- 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-lat2:9.32.1-9.32.12
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
The consul Aemilius arrives to relieve the allied city of Sutrium, which is besieged by the Etruscans. After a delay until midday, a fierce battle ensues, in which the Roman second line collapses the Etruscan front, but heavy casualties on both sides bring an end to the fighting at sunset.
dum haec geruntur in Samnio, iam omnes Etruriae populi praeter Arretinos ad arma ierant, ab oppugnando Sutrio, quae urbs socia Romanis velut claustra Etruriae erat, ingens orsi1 bellum.
While these things were being done in Samnium, all the peoples of Etruria except the Arretines had already taken up arms, having begun a massive war by besieging Sutrium, which was an allied city to the Romans and served as a barrier to Etruria.
eo alter consul Aemilius cum exercitu ad liberandos obsidione socios venit. advenientibus Romanis2 Sutrini commeatus benigne in castra ante urbem posita advexere.
Thither the other consul, Aemilius, came with an army to relieve the allies from the siege. To the arriving Romans, the Sutrines kindly brought provisions into the camp pitched before the city.
Etrusci diem primum consultando, maturarent traherentne bellum, traduxerunt. postero die, ubi celeriora quam tutiora consilia3 magis placuere ducibus, sole orto signum pugnae propositum est armatique in aciem procedunt.
The Etruscans spent the first day in deliberating whether they should hasten or drag out the war. On the following day, when plans that were more swift than safe pleased the leaders more, as soon as the sun rose, the signal for battle was displayed, and they advanced armed into the line.
quod postquam consuli nuntiatum est, extemplo tesseram dari iubet, ut prandeat miles firmatisque cibo viribus arma capiat.
After this was reported to the consul, he immediately ordered the watchword to be given for the soldiers to take their meal and, with their strength refreshed by food, to take up their arms.
dicto paretur. consul, ubi armatos paratosque vidit, signa extra vallum proferri iussit et haud procul hoste instruxit aciem.. aliquamdiu intenti utrimque steterunt expectantes, ut ab adversariis clamor et pugna inciperet;
His command was obeyed. The consul, when he saw them armed and ready, ordered the standards to be carried outside the rampart and drew up his line not far from the enemy. For some time they stood on both sides, intent and waiting for the shout and the battle to begin on the part of the adversaries.
et prius sol meridie se inclinavit, quam telum hinc aut illinc emissum est. inde, ne infecta re abiretur,4 clamor ab Etruscis oritur concinuntque tubae et signa inferuntur; nec segnius a Romanis pugna initur.
And the sun had already declined from the meridian before any missile was thrown from either side. Then, lest they should depart with nothing accomplished, a shout arose from the Etruscans, the trumpets sounded, and the standards were advanced; nor did the Romans enter the battle with less eagerness.
concurrunt infensis animis; numero hostis, virtute Romanus superat, anceps proelium multos utrimque et fortissimum quemque absumit, nec prius inclinata res est, quam secunda acies Romana ad prima signa, integri fessis, successerunt.
They clashed with hostile minds; the enemy surpassed in numbers, the Roman in valor. The battle, remaining undecided, [took] many on both sides, and swept away all the bravest men; nor did the fortune of the day turn, until the Roman second line succeeded to the front line, fresh men replacing the weary ones.
Etrusci, quia nullis recentibus subsidiis fulta prima acies fuit, ante signa circaque omnes ceciderunt. nullo umquam proelio fugae minus nec plus caedis fuisset, ni5 obstinatos mori Tuscos nox texisset, ita ut victores prius quam victi pugnandi finem facerent.
The Etruscans, because their first line was supported by no fresh reserves, fell, all of them, before and around the standards. In no battle would there have been less flight or more slaughter, if night had not shielded the Tuscans who were resolved to die, so that the victors ceased from fighting before the vanquished did.
post occasum solis signum receptui datum est; nocte utroque in castra reditum.
After sunset, the signal for retreat was given; at night, both sides returned to their camps.
nec deinde quicquam eo anno rei memoria digna apud Sutrium gestum est, quia et ex hostium exercitu prima tota acies deleta uno proelio fuerat subsidiariis modo relictis, vix quod satis esset6 ad castrorum praesidium, et apud Romanos tantum vulnerum fuit, ut plures post proelium saucii decesserint quam ceciderant in acie.
And thereafter, nothing worthy of memory was performed at Sutrium in that year, because both the entire first line of the enemy’s army had been destroyed in that single battle, with only the reserves being left, which were scarcely sufficient for the defense of the camp, and among the Romans there was so great a number of wounds that more of the wounded died after the battle than had fallen in the line.
- 9.32.1orsi
Perfect participle (masculine plural nominative) of the deponent verb ordior (to begin). It modifies the main subject omnes Etruriae populi, meaning 'having begun a massive war.'
- 9.32.2advenientibus Romanis
Dative case. It is governed by the verb advexere (advehere, to carry to), meaning 'brought provisions to the arriving Romans.' Although it could theoretically be interpreted as an ablative absolute ('when the Romans arrived'), the dative is more natural given the verbal construction.
- 9.32.3celeriora quam tutiora consilia
Double comparative. Two comparative adjectives connected by quam express that one quality exceeds another, meaning 'plans that were more swift than safe.'
- 9.32.6ne infecta re abiretur
Impersonal passive construction. The passive third-person singular of the intransitive verb abeo, abiretur, is used here to mean 'lest they should depart.' infecta re is an ablative absolute meaning 'with the business unfinished.'
- 9.32.9nullo umquam proelio fugae minus nec plus caedis fuisset, ni...
Subjunctive conditional clause of past contrary-to-fact (pluperfect subjunctives fuisset and texisset). fugae and caedis are partitive genitives depending on the comparative adverbs minus and plus respectively ('less of flight,' 'more of slaughter').
- 9.32.11vix quod satis esset
Subjunctive esset. This is a relative clause of characteristic (or restriction) introduced by the relative pronoun quod (with the antecedent omitted), using the subjunctive to express 'something which was scarcely sufficient.'