- 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-lat2:34.25.1-34.25.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
As Quinctius marches on Argos after joining forces with the Achaeans, the Spartan commander Pythagoras strengthens the city's defenses, while an attempted uprising by Damocles inside the city fails, prompting many citizens to escape to the Roman camp.
tribunis militum, ut exercitum ab Elatia arcesserent, imperavit.
He ordered the military tribunes to summon the army from Elatia.
per eosdem dies et Antiochi legatis de societate agentibus respondit nihil se absentibus decem legatis sententiae1 habere; Romam eundum ad senatum iis esse.
During those same days, he also replied to the envoys of Antiochus who were treating of an alliance, that he had no power of decision in the absence of the ten commissioners; they must go to Rome to the senate.
ipse copias adductas ab Elatia ducere Argos pergit; atque ei circa Cleonas Aristaenus praetor cum decem milibus Achaeorum, equitibus mille occurrit, et haud procul inde iunctis exercitibus posuerunt castra.
He himself proceeded to lead the forces brought from Elatia to Argos; and near Cleonae, Aristaenus the praetor met him with ten thousand Achaeans and a thousand horsemen, and they pitched camp with their joined armies not far from there.
postero die in campum Argivorum descenderunt et quattuor ferme milia ab Argis locum castris capiunt.
On the following day they descended into the plain of the Argives and chose a site for their camp about four miles from Argos.
praefectus praesidii Laconum erat Pythagoras, gener idem tyranni et uxoris eius frater,2 qui sub adventum Romanorum et utrasque arces — nam duas habent Argi — et loca alia, quae aut opportuna aut suspecta erant, validis praesidiis firmavit;
The commander of the Lacedaemonian garrison was Pythagoras, who was both the son-in-law of the tyrant and the brother of his wife; upon the approach of the Romans, he strengthened with powerful garrisons both of the citadels—for Argos has two—and other places that were either advantageous or suspected.
sed inter haec agenda pavorem iniectum adventu Romanorum dissimulare haudquaquam poterat; et ad externum terrorem intestina etiam seditio accessit.
But while doing these things, he could by no means conceal the terror inspired by the arrival of the Romans; and to the external alarm domestic sedition was also added.
Damocles erat Argius, adulescens maioris animi quam consilii, qui primo, iureiurando interposito, de praesidio expellendo cum idoneis conlocutus, dum vires adicere coniurationi studet, incautior fidei aestimator3 fuit.
There was an Argive, Damocles, a young man of greater spirit than judgment, who at first, having interchanged an oath, conferred with suitable persons about expelling the garrison; but while he was eager to add strength to the conspiracy, he was too incautious an estimator of fidelity.
conloquentem eum cum suis satelles a praefecto missus cum accerseret,4 sensit proditum consilium esse hortatusque est coniuratos, qui aderant, ut potius, quam extorti morerentur, arma secum caperent. atque ita cum paucis in forum pergit ire clamitans, ut, qui salvam rem publicam vellent, auctorem et ducem se libertatis sequerentur.
While he was conversing with his associates, a guard sent by the commander came to summon him; realizing that the plot had been betrayed, he exhorted the conspirators who were present that, rather than die under torture, they should take up arms with him. And so, with a few men, he proceeded to the forum, shouting out that those who wished the safety of the state should follow him as the author and leader of liberty.
haud sane movit quemquam, quia nihil usquam spei propinquae, nedum satis firmi praesidii cernebant.
He did not indeed move anyone, because they saw no hope anywhere near at hand, much less any sufficiently strong protection.
haec vociferantem eum Lacedaemonii circumventum cum suis interfecerunt. comprensi deinde quidam et alii.
As he was vociferating these things, the Lacedaemonians surrounded and killed him along with his followers. Then some others were also arrested.
ex iis occisi plures, pauci in custodiam coniecti; multi proxima nocte funibus per murum demissi ad Romanos perfugerunt.
Of these, several were put to death, a few were thrown into prison; many during the following night, let down by ropes over the wall, escaped to the Romans.
- 34.25.2nihil ... sententiae
The partitive genitive sententiae depends on the neuter pronoun nihil, forming the expression "no power of decision / opinion."
- 34.25.5gener idem tyranni et uxoris eius frater
This explains Pythagoras' complex familial relationship: he was both the son-in-law (gener) of the tyrant Nabis and the brother of Nabis' wife (Apega). The genitive pronoun eius refers to tyranni.
- 34.25.7incautior fidei aestimator
The noun fidei is used as an objective genitive dependent on aestimator. It expresses that Damocles was careless in evaluating the trustworthiness of others when trying to recruit people for his conspiracy.
- 34.25.8conloquentem eum cum suis satelles a praefecto missus cum accerseret
A temporal/circumstantial clause introduced by historical cum with the imperfect subjunctive accerseret. The phrase at the beginning, conloquentem eum cum suis ("him as he was conversing with his associates"), serves as the direct object of the verb accerseret and is emphasized through its fronted word order.