- 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-lat2:26.8.1-26.8.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-28
Upon receiving news of Hannibal's march toward Rome, the Roman senate debates whether to recall all forces or maintain the siege of Capua, ultimately adopting Valerius's compromise which dispatches Fulvius with a portion of the army to defend the capital.
id priusquam fieret, ita futurum conpertum ex transfugis Fulvius Flaccus senatui Romam scripsisset, varie animi hominum pro cuiusque ingenio adfecti sunt.
Before this should happen, when Fulvius Flaccus had written to the senate at Rome that it had been learned from deserters that it would so happen, the minds of men were variously affected according to each one’s character.
ut in re tam trepida senatu extemplo vocato P. Cornelius, cui Asinae cognomen erat, omnes duces exercitusque ex tota Italia neque Capuae neque ullius alterius rei memor ad urbis praesidium revocabat;
As is usual in so alarming a situation, the senate having been immediately summoned, Publius Cornelius, whose cognomen was Asina, was for recalling all commanders and armies from the whole of Italy for the protection of the city, mindful neither of Capua nor of any other matter;
Fabius Maximus abscedi a Capua terrerique et circumagi ad nutus comminationesque Hannibalis flagitiosum ducebat:
Fabius Maximus deemed it disgraceful to depart from Capua, to be terrified, and to be driven about at the beck and threats of Hannibal:
qui ad Cannas victor ire tamen ad urbem ausus non esset, eum a Capua repulsum spem potiundae urbis Romae cepisse!1
that he who, as victor at Cannae, had nevertheless not dared to go to the city, should, having been repulsed from Capua, conceive the hope of capturing the city of Rome!
non ad Romam obsidendam, sed ad Capuae liberandam obsidionem ire. Romam cum eo exercitu, qui ad urbem esset, Iovem foederum ruptorum ab Hannibale testem deosque alios defensuros esse.
[He argued] that he was marching not to besiege Rome, but to raise the siege of Capua. Rome, together with that army which was at the city, Jupiter, the witness of the treaties broken by Hannibal, and the other gods would defend.
has diversas sententias media sententia P. Valerii Flacci vicit, qui utriusque rei memor imperatoribus, qui ad Capuam essent, scribendum censuit, quid ad urbem praesidii esset;2 quantas autem Hannibal copias duceret aut quanto exercitu ad Capuam obsidendam opus esset, ipsos scire.
These conflicting opinions were defeated by the middle opinion of Publius Valerius Flaccus, who, mindful of both matters, voted that they should write to the commanders who were at Capua, stating what protection there was for the city; but as to how great forces Hannibal was leading, or how large an army was needed for besieging Capua, they themselves knew.
si ita Romam e ducibus alter et exercitus pars mitti posset, ut ab reliquo et duce et exercitu Capua recte obsideretur, inter se compararent Claudius Fulviusque, utri obsidenda Capua, utri ad prohibendam obsidione patriam Romam veniundum esset.3
If one of the generals and a part of the army could be sent to Rome in such a way that Capua might be properly besieged by the remaining general and army, Claudius and Fulvius should arrange between themselves which of them should besiege Capua, and which should come to Rome to prevent their country from being besieged.
hoc senatus consulto Capuam perlato Q. Fulvius proconsul, cui, collega ex vulnere aegro, digrediundum Romam erat, e tribus exercitibus milite electo, ad quindecim milia peditum, mille equites Vulturnum traducit.
When this decree of the senate was brought to Capua, the proconsul Quintus Fulvius, who, since his colleague was ill from a wound, had to depart for Rome, having selected soldiers from the three armies, led about fifteen thousand infantry and a thousand cavalry across the Volturnus.
inde cum Hannibalem Latina via iturum satis comperisset, ipse per Appiae municipia quaeque propter eam viam sunt, Setiam, Coram, Lauinium praemisit, ut commeatus paratos et in urbibus haberent et ex agris deviis in viam proferrent praesidiaque in urbes contraherent, ut sua cuique res publica in manu esset.
Then, when he had sufficiently ascertained that Hannibal would go by the Latin Way, he himself sent word ahead through the municipalities of the Appian Way and those which are near that road, namely Setia, Cora, and Lanuvium, that they should keep provisions prepared and in their cities, and bring them from the out-of-the-way fields into the road, and draw their guards into the cities, so that each one’s state might be in his own hand.
- 26.8.4eum a Capua repulsum spem potiundae urbis Romae cepisse!
An accusative with infinitive of exclamation expressing indignation, where the subject eum is in the accusative and the verb is the infinitive cepisse. Additionally, potiundae urbis Romae is a gerundive construction with the verb potior (which usually governs the ablative) agreeing with urbs Roma.
- 26.8.6quid ad urbem praesidii esset
quid is a neuter pronoun, and praesidii is a partitive genitive dependent on it, meaning "what [of] protection" (i.e., how much protection). esset is subjunctive in an indirect question.
- 26.8.8utri obsidenda Capua, utri ad prohibendam obsidione patriam Romam veniundum esset
Two different gerundive constructions are arranged in parallel. In the first part, obsidenda Capua [esset] is the attributive (passive) use of a transitive verb, agreeing with the subject Capua. In the second part, veniundum esset is the impersonal use of the intransitive verb venire. Both instances of utri are the dative of the interrogative pronoun uter ("which of the two"), functioning as the dative of agent with the gerundives.