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Livy · History of Rome §5.49.1-5.49.9

Defeat of the Gauls and Camillus Hailed as Second Founder

Passage 308 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Camillus declared the surrender agreement invalid, completely defeated the Gallic army, and liberated Rome. He further saved the state in peace by preventing the migration to Veii, being hailed as the second founder of the city.

§5.49.1sed diique et homines prohibuere redemptos vivere Romanos.
But both gods and men forbade the Romans to live after having been ransomed.
nam forte quadam, priusquam infanda merces perficeretur, per altercationem nondum omni auro appenso dictator intervenit auferrique aurum de medio et Gallos summoveri iubet.
For by some chance, before the infamous bargain was completed, while the dispute was going on and all the gold had not yet been weighed, the dictator intervened and ordered the gold to be removed from the midst and the Gauls to be cleared away.
§5.49.2cum illi renitentes pactos dicerent sese, negat eam pactionem ratam esse, quae, postquam ipse dictator creatus esset, iniussu suo ab inferioris iuris magistrate facta esset, denuntiatque Gallis, ut se ad proelium expediant.
When they resisted, saying that they had made a compact, he declared that the compact was not valid, since it had been made, after he himself had been appointed dictator, without his authority by a magistrate of inferior power, and he ordered the Gauls to prepare themselves for battle.
§5.49.3suos in acervum conicere sarcinas et arma aptare ferroque, non auro recuperare patriam iubet in conspectu habentis fana deum et coniuges et liberos et solum patriae deforme belli malis et omnia, quae defendi repetique et ulcisci fas sit.
He ordered his own men to throw their baggage into a heap, to get their weapons ready, and to recover their country by steel, not by gold, in the sight of their temples of the gods, their wives, their children, their native soil disfigured by the miseries of war, and all things which it was a sacred duty to defend, recover, and avenge.
§5.49.4instruit deinde aciem, ut loci natura patiebatur, in semirutae solo urbis et natura inaequali et omnia, quae arte belli secunda suis eligi praepararive poterant, providit.
He then drew up his battle line, as the nature of the ground allowed, on the soil of the half-ruined city, which was naturally uneven, and provided for everything that by military art could be selected or prepared to the advantage of his men.
§5.49.5Galli nova re trepidi arma capiunt iraque magis quam consilio in Romanos incurrunt.
The Gauls, thrown into confusion by this new turn of events, seized their weapons and rushed upon the Romans more with rage than with judgment.
iam verterat fortuna, iam deorum opes humanaque consilia rem Romanam adiuvabant.
Now fortune had turned; now the power of the gods and human wisdom were aiding the Roman cause.
igitur primo concursu haud maiore momento fusi Galli sunt, quam ad Aliam vicerant.
Therefore, at the first clash, the Gauls were routed with no greater effort than they themselves had conquered at the Allia.
§5.49.6iustiore altero deinde proelio ad octavum lapidem Gabina via, quo se ex fuga contulerant, eiusdem ductu auspicioque Camilli vincuntur.
Next, in a second, more regular battle at the eighth milestone on the Gabine Way, to which place they had betaken themselves from their flight, they were defeated under the same leadership and auspices of Camillus.
ibi caedes omnia obtinuit; castra capiuntur, et ne nuntius quidem cladis relictus.
There, slaughter occupied every part; their camp was taken, and not even a messenger of the disaster was left.
§5.49.7dictator recuperata ex hostibus patria triumphans in urbem redit interque iocos militaris, quos inconditos iaciunt, Romulus ac parens patriae conditorque alter urbis haud vanis laudibus appellabatur.
Having recovered his country from the enemy, the dictator returned in triumph to the city, and among the military jests which they threw out in unpolished verses, he was called "Romulus," "Father of his Country," and "Second Founder of the City," with praises by no means empty.
§5.49.8Servatam deinde bello patriam iterum in pace haud dubie servavit, cum prohibuit migrari Veios et tribunis rem intentius agentibus post incensam urbem et per se inclinata magis plebe ad id consilium; §5.49.9eaque causa fuit non abdicandae post triumphum dictaturae senatu obsecrante, ne rem publicam in incerto relinqueret statu.
He then, having saved his country in war, undoubtedly saved it a second time in peace, when he prevented the migration to Veii, although, after the city had been burned, the tribunes were pressing the matter more eagerly and the plebeians of themselves were more inclined to that plan; and this was the reason for his not resigning the dictatorship after his triumph, at the entreaty of the senate, who begged him not to leave the commonwealth in an unsettled state.

Notes

  1. 5.49.1redemptos vivere Romanos — The accusative Romanos is the subject of the infinitive vivere, with the perfect participle redemptos ("having been ransomed") modifying Romanos. This accusative with infinitive clause functions as the direct object of the verb prohibuere (syncopated form of prohibuerunt).
  2. 5.49.2negat eam pactionem ratam esse — The verb negat ("denies") introduces the accusative with infinitive clause eam pactionem ratam esse ("that the compact was valid"). The verb in the relative clause quae ... facta esset is in the subjunctive because it is a subordinate clause within indirect discourse.
  3. 5.49.3habentis — The form habentis is an archaic spelling for the accusative plural habentes (modifying the accusative object suos). It should not be confused with the genitive singular; it governs the subsequent accusatives (fana deum, coniuges, etc.) as its direct objects.
  4. 5.49.5haud maiore momento — Ablative of means/manner. Derived from momentum (literally the weight that turns the scale, hence "effort," "decisive factor," or "influence"). It indicates "with no greater effort/difficulty (than when they conquered at the Allia)."
  5. 5.49.8Servatam deinde bello patriam — The structural core of the sentence is Servatam ... patriam ... servavit ("[Camillus] saved again his country, which had been saved..."). The repetition of the same verb (in the participle and perfect indicative) emphasizes Camillus's double service to the state in war and in peace.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §5.49.1-5.49.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:5.49.1-5.49.9

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