Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §40.53.1-40.53.6

Fulvius' Victory in Liguria and Expulsion of the Gauls

Passage 1556 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

While the consul Fulvius achieves victory in the Ligurian campaign and thanksgivings are decreed in Rome, Transalpine Gauls peacefully enter Italy asking for land, but the Senate orders their departure and the punishment of their leaders.

§40.53.1biduo, quo senatum legerunt censores, Q. Fulvius consul profectus in Ligures, per invios montes Ballistae saltus cum exercitu transgressus, signis collatis cum hoste pugnavit;
During the two days in which the censors revised the roll of the Senate, the consul Quintus Fulvius set out against the Ligurians, and having crossed the pass of Ballista through pathless mountains with his army, he engaged in battle with the enemy.
§40.53.2neque tantum acie vicit, sed castra quoque eodem die cepit.
He not only conquered them in a regular battle, but also captured their camp on the same day.
tria milia ducenti hostium caesi sunt, omnisque ea regio Ligurum in deditionem venit.
Three thousand two hundred of the enemy were slain, and that entire region of the Ligurians surrendered.
§40.53.3consul deditos in campestres agros deduxit, praesidiaque montibus inposuit.
The consul led the surrendered down into the plains and placed garrisons on the mountains.
celeriter etRoma consul ad hostes et ex provincia litterae Romam venerunt: supplicationes ob eas res gestas in triduum decretae sunt;
Quickly letters went both from Rome to the consul and from the province to Rome; thanksgivings for these achievements were decreed for three days.
§40.53.4praetores quadraginta hostiis maioribus per supplicationes rem divinam fecerunt.
The praetors performed divine rites with forty larger victims during the thanksgivings.
ab altero consule L. Manlio nihil memoria dignum in Liguribus est gestum.
By the other consul, Lucius Manlius, nothing worthy of mention was achieved among the Ligurians.
§40.53.5Galli Transalpini, tria milia hominum, in Italiam transgressi, neminem bello lacessentes agrum a consulibus et senatu petebant, ut pacati sub imperio populi Romani essent.
Transalpine Gauls, three thousand men, having crossed into Italy without provoking anyone to war, petitioned the consuls and the Senate for land, so that they might live in peace under the sovereignty of the Roman people.
§40.53.6eos senatus excedere Italia iussit, et consulem Q. Fulvium quaerere et animadvertere in eos, qui principes et auctores transcendendi Alpes fuissent.
The Senate ordered them to depart from Italy, and commanded the consul Quintus Fulvius to inquire into and punish those who had been the leaders and instigators of crossing the Alps.

Notes

  1. §40.53.1biduo — An ablative of time within which. It is modified by the relative clause `quo senatum legerunt censores` introduced by the relative pronoun `quo` (ablative, with `biduo` as its antecedent), meaning 'within the two days during which the censors revised the roll of the Senate'.
  2. §40.53.3et Roma consul ad hostes et ex provincia litterae Romam venerunt — A textually corrupt or difficult passage. Syntactically, it is understood as a parallel structure corresponding to the latter clause `ex provincia litterae Romam venerunt` ('letters came from the province to Rome'), with the ellipsis of 'letters' or 'came' in the first part, meaning 'letters went from Rome to the consul (who was near the enemy)'.
  3. §40.53.6animadvertere in eos — The idiomatic expression `animadvertere in aliquem` means 'to take judicial action against someone' or 'to punish someone'. Placed in parallel with the infinitive `quaerere`, it represents the command given to the consul.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §40.53.1-40.53.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:40.53.1-40.53.6

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