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Livy · History of Rome §37.37.1-37.37.11

Restoration of Scipio's Son and Antiochus' Retreat

Passage 1362 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

The consul sacrifices to Minerva at Ilium and advances to the river Caicus, where King Eumenes joins him. The ailing Scipio receives his son back from King Antiochus, and advises the king to delay battle; Antiochus complies by withdrawing to Magnesia and constructing strong defensive works.

§37.37.1consul omnibus praeparatis ad proposita exsequenda cum ex stativis movisset, Dardanum primum, deinde Rhoeteum utraque civitate obviam effusa venit.
The consul, when all preparations had been made to execute his plans, moved from his permanent camp, and came first to Dardanum, and then to Rhoeteum, with the population of both cities pouring out to meet him.
§37.37.2inde Ilium processit, castrisque in campo, qui est subiectus moenibus, positis in urbem arcemque cum escendisset,
From there he advanced to Ilium, and having pitched his camp on the plain which lies below the walls, he went up into the city and the citadel.
§37.37.3sacrificavit Minervae praesidi arcis et Iliensibus in omni rerum verborumque honore ab se oriundos Romanos praeferentibus et Romanis laetis origine sua.
There he sacrificed to Minerva, the guardian of the citadel, while the Ilians, with every honor of deed and word, proudly claimed the Romans as sprung from themselves, and the Romans rejoiced in their origin.
inde profecti sextis castris ad caput Caici amnis pervenerunt.
Setting out from there, they reached the source of the river Caicus on the sixth day's march.
§37.37.4eo et Eumenes rex, primo conatus ab Hellesponto reducere classem in hiberna Elaeam, adversis deinde ventis cum aliquot diebus superare Lecton promunturium non potuisset, in terram egressus, ne deesset principiis rerum, qua proximum fuit, in castra Romana cum parva manu contendit.
King Eumenes also hastened to the same place. He had first attempted to lead his fleet back from the Hellespont to its winter quarters at Elaea, but when he had been unable to round Cape Lecton for several days due to contrary winds, he disembarked, so as not to be absent from the beginning of operations, and hastened by the shortest way to the Roman camp with a small retinue.
§37.37.5ex castris Pergamum remissus ad commeatus expediendos, tradito frumento quibus iusserat consul, in eadem stativa rediit.
Sent back from the camp to Pergamon to expedite the supplies, he returned to the same permanent camp after delivering the grain to those whom the consul had ordered.
inde plurium dierum praeparatis cibariis consilium erat ire ad hostem, priusquam hiems opprimeret.
From there, after preparing provisions for several days, the plan was to march against the enemy before winter should set in.
§37.37.6regia castra circa Thyatiram erant.
The king's camp was around Thyatira.
ubi cum audisset Antiochus P. Scipionem aegrum Elaeam delatum, legatos, qui filium ad eum reducerent, misit.
When Antiochus heard there that P. Scipio had been taken ill and carried to Elaea, he sent ambassadors to restore his son to him.
§37.37.7non animo solum patrio gratum munus, sed corpori quoque salubre gaudium fuit; §37.37.8satiatusque tandem complexu filii “renuntiate” inquit “gratias regi me agere, referre aliam gratiam nunc non posse, quam ut suadeam, ne ante in aciem descendat, quam in castra me redisse audierit. ” §37.37.9quamquam sexaginta milia peditum, plus duodecim milia equitum animos interdum ad spem certaminis faciebant, motus tamen Antiochus tanti auctoritate viri, in quo ad incertos belli eventus omnis fortunae posuerat subsidia, recepit se et transgressus Phrygium amnem circa Magnesiam, §37.37.10quae ad Sipylum est, posuit castra; et ne, si extrahere tempus vellet, munimenta Romani temptarent, fossam sex cubita altam, duodecim latam cum duxisset, §37.37.11extra duplex vallum fossae circumdedit, interiore labro murum cum turribus crebris obiecit, unde facile arceri transitu fossae hostis posset.
This gift was not only pleasing to a father's heart, but also a healing joy to his body; and having at last satisfied himself with his son's embrace, he said, "Go back and report that I return my thanks to the king, and that I can make no other return of gratitude at present than to advise him not to go down into battle until he hears that I have returned to the camp." Although sixty thousand infantry and more than twelve thousand cavalry occasionally inspired hope for a battle, Antiochus, nevertheless moved by the authority of so great a man, in whom he had placed all his resources of fortune against the uncertain issues of war, withdrew and, crossing the river Phrygius, pitched his camp near Magnesia, which is near Sipylus; and lest, if he wished to drag out the time, the Romans should attack his fortifications, he dug a trench six cubits deep and twelve cubits wide, and surrounded it on the outside with a double rampart, raising on the inner edge a wall with frequent towers, from which the enemy might easily be kept from crossing the trench.

Notes

  1. 37.37.3Iliensibus ... praeferentibus et Romanis laetis — Two ablative absolute constructions are placed in parallel. The first, `Iliensibus ... praeferentibus`, is a standard ablative absolute with a present participle, while the second, `Romanis laetis`, functions as an ablative absolute with the adjective `laetis` acting in place of a participle (since the participle of *esse* is lacking).
  2. 37.37.5tradito frumento quibus iusserat consul — The dative antecedent (*iis*) of the relative pronoun `quibus` is omitted. The full structure is understood as `[iis] quibus consul [tradere] iusserat` ("to those whom the consul had ordered [to deliver the grain]").
  3. 37.37.8aliam gratiam nunc non posse, quam ut suadeam — The adjective `alius` correlates with `quam` to mean "other than" or "except." In the structure `non posse [referre] aliam gratiam, quam ut suadeam`, the `ut`-clause with the present subjunctive `suadeam` functions as a noun clause (appositional in nature) specifying the alternative form of gratitude.
  4. 37.37.9in quo ad incertos belli eventus omnis fortunae posuerat subsidia — The relative pronoun `quo` refers to the antecedent `tanti auctoritate viri` (Scipio). The prepositional phrase `in quo` indicates that Antiochus had placed his reliance "in him" (i.e., on Scipio's favor). `ad incertos belli eventus` is an adverbial phrase expressing purpose or preparation: "against the uncertain outcomes of the war."

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §37.37.1-37.37.11. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:37.37.1-37.37.11

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