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), 28.28

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[1]

"And although no crime has a reasonable ground, nevertheless I should like to know what was your purpose, what your plan, seeing that we are dealing with a flagrant offence.

[2] A legion formerly sent as a garrison to Regium, ¹ after foully slaying the leading men of the state, held that wealthy city for ten years.

[3] For that crime the entire legion, four thousand men, ² were beheaded in the Forum at Rome. But in the first place they did not follow the lead of Atrius the Umbrian, half-soldier half-sutler, with an ominous name ³ also, but of Decimus Vibellius, a tribune of the

[4] soldiers; neither did they ally themselves with Pyrrhus, nor with the Samnites and Lucanians, enemies of the Roman people. You have shared your plans with Mandonius and Indibilis ⁴ and were to have been their comrades in arms as

[5] well. The legion would have held Regium as its permanent abode, just as the Campanians ⁵ held Capua, wrested away from its former Etruscan inhabitants, just as the Mamertines held Messana in

[6] Sicily; and it would not have gone so far as to attack the Roman people or allies of the Roman people. Was Sucro to have been your

[7] domicile? If I had left you there when as general-in-command I was retiring from my province completely subdued, it would have been right for you to implore the help of gods and men because you were not returning to your wives and children.

[8] "But granted that you have banished their memory also from your minds, as you have that of your country and of myself, I wish to follow up the outcome of your plan, a criminal one but not utterly

[9] insane. If I lived and the rest of the army was intact with which I captured (New) Carthage in a single day and with which I routed, put to flight, drove out of Spain, four generals, ⁶ four armies of the Carthaginians, would you —eight thousand men, all of you certainly of less consequence than Albius and Atrius, to whom you submitted yourselves —would you really have intended to wrest the province of Spain from the Roman

[10] people? Suppose I take no account whatever of my name — granted that I have not been wronged by you except in your readiness to believe me dead,

[11] tell me, if I had been dying would the state have breathed its last with me, would the empire of the Roman people have fallen with me? May Jupiter the best and greatest forbid that the city, founded with due auspices and favour of the gods to endure forever, ⁷ should live no ⁸ longer than this frail, mortal

[12] body! Although Flaminius, Paulus, Gracchus, Postumius Albinus, Marcus Marcellus, Titus Quinctius Crispinus, Gnaeus Fulvius, my Scipios —so many generals and so distinguished —have perished in one war, the Roman people survives and will survive, although a thousand others die, now by the sword, now by disease. At my funeral —one man's —would the republic have been borne to its

[13] tomb? You yourselves here in Spain, after the slaying of my father and uncle, two generals, ⁹ appointed Septimus Marcius as your commander against the Carthaginians, who were overjoyed by their recent victory. And I am speaking just as if the Spanish provinces would have been without a

[14] commander. But would Marcus Silanus, who was sent with me into the province with the same authority, the same command, would my brother Lucius Scipio and Gaius Laelius, my lieutenants, have failed to avenge the dignity of the high command? Could army have been compared with army, or generals with

[15] generals? Could rank or cause have been matched? If in all these respects you had been superior, would you have borne arms against your country, against your fellow-citizens? Would you have wished Africa to rule over Italy, Carthage over the city of Rome? For what offence on the part of your country?

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.) — 28.28 focus

[1] atque ego, quamquam nullum scelus rationem habet, tamen, ut in re nefaria, quae mens, quod consilium vestrum fuerit, scire velim.

[2] Regium quondam in praesidium missa legio interfectis per scelus principibus civitatis urbem opulentam per decem annos tenuit;

[3] propter quod facinus tota legio, milia hominum quattuor, in foro Romae securi percussi sunt.

[4] sed illi primum non Atrium Umbrum semilixam, nominis etiam abominandi ducem, sed D. Vibellium tribunum militum secuti sunt, nec cum Pyrrho nec cum Samnitibus aut Lucanis, hostibus populi Romani, se coniunxerunt;

[5] vos cum Mandonio et Indibili et consilia communicastis et arma consociaturi fuistis.

