- 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-lat2:26.32.1-26.32.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
After Marcellus leaves, the other consul Laevinus consults the senate on the treatment of Syracuse, which, despite speeches advocating for the city, decides to ratify Marcellus' acts while promising future consideration for the citizens. The Sicilian envoys then beg for Marcellus' pardon and reconcile with him, placing themselves under his patronage.
consul alter de postulatis Siculorum ad patres rettulit. ibi cum diu sententiis certatum esset, et magna pars senatus, principe eius sententiae T. Manlio Torquato,1 cum tyrannis bellum gerendum fuisse2 censerent, hostibus et Syracusanorum et populi Romani, et urbem recipi, non capi, et receptam legibus antiquis et libertate stabiliri, non fessam miseranda servitute bello adfligi:
The other consul laid the demands of the Sicilians before the senators. There, when a long debate had taken place, and a large part of the senate, with T. Manlius Torquatus as the leader of their opinion, felt that the war ought to have been waged against the tyrants, the enemies of both the Syracusans and the Roman people, and that the city should have been recovered, not captured, and, once recovered, established in its ancient laws and liberty, not afflicted by war when exhausted by a pitiable servitude.
inter tyrannorum et ducis Romani certamina praemium victoris in medio positam urbem pulcherrimam ac nobilissimam perisse, horreum atque aerarium quondam populi Romani, cuius munificentia ac donis multis tempestatibus, hoc denique ipso Punico bello adiuta ornataque res publica esset.
They argued that, amidst the struggles between the tyrants and the Roman commander, the most beautiful and noble city, placed in the midst as the prize of the victor, had perished—a city which was once the granary and treasury of the Roman people, by whose munificence and gifts the state had been aided and adorned in many difficult times, and finally in this very Punic War.
si ab inferis existat rex Hiero, fidissimus imperi Romani cultor, quo ore aut Syracusas aut Romam ei ostendi posse,3 cum, ubi semirutam ac spoliatam patriam respexerit, ingrediens Romam in vestibulo urbis, prope in porta, spolia patriae suae visurus sit?
If King Hiero, the most faithful cultivator of the Roman empire, should rise from the dead, with what face could either Syracuse or Rome be shown to him, since, when he looked back upon his half-ruined and despoiled fatherland, and entered Rome, he would see at the very entrance of the city, almost in the gate, the spoils of his own country?
— haec taliaque cum ad invidiam consulis miserationemque Siculorum dicerentur, mitius tamen decreverunt patres: acta M. Marcelli, quae is gerens bellum victorque egisset, rata habenda esse; in relicum curae senatui fore rem Syracusanam mandaturosque consuli Laevino, ut, quod sine iactura rei publicae fieri posset, fortunis eius civitatis consuleret.
— While these and similar arguments were being urged to excite ill-will against the consul and pity for the Sicilians, the senators nevertheless passed a milder decree: namely, that the acts of M. Marcellus, which he had performed while conducting the war and as victor, should be ratified; for the future, the affairs of Syracuse should be the care of the senate, and they would instruct the consul Laevinus to consult for the fortunes of that state as far as could be done without detriment to the commonwealth.
missis duobus senatoribus in Capitolium ad consulem, uti rediret in curiam, et introductis Siculis senatus consultum recitatum est, legatique benigne appellati ac dimissi ad genua se Marcelli consulis proiecerunt * et obsecrantes, ut, quae deplorandae ac levandae calamitatis4 causa dixissent, veniam eis daret et in fidem clientelamque se urbemque Syracusas acciperet. pollicens hoc consul clementer appellatos eos dimisit.
Two senators having been sent to the Capitol to the consul, that he might return to the senate house, and the Sicilians having been introduced, the decree of the senate was read aloud. The envoys, having been kindly addressed and dismissed, threw themselves at the feet of the consul Marcellus, entreating him to grant them pardon for what they had said for the sake of deploring and mitigating their calamity, and to receive themselves and the city of Syracuse into his protection and patronage. Promising this, the consul addressed them gently and dismissed them.
- 26.32.1principe eius sententiae T. Manlio Torquato
An ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun principe (ablative of princeps) and the proper name T. Manlio Torquato, lacking a participle of the verb 'to be'. It means 'with T. Manlius Torquatus as the leader of that opinion.'
- 26.32.2gerendum fuisse
A passive periphrastic infinitive (gerundive of obligation) composed of the gerundive gerendum and the perfect infinitive fuisse. Under the indirect speech governed by the subjunctive censerent, it represents a past obligation ('that the war ought to have been waged'). In direct speech, this would correspond to bellum gerendum fuit or gerendum erat.
- 26.32.4quo ore ... ostendi posse
A rhetorical question in indirect speech (oratio obliqua). While real questions in the second or third person typically become conjunctives, rhetorical questions in the third (or first) person (implying 'how could...?') are regularly expressed by an accusative with infinitive (posse). This corresponds to quo ore ... ostendi potest? in direct speech.
- 26.32.8deplorandae ac levandae calamitatis
A gerundive construction in the genitive case, modifying causa (ablative, meaning 'for the sake of'). It consists of the noun calamitatis and the agreeing gerundives deplorandae and levandae, meaning 'for the sake of deploring and mitigating their calamity.'
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1