- 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
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:36.25.1-36.25.8
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-09
While the Romans besiege Heraclea, King Philip of Macedon attacks Lamia but faces great difficulties with mining. After the fall of Heraclea, Philip is forced to withdraw at the consul's request, saving Lamia from disaster.
eodem tempore, quo Romani Heracleam, Philippus Lamiam ex composito oppugnabat, circa Thermopylas cum consule redeunte ex Boeotia, ut victoriam ipsi populoque Romano gratularetur excusaretque, quod morbo impeditus bello non interfuisset, congressus.1 inde diversi ad duas simul oppugnandas urbes profecti.
At the same time as the Romans were attacking Heraclea, Philip, who by agreement was attacking Lamia, met near Thermopylae with the consul, who was returning from Boeotia, in order to congratulate him and the Roman people on the victory, and to excuse himself for not having taken part in the war because he had been prevented by illness. From there, departing in different directions, they set out to attack the two cities at the same time.
intersunt septem ferme milia passuum; et quia Lamia cum posita est in tumulo, tum2 regionem maxime Oetae spectat, oppido quam3 breve intervallum videtur, et omnia in conspectu sunt.
About seven miles lie between them; and because Lamia is both situated on a hill and chiefly commands a view of the region of Oeta, the distance between them seems exceedingly short, and everything is in plain sight.
cum enixe, velut proposito certamine, Romani Macedonesque diem ac noctem aut in operibus aut in proeliis essent, hoc4 maior difficultas Macedonibus erat, quod Romani aggere et vineis et omnibus supra terram operibus, subter Macedones cuniculis oppugnabant, et in asperis locis silex paene inpenetrabilis ferro occurrebat.
While the Romans and the Macedonians were strenuously, as if a contest had been proposed, occupied day and night either in works or in battles, the difficulty was greater for the Macedonians on this account, that the Romans were attacking with mounds and penthouses and all kinds of works above ground, whereas the Macedonians were attacking underground with mines, and in rugged places they encountered flint-rock which was almost impenetrable to iron.
et cum parum procederet inceptum, per colloquia principum oppidanos temptabat rex, ut urbem dederent, haud dubius, quin, si prius Heraclea capta foret, Romanis se potius quam sibi dedituri essent, suamque gratiam consul in obsidione liberanda facturus esset.5
And since the undertaking made little progress, the king, through conferences of the leading men, sounded out the townsmen to surrender the city, having no doubt that, if Heraclea should be captured first, they would surrender themselves to the Romans rather than to him, and that the consul, by raising the siege, would secure the gratitude for himself.
nec eum opinio est frustrata; confestim enim ab Heraclea capta nuntius venit, ut oppugnatione absisteret: aequius esse Romanos milites, qui acie dimicassent cum Aetolis, praemia victoriae habere.
Nor did this expectation deceive him; for immediately after the capture of Heraclea, a messenger came, ordering him to desist from the siege, saying that it was fairer that the Roman soldiers, who had fought in battle-line with the Aetolians, should have the rewards of victory.
ita recessum ab Lamia est, et propinquae clade urbis6 ipsi, ne quid simile paterentur, effugerunt.
Thus there was a withdrawal from Lamia, and the townsmen themselves, through the disaster of the neighboring city, escaped suffering any similar fate.
- 36.25.2congressus
Ellipsis of the auxiliary verb 'est' in 'congressus est'. The subject is 'Philippus'. Similarly, 'profecti' in §36.25.2 omits 'sunt'.
- 36.25.3cum... tum...
Not a temporal conjunction, but a correlative expression meaning 'both... and...' or 'not only... but also...'. It coordinates 'posita est in tumulo' and 'regionem maxime Oetae spectat'.
- 36.25.3oppido quam
An intensifying adverbial phrase meaning 'exceedingly' or 'very'. 'oppido' (an adverb meaning 'completely' or 'very') combines with 'quam' to modify 'breve'. It should not be confused with the ablative of the noun 'oppidum' (town).
- 36.25.4hoc
The neuter ablative singular of 'hoc', indicating cause or degree of difference. Here it anticipates the following 'quod' clause ('on this account, because...'), emphasizing the greater degree of difficulty.
- 36.25.6suamque gratiam consul in obsidione liberanda facturus esset
'suam gratiam facere' is an idiomatic expression meaning 'to win gratitude for oneself' or 'to secure the credit'. 'in obsidione liberanda' is a gerundive construction in the ablative with the preposition 'in', meaning 'in raising the siege'.
- 36.25.8propinquae clade urbis
'clade' is an ablative of cause ('by the disaster'). 'propinquae urbis' is a genitive limiting 'clade'. The subject is 'ipsi' (the townsmen of Lamia themselves), who escaped (effugerunt) a similar fate as a result of the disaster of the neighboring city.