- 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-lat2:34.13.1-34.13.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
After a deceptive embarkation, Cato establishes a winter camp and trains his soldiers through raiding missions. He then calls an assembly of officers to deliver a speech, boosting their morale for an imminent regular battle.
consul, ubi satis, quod in speciem fuit,1 ostentatum est, revocari ex navibus milites iubet;
When that which was for appearance had been sufficiently shown, the consul ordered the soldiers to be recalled from the ships;
ipse, cum iam id tempus anni appeteret, quo geri res possent, castra hiberna tria milia passuum ab Emporiis posuit. inde per occasiones nunc hac parte, nunc illa modico praesidio castris relicto praedatum milites in hostium agros ducebat.
having done this, since that time of the year was now approaching in which operations could be conducted, he established his winter camp three miles from Emporiae. From there, as opportunity offered, leaving a moderate garrison in the camp, he led his soldiers into the enemies’ territory to plunder, now in this direction, now in that.
nocte ferme proficiscebantur, ut et quam longissime a castris procederent et inopinantis opprimerent. et exercebat ea res novos milites, et hostium magna vis excipiebatur; nec iam egredi extra munimenta castellorum audebant.
They set out almost always by night, so that they might both proceed as far as possible from the camp and surprise the enemy unawares. This practice both trained the raw soldiers and cut off a large force of the enemy; and they no longer dared to go outside the fortifications of their strongholds.
ubi satis ad hunc modum et suorum et hostium animos est expertus, convocari tribunos praefectosque et equites omnis et centuriones iussit.
When he had sufficiently tested the spirits of both his own men and the enemy in this manner, he ordered the tribunes, the prefects, all the cavalry, and the centurions to be called together.
“tempus” inquit, “quod saepe optastis, venit, quo vobis potestas fieret2 virtutem vestram ostendendi. adhuc praedonum magis quam bellantium militastis more;
”The time has come,” he said, “which you have often wished for, in which an opportunity might be given to you to show your courage. Up to now you have soldiered in the manner of plunderers rather than of men waging war;
nunc iusta pugna hostes cum hostibus3 conferetis manus; non agros inde populari, sed urbium opes exhaurire licebit.
now, in a regular battle, you will engage hand to hand, as enemies with enemies; henceforth it will be permitted not merely to ravage fields, but to drain the wealth of cities.
patres nostri cum in Hispania Carthaginiensium et imperatores ibi et exercitus essent, ipsi nullum in ea militem haberent tamen addi hoc in foedere voluerunt, ut imperii sui Hiberus fluvius esset finis;
Our ancestors, when there were both generals and armies of the Carthaginians in Spain, and they themselves had no soldier in it, nevertheless wished this to be added to the treaty, that the river Ebro should be the boundary of their empire;
nunc cum duo praetores cum consul, cum tres exercitus Romani Hispaniam obtineant, Carthaginiensium decem iam prope annis nemo in his provinciis sit, imperium nobis4 citra Hiberum amissum est.
now, when two praetors and a consul, and three Roman armies hold Spain, and not one of the Carthaginians has been in these provinces for nearly ten years, the empire on this side of the Ebro has been lost to us.
hoc armis et virtute reciperetis oportet et nationem rebellantem magis temere quam constanter bellantem iugum, quo se exuit, accipere rursus cogatis.”5
This you must recover by arms and valor, and you must force a nation that is rebelling rather than waging war with constancy to accept again the yoke which it has cast off.”
in hunc modum maxime adhortatus pronuntiat se nocte ad castra hostium ducturum. ita ad corpora curanda dimissi.
Having exhorted them chiefly in this manner, he announced that he would lead them to the enemy’s camp by night. Thus they were dismissed to refresh their bodies.
- 34.13.1quod in speciem fuit
A relative clause with the antecedent pronoun 'id' omitted. The prepositional phrase 'in speciem' functions adverbially to express purpose or intention, meaning 'for the sake of appearance'.
- 34.13.5quo vobis potestas fieret
The relative adverb 'quo' functions similarly to a purpose clause (ut) taking the subjunctive 'fieret'. Although typically used with a comparative, here it introduces a clause of characteristic or purpose: 'by which an opportunity might arise'.
- 34.13.6hostes cum hostibus
'hostes' is nominative plural, functioning appositively to the implied subject of 'conferetis' ('you') to mean 'as enemies'. It cannot be interpreted as an accusative plural object because 'manus' already serves as the direct object of 'conferetis'.
- 34.13.8nobis
Dative case. It can be interpreted either as a dative of agent ('by us') with the perfect passive 'amissum est', or as a dative of reference or judgment ('to us', 'in our eyes').
- 34.13.9reciperetis oportet ... cogatis
A construction where the subjunctive verbs 'reciperetis' and 'cogatis' depend directly on the impersonal verb 'oportet' without the conjunction 'ut', expressing necessity ('it is necessary that you recover... and force...').
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1