- 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-lat2:9.15.1-9.15.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
The Romans maintained the siege of Luceria, forcing the starved Samnites to surrender and pass under the yoke, thereby recovering the hostage knights. Livy also points out discrepancies in the annals regarding whether the dictator Cornelius or the consuls deserved the primary credit for this victory.
dimissa contione consilium habitum, omnibusne copiis Luceriam premerent, an altero exercitu et duce Apuli circa, gens dubiae ad id voluntatis, temptarentur.1
After the assembly was dismissed, a council was held as to whether they should press Luceria with all their forces, or whether the neighboring Apulians, a nation whose loyalty up to that time had been doubtful, should be tried with the other army and general.
Publilius consul ad peragrandam profectus Apuliam aliquot expeditione una populos aut vi subegit aut condicionibus in societatem accepit.
The consul Publilius, having set out to traverse Apulia, in a single expedition either subdued several nations by force or received them into alliance on terms.
Papirio quoque, qui obsessor Luceriae restiterat, brevi ad spem eventus respondit.2 nam insessis omnibus viis, per quas commeatus ex Samnio subvehebantur, fame domiti Samnites, qui Luceriae in praesidio erant, legatos misere ad consulem Romanum, ut receptis equitibus, qui causa belli essent, absisteret obsidione.
For Papirius also, who had remained as the besieger of Luceria, before long the outcome responded to his hope. For, all the roads having been blocked through which supplies were being carried from Samnium, the Samnites who were in garrison at Luceria, overcome by hunger, sent ambassadors to the Roman consul, asking that he depart from the siege, having received back the knights who had been the cause of the war.
iis Papirius ita respondit: debuisse eos Pontium, Herenni filium, quo auctore Romanos sub iugum misissent, consulere, quid victis patiendum censeret;
To them Papirius replied thus: that they ought to have consulted Pontius, the son of Herennius, by whose advice they had sent the Romans under the yoke, as to what he thought the vanquished ought to suffer;
ceterum quoniam ab hostibus in se aequa statui quam in se ipsi ferre maluerint,3 nuntiare Luceriam iussit, arma, sarcinas, iumenta, multitudinem omnem inbellem intra moenia relinquerent;
but since they had preferred that fair terms be established for them by their enemies rather than propose them themselves against the Romans, he ordered word to be sent to Luceria that they should leave their arms, baggage, beasts of burden, and all the non-combatant multitude within the walls;
militem se cum singulis vestimentis sub iugum missurum, ulciscentem inlatam, non novam inferentem ignominiam.
and that he would send the soldiers under the yoke with only a single garment each, avenging an inflicted disgrace, not inflicting a new one.
nihil recusatum. septem milia militum sub iugum missa, praedaque ingens Luceriae capta receptis omnibus signis armisque, quae ad Caudium amissa erant, et, quod omnia superabat gaudia, equitibus recuperatis, quos pignora pacis custodiendos Luceriam Samnites dederant.
Nothing was refused. Seven thousand soldiers were sent under the yoke, and huge booty was taken at Luceria, with all the standards and arms recovered which had been lost at Caudium, and—what surpassed all joys—the knights were recovered whom, as pledges of peace, the Samnites had given to be guarded at Luceria.
haud ferme alia mutatione subita rerum clarior victoria populi Romani est, si quidem etiam, quod quibusdam in annalibus invenio, Pontius, Herenni filius, Samnitium imperator, ut expiaret consulum ignominiam, sub iugum cum ceteris est missus.
Indeed, there is scarcely any other victory of the Roman people more illustrious for so sudden a change of fortune, if indeed, as I find in some annals, Pontius, the son of Herennius, the general of the Samnites, was sent under the yoke with the rest, to expiate the disgrace of the consuls.
ceterum id minus miror, obscurum esse de hostium duce dedito missoque; id magis mirabile est, ambigi, Luciusne Cornelius dictator cum L. Papirio Cursore magistro equitum eas res ad Caudium atque inde Luceriam gesserit ultorque unicus Romanae ignominiae haud sciam an4 iustissimo triumpho ad eam aetatem secundum Furium Camillum triumphaverit, an consulum Papirique praecipuum id decus sit.
For the rest, I wonder less that it is obscure concerning the surrendered and dismissed leader of the enemy; what is more wonderful is that there is dispute whether Lucius Cornelius, as dictator, with L. Papirius Cursor as master of the horse, performed those deeds at Caudium and thence at Luceria, and, as the sole avenger of the Roman disgrace, celebrated a triumph which I might almost call the most justified up to that age, second only to Furius Camillus, or whether that honor belongs especially to the consuls and to Papirius.
sequitur hunc errorem alius error, Cursorne Papirius proximis comitiis cum Q. Aulio Cerretano iterum ob rem bene gestam Luceriae continuato magistratu consul tertium creatus sit, an L. Papirius Mugilanus, et in cognomine erratum sit.
This error is followed by another error, whether Papirius Cursor was elected consul for the third time in the next comitia, with Q. Aulius Cerretanus for the second time, his magistracy being continued on account of his successful conduct of affairs at Luceria, or whether it was L. Papirius Mugilanus, and an error was made in the cognomen.
- 9.15.1Apuli ... temptarentur
The subject of temptarentur (subjunctive imperfect passive, third person plural) is Apuli (plural), which is modified by the appositive singular phrase gens dubiae ad id voluntatis. The indirect question is structured as a double question introduced by omnibusne... an...
- 9.15.3Papirio quoque ... brevi ad spem eventus respondit
eventus (outcome) is the subject (nominative singular) and goes with the intransitive use of respondit (to respond, match). Papirio is a dative of reference/interest ('for Papirius too'). Thus, the overall structure means 'for Papirius too, before long the outcome responded to his hope (ad spem).'
- 9.15.5ab hostibus in se aequa statui quam in se ipsi ferre maluerint
Note the shifting reference of the reflexive pronoun se. The first in se refers to the logical subject of the clause (the Samnites): 'that fair terms be established for them (the Samnites) by their enemies.' The second in se refers to the Roman enemies, upon whom ipsi (the Samnites themselves) had previously imposed (ferre) harsh terms at Caudium.
- 9.15.10haud sciam an
An idiomatic expression with the subjunctive (sciam), meaning 'I should incline to think that...' or 'perhaps.' Here it introduces a conjectural indirect question suggesting that Cornelius did indeed celebrate a highly justified triumph, second only to Camillus.
- 9.15.8Pontius, Herenni filium
An irregular construction where the appositive filium is in the accusative case (-um) despite modifying the nominative proper noun Pontius. This is likely a manuscript error or a grammatical inconsistency, and is read as if it were the nominative filius.
Not located in the text