- 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-lat2:4.49.1-4.49.16
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-29
The war with Veii is postponed due to religious reasons, but hostilities break out with the Aequi over Bolae. Although the military tribune Postumius captures the town, he breaks his promise of plunder to the soldiers and provokes them with an arrogant threat at the assembly, drawing severe condemnation from the tribune Sextius.
duo bella insequens annus habuisset, quo P. Cornelius Cossus, C. Valerius Potitus, Q. Quinctius Cincinnatus, Num. Fabius Vibulanus tribuni militum consulari potestate fuerunt, ni Veiens bellum religio principum distulisset,1 quorum agros Tiberis super ripas effusus maxime ruinis villarum vastavit.
The following year would have had two wars, in which Publius Cornelius Cossus, Gaius Valerius Potitus, Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus, and Numerius Fabius Vibulanus were military tribunes with consular power, had not a religious fear of the leading men postponed the Veientine war, whose fields the Tiber, overflowing its banks, had devastated, chiefly through the ruins of farmhouses.
simul Aequos triennio ante accepta clades prohibuit Bolanis, suae gentis populo, praesidium ferre.
At the same time, the defeat received three years before prevented the Aequi from bringing aid to the people of Bolae, a town of their own nation.
excursiones inde in confinem agrum Labicanum factae erant novisque colonis bellum inlatum.
From there, incursions had been made into the neighboring territory of Labici, and war was brought upon the new colonists.
quam noxam cum se consensu omnium Aequorum defensuros sperassent, deserti ab suis ne memorabili quidem bello per obsidionem levemque unam pugnam et oppidum et fines amisere. temptatum ab L. Decio tribuno plebis, ut rogationem ferret, qua Bolas quoque, sicut Labicos, coloni mitterentur, per intercessionem collegarum, qui nullum plebi scitum nisi ex auctoritate senatus passuros se perferri ostenderunt, discussum est.
Although they had hoped to defend themselves from this injury by the consensus of all the Aequi, being deserted by their own people, without even a memorable war, they lost both their town and their territory through a siege and a single light battle. An attempt was made by Lucius Decius, tribune of the plebs, to propose a law by which colonists should be sent to Bolae as well, just as to Labici, but it was shattered by the veto of his colleagues, who showed that they would allow no plebiscitum to be passed except by the authority of the senate.
Bolis insequente anno receptis Aequi coloniaque eo deducta novis viribus oppidum firmarunt tribunis militum Romae consulari potestate Cn. Cornelio Cosso, L. Valerio Potito, Q. Fabio Vibulano iterum, M. Postumio Regillensi.
In the following year, Bolae having been recovered, the Aequi strengthened the town with new forces by leading a colony there, when Gnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Lucius Valerius Potitus, Quintus Fabius Vibulanus for the second time, and Marcus Postumius Regillensis were military tribunes with consular power at Rome.
huic bellum adversus Aequos permissum est, pravae mentis homini, quam tamen victoria magis quam bellum ostendit.
To the latter, a man of depraved mind, the war against the Aequi was entrusted, which, however, victory rather than the war revealed.
nam exercitu inpigre scripto ductoque ad Bolas cum levibus proeliis Aequorum animos fregisset, postremo in oppidum inrupit. deinde ab hostibus in civis certamen vertit et, cum inter oppugnationem praedam militis fore edixisset, capto oppido fidem mutavit.
For having energetically enlisted and led the army to Bolae, after he had broken the spirits of the Aequi in light skirmishes, he finally burst into the town. Then he turned the contest from the enemy against the citizens, and although during the siege he had proclaimed that the plunder would belong to the soldiers, once the town was captured, he broke his word.
eam magis adducor ut credam irae causam exercitui fuisse, quam quod in urbe nuper direpta coloniaque nova minus praedicatione tribuni praedae2 fuerit.