[6] illi, sicut Campani Capuam Tuscis veteribus cultoribus ademptam, Mamertini in Sicilia Messanam, sic Regium habituri perpetuam sedem erant, nec populum Romanum nec socios populi Romani ultro lacessituri bello: —

[7] Sucronemne vos domicilium habituri eratis? ubi si vos decedens confecta provincia imperator relinquerem, deum hominumque fidem implorare debebatis, quod non rediretis ad coniuges liberosque vestros.

[8] sed horum quoque memoriam, sicut patriae meique, eieceritis ex animis vestris; viam consilii scelerati, sed non ad ultimum dementis exsequi volo.

[9] mene vivo et cetero incolumi exercitu, cum quo ego die uno Carthaginem cepi, cum quo quattuor imperatores, quattuor exercitus Carthaginiensium fudi, fugavi, Hispania expuli, vos octo milia hominum, minores certe omnes pretii quam Albius et Atrius sunt, quibus vos subiecistis, Hispaniam provinciam populo Romano erepturi eratis?

[10] amolior et amoveo nomen meum;

[11] nihil ultra facile creditam mortem meam a vobis violatus sim — : quid? si ego morerer, mecum expiratura res publica, mecum casurum imperium populi Romani erat? ne istuc luppiter Iuppiter optimus maximus sirit, urbem auspicato deis auctoribus in aeternum conditam fragili huic et mortali corpori aequalem esse.

[12] Flaminio, Paulo, Graccho, Postumio Albino, M. Marcello, T. Quinctio Crispino, Cm. Cn. Fulvio, Scipionibus meis, tot tar tam praeclaris imperatoribus uno bello absumptis superstes est populus Romanus eritque mille aliis nunc ferro nunc morbo morientibus — : meo unius funere elata populi Romani esset res publica?

[13] vos ipsi hic in Hispania patre et patruo meo, duobus imperatoribus, interfectis Septimum Marcium ducem vobis adversus exultantes exsultantes recenti victoria Poenos delegistis. et sic loquor, tamquam sine duce Hispaniae futurae fuerint —

[14] : M. Silanus eodem iure, eodem imperio mecum in provinciam missus, L. Scipio frater meus et C. Laelius legati vindices maiestatis imperii deessent?

[15] utrum exercitus exercitui, an duces ducibus, an dignitas, an causa comparari poterat? quibus si omnibus superiores essetis, arma contra patriam, contra cives vestros ferretis? Africam Italiae, Carthaginem urbi Romanae imperare velletis? quam ob noxam patriae?

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Conway, Robert Seymour; Walters, Charles Flamstead; Johnson, Stephen Keymer, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1914-1935. (Oxford Classical Texts)) — 28.28 focus

[1]

'atque ego, quamquam nullum scelus rationem habet, tamen, ut in re nefaria, quae mens, quod consilium uestrum fuerit scire uelim.

[2] Regium quondam in praesidium missa legio interfectis per scelus principibus ciuitatis urbem opulentam per decem annos tenuit,

[3] propter quod facinus tota legio, milia hominum quattuor, in foro Romae securi percussi sunt.

[4] sed illi primum non Atrium Umbrum semilixam, nominis etiam abominandi ducem, sed D. Uibellium tribunum militum secuti sunt, nec cum Pyrrho nec cum Samnitibus aut Lucanis, hostibus populi Romani, se coniunxerunt:

[5] uos cum Mandonio et Indibili et consilia communicastis et arma consociaturi fuistis.

[6] illi, sicut Campani Capuam Tuscis ueteribus cultoribus ademptam, Mamertini in Sicilia Messanam, sic Regium habituri perpetuam sedem erant, nec populum Romanum nec socios populi Romani ultro lacessituri bello:

[7] Sucronemne uos domicilium habituri eratis? ubi si uos decedens confecta prouincia imperator relinquerem, deum hominumque fidem implorare debebatis quod non redieritis ad coniuges liberosque uestros. 'sed horum quoque memoriam, sicut patriae meique, eieceritis ex animis uestris:

[8] uiam consilii scelerati sed non ad ultimum dementis exsequi uolo;

[9] mene uiuo et cetero incolumi exercitu, cum quo ego die uno Carthaginem cepi, cum quo quattuor imperatores quattuor exercitus Carthaginiensium fudi, fugaui, Hispania expuli, uos octo milia hominum, minoris certe omnes pretii quam Albius et Atrius sunt quibus uos subiecistis, Hispaniam prouinciam populo Romano erepturi eratis?

