- 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
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:10.31.1-10.31.15
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- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-22
As rebellions persist in Samnium and Etruria, the Roman forces defeat the enemies in various locations. Livy reflects on the immense length of the Samnite wars, which he has recorded for forty-six years across four volumes, and marvels at the enemy's unyielding determination to defend their freedom.
his ita rebus gestis nec in Samnitibus adhuc nec in Etruria pax erat; nam et Perusinis auctoribus1 post deductum ab consule exercitum rebellatum fuerat et Samnites praedatum in agrum Vescinum Formianumque et parte alia in Aeserninum quaeque Vulturno adiacent flumini descendere.
With these things having been thus conducted, there was still no peace either among the Samnites or in Etruria; for, with the Perusines as the instigators, a rebellion had been started after the army was withdrawn by the consul, and the Samnites went down to plunder, on one side into the Vescinian and Formian territory, and on another side into the Aeserninian territory and the regions adjacent to the Volturnus river.
adversus eos Ap. Claudius praetor cum exercitu Deciano missus. Fabius in Etruria rebellante denuo quattuor milia et quingentos Perusinorum occidit, cepit ad mille septingentos quadraginta, qui redempti singuli aeris trecentis decem;
Against them, the praetor Appius Claudius was sent with Decius’s army. Fabius, in Etruria which was rebelling anew, slew four thousand five hundred of the Perusines and captured about one thousand seven hundred and forty, who were ransomed at three hundred and ten asses of bronze each;
praeda alia omnis militibus concessa. Samnitium legiones, cum partem Ap. Claudius praetor, partem L. Volumnius pro consule sequeretur, in agrum Stellatem convenerunt. ibi et Samnitium legiones considunt et Appius Volumniusque castra coniungunt. pugnatum infestissimis animis, hinc ira stimulante adversus rebellantes totiens, illinc ad ultimam iam dimicantibus2 spem.
all the other booty was granted to the soldiers. The Samnite legions, while the praetor Appius Claudius pursued one part and the proconsul Lucius Volumnius another, assembled in the Stellatian territory. There both the Samnite legions established themselves and Appius and Volumnius joined their camps. The battle was fought with the most hostile spirits, with anger stimulating them on this side against those who rebelled so many times, and on that side as they fought now for their ultimate hope.
caesa ergo Samnitium sedecim milia trecenti, capta duo milia septingenti; ex Romano exercitu cecidere duo milia septingenti. felix annus bellicis rebus, pestilentia gravis prodigiisque sollicitus; nam et terra3 multifariam pluvisse et in exercitu Ap. Claudi plerosque fulminibus ictos nuntiatum est, librique ob haec aditi.
Therefore, sixteen thousand three hundred of the Samnites were slain, and two thousand seven hundred captured; from the Roman army, two thousand seven hundred fell. It was a successful year in military affairs, but heavy with pestilence and anxious with prodigies; for it was reported both that it had rained earth in many places and that most in the army of Appius Claudius had been struck by lightning, and because of these things the books were consulted.
eo anno Q. Fabius Gurges, consulis filius, aliquot matronas ad populum stupri damnatas pecunia multavit, ex quo multaticio aere Veneris aedem, quae prope Circum est, faciendam curavit. supersunt etiam nunc Samnitium bella, quae continua per quartum iam volumen annumque sextum et quadragesimum a M. Valerio A. Cornelio consulibus, qui primi Samnio arma intulerunt, agimus.
In that year, Quintus Fabius Gurges, the son of the consul, fined several matrons who had been condemned before the people for adultery, from which fine money he took care to build the temple of Venus, which is near the Circus. The Samnite wars still remain, which we have been dealing with continuously now through a fourth volume and a forty-sixth year, from the consuls Marcus Valerius and Aulus Cornelius, who first brought arms into Samnium.
et ne tot annorum clades utriusque gentis laboresque actos nunc referam,4 quibus nequiverint tamen dura illa pectora vinci, proximo anno Samnites in Sentinati agro, Paelignis, ad Tifernum, Stellatibus campis, suis ipsi legionibus, mixti alienis, ab quattuor exercitibus, quattuor ducibus Romanis caesi fuerant;
And not to mention now the disasters of so many years and the labors undergone by both nations, by which nevertheless those hard hearts could not be conquered, in the previous year the Samnites had been slain in the Sentinate territory, among the Paelignians, at Tifernum, and in the Stellatian plains, by their own legions and mixed with foreign ones, by four armies and four Roman leaders;
imperatorem clarissimum gentis suae amiserant; socios belli, Etruscos, Vmbros, Gallos, in eadem fortuna videbant, qua ipsi erant;
they had lost the most illustrious commander of their nation; they saw their allies in war, the Etruscans, Umbrians, and Gauls, in the same fortune in which they themselves were;
nec suis nec externis viribus iam stare poterant; tamen bello non abstinebant: adeo ne infeliciter quidem defensae libertatis taedebat5 et vinci quam non temptare victoriam malebant.
they could no longer stand by either their own or foreign forces; yet they did not abstain from war: so much did they not regret a freedom defended even unsuccessfully, and they preferred to be conquered than not to try for victory.
quinam sit ille, quem pigeat longinquitatis bellorum scribendo legendoque, quae gerentes non fatigaverunt?
Who indeed would be the one to be weary of the length of the wars in writing and reading them, which did not tire those who were waging them?
- 10.31.1Perusinis auctoribus
An ablative absolute consisting of a noun and a noun, where the present participle of the verb esse (which does not exist in Latin) is omitted. It translates to 'with the Perusines as the instigators.'
- 10.31.6dimicantibus
Contrasted with ira stimulante (ablative singular) in the first clause, dimicantibus is a plural dative or ablative form. It can be interpreted as an ablative absolute with an omitted noun like dimicantibus [militibus / animis] (with the fighting men/spirits), or as a dative dependent on the implied verb of stimulating. This translation adopts the symmetrical sense that the resolve of those fighting on the other side was driving them.
- 10.31.8terra
Part of an accusative-and-infinitival construction (ACI) introduced by the main verb nuntiatum est, featuring the perfect infinitive pluvisse of the impersonal verb pluere (to rain). terra is an ablative of means/matter indicating what was rained, meaning 'that it had rained earth.'
- 10.31.11ne ... referam
A pre-emptive or rhetorical subjunctive clause of purpose (specifically, a praeteritio meaning 'not to mention...'). It does not express the purpose of the main action but limits the speaker's own act of speaking.
- 10.31.14taedebat
An impersonal verb of emotion, which takes the person who feels the emotion (here 'they', omitted) in the accusative, and the cause or object of the emotion (defensae libertatis) in the genitive. It translates to 'they did not regret a freedom defended.'
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1