- 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
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:7.5.1-7.5.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
Titus Manlius, indignant at the charges against his father, forced the tribune Pomponius at knifepoint to withdraw the prosecution. This act of filial piety won him the admiration of the plebeians, and he was subsequently elected as a military tribune.
omnium potius his criminationibus quam ipsius iuvenis inritatus est animus; quin contra, se quoque parenti causam invidiae atque criminum esse aegre passus, ut omnes di hominesque scirent se parenti opem latam quam inimicis eius malle, capit consilium rudis quidem atque agrestis animi, sed, quamquam non civilis exempli, tamen pietate laudabile.
The minds of all others were excited by these charges rather than that of the youth himself; on the contrary, feeling vexed that he too was a cause of hatred and accusation against his father, so that all gods and men might know that he preferred aid to be brought to his father rather than to his enemies, he formed a plan—rude indeed and rustic in mind, but, although not of a civic model, yet praiseworthy for its filial piety.
inscientibus cunctis cultro succinctus mane in urbem atque a porta domum confestim ad M. Pomponium tribunum pergit: ianitori opus esse sibi domino eius convento1 extemplo ait:
Unbeknownst to everyone, girded with a dagger, he went early in the morning into the city and straight from the gate to the house of the tribune Marcus Pomponius; he immediately told the doorkeeper that he had need of an interview with his master.
nuntiaret T. Manlium L. f. esse. mox introductus — etenim percitum ira in patrem spes erat aut criminis aliquid novi aut consilii ad rem agendam deferre — salute accepta redditaque esse ait, quae cum eo agere arbitris remotis velit.
Let him announce that Titus Manlius, son of Lucius, was there. Having soon been admitted—for there was a hope that the youth, incensed with anger against his father, was bringing either some new charge or some plan for conducting the case—after salutations had been given and returned, he said that there were matters which he wished to discuss with him in the absence of witnesses.
procul inde omnibus abire iussis cultrum stringit et super lectum stans ferro intento, nisi in quae ipse concepisset verba iuraret,2 se patris eius accusandi causa concilium plebis numquam habiturum, se eum extemplo transfixurum minatur.
When all had been ordered to withdraw far from there, he drew his dagger and, standing over the bed with weapon pointed, threatened that unless the tribune swore in the words which he himself should dictate—namely, that he would never hold an assembly of the plebs for the sake of accusing his father—he would instantly run him through.
pavidus tribunus, quippe qui ferrum ante oculos micare, se solum inermem, illum praevalidum iuvenem et, quod haud minus timendum erat, stolide ferocem viribus suis cerneret, adiurat in quae adactus est verba.
The terrified tribune, seeing the blade flashing before his eyes, himself alone and unarmed, and that youth exceeding strong and, what was no less to be feared, brutally fierce in his own strength, swore the oath into which he was forced.
et prae se deinde tulit ea vi subactum se incepto destitisse. nec perinde ut maluisset plebes sibi suffragii ferendi de tam crudeli et superbo reo potestatem fieri, ita aegre habuit3 filium id pro parente ausum; eoque id laudabilius erat, quod animum eius tanta acerbitas patria nihil a pietate avertisset. itaque non patri modo remissa causae dictio est, sed ipsi etiam adulescenti ea res honori fuit, et, cum eo anno primum placuisset tribunos militum ad legiones suffragio fieri — nam antea, sicut nunc, quos Rufulos vocant, imperatores ipsi faciebant —, secundum in sex locis tenuit, nullis domi militiaeque ad conciliandam gratiam meritis, ut qui rure et procul coetu hominum iuventam egisset.4
And he then openly declared that he had desisted from his undertaking because he was compelled by force. Nor did the plebeians, much as they would have preferred to have the power of voting on so cruel and arrogant a defendant, feel so much resentment that the son had dared to do such a thing for his parent; and this was the more praiseworthy because such great paternal severity had in no way turned his mind away from filial piety. And so, not only was the trial remitted to the father, but that affair also brought honor to the youth himself, and, when in that year it had first been resolved that military tribunes for the legions should be created by popular vote—for previously, just as now, the commanders themselves used to appoint those whom they call Rufuli —he held the second place among the six vacancies, although he had no merits either at home or in the field to win favor, as one who had spent his youth in the country and far from the society of men.
- 7.5.3opus esse sibi domino eius convento
A construction of opus est (there is need) combined with the dative of the person who needs (sibi) and the ablative of the thing needed (domino convento, literally "with his master having been met"). This use of the ablative of a noun with a perfect passive participle to express the necessity of an action is a well-known feature of Livian and classical Latin syntax.
- 7.5.5nisi in quae ipse concepisset verba iuraret
The pluperfect subjunctive concepisset represents a future perfect in a subordinate clause from a past perspective. The phrase conceptis verbis iurare is a legal/religious idiom meaning "to swear in set/formulated words." The accusative with infinitive clause se... numquam habiturum [esse] expresses the content of the oath and depends on iuraret.
- 7.5.7nec perinde ut... ita aegre habuit
A correlative structure expressing unequal comparison ("not so much... as..."). The plebeians did not feel so much resentment (ita aegre habuit) that the son had dared to do such a thing for his parent, as (perinde ut) they would have preferred to have the power of voting on so cruel a defendant. It highlights that their admiration for the son's piety outweighed their desire to punish the father.
- 7.5.9ut qui rure et procul coetu hominum iuventam egisset
The construction ut qui with the subjunctive (egisset) introduces a relative clause of cause ("as one who...", "since he had..."). It explains the reason for the preceding statement that he had no merits at home or in the field to win favor—namely, because he had spent his youth in the country, away from human society.