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Livy · History of Rome §9.44.1-9.44.16

Defeat of the Samnites and Capture of Bovianum

Passage 482 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Under a dictator, consular elections are held to choose Postumius and Minucius, who are then sent to Samnium; by cleverly joining their forces, they utterly defeat the Samnites, capture Bovianum, and celebrate a triumph.

§9.44.1dictatorem idem annus habuit P. Cornelium Scipionem cum magistro equitum P. Decio Mure.
The same year had P. Cornelius Scipio as dictator, with P. Decius Mus as master of the horse.
§9.44.2ab his, propter quae creati erant, comitia consularia habita, quia neuter consulum potuerat bello abesse.
By these, for the purpose for which they had been created, the consular elections were held, because neither of the consuls had been able to be absent from the war.
creati consules L. Postumius, Ti.
There were elected consuls L. Postumius and Ti.
Minucius.
Minucius.
hos consules Piso Q. Fabio et P. Decio suggerit,
Piso places these consuls next to Q. Fabius and P.
§9.44.3biennio exempto, quo Claudium Volumniumque et Cornelium cum Marcio consules factos tradidimus.
Decius, two years being omitted, during which we have recorded that Claudius and Volumnius, and Cornelius with Marcius, were made consuls.
§9.44.4memoriane fugerit in annalibus digerendis, an consulto binos consules, falsos ratus, transcendent, incertum est.
whether it escaped his memory in arranging the annals, or whether he intentionally passed over the two pairs of consuls, believing them to be false, is uncertain.
§9.44.5eodem anno in campum Stellatem agri Campani Samnitium incursiones factae.
In the same year, incursions of the Samnites were made into the Stellatian plain of the Campanian territory.
§9.44.6itaque ambo consules in Samnium missi cum diversas regiones, Tifernum Postumius, Bovianum Minucius petisset, Postumi prius ductu ad Tifernum pugnatum.
Therefore both consuls were sent into Samnium; when they had sought different regions, Postumius Tifernum, Minucius Bovianum, a battle was fought first at Tifernum under the leadership of Postumius.
§9.44.7alii haud dubie Samnites victos ac viginti milia hominum capta tradunt, alii Marte aequo discessum, §9.44.8et Postumium, metum simulantem, nocturno itinere clam in montes copias abduxisse, hostes secutos duo milia inde locis munitis et ipsos consedisse.
Some record that the Samnites were undoubtedly defeated and twenty thousand men captured; others, that they parted with equal fortune of war, and that Postumius, feigning fear, had secretly led away his forces into the mountains by a night march, and that the enemy, having followed them, had themselves also settled down two miles from there in a fortified place.
§9.44.9consul, ut stativa tuta copiosaque — et ita erant — petisse videretur, postquam et munimentis castra firmavit et omni apparatu rerum utilium instruxit, §9.44.10relicto firmo praesidio de vigilia tertia, qua duci proxime potest, expeditas legiones ad collegam, et ipsum adversus alios sedentem, ducit.
The consul, in order that he might seem to have sought a safe and well-supplied permanent camp—and indeed it was so—after he had both strengthened the camp with fortifications and furnished it with every supply of useful things, leaving a strong garrison, at the third watch, by the route by which they could be led most closely, led his light-armed legions to his colleague, who himself was also sitting inactive opposite other enemies.
§9.44.11ibi auctore Postumio Minucius cum hostibus signa confert, et, cum anceps proelium in multum diei processisset, tum Postumius integris legionibus defessam iam aciem hostium inproviso invadit.
There, on the advice of Postumius, Minucius joined battle with the enemy, and, when the doubtful contest had proceeded far into the day, then Postumius with fresh legions suddenly attacked the already exhausted line of the enemy.
§9.44.12itaque cum lassitudo ac vulnera fugam quoque praepedissent, occidione occisi hostes, signa unum et viginti capta atque inde ad castra Postumi perrectum.
Therefore, since fatigue and wounds had also prevented flight, the enemy were utterly slaughtered, twenty-one standards were taken, and from there they proceeded to the camp of Postumius.
§9.44.13ibi duo victores exercitus perculsum iam fama hostem adorti fundunt, fugantque; §9.44.14signa militaria sex et viginti capta et imperator Samnitium Statius Gellius multique alii mortales et castra utraque capta.
There, the two victorious armies, having attacked the enemy who were already demoralized by the news, routed and put them to flight; twenty-six military standards were captured, and the commander of the Samnites, Statius Gellius, and many other men, and both camps were taken.
et Bovianum urbs postero die coepta oppugnari brevi capitur, magnaque gloria rerum gestarum consules triumpharunt.
And the city of Bovianum began to be besieged on the following day and was taken in a short time, and the consuls triumphed with great glory for their achievements.
Minucium consulem, §9.44.15cum vulnere gravi relatum in castra, mortuum quidam auctores sunt et M. Fulvium in locum eius consulem suffectum.
As for the consul Minucius, some authors state that, having been carried back to the camp with a severe wound, he died, and that M.
et ab eo, cum ad exercitum Minuci missus esset, Bovianum captum.
Fulvius was elected consul suffect in his place; and that Bovianum was taken by him, after he had been sent to the army of Minucius.
§9.44.16eodem anno Sora, Arpinum, Cesennia recepta ab Samnitibus.
In the same year, Sora, Arpinum, and Cesennia were recovered from the Samnites.
Herculis magnum simulacrum in Capitolio positum dedicatumque.
A large statue of Hercules was placed on the Capitol and dedicated.

Notes

  1. 9.44.2propter quae creati erant — The neuter plural accusative relative pronoun quae has its antecedent ea omitted ('for the purposes on account of which they had been created'), referring to the holding of the consular elections which the consuls themselves could not perform due to the war.
  2. 9.44.4transcendent — Many editions emend this manuscript reading transcendent to the perfect subjunctive singular transcenderit (or transierit) to agree with the subject Piso in an indirect question introduced by an. If the manuscript plural reading is kept, it may refer to the annals or historians generally, though contextually it points specifically to Piso's omission of the two pairs of consuls.
  3. 9.44.6petisset — In the subordinate clause introduced by the historical cum, although the subject is ambo consules (plural), the verb petisset is in the singular (pluperfect subjunctive). This is a constructio ad sensum where the verb agrees distributively with each individual singular subject (Postumius and Minucius) and their respective actions in the clause.
  4. 9.44.12occidione occisi — A highly emphatic and archaic Latin expression combining the ablative of a noun (occidio) with the perfect participle of the verb (occidere) derived from the same root. It functions as a cognate ablative of manner, meaning 'slaughtered with utter destruction' or 'completely annihilated.'
  5. 9.44.14Minucium consulem — This accusative phrase stands at the very end of section 14. Although it appears isolated at first glance, it functions as the subject accusative of the infinitive clause mortuum [esse] in the following section 15 ('some authors state that the consul Minucius had died'), spanning across the sectional division.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §9.44.1-9.44.16. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:9.44.1-9.44.16

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