- 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-lat2:40.10.1-40.10.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Perseus pleads with Philip to discern Demetrius's plot and protect him, arguing how Demetrius, backed by Roman influence, poses a threat to both the king and his elder brother within Macedonia.
exsecrare nunc cupiditatem regni, et furias fraternas concita. sed ne sint caecae, pater, exsecrationes tuae, discerne, dispice insidiatorem et petitum insidiis: noxium incesse caput.
”Now curse the desire for the throne, and arouse the furies of a brother. But so that your curses may not be blind, father, distinguish and discern the schemer and the target of the schemes: attack the guilty head.
qui occisurus fratrem fuit, habeat etiam iratos paternos deos: qui periturus fraterno scelere fuit, perfugium in patris misericordia et iustitia habeat. quo enim alio confugiam, cui1 non sollemne lustrale exercitus tui, non decursus militum, non domus, non epulae, non nox ad quietem data naturae beneficio mortalibus tuta est?
Let him who was to kill his brother have also the anger of his father’s gods; let him who was to perish by a brother’s crime have refuge in a father’s mercy and justice. For where else should I flee, I, for whom neither the solemn purification of your army, nor the military parade, nor my home, nor banquets, nor the night given for rest to mortals by nature’s blessing, is safe?
si iero ad fratrem invitatus, moriendum est; si recepero intra ianuam comisatum fratrem, moriendum est:
If I go to my brother when invited, I must die; if I receive my brother into my gate as a reveler, I must die.
nec eundo nec manendo insidias evito. quo me conferam? nihil praeter deos, pater, et te colui. non Romanos habeo, ad quos confugiam: perisse expetunt, quia tuis iniuriis doleo, quia tibi ademptas tot urbes, tot gentes, modo Thraciae maritimam oram, indignor. nec me nec te incolumi Macedoniam suam futuram sperant.
Neither by going nor by staying do I escape the plots. Whither shall I betake myself? I have worshiped nothing except the gods, father, and you. I do not have the Romans, to whom I might flee: they desire that I perish because I grieve at the wrongs done to you, because I am indignant that so many cities, so many peoples, and lately the coastal region of Thrace, have been taken from you. They do not hope that Macedonia will be theirs while either I or you are safe.
si me scelus fratris, te senectus absumpserit, aut ne ea quidem exspectata fuerit, regem regnumque Macedoniae sua futura sciunt. si quid extra Macedoniam tibi Romani reliquissent, mihi quoque id relictum crederem receptaculum.
If a brother’s crime carries me off, and old age carries you off, or if even that old age is not waited for, they know that the king and kingdom of Macedonia will be theirs. If the Romans had left you anything outside of Macedonia, I would believe that that too was left to me as a refuge.
at in Macedonibus satis praesidii est. vidisti hesterno die impetum militum in me. quid illis defuit nisi ferrum? quod illis defuit interdiu, convivae fratris noctu sumpserunt.
But perhaps there is sufficient protection in the Macedonians? Yesterday you saw the assault of the soldiers upon me. What did they lack except weapons? What they lacked by day, my brother’s guests took up by night.
quid de magna parte principum loquar, qui in Romanis spem omnem dignitatis et fortunae posuerunt et in eo, qui omnia apud Romanos potest? neque hercule istum mihi tantum, fratri maiori, sed prope est, ut2 tibi quoque ipsi, regi et patri, praeferant.
Why should I speak of the great part of the leading men, who have placed all their hope of dignity and fortune in the Romans, and in him who can do all things with the Romans? Indeed, by Hercules, they almost prefer that man not only to me, his elder brother, but even to you yourself, their king and father.
iste enim est, cuius beneficio poenam tibi senatus remisit, qui nunc te ab armis Romanis protegit, qui tuam senectutem3 obligatam et obnoxiam adulescentiae suae esse aequum censet.
For he is the one by whose favor the senate remitted your punishment, who now protects you from Roman arms, who thinks it right that your old age should be bound and subservient to his youth.
pro isto Romani stant, pro isto omnes urbes tuo imperio liberatae, pro isto Macedones qui pace Romana gaudent. mihi praeter te, pater, quid usquam aut spei aut praesidii est?
On his side stand the Romans; on his side stand all the cities freed from your empire; on his side stand the Macedonians who rejoice in the Roman peace. For me, father, what hope or protection is there anywhere except in you?”
- 40.10.3cui
Dative of the relative pronoun qui (dative of interest/reference), referring back to 'I' (the subject of confugiam in the previous sentence). The relative clause led by this pronoun continues until tuta est, emphasizing Perseus's vulnerable state.
- 40.10.8prope est, ut
An impersonal expression meaning 'it is close to' or 'it is almost the case that,' taking a subjunctive ut-clause (ut... praeferant). It highlights the extreme situation where the Macedonian leaders almost prefer Demetrius over his own father and brother.
- 40.10.9qui tuam senectutem
This phrase introduces an accusative and infinitive construction (A.C.I.) tuam senectutem ... esse obligatam et obnoxiam adulescentiae suae as the object of aequum censet ('thinks it right'). The contrast between the abstract nouns tuam senectutem ('your old age') and adulescentiae suae ('his youth') emphasizes the son's insolence toward his father.