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Livy · History of Rome §32.36.1-32.36.10

Agreement on a Two-Month Truce for Embassies

Passage 1114 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Philip requests a postponement of the conference and a two-month truce to send ambassadors to Rome, which Quinctius and the allies grant under certain conditions.

§32.36.1cum haec toto ex concilio certatim omnes vociferarentur, ad Philippum quoque procul stantem vox est perlata.
Since all from the entire council were shouting these things in emulation of one another, the voice was carried even to Philip, who was standing far off.
§32.36.2itaque a Quinctio petit, ut rem totam in posterum diem differret: profecto aut persuasurum se aut persuaderi sibi passurum.
Therefore he requested of Quinctius that he would postpone the whole matter to the following day; stating that he would certainly either persuade them or allow himself to be persuaded.
§32.36.3litus ad Thronium colloquio destinatur.
The shore near Thronium was designated for the conference.
eo mature conventum est.
They assembled there early.
ibi Philippus primum et Quinctium et omnis qui aderant rogare, ne spem pacis turbare vellent, §32.36.4postremo petere tempus, quo legatos mittere Romam ad senatum posset: aut iis condicionibus se pacem impetraturum aut quascumque senatus dedisset leges pacis accepturum.
There Philip first began to entreat both Quinctius and all who were present that they would not wish to disturb the hope of peace, and finally asked for time in which he might be able to send ambassadors to the senate at Rome; saying that he would either obtain peace on those terms or would accept whatever laws of peace the senate should have given.
§32.36.5id ceteris haudquaquam placebat: nec enim aliud quam moram et dilationem ad colligendas vires quaeri;
This was by no means pleasing to the others; for they believed that nothing else than delay and postponement was being sought for the purpose of collecting strength.
§32.36.6Quinctius verum id futurum fuisse dicere, si aestas et tempus rerum gerendarum esset; nunc hieme instante nihil amitti dato spatio ad legatos mittendos;
Quinctius said that that would have been true if it were summer and the season for military operations; but now, with winter approaching, nothing would be lost by granting time for sending ambassadors.
§32.36.7nam neque sine auctoritate senatus ratum quicquam eorum fore, quae cum rege ipsi pepigissent, et explorari, dum bello necessariam quietem ipsa hiems daret, senatus auctoritatem posse. in hanc sententiam et ceteri sociorum principes concesserunt;
For, he argued, nothing of what they themselves should have agreed upon with the king would be valid without the authority of the senate, and the authority of the senate could be ascertained while the winter itself gave the necessary rest from war.
§32.36.8indutiisque datis in duos menses, et ipsos mittere singulos legatos ad senatum edocendum, ne fraude regis caperetur, placuit.
To this opinion the other chiefs of the allies also assented; and a truce having been granted for two months, it was decided that they themselves also should send individual ambassadors to inform the senate lest it should be deceived by the fraud of the king.
§32.36.9additum indutiarum pacto, ut regia praesidia Phocide ac Locride extemplo deducerentur.
It was added to the agreement of the truce that the royal garrisons should be immediately withdrawn from Phocis and Locris.
§32.36.10et ipse Quinctius cum sociorum legatis Amynandrum, Athamanum regem, ut speciem legationi adiceret, et Q. Fabium — uxoris Quincti sororis filius erat — et Q. Fulvium et Ap.
And Quinctius himself, along with the ambassadors of the allies, sent Amynander, king of the Athamanes, to add dignity to the embassy, and Q. Fabius—he was the son of Quinctius’ wife’s sister—and Q. Fulvius and Ap.
Claudium misit.
Claudius.

Notes

  1. §32.36.2persuasurum se aut persuaderi sibi passurum — Infinitives in indirect discourse. The active `persuasurum [esse] se` ("that he would persuade") is contrasted with the passive `persuaderi sibi passurum [esse]` ("that he would allow himself to be persuaded"), meaning "either he would convince them or he would let himself be convinced."
  2. §32.36.6verum id futurum fuisse — The apodosis of a past contrary-to-fact condition in indirect discourse. What would be `verum id fuerat/fuit` in direct discourse is here represented by the perfect infinitive of the future active participle, `futurum fuisse`. The protasis is `si... esset` (imperfect subjunctive).
  3. §32.36.8ad senatum edocendum — A gerundive construction expressing purpose: `ad` + noun in the accusative (`senatum`) + gerundive in the accusative (`edocendum`), meaning "to fully inform the senate."

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §32.36.1-32.36.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:32.36.1-32.36.10

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