Defeat of the Dardanians and Scopas' Levies — Livy, History of Rome Book 31 (31.43.1–31.43.7), Latin & English

§31.43.1

per eos dies et Athenagoras regius praefectus Dardanos recipientes se in finis adeptus postremum agmen turbavit;

During those days, Athenagoras, the royal prefect, also overtook the Dardanians as they were retreating into their own territory and threw their rear guard into confusion.

§31.43.2

dein, postquam Dardani conversis signis direxere aciem, aequa pugna iusto proelio erat. ubi rursus procedere Dardani coepissent, equite et levi armatura regii nullum tale auxilii genus habentes¹ Dardanos oneratosque inmobilibus armis vexabant;

Thereupon, after the Dardanians turned their standards and formed a line of battle, there was an equal fight in a regular battle. When the Dardanians began to advance again, the royal troops, with their cavalry and light infantry, harassed the Dardanians, who had no such kind of support and were loaded with heavy and immovable arms;

§31.43.3

et loca ipsa adiuvabant. occisi perpauci sunt, plures vulnerati, captus nemo, quia non excedunt temere ordinibus suis, sed confertim et pugnant et cedunt.

and the terrain itself also helped them. Very few were killed, more were wounded, and no one was captured, because they do not rashly leave their ranks, but both fight and retreat in close array.

§31.43.4

ita damna Romano accepta bello duabus per opportunas expeditiones coercitis gentibus restituerat Philippus incepto forti, non prospero solum eventu.² minuit deinde ei forte oblata res hostium Aetolorum numerum.

Thus Philip, by a bold undertaking and not merely by a fortunate outcome, had restored the losses suffered in the Roman war by checking two nations through opportune expeditions. Then a circumstance offered by chance diminished the number of his Aetolian enemies.

§31.43.5

Scopas, princeps gentis, ab Alexandrea magno cum pondere auri ab rege Ptolomaeo missus, sex milia peditum et quingentos equites mercede conductos Aegyptum vexit;

Scopas, a leading man of the nation, sent from Alexandria by King Ptolemy with a great weight of gold, carried six thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry, hired for pay, to Egypt;

§31.43.6

nec ex iuventute Aetolorum quemquam reliquisset, ni Damocritus nunc belli, quod instaret, nunc futurae solitudinis admonens,³ incertum cura gentis an ut adversaretur Scopae parum donis cultus, partem iuniorum castigando domi continuisset.⁴

and he would not have left any of the youth of the Aetolians, if Damocritus, warning now of the war that was imminent, now of the future desolation—whether from care for his nation or to oppose Scopas because he had been insufficiently courted with gifts is uncertain—had not kept a part of the younger men at home by reproving them.

Syntax notes4 items

31.43.2habentes
Accusative plural present participle. Structurally, it agrees not with the main subject regii (nominative plural), but with the following accusative plural Dardanos (and oneratos), modifying 'the Dardanians, who had no such kind of support'.
31.43.4incepto forti, non prospero solum eventu
Ablative phrases of means or cause. They modify the main verb restituerat, indicating that the restoration of losses was achieved not only through a fortunate outcome (eventu) but through a bold undertaking (incepto).
31.43.6belli ... futurae solitudinis admonens
The present participle admonens (nominative singular masculine, agreeing with Damocritus) governs two genitives (belli in 31.43.6 and solitudinis in 31.43.7), following the construction of verbs of reminding and warning.
31.43.6nec ex iuventute Aetolorum quemquam reliquisset, ni ... continuisset
A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence in the pluperfect subjunctive. The main clause verb reliquisset is separated from the conditional clause ni (= nisi) verb continuisset (31.43.7) by a long parenthesis describing Damocritus' warning (admonens) and his motives (incertum...).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:31.43.1-31.43.7