- 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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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:33.46.1-33.46.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Hannibal, after being elected praetor of Carthage, passed a law to limit the power of the arrogant lifelong judges and reformed the public revenues, incurring the resentment of the leading men.
iudicum ordo Carthagine ea tempestate dominabatur, eo maxime, quod iidem perpetui iudices erant.
The order of judges ruled at Carthage at that time, chiefly because the same men were judges for life.
res, fama vitaque omnium in illorum potestate erat. qui unum eius ordinis offendisset,1 omnis adversos habebat, nec accusator apud infensos iudices deerat.
The property, reputation, and life of everyone were in their power. Whoever had offended one member of that order had them all as enemies, nor was an accuser ever lacking before hostile judges.
horum in tam inpotenti regno2 — neque enim civiliter3 nimiis opibus utebantur — praetor factus Hannibal vocari ad se quaestorem iussit.
Under their so absolute power—for they did not use their excessive wealth in a manner becoming citizens—Hannibal, having been made praetor, ordered the quaestor to be summoned before him.
quaestor id pro nihilo habuit; nam et adversae factionis erat et, quia ex quaestura in iudices, potentissimum ordinem, referebatur,4 iam pro futuris mox opibus animos gerebat.
The quaestor treated this with contempt; for he was of the opposite faction, and because he was to be promoted from the quaestorship to the judges, the most powerful order, he was already assuming an arrogant attitude in view of his soon-to-be future power.
enimvero indignum id ratus Hannibal viatorem ad prendendum quaestorem misit subductumque in contionem non ipsum magis5 quam ordinem iudicum, prae quorum superbia atque opibus nec leges quicquam essent nec magistratus, accusavit. et ut secundis auribus accipi orationem animadvertit et infimorum quoque libertati gravem esse superbiam eorum, legem extemplo promulgavit pertulitque, ut in singulos annos iudices legerentur, neu quis biennium continuum iudex esset. ceterum quantam eo facto ad plebem inierat gratiam, tantum magnae partis principum offenderat animos.
But Hannibal, regarding this as an indignity, sent a messenger to arrest the quaestor, and having brought him into the assembly, accused not so much him as the order of judges, in comparison with whose pride and power neither laws nor magistrates were of any account. And when he observed that his speech was received with favorable ears, and that their pride was heavy also to the liberty of the lowest classes, he immediately proposed and carried a law, that the judges should be chosen for single years, and that no one should be a judge for two consecutive years. However, by as much favor as he had won with the common people by that act, by so much did he offend the minds of a large part of the leading men.
adiecit et aliud, quo bono publico6 sibi proprias simultates irritavit.
He added also another measure, by which, to the public benefit, he stirred up personal animosities against himself.
vectigalia publica partim neglegentia dilabebantur, partim praedae ac divisui et principum quibusdam et magistratibus erant, et pecunia, quae in stipendium Romanis suo quoque anno penderetur, deerat, tributumque grave privatis inminere videbatur.
The public revenues were partly slipping away through neglect, partly became the prey and division of certain leading men and magistrates, and the money which was to be paid to the Romans for their tribute in each successive year was lacking, and a heavy tax seemed to hang over private citizens.
- 33.46.2offendisset
Subjunctive pluperfect. It represents a generalized condition (recurrent or hypothetical action in the past), corresponding to the imperfect indicative (habebat) in the main clause, denoting a past general rule: 'whoever had offended...'
- 33.46.3inpotenti regno
The adjective 'inpotens' means 'powerless over oneself,' hence 'unbridled,' 'uncontrolled,' or 'tyrannical.' Here it characterizes the nature of the judges' arbitrary and unlimited rule (regnum).
- 33.46.3civiliter
'In a manner becoming a citizen,' meaning 'moderately,' 'unassumingly,' or 'in accordance with democratic equality.' This concept stands in sharp contrast to the arrogant behavior of the judges who abused their immense power.
- 33.46.4referebatur
Imperfect passive. It denotes a prospective action or an established transition: 'he was (in due course) to be enrolled/transferred from the quaestorship into the judges.'
- 33.46.5non ipsum magis
The main verb of this sentence is 'accusavit' in §33.46.6. The structure is 'accused not so much the quaestor himself (ipsum) as (non magis... quam) the whole order of judges (ordinem iudicum).' It emphasizes that Hannibal targeted the systemic and structural corruption rather than just the individual's offense.
- 33.46.8quo bono publico
'quo' is the ablative (neuter singular) of the relative pronoun referring to the act of adding another measure. 'bono publico' means 'to the public good/benefit' and can be understood as a dative of purpose/end, or as an ablative of attendant circumstance ('with benefit to the public').