Beginning of Siege of Veii and Capture of Artena — Livy, History of Rome Book 4 (4.61.1–4.61.11), Latin & English

§4.61.1

fuere autem tribuni T. Quinctius Capitolinus, Q. Quinctius Cincinnatus, C. Iulius Iulus iterum, A. Manlius, L. Furius Medullinus tertium, M. Aemilius Mamercus.

The tribunes, however, were Titus Quinctius Capitolinus, Quintus Quinctius Cincinnatus, Gaius Iulius Iulus for the second time, Aulus Manlius, Lucius Furius Medullinus for the third time, and Marcus Aemilius Mamercus.

§4.61.2

ab iis primum circumsessi Vei sunt. sub cuius initium obsidionis cum Etruscorum concilium ad fanum Voltumnae frequenter habitum esset, parum constitit, bellone publico gentis universae tuendi Veientes essent.¹

By them Veii was first besieged. Around the beginning of this siege, although a council of the Etruscans was held in large numbers at the shrine of Voltumna, it was not sufficiently agreed whether the Veientes should be defended by a public war of the entire nation.

§4.61.3

ea oppugnatio segnior insequenti anno fuit parte tribunorum exercitusque ad Volscum avocata bellum.

In the following year, that assault became less vigorous, as a portion of the tribunes and the army was recalled to the Volscian war.

§4.61.4

Tribunos militum consulari potestate is annus habuit C. Valerium Potitum tertium, M’. Sergium Fidenatem, P. Cornelium Maluginensem, Cn. Cornelium Cossum, C. Fabium Ambustum, Sp. Nautium Rutilum iterum.

That year had as military tribunes with consular power Gaius Valerius Potitus for the third time, Manius Sergius Fidenas, Publius Cornelius Maluginensis, Gnaeus Cornelius Cossus, Gaius Fabius Ambustus, and Spurius Nautius Rutilus for the second time.

§4.61.5

cum Volscis inter Ferentinum atque Ecetram signis conlatis dimicatum;

A battle was fought with the Volscians, with standards joined, between Ferentinum and Ecetra.

§4.61.6

Romanis secunda fortuna pugnae fuit. Artena inde, Volscorum oppidum, ab tribunis obsideri coepta. inde inter eruptionem temptatam conpulso in urbem hoste occasio data est Romanis inrumpendi, praeterque arcem cetera capta; in arcem munitam natura globus armatorum concessit; infra arcem caesi captique multi mortales.

For the Romans, the fortune of the battle was favorable. Then, Artena, a town of the Volscians, began to be besieged by the tribunes. From there, during an attempted sally, because the enemy was driven back into the city, an opportunity of breaking in was given to the Romans, and everything except the citadel was captured; a band of armed men withdrew into the naturally fortified citadel; below the citadel, many mortals were slain and captured.

§4.61.7

arx deinde obsidebatur; nec aut vi capi poterat, quia pro spatio loci satis praesidii habebat, aut spem dabat deditionis omni publico frumento, priusquam urbs caperetur, in arcem convecto;

Thereupon the citadel was besieged; but it could neither be taken by force, because it had sufficient defense in proportion to the space of the site, nor did it offer any hope of surrender, since all the public grain had been carried into the citadel before the city was captured.

§4.61.8

taedioque recessum inde foret,² ni servus arcem Romanis prodidisset. ab eo milites per locum arduum accepti cepere; a quibus cum custodes trucidarentur, cetera multitudo repentino pavore oppressa in deditionem venit.

And they would have withdrawn from there out of weariness, had not a slave betrayed the citadel to the Romans. The soldiers, let in by him through a steep place, captured it; when the guards were being slaughtered by them, the rest of the multitude, overcome by a sudden panic, surrendered.

§4.61.9

diruta et arce et urbe Artena reductae legiones ex Volscis, omnisque vis Romana Veios conversa est.

With both the citadel and the city of Artena demolished, the legions were withdrawn from the Volscians, and the entire Roman force was turned toward Veii.

§4.61.10

proditori praeter libertatem duarum familiarum bona in praemium data; Servius Romanus vocitatus. sunt, qui Artenam Veientium, non Volscorum fuisse credant.

To the betrayer, besides his freedom, the property of two families was given as a reward; he was called Servius Romanus. There are those who believe that Artena belonged to the Veientes, not to the Volscians.

§4.61.11

praebet errorem, quod eiusdem nominis urbs inter Caere atque Veios fuit;³ sed eam reges Romani delevere, Caeretumque, non Veientium fuerat; altera haec nomine eodem in Volsco agro fuit, cuius excidium est dictum.

The fact that a city of the same name was between Caere and Veii causes the error; but the Roman kings destroyed it, and it had belonged to the Caeretes, not to the Veientes; this other one of the same name was in the Volscian territory, the destruction of which has been related.

Syntax notes3 items

4.61.2tuendi Veientes essent
A passive periphrastic conjugation in the subjunctive imperfect (tuendi essent) within an indirect question introduced by -ne attached to bello. It expresses obligation or necessity: "whether the Veientes ought to be defended by a public war of the entire nation."
4.61.8recessum inde foret
The apodosis of a counterfactual conditional sentence. It is an impersonal passive construction of recedere in the pluperfect subjunctive (recessum foret instead of recessum esset), where foret serves as an alternative to esset. Literally, "it would have been withdrawn from there."
4.61.11praebet errorem, quod eiusdem nominis urbs inter Caere atque Veios fuit
An explanatory quod clause functioning as the subject or appositive to the idea of "error" in the main clause. It specifies the content of the error: "the fact that a city of the same name was..."

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 2

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:4.61.1-4.61.11