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Livy · History of Rome §33.10.1-33.10.10

Flight of Philip and Historians' Casualty Counts

Passage 1128 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Philip flees upon realizing his defeat, while Quinctius attempts to spare the surrendering Macedonian soldiers, though they are massacred in the confusion. The author mentions various figures for the casualties and captives from different historians, stating his reliance on the trustworthy Polybius.

§33.10.1Philippus cum paucis peditum equitumque primo tumulum altiorem inter ceteros cepit, ut specularetur, quae in laeva parte suorum fortuna esset; §33.10.2deinde, postquam fugam effusam animadvertit et omnia circa iuga signis atque armis fulgere, tum et ipse acie excessit.
Philip, with a few of his infantry and cavalry, first took a hill higher than the rest, in order to observe what the fortune of his men on the left wing was; then, after he noticed the scattered flight and that all the ridges around were shining with standards and arms, at that moment he himself also withdrew from the battle.
§33.10.3Quinctius cum institisset cedentibus, repente quia erigentes hastas Macedonas conspexerat, §33.10.4quidnam pararent incertus, paulisper novitate rei constituit signa; deinde, ut accepit hunc morem esse Macedonum tradentium sese, parcere victis in animo habebat.
Quinctius, when he was pressing hard upon those who were retreating, suddenly, because he had seen the Macedonians raising their spears, uncertain of what they were preparing, halted his standards for a short time due to the novelty of the situation; then, when he learned that this was the custom of Macedonians surrendering themselves, he had it in mind to spare the vanquished.
§33.10.5ceterum ab ignaris militibus, omissam ab hoste pugnam et quid imperator vellet, impetus in eos est factus, et primis caesis ceteri in fugam dissipati sunt.
But a charge was made upon them by the soldiers who were ignorant of the battle having been abandoned by the enemy and of what the general wished; and when the foremost were cut down, the rest were scattered in flight.
§33.10.6rex effuso cursu Tempe petit.
The king at headlong speed made for Tempe.
ibi ad Gonnos diem unum substitit ad excipiendos, si qui proelio superessent.
There he halted for one day near Gonni to receive any who might have survived the battle.
Romani victores in castra hostium spe praedae irrumpunt; ea magna iam ex part direpta ab Aetolis inveniunt.
The victorious Romans burst into the enemy's camp in the hope of plunder; they found it already for the most part plundered by the Aetolians.
§33.10.7caesa eo die octo milia hostium, §33.10.8quinque capta.
Eight thousand of the enemy were slain on that day, five thousand captured.
ex victoribus septingenti ferme ceciderunt.
Of the victors, about seven hundred fell.
si Valerio qui credat omnium rerum inmodice numerum augenti, quadraginta milia hostium eo die sunt caesa; capta — ibi modestius mendacium est — §33.10.9quinque milia septingenti, signa militaria ducenta undequinquaginta.
If anyone should believe Valerius, who immoderately exaggerates the number of everything, forty thousand of the enemy were slain on that day; captured—there the lie is more modest— were five thousand seven hundred, and two hundred and forty-nine military standards.
Claudius quoque duo et triginta milia hostium caesa scribit, capta quattuor milia et trecentos.
Claudius also writes that thirty-two thousand of the enemy were slain, and four thousand three hundred captured.
§33.10.10nos non minimo potissimum numero credidimus, sed Polybium secuti sumus, non incertum auctorem cum omnium Romanarum rerum tum praecipue in Graecia gestarum.
We have not believed the smallest number by preference, but have followed Polybius, a reliable author not only in all Roman affairs but especially in those carried out in Greece.

Notes

  1. §33.10.5ignaris militibus, omissam ab hoste pugnam et quid imperator vellet — The adjective ignaris (agreeing with militibus) governs the accusative with infinitive clause omissam [esse] pugnam and the indirect question quid imperator vellet. While ignarus typically takes a genitive complement, here it functions verbally to directly introduce these noun clauses.
  2. §33.10.6ad excipiendos, si qui proelio superessent — ad excipiendos is the gerundive of purpose governed by ad. The pronominal headword (such as eos) is omitted, and the following conditional clause si qui ... superessent ('if any should survive') practically functions to define and restrict this omitted antecedent.
  3. §33.10.8si Valerio qui credat — The verb credat in the conditional clause is in the present subjunctive, expressing a potential or hypothetical condition ('if anyone should believe'). In contrast, the apodosis uses the indicative perfect sunt caesa, as it reports the historical claim of the source as a stated fact, resulting in an asymmetry of moods.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §33.10.1-33.10.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:33.10.1-33.10.10

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