Marcius's Advance on Rome and Rejection of Envoys — Livy, History of Rome Book 2 (2.39.1–2.39.12), Latin & English

§2.39.1

imperatores ad id bellum de omnium populorum sententia lecti Attius Tullius et Cn. Marcius, exul Romanus, in quo¹ aliquanto plus spei repositum.

Attius Tullius and Gnaeus Marcius, a Roman exile, in whom somewhat more hope was reposed, were chosen as commanders for that war by the common consent of all the states.

§2.39.2

quam spem nequaquam fefellit, ut facile appareret ducibus validiorem quam exercitu² rem Romanam esse. Cerceios profectus primum colonos inde Romanos expulit liberamque eam urbem Volscis tradidit;

He by no means disappointed this hope, so that it easily appeared that the Roman state was stronger in its leaders than in its army. Having set out first for Cerceii, he expelled the Roman colonists from there and delivered that city, as a free one, to the Volscians;

§2.39.3

inde in Latinam viam transversis tramitibus transgressurus Satricum, Longulam, Poluscam, Coriolos, Mugillam — haec Romanis — oppida ademit;

thence, about to cross over to the Latin Way by cross-paths, he took away from the Romans the towns of Satricum, Longula, Polusca, Corioli, and Mugilla;

§2.39.4

inde Lavinium recepit; tum deinceps Corbionem, Vitelliam, Trebium, Lavicos, Pedum cepit.

thence he recovered Lavinium; then in succession he captured Corbio, Vitellia, Trebium, Lavici, and Pedum.

§2.39.5

postremum ad urbem a Pedo ducit et ad fossas Cluilias quinque ab urbe milia passuum castris positis populatur inde agrum Romanum custodibus inter populatores missis, qui patriciorum agros intactos servarent,³ sive infensus plebi magis, sive ut discordia inde inter patres plebemque oreretur.

Lastly, he led his army from Pedum toward the city, and having pitched his camp at the Cluilian trenches, five miles from the city, he ravaged the Roman territory from there, guards having been sent among the ravagers, who were to keep the lands of the patricians untouched, whether because he was more hostile to the plebs, or in order that discord might thereby arise between the patricians and the plebs.

§2.39.7

quae profecto orta esset — adeo tribuni iam ferocem per se plebem criminando in primores civitatis instigabant —, sed externus timor, maximum concordiae vinculum, quamvis suspectos infensosque inter se iungebat animos. id modo non conveniebat, quod senatus consulesque nusquam alibi spem quam in armis ponebant, plebes omnia quam bellum malebat. Sp. Nautius iam et Sex. Furius consules erant. eos recensentes legiones, praesidia per muros aliaque, in quibus stationes vigiliasque esse placuerat, loca distribuentis multitudo ingens pacem poscentium primum seditioso clamore conterruit, deinde vocare senatum, referre de legatis ad Cn. Marcium mittendis coegit. acceperunt relationem patres, postquam apparuit labare plebis animos, missique de pace ad Marcium oratores. atrox responsum rettulerunt:

And this discord indeed would have arisen—so much did the tribunes instigate the plebs, who were already fierce of themselves, by accusing the leading men of the state—but fear of the foreign enemy, the greatest bond of harmony, united their minds, however suspicious and hostile to each other. In this point only they did not agree, that the senate and the consuls placed their hope nowhere else than in arms, while the plebs preferred anything to war. Spurius Nautius and Sextus Furius were now consuls. As they were reviewing the legions and distributing guards along the walls and other places where it had been decided to have stations and watches, a huge multitude of those demanding peace first terrified them with seditious clamor, and then forced them to convene the senate and to propose the sending of envoys to Gnaeus Marcius. The patricians accepted the proposal, after it appeared that the minds of the plebs were wavering, and envoys concerning peace were sent to Marcius. They brought back a harsh response:

§2.39.11

si Volscis ager redderetur, posse agi de pace;⁴ si praeda belli per otium frui velint, memorem se et civium iniuriae et hospitum beneficii adnisurum, ut appareat exilio sibi inritatos, non fractos animos esse.

if the land were restored to the Volscians, it would be possible to treat of peace; if they wished to enjoy the plunder of war in ease, he, mindful both of the injustice of his fellow-citizens and of the kindness of his hosts, would strive to make it appear that his spirit had been provoked by exile, not broken.

§2.39.12

iterum deinde iidem missi non recipiuntur in castra. sacerdotes quoque suis insignibus velatos isse supplices ad castra hostium traditum est; nihilo magis quam legatos flexisse animum.

Then again the same envoys, being sent, were not received into the camp. It is recorded that priests also, veiled with their insignia, went as suppliants to the camp of the enemy; but they turned his mind no more than the envoys had.

Syntax notes4 items

2.39.1in quo
The antecedent of the relative pronoun quo (masculine singular) is Cn. Marcius. It indicates that between the two commanders, more hope was placed especially on Marcius.
2.39.2ducibus validiorem quam exercitu
ducibus and exercitu are ablatives of respect/specification. It means 'the Roman state (or power) was stronger in its leaders than in its army,' contrasting the importance of skilled commanders over mere soldiers.
2.39.5custodibus inter populatores missis, qui... servarent
The first part is an ablative absolute (custodibus... missis). The following relative clause (qui... servarent) takes the imperfect subjunctive to express purpose ('in order that they might keep...').
2.39.11si Volscis ager redderetur, posse agi de pace
A construction of indirect speech (oratio obliqua). The conditional clause si... redderetur is in the subjunctive, and the main clause has an omitted verb of saying, followed by the accusative with infinitive posse agi (impersonal passive, 'that it was possible to treat').

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.39.1-2.39.12