Eumenes' Speech to the Senate against the Rhodians — Livy, History of Rome Book 37 (37.53.1–37.53.14), Latin & English

§37.53.1

reductus a praetore in templum rex et dicere iussus “perseverassem”¹ inquit “tacere, patres conscripti, nisi Rhodiorum legationem mox vocaturos vos scirem, et illis auditis mihi necessitatem fore dicendi.

The king, having been brought back into the temple by the praetor and ordered to speak, said: “I should have persisted in keeping silence, conscript fathers, had I not known that you would soon call in the embassy of the Rhodians, and that, after they had been heard, there would be a necessity for me to speak.

§37.53.2

quae quidem eo difficilior oratio erit, quod ea postulata eorum futura sunt, ut² non solum nihil, quod contra me sit, sed ne quod ad ipsos quidem proprie pertineat, petere videantur.

Indeed, this speech of mine will be all the more difficult because their demands are going to be of such a nature that they may seem to ask for nothing that is against me, nor indeed even anything that particularly concerns themselves.

§37.53.3

agent enim causam civitatium Graecarum, et liberari eas dicent debere. quo impetrato, cui dubium est, quin et a nobis aversuri sint non eas modo civitates, quae liberabuntur, sed etiam veteres stipendiarias nostras,³ ipsi autem tanto obligatos beneficio verbo socios, re vera subiectos imperio et obnoxios habituri sint?

For they will plead the cause of the Greek cities, and will say that they ought to be set free. If this is granted, who can doubt that they will alienate from us not only those cities which shall be liberated, but also our ancient tributary cities, and that they themselves will hold as subjects, bound to them by so great a benefit, those who are allies in name but in reality subject to their authority and dependent on them?

§37.53.5

et, si dis placet, cum has tantas opes affectabunt, dissimulabunt ulla parte id ad se pertinere; vos modo id decere et conveniens esse ante factis dicent.

And, if it please the gods, while they affect such great power, they will dissemble that it concerns them in any degree; they will only say that it is becoming to you and consistent with your past actions.

§37.53.6

haec vos ne decipiat oratio, providendum vobis erit, neve non solum inaequaliter alios nimium deprimatis ex sociis vestris, alios praeter modum extollatis, sed etiam ne, qui adversus vos arma tulerint, in meliore statu sint, quam socii et amici vestri. quod ad me attinet, in aliis rebus cessisse intra finem iuris mei cuilibet videri malim, quam nimis pertinaciter in obtinendo eo tetendisse; in certamine autem amicitiae vestrae, benevolentiae erga vos, honoris, qui ab vobis habebitur, minime aequo animo vinci possum. hanc ego maximam hereditatem a patre accepi, qui primus omnium Asiam Graeciamque incolentium in amicitiam venit vestram eamque perpetua et constanti fide ad extremum vitae finem perduxit;

You must take care that this speech does not deceive you, and that you do not not only unequally depress some of your allies too much and exalt others beyond measure, but also that those who have borne arms against you may not be in a better condition than your allies and friends. As for me, in other matters I would rather be seen by anyone to have yielded within the limits of my right than to have contended too obstinately in maintaining it; but in the contest of your friendship, of goodwill towards you, and of the honor which shall be held by you, I can by no means contentedly be outdone. This greatest inheritance I received from my father, who, first of all the inhabitants of Asia and Greece, entered into your friendship, and maintained it with uninterrupted and constant fidelity to the very end of his life;

§37.53.9

nec animum dumtaxat vobis fidelem ac bonum praestitit, sed omnibus interfuit bellis, quae in Graecia gessistis, terrestribus navalibus, omni genere commeatuum, ita ut nemo sociorum vestrorum ulla parte aequari posset, vos adiuvit;

nor did he merely show a faithful and good mind towards you, but he took part in all the wars which you waged in Greece, by land and sea, and assisted you with every kind of provisions, so that none of your allies could be equaled to him in any respect;

§37.53.10

postremo, cum Boeotos ad societatem vestram hortaretur, in ipsa contione intermortuus haud multo post exspiravit.

at last, while he was exhorting the Boeotians to your alliance, he collapsed in the middle of the assembly, and expired not long after.

§37.53.11

huius ego vestigia ingressus voluntati quidem et studio in colendis vobis adicere — etenim inexsuperabilia haec erant — nihil potui;

Treading in his footsteps, I could indeed add nothing to his willingness and zeal in honoring you—for these were insurmountable—

§37.53.12

rebus ipsis meritisque et impensis officiorum ut superare possem, fortuna tempora Antiochus et bellum in Asia gestum praebuerunt materiam.

but that I might surpass him in actual deeds, merits, and costly services, fortune, the times, Antiochus, and the war waged in Asia provided me with the opportunity.

§37.53.13

rex Asiae et partis Europae Antiochus filiam suam in matrimonium mihi dabat; restituebat extemplo civitates, quae defecerant a nobis; spem magnam in posterum amplificandi regni faciebat,⁴ si secum bellum adversus vos gessissem. non gloriabor eo, quod nihil in vos deliquerim; illa potius, quae vetustissima domus nostrae vobiscum amicitia digna sunt, referam.

Antiochus, the king of Asia and of a part of Europe, offered me his daughter in marriage; he offered to restore immediately the cities which had revolted from us; he held out great hopes of amplifying my kingdom in the future, if I had waged war with him against you. I will not boast of having committed no offense against you; I will rather relate those things which are worthy of the very ancient friendship of our house with you.

Syntax notes4 items

37.53.1perseverassem
The subjunctive pluperfect perseverassem (indicating a past unfulfilled action, "I should have persisted") is paired with the subjunctive imperfect nisi scirem in the condition (indicating a present unfulfilled state of knowing, "had I not known"). Eumenes refers to his continuing state of knowledge up to the present moment as the condition for his past resolution to keep silent.
37.53.2ea postulata eorum futura sunt, ut
The demonstrative pronoun ea correlates with the result clause introduced by ut (ut ... videantur), meaning "their demands will be of such a nature that...".
37.53.3veteres stipendiarias nostras
The possessive adjective nostras refers to Eumenes (and his kingdom), not to the Romans. He is expressing concern that the Rhodians' demand for Greek freedom would detach even those cities that had traditionally paid tribute to the Pergamene Kingdom.
37.53.13dabat; restituebat; faciebat
These imperfects (dabat, restituebat, faciebat) are conative, expressing attempted or offered actions in the past ("he was offering to give", "he was proposing to restore", "he was holding out hopes") rather than completed facts.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:37.53.1-37.53.14