Outpost Skirmish at Cynoscephalae and Approach of Battle — Livy, History of Rome Book 33 (33.7.1–33.7.13), Latin & English

§33.7.1

Philippus maturandi itineris causa, post imbrem nubibus in terram demissis¹ nihil² deterritus, signa ferri iussit; sed tam densa caligo occaecaverat diem, ut neque signiferi viam nec signa milites cernerent, agmen ad incertos clamores vagum velut errore nocturno turbaretur.

Philip, for the sake of hastening his march, not at all deterred although the clouds had descended to the earth after the rain, ordered the standards to be advanced; but so dense a mist had blinded the day, that neither could the standard-bearers see the way nor the soldiers the standards, and the column, wandering towards uncertain shouts, was thrown into confusion as if by a night error.

§33.7.3

supergressi tumulos, qui Cynoscephalae vocantur, relicta ibi statione firma peditum equitumque posuerunt castra.

Having crossed the hills which are called Cynoscephalae, they pitched their camp, leaving a strong guard of infantry and cavalry there.

§33.7.4

Romanus eisdem ad Thetideum castris cum se tenuisset, exploratum³ tamen, ubi hostis esset, decem turmas equitum et mille pedites misit monitos, ut ab insidiis, quas dies obscurus apertis quoque locis tecturus esset, praecaverent. ubi ventum ad insessos tumulos est, pavore mutuo iniecto velut torpentes quieverunt; dein nuntiis retro in castra ad duces missis, ubi primus terror ab necopinato visu consedit, non diutius certamine abstinuere.

The Roman, while he had kept himself in the same camp near Thetideum, nevertheless sent ten squadrons of cavalry and a thousand infantry to reconnoitre where the enemy was, warning them to guard against ambuscades, which the dark day would conceal even in open places. When they arrived at the occupied hills, they halted, as if paralyzed, a mutual fear having been struck into them; then, messengers having been sent back to the commanders in the camp, when the first terror from the unexpected sight subsided, they no longer abstained from battle.

§33.7.6

principio a paucis procurrentibus lacessita pugna est, deinde subsidiis tuentium pulsos⁴ aucta. in qua cum haudquaquam pares Romani alios super alios nuntios ad ducem mitterent premi sese, quingenti equites et duo milia peditum, maxime Aetolorum, cum duobus tribunis militum propere missa⁵ rem inclinatam restituerunt, versaque fortuna Macedones laborantes opem regis per nuntios implorabant. rex, ut qui nihil minus illo die propter effusam caliginem quam proelium expectasset,⁶ magna parte hominum omnis generis pabulatum missa aliquamdiu inops consilii trepidavit;

At first the fight was provoked by a few running forward, then it was increased by the support of those protecting the defeated. In this conflict, since the Romans, by no means a match, sent messenger after messenger to their commander stating that they were hard pressed, five hundred cavalry and two thousand infantry, mostly Aetolians, having been hastily sent with two military tribunes, restored the wavering fortune of the day, and the fortune being reversed, the Macedonians, now hard pressed, implored the aid of the king through messengers. The king, as one who on that day, because of the thick mist, had expected nothing less than a battle, having sent a large part of his men of all kinds to forage, wavered for some time, helpless in counsel;

§33.7.9

deinde, postquam nuntii instabant, et iam iuga montium detexerat nebula, et in conspectu erant Macedones in tumulum maxime editum inter alios compulsi loco se magis quam armis tutantes, committendam rerum summam in discrimen utcumque ratus, ne partis indefensae iactura fieret, Athenagoram, ducem mercede militantium, cum omnibus praeter Thracas auxiliis et equitatu Macedonum ac Thessalorum mittit.

then, when the messengers began to press, and already the mist had uncovered the ridges of the mountains, and the Macedonians were in sight, driven onto a hill which was the highest among the others, defending themselves by the place rather than by arms, thinking that the supreme issue must be brought to a crisis in any case, lest a loss of the undefended part should occur, he sent Athenagoras, the commander of the mercenaries, with all the auxiliary troops except the Thracians, and the cavalry of the Macedonians and Thessalians.

§33.7.12

eorum adventu depulsi ab iugo Romani non ante restiterunt, quam⁷ in planiorem vallem perventum est.

Repulsed from the ridge by their arrival, the Romans did not stand their ground until they reached a flatter valley.

§33.7.13

ne effusa detruderentur fuga, plurimum in Aetolis equitibus praesidii fuit. is longe tum optimus eques in Graecia erat; pedite inter finitimos vincebantur.

That they were not driven down in headlong flight was chiefly due to the protection in the Aetolian cavalry. This was by far the best cavalry in Greece at that time; in infantry they were surpassed by their neighbors.

Syntax notes7 items

33.7.2nubibus in terram demissis
Ablative absolute. It can express cause or concession; here, "although the clouds had descended to the earth after the rain" (concession) is the most natural interpretation in this context.
33.7.2nihil
Adverbial accusative. It modifies a verb or adjective (here the perfect participle deterritus), expressing a strong negation: "not at all".
33.7.4exploratum
Supine in -um (accusative) expressing the purpose of the verb misit: "to reconnoitre".
33.7.6subsidiis tuentium pulsos
tuentium is the genitive plural of the present participle ("of those protecting"), and pulsos is the accusative plural of the perfect participle ("the defeated"), functioning as the direct object of tuentium. Together: "by the support of those protecting the defeated."
33.7.7missa
An instance of grammatical agreement with the nearer or collective subject; the subject consists of quingenti equites (masculine) and duo milia peditum (milia is neuter plural). The participle missa is in the neuter plural, agreeing with milia.
33.7.8ut qui ... expectasset
Relative clause of characteristic with the subjunctive (expectasset = expectavisset), here introducing a causal shade of meaning: "as one who had expected..."
33.7.12non ante ... quam
Correlative adverbs expressing time, literally "not before ... than", which is equivalent to "not ... until" or "only when".

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:33.7.1-33.7.13