- 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-lat2:38.8.1-38.8.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-10
Faced with defeats on multiple fronts, the Aetolian League decides to sue for peace and sends envoys to the Roman consul, who in turn demands harsh surrender terms.
cum in hoc statu ad Ambraciam res esset, legati ab Aetolis Phaeneas et Damoteles cum liberis mandatis decreto gentis ad consulem venerunt. nam praetor eorum, cum alia parte Ambraciam oppugnari cerneret, alia infestam oram navibus hostium esse, alia Amphilochos Dolopiamque a Macedonibus vastari, nec Aetolos ad tria simul diversa bella occursantis sufficere, convocato concilio Aetoliae principes, quid agendum esset, consuluit.
While affairs at Ambracia were in this state, Phaeneas and Damoteles, ambassadors from the Aetolians, came to the consul with full powers by a decree of the nation. For their praetor, seeing on one side Ambracia besieged, on another the coast infested by the enemy’s ships, and on another Amphilochia and Dolopia ravaged by the Macedonians, and that the Aetolians were not sufficient to meet three different wars at the same time, having summoned a council, consulted the leading men of Aetolia as to what ought to be done.
omnium eo sententiae decurrerunt, ut pax, si posset, aequis, si minus, tolerandis condicionibus peteretur; Antiochi fiducia1 bellum susceptum;
The opinions of all inclined to this, that peace should be sought, if possible, on favorable, if not, on tolerable terms; that the war had been undertaken through reliance on Antiochus;
Antiocho terra marique superato et prope extra orbem terrae ultra iuga Tauri exacto quam spem esse2 sustinendi belli?
but now that Antiochus had been defeated by land and sea, and driven almost out of the world beyond the ridges of Mount Taurus, what hope was there of sustaining the war?
Phaeneas et Damoteles quod e re Aetolorum, ut in tali casu, fideque sua esse censerent, agerent;3 quod enim sibi consilium aut cuius rei electionem a fortuna relictam?
Let Phaeneas and Damoteles do what they should judge to be for the interest of the Aetolians, as in such an emergency, and consistent with their own good faith; for what counsel or what choice of anything had been left to them by fortune?
cum his mandatis legati missi orare consulem, ut parceret urbi, misereretur gentis quondam sociae, nolle dicere iniuriis, miseriis certe coactae insanire; non plus mali meritos Aetolos Antiochi bello, quam boni ante, cum adversus Philippum bellatum sit, fecisse;4 nec tum large gratiam relatam sibi, nec nunc immodice poenam iniungi debere. ad ea consul respondit magis saepe quam vere umquam Aetolos pacem petere. imitarentur Antiochum in petenda pace, quem in bellum traxissent;
Sent with these instructions, the ambassadors begged the consul to spare the city and to have pity on a nation once an ally, saying that they did not wish to say they had been forced into madness by injuries, but certainly by miseries; that the Aetolians had not deserved more ill in the war of Antiochus than they had done good before, when war was waged against Philip; and that as thanks had not been largely returned to them then, so now punishment ought not to be immodically imposed. To this the consul replied that the Aetolians sought peace more frequently than ever sincerely. Let them imitate Antiochus in seeking peace, whom they had drawn into the war;
non paucis urbibus eum, de quarum libertate certatum sit, sed omni Asia cis Taurum montem, opimo regno, excessisse. Aetolos nisi inermes de pace agentes non auditurum se;
he had departed not from a few cities, for whose liberty the contest had been, but from all Asia on this side of Mount Taurus, a rich kingdom, and had withdrawn. Unless the Aetolians treated for peace unarmed, he would not listen to them;
arma illis prius equosque omnis tradendos esse, deinde mille talentum argenti populo Romano dandum, cuius summae dimidium praesens numeretur, si pacem habere vellent. ad ea adiecturum etiam in foedus esse,5 ut eosdem quos populus Romanus amicos atque hostis habeant.
they must first deliver up their arms and all their horses, and then pay a thousand talents of silver to the Roman people, half of which sum was to be paid down, if they wished to have peace. To these terms he would also add in the treaty that they should have the same friends and enemies as the Roman people.
- 38.8.3Antiochi fiducia
fiducia is an ablative of cause ('through reliance on'). Antiochi is an objective genitive, meaning 'reliance on Antiochus.'
- 38.8.4quam spem esse
A rhetorical question in indirect discourse. A question that would be 'what hope is there? (quae spes est?)' in direct discourse is expressed by the accusative and infinitive construction (esse) in indirect discourse.
- 38.8.5agerent
Imperfect subjunctive representing a command in indirect discourse (corresponding to an imperative 'let them act' in direct discourse). The preceding censerent is in the subjunctive because it is a subordinate clause within indirect discourse.
- 38.8.7non plus mali meritos Aetolos... quam boni... fecisse
In this comparative structure, mali (of evil) and boni (of good) are partitive genitives, depending respectively on plus and the implied counterpart. meritos [esse] means 'deserved' or 'incurred.' The clause states that the Aetolians had not deserved more ill (blame) in the war of Antiochus than the good (merit) they had performed in the war against Philip.
- 38.8.10adiecturum ... esse
Active future infinitive with the subject accusative (se, referring to the consul) omitted. It means 'that he (the consul) would add.'
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1