[10] amolior et amoueo nomen meum; nihil ultra facile creditam mortem meam a uobis uiolatus sim: quid?

[11] si ego morerer, mecum exspiratura res publica, mecum casurum imperium populi Romani erat? ne istuc Iuppiter optimus maximus sirit, urbem auspicato dis auctoribus in aeternum conditam huic fragili et mortali corpori aequalem esse.

[12] Flaminio, Paulo, Graccho, Postumio Albino, M. Marcello , T. Quinctio Crispino , Cn. Fuluio , Scipionibus meis, tot tam praeclaris imperatoribus uno bello absumptis superstes est populus Romanus, eritque mille aliis nunc ferro nunc morbo morientibus: meo unius funere elata esset res publica?

[13] uos ipsi hic in Hispania patre et patruo meo duobus imperatoribus interfectis Septimum Marcium ducem uobis aduersus exsultantes recenti uictoria Poenos delegistis. et sic loquor tamquam sine duce Hispaniae futurae fuerint:

[14] M. Silanus eodem iure eodem imperio mecum in prouinciam missus, L. Scipio frater meus et C. Laelius legati, uindices maiestatis imperii deessent?

[15] utrum exercitus exercitui, an duces ducibus, an dignitas, an causa comparari poterat? quibus si omnibus superiores essetis, arma contra patriam contra ciues uestros ferretis? Africam Italiae, Carthaginem urbi Romanae imperare uelletis? quam ob noxam patriae?

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).) — 28.28 focus

[1]

" atque ego, quamquam nullum scelus rationem habet, tamen, ut in re nefaria, quae mens, quod consilium vestrum fuerit scire velim.

[2] Regium quondam in praesidium missa legio interfectis per scelus principibus civitatis urbem opulentam per decem annos tenuit;

[3] propter quod facinus tota legio, milia hominum quattuor, in foro Romae securi percussi sunt.

[4] Sed illi primum non Atrium Umbrum semilixam, nominis etiam abominandi ducem, sed D. Vibellium tribunum militum secuti sunt, nec cum Pyrrho nec cum Samnitibus aut Lucanis, hostibus populi Romani, se coniunxerunt;

[5] vos cum Mandonio et Indibili et ¹ consilia communicastis et arma ² consociaturi fuistis. illi , sicut Campani Capuam Tuscis veteribus cultoribus ademptam, Mamertini in Sicilia Messanam, sic Regium habituri perpetuam sedem erant, nec populum Romanum nec socios populi Romani ultro lacessituri bello:

[6] sucronemne vos domicilium habituri eratis? ubi si vos decedens confecta provincia imperator relinquerem, deum hominumque fidem implorare debebatis, quod non rediretis ³ ad coniuges liberosque vestros.

[7] " Sed horum quoque memoriam, sicut patriae meique, eieceritis ex animis vestris; viam consilii scelerati sed non ad ultimum dementis exsequi volo.

[8] mene vivo et cetero incolumi exercitu, cum quo ego die uno Carthaginem cepi, cum quo quattuor imperatores, ⁴ quattuor exercitus Carthaginiensium fudi, fugavi, Hispania ⁵ expuli, vos octo milia hominum, minoris certe omnes pretii quam Albius et Atrius sunt quibus vos subiecistis, Hispaniam provinciam populo Romano erepturi eratis?

[9] amolior et amoveo nomen meum; nihil ultra facile creditam mortem meam a vobis violatus sim: quid?

[10] si ego morerer, mecum exspiratura res publica, mecum casurum imperium populi Romani erat? ne istuc Iuppiter optimus maximus sirit, urbem auspicato deis auctoribus in aeternum conditam huic fragili ⁶ et mortali corpori ⁷ aequalem esse.

