- 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-lat2:8.28.1-8.28.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-24
Explains how the abuse of the debtor C. Publilius by the usurer L. Papirius triggered the abolition of the system of body-binding (nexum) for debt among Roman citizens.
eo anno plebei Romanae velut aliud initium libertatis factum est, quod necti desierunt; mutatum autem ius ob unius faeneratoris simul libidinem simul crudelitatem insignem.
In that year, a sort of second beginning of liberty was made for the Roman plebs, because they ceased to be bound; moreover, the law was changed on account of the lust and at the same time the signal cruelty of a single usurer.
L. Papirius is fuit, cui cum se C. Publilius ob aes alienum paternum nexum dedisset, quae aetas formaque1 misericordiam elicere poterant, ad libidinem et contumeliam animum accenderunt.
That was L. Papirius, to whom when C. Publilius had surrendered himself as a bondsman for his father’s debt, his age and beauty, which might have elicited pity, inflamed the creditor’s mind to lust and insult.
florem aetatis eius fructum adventicium crediti ratus, primo perlicere adulescentem sermone incesto est conatus; dein, postquam aspernabantur flagitium aures, minis territare atque identidem admonere2 fortunae;
Thinking the flower of his youth an additional profit upon his loan, he at first attempted to entice the young man with impure language; then, when the youth’s ears rejected the shameful proposal, he began to terrify him with threats, and repeatedly to remind him of his fortune;
postremo, cum ingenuitatis magis quam praesentis condicionis memorem videret, nudari iubet verberaque adferri.
finally, seeing him more mindful of his free birth than of his present condition, he ordered him to be stripped and the lashes to be applied.
quibus laceratus iuvenis cum se in publicum proripuisset, libidinem crudelitatemque conquerens faeneratoris, ingens vis hominum cum aetatis miseratione atque indignitate iniuriae accensa, tum suae condicionis liberumque suorum respectu, in forum atque inde agmine facto ad curiam concurrit; et, cum consules tumultu repentino coacti senatum vocarent, introeuntibus in curiam patribus laceratum iuvenis tergum, procumbentes3 ad singulorum pedes, ostentabant.
When the young man, lacerated by these blows, had rushed out into the public, complaining of the lust and cruelty of the usurer, a huge multitude of men, inflamed both by pity for his youth and by the indignity of the outrage, as well as by regard for their own condition and that of their children, ran together to the forum, and from there, having formed a column, to the senate-house; and, when the consuls, compelled by the sudden tumult, summoned the senate, they displayed the lacerated back of the young man to the fathers as they entered the senate-house, prostrating themselves at the feet of each.
victum eo die ob inpotentem iniuriam unius ingens vinculum fidei; iussique consules ferre ad populum, ne quis,4 nisi qui noxam meruisset, donec poenam lueret, in compedibus aut in nervo teneretur; pecuniae creditae bona debitoris,5 non corpus obnoxium esset. ita nexi soluti, cautumque in posterum, ne necterentur.
On that day, by the unrestrained outrage of a single individual, a mighty bond of faith was broken; and the consuls were ordered to propose to the people that no one, except one who had merited punishment for a crime, until he had paid the penalty, should be held in shackles or in the neck-collar; and that for money lent, the goods of the debtor, not his person, should be liable. Thus the bondsmen were released, and provision was made for the future that they should not be bound.
- 8.28.2quae aetas formaque
The relative pronoun quae is attraction-joined with its noun aetas formaque and acts as the subject of the main verb accenderunt. The relative clause carries a concessive nuance (although his age and beauty should have elicited pity, they instead inflamed the creditor's lust).
- 8.28.3territare atque identidem admonere
These are historical infinitives, used instead of imperfect indicative verbs to vividly describe the past actions of the third-person singular subject (Papirius).
- 8.28.7procumbentes
A nominative plural participle modifying the subject of ostentabant, which is the multitude of people (ingens vis hominum from the previous sentence). It shows agreement in sense (synesis) with the collective noun vis.
- 8.28.8iussique consules ferre ad populum, ne quis...
The auxiliary verb sunt is omitted in iussi [sunt]. ferre ad populum (to bring to the people) is a technical political term for proposing a law to the popular assembly, with the ne clause showing the content of the proposal.
- 8.28.8pecuniae creditae bona debitoris
pecuniae creditae is a dative (or genitive) of reference meaning 'for money lent'. bona debitoris (the debtor's goods) acts as the subject of esset in contrast with the subsequent non corpus (not his person) in indirect speech.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1