- 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-lat2:30.14.1-30.14.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Upon hearing Syphax's confession, Scipio becomes deeply concerned about Masinissa's hasty marriage. He calls Masinissa aside, emphasizing the importance of self-control and warning him that Syphax and all his belongings, including his wife Sophonisba, are the booty of the Roman people, whose fate must be decided by the Roman senate and people.
haec non hostili modo odio, sed amoris etiam stimulis, amatam apud aemulum cernens, cum dixisset,1 non mediocri cura Scipionis animum pepulit.
When he had said these things, seeing the woman he loved in the possession of his rival, prompted not only by hostile hatred but also by the stings of love, he struck Scipio’s mind with no ordinary anxiety.
et fidem criminibus raptae prope inter arma nuptiae neque consulto neque expectato Laelio2 faciebant tamque praeceps festinatio, ut, quo die captam hostem vidisset, eodem matrimonio iunctam acciperet et ad penates hostis sui nuptiale sacrum conficeret.
And credibility was given to the accusations by the marriage snatched almost amidst arms, without either consulting or waiting for Laelius, and by a haste so headlong that on the same day on which he had seen her as a captive enemy, he received her joined in marriage and performed the nuptial rite at the household gods of his enemy.
et eo foediora haec videbantur Scipioni, quod3 ipsum in Hispania iuvenem nullius forma pepulerat captivae. haec secum volutanti Laelius ac Masinissa supervenerunt. quos cum pariter ambo et benigno vultu excepisset et egregiis laudibus frequenti praetorio celebrasset, abductum in secretum Masinissam sic adloquitur:
And these things seemed all the more shameful to Scipio, because the beauty of no captive woman had struck him himself when a young man in Spain. As he was turning these things over in his mind, Laelius and Masinissa came upon him. Having welcomed both of them equally with a kindly countenance and celebrated them with outstanding praises in a crowded headquarters, he addressed Masinissa, who had been led aside in private, as follows:
“aliqua te, Masinissa, existimo intuentem in me bona et principio in Hispania ad iungendam mecum amicitiam venisse et postea in Africa te ipsum spesque omnes tuas in fidem meam commisisse.
“I think, Masinissa, that you, looking upon some good qualities in me, both came at the beginning in Spain to join friendship with me, and afterwards in Africa committed yourself and all your hopes to my faith.
atqui nulla earum virtus est, propter quas tibi adpetendus visus sim,4 qua ego aeque ac temperantia et continentia libidinum gloriatus fuerim.
And yet, there is none of those virtues, on account of which I seemed worthy of being sought by you, in which I would have gloried as much as in temperance and the restraint of passions.
hanc te quoque ad ceteras tuas eximias virtutes, Masinissa, adiecisse velim. non est, non — mihi crede — tantum ab hostibus armatis aetati nostrae periculi, quantum5 ab circumfusis undique voluptatibus.
I would wish, Masinissa, that you also had added this to your other outstanding virtues. Believe me, there is not, there is not so much danger to our age from armed enemies as from the pleasures surrounding us on all sides.
qui eas temperantia sua frenavit ac domuit, multo maius decus maioremque victoriam sibi peperit, quam nos Syphace victo habemus.
He who has curbed and mastered them by his temperance has won for himself a much greater glory and a greater victory than we have by the defeat of Syphax.
quae me absente strenue ac fortiter fecisti libenter et commemoravi et memini; cetera te ipsum tecum reputare quam me dicente erubescere malo. Syphax populi Romani auspiciis victus captusque est.
What you did vigorously and bravely in my absence, I have both gladly mentioned and remember; as for the rest, I prefer that you reflect upon it yourself with yourself rather than blush at my speaking of it. Syphax was conquered and captured under the auspices of the Roman people.
itaque ipse, coniunx, regnum, ager, oppida, homines, qui incolunt, quidquid denique Syphacis fuit praeda populi Romani est, et regem coniugemque eius, etiamsi non civis Carthaginiensis esset, etiamsi non patrem eius imperatorem hostium videremus, Romam oporteret mitti, ac senatus populique Romani de ea iudicium atque arbitrium esse, quae regem socium nobis alienasse atque in arma egisse praecipitem dicatur.
Therefore he himself, his wife, his kingdom, his territory, his towns, the people who inhabit them, in short, whatever belonged to Syphax, is the booty of the Roman people, and both the king and his wife, even if she were not a Carthaginian citizen, and even if we did not see her father as the commander of our enemies, ought to be sent to Rome, and the judgment and decision of the senate and Roman people ought to be concerning her, who is said to have alienated an allied king from us and driven him headlong into arms.
vince animum; cave deformes6 multa bona uno vitio et tot meritorum gratiam maiore culpa, quam causa culpae est, conrumpas.”
Conquer your passion; take care not to disfigure many good qualities by a single vice, and spoil the gratitude for so many merits by a fault greater than the cause of the fault is.”
- 30.14.1haec ... cum dixisset
The pronoun 'haec' is neuter plural accusative and the direct object of 'dixisset'. The subject of the main verb 'pepulit' (third person singular) is Syphax, omitted but understood from the context, who struck Scipio's mind by speaking these words.
- 30.14.2neque consulto neque expectato Laelio
An ablative absolute construction where 'Laelio' acts as the logical subject. The perfect passive participles 'consulto' and 'expectato' in the ablative combine with 'Laelio' to mean 'without Laelius having been either consulted or waited for'.
- 30.14.3eo foediora ... quod
The word 'eo' is an ablative of measure of difference ('by so much' or 'all the more'), which correlates with the causal 'quod' clause, creating the emphatic structure: 'these things seemed all the more shameful... because...'.
- 30.14.5tibi adpetendus visus sim
'tibi' is a dative of agent, used with the gerundive 'adpetendus' (to be sought). 'visus sim' is the perfect subjunctive first person singular of 'videor' (to seem), used in the relative clause expressing subjective reasoning.
- 30.14.6tantum ... periculi ... quantum
'periculi' is a partitive genitive dependent on the neuter pronoun 'tantum' (so much). 'quantum' is the correlative relative pronoun corresponding to 'tantum', comparing the degree of danger from pleasures with that from armed enemies.
- 30.14.11cave deformes
An imperative construction where 'cave' (present imperative singular of 'cavere') is followed directly by the present subjunctives 'deformes' and 'conrumpas' without 'ut' or 'ne', functioning as a gentle prohibition or warning ('take care not to...').