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Cornelius Nepos · Timotheus §1.1-1.3

Timotheus' Virtues and Early Military Exploits

Passage 1 of 4 · Latin

Summary

The passage praises the virtues of the Athenian general Timotheus and details his military and diplomatic achievements, including the capture of Samos, the war against Cotys, and the acquisition of territories during the relief of Ariobarzanes.

§1.1Timotheus, Cononis filius, Atheniensis.
Timotheus, the son of Conon, an Athenian.
hic a patre acceptam gloriam multis auxit virtutibus: fuit enim disertus, impiger, laboriosus, rei militaris peritus neque minus civitatis regendae.
He increased the glory received from his father by many virtues; for he was eloquent, active, industrious, skilled in military affairs, and no less so in governing the state.
§1.2multa huius sunt praeclare facta, sed haec maxime illustria.
Many are his noble deeds, but these are the most illustrious.
Olynthios et Byzantios bello subegit.
He subdued the Olynthians and Byzantines in war.
Samum cepit: in quo oppido oppugnando superiore bello Athenienses mille et ducenta talenta consumpserant, id ille sine ulla publica impensa populo restituit.
He took Samos; in besieging which town the Athenians, in a former war, had spent twelve hundred talents, but he restored it to the people without any public expense.
adversus Cotum bella gessit ab eoque ducenta talenta praedae in publicum rettulit.
He waged war against Cotys, and brought from him two hundred talents of booty into the public treasury.
§1.3Cyzicum obsidione liberavit.
He freed Cyzicus from blockade.
Ariobarzani simul cum Agesilao auxilio profectus est, a quo cum Laco pecuniam numeratam accepisset, ille cives suos agro atque urbibus augeri maluit quam id sumere, cuius partem domum suam quisque ferre posset.
He set out to the aid of Ariobarzanes in company with Agesilaus; and when the Lacedaemonian had accepted cash from him, he preferred that his own citizens should be enriched with land and cities rather than to take that of which each person could carry a part to his own home.
itaque accepit Crithoten et Sestum.
And so he received Crithote and Sestus.

Notes

  1. 1.1civitatis regendae — An objective genitive depending on the adjective peritus. Instead of the gerund construction regendi civitatem, the gerundive construction is used, with regendae agreeing in gender, number, and case with civitatis (feminine singular genitive).
  2. 1.2in quo oppido oppugnando — A gerundive construction with the preposition in and the ablative oppido, with which the gerundive oppugnando agrees. It means 'in besieging which town', with the relative pronoun quo modifying oppido.
  3. 1.3Ariobarzani ... auxilio — The so-called 'double dative' construction. Ariobarzani is the dative of reference or advantage ('for Ariobarzanes'), while auxilio is the dative of purpose ('for aid', i.e., 'to the aid of').
  4. 1.3cives suos ... augeri maluit quam id sumere — The verb maluit (perfect of malo) governs two contrasted infinitive structures. The first is the passive infinitive augeri with the accusative cives suos as its subject ('that his own citizens should be enriched'), and the second is the active infinitive sumere ('to take/accept').

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Timotheus §1.1-1.3. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo013.humanitext-lat2:1.1-1.3

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