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Livy · History of Rome §35.43.1-35.43.9

Antiochus Invades Greece and Lands at Demetrias

Passage 1272 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

King Antiochus abandons the plan to send Hannibal and resolves on a personal expedition to Greece. After sacrificing at Ilium, he lands at Demetrias and is welcomed enthusiastically by the people at Lamia.

§35.43.1nulla ingenia tam prona ad invidiam sunt quam eorum, qui genus ac fortunam suam animis non aequant, quia virtutem et bonum alienum oderunt.
No dispositions are so prone to envy as those of men who do not equal their birth and fortune with their minds, because they hate the virtue and goodness of others.
extemplo consilium mittendi Hannibalis, quod unum in principio belli utiliter cogitatum erat, abiectum est.
Immediately the plan of sending Hannibal, which was the only useful thing thought of at the beginning of the war, was abandoned.
§35.43.2Demetriadis maxime defectione ab Romanis ad Aetolos elatus non ultra differre profectionem in Graeciam constituit.
Elated especially by the defection of Demetrias from the Romans to the Aetolians, he resolved to delay his departure to Greece no longer.
§35.43.3priusquam solveret naves, Ilium a mari escendit, ut Minervae sacrificaret.
Before he set sail, he went up from the sea to Ilium to offer sacrifice to Minerva.
inde ad classem regressus proficiscitur quadraginta tectis navibus, apertis sexaginta, et ducentae onerariae cum omnis generis commeatu bellicoque alio apparatu sequebantur.
Returning thence to the fleet, he set out with forty decked ships and sixty open ones, and two hundred transports with provisions of every kind and other warlike equipment followed.
§35.43.4Imbrum primo insulam tenuit; inde Sciathum traiecit; ubi collectis in alto quae dissipatae erant navibus ad Pteleum primum continentis venit.
First he reached the island of Imbros; from there he crossed over to Sciathos; where, having gathered in the deep the ships which had been scattered, he came to Pteleum, the first point of the mainland.
§35.43.5ibi Eurylochus ei Magnetarches principesque Magnetum ab Demetriade occurrerunt, quorum frequentia laetus die postero in portum urbis navibus est invectus; copias haud procul inde exposuit.
There Eurylochus, the Magnetarches, and the leading men of the Magnetes came from Demetrias to meet him; pleased by their large number, on the following day he sailed into the harbor of the city, and landed his forces not far from there.
§35.43.6decem milia peditum fuere et quingenti equites, sex elephanti, vix ad Graeciam nudam occupandam satis copiarum, nedum ad sustinendum Romanum bellum.
There were ten thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry, and six elephants, a force barely sufficient for occupying an undefended Greece, much less for sustaining a war with Rome.
§35.43.7Aetoli, postquam Demetriadem venisse Antiochum adlatum est, concilio indicto decretum, quo accerserent eum, fecerunt.
The Aetolians, after the news was brought that Antiochus had come to Demetrias, summoned a council and passed a decree by which they should invite him.
§35.43.8iam profectus ab Demetriade rex, quia ita decreturos sciebat, Phalara in sinum Maliacum processerat.
The king, who had already set out from Demetrias because he knew they would so decree, had advanced to Phalara on the Malian Gulf.
§35.43.9inde decreto accepto Lamiam venit, exceptus ingenti favore multitudinis cum plausibus clamoribusque et quibus aliis laetitia effusa vulgi significatur.
Receiving the decree there, he came to Lamia, where he was welcomed with immense enthusiasm by the multitude, with applause and shouts, and by whatever other means the overflowing joy of the common people is signified.

Notes

  1. 35.43.1genus ac fortunam suam animis non aequant — animis is an ablative of specification or means (in the plural). Literally, 'they do not equal their birth and fortune with their minds', indicating that their character or mental capacity does not rise to the level of their social standing or fortune, which breeds envy.
  2. 35.43.4collectis in alto quae dissipatae erant navibus — An ablative absolute construction collectis ... navibus containing an embedded relative clause quae dissipatae erant. The antecedent navibus functions as the noun of the ablative absolute at the end of the phrase, while also serving as the subject of the relative clause.
  3. 35.43.6nedum — A conjunction meaning 'much less' or 'still less'. It is typically used after a statement with a negative force (here vix, 'scarcely'), introducing an even more impossible situation. It connects the prepositional phrase ad sustinendum Romanum bellum.
  4. 35.43.9et quibus aliis — quibus aliis is an ablative of means of the relative pronoun, with its antecedent (such as iis rebus, 'by those things') omitted. Coordinated with plausibus clamoribusque, it means 'and by whatever other means the unrestrained joy of the common people is expressed'.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §35.43.1-35.43.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:35.43.1-35.43.9

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