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History of Rome

§32.37.1-32.37.6

Audiences at Rome and Failure of the Peace Talks

At Rome, the allies' ambassadors were heard first, arguing that Greece could not be free if Philip held the three strategic cities. The king's ambassadors could not agree to withdraw, leading to the failure of peace talks and leaving Quinctius with full authority over peace and war.

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§32.37.1

​ut ventum Romam est,1 prius sociorum legati quam regis auditi sunt. cetera eorum oratio conviciis regis consumpta est;

​When they arrived at Rome, the ambassadors of the allies were heard before those of the king. The rest of their speech was consumed in reproaches against the king;

§32.37.2

​moverunt maxime senatum demonstrando maris terrarumque regionis eius situm, ​ut omnibus appareret, si Demetriadem in Thessalia, Chalcidem in Euboea, Corinthum in Achaia rex teneret, non posse liberam Graeciam esse, ​et ipsum Philippum non contumeliosius quam verius2 compedes eas Graeciae appellare.

​they moved the senate most especially by pointing out the situation of the sea and land of that region, ​so that it might be clear to everyone that if the king held Demetrias in Thessaly, Chalcis in Euboea, and Corinth in Achaea, Greece could not be free, ​and that Philip himself called these the “fetters of Greece,” not so much insultingly as truthfully.

§32.37.5

​legati deinde regis intromissi; quibus longiorem exorsis orationem3 brevis interrogatio, cessurusne iis tribus urbibus esset, sermonem incidit, cum mandati sibi de iis nominatim negarent quicquam. sic infecta pace regii dimissi; Quinctio liberum arbitrium pacis ac belli permissum.

​Then the ambassadors of the king were admitted; as they began a rather long speech, a brief question, whether he would withdraw from those three cities, interrupted their discourse, since they denied that they had any instructions specifically concerning them. Thus, with peace unaccomplished, the king’s men were dismissed; to Quinctius was granted free discretion over peace and war.

§32.37.6

​cui ut satis apparuit non taedere belli senatum,4 et ipse victoriae quam pacis avidior neque colloquium postea Philippo dedit neque legationem aliam, quam quae omni Graecia decedi nuntiaret, admissurum5 dixit.

​When it became sufficiently clear to him that the senate was not weary of the war, and being himself more eager for victory than for peace, he neither granted a conference to Philip afterwards, nor did he say he would admit any other embassy than one which should announce that he was withdrawing from all of Greece.

Syntax notes5 items
  1. 32.37.1ut ventum Romam est

    A combination of the conjunction ut (with the perfect indicative, meaning "when") and the impersonal passive ventum est of the intransitive verb venire (literally "it was come," meaning "they arrived").

  2. 32.37.4non contumeliosius quam verius

    A construction connecting two comparative adverbs with quam, expressing a contrast: "not so much insultingly as truthfully" or "more truthfully than insultingly."

  3. 32.37.5quibus longiorem exorsis orationem

    quibus is a connecting relative pronoun in the dative, agreeing with exorsis (the perfect participle of the deponent verb exordior). This dative functions as a dative of reference or possession with sermonem incidit ("interrupted their speech").

  4. 32.37.6non taedere belli senatum

    The impersonal verb taedere takes an accusative of the person affected (senatum) and a genitive of the cause of the feeling (belli). Here it forms an accusative with infinitive clause representing "that the senate was not weary of the war."

  5. 32.37.6admissurum

    The future active infinitive admissurum [esse], with its subject (ipse: Quinctius) omitted as it is identical to the subject of the main verb dixit, serves as the object clause dependent on dixit ("he said he would not admit...").

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:32.37.1-32.37.6