Tempanius Dismounts the Cavalry to Restore the Battle — Livy, History of Rome Book 4 (4.38.1–4.38.5), Latin & English

§4.38.1

iam omnibus locis ceditur¹ nequiquam Sempronio consule obiurgante atque hortante. nihil nec imperium nec maiestas valebat;

Already on all sides a retreat was being made, though the consul Sempronius in vain rebuked and encouraged them. Neither authority nor majesty had any power;

§4.38.2

dataque mox terga hostibus forent, ni Sex. Tempanius, decurio equitum, labante iam re praesenti animo subvenisset.² qui cum magna voce exclamasset, ut equites, qui salvam rem publicam vellent esse, ex equis desilirent, omnium turmarum equitibus velut ad consulis imperium motis “nisi haec” inquit “parmata cohors sistit impetum hostium, actum de imperio est. sequimini pro vexillo cuspidem meam; ostendite Romanis Volscisque neque equitibus vobis ullos equites nec peditibus esse pedites pares.”³ cum clamore conprobata adhortatio esset, vadit alte cuspidem gerens. quacumque incedunt, vi viam faciunt; eo se inferunt obiectis parmis, ubi suorum plurimum laborem vident.

and they would soon have turned their backs to the enemy, had not Sextus Tempanius, a decurio of the cavalry, with presence of mind come to the rescue when the situation was already wavering. Having cried out with a loud voice that those cavalrymen who wished the commonwealth to be safe should leap down from their horses, and all the squadrons of cavalry being moved as if by the command of the consul, he said: “Unless this cohort, armed with bucklers, stops the onset of the enemy, it is all over with our empire. Follow my spear-point in place of a standard; show both Romans and Volscians that as cavalry no cavalry are equal to you, nor as infantry any infantry.” When his exhortation was approved with a shout, he advanced, holding his spear high. Wherever they marched, they forced a way by strength; throwing their bucklers before them, they bore themselves to where they saw their own men in the greatest distress.

§4.38.5

restituitur omnibus locis pugna, in quae eos impetus tulit; nec dubium erat, quin, si tam pauci simul obire omnia possent, terga daturi hostes fuerint.⁴

In all the places to which their charge carried them, the fight was restored; nor was there any doubt that, if so few could have met all points at once, the enemy would have turned their backs.

Syntax notes4 items

4.38.1ceditur
The passive third person singular of the intransitive verb cedere, used impersonally ('a retreat is being made'). It describes the general state of collapse without specifying particular agents.
4.38.2dataque mox terga hostibus forent, ni... subvenisset
An unreal conditional sentence in the past. In the apodosis, forent is used in place of essent, making data forent equivalent to data essent (pluperfect passive subjunctive). ni is synonymous with nisi.
4.38.3neque equitibus vobis ullos equites nec peditibus esse pedites pares
An accusative and infinitive construction in indirect speech. vobis is a dative of reference or relation, with equitibus and peditibus in apposition to it ('to you as cavalry / to you as infantry'). ullos equites and pedites are the subject accusatives of the infinitive esse, with pares as the predicate adjective.
4.38.5terga daturi hostes fuerint
A subordinate clause introduced by nec dubium erat quin. The unreal conditional apodosis to si possent (imperfect subjunctive) is expressed within the quin-clause using the active periphrastic form: future active participle (daturi) + perfect subjunctive of esse (fuerint). This is the standard grammatical rule when a past unreal apodosis is placed in a clause requiring the subjunctive.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25)urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:4.38.1-4.38.5