- Source
- Titi Livi ab urbe condita libri editionem priman, Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:10.16.1-10.16.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-22
After the consular elections, the proconsul Decius expelled the Samnite army from their territory. The defeated Samnites fled to Etruria, where they requested a council of Etruscan chiefs and urged them to join the war against Rome by emphasizing their shared strength and past grievances.
comitiis perfectis veteres consules iussi1 bellum in Samnio gerere prorogato in sex menses imperio.
When the elections were completed, the former consuls were ordered to wage war in Samnium, their command having been prolonged for six months.
itaque insequenti quoque anno, L. Volumnio Ap. Claudio consulibus, P. Decius, qui consul in Samnio relictus a collega fuerat, proconsul idem populari non destitit agros, donec Samnitium exercitum nusquam se proelio committentem2 postremo expulit finibus.
And so in the following year also, when Lucius Volumnius and Appius Claudius were consuls, Publius Decius, who as consul had been left in Samnium by his colleague, likewise as proconsul did not cease to ravage the fields, until he finally drove the army of the Samnites, which would nowhere commit itself to battle, out of their territory.
Etruriam pulsi petierunt et, quod legationibus nequiquam saepe temptaverant, id se tanto agmine armatorum mixtis terrore precibus acturos efficacius rati,3 postulaverunt principum Etruriae concilium.
Having been driven out, they made for Etruria, and, thinking that they would more effectively accomplish by so great a force of armed men, with prayers mingled with dread, that which they had often attempted in vain through embassies, they demanded a council of the chiefs of Etruria.
quo coacto, per quot annos pro libertate dimicent cum Romanis, exponunt:
When this had been assembled, they explained for how many years they had been fighting for liberty with the Romans:
omnia expertos esse, si suismet ipsorum viribus tolerare tantam molem belli possent;4 temptasse etiam haud magni momenti finitimarum gentium auxilia. petisse pacem a populo Romano, cum bellum tolerare non possent; rebellasse, quod pax servientibus gravior quam liberis bellum esset.
they had tried everything, to see if they could support so great a weight of war by their own strength; they had also tried the auxiliary forces of neighboring nations, which were of no great importance. They had sought peace from the Roman people when they could not endure the war, and had renewed the war because peace was more grievous to those in servitude than war to the free.
unam sibi spem reliquam in Etruscis restare; scire gentem Italiae opulentissimam armis, viris, pecunia esse; habere accolas Gallos, inter ferrum et arma natos, feroces cum suopte ingenio tum adversus Romanum populum, quem captum a se auroque redemptum, haud vana iactantes, memorent;
Only one hope remained to them in the Etruscans; they knew that they were the wealthiest nation in Italy in arms, men, and money; and that they had as neighbors the Gauls, born amidst iron and arms, fierce not only by their own nature but also against the Roman people, whom they recalled—making no empty boast—as having been captured by themselves and ransomed with gold;
nihil abesse, si sit animus Etruscis, qui Porsinnae quondam maioribusque eorum fuerit, quin Romanos omni agro cis Tiberim pulsos dimicare pro salute sua, non de intolerando Italiae regno cogant.5 Samnitem illis exercitum paratum, instructum armis stipendio venisse; confestim secuturos, vel si ad ipsam Romanam urbem oppugnandam ducant.
there was nothing to prevent them, if the Etruscans had the spirit which once belonged to Porsina and their ancestors, from forcing the Romans, driven from all the land on this side of the Tiber, to fight for their own safety, and not to think of an intolerable dominion over Italy. The Samnite army was ready for them, equipped with arms and pay, and had come; they would immediately follow, even if they should lead them to attack the city of Rome itself.
- 10.16.1iussi
Interpreted as iussi sunt with the ellipsis of the auxiliary verb sunt. The subject is veteres consules (the former consuls).
- 10.16.2nusquam se proelio committentem
The present participle committentem modifies exercitum. The phrase se proelio committere is an idiomatic expression meaning "to engage in battle" or "to commit oneself to battle."
- 10.16.3quod... id se... acturos efficacius rati
The participle rati (thinking), agreeing with the subject (the Samnites), governs the accusative and infinitive construction se... acturos [esse]. The demonstrative pronoun id serves as the object of acturos and refers back to the relative clause introduced by quod.
- 10.16.5si suismet ipsorum viribus tolerare tantam molem belli possent
The conjunction si introduces an indirect question meaning "whether" or "to see if," governing the imperfect subjunctive possent. suismet is the possessive adjective suus reinforced by the emphatic suffix -met.
- 10.16.7non de intolerando Italiae regno cogant
The verb cogant (compel/force) within the quin clause takes Romanos as its object and dimicare as its complementary infinitive. For the phrase non de... regno, one must either supply an ellipted infinitive of thinking (such as cogitare, "not to think about...") or interpret cogant in a pregnant sense as "confine them to [fighting... and not to aiming at...]".
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 2