- 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-lat2:44.25.1-44.25.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
Eumenes and Perseus secretly negotiate a fee for mediating peace; however, as Eumenes demands immediate cash payment and the avaricious Perseus hesitates to part with his money, the negotiations fall through, leaving them only with infamy.
Eumenes neque favit victoriae Persei, neque bello eam iuvare in animo habuit, non tam quia paternae inter eos inimicitiae erant, quam ipsorum odiis inter se accensae:
Eumenes neither favored the victory of Perseus, nor did he intend to assist it in war, not so much because there was a hereditary enmity between them, as because it had been inflamed by their mutual hatred.
non ea regum aemulatio, ut aequo animo Persea tantas apisci opes tantamque gloriam, quanta Romanis victis eum manebat, Eumenes visurus fuerit.1
The rivalry of the kings was not of such a kind that Eumenes would have calmly looked on while Perseus acquired such great power and such great glory as awaited him if the Romans were defeated.
cernebat et Persea iam inde ab initio belli omni modo spem pacis temptasse et in dies magis, quo propior admoveretur terror, nihil neque agere aliud neque cogitare;
He also perceived that Perseus, from the very beginning of the war, had tried by every means to find a hope of peace, and that daily more, as the terror drew closer, he was doing and thinking of nothing else;
Romanos quoque, quia traheretur diutius spe ipsorum bellum, et ipsos duces et senatum, non abhorrere a finiendo tam incommodo ac difficili bello.
and that the Romans too, because the war was being prolonged beyond their expectation, both the generals themselves and the senate, were not averse to ending so inconvenient and difficult a war.
hac utriusque partis voluntate explorata, quod fieri etiam sua sponte taedio validioris, metu infirmioris credebat posse,2 in eo suam operam venditare conciliandae gratia pacis cupiit.
Having explored this willingness of both parties—which he believed could happen even of its own accord through the weariness of the stronger and the fear of the weaker—he wished to offer his services in that matter for the sake of bringing about a peace.
nam modo ne iuvaret bello Romanos terra marique, modo pacis patrandae cum Romanis paciscebatur mercedem: ne bello interesset, mille talenta, ut pacem conciliaret, mille et quingenta.
For at one time he bargained for a reward for not helping the Romans in war by land and sea, and at another for bringing about a peace with the Romans: a thousand talents not to take part in the war, and a thousand five hundred to bring about peace.
in utrumque non fidem modo se, sed obsides quoque dare paratum esse ostendebat.
For both proposals, he showed that he was ready not only to pledge his word but also to give hostages.
Perseus ad rem inchoandam promptissimus erat cogente metu et de obsidibus accipiendis sine dilatione agebat, conveneratque, ut accepti Cretam mitterentur. ubi ad pecuniae mentionem ventum erat, ibi haesitabat;
Perseus, compelled by fear, was most prompt to begin the business, and negotiated without delay about receiving hostages; and it had been agreed that, when received, they should be sent to Crete. But when it came to the mention of money, there he hesitated;
et utique alteram tanti nominis regibus turpem ac sordidam et danti et magis accipienti mercedem3 esse aiebat;
and he said that, at any rate, one of the two rewards was shameful and sordid for kings of such great name, both for the giver and even more for the receiver;
in spem Romanae pacis non recusare inpensam, sed eam pecuniam perfecta re daturum, interea Samothracae in templo depositurum.
that for the hope of Roman peace he did not refuse the expense, but that he would pay that money when the matter was accomplished, and in the meantime would deposit it in the temple at Samothrace.
ea insula cum ipsius dicionis esset, videre Eumenes4 nihil interesse, ibi an Pellae pecunia esset; id agere, ut partem aliquam praesentem ferret.
Since that island was under his own dominion, Eumenes saw that it made no difference whether the money was there or at Pella; and he insisted on carrying off some part of it immediately.
ita nequiquam inter se captati nihil praeter infamiam moverunt.
Thus, having tried to catch each other in vain, they brought about nothing but infamy.
- 44.25.2non ea regum aemulatio, ut... visurus fuerit
The main verb erat is omitted. ea is a demonstrative adjective preparing for the subsequent ut clause of result ("such... that..."). visurus fuerit is a perfect subjunctive of the active periphrastic conjugation (-urus + fuerim), conveying a counterfactual nuance ("would have seen"). Romanis victis is an ablative absolute expressing condition ("if the Romans were defeated").
- 44.25.5quod fieri etiam sua sponte ... credebat posse
The relative pronoun quod refers to the overall idea of "the bringing about of peace" (implied in conciliandae pacis) and functions like a parenthetical clause. The infinitive fieri acts as the subject of posse within the indirect discourse governed by credebat.
- 44.25.9alteram ... mercedem
alteram refers to the first of the two rewards proposed by Eumenes in §44.25.6 (the 1000 talents for not taking part in the war, as opposed to the 1500 talents for bringing about peace). Perseus argues that giving or receiving money merely for doing nothing is shameful and contrary to the honor of kings.
- 44.25.11videre Eumenes
videre is a historical infinitive, functioning with the force of a third-person singular indicative imperfect (or perfect). Its subject is the nominative Eumenes.