- 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-lat2:35.42.1-35.42.14
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
While preparing for war, King Antiochus is delayed by resisting cities and deliberations over Hannibal. Thoas the Aetolian persuades the king not to entrust Hannibal with a high command, arguing that Hannibal's ambition and fame would overshadow the king's authority.
intentis in apparatum novi belli Romanis1 ne ab Antiocho quidem cessabatur.2
While the Romans were intent on the preparation for a new war, not even by Antiochus was there any inactivity.
tres eum civitates tenebant, Zmyrna et Alexandria Troas et Lampsacus, quas neque vi expugnare ad eam diem poterat neque condicionibus in amicitiam perlicere, neque ab tergo relinquere traiciens ipse in Europam volebat.
Three cities were detaining him, Smyrna, Alexandria Troas, and Lampsacus, which up to that day he had been able neither to capture by force nor to entice into friendship by treaties, nor did he wish to leave them behind his back when he himself was crossing over into Europe.
tenuit eum et de Hannibale deliberatio. et primo naves apertae, quas cum eo missurus in Africam fuerat, moratae sunt;3 deinde, an omnino mittendus esset, consultatio mota est, maxime a Thoante Aetolo, qui omnibus in Graecia tumultu completis Demetriadem adferebat in potestate esse et, quibus mendaciis de rege, multiplicando verbis copias eius, erexerat multorum in Graecia animos, isdem et regis spem inflabat: omnium votis eum accersi, concursum ad littora futurum, unde classem regiam prospexissent.
Deliberation concerning Hannibal also detained him. And at first the open ships, which he had intended to send with him to Africa, caused delay; then, a consultation was raised whether he should be sent at all, especially by Thoas the Aetolian, who, having filled everything in Greece with confusion, reported that Demetrias was in his power, and, with the same lies about the king with which, by multiplying his forces in words, he had aroused the minds of many in Greece, he also inflated the king’s hope: that he was being summoned by the prayers of all, and that there would be a rushing together to the shores from where they should have sighted the royal fleet.
hic idem ausus de Hannibale est movere sententiam prope iam certam regis. nam neque dimittendam partem navium a classe regia censebat, neque, si mittendae naves forent, minus quemquam ei classi quam Hannibalem praeficiendum:4
This same man dared to shake the king’s opinion concerning Hannibal, which was already nearly fixed. For he thought neither that a part of the ships should be sent away from the royal fleet, nor, if ships had to be sent, that anyone should be placed in command of that fleet less than Hannibal:
exulem illum et Poenum esse, cui mille in dies nova consilia vel fortuna sua vel ingenium possit facere, et ipsam eam gloriam belli, qua velut dote Hannibal concilietur, nimiam in praefecto regio esse. regem conspici, regem unum ducem, unum imperatorem videri debere.
that he was an exile and a Carthaginian, to whom either his fortune or his character could suggest a thousand new plans day by day, and that very glory in war, by which as if by a dowry Hannibal was recommended, was too great for a royal officer. The king ought to be looked upon, the king alone ought to be seen as the leader, the sole commander.
si classem, si exercitum amittat Hannibal, idem damni fore, ac si per alium ducem amittantur;
if Hannibal should lose the fleet, or the army, the loss would be the same as if they were lost through another leader;
si quid prospere eveniat, Hannibalis eam, non Antiochi gloriam fore; si vero universo bello vincendi Romanos fortuna detur, quam spem esse sub rege victurum Hannibalem,5 uni subiectum, qui patriam prope non tulerit? non ita se a iuventa eum gessisse, spe animoque complexum orbis terrarum imperium, ut in senectute dominum laturus videatur.
if anything should turn out successfully, that glory would be Hannibal’s, not Antiochus’; but if indeed in the whole war the fortune of conquering the Romans should be given, what hope was there that Hannibal would live under a king, subject to a single man, who had almost not tolerated his own fatherland? That he had not so conducted himself from his youth, having embraced in hope and mind the empire of the world, that in his old age he would seem likely to tolerate a master.
nihil opus esse regi duce Hannibale;6 comite et consiliario eodem ad bellum uti posse.
that there was no need for the king of Hannibal as a leader; that he could use the same man as a companion and counselor for the war.
modicum fructum ex ingenio tali neque gravem neque inutilem fore; si summa petantur, et dantem et accipientem praegravatura.7
that a moderate benefit from such a talent would be neither burdensome nor useless; if the highest things were sought, they would weigh heavily on both the giver and the receiver.
- 35.42.1intentis... Romanis
Ablative absolute. Romanis acts as the logical subject, with the perfect participle intentis agreeing with it in gender, number, and case.
- 35.42.1ne ab Antiocho quidem cessabatur
Impersonal passive of the intransitive verb cesso. Literally "not even by Antiochus was it being idled," meaning Antiochus himself was also actively preparing for war.
- 35.42.3naves apertae... moratae sunt
Syntactic separation (hyperbaton). The subject naves apertae and its relative clause are separated from their main verb moratae sunt, which is placed at the very beginning of the next section (§35.42.4).
- 35.42.7minus quemquam ei classi quam Hannibalem praeficiendum
Accusative and infinitive in indirect speech (with esse omitted after praeficiendum). "minus quemquam... quam Hannibalem" literally translates as "anyone should be put in command of that fleet less than Hannibal," meaning that Hannibal is the least fit person to be appointed.
- 35.42.11quam spem esse sub rege victurum Hannibalem
Rhetorical question in indirect speech, represented by the accusative and future infinitive construction (victurum [esse]).
- 35.42.13nihil opus esse regi duce Hannibale
The impersonal construction opus esse takes the ablative of the thing needed (duce Hannibale) and the dative of the person needing (regi). nihil is used adverbially to strengthen the negation.
- 35.42.14dantem et accipientem praegravatura
Future active participle forming the future infinitive (with esse omitted) in indirect speech, agreeing with the neuter plural subject summa. dantem and accipientem are participles used substantively as direct objects ("the giver" and "the receiver").
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1