- 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-lat2:40.23.1-40.23.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-11
Didas elicits and betrays Demetrius' plan to flee to the Romans, and a forged letter from Quinctius further convinces Philip of his son's guilt, leading to the imprisonment and death under torture of Demetrius' friend Herodorus.
missus hic comes, ut ante dictum est, cum simplicitatem iuvenis incauti et suis haud immerito suscensentis adsentando indignandoque et ipse vicem eius captaret1 in omnia ultro suam offerens opera, fide data arcana eius elicuit.
This companion, having been sent as was said before, when by agreeing and feeling indignant he too courted the favor of the incautious young man, who was not without reason angry with his own family, offering his own help spontaneously in everything, elicited his secrets, having given a pledge of good faith.
fugam ad Romanos Demetrius meditabatur; cui consilio adiutor deum beneficio oblatus videbatur Paeoniae praetor, per cuius provinciam spem ceperat elabi tuto posse.
Demetrius was planning a flight to the Romans; for which design the governor of Paeonia seemed to have been offered as a helper by the favor of the gods, through whose province he had conceived a hope that he could escape in safety.
hoc consilium extemplo et fratri proditur et auctore eo2 indicatur patri.
This plan was immediately betrayed to his brother, and at his instigation was reported to his father.
litterae primum ad obsidentem Petram adlatae sunt. inde Herodorus — princeps hic amicorum Demetrii erat — in custodiam est coniectus et Demetrius dissimulanter adservari iussus.
First, letters were brought to the king besieging Petra. Then Herodorus—he was the chief of Demetrius’ friends—was thrown into custody, and Demetrius was ordered to be watched without his knowledge.
haec super cetera tristem adventum in Macedoniam regi fecerunt. movebant eum et praesentia crimina: exspectandos3 tamen, quos ad exploranda omnia Romam miserat, censebat.
These things, on top of other matters, made the king’s arrival in Macedonia gloomy. The immediate accusations also moved him; nevertheless, he thought that those whom he had sent to Rome to investigate everything should be awaited.
his anxius curis cum aliquot menses egisset, tandem legati, iam ante praemeditati in Macedonia, quae ab Roma renuntiarent, venerunt;
When he had spent several months anxious with these cares, at length the legates arrived, who had already beforehand in Macedonia rehearsed what they should report from Rome;
qui super cetera scelera falsas etiam litteras, signo adulterino T. Quinctii signatas, reddiderunt regi.
who, in addition to other crimes, delivered also a forged letter to the king, sealed with a counterfeit seal of T. Quinctius.
deprecatio in litteris erat, si quid4 adulescens cupiditate regni prolapsus secum egisset: nihil eum adversus suorum quemquam facturum neque eum se esse, qui ullius impii consilii auctor futurus videri possit. hae litterae fidem Persei criminibus fecerunt.
There was an entreaty in the letter, if the young man, having lapsed through desire for the kingdom, had transacted anything with him: stating that he would do nothing against any of his own family, and that he himself was not one who could seem likely to be the author of any impious design. This letter gave credit to the accusations of Perseus.
itaque Herodorus extemplo diu excruciatus sine indicio rei ullius in tormentis moritur.
Therefore, Herodorus, being immediately tortured for a long time without any disclosure of the matter, died under the torments.
- 40.23.1vicem eius captaret
captaret is in the imperfect subjunctive in the cum clause. vicem captare is an idiomatic expression meaning "to court someone's favor" or "to win someone over" by playing on or sympathizing with their situation (vicis).
- 40.23.3auctore eo
Ablative absolute with the pronoun eo (referring to Perseus), meaning "he being the instigator" or "at his instigation."
- 40.23.5exspectandos
The gerundive exspectandos functions as the predicate of an accusative with infinitive construction (with the subject accusative legatos omitted from the context) dependent on censebat, expressing obligation (exspectandos esse). quos is a relative pronoun referring to the omitted antecedent (the legates).
- 40.23.8deprecatio ... si quid
The si quid ... egisset clause following deprecatio is a conditional clause in the pluperfect subjunctive, indicating the hypothetical past action of the young man for which the intercession or plea for pardon (deprecatio) was made ("a plea for pardon, in case the young man had transacted anything...").
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1