- 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-lat2:23.37.1-23.37.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
In Cumae, the besieged consul Gracchus counters the enemy's siege engine by building a tower on the wall and repels the Carthaginian forces with a sudden sally. Meanwhile, Roman forces achieve victories in Lucania and recover revolted towns among the Hirpini.
eae causae cum Fabium tenerent, Sempronius in obsidione erat et iam operibus oppugnabatur.
While these causes detained Fabius, Sempronius was under siege and was already being attacked by siege works.
adversus ligneam ingentem admotam urbi turrem aliam ex ipso muro excitavit consul Romanus, aliquanto altiorem, quia muro satis per se alto subiectis validis sublicis pro solo usus erat.1
Against the huge wooden tower brought up to the city, the Roman consul built another tower from the wall itself, considerably higher, because he had used the wall, which was high enough in itself, as a foundation after placing strong wooden piles beneath it.
inde primum saxis sudibusque et ceteris missilibus propugnatores moenia atque urbem tuebantur;
From there, at first, the defenders protected the walls and the city with stones, stakes, and other missiles;
postremo, ubi promovendo adiunctam muro viderunt turrem, facibus ardentibus plurimum simul ignem coniecerunt.
finally, when they saw the tower, by being moved forward, adjoined to the wall, they threw a vast amount of fire simultaneously with burning torches.
quo incendio trepida armatorum multitudo cum de turre sese praecipitaret, eruptio ex oppido simul duabus portis stationes hostium fudit fugavitque in castra, ut eo die obsesso quam obsidenti2 similior esset Poenus.
When the terrified multitude of armed men was throwing themselves down from the tower because of that fire, a sally from the town through two gates at once routed the enemy’s outposts and drove them back into their camp, so that on that day the Carthaginian was more like one besieged than one besieging.
ad mille trecenti Carthaginiensium caesi et undesexaginta vivi capti, qui circa muros et in stationibus solute ac neglegenter agentes, cum nihil minus quam3 eruptionem timuissent, ex inproviso oppressi fuerant.
About thirteen hundred of the Carthaginians were slain and fifty-nine taken alive, who, acting slackly and negligently around the walls and at the outposts, having feared nothing less than a sally, had been overwhelmed by surprise.
Gracchus, priusquam se hostes ab repentino pavore colligerent, receptui signum dedit ac suos intra muros recepit.
Gracchus, before the enemy could recover themselves from their sudden panic, gave the signal for retreat and withdrew his men inside the walls.
postero die Hannibal elatum secunda re consulem iusto proelio ratus certaturum, aciem inter castra atque urbem instruxit;
On the following day, Hannibal, thinking that the consul, elated by his success, would fight in a regular battle, drew up his battle line between the camp and the city;
ceterum, postquam neminem moveri ab solita custodia urbis vidit nec committi quicquam temerariae spei, ad Tifata redit infecta re. quibus diebus Cumae liberatae sunt obsidione, isdem diebus et in Lucanis ad Grumentum Ti. Sempronius, cui Longo cognomen erat, cum Hannone Poeno prospere pugnat.
but when he saw that no one moved from the usual guard of the city and that nothing was committed to rash hope, he returned to Tifata without accomplishing his purpose. In those same days when Cumae was freed from siege, in those same days also in Lucania near Grumentum, Tiberius Sempronius, who had the surname Longus, fought successfully with Hanno the Carthaginian.
supra duo milia hominum occidit, et ducentos octoginta milites amisit; signa militaria ad quadraginta unum cepit. pulsus finibus Lucanis Hanno retro in Bruttios sese recepit.
He killed more than two thousand men and lost two hundred and eighty soldiers; he captured about forty-one military standards. Driven from the borders of Lucania, Hanno withdrew back into the territory of the Bruttii.
et ex Hirpinis oppida tria, quae a populo Romano defecerant, vi recepta per M. Valerium praetorem, Vercellium, Vescellium, Sicilinum, et auctores defectionis securi percussi. supra quinque milia captivorum sub hasta venierunt;4
And from the Hirpini, three towns which had revolted from the Roman people, Vercellium, Vescellium, and Sicilinum, were recovered by force by the praetor Marcus Valerius, and the authors of the revolt were beheaded with an axe. More than five thousand captives were sold under the spear;
praeda alia militi concessa, exercitusque Luceriam reductus.
the rest of the booty was granted to the soldiers, and the army was led back to Luceria.
- 23.37.2muro... usus erat
The ablative noun muro (modified by satis per se alto) is used as the object of usus erat, the pluperfect of the verb utor which governs the ablative. 'pro solo' functions predicatively as 'as a foundation.' The intervening phrase 'subiectis validis sublicis' is an ablative absolute.
- 23.37.5obsesso quam obsidenti
Datives governed by the comparative adjective similior (more like). Both obsesso (the besieged) and obsidenti (the besieger) are substantival uses of the perfect and present participles respectively.
- 23.37.6nihil minus quam
A strong negative expression meaning 'nothing less than' or 'least of all.' Here, it indicates that they had not expected a sally (eruptionem) at all.
- 23.37.12sub hasta venierunt
The verb venierunt is the perfect of veneo (to be sold). This is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to be sold at public auction (as slaves),' originating from the Roman custom of setting up a spear (hasta) where booty or captives were auctioned.