[11] Flaminio , Paulo, Graccho, ⁸ Postumio Albino, M. Marcello, T. Quinctio Crispino, Cn. Fulvio, Scipionibus meis, tot tam praeclaris imperatoribus uno bello absumptis superstes est populus Romanus, eritque mille aliis nunc ferro nunc morbo ⁹ morientibus: meo unius funere elata esset res publica? ¹⁰

[12] vos ipsi hic in Hispania patre et patruo meo, duobus imperatoribus, interfectis Septimum Marcium ducem vobis adversus exsultantes recenti victoria Poenos delegistis. et sic loquor tamquam sine duce Hispaniae futurae fuerint:

[13] M. Silanus eodem iure, eodem imperio mecum in provinciam missus, L. Scipio frater meus et C. Laelius legati, vindices maiestatis imperii imperil deessent?

[14] utrum exercitus exercitui, an duces ducibus, an dignitas, an causa comparari poterat? quibus si omnibus superiores essetis, arma contra patriam, contra cives vestros ferretis? Africam Italiae, Carthaginem urbi Romanae imperare velletis? quam ob noxam patriae?

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 28.28 focus

[1]

"Now, though villany is never guided by reason, yet so far as it could exist in so nefarious a transaction, I would fain know what was your design.

[2] Formerly, a legion which was sent to garrison Rhegium, wickedly put to the sword the principal inhabitants and kept possession of that opulent city through a space of ten years;

[3] on account of which enormity the entire legion, consisting of four thousand men, were beheaded in the forum at Rome.

[4] But they, in the first place, did not put themselves under the direction of Atrius the Umbrian, scarcely superior to a scullion, whose name even was ominous, but of Decius Jubellius, a military tribune; nor did they unite themselves with Pyrrhus, or with the Samnites or Lucanians, the enemies of the Roman people. But you made common cause with Mandonius and Indibilis, and intended also to have united your arms with them.

[5] They intended to have held Rhegium as a lasting settlement, as the Campanians held Capua, which they took from its ancient Tuscan inhabitants;

[6] and as the Mamertines held Messana in Sicily, without any design of commencing without provocation a war upon the Roman people or their allies. Was it your purpose to hold Sucro as a place of abode?

[7] where, had I, your general, left you on my departure after the reduction of the province, you would have been justified in imploring the interference of gods and men, because you could not return to your wives and children.

[8] But suppose that you banished from your minds all recollection of these, as you did of your country and myself; I would wish to track the course of a wicked design, but not of one utterly insane.

[9] While I was alive, and the rest of the army safe, with which in one day I took Carthage, with which I routed, put to flight, and expelled from Spain four generals and four armies of the Carthaginians; did you, I say, who were only eight thousand men, all of course of less worth than Albius and Atrius, to whom you subjected yourselves, hope to wrest the province of Spain out of the hands of the Roman people? I lay no stress upon my own name, I put it out of the question.

[10] Let it be supposed that I have not been injured by you in any respect beyond the ready credence of my death.

[11] What! if I were dead, was the state to expire with me? was the empire of the Roman people to fall with me? Jupiter, most good and great, would not have permitted that the existence of the city, built under the auspices and sanction of the gods to last for ever, should terminate with that of this frail and perishable body.

[12] The Roman people have survived those many and distinguished generals who were all cut off in one war; Flaminius, Paulus, Gracchus, Posthumius Albinus, Marcus Marcellus, Titus Quinctius Crispinus, Cneius Fulvius, my kinsmen the Scipios; and will survive a thousand others who may perish, some by the sword, others by disease; and would the Roman state have been buried with my single corpse?

[13] You yourselves, here in Spain, when your two generals, my father and my uncle, fell, chose Septimus Marcius as your general to oppose the Carthaginians, exulting on account of their recent victory. And thus I speak, on the supposition that Spain would have been without a leader.

[14] Would Marcus Silanus, who was sent into the province with the same power and the same command as myself, would Lucius Scipio my brother, and Caius Laelius, lieutenant-generals, have been wanting to avenge the majesty of the empire?

[15] Could the armies, the generals themselves, their dignity or their cause, be compared with one another? And even had you got the better of all these, would you bear arms in conjunction with the Carthaginians against your country, against your countrymen? Would you wish that Africa should rule Italy, and Carthage the city of Rome? If so, for what offence on the part of your country?

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.) — 28.28 focus

[1]

"Though no crime is dictated by rational motives, I should still like to know what was in your mind, what was your intention, so far as such wickedness admitted of any.

