- 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-lat2:2.29.1-2.29.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
After the consuls' forced levy leads to a riot, the senate is convened, where Appius Claudius proposes appointing a dictator who is exempt from the right of appeal.
utraque re satis experta1 tum demum consules: “ne praedictum negetis, patres conscripti, adest ingens seditio. postulamus, ut ii, qui maxime ignaviam increpant, adsint nobis habentibus dilectum. acerrimi cuiusque arbitrio, quando ita placet, rem agemus.” redeunt in tribunal;
Both matters having been sufficiently experienced, then at last the consuls said: “Lest you deny that you were forewarned, conscript fathers, a huge sedition is at hand. We demand that those who most severely upbraid our cowardice be present with us as we hold the levy. We will conduct the business according to the judgment of each of the fiercest, since it so pleases you.” They returned to the tribunal;
citari nominatim unum ex iis, qui in conspectu erant, dedita opera iubent. cum staret tacitus et circa eum aliquot hominum, ne forte violaretur, constitisset globus, lictorem ad eum consules mittunt.
they ordered one of those who were in sight to be summoned by name on purpose. When he stood silent and a crowd of some men had stood around him lest by chance he should be harmed, the consuls sent a lictor to him.
quo repulso tum vero indignum facinus esse clamitantes, qui patrum consulibus aderant, devolant de tribunali, ut lictori auxilio essent.
When the lictor was repulsed, then indeed crying out that it was an shameful outrage, those of the senators who were standing by the consuls rushed down from the tribunal to be of assistance to the lictor.
sed ab lictore nihil aliud quam prendere prohibito2 cum conversus in patres impetus esset, consulum intercursu rixa sedata est, in qua tamen sine lapide, sine telo plus clamoris atque irarum quam iniuriae fuerat.
But when, though the lictor had been prohibited from nothing other than seizing him, the attack was turned upon the senators, the brawl was quieted by the intervention of the consuls, in which, however, without stone, without weapon, there had been more of clamor and anger than of injury.
senatus tumultuose vocatus tumultuosius consulitur quaestionem postulantibus iis, qui pulsati fuerant, decernente ferocissimo quoque non sententiis magis quam clamore et strepitu.
The senate, having been summoned tumultuously, was consulted still more tumultuously, while those who had been struck demanded an inquiry, and each of the most fierce decreed not so much by votes as by clamor and noise.
tandem cum irae resedissent, exprobrantibus consulibus nihilo plus sanitatis in curia quam in foro esse, ordine consuli coepit.
At length, when the anger had subsided, while the consuls reproached them that there was no more of sanity in the senate-house than in the forum, they began to be consulted in order.
tres fuere sententiae. P. Verginius rem non vulgabat; de iis tantum, qui fidem secuti P. Servili consulis Volsco, Aurunco Sabinoque militassent bello, agendum censebat. T. Larcius non id tempus esse, ut merita tantummodo exsolverentur; totam plebem aere alieno demersam esse, nec sisti posse, ni omnibus consulatur; quin, si alia aliorum sit condicio, accendi magis discordiam quam sedari.
There were three opinions. Publius Verginius did not make the matter general; he thought that action should be taken only regarding those who, trusting the promise of the consul Publius Servilius, had served in the Volscian, Auruncan, and Sabine wars. Titus Larcius thought that it was not the time for only services to be paid; that the entire plebs was submerged in debt, and that the situation could not be arrested unless provision were made for all; indeed, if the condition of some should be different from that of others, discord would be inflamed rather than quieted.
Ap. Claudius, et natura inmitis et efferatus hinc plebis odio, illinc patrum laudibus, non miseriis ait, sed licentia tantum concitum turbarum, et lascivire magis plebem quam saevire.
Appius Claudius, both harsh by nature and driven wild, on the one hand by the hatred of the plebs, on the other by the praises of the patricians, said that the disturbances had been excited not by miseries, but by licentiousness alone, and that the plebs was growing wanton rather than raging.
id adeo malum ex provocatione natum; quippe minas esse consulum, non imperium, ubi ad eos, qui una peccaverint, provocare liceat.
This evil, indeed, had arisen from the right of appeal; for there were only threats of the consuls, not power, where it was permitted to appeal to those who had sinned together.
“agedum” inquit “dictatorem, a quo provocatio non est, creemus, iam hic, quo nunc omnia ardent, conticiscet furor.
”Come now,” he said, “let us create a dictator, from whom there is no appeal; immediately this madness, by which all things are now on fire, will grow silent.
pulset tum mihi lictorem,3 qui sciet ius de tergo vitaque sua penes unum illum esse, cuius maiestatem violarit.”
Let him then, if he dares, strike a lictor, who will know that the right over his back and life is in the power of that single man whose majesty he has violated.”
- 2.29.1utraque re satis experta
Ablative absolute meaning "both matters having been sufficiently experienced." "Both matters" refers to the events of the previous chapter: the plebeians' refusal of the levy and the senators' severe rebuke of the consuls' cowardice.
- 2.29.4ab lictore nihil aliud quam prendere prohibito
An ablative absolute construction (ab lictore ... prohibito) enclosing the restrictive adverbial phrase "nihil aliud quam" (nothing other than). It means "with the lictor having been prevented from nothing other than seizing (him)."
- 2.29.12pulset tum mihi lictorem
"pulset" is a third-person singular present subjunctive, here expressing a concessive or defiant permission/challenge ("let him then strike"). "mihi" is an ethic dative (dative of reference), indicating the speaker's (Appius's) intense interest or sarcastic defiance.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1