Manlius's Triumph and the Repayment of War Tax — Livy, History of Rome Book 39 (39.7.1–39.7.10), Latin & English

§39.7.1

in triumpho tulit Cn. Manlius coronas aureas ducenta duodecim, argenti pondo ducenta viginti milia, auri pondo duo milia centum tria, tetrachmum Atticum centum viginti septem milia, cistophori ducenta quinquaginta,¹ Philippeorum aureorum nummorum sedecim milia trecentos viginti;

In his triumph Cn. Manlius carried two hundred and twelve golden crowns, two hundred and twenty thousand pounds of silver, two thousand one hundred and three pounds of gold, one hundred and twenty-seven thousand Attic tetradrachms, two hundred and fifty thousand cistophori, and sixteen thousand three hundred and twenty golden Philip coins;

§39.7.2

et arma spoliaque multa Gallica carpentis travecta, duces hostium duo et quinquaginta ducti ante currum. militibus quadragenos binos denarios divisit, duplex centurioni, triplex in equites, et stipendium duplex dedit;

and many Gallic arms and spoils were carried in wagons, and fifty-two enemy leaders were led before his chariot. He distributed forty-two denarii to each soldier, double that to a centurion, triple to the cavalry, and gave them double pay;

§39.7.3

multi omnium ordinum donati militaribus donis currum secuti sunt. carminaque a militibus ea in imperatorem dicta, ut facile appareret² in ducem indulgentem ambitiosumque ea dici, triumphum esse militari magis favore quam populari celebrem.

many of all ranks, decorated with military awards, followed his chariot. And the songs sung by the soldiers about their commander were such that it was easily apparent they were being sung of an indulgent and ambitious leader, and that the triumph was celebrated more by military favor than by popular support.

§39.7.4

sed ad populi quoque gratiam conciliandam amici Manlii valuerunt;

But to win the favor of the people as well, the friends of Manlius exerted their influence;

§39.7.5

quibus adnitentibus senatus consultum factum est, ut ex pecunia quae in triumpho translata esset, stipendium collatum a populo in publicum, quod eius solutum antea non esset,³ solveretur. vicenos quinos et semisses in milia aeris⁴ quaestores urbani cum fide et cura solverunt.

through their efforts, a decree of the senate was passed that from the money which had been carried in the triumph, the war tax contributed by the people to the treasury, which had not been paid back before, should be repaid. The city quaestors paid this back with loyalty and care at the rate of twenty-five and a half asses for every thousand.

§39.7.6

per idem tempus tribuni militum duo ex duabus Hispaniis cum litteris C. Atinii et L. Manlii, qui eas provincias obtinebant, venerunt.

At about the same time, two military tribunes from the two Spains arrived with letters from C. Atinius and L. Manlius, who held those provinces.

§39.7.7

ex iis litteris cognitum est Celtiberos Lusitanosque in armis esse et sociorum agros populari. de ea re consultationem integram senatus ad novos magistratus reiecit. Ludis Romanis eo anno, quos P. Cornelius Cethegus A. Postumius Albinus faciebant, malus in circo instabilis in signum Pollentiae procidit atque id deiecit. ea religione moti patres et diem unum adiciendum ludorum censuerunt, et signa duo pro uno reponenda et novum auratum faciendum.

From these letters it was learned that the Celtiberians and Lusitanians were in arms and plundering the territories of the allies. The senate referred the entire deliberation on this matter to the new magistrates. During the Roman Games of that year, which P. Cornelius Cethegus and A. Postumius Albinus were celebrating, an unstable mast in the circus fell onto the statue of Pollentia and threw it down. Moved by this religious alarm, the fathers decreed both that one day should be added to the games, and that two statues should be set up in place of the one, and that a new gilded one should be made.

§39.7.10

et plebeii ludi ab aedilibus C. Sempronio Blaeso et M. Furio Lusco diem unum instaurati sunt.

And the Plebeian Games were repeated for one day by the aediles C. Sempronius Blaesus and M. Furius Luscus.

Syntax notes4 items

39.7.1cistophori ducenta quinquaginta
From the surrounding context (e.g., argenti pondo ducenta viginti milia, tetrachmum Atticum centum viginti septem milia), the word milia ('thousands') is omitted after ducenta quinquaginta. The word cistophori is the genitive plural of cistophorus (a silver coin widely circulated in Asia Minor), qualifying the omitted noun of quantity.
39.7.3carminaque a militibus ea in imperatorem dicta, ut facile appareret ...
The main verb of the clause is omitted; one may supply dicta [sunt]. The pronoun 'ea' ('such') points forward to the following result clause introduced by 'ut'. Within the ut-clause, two accusative with infinitive constructions function as the subjects of the impersonal 'appareret': [1] 'ea dici' and [2] 'triumphum esse... celebrem'.
39.7.5quod eius solutum antea non esset
'eius' is a partitive genitive referring back to the 'stipendium' (the war tax contributed by the people). Combined with the relative pronoun 'quod' (nominative neuter singular), it means 'that part of it which had not been paid back before.' This phrasing 'quod eius' is a legal idiom used to denote the remaining unpaid portion. The subjunctive 'esset solutum' is used because it is a subordinate clause within a purpose/decree clause (ut... solveretur) expressing the content of the senate's decree.
39.7.5vicenos quinos et semisses in milia aeris
This phrase expresses the rate of repayment: 'twenty-five and a half asses for every thousand asses.' 'vicenos quinos' is the distributive numeral (twenty-five each), and 'semisses' (accusative plural of 'semis', half-as) means 'half-asses.' 'in milia aeris' means 'per thousand of copper (asses),' representing a repayment rate of approximately 2.55 percent.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:39.7.1-39.7.10