- 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-lat2:24.35.1-24.35.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Marcellus recovers several defected Sicilian cities and destroys Megara, while the Carthaginian general Himilco lands a formidable army at Heraclea to capture Agrigentum, prompting the Syracusans to divide their forces and send Hippocrates to confront the alert Roman troops.
interim Marcellus cum tertia fere parte exercitus ad recipiendas urbes profectus, quae in motu rerum ad Carthaginienses defecerant, Helorum atque Herbesum dedentibus ipsis recepit, Megara vi capta diruit ac diripuit ad reliquorum ac maxime Syracusanorum terrorem.
Meanwhile, Marcellus, having set out with about a third part of his army to recover the cities which in the confusion of affairs had defected to the Carthaginians, recovered Helorus and Herbesus, as they themselves surrendered. Megara, captured by force, he demolished and plundered, to the terror of the rest and especially of the Syracusans.
per idem fere tempus et Himilco, qui ad Pachyni promunturium classem diu tenuerat, ad Heracleam, quam vocant Minoam, quinque et viginti milia peditum, tria equitum, duodecim elephantos exposuit, nequaquam cum quantis copiis ante tenuerat ad Pachynum classem.1
About the same time, Himilco, who had long kept his fleet at the promontory of Pachynus, landed at Heraclea, which they call Minoa, twenty-five thousand infantry, three thousand cavalry, and twelve elephants, with forces by no means of the same size as those with which he had previously held the fleet at Pachynus.
sed, postquam ab Hippocrate occupatae Syracusae erant, profectus Carthaginem adiutusque ibi et ab legatis Hippocratis et litteris Hannibalis, qui venisse tempus aiebat Siciliae per summum decus repetendae, et ipse haud vanus praesens monitor facile perpulerat, ut quantae maximae possent peditum equitumque copiae in Siciliam traicerentur.
But, after Syracuse had been occupied by Hippocrates, having set out for Carthage, and being aided there both by the envoys of Hippocrates and by a letter from Hannibal, who said that the time had come for recovering Sicily with the greatest glory, and being himself no uninfluential adviser present in person, he easily persuaded them that the largest possible forces of infantry and cavalry should be transported into Sicily.
adveniens Heracliam, intra paucos inde dies Agrigentum recepit; aliarumque civitatium, quae partis Carthaginiensium erant, adeo accensae sunt spes ad pellendos Sicilia Romanos, ut postremo etiam qui obsidebantur Syracusis animos sustulerint.
Arriving at Heraclea, within a few days from there he recovered Agrigentum; and the hopes of the other states which were on the side of the Carthaginians were so kindled for driving the Romans out of Sicily, that finally even those who were being besieged in Syracuse raised their spirits.
et parte copiarum satis defendi urbem posse rati ita inter se munera belli partiti sunt, ut Epicydes praeesset custodiae urbis, Hippocrates Himilconi coniunctus bellum adversus consulem Romanum gereret.
And thinking that the city could be sufficiently defended by a part of the forces, they so divided the duties of the war among themselves, that Epicydes should command the defense of the city, while Hippocrates, united with Himilco, should wage war against the Roman consul.
cum decem milibus peditum, quingentis equitibus nocte per intermissa custodiis loca profectus castra circa Acrillas urbem ponebat.
Having set out by night with ten thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry through places left unguarded by the sentries, he began to pitch his camp around the city of Acrillae.
munientibus supervenit Marcellus ab Agrigento iam occupato, cum frustra eo praevenire hostem festinans tetendisset, rediens, nihil minus ratus quam2 illo tempore ac loco Syracusanum sibi exercitum obvium fore;
As they were fortifying their camp, Marcellus came upon them, returning from Agrigentum, which was already occupied, after having hastened thither in vain to forestall the enemy, and thinking of nothing less than that a Syracusan army would encounter him at that time and place.
sed tamen metu Himilconis Poenorumque, ut quibus nequaquam eis copiis, quas habebat, par esset,3 quam poterat maxime intentus atque agmine ad omnes casus composito ibat.
But yet, through fear of Himilco and the Carthaginians, since he was by no means a match for them with the forces which he had, he was marching as alert as possible and with his column formed for all emergencies.
- 24.35.3nequaquam cum quantis copiis ante tenuerat ad Pachynum classem
This phrase indicates that Himilco's current army was far larger (thanks to reinforcements from Carthage) and by no means comparable to the relatively small forces with which he had previously held the fleet at Pachynus. The phrase 'quantis copiis' functions as a relative clause with attraction, correlating with an implied 'tantis copiis' which would be the object of 'cum'.
- 24.35.9nihil minus ratus quam
'ratus' is the perfect participle of the deponent verb 'reor' (to think), agreeing with the subject Marcellus. The idiom 'nihil minus... quam' literally means 'thinking nothing less than...', which functions as a strong negative expectation, translated as 'least of all expecting that...' or 'dreaming of nothing less than...'.
- 24.35.10ut quibus nequaquam eis copiis, quas habebat, par esset
The clause is introduced by 'ut' followed by a relative pronoun (quibus) and a subjunctive verb (esset), expressing a characteristic or causal clause ('since he was...'). The relative pronoun 'quibus' in the dative case refers to 'Himilconis Poenorumque', while the subject of 'esset' is Marcellus: 'since he was by no means a match for them (quibus) with the forces he had.'