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Livy · History of Rome §32.14.1-32.14.8

Amynander Captures Gomphi and the Consul Prepares to Advance

Passage 1091 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Amynander captures Phaeca and Gomphi, causing widespread terror in Thessaly, while the Roman consul conciliated the Epirotes and gathered Amynander and Epirote volunteers to serve as guides for his march into Thessaly.

§32.14.1ceterum Amynander, quia suo militi parum fidebat, petito a consule modico praesidio cum Gomphos peteret, oppidum protinus nomine Phaecam situm inter Gomphos faucesque angustas, quae ab Athamania Thessaliam dirimunt, vi cepit.
But Amynander, because he had little confidence in his own soldiers, having requested a modest garrison from the consul, when he was heading for Gomphi, immediately captured by force a town named Phaeca, situated between Gomphi and the narrow pass which separates Thessaly from Athamania.
§32.14.2inde Gomphos adortus est, et per aliquot dies summa vi tuentes urbem, cum iam scalas ad moenia erexisset, eo demum metu perpulit ad deditionem.
From there he attacked Gomphi; and when he had already raised ladders against the walls, he finally, by that fear, forced to surrender those who had been defending the city with the greatest force for several days.
§32.14.3haec traditio Gomphorum ingentem terrorem Thessalis intulit.
This surrender of Gomphi struck immense terror into the Thessalians.
dedidere deinceps sese qui Argenta quique Pherinium et Timarum et Ligynas et Strymonem et Lampsum habent aliaque castella iuxta ignobilia.
Next, those who hold Argenta, and those who hold Pherinium, Timarum, Ligynae, Strymon, and Lampsus, and other equally obscure fortresses, successively surrendered themselves.
§32.14.4dum Athamanes Aetolique submoto Macedonum metu in aliena victoria suam praedam faciunt, Thessaliaque ab tribus simul exercitibus incerta, quem hostem quemve socium crederet, §32.14.5vastatur, consul faucibus, quas fuga hostium aperuerat, in regionem Epiri transgressus, etsi probe scit, cui parti Charopo principe excepto Epirotae favissent, §32.14.6tamen quia ab satisfaciendi quoque cura imperata enixe facere videt, ex praesenti eos potius quam ex praeterito aestimat habitu et ea ipsa facilitate veniae animos eorum in posterum conciliat.
While the Athamanes and the Aetolians, with the fear of the Macedonians having been removed, were making their own booty in the victory of another, and while Thessaly, uncertain which she should believe to be an enemy and which an ally, by three armies at the same time was being devastated, the consul crossed over into the region of Epirus through the pass which the flight of the enemy had opened up; although he knew full well which party the Epirotes had favored, with the exception of the chief Charops, nevertheless, because he saw that they eagerly performed his commands, even from a desire to give satisfaction, he judged them by their present rather than their past conduct, and by that very readiness to pardon won their minds for the future.
§32.14.7missis deinde nuntiis Corcyram, ut onerariae naves in sinum venirent Ambracium, ipse progressus modicis itineribus quarto die in monte Cercetio posuit castra, eodem Amynandro cum suis auxiliis accito, §32.14.8non tam virium eius egens, quam ut duces in Thessaliam haberet.
Then, having sent messengers to Corcyra so that the transport ships might come into the Ambracian Gulf, he himself, having advanced by moderate marches, on the fourth day pitched his camp on Mount Cercetius, summoning to the same place Amynander with his auxiliary forces, not so much because he needed his strength, as to have guides into Thessaly.
ab eodem consilio et plerique Epirotarum voluntarii inter auxilia accepti.
From the same policy, most of the Epirotes also were accepted as volunteers among the auxiliaries.

Notes

  1. §32.14.1petito a consule modico praesidio — An ablative absolute construction where `modico praesidio` is the logical subject in the ablative, and `petito` is the perfect passive participle. The prepositional phrase `a consule` indicates the personal agent.
  2. §32.14.2tuentes — The present active participle `tuentes` (accusative plural masculine) modifies the omitted direct object of the main verb `perpulit` (such as `eos`, "them"), or functions substantively to mean "those who were defending."
  3. §32.14.4dum Athamanes Aetolique — The adverbial clause introduced by the conjunction `dum` (while) extends over a long span from §32.14.4 to the verb `vastatur` at the beginning of §32.14.5, encompassing multiple parallel units. The subject of the main clause is `consul`, and its main verb is `posuit` in §32.14.7.
  4. §32.14.5cui parti Charopo principe excepto Epirotae favissent — An indirect question clause acting as the object of the verb `scit`. The interrogative adjective `cui` modifies `parti` (dative of `pars`, "party/side"), and the verb `favissent` is in the pluperfect subjunctive. `Charopo principe excepto` is an ablative absolute.
  5. §32.14.8egens — The present participle `egens` (lacking, in need of) governs the genitive case, taking `virium eius` (his strength) as its object, following the syntax of words of wanting or needing.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §32.14.1-32.14.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:32.14.1-32.14.8

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