- 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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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:27.13.1-27.13.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Marcellus severely rebukes his defeated soldiers, imposing shameful punishments on them, and orders them to return to battle the next day to redeem their honor.
Marcellus, postquam in castra reditum est, contionem adeo saevam atque acerbam apud milites habuit, ut proelio per diem totum infeliciter tolerato tristior iis irati ducis oratio esset.1
Marcellus, after they returned to the camp, delivered an assembly so harsh and severe to the soldiers that, although they had unfortunately endured the battle through the whole day, the speech of the angry general was more painful to them.
“dis immortalibus, at in tali re, laudes gratesque” inquit “ago, quod victor hostis cum tanto pavore incidentibus vobis in vallum portasque non ipsa castra est adgressus; deseruissetis2 profecto eodem terrore castra, quo omisistis pugnam.
”To the immortal gods, yet in such a situation, I render praises and thanks,” he said, “because the victorious enemy did not attack the camp itself, even when you were rushing with such panic into the rampart and the gates; you would certainly have abandoned the camp with the same terror with which you gave up the battle.
qui pavor hic qui terror, quae repente, qui et cum quibus pugnaretis, oblivio animos cepit? nempe idem sunt hi hostes, quos vincendo et victos sequendo priorem aestatem absumpsistis, quibus dies noctesque fugientibus per hos dies institistis, quos levibus proeliis fatigastis, quos hesterno die nec iter facere nec castra ponere passi estis.
What panic is this, what terror, what sudden forgetfulness has seized your minds of who you are and with whom you are fighting? Surely these are the same enemies in defeating whom and pursuing when defeated you spent the previous summer, whom, as they fled day and night, you pressed hard during these days, whom you wore out in light skirmishes, whom yesterday you did not allow either to make a journey or to pitch camp.
omitto ea, quibus gloriari potestis; cuius et ipsius pudere ac paenitere vos oportet,3 referam. nempe aequis manibus hesterno die diremistis pugnam.
I omit those things for which you can be proud; I will mention that which itself you ought to be ashamed of and repent. Surely yesterday you broke off the battle on equal terms.
quid haec nox, quid hic dies attulit? vestrae iis copiae inminutae sunt an illorum auctae? non equidem mihi cum exercitu meo loqui videor nec cum Romanis militibus; corpora tantum atque arma sunt eadem.
What did this night, what did this day bring? Were your forces diminished by these things, or were theirs increased? Indeed, I do not seem to be speaking to my own army, nor to Roman soldiers; only their bodies and weapons are the same.
an, si eosdem animos habuissetis, terga vestra vidisset hostis? signa alicui manipulo aut cohorti ademisset? adhuc caesis legionibus Romanis gloriabatur; vos illi hodierno die primum fugati exercitus dedistis decus.”
Or, if you had possessed the same spirit, would the enemy have seen your backs? Would they have taken the standards from any maniple or cohort? Hitherto he boasted of Roman legions slaughtered; today you have given him for the first time the glory of a routed army.”
clamor inde ortus, ut veniam eius diei daret; ubi vellet deinde experiretur militum suorum animos. “ego vero experiar” inquit, “milites, et vos crastino die in aciem educam, ut victores potius quam victi veniam impetretis quam petitis.”
Thereupon a shout arose, begging that he would grant pardon for that day; let him then test the spirit of his soldiers whenever he wished. “Indeed I will test it,” he said, “soldiers, and tomorrow I will lead you out into line of battle, so that you may obtain the pardon you seek as victors rather than as vanquished.”
cohortibus, quae signa amiserant, hordeum dari iussit, centurionesque manipulorum, quorum signa amissa fuerant, destrictis gladiis discinctos destituit; et, ut postero die omnes, equites pedites, armati adessent, edixit.
He ordered barley to be given to the cohorts which had lost their standards, and he left the centurions of the maniples whose standards had been lost standing with drawn swords and ungirt; and he proclaimed that on the following day all, horse and foot, should be present under arms.
ita contio dimissa fatentium4 iure ac merito sese increpitos, neque illo die virum quemquam in acie Romana fuisse praeter unum ducem, cui aut morte satisfaciendum aut egregia victoria esset. postero die armati ornatique ad edictum aderant.
Thus the assembly was dismissed, with them confessing that they had been justly and deservedly rebuked, and that on that day there had been no man in the Roman line except their general alone, to whom they must make amends either by death or by an outstanding victory. On the following day, they were present, armed and equipped, according to the edict.
imperator eos conlaudat pronuntiatque, a quibus orta pridie fuga esset, cohortesque, quae signa amisissent, se in primam aciem inducturum;
The general praised them and declared that he would lead into the front line those from whom the flight had begun the day before, and the cohorts which had lost their standards;
edicere iam sese5 omnibus pugnandum ac vincendum esse et adnitendum singulis universisque, ne prius hesternae fugae quam hodiernae victoriae fama Romam perveniat.
he proclaimed that now all must fight and conquer, and that individuals and all together must strive so that the report of yesterday’s flight should not reach Rome before the news of today’s victory.
inde cibo corpora firmare iussi, ut, si longior pugna esset, viribus sufficerent. ubi omnia dicta factaque sunt, quibus excita. rentur animi militum, in aciem procedunt.
Thereupon they were ordered to strengthen their bodies with food, so that, if the battle should be longer, they might suffice in strength. When all things were said and done by which the spirits of the soldiers might be excited, they advanced into line of battle.
- 27.13.1tristior iis irati ducis oratio esset
iis is the dative plural of the pronoun is, referring to the soldiers in the context (dative of reference/interest). The comparison implied by tristior is made with the situation described in the ablative absolute proelio per diem totum infeliciter tolerato (having unfortunately endured the battle all day).
- 27.13.2deseruissetis
Pluperfect subjunctive. Although the conditional clause (si-clause) is omitted, a counterfactual condition such as 'if the enemy had attacked the camp' is implied from the preceding context quod victor hostis ... non ipsa castra est adgressus (because the victorious enemy did not attack the camp itself).
- 27.13.5cuius et ipsius pudere ac paenitere vos oportet
The construction of impersonal verbs pudere (to be ashamed) and paenitere (to repent). The person who feels the emotion is expressed in the accusative (vos), while the object of the emotion is in the genitive (cuius et ipsius). cuius is a relative connection (connecting relative) referring back to the fact that they ended the battle on equal terms.
- 27.13.10fatentium
The genitive participle fatentium modifies the omitted noun 'soldiers' (milites) who composed the assembly. This fatentium (of those confessing) governs the accusative and infinitive constructions sese increpitos [esse] and neque ... fuisse.
- 27.13.12edicere iam sese
Indirect speech continuing from the preceding pronuntiatque ... inducturum [esse]. The subject of the infinitive edicere is the accusative sese (Marcellus himself), and the content of his proclamation is expressed by the impersonal gerundive with dative of agent omnibus pugnandum ac vincendum esse.