- 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-lat2:37.36.1-37.36.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Failing to obtain peace terms in the council, the ambassador privately attempts to win over P. Scipio, but Scipio firmly rejects the bribery, pointing out the king's unrealistic view of his situation. The peace effort is abandoned, and King Antiochus prepares for war.
legatus postquam nihil aequi1 in consilio impetrare se censebat, privatim — sic enim imperatum erat — P. Scipionis temptare animum est conatus.
When the ambassador perceived that he could obtain nothing reasonable in the council, he attempted privately — for so he had been ordered — to sound the mind of P. Scipio.
omnium primum filium ei sine pretio redditurum regem dixit; deinde ignarus et animi Scipionis et moris Romani, auri pondus ingens est pollicitus, et nomine tantum regio excepto societatem omnis regni, si per eum pacem impetrasset.
First of all, he said that the king would restore his son to him without ransom; then, ignorant of both Scipio’s mind and Roman customs, he promised a vast weight of gold, and, with only the title of king excepted, a partnership in the whole kingdom, if he should obtain peace through his means.
ad ea Scipio: “quod Romanos omnis, quod me, ad quem missus es, ignoras, minus miror, cum te fortunam eius, a quo venis, ignorare cernam. Lysimachia tenenda erat, ne Chersonesum intraremus, aut ad Hellespontum obsistendum,2 ne in Asiam traiceremus, si pacem tamquam ab sollicitis de belli eventu petituri eratis; concesso vero in Asiam transitu3 et non solum frenis, sed etiam iugo accepto quae disceptatio ex aequo, cum imperium patiendum sit, relicta est?
To this Scipio replied: “That you are ignorant of all the Romans, and of me, to whom you have been sent, I wonder the less, when I see that you are ignorant of the fortune of him from whom you come. Lysimachia ought to have been held, that we might not enter the Chersonesus, or you should have opposed us at the Hellespont, to prevent our crossing into Asia, if you were going to ask for peace as from men anxious about the issue of the war; but now, when the passage into Asia has been conceded, and not only the bit but even the yoke has been accepted, what discussion on equal terms is left, when you must submit to our command?
ego ex munificentia regia maximum donum filium habebo; aliis, deos precor, ne umquam fortuna egeat mea;4 animus certe non egebit.
I shall receive my son as the greatest gift from the king’s munificence; for other things, I pray the gods that my fortune may never stand in need of them; my mind certainly will not.
pro tanto in me munere gratum me in se esse sentiet, si privatam gratiam pro privato beneficio desiderabit; publice nec habebo quicquam ab illo nec dabo.
For so great a favor to me, he shall find me grateful to him, if he shall desire private gratitude for a private benefit; publicly, I will neither receive anything from him, nor will I give anything.
quod in praesentia dare possim, fidele consilium est. abi, nuntia meis verbis, bello absistat, pacis condicionem nullam recuset.”
What I can give at present is loyal advice. Go, tell him in my name, let him desist from war, and refuse no condition of peace.”
nihil ea moverunt regem, tutam fore belli aleam ratum, quando perinde ac victo iam sibi5 leges dicerentur. omissa igitur in praesentia mentione pacis totam curam in belli apparatum intendit.
These things moved the king not at all, as he thought that the hazard of war would be safe, since laws were dictated to him just as if he were already defeated. Therefore, dropping for the present all mention of peace, he directed his whole attention to preparation for war.
- 37.36.1nihil aequi
The neuter singular genitive adjective aequi qualifies the neuter pronoun nihil as a partitive genitive, meaning "nothing of what is fair" or "no reasonable terms".
- 37.36.4ad Hellespontum obsistendum
Parallel to Lysimachia tenenda erat (a passive periphrastic conjugation), this is an impersonal passive periphrastic construction using the neuter of the gerundive of the intransitive verb obsisto with erat understood, meaning "or resistance ought to have been made at the Hellespont".
- 37.36.5concesso vero in Asiam transitu
An ablative absolute construction consisting of the noun transitu and the perfect participle concesso. The following phrase frenis, sed etiam iugo accepto is also an ablative absolute, contributing to the concessive force of the clause under the present reality.
- 37.36.6aliis... ne umquam fortuna egeat mea
aliis is a neuter plural ablative (referring to aliis donis in contrast to maximum donum) governed by the verb egeat (which takes the ablative of separation/want), placed at the beginning of the clause for emphasis.
- 37.36.9perinde ac victo iam sibi
perinde ac ("just as if") modifies the perfect participle victo, which is in the dative agreement with sibi (referring to King Antiochus), the indirect object of leges dicerentur ("laws were dictated to him").
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1