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Livy · History of Rome §37.3.1-37.3.11

Expiation of Portents and the Egyptian Embassy

Passage 1328 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Prior to the departure of the consuls, various portents reported in Rome and neighboring regions are expiated through rituals, while Scipio Africanus erects an arch on the Capitol, and envoys from Egypt arrive to offer congratulations on the victory over Antiochus and encourage an expedition into Asia.

§37.3.1priusquam consules in provincias proficiscerentur, prodigia per pontifices procurari placuit.
Before the consuls set out for their provinces, it was resolved that the portents should be expiated by the pontiffs.
§37.3.2Romae Iunonis Lucinae templum de caelo tactum erat ita, ut fastigium valvaeque deformarentur; Puteolis pluribus locis murus et porta fulmine icta et duo homines exanimati; §37.3.3Nursiae sereno satis constabat nimbum ortum; ibi quoque duos liberos homines exanimatos; terra apud se pluvisse Tusculani nuntiabant, et Reatini mulam in agro suo peperisse.
At Rome, the temple of Juno Lucina had been struck by lightning from heaven in such a way that the pediment and the doors were damaged; at Puteoli, the wall and a gate were struck by lightning in several places, and two men were killed; at Nursia, it was well established that a storm-cloud had arisen in a clear sky, and there also two free men had been killed; the Tusculans reported that it had rained earth in their district, and the Reatines that a mule had given birth in their territory.
§37.3.4ea procurata, Latinaeque instauratae, quod Laurentibus carnis, quae dari debet, §37.3.5data non fuerat.
These portents were expiated, and the Latin Festival was repeated, because the meat which ought to be given to the Laurentines had not been given.
supplicatio quoque earum religionum causa fuit quibus diis decemviri ex libris ut fieret ediderunt.
A supplication was also held on account of those religious fears, to whichever gods the decemvirs, in accordance with the books, declared it should be offered.
§37.3.6decem ingenui, decem virgines, patrimi omnes matrimique, ad id sacrificium adhibiti, et decemviri nocte lactentibus rem divinam fecerunt.
Ten freeborn boys and ten virgins, all of whom had both parents living, were employed for that sacrifice, and the decemvirs performed the divine rite at night with suckling victims.
§37.3.7P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, priusquam proficisceretur, fornicem in Capitolio adversus viam, qua in Capitolium escenditur, cum signis septem auratis et equis duobus et marmorea duo labra ante fornicem posuit.
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, before he set out, erected an arch on the Capitol facing the road by which one ascends the Capitol, adorned with seven gilded statues and two horses, and placed two marble basins before the arch.
§37.3.8per eosdem dies principes Aetolorum tres et quadraginta, inter quos Damocritus et frater eius erant, ab duabus cohortibus missis a M’. Acilio Romam deducti et in Lautumias coniecti sunt.
During those same days, forty-three chiefs of the Aetolians, among whom were Damocritus and his brother, were brought to Rome by two cohorts sent by Manius Acilius, and were thrown into the Lautumiae.
cohortes inde ad exercitum redire L. Cornelius consul iussit.
The consul Lucius Cornelius then ordered the cohorts to return to the army.
§37.3.9— legati ab Ptolomaeo et Cleopatra regibus Aegypti gratulantes, quod M’. Acilius consul Antiochum regem Graecia expulisset, venerunt adhortantesque, ut in Asiam exercitum traicerent: §37.3.10omnia perculsa metu non in Asia modo sed etiam in Syria esse; reges Aegypti ad ea, §37.3.11quae censuisset senatus, paratos fore.
Envoys came from Ptolemy and Cleopatra, the sovereigns of Egypt, congratulating them because the consul Manius Acilius had driven King Antiochus out of Greece, and urging them to transport their army into Asia: that all things were struck with fear not only in Asia but even in Syria; and that the sovereigns of Egypt would be ready for those things which the senate should decree.
gratiae regibus actae; legatis munera dari iussa in singulos quaternum milium aeris.
Thanks were returned to the sovereigns; it was ordered that gifts should be given to the envoys, to the value of four thousand asses to each.

Notes

  1. 37.3.2de caelo tactum erat — Literally 'touched from heaven,' this is a standard Latin idiomatic and religious expression meaning 'struck by lightning.'
  2. 37.3.3sereno — An ablative adjective with the noun caelo (sky) omitted. The phrase sereno caelo expresses time or circumstance: 'under a clear sky' or 'in fair weather.'
  3. 37.3.3terra — An ablative of means or material with the impersonally used verb pluere (to rain). It indicates that 'it rained earth' (literally, 'it rained with earth').
  4. 37.3.5quibus diis decemviri ex libris ut fieret ediderunt — A relative clause modifying the antecedent supplicatio. The phrase quibus diis functions as an indirect question, while ut fieret is a noun clause depending on ediderunt: 'to whichever gods the decemvirs, in accordance with the books, declared that it should be offered.' It displays a complex syntactic structure where the relative pronoun is attracted into the indirect question.
  5. 37.3.6patrimi omnes matrimique — Adjectives meaning respectively 'having a father living' and 'having a mother living.' In sacred Roman rituals (especially expiations), it was a strict requirement that the participating youths have both parents alive to ensure ritual purity.
  6. 37.3.11quaternum milium aeris — The form quaternum is an archaic genitive plural contraction of the distributive numeral quaterni (four each, for quaternorum). Aeris is the genitive of aes (bronze, referencing the monetary unit as). Modifying in singulos (to each), it means 'gifts to the value of four thousand asses each.'

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §37.3.1-37.3.11. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:37.3.1-37.3.11

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