- 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-lat2:29.10.1-29.10.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-01
The consul Licinius informs the senate of the plague afflicting his army and proposes appointing a dictator for the elections. Meanwhile, a prophecy from the Sibylline books suggests that bringing the Idaean Mother to Rome will ensure victory over foreign enemies, prompting discussions on how to transport her.
iam comitiorum adpetebat tempus, cum a P. Licinio consule litterae Romam allatae, se exercitumque suum gravi morbo adflictari, nec sisti potuisse,1 ni eadem vis mali aut gravior etiam in hostes ingruisset;
Now the time for the elections was drawing near, when a letter was brought to Rome from the consul P. Licinius, stating that he and his army were afflicted with a severe disease, and that it could not have been checked, unless the same force of the pestilence, or even a heavier one, had fallen upon the enemy;
itaque, quoniam ipse venire ad comitia non posset, si ita patribus videretur, se Q. Caecilium Metellum dictatorem comitiorum causa dicturum; exercitum Q. Caecili dimitti e re publica esse;
therefore, since he himself could not come to the elections, if it should seem good to the fathers, he would name Q. Caecilius Metellus dictator for the purpose of holding the elections; and that it was for the interest of the state that the army of Q. Caecilius should be disbanded;
nam neque usum eius ullum in praesentia esse, cum Hannibal iam in hiberna suos receperit, et tanta incesserit in ea castra vis morbi, ut, nisi mature dimittantur, nemo omnium superfuturus videatur. ea consuli a patribus facienda, ut e re publica fideque sua duceret, permissa.
for there was no use for it at present, since Hannibal had already withdrawn his men into winter quarters, and so great a violence of disease had invaded that camp that, unless they were disbanded quickly, it seemed that not one of them all would survive. These matters were permitted to the consul by the fathers to be done as he should deem best for the state and his own honor.
civitatem eo tempore repens religio invaserat invento carmine in libris Sibyllinis propter crebrius eo anno de caelo lapidatum2 inspectis, quandoque hostis alienigena terrae Italiae bellum intulisset, eum pelli Italia vincique posse, si mater Idaea a Pessinunte Romam advecta foret.
At that time, a sudden religious anxiety invaded the state, because of a prophecy found in the Sibylline books, which had been inspected because it had rained stones from heaven more frequently than usual that year, which said that whenever a foreign enemy should bring war to the land of Italy, he could be driven from Italy and conquered, if the Idaean Mother were brought from Pessinus to Rome.
id carmen ab decemviris inventum eo magis patres movit, quod et legati, qui donum Delphos portaverant, referebant et sacrificantibus ipsis Pythio Apollini laeta exta fuisse3 et responsum oraculo editum, maiorem multo victoriam, quam cuius ex spoliis dona portarent, adesse populo Romano.
This prophecy, found by the decemvirs, moved the fathers all the more, because both the ambassadors who had carried the gift to Delphi reported, and to themselves when sacrificing to Pythian Apollo the entrails had been favorable, and the oracle had given response that a much greater victory was at hand for the Roman people than that from whose spoils they were carrying gifts.
in eiusdem spei summam conferebant P. Scipionis velut praesagientem animum de fine belli, quod depoposcisset provinciam Africam.
To the sum of this same hope they applied the mind of P. Scipio, as if presaging the end of the war, because he had demanded the province of Africa.
itaque, quo maturius fatis, ominibus oraculisque portendentis sese victoriae compotes fierent, id cogitare atque agitare,4 quae ratio transportandae Romam deae esset.
Therefore, in order that they might the sooner become masters of the victory portended by fates, omens, and oracles, they began to consider and discuss what means there was of transporting the goddess to Rome.
- 29.10.1nec sisti potuisse
An infinitive representing the apodosis of a conditional sentence in indirect discourse. In direct discourse, this corresponds to a contrary-to-fact past apodosis nec sisti potuit (or potuisset), depending on the reporting force implied in litterae allatae.
- 29.10.4propter crebrius eo anno de caelo lapidatum
de caelo lapidatum is a nominal use of the perfect participle neuter of an impersonal passive verb, meaning 'the raining of stones from heaven.' It is modified by the comparative adverb crebrius (more frequently than usual) and serves as the object of the preposition propter.
- 29.10.6sacrificantibus ipsis Pythio Apollini laeta exta fuisse
sacrificantibus ipsis is a dative of the present participle ('when they themselves were sacrificing'), functioning as a dative of possession (or reference) with exta fuisse ('there were favorable entrails to them'). The entire phrase forms part of the accusative-with-infinitive construction depending on referebant.
- 29.10.8id cogitare atque agitare
cogitare and agitare are historical infinitives, used in place of imperfect or perfect main verbs with a subject in the nominative case (here, the implied senators).