The Triumph and Magnificent Spoils of Lucius Scipio — Livy, History of Rome Book 37 (37.59.1–37.59.6), Latin & English

§37.59.1

merito ergo et diis immortalibus, quantus maximus poterat,¹ habitus est honos, quod ingentem victoriam facilem etiam fecissent, et imperatori triumphus est decretus.

Therefore, justly, the greatest possible honor was paid to the immortal gods, because they had made a huge victory even easy, and a triumph was decreed for the commander.

§37.59.2

triumphavit mense intercalario pridie Kal. Martias. qui triumphus spectaculo oculorum maior quam Africani fratris eius fuit, recordatione rerum et aestimatione periculi certaminisque non magis comparandus, quam si imperatorem imperatori aut Antiochum ducem Hannibali conferres.²

He celebrated his triumph in the intercalary month on the day before the Kalends of March. This triumph was grander as a spectacle for the eyes than that of his brother Africanus, but in the memory of achievements and the estimation of danger and struggle, it was no more comparable than if you were to compare commander with commander, or Antiochus as a leader with Hannibal.

§37.59.3

tulit in triumpho signa militaria ducenta viginti quattuor, oppidorum simulacra centum triginta quattuor, eburneos dentes mille ducentos triginta unum, aureas coronas ducentas triginta quattuor, argenti pondo centum triginta septem milia quadringenta viginti, tetrachmum Atticorum ducenta viginti quattuor milia, cistophori trecenta viginti unum milia septuaginta, nummos aureos Philippeos centum quadraginta milia, vasorum argenteorum³ — omnia caelata erant — mille pondo et quadringenta viginti tria, aureorum mille pondo viginti tria. et duces regii, praefecti, purpurati duo et triginta ante currum ducti.

He carried in his triumph two hundred twenty-four military standards, one hundred thirty-four models of towns, one thousand two hundred thirty-one ivory tusks, two hundred thirty-four golden crowns, one hundred thirty-seven thousand four hundred twenty pounds of silver, two hundred twenty-four thousand Attic tetradrachms, three hundred twenty-one thousand seventy cistophori, one hundred forty thousand golden Philip-coins, one thousand four hundred twenty-three pounds of silver vessels—all of which were chased—and one thousand twenty-three pounds of golden ones. And thirty-two royal generals, prefects, and nobles were led before his chariot.

§37.59.6

militibus quini viceni denarii dati, duplex centurioni, triplex equiti. et stipendium militare et frumentum duplex post triumphum datum; iam proelio in Asia facto duplex dederat. triumphavit anno fere post, quam⁴ consulatu abiit.

Twenty-five denarii each were given to the soldiers, double to a centurion, triple to a cavalryman. And both military pay and double grain were given after the triumph; he had already given double when the battle in Asia was fought. He triumphed almost a year after he retired from the consulship.

Syntax notes4 items

37.59.1quantus maximus poterat
An idiomatic phrase combining the relative pronoun quantus with the superlative maximus to express 'the greatest possible.' The subject of poterat is the preceding honos, and the structure is originally elliptical for quantus maximus honos haberi poterat.
37.59.2non magis comparandus, quam si... conferres
A double negative comparison of the form non magis A quam si B ('no more comparable A than if B,' meaning A is as incomparable as B would be). conferres is in the subjunctive imperfect, representing a potential or hypothetical condition with an indefinite second person singular subject ('if one were to compare').
37.59.5vasorum argenteorum
A partitive genitive (or genitive of measure) depending on the weight expression mille pondo functioning substantively. Although pondo is originally an ablative meaning 'by weight,' here it is treated as an indeclinable noun and governs the genitive along with the numeral mille.
37.59.6anno fere post, quam...
A construction where the conjunction postquam ('after') is split (tmesis) into post and quam, with the ablative of measure of difference anno (and the adverb fere) inserted between them. Literally, 'almost a year later than when he retired from the consulship.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:37.59.1-37.59.6