughly material: the gods live on revenue, and protecting that revenue is their own interest.

A textual note. Peter prints Mezentio, dative: "give them to you rather than to Mezentius". The card's English has Mezentium, accusative, which changes the sense. The Russian follows Peter.