Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §43.15.1-43.15.8

Allotment of Provinces and Measures of the Censors

Passage 1672 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

After rapid enlistments by the praetors and the drawing of lots for provinces, the consul Caepio demanded legions and the praetors deferred to his choice. Meanwhile, the censors revised the senate roll and compelled soldiers absent from the Macedonian army to return.

§43.15.1praeter dilectum eorum, quos in supplementum mitti oportebat, quattuor a C. Sulpicio praetore scriptae legiones sunt, intraque undecim dies dilectus est perfectus.
Besides the levy of those who had to be sent as reinforcements, four legions were enlisted by the praetor Gaius Sulpicius, and within eleven days the levy was completed.
§43.15.2consules deinde sortiti provincias sunt. nam praetores propter iurisdictionem maturius sortiti erant.
Then the consuls drew lots for their provinces; for the praetors had drawn lots earlier on account of their judicial duties.
§43.15.3urbana C. Sulpicio, peregrina C. Decimio obtigerat; Hispaniam M. Claudius Marcellus, Siciliam Ser. Cornelius Lentulus, Sardiniam P. Fonteius Capito, classem C. Marcius Figulus erat sortitus.
The city jurisdiction had fallen to Gaius Sulpicius, and that between citizens and foreigners to Gaius Decimius; Marcus Claudius Marcellus had drawn Spain, Servius Cornelius Lentulus Sicily, Publius Fonteius Capito Sardinia, and Gaius Marcius Figulus the fleet.
consulum Cn. Servilio Italia, Q. Marcio Macedonia obvenit; Latinisque actis Marcius extemplo est profectus.
Of the consuls, Italy fell to Gnaeus Servilius, and Macedonia to Quintus Marcius; and as soon as the Latin festival was celebrated, Marcius set out immediately.
§43.15.4Caepione deinde referente ad senatum, quas ex novis legionibus duas legiones secum in Galliam duceret, decrevere patres, ut C. Sulpicius M. Claudius praetores ex iis, quas scripsissent, legionibus, quas videretur, consuli darent.
Then, when Caepio referred to the senate which two of the new legions he should take with him into Gaul, the fathers decreed that the praetors Gaius Sulpicius and Marcus Claudius should give to the consul, from those legions which they had enlisted, whichever ones seemed appropriate.
§43.15.5indigne patiens praetorum arbitrio consulem subiectum, dimisso senatu ad tribunal praetorum stans postulavit, ex senatus consulto destinarent sibi duas legiones.
Indignant that a consul should be subjected to the discretion of praetors, after the senate was dismissed, he stood at the tribunal of the praetors and demanded that, in accordance with the decree of the senate, they should assign him two legions.
praetores consulis in eligendo arbitrium fecerunt.
The praetors gave the consul the choice in selecting them.
§43.15.6senatum deinde censores legerunt: M. Aemilius Lepidus princeps ab tertiis iam censoribus lectus.
Then the censors revised the roll of the senate; Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was chosen leader of the senate, being now chosen by his third censors.
septem de senatu eiecti sunt.
Seven were expelled from the senate.
§43.15.7in censu accipiendo populi milites ex Macedonico exercitu, qui quam multi abessent ab signis census docuit, in provinciam redire cogebant; §43.15.8causas † stipendiis missorum cognoscebant, et cuius nondum iusta missio visa esset, ita iusiurandum adigebant: “ex tui animi sententia, tu ex edicto C. Claudi Ti. Semproni censorum in provinciam Macedoniam redibis, quod sine dolo malo facere poteris?”
In taking the census of the people, they compelled the soldiers from the Macedonian army—whose great number absent from the standards the census revealed—to return to the province; they examined the reasons of those discharged † from service, and from those whose discharge did not yet seem proper, they exacted the following oath: "In accordance with your mind's true opinion, will you return to the province of Macedonia according to the edict of Gaius Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius, the censors, so far as you shall be able to do so without evil deceit?"

Notes

  1. 43.15.4quas videretur — The subjunctive imperfect `videretur` in the relative clause `quas videretur` (referring to `legionibus`) is due to the sequence of tenses after the historical main verb `decrevere`. It also represents an oblique subjunctive within the indirect command/decree (`ut ... darent`), carrying a restrictive or generic sense ("whichever might seem appropriate").
  2. 43.15.5destinarent — A subjunctive imperfect representing an indirect command, introduced by `postulavit` with the conjunction `ut` omitted.
  3. 43.15.7qui quam multi abessent — A structure where an indirect question introduced by the interrogative phrase `quam multi` ("how many of them") is fused within the relative clause introduced by `qui` (referring to `milites`). The subjunctive `abessent` is triggered by this indirect question.
  4. 43.15.8quod sine dolo malo facere poteris — A restrictive use of the relative pronoun `quod` ("insofar as," "as far as"). In this oath formula, it sets a conditional or limiting boundary: "so far as you can do it without evil intent."

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §43.15.1-43.15.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:43.15.1-43.15.8

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.