- 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-lat2:21.50.1-21.50.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
After the Romans win a naval victory over the Carthaginians off Lilybaeum, the consul Sempronius arrives at Messana, where King Hiero of Syracuse promises supplies and continued support.
ubi in altum evecti sunt Romanus conserere pugnam et ex propinquo vires conferre velle;1
When they had advanced into the open sea, the Romans wished to engage in close combat and to compare their strength hand to hand;
contra eludere Poenus et arte, non vi rem gerere naviumque quam virorum aut armorum malle certamen facere.
on the other hand, the Carthaginians sought to evade them and to conduct the operation by skill, not by force, and preferred to make it a contest of ships rather than of men or weapons.
nam ut sociis navalibus adfatim instructam classem ita inopem milite habebant,2 et, sicubi conserta navis esset, haudquaquam par numerus armatorum ex ea pugnabat.
For just as they kept their fleet abundantly equipped with rowers, so they had it deficient in soldiers; and wherever a ship was grappled, a far from equal number of armed men fought from it.
quod ubi animadversum est, et Romanis multitudo sua auxit animum et paucitas illis minuit.
When this was observed, their own numbers increased the courage of the Romans, while their fewness diminished that of the enemy.
extemplo septem naves Punicae circumventae, fugam ceterae ceperunt. mille et septingenti fuere in navibus captis milites nautaeque, in his tres nobiles Carthaginiensium.
Immediately, seven Carthaginian ships were surrounded; the rest took to flight. There were one thousand seven hundred soldiers and sailors in the captured ships, among them three noble Carthaginians.
classis Romana incolumis, una tantum perforata navi, sed ea quoque ipsa reduce, in portum rediit.
The Roman fleet, undamaged, with only one ship having been holed, but even that one itself returning, came back into the harbor.
secundum hanc pugnam nondum gnaris eius qui Messanae erant,3 Ti. Sempronius consul Messanam venit.
After this battle, while those who were at Messana were not yet aware of it, the consul Tiberius Sempronius came to Messana.
ei fretum intranti rex Hiero classem ornatam armatamque obviam duxit, transgressusque ex regia in praetoriam navem gratulatus sospitem cum exercitu et navibus advenisse precatusque prosperum ac felicem in Siciliam transitum, statum deinde insulae et Carthaginiensium conata exposuit pollicitusque est, quo animo priore bello populum Romanum iuvenis adiuvisset, eo senem adiuturum;
As he was entering the strait, King Hiero led out a fleet fully equipped and armed to meet him, and having crossed from the royal ship to the praetorian ship, congratulated him on having arrived safely with his army and ships, and prayed for a prosperous and happy passage into Sicily. He then explained the state of the island and the attempts of the Carthaginians, and promised that with the same spirit with which he had assisted the Roman people in the former war as a young man, he would assist them now as an old man;
frumentum vestimentaque sese legionibus consulis sociisque navalibus gratis praebiturum; grande periculum Lilybaeo maritumisque civitatibus esse, et quibusdam volentibus novas res fore.4
he would supply grain and clothing to the consul’s legions and the naval allies free of charge; he added that there was great danger to Lilybaeum and the maritime states, and that a change of government would be desired by some.
ob haec consuli nihil cunctandum visum, quin Lilybaeum classe peteret. et rex regiaque classis una profecti. navigantes inde pugnatum ad Lilybaeum fusasque et captas hostium naves accepere.
On this account, it seemed to the consul that he must not delay at all in heading for Lilybaeum with his fleet. And the king and the royal fleet set out together. Sailing from there, they received news that a battle had been fought at Lilybaeum, and that the enemy’s ships had been routed and captured.
- 21.50.1conserere pugnam et ex propinquo vires conferre velle
The infinitive velle is a historical infinitive, used instead of the imperfect indicative (volebat). The subject Romanus is a collective singular. The infinitives eludere, gerere, and malle in §21.50.2 are also historical infinitives.
- 21.50.3ut sociis navalibus adfatim instructam classem ita inopem milite habebant
The correlatives ut... ita... express contrast ('while on the one hand... on the other hand...'). The ablatives sociis navalibus and milite modify instructam and inopem respectively as ablatives of specification or separation.
- 21.50.7nondum gnaris eius qui Messanae erant
This is an ablative absolutus construction with gnaris acting as a substantive (with an implied pronoun eis, the antecedent of qui Messanae erant). The adjective gnaris governs the genitive eius ('of this matter', referring to the outcome of the battle).
- 21.50.10quibusdam volentibus novas res fore
The phrase quibusdam volentibus is a dative construction imitating the Greek idiom 'it is to those wishing' (βουλομένοις ἐστίν). Along with the accusative subject novas res and the infinitive fore (futurum esse), it forms an accusative and infinitive clause in indirect speech ('that a change of affairs would be welcome to some').