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Livy · History of Rome §34.10.1-34.10.7

Ovation of Marcus Helvius and Triumph of Minucius

Passage 1177 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Marcus Helvius, returning from Farther Spain, defeats the Celtiberians, deposits a vast amount of silver into the treasury, and enters Rome with an ovation, while his successor Quintus Minucius also celebrates a triumph after bringing back substantial wealth.

§34.10.1eodem tempore M. Helvio decedenti ex ulteriore Hispania cum praesidio sex milium, dato ab Ap. Claudio praetore, Celtiberi agmine ingenti ad oppidum Iliturgi occurrunt.
At the same time, as Marcus Helvius was departing from Farther Spain with a guard of six thousand men given to him by the praetor Appius Claudius, the Celtiberians met him with a huge army near the town of Iliturgi.
§34.10.2viginti milia armatorum fuisse Valerius scribit, duodecim milia ex iis caesa, §34.10.3oppidum Iliturgi receptum et puberes omnis interfectos.
Valerius writes that there were twenty thousand armed men, of whom twelve thousand were slain, the town of Iliturgi retaken, and all the adult males put to death.
inde ad castra Catonis Helvius pervenit et, quia tuta iam ab hostibus regio erat, praesidio in ulteriorem Hispaniam remisso Romam est profectus et ob rem feliciter gestam ovans urbem est ingressus.
From there Helvius arrived at the camp of Cato and, because the region was now safe from the enemy, having sent the guard back to Farther Spain, he set out for Rome and entered the city celebrating an ovation because of his successful achievement.
§34.10.4argenti infecti tulit in aerarium decem quattuor milia pondo septingenta triginta duo et signati bigatorum septendecim milia viginti tres et Oscensis argenti centum undeviginti milia quadringentos undequadraginta.
He brought into the treasury fourteen thousand seven hundred and thirty-two pounds of uncoined silver, seventeen thousand and twenty-three bigati coins, and one hundred and nineteen thousand four hundred and thirty-nine pieces of Oscis silver.
§34.10.5causa triumphi negandi senatui fuit, quod alieno auspicio et in aliena provincia pugnasset.
The reason for the senate's denying him a triumph was that he had fought under another's auspices and in another's province.
ceterum biennio post redierat, cum provincia successori Q. Minucio tradita annum insequentem retentus ibi longo et gravi fuisset morbo.
However, he had returned two years later, since, after the province was handed over to his successor Quintus Minucius, he had been detained there during the following year by a long and severe illness.
§34.10.6itaque duobus modo mensibus ante Helvius ovans urbem est ingressus quam successor eius Q. Minucius triumpharet.
And so, Helvius entered the city celebrating an ovation only two months before his successor Quintus Minucius celebrated his triumph.
§34.10.7hic quoque tulit argenti pondo triginta quattuor milia octingenta et bigatorum septuaginta tria milia et Oscensis argenti ducenta septuaginta octo milia.
This man also brought thirty-four thousand eight hundred pounds of silver, seventy-three thousand bigati, and two hundred and seventy-eight thousand pieces of Oscis silver.

Notes

  1. 34.10.2viginti milia armatorum fuisse... — The accusative and infinitive (AcI) construction introduced by Valerius scribit ("Valerius writes") continues from fuisse and caesa (esse) in 34.10.2 to receptum (esse) and interfectos (esse) in 34.10.3.
  2. 34.10.5triumphi negandi — A genitive of the gerundive modifying the noun causa, meaning "the cause of denying a triumph."
  3. 34.10.6duobus modo mensibus ante ... quam ... triumpharet — The correlative ante ... quam ("before") is used distributively with the subjunctive triumpharet, indicating a temporal relation just prior to an expected event. duobus mensibus is an ablative of degree of difference ("by only two months").

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §34.10.1-34.10.7. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:34.10.1-34.10.7

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