- 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-lat2:7.8.1-7.8.7
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
The Roman cavalry dismount to fight on foot, breaking the elite forces of the Hernici and pursuing them to their camp. The next day, the enemy's abandoned camp is discovered, and their fleeing remnants are scattered by the Signini, though the Romans also suffer significant casualties, including cavalry.
Tune inter primores duorum populorum res geritur; quidquid hinc aut illinc communis Mars belli aufert, multiplex quam pro numero damnum est.1 vulgus aliud armatorum, velut delegata primoribus pugna, eventum suum in virtute aliena ponit. multi utrimque cadunt, plures vulnera accipiunt;
Then the conflict was carried on between the foremost men of the two peoples; whatever the common Mars of war took away from this side or that, the loss was many times greater than in proportion to the number. The rest of the crowd of armed men, as if the battle had been delegated to the foremost, placed their own fortunes on the valor of others. Many fell on both sides, and still more received wounds;
tandem equites alius alium increpantes, quid deinde restaret, quaerendo,2 si neque ex equis pepulissent hostem neque pedites quicquam momenti facerent? quam tertiam expectarent pugnam? quid ante signa feroces prosiluissent et alieno pugnarent loco?
at length the cavalry, reproaching one another, asked what else remained, if they had neither driven back the enemy from horseback nor were making any impression as infantry? What third battle were they waiting for? Why had they, fierce, leapt forward before the standards and were fighting in an unaccustomed place?
— his inter se vocibus concitati clamore renovato inferunt pedem et primum gradu moverunt hostem, deinde pepulerunt, postremo iam haud dubie avertunt;
— aroused among themselves by these voices, they advanced with a renewed shout, and first they moved the enemy from their position, then drove them back, and finally, now beyond doubt, put them to flight;
neque, tam vires pares quae superaverit res, facile dictu est,3 nisi quod perpetua fortuna utriusque populi et extollere animos et minuere potuit. usque ad castra fugientes Hernicos Romanus sequitur; castrorum oppugnatione, quia serum erat diei, abstinuere. diu non perlitatum tenuerat dictatorem,4 ne ante meridiem signum dare posset; eo in noctem tractum erat certamen.
nor is it easy to say what circumstance overcame forces so equal, except that the habitual fortune of each people was able both to raise their spirits and to diminish them. The Roman pursued the fleeing Hernici all the way to their camp; from the storming of the camp, since it was late in the day, they abstained. For a long time, the failure to obtain favorable omens had detained the dictator, so that he could not give the signal before noon; for this reason the contest had been prolonged into the night.
postero die deserta fuga castra Hernicorum, et saucii relicti quidam inventi, agmenque fugientium ab Signinis, cum praeter moenia eorum infrequentia conspecta signa essent, fusum ac per agros trepida fuga palatum est.
On the following day, the camp of the Hernici was found abandoned in flight, and some wounded who had been left behind were discovered; and the column of those fleeing, when their scattered standards were seen going past their walls, was routed by the inhabitants of Signia and wandered in fearful flight through the fields.
nec Romanis incruenta victoria fuit; quarta pars militum amissa, et, ubi haud minus iacturae fuit, aliquot equites Romani cecidere.
Nor was the victory bloodless for the Romans; a fourth part of the soldiers was lost, and, what was no less of a loss, several Roman knights fell.
- 7.8.1multiplex quam pro numero damnum est
multiplex quam pro numero is a comparative expression indicating that the death of the foremost men (primores) was a loss far greater (multiplex) in quality and importance than in mere proportion to their headcount (numero). quam functions as a comparative conjunction, and pro means 'in proportion to'.
- 7.8.2quid deinde restaret, quaerendo
The indirect question clause quid deinde restaret (what then remained) is introduced by the ablative gerund quaerendo (by asking), which contains the conditional clause si neque... pepulissent... neque... facerent (if they had neither driven back... nor were making...). The pluperfect subjunctive pepulissent and the imperfect subjunctive facerent represent past unreality or ongoing states at that time.
- 7.8.4tam vires pares quae superaverit res, facile dictu est
dictu is the ablative supine modifying the adjective facile ('easy to say'). The clause quae res superaverit tam vires pares (what circumstance overcame forces so equal) is an indirect question, with superaverit being a perfect subjunctive. The main verb est forms an impersonal construction ('it is not easy to say...').
- 7.8.5diu non perlitatum tenuerat dictatorem
non perlitatum, the neuter singular perfect passive participle of perlitare (to obtain favorable omens through sacrifice) used substantively and impersonally ('the fact that sacrifices had not been favorably performed'), acts as the subject, with dictatorem as the direct object of the verb tenuerat (had detained).
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1