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Livy · History of Rome §42.38.1-42.38.10

Marcius' Tour and Agreement on a Meeting with Perseus

Passage 1628 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

The Roman ambassadors Marcius and Atilius travel through Epirus and Aetolia to Larisa in Thessaly, where they receive ambassadors from King Perseus and arrange a future conference based on ancestral guest-friendship.

§42.38.1Marcius et Atilius ad Gitana, Epiri oppidum, decem milia a mari cum escenderent, concilio Epirotarum habito cum magno omnium adsensu auditi sunt; et quadringentos iuventutis eorum in Orestas, ut praesidio essent liberatis ab Macedonibus, miserunt.
Marcius and Atilius, when they went up to Gitana, a town of Epirus ten miles from the sea, were heard with the great approval of all at a meeting of the Epirots; and they sent four hundred of their young men to the Orestae, to serve as a garrison for those who had been liberated from the Macedonians.
§42.38.2inde in Aetoliam progressi ac paucos ibi morati dies, dum in praetoris mortui locum alius sufficeretur, Lycisco praetore facto, quem Romanorum favere rebus satis conpertum erat, transierunt in Thessaliam.
Advancing from there into Aetolia and staying there for a few days until another was substituted in the place of the deceased praetor, after Lyciscus, who was well known to favor the interests of the Romans, was made praetor, they crossed over into Thessaly.
eo legati Acarnanes et Boeotorum exules venerunt.
There came to that place ambassadors from the Acarnanians and exiles of the Boeotians.
§42.38.3Acarnanes nuntiare iussi, quae Philippi primum, Antiochi deinde bello, decepti pollicitationibus regiis, adversus populum Romanum commisissent, ea corrigendi occasionem illis oblatam.
The Acarnanians were ordered to report that an opportunity was now offered to them to correct those offenses which they had committed against the Roman people, first in the war with Philip and then with Antiochus, having been deceived by the promises of the kings.
§42.38.4si male meriti clementiam populi Romani experti essent, bene merendo liberalitatem experirentur.
If, having deserved ill, they had experienced the clemency of the Roman people, they would experience their generosity by deserving well.
Boeotis exprobratum, societatem eos cum Perseo iunxisse.
The Boeotians were reproached because they had entered into an alliance with Perseus.
§42.38.5cum culpam in Ismeniam, principem alterius partis, conferrent et quasdam civitates dissentientis in causam deductas, appariturum id esse Marcius respondit; singulis enim civitatibus de se ipsis consulendi potestatem facturos.
When they cast the blame upon Ismenias, the leader of the other party, and claimed that certain dissenting cities had been dragged into the case, Marcius replied that this would become apparent; for they would give to each individual city the opportunity of deciding for themselves about their own affairs.
§42.38.6Thessalorum Larisae fuit concilium.
The assembly of the Thessalians was held at Larisa.
ibi et Thessalis benigna materia gratias agendi Romanis pro libertatis munere fuit, et legatis, quod et Philippi prius et post Antiochi bello enixe adiuti a gente Thessalorum essent.
There, both the Thessalians had a favorable occasion to render thanks to the Romans for the gift of liberty, and the ambassadors had one because they had been zealously aided by the nation of the Thessalians first in the war of Philip and afterwards in that of Antiochus.
§42.38.7hac mutua commemoratione meritorum accensi animi multitudinis ad omnia decernenda, quae Romani vellent.
By this mutual recollection of services, the minds of the multitude were inflamed to decree everything that the Romans wished.
§42.38.8secundum hoc concilium legati a Perseo rege venerunt privati maxime hospitii fiducia, quod ei paternum cum Marcio erat.
After this council, ambassadors came from King Perseus, relying chiefly on the trust of a private guest-friendship, which his father had had with Marcius.
ab huius necessitudinis commemoratione orsi petierunt legati, in conloquium veniendi regi potestatem faceret.
Having begun with the recollection of this connection, the ambassadors requested that he would grant the king the opportunity of coming to a conference.
§42.38.9Marcius et se ita a patre suo accepisse dixit, amicitiam hospitiumque cum Philippo fuisse, et minime immemorem necessitudinis eius legationem eam suscepisse.
Marcius said that he also had received it so from his father, that there had been friendship and guest-friendship with Philip, and that he, by no means unmindful of that connection, had undertaken this embassy.
§42.38.10conloquium, si satis commode valeret, non fuisse se dilaturum; nunc, ubi primum posset, ad Peneum flumen, qua transitus ab Homolio Dium esset, praemissis, qui nuntiarent regi, venturos.
As for the conference, if he were in sufficiently good health, he would not have postponed it; now, as soon as he could, they would go to the river Peneus, where the crossing was from Homolium to Dium, having sent men ahead to announce this to the king.

Notes

  1. 42.38.1liberatis ab Macedonibus — Dative plural. Used substantively or in loose apposition to the accusative 'in Orestas', functioning with 'praesidio' (dative of purpose) to mean 'to serve as a garrison for those liberated from the Macedonians.'
  2. 42.38.3Acarnanes nuntiare iussi — The participle 'iussi' implies a suppressed finite verb (such as 'sunt' or 'venerunt') and introduces the indirect discourse with the infinitive 'oblatam [esse]', indicating that the Acarnanians were ordered to report to their people that an opportunity was offered to correct their past offenses.
  3. 42.38.6et Thessalis benigna materia ... fuit, et legatis, quod... — The correlative 'et ... et ...' coordinates two datives of interest ('Thessalis' and 'legatis') under the single subject-verb phrase 'benigna materia ... fuit'. For 'legatis', the 'quod' clause serves as the specific material or reason for gratitude.
  4. 42.38.8in conloquium veniendi regi potestatem faceret — 'faceret' is a subjunctive in an indirect command introduced by 'petierunt', with the conjunction 'ut' omitted. The genitive gerund 'veniendi' modifies 'potestatem', while the dative 'regi' is the indirect object of 'faceret' ('grant the king the opportunity').

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §42.38.1-42.38.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:42.38.1-42.38.10

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