Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §2.19.1-2.19.10

Battle of Lake Regillus and the Clash of Leaders

Passage 80 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

The Battle of Lake Regillus breaks out, presenting a fierce conflict between the Roman and Latin forces where the leaders themselves are wounded in combat, including a direct duel between Aebutius and Mamilius.

§2.19.1consules Ser. Sulpicius M’. Tullius; nihil dignum memoria actum;
The consuls were Servius Sulpicius and Manius Tullius; nothing worthy of memory was done.
§2.19.2T. Aebutius deinde et C. Vetusius.
Next were Titus Aebutius and Gaius Vetusius.
his consulibus Fidenae obsessae, Crustumeria capta; Praeneste ab Latinis ad Romanos descivit.
Under these consuls, Fidenae was besieged and Crustumeria was captured; Praeneste defected from the Latins to the Romans.
nec ultra bellum Latinum gliscens iam per aliquot annos dilatum.
And the Latin war, which had already been smoldering for several years, was not delayed any longer.
§2.19.3A. Postumius dictator T. Aebutius magister equitur magnis copiis peditum §2.19.4equitumque profecti ad lacum Regillum in agro Tusculano agmini hostium occurrerunt et, quia Tarquinios esse in exercitu Latinorum auditum est, sustineri ira non potuit, quin extemplo confligerent.
The dictator Aulus Postumius and the master of the horse Titus Aebutius, setting out with large forces of infantry and cavalry, encountered the enemy's line of march at Lake Regillus in the Tusculan territory; and, because it was heard that the Tarquins were in the army of the Latins, their anger could not be restrained from joining battle immediately.
§2.19.5ergo etiam proelium aliquanto quam cetera gravius atque atrocius fuit.
Therefore, the battle also was considerably more severe and fierce than the others.
non enim duces ad regendam modo consilio rem adfuere, sed suismet ipsi corporibus dimicantes miscuere certamina, nec quisquam procerum ferme hac aut illa ex acie sine vulnere praeter dictatorem Romanum excessit.
For the leaders were present not only to direct the affair with counsel, but engaging with their very own bodies they mixed in the struggles, and scarcely any of the chiefs departed from this or that line of battle without a wound, except the Roman dictator.
§2.19.6in Postumium prima in acie suos adhortantem instruentemque Tarquinius Superbus, quamquam iam aetate et viribus erat gravior, equum infestus admisit ictusque ab latere concursu suorum receptus in tutum est.
Against Postumius, who was encouraging and marshalling his men in the front line, Tarquinius Superbus, although already heavier by reason of age and strength, charged threateningly with his horse; and, having been struck in the side, he was received into safety by the running together of his men.
§2.19.7et ad alterum cornu Aebutius magister equitum in Octavium Mamilium impetum dederat nec fefellit veniens Tusculanum ducem; contra quem et ille concitat equum.
And on the other wing, the master of the horse Aebutius had made a charge against Octavius Mamilius, nor did his coming escape the notice of the Tusculan leader; against whom he too spurred on his horse.
tantaque vis infestis venientium hastis fuit, §2.19.8ut bracchium Aebutio traiectum sit, Mamilio pectus percussum.
And so great was the force of their oncoming hostile spears, that Aebutius' arm was pierced through, and Mamilius' breast was struck.
hunc quidem in secundam aciem Latini recepere; §2.19.9aebutius cum saucio bracchio tenere telum non posset, pugna excessit.
The Latins indeed received the latter into the second line; Aebutius, since he could not hold his weapon with his wounded arm, withdrew from the battle.
§2.19.10Latinus dux nihil deterritus vulnere proelium ciet et, quia suos perculsos videbat, arcessit cohortem exulum Romanorum, cui L. Tarquini filius praeerat.
The Latin leader, in no way deterred by the wound, stirred up the battle, and, because he saw his men stricken, summoned the cohort of Roman exiles, which the son of Lucius Tarquinius commanded.
ea, quo maiore pugnabat ira ob erepta bona patriamque ademptam, pugnam parumper restituit.
This unit, fighting with all the greater anger on account of their plundered property and lost homeland, restored the battle for a short time.

Notes

  1. 2.19.4sustineri ira non potuit, quin extemplo confligerent — A subjunctive quin-clause following a verb of hindering or preventing with a negative (here, non potuit sustineri, 'could not be restrained'). It indicates that the anger could not be restrained from causing them to clash immediately.
  2. 2.19.7nec fefellit veniens — The verb fallere used with a participle (veniens), similar to the Greek λανθάνειν, to mean 'to do something without being noticed'. Here it means 'his coming did not escape the notice of the Tusculan leader (Mamilius)'.
  3. 2.19.10quo maiore pugnabat ira — The ablative quo is used to indicate the degree of difference ('with all the greater anger'). The correlative eo is omitted, emphasizing the intensity of their anger over their plundered property and lost homeland.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §2.19.1-2.19.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:2.19.1-2.19.10

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.