- 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-lat2:8.1.1-8.1.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-25
Plautius and Aemilius become consuls; Plautius defeats the Privernates and the Volsci, while Aemilius enters Samnite territory, where Samnite envoys approach him to sue for peace and are referred to the senate.
iam consules erant C. Plautius iterum, L. Aemilius Mamercinus, cum Setini Norbanique Romam nuntii defectionis Privernatium cum querimoniis acceptae cladis venerunt.1
Gaius Plautius for the second time and Lucius Aemilius Mamercinus were already consuls, when messengers from Setia and Norba came to Rome with news of the defection of the Privernates and complaints of the disaster they had suffered.
Volscorum item exercitum duce Antiati populo consedisse ad Satricum adlatum est. utrumque bellum Plautio sorte evenit.
It was also reported that an army of the Volsci, under the leadership of the people of Antium, had encamped at Satricum. Both wars fell by lot to Plautius.
prius ad Privernum profectus extemplo acie conflixit. haud magno certamine devicti hostes; oppidum captum redditumque Privernatibus praesidio valido inposito; agri partes duae2 ademptae.
Setting out first for Privernum, he immediately engaged in battle. The enemy were defeated with no great struggle; the town was captured and returned to the Privernates after a strong garrison had been imposed; two-thirds of their land was confiscated.
inde victor exercitus Satricum contra Antiatis ductus. ibi magna utrimque caede atrox proelium fuit; et cum tempestas eos neutro inclinata spe dimicantes diremisset, Romani, nihil3 eo certamine tam ambiguo fessi, in posterum diem proelium parant. Volscis recensentibus, quos viros in acie amisissent, haudquaquam idem animus ad iterandum periculum fuit; nocte pro victis Antium agmine trepido sauciis ac parte inpedimentorum relicta abierunt.
From there the victorious army was led to Satricum against the Antiates. There a fierce battle took place with great slaughter on both sides; and when a storm parted them as they fought with the hope of victory inclined to neither side, the Romans, not at all exhausted by so indecisive a contest, prepared for battle on the following day. While the Volsci were reviewing which men they had lost in the battle line, they had by no means the same courage to repeat the danger; by night, like defeated men, they departed for Antium in a trembling column, leaving behind the wounded and a part of their baggage.
armorum magna vis cum inter caesa hostium corpora tum in castris inventa est. ea Luae matri dare se consul dixit finesque hostium usque ad oram maritumam est depopulatus.
A great quantity of arms was found both among the slain bodies of the enemy and in their camp. The consul declared that he was giving these to Mother Lua, and he devastated the territory of the enemy all the way to the seacoast.
alteri consuli Aemilio ingresso Sabellum agrum non castra Samnitium, non legiones usquam oppositae. ferro ignique vastantem agros legati Samnitium pacem orantes adeunt;
To the other consul, Aemilius, as he entered the Sabellian territory, neither the camps of the Samnites nor their legions were anywhere opposed. As he was devastating the fields with fire and sword, envoys of the Samnites approached him begging for peace;
a quo reiecti ad senatum potestate facta dicendi positis ferocibus animis pacem sibi ab Romanis bellique ius adversus Sidicinos petierunt: quae se eo iustius petere,4 quod et in amicitiam populi Romani secundis suis rebus, non adversis, ut Campani, venissent et adversus Sidicinos sumerent arma, suos semper hostes, populi Romani numquam amicos, qui nec, ut Samnites, in pace amicitiam nec, ut Campani, auxilium in bello petissent, nec in fide populi Romani nec in dicione essent.
rejected by him to the senate, once the opportunity to speak was granted, they laid aside their fierce spirits and sought peace for themselves from the Romans and the right of war against the Sidicini: which they claimed they sought all the more justly because they had entered into the friendship of the Roman people during their prosperity, not adversity like the Campanians, and they were taking up arms against the Sidicini, who had always been their own enemies and had never been friends of the Roman people, who had neither, like the Samnites, sought friendship in peace, nor, like the Campanians, assistance in war, and were neither under the protection nor under the sway of the Roman people.
- 8.1.1cum ... venerunt
The construction known as 'inverse cum' (cum inversum). The main clause in the imperfect (erant) describes the background, while the cum-clause with the perfect indicative (venerunt) introduces a sudden event. Unlike typical temporal clauses, the logical relation between the main and subordinate clauses is inverted.
- 8.1.3partes duae
A Latin idiomatic expression for fractions. When the denominator is larger than the numerator by exactly one, the denominator is omitted, and 'two parts' (partes duae) means 'two-thirds'.
- 8.1.4nihil
An adverbial accusative (or accusative of specification). It modifies the adjective fessi, expressing a strong negation meaning 'not at all' or 'by no means'.
- 8.1.8quae se eo iustius petere
A relative connection (connectio relativa) in indirect speech (oratio obliqua). The relative pronoun quae is equivalent to the demonstrative haec (neuter plural accusative referring to peace and the right of war), introducing the content of their claim in the accusative and infinitive construction (se ... petere) without an introductory main verb.