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Livy · History of Rome §40.54.1-40.54.9

Grief of King Philip of Macedon and Antigonus

Passage 1557 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Philip, King of Macedon, dies in grief, and the loyal Antigonus, foreseeing the danger of Perseus inheriting the throne, works to bring the truth of Demetrius' murder to light.

§40.54.1eodem anno Philippus rex Macedonum, senio et maerore consumptus post mortem filii, decessit.
In the same year, Philip, king of the Macedonians, worn out by old age and grief after the death of his son, passed away.
Demetriade hibernabat, §40.54.2cum desiderio anxius filii, tum paenitentia crudelitatis suae.
He was wintering at Demetrias, all anxious both with longing for his son and with repentance for his own cruelty.
§40.54.3stimulabat animum et alter filius haud dubie et sua et aliorum opinione rex, conversique in eum omnium oculi, et destituta senectus aliis exspectantibus suam mortem, aliis ne exspectantibus quidem.
His mind was also harassed by his other son, who was undoubtedly king both in his own opinion and in that of others, and by the eyes of all turned toward him, and by his own deserted old age, while some were waiting for his death, and others were not even waiting for it.
§40.54.4quo magis angebatur, et cum eo Antigonus Echecratis filius, nomen patrui Antigoni ferens, qui tutor Philippi fuerat, regiae vir maiestatis, nobili etiam pugna adversus Cleomenem Lacedaemonium clarus.
For this reason he was all the more tormented, and with him Antigonus, the son of Echecrates, who bore the name of his uncle Antigonus, who had been the guardian of Philip, a man of royal dignity, and also famous for his noble battle against Cleomenes the Lacedaemonian.
§40.54.5tutorem eum Graeci, ut cognomine a ceteris regibus distinguerent, appellarunt.
The Greeks called him "the Guardian," in order to distinguish him from other kings by this surname.
§40.54.6huius fratris filius Antigonus ex honoratis Philippi amicis unus incorruptus permanserat, eique ea fides nequaquam amicum Persea inimicissimum fecerat.
This guardian's brother's son, Antigonus, had remained the only uncorrupted one among the honored friends of Philip, and that fidelity had made Perseus, by no means a friend, most hostile to him.
§40.54.7is prospiciens animo, quanto cum periculo suo hereditas regni ventura esset ad Persea, ut primum labare animum regis et ingemiscere interdum filii desiderio sensit, §40.54.8nunc praebendo aures, nunc lacessendo etiam mentionem rei temere actae, saepe querenti querens et ipse aderat.
Foreseeing in his mind with how great a danger to himself the inheritance of the kingdom would come to Perseus, as soon as he perceived that the king's mind was wavering and that he occasionally groaned with longing for his son, he was often present with him, mourning as he mourned, now by lending an ear, now by even provoking mention of the deed rashly done.
et cum multa, ut adsolet, solet praeberet vestigia sui, omni ope adiuvabat, quo maturius omnia emanarent.
And as many traces of the truth, as is usual, presented themselves, he helped with all his might so that everything might come to light the sooner.
suspecti ut ministri facinoris Apelles maxime §40.54.9et Philocles erant, qui Romam legati fuerant litterasque exitiales Demetrio sub nomine Flaminini attulerant.
Suspected as the chief agents of the crime were Apelles and Philocles, who had been ambassadors to Rome and had brought back the fatal letters to Demetrius under the name of Flamininus.

Notes

  1. 40.54.1Demetriade — Ablative case of the town name Demetrias, functioning as an ablative of place where without a preposition.
  2. 40.54.3aliis exspectantibus suam mortem, aliis ne exspectantibus quidem — An ablative absolute construction with the present participle exspectantibus. The pronouns aliis serve as the subject of the participle.
  3. 40.54.4regiae vir maiestatis — A genitive of quality (regiae maiestatis) modifying the noun vir, meaning 'a man of royal dignity'.
  4. 40.54.6eique ea fides nequaquam amicum Persea inimicissimum fecerat — A double accusative construction with fecerat, where Persea is the direct object and inimicissimum is the predicate accusative. The pronoun ei is a dative of reference (for him, Antigonus).
  5. 40.54.7quanto cum periculo suo — A prepositional phrase within the indirect question clause starting with quanto. The reflexive possessive adjective suo refers back to the main subject is (Antigonus), meaning 'with how great a danger to himself'.
  6. 40.54.8quo maturius omnia emanarent — The conjunction quo (originally the ablative of the relative pronoun/adverb) is used instead of ut to introduce a purpose clause because it contains a comparative adverb (maturius).

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §40.54.1-40.54.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:40.54.1-40.54.9

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