Lacedaemon Joins the League and Aetolian Failure at Chalcis — Livy, History of Rome Book 35 (35.37.1–35.37.9), Latin & English

§35.37.1

Philopoemen audita caede tyranni profectus Lacedaemonem cum omnia turbata metu invenisset, evocatis principibus et oratione habita, qualis habenda Alexameno fuerat,¹ societati Achaeorum Lacedaemonios adiunxit, eo etiam facilius, quod² ad idem forte tempus A. Atilius cum quattuor et viginti quinqueremibus ad Gytheum accessit.

Philopoemen, having heard of the murder of the tyrant, set out for Lacedaemon, and when he had found everything thrown into confusion by fear, having summoned the leading men and delivered a speech such as ought to have been delivered by Alexamenus, he joined the Lacedaemonians to the alliance of the Achaeans, which was done all the more easily because, as it happened, at the very same time Aulus Atilius arrived at Gytheum with twenty-four quinqueremes.

§35.37.4

iisdem diebus circa Chalcidem Thoas per Euthymidam principem, pulsum opibus eorum, qui Romanae societatis erant, post T. Quinctii legatorumque adventum, et Herodorum, Cianum mercatorem, sed potentem Chalcide propter divitias, praeparatis ad proditionem iis, qui Euthymidae factionis erant,³ nequaquam eandem fortunam, qua Demetrias per Eurylochum occupata erat, habuit.

During the same days, around Chalcis, Thoas, through the leading man Euthymidas—who, after the arrival of Titus Quinctius and the ambassadors, had been driven out by the power of those who were in the Roman alliance— and through Herodorus, a merchant of Cius but influential in Chalcis on account of his wealth—those who were of Euthymidas’ faction having been prepared for treachery—by no means had the same fortune by which Demetrias had been occupied through Eurylochus.

§35.37.6

Euthymidas ab Athenis — eum domicilio delegerat locum — Thebas primum, hinc Salganea processit, Herodorus ad Thronium.

Euthymidas proceeded from Athens—he had chosen that place as his home—first to Thebes, and from there to Salganeus, and Herodorus to Thronium.

§35.37.7

inde haud procul in Maliaco sinu duo milia peditum Thoas et ducentos equites, onerarias leves ad triginta habebat. eas cum sexcentis peditibus Herodorus traicere in insulam Atalanten iussus,⁴ ut inde, cum pedestris copias appropinquare iam Aulidi atque Euripo sensisset, Chalcidem traiceret;

Not far from there, in the Maliac gulf, Thoas had two thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry, and about thirty light merchant vessels. Herodorus was ordered to transport these with six hundred infantry to the island of Atalante, so that from there, when he perceived that the infantry forces were already approaching Aulis and Euripus, he might cross to Chalcis;

§35.37.9

ipse ceteras copias nocturnis maxime itineribus, quanta poterat celeritate, Chalcidem ducebat.

he himself was leading the rest of the forces to Chalcis, chiefly by night marches, with all possible speed.

Syntax notes4 items

35.37.2qualis habenda Alexameno fuerat
A passive periphrastic construction (habenda fuerat) with the gerundive habenda, where Alexameno is the dative of agent, meaning "such as ought to have been delivered by Alexamenus."
35.37.3eo etiam facilius, quod
The ablative eo (degree of difference or cause) is used correlatively with the quod-clause, meaning "all the more easily, because...".
35.37.5praeparatis ad proditionem iis, qui Euthymidae factionis erant
An ablative absolute construction (praeparatis ... iis) where iis acts as the logical subject, modified by the relative clause starting with qui.
35.37.7eas cum sexcentis peditibus Herodorus traicere in insulam Atalanten iussus
The passive participle iussus (with est understood as a finite verb) agrees with the subject Herodorus and governs the active infinitive traicere. The feminine plural pronoun eas refers back to the light merchant vessels (onerarias leves) mentioned in the previous sentence.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:35.37.1-35.37.9