- 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
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:38.43.1-38.43.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
The consul Aemilius, in order to discredit his political enemy Fulvius, brings suborned Ambraciot ambassadors to accuse Fulvius of war crimes before the senate. The other consul, Flaminius, defends Fulvius by drawing parallels with previous military trials and objects to any decrees being passed in Fulvius's absence.
inimicitiae inter M. Fulvium et M. Aemilium consulem erant, et super cetera Aemilius serius biennio1 se consulem factum M. Fulvii opera ducebat.
There was an enmity between Marcus Fulvius and the consul Marcus Aemilius, and above all, Aemilius believed that he had been made consul two years later than he should have been through the scheming of Marcus Fulvius.
itaque ad invidiam ei faciundam legatos Ambraciensis in senatum subornatos2 criminibus introduxit, qui sibi, cum in pace essent imperataque prioribus consulibus fecissent et eadem oboedienter praestare M. Fulvio parati essent, bellum illatum questi, agros primum depopulatos, terrorem direptionis et caedis urbi iniectum, ut eo metu claudere cogerentur portas;
Therefore, in order to bring odium upon him, Aemilius introduced into the senate Ambraciot ambassadors whom he had suborned with accusations, who, although they had been at peace and had done what the former consuls commanded, and were ready to show the same obedience to Marcus Fulvius, complained that war had been made upon them, their fields first devastated, and the terror of pillage and slaughter cast upon their city, so that by this fear they were forced to close their gates;
obsessos deinde et oppugnatos se, et omnia exempla belli edita in se caedibus incendiis ruinis direptione urbis, coniuges liberos in servitium abstractos, bona adempta, et, quod se ante omnia moveat, templa tota urbe spoliata ornamentis; simulacra deum, deos immo ipsos, convulsos ex sedibus suis ablatos esse; parietes postesque nudatos, quos adorent,3 ad quos precentur et supplicent, Ambraciensibus superesse —
then that they had been besieged and assaulted, and that every kind of cruelty of war had been inflicted upon them in slaughter, fire, ruin, and the pillage of their city, their wives and children dragged away into slavery, and their property taken from them; and, what moved them above all else, that the temples throughout the whole city had been spoiled of their ornaments; that the images of the gods, or rather the gods themselves, had been torn from their pedestals and carried away; and that nothing was left to the Ambraciots but bare walls and pillars, which they might worship, to which they might pray and make supplication.
: haec querentis4 interrogando criminose ex composito consul ad plura velut non sua sponte dicenda eliciebat.
As they made these complaints, the consul, by asking malicious questions in accordance with their prearranged plan, drew them on to say more things, as if not of their own accord.
motis patribus alter consul C. Flaminius M. Fulvii causam excepit, qui veterem viam et obsoletam ingressos Ambracienses dixit;
When the senators were moved, the other consul, Gaius Flaminius, took up the cause of Marcus Fulvius, and said that the Ambraciots had entered upon an old and worn-out path;
sic M. Marcellum ab Syracusanis, sic Q. Fulvium a Campanis accusatos. quin eadem opera T. Quinctium a Philippo rege, M’. Acilium et L. Scipionem ab Antiocho, Cn. Manlium a Gallis, ipsum M. Fulvium ab Aetolis et Cephallaniae populis accusari paterentur?5
for in this way Marcus Marcellus had been accused by the Syracusans, and Quintus Fulvius by the Campanians. Why did they not by the same token allow Titus Quinctius to be accused by King Philip, Manius Acilius and Lucius Scipio by Antiochus, Gnaeus Manlius by the Gauls, and Marcus Fulvius himself by the Aetolians and the peoples of Cephallenia?
“Ambraciam oppugnatam et captam et signa inde ornamentaque ablata et cetera facta, quae captis urbibus soleant, negaturum aut me pro M. Fulvio aut ipsum M. Fulvium censetis, patres conscripti, qui ob has res gestas triumphum a vobis postulaturus sit, Ambraciam captam signaque, quae ablata criminantur, et cetera spolia eius urbis ante currum laturus et fixurus in postibus suis?
”Do you suppose, conscript fathers, that either I on behalf of Marcus Fulvius, or Marcus Fulvius himself, will deny that Ambracia was besieged and captured, and that the statues and ornaments were carried away from there, and other things done which are customary at the capture of cities? He who is going to demand a triumph from you for these achievements, and who will carry captured Ambracia, and the statues which they complain were taken away, and the rest of the spoils of that city before his chariot, and fix them on his own doorposts?
nihil est, quod se ab Aetolis separent; eadem Ambraciensium et Aetolorum causa est.
There is no reason why they should separate themselves from the Aetolians; the cause of the Ambraciots and of the Aetolians is the same.
itaque collega meus vel in alia causa inimicitias exerceat, vel, si in hac utique mavult, retineat Ambraciensis suos in adventum M. Fulvii;
Therefore, let my colleague either exercise his enmities in some other cause, or, if he absolutely prefers in this one, let him keep his Ambraciots until the arrival of Marcus Fulvius;
ego nec de Ambraciensibus nec de Aetolis decerni quicquam absente M. Fulvio patiar.”
I will not suffer any decree to be made either concerning the Ambraciots or the Aetolians in the absence of Marcus Fulvius.”
- 38.43.1serius biennio
biennio is an ablative of degree of difference modifying the comparative adverb serius ("later"), meaning "two years later."
- 38.43.2subornatos
subornatos is a perfect passive participle meaning "suborned" or "secretly instigated," showing that Aemilius had privately briefed and prepared the Ambraciot ambassadors for his political purpose.
- 38.43.5quos adorent
The verbs in the relative clause introduced by quos (adorent, precentur, supplicent) are in the subjunctive mood because the clause expresses purpose or character ("which they might worship..."), or because of the subjunctive's role in indirect speech (oratio obliqua).
- 38.43.6querentis
querentis is an accusative plural form with the ending -is instead of the classical -es, equivalent to querentes (present participle, masculine accusative plural). It serves as the direct object of the verb eliciebat.
- 38.43.8quin ... paterentur
The interrogative particle quin combined with the imperfect subjunctive (paterentur) forms a rhetorical question containing strong indignation or irony, meaning "why indeed should they not permit..." or "why not allow..."