- 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-lat2:35.11.1-35.11.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-08
The Roman army is cornered in a narrow pass in Liguria, facing a crisis reminiscent of the Caudine Forks disaster. However, the Numidian cavalry uses a clever tactic of burning nearby villages, forcing the enemy to abandon the siege and allowing the consul to escape.
diu nihil in Liguribus dignum memoria gestum erat; extremo eius anni bis in magnum periculum res adducta est;
For a long time nothing worthy of memory had occurred among the Ligurians; at the end of that year the state of affairs was twice brought into great danger;
nam et castra consulis oppugnata aegre sunt defensa, et non ita multo post per saltum angustum cum duceretur agmen Romanum, ipsas fauces exercitus Ligurum insedit. qua cum1 exitus non pateret, converso agmine redire institit consul. et ab tergo fauces saltus occupatae a parte hostium erant, Caudinaeque cladis memoria non animis modo, sed prope oculis obversabatur.
for both the camp of the consul, having been attacked, was defended with difficulty, and not so long afterwards, when the Roman column was being led through a narrow pass, an army of Ligurians occupied the very mouth of the pass. Since an exit did not lie open there, the consul, turning the column, determined to retreat. And from behind, the throat of the pass had been occupied by a part of the enemy, and the memory of the Caudine disaster was hovering not only in their minds but almost before their eyes.
Numidas octingentos ferme equites inter auxilia habebat. eorum praefectus consuli pollicetur se parte utra vellet cum suis erupturum, tantum uti diceret,2 utra pars frequentior vicis esset;
He had nearly eight hundred Numidian horsemen among his auxiliaries. Their commander promised the consul that he would break out with his men on whichever side the consul wished, if only he would tell him which direction was more crowded with villages;
in eos se impetum facturum et nihil prius quam3 flammam tectis iniecturum, ut is pavor cogeret Ligures excedere saltu, quem obsiderent, et discurrere ad opem ferendam suis. collaudatum eum consul spe praemiorum onerat. Numidae equos conscendunt et obequitare stationibus hostium, neminem lacessentes, coeperunt.
he would make an attack upon them and, before anything else, would set fire to the houses, so that this panic would force the Ligurians to depart from the pass which they were blockading, and to run in all directions to bring help to their own people. Having highly praised him, the consul loaded him with the hope of rewards. The Numidians mounted their horses and began to ride up to the posts of the enemy, provoking no one.
nihil primo adspectu contemptius: equi hominesque paululi et graciles, discinctus et inermis eques, praeterquam quod iacula secum portat, equi sine frenis, deformis ipse cursus rigida cervice et extento capite currentium. hunc contemptum de industria augentes labi ex equis et per ludibrium spectaculo esse.4
Nothing at first sight was more contemptible: the horses and men were very small and slender, the horseman was ungirt and unarmed except that he carried javelins with him, the horses were without bridles, and the very gait of them running with stiff necks and outstretched heads was ugly. Purposely increasing this contempt, they slipped from their horses and made themselves a spectacle for mockery.
itaque qui primo intenti paratique, si lacesserentur, in stationibus fuerant, iam inermes sedentesque pars maxima spectabant.
And so those who at first had been attentive and prepared at their posts in case they should be provoked, now for the most part, unarmed and sitting down, were merely watching.
Numidae adequitare, dein refugere, sed propius saltum paulatim evehi, velut quos impotentis regendi equi invitos efferrent. postremo subditis calcaribus per medias stationes hostium erupere, et in agrum latiorem evecti omnia propinqua viae tecta incendunt; proximo deinde vico inferunt ignem; ferro flammaque omnia pervastant.
The Numidians kept riding up, then retreating, but gradually advanced closer to the pass, as if horses incapable of being managed were carrying them away against their will. At last, digging in their spurs, they broke out through the middle of the enemy’s posts, and having ridden out into the wider countryside, they set on fire all the buildings near the road; then they brought fire to the nearest village; with sword and flame they utterly devastated everything.
fumus primo conspectus, deinde clamor trepidantium in vicis auditus, postremo seniores puerique refugientes tumultum in castris fecerunt.
First smoke was seen, then the shouting of those panicking in the villages was heard, and finally old men and boys fleeing caused a tumult in the camp.
itaque sine consilio, sine imperio pro se quisque currere ad sua tutanda; momentoque temporis castra relicta erant, et obsidione liberatus consul, quo intenderat, pervenit.
And so, without plan, without command, each one for himself ran to protect his own property; and in a moment of time the camp had been abandoned, and the consul, freed from the blockade, arrived where he had intended to go.
- 35.11.3qua cum
A combination of the relative adverb qua (by which route/there) and the causal conjunction cum (since). The antecedent is fauces (the pass) in the preceding sentence.
- 35.11.4tantum uti diceret
A subordinate clause in the indirect discourse introduced by pollicetur. uti is an archaic form of ut. The phrase tantum ut (provided only that / if only) takes the imperfect subjunctive diceret to express a restriction or condition.
- 35.11.5nihil prius quam
Literally "nothing before than," but idiomatically used to express strong priority, meaning "first of all" or "before anything else." Here it modifies the future infinitive iniecturum [esse].
- 35.11.8spectaculo esse
spectaculo is a dative of purpose, and esse is a historical infinitive (used in place of the imperfect indicative, with the subject Numidae in the nominative case). It means "they served as a spectacle / made themselves a show."