- 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-lat2:34.34.1-34.34.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
Instead of opposing the allies directly, Quinctius persuaded them to accept peace by pointing out the immense expenses and domestic difficulties that a siege of Sparta would entail.
cum adversus tendendo1 nihil moveret socios, simulando se transire in eorum sententiam omnis in adsensum consilii sui traduxit. “bene vertat” inquit, “obsideamus Lacedaemonem, quando ita placet; illud modo ne fallat:2 cum res tam lenta, quam ipsi scitis, oppugnatio urbium sit et obsidentibus prius saepe quam obsessis taedium adferat, iam nunc hoc ita proponere vos animis oportet, hibernandum circa Lacedaemonis moenia esse.
Since he could move the allies not at all by exerting pressure in the opposite direction, by pretending that he was going over to their opinion, he brought them all over to the approval of his own plan. “May it turn out well,” he said; “let us besiege Lacedaemon, since it so pleases you; only let this not escape you: since the siege of cities is a slow business, as you yourselves know, and often brings weariness to the besiegers sooner than to the besieged, you ought even now to lay this down in your minds, that we must winter around the walls of Lacedaemon.
quae mora si laborem tantum ac periculum haberet, ut et animis et corporibus ad sustinenda ea parati essetis, hortarer vos;3
If this delay involved only labor and danger, such that you were prepared in both mind and body to endure them, I would encourage you;
nunc4 impensa quoque magna eget in opera, in machinationes et tormenta, quibus tanta urbs oppugnanda est, in commeatus vobis nobisque in hiemem expediendos.
but as it is, it also requires great expense for the works, for the engines and artillery with which so great a city must be attacked, and for procuring provisions for you and us for the winter.
itaque, ne aut repente trepidetis aut rem inchoatam turpiter destituatis, scribendum ante vestris civitatibus censeo explorandumque, quid quaeque animi, quid virium habeat.
Therefore, lest you either suddenly panic or shamefully abandon an undertaking once begun, I think we should first write to your states and ascertain what mind and what strength each possesses.
auxiliorum satis superque habeo; sed quo plures sumus, pluribus rebus egebimus. nihil iam praeter nudum solum ager hostium habet. ad hoc hiems accedet ad comportandum ex longinquo difficilis.”
I have more than enough auxiliary troops; but the more we are, the more things we shall need. The enemy’s territory now has nothing except bare soil. To this will be added winter, which is difficult for bringing in supplies from a distance.”
haec oratio primum animos omnium ad respicienda sua cuiusque domestica mala convertit, segnitiam, invidiam et obtrectationem domi manentium adversus militantis, libertatem difficilem ad consensum, inopiam publicam, malignitatem conferendi ex privato.
This speech first turned the minds of all to looking back at their own domestic evils: the laziness, jealousy, and detraction of those remaining at home toward those on active service, a liberty difficult for agreement, public poverty, and unwillingness to contribute from private property.
versis itaque subito voluntatibus faceret, quod e re publica populi Romani sociorumque esse crederet, imperatori permiserunt.5
Therefore, their desires having suddenly changed, they left it to the general to do what he believed to be for the public interest of the Roman people and the allies.
- 34.34.1adversus tendendo
Although adversus can be taken as an accusative neuter plural, here it is best understood adverbially as 'in the opposite direction' or 'by pulling in the opposite direction'. Tendendo is the ablative of the gerund of tendere (to strain, strive).
- 34.34.2illud modo ne fallat
The pronoun illud anticipates the following cum clause and the infinitive clause (hibernandum... esse). Fallat is used intransitively, or with the accusative object (vos) understood: 'only let this one thing not deceive/escape you'.
- 34.34.3quae mora si laborem tantum ac periculum haberet... hortarer vos
A conditional sentence contrary to present fact, using the imperfect subjunctive (haberet, hortarer). The relative pronoun quae at the beginning acts as a connective relative, referring to the necessity of wintering mentioned in the previous sentence.
- 34.34.4nunc
Following the counterfactual conditional sentence, nunc functions as a logical adverb introducing the actual state of affairs ('but as it is', 'but in fact').
- 34.34.9faceret... permiserunt
Permiserunt takes the dative (imperatori), and the subjunctive faceret is an indirect command/entreaty clause with ut omitted, meaning 'they permitted/left it to the general to do...'.