- 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-lat2:34.11.1-34.11.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Envoys from the Ilergetes visit the camp of the consul Cato to request military aid against enemy attacks, but Cato refuses, citing his own lack of forces with a decisive battle looming. The envoys weep and plead, warning that if abandoned by Rome, they will be forced to revolt.
in Hispania interim consul haud procul Emporiis castra habebat.
Meanwhile in Spain, the consul was keeping his camp not far from Emporiae.
eo legati tres ab Ilergetum regulo Bilistage, in quibus unus filius eius erat, venerunt, querentes castella sua oppugnari nec spem ullam esse resistendi, nisi praesidium Romanus misisset;
To that place came three envoys from Bilistages, the petty king of the Ilergetes, among whom was one of his sons, complaining that their strongholds were being besieged and that there was no hope of resisting unless the Roman sent a guard;
tria milia militum satis esse, nec hostis, si tanta manus venisset, mansuros. ad ea consul, moveri quidem se vel periculo eorum vel metu, dicere;1
three thousand soldiers would be enough, and the enemy would not remain if so great a force should arrive. In reply to this, the consul said that he was indeed moved by their danger and fear;
sed sibi nequaquam tantum copiarum esse, ut, cum magna vis hostium haud procul absit, et, quam mox signis collatis dimicandum sit, in dies expectet, dividendo exercitum minuere tuto vires possit.
but that he had by no means so great an abundance of troops that, while a large force of the enemy was not far off and he was daily expecting how soon he must fight in a pitched battle, he could safely diminish his strength by dividing his army.
legati, ubi haec audierunt, flentes ad genua consulis provolvuntur, orant, ne se in rebus tam trepidis deserat: quo enim se, repulsos ab Romanis, ituros? nullos se socios, nihil usquam in terris aliud spei habere. potuisse se extra id periculum esse, si decedere fide, si coniurare cum ceteris voluissent.2 nullis minis, nullis terriculis se motos, sperantis3 satis opis et auxilii sibi in Romanis esse.
When the envoys heard this, weeping they threw themselves at the knees of the consul, imploring that he would not desert them in such perilous circumstances; for where would they go, if rejected by the Romans? They had no allies, nor any other hope anywhere on earth. They could have been outside of this danger, if they had wished to depart from their loyalty and to conspire with the others. They had been moved by no threats, by no terrors, hoping that there was sufficient help and protection for them in the Romans.
id si nullum sit, si sibi a consule negetur, deos hominesque se testis facere, invitos et coactos se, ne eadem, quae Saguntini passi sint, patiantur, defecturos et cum ceteris potius Hispanis quam solos perituros esse.
If there should be none, and if it should be denied them by the consul, they called gods and men to witness that, unwilling and compelled, lest they suffer the same things which the Saguntines suffered, they would revolt, and would perish with the rest of the Spaniards rather than alone.
- 34.11.3dicere
Historical infinitive. Used with the nominative subject consul as if it were an imperfect indicative (dicebat) to describe the vivid progression of events.
- 34.11.7potuisse se extra id periculum esse, si decedere fide, si coniurare cum ceteris voluissent
An unreal condition (contrary to past fact) in indirect discourse. In direct discourse, this would be potuimus... si voluissemus ('we could have been out of danger, if we had wished'). Because the verb of the apodosis expresses ability (possum), it would be in the indicative in direct discourse, which turns into the perfect infinitive (potuisse) in indirect discourse. The protasis remains in the pluperfect subjunctive (voluissent).
- 34.11.7sperantis
Archaic spelling (-is) for sperantes, the nominative plural of the present participle. It modifies the implied subject (legati or they) rather than being an accusative plural.