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Livy · History of Rome §22.30.1-22.30.10

Minucius Surrenders His Command and Reconciles with Fabius

Passage 624 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Minucius leads his soldiers to Fabius' camp, admits his mistake, and surrenders his command. The two armies reconcile, and both the Romans and Hannibal recognize the greatness of Fabius.

§22.30.1signo dato conclamatur inde, ut colligantur vasa.
When the signal was given, a cry was immediately raised to pack the baggage.
profecti et agmine incedentes ad dictatoris castra in admirationem et ipsum et omnes, qui circa erant, converterunt.
Setting out and marching in column to the dictator’s camp, they threw both the dictator himself and all who were around into admiration.
§22.30.2ut constituta sunt ante tribunal signa, progressus ante alios magister equitum, cum patrem Fabium appellasset circumfusosque militum eius totum agmen patronos consalutasset, §22.30.3“parentibus” inquit “meis, dictator, quibus te modo nomine, quod fando possum, aequavi, vitam tantum debeo, tibi cum meam salutem tum omnium horum.
When the standards were set up before the tribunal, the master of the horse, stepping forward in front of the others, having addressed Fabius as father, and his entire army having saluted as patrons his soldiers who were crowded around them, said, "Dictator, to my parents, to whom I have just now made you equal in name as far as speech allows, I owe only my life; to you, I owe both my own safety and that of all these men.
§22.30.4itaque plebei scitum, quo oneratus sum magis quam honoratus, primus antique abrogoque et, quod tibi mihique exercitibusque his tuis, servato ac conservatori, sit felix, sub imperium auspiciumque tuum redeo et signa haec legionesque restituo.
Therefore, I am the first to abrogate and annul the plebiscite by which I was burdened rather than honored; and, may this be fortunate for you and me, and for these your armies, for the saved and the savior, I return under your command and auspices, and restore these standards and legions.
§22.30.5tu, quaeso, placatus me magisterium equitum, hos ordines suos quemque tenere iubeas. ” §22.30.6tum dextrae interiunctae militesque contione dimissa ab notis ignotisque benigne atque hospitaliter invitati, laetusque dies ex admodum tristi paulo ante ac prope exsecrabili factus.
You, I pray, being appeased, will bid me hold the mastership of the horse, and each of these men to keep their own ranks." Then right hands were joined, and the soldiers, the assembly being dismissed, were kindly and hospitably invited by acquaintances and strangers alike; and a joyful day was made from one that a little before had been utterly gloomy and almost accursed.
§22.30.7Romae, ut est perlata fama rei gestae, dein litteris non magis ipsorum imperatorum quam volgo militum ex utroque exercitu adfirmata, pro se quisque Maximum laudibus ad caelum ferre.
At Rome, when the report of the achievement was brought, and then confirmed by letters not more of the commanders themselves than commonly of the soldiers from both armies, everyone, as far as he could, lauded Maximus to the skies.
§22.30.8pari gloria apud Hannibalem hostisque Poenos erat; ac tum demum sentire cum Romanis atque in Italia bellum esse; §22.30.9nam biennio ante adeo et duces Romanos et auilites spreverant, ut vix cum eadem gente bellum esse crederent, cuius terribilem famam a patribus accepissent; §22.30.10Hannibalemque ex acie redeuntem dixisse ferunt, tandem eam nubem, quae sedere in iugis montium solita sit, cum procella imbrem dedisse.
He was in equal glory with Hannibal and the enemy Carthaginians; and then at last they felt that they had a war with Romans and in Italy; for two years before they had so despised both Roman generals and soldiers that they could scarcely believe they were waging war with the same nation whose terrible fame they had received from their fathers; and they say that Hannibal, returning from the battle, said that at last that cloud, which had been accustomed to settle on the mountain ridges, had produced rain with a storm.

Notes

  1. §22.30.1conclamatur — Impersonal passive of the intransitive verb conclamare. The following ut-clause functions as an indirect command expressing the content of the signal (to pack the baggage).
  2. §22.30.2circumfusosque militum eius totum agmen patronos consalutasset — totum agmen (the entire army) is the subject of consalutasset, shifting the subject from magister equitum (the master of the horse) which was the subject of appellasset. circumfusos is the direct object (accusative) of consalutasset, modified by militum as a partitive genitive, while patronos serves as the object complement.
  3. §22.30.4servato ac conservatori — Datives in apposition. servato (the saved one, i.e., Minucius and his army) corresponds to mihique, and conservatori (the savior, i.e., Fabius) corresponds to tibi.
  4. §22.30.7ferre — Historical infinitive, functioning as the main predicate of the clause (equivalent to the imperfect third-person plural ferebant). The same applies to sentire in the following section (§22.30.8).

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §22.30.1-22.30.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:22.30.1-22.30.10

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