Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor), 40.23.8

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[8] There was in the letter a warning against wrong inferences in case the young man, carried away by his desire for the throne, should have held any conversation with himself: Demetrius would do nothing to injure any of his relatives, nor was Quinctius himself one who could seem to sponsor any unfilial scheme.¹ This letter furnished confirmation to the charges of Perseus.

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor). Medford, MA. .

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library))

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 40.23.8 focus

[8] deprecatio in litteris erat, si quid adulescens cupiditate regni prolapsus secum egisset: nihil eum adversus suorum quemquam facturum neque eum se esse, qui ullius impii consilii auctor futurus videri possit. hae litterae fidem Persei criminibus fecerunt.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 43.23.8 focus

[8] Ab Gentio eadem adferentes redierunt. nec deinde alios atque alios mittendo temptare eum destitit, cum appareret, quantum in eo praesidii esset, nec tamen impetrare ab animo posset, ut impensam in rem maximi ad omnia momenti faceret.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 40.23.8 focus

[8] deprecatio in litteris erat, si quid adulescens cupiditate regni prolapsus prolapus secum egisset: nihil eum adversus suorum quemquam facturum, neque eum se esse, qui ullius inpii consilii auctor futurus videri possit. hae litterae fidem Persei criminibus fecerunt.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 40.23.8 focus

[8] In this letter was a kind of interceding apology, that if the young prince, misled by the ambition of reigning, had offered some propositions to him on the subject, yet he was sure that

Demetrius would never attempt any thing against his relations; and that he himself was not such an individual as to appear capable of giving an undutiful advice.

History of Rome Perseus (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.) — 40.23.8 focus

[8] The letter deprecated any harsh judgment of Demetrius, and stated that whatever communication the young prince in his eagerness for the crown had had with him, T. Quinctius, he was certain that he would do nothing to injure any of his relatives, nor was the writer a man who could be thought to countenance any unfilial conduct. This letter made Perseus' accusations appear more credible.

Notes on the current edition

Ab Urbe Condita With An English Translation, books 1-10, 21-45, with periochae 11-20

1. The interpretation is not entirely certain, and the text, although in general it has the support of the MSS., may not be sound: the pronouns especially are curiously employed. The letter purports to be from Quinctius to Philip, and its deprecatio is designed quite as much to acquit Quinctius of any share in any plot as to warn Philip that a plot exists; the conditional clause si . . . egisset is a virtual admission that Demetrius had consulted with Quinctius about the matter. Yet one would expect that the conspirators would treat it as a letter from Quinctius to Demetrius which they had intercepted: the use of the pronouns seems to make this impossible, and the content of the letter is inconsistent with that interpretation. If this were true, one could conclude only that Demetrius had discussed the situation with Quinctius and that the latter had urged the former against taking active measures to secure the throne and especially against involving Quinctius in the plot.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 40.23.8

Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor)

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