I am more inclined to believe that this was the cause of anger for the army, rather than that, in a city recently plundered and a new colony, there was less plunder than had been proclaimed by the tribune.
auxit eam iram, postquam ab collegis arcessitus propter seditiones tribunicias in urbem revertit, audita vox eius in contione stolida ac prope vecors, qua M. Sextio tribuno plebis legem agrariam ferenti, simul, Bolas quoque ut mitterentur coloni, laturum se dicenti — dignum enim esse, qui armis cepissent, eorum urbem agrumque Bolanum esse — “malum quidem militibus meis” inquit, “nisi quieverint.”3 quod auditum non contionem magis quam mox patres offendit.
That anger was increased, after he returned to the city having been summoned by his colleagues on account of the tribunician seditions, when his stupid and almost insane voice was heard in the assembly, where, in response to Marcus Sextius, tribune of the plebs, who was proposing an agrarian law and at the same time saying that he would propose that colonists should be sent to Bolae as well—for it was fitting, he said, that the city and land of Bolae should belong to those who had captured them by arms—he said: “My soldiers will indeed suffer for it, unless they keep quiet.” This statement, when heard, offended the assembly no more than it soon did the patricians.
et tribunus plebis, vir acer nec infacundus, nactus inter adversarios superbum ingenium inmodicamque linguam, quam inritando agitandoque in eas inpelleret voces, quae invidiae non ipsi tantum, sed causae atque universo ordini essent, neminem ex collegio tribunorum militum saepius quam Postumium in disceptationem trahebat.
And the tribune of the plebs, a sharp man and not lacking eloquence, having found in his adversary a proud nature and an unrestrained tongue, which by irritating and agitating he might drive into such utterances as would bring unpopularity not only to himself, but to his cause and his entire order, dragged none of the college of military tribunes into dispute more often than Postumius.
tum vero secundam tam saevum atque inhumanum dictum “auditis” inquit, “Quirites, sicut servis malum minantem militibus?
Then indeed, following so cruel and inhuman a statement, he said: “Do you hear, citizens, him threatening his soldiers with punishment just as if they were slaves?
tamen haec belua dignior vobis tanto honore videbitur, quam qui vos urbe agrisque donatos in colonias mittunt, qui sedem senectuti vestrae prospiciunt, qui pro vestris commodis adversus tam crudeles superbosque adversarios depugnant?
Yet will this beast seem more worthy of so great an honor from you than those who send you into colonies endowed with city and fields, who look out for a seat for your old age, and who fight for your interests against such cruel and proud adversaries?
incipite deinde mirari, cur pauci iam vestram suscipiant causam. quid ut a vobis sperent? an honores, quos adversariis vestris potius quam populi Romani propugnatoribus datis?
Begin then to wonder why few now undertake your cause. What are they to hope for from you? Is it the honors which you give to your adversaries rather than to the defenders of the Roman people?
ingemuistis modo voce huius audita. quid id refert? iam si suffragium detur, hunc, qui malum vobis minatur, iis, qui agros sedesque ac fortunas stabilire volunt, praeferetis.”
You groaned just now when his voice was heard. What does that matter? If a vote were to be cast now, you would prefer this man, who threatens you with punishment, to those who wish to secure your fields, homes, and fortunes.”
- 4.49.1habuisset ... ni ... distulisset
A contrary-to-fact conditional sentence in the past, with the pluperfect subjunctive used both in the main clause (habuisset) and in the conditional clause (distulisset) introduced by ni (nisi).
- 4.49.10minus praedicatione tribuni praedae
praedae is a partitive genitive qualifying the comparative neuter minus ("less plunder"). praedicatione can be understood as an ablative of comparison or cause ("than/by the proclamation of the tribune"), meaning that the plunder was less than what had been publicly proclaimed by the military tribune.
- 4.49.11malum quidem militibus meis ... nisi quieverint
malum ("evil, punishment") is a noun used as a threat, with a verb such as eveniet or erit omitted. nisi quieverint (future perfect or perfect subjunctive of quiesco) forms the conditional clause ("unless they remain quiet").