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Livy · History of Rome §3.24.1-3.24.11

Prosecution of Volscius and Fourth Election of Tribunes

Passage 150 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

While the tribunes continue their struggle, accusing the senate of keeping the army abroad to block their law, the prosecution of the false witness Volscius is obstructed by the tribunes. In the end, the tribunes shift their focus to their own re-election, successfully securing a fourth term despite opposition from the consuls.

§3.24.1hoc bello perfecto tribunicium domi bellum patres territat.
This war having been finished, the tribunician war at home terrified the patricians.
clamant fraude fieri, quod foris teneatur exercitus; frustrationem eam legis tollendae esse: se nihilo minus rem susceptam peracturos.
They cried out that it was done by fraud that the army was kept abroad; that this was a delay for defeating the law, and that they would nonetheless carry out the business they had undertaken.
§3.24.2obtinuit tamen L. Lucretius, praefectus urbis, ut actiones tribuniciae in adventum consulum differrentur.
Lucius Lucretius, the prefect of the City, nevertheless prevailed in having the tribunician actions deferred until the arrival of the consuls.
erat et nova exorta causa motus.
A new cause of disturbance had also arisen.
§3.24.3A. Cornelius et Q. Servilius quaestores M. Volscio, quod falsus haud dubie testis in Caesonem extitisset, diem dixerant.
Aulus Cornelius and Quintus Servilius, the quaestors, had appointed a day of trial for Marcus Volscius, because he had beyond doubt stood forth as a false witness against Caeso.
multis enim emanabat indiciis neque fratrem Volsci, §3.24.4ex quo semel fuerit aeger, umquam non modo visum in publico, sed ne adsurrexisse quidem ex morbo multorumque tabe mensum mortuum, §3.24.5nec iis temporibus, in quae testis crimen coniecisset, Caesonem Romae visum, adfirmantibus, qui una meruerant, secum eum tum frequentem ad signa sine ullo commeatu fuisse.
For it was becoming clear from many indications that neither had the brother of Volscius, from the time he once fell ill, ever been seen in public, nor indeed had he even risen from his bed of sickness, but had died after a wasting illness of many months; nor had Caeso been seen at Rome during those times to which the witness had referred the charge, as those who had served together with him affirmed that he had been constantly with them at the standards at that time without any leave of absence.
nisi ita esset, multi privatim ferebant Volscio iudicem.
Had it not been so, many would privately have offered a judge to Volscius.
§3.24.6cum ad iudicium ire non auderet, omnes eae res in unum congruentes haud magis dubiam damnationem Volsci, quam Caesonis Volscio teste fuerat, faciebant.
Since he did not dare to go to trial, all these circumstances, agreeing in one point, made the condemnation of Volscius no less certain than that of Caeso had been when Volscius was the witness.
§3.24.7in mora tribuni erant, qui comitia quaestores habere de reo, nisi prius habita de lege essent, passuros negabant.
The tribunes were an obstacle, for they declared that they would not permit the quaestors to hold the assembly concerning the accused, unless an assembly concerning the law were first held.
ita extracta utraque res in consulum adventum est.
Thus both matters were dragged out until the arrival of the consuls.
§3.24.8qui ubi triumphantes victore cum exercitu urbem inierunt, quia silentium de lege erat, perculsos magna pars credebant tribunos.
When they entered the city in triumph with their victorious army, because there was silence about the law, the greater part believed that the tribunes were disheartened.
§3.24.9at illi — etenim extremum anni iam erat — quartum adfectantes tribunatum in comitiorum disceptationem ab lege certamen averterant.
But they — for indeed it was now the end of the year — aiming at a fourth tribuneship, had turned the contest from the law to the dispute over the assembly.
et cum consules nihilo minus adversus continuationem tribunatus, quam si lex minuendae suae maiestatis causa promulgata ferretur, tetendissent, victoria certaminis penes tribunos fuit.
And although the consuls resisted the continuation of the tribuneship no less than if a law had been proposed for the sake of diminishing their own majesty, the victory of the contest remained with the tribunes.
eodem anno Aequis pax est petentibus data.
In the same year, peace was granted to the Aequi at their request.
§3.24.10census, res priore anno inchoata, perficitur; idque lustrum ab origine urbis decimum conditum ferunt.
The census, a matter begun in the previous year, was completed; and they say that this was the tenth lustrum performed since the origin of the City.
censa civium capita centum septendecim milia trecenta undeviginti.
The number of citizens registered was one hundred and seventeen thousand, three hundred and nineteen.
§3.24.11consulum magna domi bellique eo anno gloria fuit, quod et foris pacem peperere, et domi etsi non concors, minus tamen quam alias infesta civitas fuit.
The glory of the consuls at home and in war was great that year, because they had both produced peace abroad, and at home, although the state was not harmonious, it was nevertheless less hostile than at other times.

Notes

  1. 3.24.1fraude fieri, quod foris teneatur exercitus — This is an accusative with infinitive construction introduced by clamant, where the passive impersonal phrase 'fraude fieri' has the noun clause beginning with 'quod' as its logical subject. 'fraude' is an ablative of manner meaning 'by fraud' or 'by trickery.'
  2. 3.24.5ferebant — In the apodosis of the counterfactual conditional sentence with 'nisi ita esset', we find the indicative imperfect 'ferebant' instead of the expected subjunctive 'ferrent'. This usage emphasizes the imminence, readiness, or the actual attempt of the action ('were on the point of proposing' or 'ready to propose').
  3. 3.24.8magna pars credebant — The plural verb 'credebant' agrees with the singular collective noun 'magna pars' ('the greater part'). This is a classic example of synesis (agreement according to sense), where the verb agrees with the plural logical sense of the subject rather than its grammatical singular form.
  4. 3.24.9nihilo minus... quam si — The combination of 'nihilo minus' ('none the less') and 'quam si' ('than if') is used to express a conditional comparison ('no less than if...'). The following subjunctive 'ferretur' (imperfect) represents the counterfactual condition.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §3.24.1-3.24.11. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:3.24.1-3.24.11

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