Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §4.39.1-4.39.9

Isolation of Tempanius and the Night Retreat of Both Armies

Passage 237 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

The Volscian commander isolates Tempanius' cavalry, leading to a fierce battle that ends in a draw at nightfall, after which both armies retreat in panic. Tempanius discovers the enemy's departure and returns to Rome with the wounded.

§4.39.1et cum iam parte nulla sustinerentur, dat signum Volscus imperator, ut parmatis, novae cohorti hostium, locus detur, donec impetu inlati ab suis excludantur.
And when they could now be resisted in no part, the Volscian commander gave the signal that space should be given to the shield-bearers, the new cohort of the enemy, until, carried forward by their own onset, they should be cut off from their own men.
§4.39.2quod ubi est factum, interclusi equites nec perrumpere eadem, qua transierant, posse ibi maxime confertis hostibus, qua viam fecerant, et consul legionesque Romanae, §4.39.3cum, quod tegumen modo omnis exercitus fuerat, nusquam viderent, ne tot fortissimos viros interclusos opprimeret hostis, tendunt in quemcumque casum.
When this was done, the intercepted cavalry, as the enemy were there most densely massed where they had made their way, were unable to break through by the same road by which they had passed; and the consul and the Roman legions, when they saw nowhere that which had just been the protection of the whole army, lest the enemy should overwhelm so many of the bravest men who were cut off, advanced into whatever fortune might bring.
§4.39.4diversi Volsci hinc consulem ac legiones sustinere, altera fronte instare Tempanio atque equitibus; qui cum saepe conati nequissent perrumpere ad suos, tumulo quodam occupato in orbem se tutabantur nequaquam inulti; nec pugnae finis ante noctem fuit.
The Volscians, dividing their forces, resisted the consul and the legions on one side, and on the other front pressed hard upon Tempanius and his cavalry; who, when after many attempts they could not break through to their own men, took possession of a certain hillock and defended themselves in a circle, by no means unavenged; nor was there an end of the battle before night.
§4.39.5consul quoque nusquam remisso certamine, dum quicquam superfuit lucis, hostem tenuit.
The consul also, relaxing the contest in no place, held the enemy as long as any light remained.
nox incertos diremit; §4.39.6tantusque ab inprudentia eventus utraque castra tenuit pavor, ut relictis sauciis et magna parte inpedimentorum ambo pro victis exercitus se in montes proximos reciperent.
Night separated them while still in uncertainty; and so great a panic, arising from ignorance of the outcome, seized both camps, that leaving their wounded and a great part of their baggage, both armies, as if defeated, retreated into the nearest mountains.
§4.39.7tumulus tamen circumsessus ultra mediam noctem est.
The hillock, however, was surrounded until past midnight.
quo cum circumsedentibus nuntiatum esset castra deserta esse, victos rati suos et ipsi, qua quemque in tenebris pavor tulit, fugerunt.
When it was reported to the besiegers there that their own camp was deserted, they too, thinking their own men defeated, fled in whatever direction panic carried each in the darkness.
Tempanius metu insidiarum suos ad lucem tenuit.
Tempanius, fearing an ambush, kept his men there until daylight.
§4.39.8degressus deinde ipse cum paucis speculatum cum ab sauciis hostibus sciscitando comperisset castra Volscorum deserta esse, laetus ab tumulo suos devocat et in castra Romana penetrat.
Then, having himself gone down with a few to reconnoitre, when he had found out by questioning the wounded enemies that the camp of the Volscians was abandoned, he joyfully called his men down from the hillock and entered the Roman camp.
§4.39.9ubi cum vasta desertaque omnia atque eandem, quam apud hostes, foeditatem invenisset, priusquam Volscos cognitus error reduceret, quibus poterat sauciis ductis secum ignarus, quam regionem consul petisset, ad urbem proximis itineribus pergit.
Where, when he had found all things waste and deserted, and the same dismal scene as in the enemy's camp, before the Volscians should discover their mistake and return, taking with him such of the wounded as he could, and ignorant of what direction the consul had taken, he proceeded to the city by the nearest roads.

Notes

  1. §4.39.1sustinerentur — Third-person plural imperfect subjunctive passive of sustineo (to withstand, hold back). The subject is Tempanius' cavalry unit (parmati). It means 'when they could no longer be held back in any quarter', i.e., their momentum was unstoppable.
  2. §4.39.2posse — Historical infinitive used instead of the indicative poterant. The subject is interclusi equites.
  3. §4.39.3quod tegumen modo omnis exercitus fuerat — The relative pronoun quod agrees in gender and number with its predicate noun tegumen (neuter, 'protection/shield') rather than its actual antecedent (the cavalry under Tempanius).
  4. §4.39.6ab inprudentia eventus — A prepositional phrase of cause. eventus is a genitive dependent on inprudentia (ignorance, unexpectedness). It means 'from ignorance of the outcome', indicating that the inability to discern the full battle situation due to nightfall caused the panic in both camps.
  5. §4.39.9quibus poterat sauciis ductis secum — A relative attraction where the relative pronoun quibus attracts its antecedent sauciis into the relative clause. The entire phrase forms an ablative absolute equivalent to ductis secum iis sauciis quos poterat [ducere] (having taken with him those of the wounded whom he could).

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §4.39.1-4.39.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:4.39.1-4.39.9

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.