- 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-lat2:10.43.1-10.43.15
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
Describes the siege and capture of Cominium by the other consul Carvilius, and the subsequent panic and rout of the Samnite reinforcements who, caught between the two cities, failed to join either battle and were forced to surrender.
eadem fortuna ab altero consule ad Cominium gesta res. prima luce ad moenia omnibus copiis admotis corona cinxit urbem subsidiaque firma, ne qua eruptio fieret, portis opposuit.
With the same fortune, operations were conducted at Cominium by the other consul. At daybreak, having moved all his forces up to the walls, he surrounded the city with a ring of men and posted strong reserves opposite the gates to prevent any sally.
iam signum dantem eum1 nuntius a collega trepidus de viginti cohortium adventu et ab impetu moratus est et partem copiarum revocare instructam intentamque ad oppugnandum coegit.
Just as he was about to give the signal, a message sent in haste from his colleague about the arrival of twenty cohorts delayed him from the assault and forced him to recall part of his forces that had been drawn up and were intent on the attack.
D. Brutum Scaevam legatum cum legione prima et decem cohortibus alariis equitatuque ire adversus subsidium hostium iussit:
He ordered his lieutenant Decimus Brutus Scaeva, with the first legion, ten allied cohorts, and the cavalry, to go against the enemy’s reinforcements:
quocumque in loco fuisset obvius, obsisteret ac moraretur manumque, si forte ita res posceret, conferret, modo ne2 ad Cominium eae copiae admoveri possent.
wherever he should meet them, he was to block them and delay them, and, if by chance circumstances should demand it, engage in battle, provided only that those forces could not be moved closer to Cominium.
ipse scalas ferri ad muros ab omni parte urbis iussit ac testudine ad portas successit; simul et refringebantur portae et vis undique in muros fiebat. Samnites sicut, antequam in muris viderent armatos, satis animi habuerunt ad prohibendos urbis aditu hostes, ita, postquam iam non ex intervallo nec missilibus, sed cominus gerebatur res et qui aegre successerant ex plano in muros, loco, quem magis timuerant, victo3 facile in hostem inparem ex aequo pugnabant, relictis turribus murisque in forum omnes conpulsi paulisper inde temptaverunt extremam pugnae fortunam;
He himself ordered ladders to be carried to the walls from every part of the city and advanced to the gates under cover of a testudo; at the same time, the gates were being broken down and pressure was being applied to the walls on all sides. Just as the Samnites, before they saw armed men on the walls, had enough courage to keep the enemy from approaching the city, so, after the fight was no longer carried on from a distance or with missiles, but hand-to-hand, and those who had with difficulty climbed from the level ground onto the walls, having won the position they had feared more, were now fighting on equal terms with ease against a disadvantaged enemy, they abandoned the towers and walls and, all driven into the forum, tried from there for a short time the last fortune of battle;
deinde abiectis armis ad undecim milia hominum et quadringenti in fidem consulis venerunt; caesa ad quattuor milia octingenti octoginta. sic ad Cominium, sic ad Aquiloniam gesta res;
then, throwing down their arms, about eleven thousand four hundred men surrendered to the consul’s protection; about four thousand eight hundred and eighty were slain. Thus operations went at Cominium, thus at Aquilonia;
in medio inter duas urbes spatio, ubi tertia expectata erat pugna, hostes non inventi. septem milia passuum cum abessent a Cominio, revocati ab suis neutri proelio occurrerunt.
in the intervening space between the two cities, where a third battle had been expected, the enemy were not found. When they were seven miles away from Cominium, having been recalled by their own people, they met with neither battle.
primis ferme tenebris, cum in conspectu iam castra, iam Aquiloniam habuissent, clamor eos utrimque par accidens sustinuit;
At about the first darkness, when they already had the camp and Aquilonia in view, a clamor from both sides reaching them in equal measure made them halt;
deinde regione castrorum, quae incensa ab Romanis erant, flamma late fusa certioris cladis indicio progredi longius prohibuit.
then, from the direction of the camp, which had been set on fire by the Romans, a widely spreading flame, as an indication of a more certain disaster, prevented them from advancing further.
eo ipso loco temere sub armis strati passim inquietum omne tempus noctis expectando timendoque lucem egere.4
At that very place, lying scattered about haphazardly under arms, they spent the entire restless duration of the night waiting for and dreading the light.
prima luce incerti, quam in partem intenderent iter, repente in fugam consternantur conspectis equitibus, qui egressos nocte ab oppido Samnites persecuti viderant multitudinem non vallo, non stationibus firmatam.
At daybreak, uncertain in which direction to steer their course, they were suddenly thrown into a panic and fled at the sight of the cavalry, who, having pursued the Samnites that had left the town during the night, had spotted a multitude unprotected by either rampart or outposts.
conspecta et ex muris Aquiloniae ea multitudo erat, iamque etiam legionariae cohortes sequebantur. ceterum nec pedes fugientes persequi potuit, et ab equite novissimi agminis ducenti ferme et octoginta interfecti;
This multitude had also been seen from the walls of Aquilonia, and by now even the legionary cohorts were pursuing. However, the infantry could not keep up with the fugitives, and about two hundred and eighty of the rearguard were slain by the cavalry;
arma multa pavidi ac signa militaria duodeviginti reliquere; alio agmine incolumi, ut ex tanta trepidatione, Bovianum perventum est.
in their panic they left behind many arms and eighteen military standards; the rest of the column arrived safely, considering such great confusion, at Bovianum.
- 10.43.2iam signum dantem eum
The participle dantem agrees with the pronoun eum (the consul Carvilius) and expresses an action on the point of happening ('just as he was about to give'). eum is the direct object of the deponent verb moratus est.
- 10.43.4modo ne
modo with the subjunctive possent introduces a proviso or restrictive condition, meaning 'provided only that... not' or 'on the condition that... not.'
- 10.43.6loco, quem magis timuerant, victo
An ablative absolute construction where loco agrees with victo (perfect passive participle of vincere), with the relative clause quem magis timuerant modifying loco. It means 'having overcome the position which they had feared more.'
- 10.43.12expectando timendoque lucem egere
egere is the syncopated form of egerunt (third-person plural perfect of agere, 'to spend time'). The ablative gerunds expectando and timendo share the direct object lucem ('light' or 'daybreak'), describing the manner or means by which they spent the night ('waiting for and dreading the light').