Consul's March into Thessaly and Arrival of Allied Reinforcements — Livy, History of Rome Book 42 (42.55.1–42.55.10), Latin & English

§42.55.1

consul Romanus, per eosdem dies Thessaliam cum exercitu petens, iter expeditum primo per Epirum habuit;

The Roman consul, heading for Thessaly with his army during those same days, had at first an unimpeded march through Epirus;

§42.55.2

deinde, postquam in Athamaniam est transgressus, asperi ac prope invii soli,¹ cum ingenti difficultate parvis itineribus aegre Gomphos pervenit;

then, after he had crossed into Athamania, a land of rugged and almost impassable soil, with great difficulty and by short marches he scarcely reached Gomphi;

§42.55.3

cui si vexatis hominibus equisque tironem exercitum ducenti acie instructa et loco suo et tempore obstitisset rex, ne Romani quidem abnuunt magna sua cum clade fuisse pugnaturos.²

if the king, at a place and time of his own choosing, had opposed him with a formed army as he led a raw army of exhausted men and horses, not even the Romans deny that they would have fought with great disaster to themselves.

§42.55.4

postquam Gomphos sine certamine ventum est, praeter gaudium periculosi saltus superati, contemptus quoque hostium adeo ignorantium opportunitates suas accessit.

After they had arrived at Gomphi without a fight, besides the joy of having crossed the dangerous pass, there was added also a contempt for the enemy, who were so ignorant of their own opportunities.

§42.55.5

sacrificio rite perfecto consul et frumento dato militibus paucos ad requiem iumentorum hominumque moratus dies, cum audiret vagari Macedonas effusos per Thessaliam vastarique sociorum agros, satis iam refectum militem ad Larisam ducit.

The consul, having duly performed the sacrifice and distributed grain to the soldiers, delayed for a few days for the rest of the beasts of burden and the men; but when he heard that the Macedonians were wandering, scattered throughout Thessaly, and that the lands of the allies were being laid waste, he led his now sufficiently refreshed soldiers to Larisa.

§42.55.6

inde cum tria milia ferme abesset, ad Tripolim — Scaeam vocant —, super Peneum amnem posuit castra.

When he was about three miles from there, near Tripolis — which they call Scaea —, he pitched his camp above the river Peneus.

§42.55.7

per idem tempus Eumenes ad Chalcidem navibus accessit cum Attalo atque Athenaeo fratribus, Philetaero fratre relicto Pergami ad tutelam regni. Chalcide cum Attalo et quattuor milibus peditum, mille equitum ad consulem venit;

At the same time, Eumenes arrived by ship at Chalcis with his brothers Attalus and Athenaeus, having left his brother Philetaerus at Pergamum for the defense of the kingdom. From Chalcis, he came to the consul with Attalus and four thousand infantry and one thousand cavalry;

§42.55.8

Chalcide relicta duo milia peditum, quibus Athenaeus praepositus. et alia eodem auxilia Romanis ex omnibus undique Graeciae populis convenerunt, quorum pleraque — adeo parva erant — in oblivionem adducta.

having left two thousand infantry at Chalcis, over whom Athenaeus was placed in command. Other auxiliary forces also assembled there for the Romans from all the peoples of Greece on every side, most of which, because they were so small, have fallen into oblivion.

§42.55.9

Apolloniatae trecentos equites, centum pedites miserunt. Aetolorum alae unius instar erat, quantum ab tota gente equitum venerat, et Thessalorum, quorum omnis equitatus speratus erat, non plus quam trecenti erant equites in castris Romanis.

The Apollonians sent three hundred cavalry and one hundred infantry. The cavalry that had come from the entire nation of the Aetolians was about equivalent to a single squadron, and of the Thessalians, whose entire cavalry had been expected, there were no more than three hundred cavalry in the Roman camp.

§42.55.10

Achaei iuventutis suae, Cretico maxime armatu, ad mille quingentos dederunt.

The Achaeans provided about fifteen hundred of their young men, mostly with Cretan equipment.

Syntax notes2 items

42.55.2asperi ac prope invii soli
soli is the genitive singular of the neuter noun solum (soil, land). The entire phrase functions as a genitive of quality, describing the rugged nature of the territory of Athamaniam (or agreeing with an implied noun like terrae).
42.55.3cui si ... obstitisset rex ... fuisse pugnaturos
cui is a connecting relative pronoun in the dative case, serving as the object of obstitisset and referring to the consul. The phrase fuisse pugnaturos is a future participle combined with the perfect infinitive of sum, representing a contrary-to-fact apodosis (corresponding to pugnaturi fuerunt or pugnavissent) in indirect discourse dependent on abnuunt.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:42.55.1-42.55.10