- 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
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:24.38.1-24.38.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Pinarius urgently summons his soldiers to reveal the Hennese conspiracy and explains his pre-emptive plan to slaughter the inhabitants on the following day, praying to the local deities for his cause.
postquam ab eo conloquio in arcem sese recepit, convocatis militibus “credo ego vos audisse, milites,” inquit, “quem ad modum praesidia Romana ab Siculis circumventa et oppressa sint per hos dies.
After he returned to the citadel from that conference, having summoned the soldiers, he said, “I believe, soldiers, that you have heard how the Roman garrisons have been surrounded and overwhelmed by the Sicilians during these days.
eam vos fraudem deum primo benignitate dein vestra ipsi virtute dies noctesque perstando ac pervigilando in armis vitastis. utinam relicum tempus nec patiendo infanda nec faciendo traduci posset!1
That treachery you have avoided, first by the kindness of the gods, then by your own courage, by standing fast and keeping watch in arms day and night. Would that the remaining time could be passed without either suffering or doing unspeakable things!
haec occulta in fraude cautio est, qua usi adhuc sumus; cui quoniam parum succedit, aperte ac propalam claves portarum reposcunt; quas simul tradiderimus,2 Carthaginiensium extemplo Henna erit, foediusque hic trucidabimur, quam Murgantiae praesidium interfectum est.
This caution, which we have used so far, is against hidden treachery; since it has little success for them, they openly and publicly demand back the keys of the gates; as soon as we surrender them, Henna will immediately belong to the Carthaginians, and we shall be slaughtered here more foully than the garrison of Murgantia was slain.
noctem unam aegre ad consultandum sumpsi, qua vos certiores periculi instantis facerem. orta luce contionem habituri sunt ad criminandum me concitandumque in vos populum.
With difficulty I took one night for consultation, in which I might make you aware of the impending danger. At dawn they are going to hold an assembly to accuse me and to stir up the people against you.
itaque crastino die aut vestro aut Hennensium sanguine Henna inundabitur. nec praeoccupati spem ullam nec occupantes3 periculi quicquam habebitis. qui prior strinxerit ferrum, eius victoria erit.
Therefore, tomorrow Henna will be flooded either with your blood or with that of the Hennese. If you are anticipated you will have no hope, but if you anticipate them you will have no danger. The victory will belong to him who first draws the sword.
intenti ergo omnes armatique signum expectabitis. ego in contione ero et tempus, quoad omnia instructa sint, loquendo altercandoque traham.
Therefore, all of you, alert and armed, shall await the signal. I will be in the assembly, and I will spin out the time with speaking and disputing until everything is prepared.
cum toga signum dedero, tum mihi undique clamore sublato turbam invadite ac sternite omnia ferro et cavete quicquam supersit,4 cuius aut vis aut fraus timeri possit.
When I give the signal with my toga, then, raising a shout from all sides for me, assault the crowd and lay everything low with the sword, and take care that nothing survives whose power or treachery can be feared.
vos, Ceres mater ac Proserpina, precor, ceteri superi infernique di, qui hanc urbem, hos sacratos lacus lucosque colitis, ut ita nobis volentes propitii adsitis, si5 vitandae, non inferendae fraudis causa hoc consilii capimus.
I pray to you, mother Ceres and Proserpina, and to the other gods above and below, who inhabit this city, these sacred lakes and groves, that you may thus favor and protect us willingly, if we take this counsel for the sake of avoiding, not of introducing, treachery.
pluribus vos, milites, hortarer, si cum armatis dimicatio futura esset;6 inermes, incautos ad satietatem trucidabitis; et consulis castra in propinquo sunt, ne quid ab Himilcone et Carthaginiensibus timeri possit.”
I would encourage you with more words, soldiers, if there were going to be a battle with armed men; you will slaughter them unarmed and off their guard to satiety; and the consul’s camp is nearby, so that nothing can be feared from Himilco and the Carthaginians.”
- 24.38.2utinam ... posset
"utinam" followed by the imperfect subjunctive ("posset") expresses an unattainable wish in the present. The coordinate forms "patiendo" and "faciendo" are ablatives of the gerund expressing means or manner.
- 24.38.3quas simul tradiderimus
"quas" is a connecting relative referring back to "claves" in the previous clause. "tradiderimus" is in the future perfect indicative, expressing a conditional action that will be completed prior to the future events of the main clause ("erit", "trucidabimur").
- 24.38.5praeoccupati... occupantes
These are perfect passive and present active participles respectively, functioning as nominative plurals agreeing with the implied subject "vos" of the verb "habebitis." They operate circumstantially to imply conditional clauses: "if you are forestalled... if you take the initiative."
- 24.38.7cavete quicquam supersit
The imperative "cavete" is followed by the subjunctive "supersit" with the omission of the negative conjunction "ne" (forming an object clause meaning "take care lest anything survive"). Due to the negative force of the command, the indefinite pronoun "quicquam" is used.
- 24.38.8ut ita nobis volentes propitii adsitis, si
"ut... adsitis" is a subjunctive of wish or prayer. "ita... si..." is a formulaic expression used in solemn oaths or prayers, requesting that the favor of the gods ("ita...") be granted on the condition ("si...") that the speaker's premise is true or just.
- 24.38.9pluribus vos, milites, hortarer, si cum armatis dimicatio futura esset
A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. In contrast to the apodosis "hortarer" (imperfect subjunctive), the protasis uses "futura esset" (imperfect subjunctive of the active periphrastic conjugation, combining the future participle with the imperfect subjunctive of "esse") to hypothesize a future event or likelihood from a past perspective.