[2] Years ago a legion which was sent to garrison Regium murdered the principal men of the place and kept possession of that wealthy city for ten years. For this crime the entire legion of 4000 men were beheaded at Rome in the Forum.

[3] But they did not choose for their leader an Umbrian who was little more than a camp-follower, an Atrius whose very name is an evil omen. They followed D. Vibellius, a military tribune.

[4] Nor did they join hands with Pyrrhus, or with the Samnites and Lucanians, the enemies of Rome, but you communicated your plans to Mandonius and Indibilis and prepared to join them in arms.

[5] They were content to do as the Campanians did when they wrested Capua from the Tuscans, its old inhabitants, or as the Mamertines did when they seized Messana in Sicily; they intended to make Regium their future home without any idea of attacking Rome or the allies of Rome. Did you intend to make Sucro your permanent abode?

[6] If, after subjugating Spain, I had gone away and left you here you would have rightly complained to gods and men that you had not returned to your wives and children.

[7] But you may have banished from your minds all thought of them, as you have in the case of your country and in my own case. I want to trace the course which your criminal project would have taken, though stopping short of the extreme of madness.

[8] As long as I was alive and retained intact the army with which in one day I captured New Carthage and defeated and routed four Carthaginian armies, would you really have wrested the province of Spain from

[9] the hands of Rome, you, a force of some 8000 men, every one of you of less account at all events than the Albius and Atrius whom you made your masters?

[10] "I put aside and ignore my own honour and reputation, and assume that I was in no way injured by your too easily crediting the story of my death. But what then? Supposing I had died, would the commonwealth have died with me, would the sovereignty of Rome have shared my fate?

[11] No, Jupiter Optimus Maximus would never have allowed a City built for eternity, built under the auspices and sanction of the gods, to be as short-lived as this fragile mortal body of mine.

[12] C. Flaminius, Aemilius Paulus, Sempronius Gracchus, Postumius Albinus, M. Marcellus, T. Quinctius Crispinus, Cnaeus Fulvius, and my own relations, the two Scipios, all of them distinguished generals, have been carried off in this single war, and yet Rome lives on and will live on though a thousand more should perish through sickness or the sword.

[13] Would then the republic have been interred in my solitary grave?

[14] Why even you yourselves, after the defeat and death of my father and my uncle, chose Septimus Marcius to lead you against the Carthaginians, flushed as they were with their recent victory.

[15] I am speaking as though Spain would have been left without a general; but would not the sovereignty of the empire have been amply vindicated by M. Silanus, who came into the province invested with the same power and authority as I myself with my brother Lucius and C. Laelius as his lieutenants?

[16] Can any comparison be made between their army and you, between their rank and experience and those of the men you have chosen, between the cause for which they are fighting and the one which you have taken up?

[17] And if you were superior to them all would you bear arms in company with the Carthaginians against your country, against your fellow-citizens? What injury have they done to you?"

Notes on the current edition

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

1. Cf. Periocha 12 fin.; Polybius I. vii. 6 ff. This legion was made up of Campanians. As such they were Roman citizens and did not serve as auxiliaries.

2. Cf. Periocha 15. Livy overlooked serious losses the legion must have suffered when the city was captured and in the course of ten years. This may reduce the number executed to about Polybius' figure —more than 300; l.c. §§ 11 f.

3. I.e. from ater, 'coal black,' 'unlucky'; cf. the dies atri of the calendar.

4. B.C. 206

5. It was in fact the Samnites who captured Etruscan Capua; cf. IV. xxxvii. 1. ( 424 B.C. ); Strabo V. iv. 3.

6. Both Hasdrubals, Hanno (ii. 11) and Mago (xvi. 13).

7. Cf. IV. iv. 4; V. vii. 10. For urbs aeterna see Trans. Amer. Philol. Assn. XXV. (1894), 34 ff.; Franz Christ in Tübinger Beiträge XXXI. (1938), 59 ff.

8. B.C. 206

9. Although Gnaeus Scipio was not legally an imperator, having been sent to Spain by Publius, while he himself returned to Italy (XXI. xxxii. 3; xl. 3), it was unnecessary for the historian to be pedantic. Cf. XXV. xxxii. 1; xxxvii. 9; XXVI. ii. 5.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 28.28

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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