Roman Crossing into Asia and Religious Delay — Livy, History of Rome Book 37 (37.33.1–37.33.7), Latin & English

§37.33.1

per idem fere tempus consuli, transgresso¹ Aeniorum Maronitarumque finis, nuntiatur victam regiam classem ad Myonnesum relictamque a praesidio Lysimachiam esse.

At about the same time, it was reported to the consul, who had crossed the borders of the Aenians and Maronitans, that the royal fleet had been defeated at Myonnesus, and that Lysimachia had been abandoned by its garrison.

§37.33.2

id multo quam de navali victoria laetius fuit, utique postquam eo venerunt, refertaque urbs omnium rerum commeatibus velut in adventum exercitus praeparatis eos excepit, ubi inopiam ultimam laboremque in obsidenda urbe proposuerant sibi.

This was much more joyful than the news of the naval victory, especially after they arrived there, and the city, filled with provisions of all kinds prepared as if for the arrival of an army, received them, where they had expected extreme want and hardship in besieging the city.

§37.33.3

paucos dies stativa habuere, impedimenta aegrique ut consequerentur, qui passim per omnia Thraciae castella, fessi morbis ac longitudine viae, relicti erant. receptis omnibus ingressi rursus iter per Chersonesum Hellespontum perveniunt. ubi omnibus cura regis Eumenis ad traiciendum praeparatis velut in pacata littora nullo prohibente, aliis alio delatis navibus, sine tumultu traiecere.

They held a standing camp for a few days, so that the baggage and the sick, who, worn out by illness and the length of the journey, had been left behind here and there throughout all the forts of Thrace, might catch up. When all had been received, they resumed their march through the Chersonesus and arrived at the Hellespont. There, since everything had been prepared for the crossing through the care of King Eumenes, as if onto peaceful shores with no one preventing them, they crossed without tumult, some carried in one ship, some in another.

§37.33.5

ea vero res Romanis auxit animos, concessum sibi transitum cernentibus² in Asiam, quam rem magni certaminis futuram crediderant.

Indeed, this event increased the courage of the Romans, as they saw that a passage into Asia, which they had believed would be a matter of great contest, was conceded to them.

§37.33.6

stativa deinde ad Hellespontum aliquamdiu habuerunt, quia dies forte, quibus ancilia moventur, religiosi ad iter inciderant.

Then they held a standing camp at the Hellespont for some time, because the days on which the sacred shields (ancilia) are moved had happened to fall on religious days for travel.

§37.33.7

idem dies P. Scipionem propiore etiam religione, quia salius erat, diiunxerant ab exercitu; causaque et is ipse morae³ erat, dum consequeretur.⁴

The same days had separated Publius Scipio from the army by an even closer religious obligation, because he was a Salius; and he himself was also the cause of the delay until he should catch up.

Syntax notes4 items

37.33.1transgresso
Perfect participle of the deponent verb transgredior, having an active meaning ("having crossed") rather than passive. It agrees with the dative consuli ("to the consul").
37.33.5cernentibus
Present participle agreeing with the dative Romanis in the main clause. It takes the accusative with infinitive clause concessum [esse] transitum as its object.
37.33.7morae
Dative of purpose or effect (predicative dative), functioning as a predicate for the subject is ipse ("he himself was a cause of delay").
37.33.7consequeretur
Subjunctive imperfect with the conjunction dum ("until"). The subjunctive is used here rather than the indicative because it implies anticipation or purpose ("until he should catch up / waiting for him to catch up") rather than a mere temporal fact.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:37.33.1-37.33.7