Quinctius Returns and Celebrates a Three-Day Triumph — Livy, History of Rome Book 34 (34.52.1–34.52.12), Latin & English

§34.52.1

ita cum percensuisset Thessaliam, per Epirum Oricum, unde erat traiecturus, venit. ab Orico copiae omnes Brundisium transportatae. inde per totam Italiam ad urbem prope triumphantes non minore agmine rerum captarum quam suo prae se acto¹ venerunt.

Thus, when he had traversed and settled Thessaly, he came through Epirus to Oricum, from where he was to cross over. From Oricum all the troops were transported to Brundisium. From there, through the whole of Italy, they came to the city, almost in triumph, with a train of captured spoils driven before them no less numerous than their own marching column.

§34.52.3

postquam Romam ventum est,² senatus extra urbem Quinctio ad res gestas edisserendas³ datus est triumphusque meritus ab lubentibus decretus.

After they arrived at Rome, an audience with the senate outside the city was granted to Quinctius to detail his achievements, and a well-deserved triumph was decreed by them with pleasure.

§34.52.4

triduum triumphavit. die primo arma, tela signaque aerea et marmorea transtulit, plura Philippo adempta, quam quae ex civitatibus ceperat; secundo aurum argentumque factum infectumque et signatum.

He celebrated his triumph for three days. On the first day, he carried in procession arms, weapons, and statues of bronze and marble, more of which had been taken from Philip than he had captured from the cities; on the second day, gold and silver, both wrought and unwrought, and coined.

§34.52.5

infecti argenti fuit quadraginta tria milia pondo et ducenta septuaginta, facti vasa multa omnis generis, caelata pleraque, quaedam eximiae artis; et ex aere multa fabrefacta;

Of unwrought silver there were forty-three thousand two hundred and seventy pounds, and of wrought silver many vessels of every kind, most of them chased, some of exquisite workmanship; and many things crafted from bronze;

§34.52.6

ad hoc clipea argentea decem. signati argenti octoginta quattuor milia fuere Atticorum; tetrachma vocant; trium fere denariorum in singulis argenti est pondus.

in addition to this, ten silver shields. Of coined silver there were eighty-four thousand Attic coins; they call them tetradrachms; the weight of silver in each is about three denarii.

§34.52.7

auri pondo fuit tria milia septingenta quattuordecim et clipeum unum ex auro totum et Philippei nummi aurei quattuordecim milia. quingenti quattuordecim.⁴ tertio die coronae aureae, dona civitatium, tralatae centum quattuordecim;

Of gold there were three thousand seven hundred and fourteen pounds, and one shield made entirely of gold, and fourteen thousand five hundred and fourteen gold coins called Philippei. On the third day, one hundred and fourteen golden crowns, gifts from the cities, were carried in procession;

§34.52.9

et hostiae ductae et ante currum multi nobiles captivi obsidesque, inter quos Demetrius, regis Philippi filius, fuit et Armenes, Nabidis tyranni filius, Lacedaemonius.

and victims for sacrifice were led, and before his chariot walked many noble captives and hostages, among whom were Demetrius, the son of King Philip, and Armenes, the Lacedaemonian, the son of the tyrant Nabis.

§34.52.10

ipse deinde Quinctius in urbem est invectus. secuti currum milites frequentes ut exercitu omni ex provincia deportato.

Then Quinctius himself rode into the city. A large number of soldiers followed the chariot, as the entire army had been brought back from the province.

§34.52.11

his duceni quinquageni aeris in pedites divisi, duplex centurioni, triplex equiti.

To these, two hundred and fifty asses of bronze were distributed to each foot-soldier, twice as much to a centurion, three times as much to a horseman.

§34.52.12

praebuerunt speciem triumpho capitibus rasis secuti,⁵ qui servitute exempti fuerant.

Those who had been delivered from slavery followed with shaved heads, presenting a striking spectacle to the triumph.

Syntax notes5 items

34.52.2non minore agmine rerum captarum quam suo prae se acto
In the comparative construction non minore ... quam suo, the word suo implies an ellipsis of agmine (referring to the Roman army's marching column). The participle phrase prae se acto (driven before themselves) modifies agmine rerum captarum (the train of captured things). The entire sentence exhibits a hyperbaton, indicating that the column of spoils was no smaller than their own column.
34.52.3postquam Romam ventum est
An impersonal passive of the intransitive verb venio. It focuses on the action of arrival itself ('after it was come to Rome') rather than specifying the active subject (Quinctius and his army), which is typical of Latin style.
34.52.3Quinctio ad res gestas edisserendas
Quinctio is the dative case of reference/indirect object after datus est ('was granted to Quinctius'). ad res gestas edisserendas is a gerundive construction expressing purpose (using ad with the accusative), meaning 'to set forth his achievements'.
34.52.8quingenti quattuordecim
Grammatically, this number completes the numeral phrase quattuordecim milia (fourteen thousand) from the previous section (§34.52.7), representing a total of 14,514 gold Philip-coins. Although separated by section boundaries, it structurally belongs to Philippei nummi in the preceding sentence.
34.52.12capitibus rasis secuti
capitibus rasis (with their heads shaved) is an ablative of quality or ablative absolute indicating their state. secuti is the perfect participle of the deponent verb sequor, modifying the implied subject of the main verb praebuerunt (which is defined by the relative clause qui servitute...). Shaving the head was a Roman custom representing liberation from slavery (manumissio).

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:34.52.1-34.52.12