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Livy · History of Rome §9.35.1-9.35.8

Fabius's Victory over the Etruscans near Sutrium

Passage 473 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

The Roman army led by the consul Fabius encounters the Etruscan forces besieging Sutrium, overcomes their onslaught by utilizing the rough terrain, and achieves a decisive victory, capturing their camp.

§9.35.1dum ea Romae geruntur, iam Sutrium ab Etruscis obsidebatur, consulique Fabio imis montibus ducenti ad ferendam opem sociis temptandasque munitiones, si qua posset, acies hostium instructa occurrit;
While these things were being done at Rome, Sutrium was already being besieged by the Etruscans, and as the consul Fabius was marching to bring aid to the allies and to test the fortifications, if in any way it were possible, the drawn-up battle line of the enemy met him at the foot of the mountains.
§9.35.2quorum ingentem multitudinem cum ostenderet subiecta late planities, consul, ut loco paucitatem suorum adiuvaret, flectit paululum in clivos agmen aspreta erant strata saxis —, inde signa in hostem obvertit.
When the wide plain lying below showed their immense multitude, the consul, in order to assist the smallness of his own men by the nature of the ground, turned his column slightly onto the slopes—the ground was rough and strewn with rocks—and from there turned his standards toward the enemy.
§9.35.3Etrusci omnium praeterquam multitudinis suae, qua sola freti erant, inmemores proelium ineunt adeo raptim et avide, ut abiectis missilibus, quo celerius manus consererent, stringerent gladios vadentes in hostem;
The Etruscans, unmindful of everything except their own multitude, in which alone they trusted, entered the battle so hastily and eagerly that, throwing away their missiles so they might join battle more quickly, they drew their swords as they advanced against the enemy.
§9.35.4Romanus contra nunc tela nunc saxa, quibus eos adfatim locus ipse armabat, ingerere.
The Roman, on the other hand, hurled now javelins, now stones, with which the place itself abundantly supplied them.
§9.35.5igitur scuta galeaeque ictae cum etiam quos non vulneraverunt turbarent, neque subire erat facile ad propiorem pugnam, neque missilia habebant, quibus eminus rem gererent;
Therefore, when the struck shields and helmets threw into confusion even those whom they did not wound, it was neither easy to advance to a closer fight, nor did they have missiles with which to conduct the fight from a distance.
§9.35.6stantes et expositos ad ictus, cum iam satis nihil tegeret, quosdam etiam pedem referentes fluctuantemque et instabilem aciem redintegrato clamore strictis gladiis hastati et principes invadunt.
Against those who were standing and exposed to the blows, since nothing now sufficiently covered them, and some even retreating, and against the wavering and unstable line, the hastati and principes, raising their shout again, attacked with drawn swords.
§9.35.7eum impetum non tulerunt Etrusci versisque signis fuga effusa castra repetunt.
The Etruscans did not withstand this onslaught, and having turned their standards, they sought their camp in headlong flight.
§9.35.8sed equites Romani praevecti per obliqua campi cum se fugientibus obtulissent, omisso ad castra itinere montes petunt; inde inermi paene agmine ac vexato vulneribus in silvam Ciminiam penetratum.
But when the Roman cavalry, having ridden across the slopes of the plain, presented themselves to the fugitives, abandoning their route to the camp, they headed for the mountains; from there, with an almost unarmed column harassed by wounds, they penetrated into the Ciminian forest.
Romanus multis milibus Etruscorum caesis, duodequadraginta signis militaribus captis, castris etiam hostium cum praeda ingenti potitur.
The Roman, having slain many thousands of the Etruscans and captured thirty-eight military standards, also made himself master of the enemy's camp along with huge booty.
tum de persequendo hoste agitari coeptum.
Then they began to deliberate about pursuing the enemy.

Notes

  1. 9.35.1ducenti — This is not the numeral "two hundred" (ducentī), but the dative masculine singular of the present participle dūcēns from the verb dūcō (to lead, march). It modifies the preceding consulī Fabiō, meaning "to the consul Fabius as he was marching."
  2. 9.35.4ingerere — A historical infinitive. The subject is Romanus, and the present infinitive is used instead of the imperfect indicative to describe the past vigorous action vividly.
  3. 9.35.6stantes et expositos — The participles stantes, expositos, and quosdam... referentes are all accusatives describing the soldiers who make up the battle line (aciem), which is the direct object of the verb invadunt. Placed at the beginning of the clause, they emphasize the state of the wavering and unstable enemy line and the soldiers within it.
  4. 9.35.8penetratum — An impersonal passive construction using the neuter singular perfect participle of the intransitive verb penetrō (with the auxiliary verb est omitted), meaning "a penetration was made (by them)," i.e., "they retreated." The phrase agitari coeptum at the end of the same section is also an impersonal passive construction.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §9.35.1-9.35.8. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:9.35.1-9.35.8

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