Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §2.17.1-2.17.7

Siege of Pometia and Harsh Punishment of the Aurunci

Passage 78 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

The new Roman consuls besiege Pometia and, after a fierce Auruncan counterattack forces a retreat, renew the siege and compel a surrender. Despite the surrender, the Aurunci suffer brutal execution and enslavement, after which the consuls celebrate a triumph.

§2.17.1secuti consules Opiter Verginius Sp. Cassius Pometiam primo vi, deinde vineis aliisque operibus oppugnarunt.
The succeeding consuls, Opiter Verginius and Spurius Cassius, attacked Pometia, first by force, and then with vineae and other siege works.
§2.17.2in quos Aurunci magis iam inexpiabili odio quam spe aliqua aut occasione coorti cum plures igni quam ferro armati excucurrissent, caede incendioque cuncta conplent.
Rising up against them with a hatred that was now more inexpiable than from any hope or opportunity, and running out with more of them armed with fire than with iron, the Aurunci filled everything with slaughter and fire.
§2.17.3vineis incensis, multis hostium vulneratis et occisis consulum quoque alterum — sed utrum, auctores non adiciunt — gravi vulnere ex equo deiectum prope interfecerunt.
When the vineae were burned, and many of the enemy wounded and slain, they also nearly killed one of the consuls—but which of the two, the authors do not add—who was thrown from his horse with a severe wound.
§2.17.4Romam inde male gesta re reditum.
Then, the affair having been badly conducted, they returned to Rome.
inter multos saucios consul spe incerta vitae relatus.
Among many wounded, the consul was carried back with uncertain hope of life.
interiecto deinde haud magno spatio, quod vulneribus curandis supplendoque exercitui satis esset, cum ira maiore tum viribus etiam auctis Pometiae arma inlata.
Then, after no great interval of time, just enough for curing the wounds and reinforcing the army, war was brought against Pometia with greater wrath and with even increased strength.
§2.17.5et cum vineis refectis aliaque mole belli iam in eo esset, ut in muros evaderet miles, deditio est facta.
And when the vineae had been rebuilt and other siege engines prepared, and it was already on the point of the soldiers mounting the walls, a surrender was made.
§2.17.6ceterum nihilo minus foeda dedita urbe, quam si capta foret, Aurunci passi: principes securi percussi, sub corona venierunt coloni alii; §2.17.7oppidum dirutum, ager veniit.
But the Aurunci suffered things no less dreadful, though the city had been surrendered, than if it had been taken by storm: the leading men were beheaded with the axe, and the other colonists were sold as slaves; the town was demolished, and the land was sold.
consules magis ob iras graviter ultas quam ob magnitudinem perfecti belli triumpharunt.
The consuls celebrated a triumph, more because their wrath had been heavily avenged than because of the magnitude of the war they had finished.

Notes

  1. §2.17.3hostium — The genitive hostium here refers to the 'enemy' from the perspective of the Aurunci, who are the active subjects of the combat (i.e., the Romans). Although hostis usually denotes Rome's enemies in Livy's work, here the context requires it to refer to the Roman soldiers who suffered casualties along with their burned siege works.
  2. §2.17.5in eo esset, ut — The impersonal idiom in eo esse ut... means 'to be on the point of' or 'to be close to' a state of affairs, indicating an imminent action or critical juncture.
  3. §2.17.6dedita urbe — An ablative absolute construction used with concessive force ('although the city had been surrendered'). The adjacent comparison nihilo minus... quam si capta foret ('no less... than if it had been captured') highlights the harshness of their treatment despite the peaceful surrender.
  4. §2.17.6sub corona venierunt — Literally 'sold under a crown/wreath', this is a standard Roman idiom meaning 'sold into slavery'. It originates from the practice of placing a garland (corona) on the heads of prisoners of war when they were auctioned off.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §2.17.1-2.17.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.17.1-2.17.7

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.