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), 32.26

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[1] In Gaul the consul Sextus Aelius accomplished nothing worth remark.¹

[2] Although he had two armies in the province, one which he had retained in service, though he should have discharged it,² of which Lucius Cornelius the proconsul had been in command — he himself now placed Gaius Helvius the praetor in command of it — and

[3] one which he had brought into the province, he spent almost the whole year in compelling the people of Cremona and Placentia to return to the

[4] colonies whence they had been driven by the mishaps of war. As Gaul was unexpectedly quiet that year, around Rome, on the other hand, there was almost a slave insurrection.

[5] The Carthaginian hostages were confined at Setia. With them, since they were sons of prominent men, was a large number of slaves.

[6] Their number was increased, as was natural after the recent African war, by numerous prisoners of war of that nation, bought up out of the booty by the people of Setia themselves.

[7] When these slaves had formed a conspiracy and had sent messengers from their company to stir up the slaves, first in the Setine territory, then around Norba and Cerceii, complete preparations having now been made, they had agreed to attack the crowd while occupied with the spectacle at the games which were soon to be held at Setia; the slaves captured Setia in the slaughter and confusion, but failed to take Norba and Cerceii.

[8] News of this dreadful occurrence was transmitted to³ Rome, to Lucius Cornelius Lentulus⁴ the urban praetor.

[9] Two slaves came to him before dawn and related in detail what had happened and what was likely to occur.

[10] Ordering them to be kept under guard at his home, the praetor summoned the senate and laid before them what the informants had told him, and on receiving orders to investigate and suppress this conspiracy, set out with five

[11] lieutenants, administered the oath to those he met in the fields, and compelled them to take arms and follow him.

[12] With this hastily-raised force of about two thousand armed men, he reached Setia before anyone knew where he was going.

[13] There, when the ringleaders in the plot had been summarily arrested, there was an exodus of slaves from the town. Cornelius sent troops through the country to pursue the fugitives, and himself returned to Rome.⁵

[14] Conspicuous service had been rendered by the two slaves who had given information, and by the one free man. To him the senate ordered given a reward of one hundred thousand asses; to the slaves, twenty-five thousand asses each, and their freedom; compensation for them from the treasury was paid to their owners.

[15] Shortly after this, word was received that the slaves, some of the remnants of the same conspiracy, were about to occupy Praeneste.⁶

[16] Lucius Cornelius the praetor went there and executed about five hundred who were implicated in the crime. The state feared that the Carthaginian hostages and prisoners had contrived the plot.

[17] So at Rome watchmen patrolled the streets, the minor magistrates were ordered to make inspections, and the three officials in charge of the⁷ quarry-prison⁸ to increase their vigilance, and the praetor sent letters around to the Latin

[18] confederacy, that the hostages kept should be in private custody, with no opportunity to come out into public places, the prisoners loaded with chains of not less than ten pounds' weight, and guarded only in a public prison.⁹

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.) — 32.26 focus

[1] in Gallia nihil sane memorabile ab Sex. Aelio consule gestum.

[2] cum duos exercitus in provincia habuisset, unum retentum, quem dimitti oportebat, cui L. Cornelius proconsul praefuerat — ipse ei C. Helvium praetorem praefecit — , alterum, quem,

[3] in provinciam adduxit, totum prope annum Cremonensibus Placentinisque cogendis redire in colonias, unde belli casibus dissipati erant, consumpsit.

[4] quem ad modum Gallia praeter spem quieta eo anno fuit, ita circa urbem servilis prope tumrultus tumultus est.

[5] excitatus. obsides Carthaginiensium Setiae custodiebantur. cum iis, ut principum liberis, magna vis servorum erat.

[6] augebant eorum numerum, ut ab recenti. Africo bello, et ab ipsis Setinis captiva aliquot nationis eius empta ex praeda mancipia.

[7] ea ii cum coniurationem fecissent, missis ex eo numero, primur primum qui, in Setino agro, deinde circa Norbam et Cerceios servitia sollicitarent, satis iam omnibus praeparatis, ludis, qui Setiae prope diem futuri erant, spectaculo intentur intentum populum adgredi statuerant;

[8] Setia per caedem et . repentinum tumultum capta Norbam et Cerceios occupare * * servitia. huius rei tam foedae indicium ftomam Romam ad L. Cornelium Lentulum praetorem urbanum (lelatum delatum est.

[9] servi duo ante lucem ad eum venerunt atque ordine omnia, quae facta futuraque erant, exposuerunt.

[10] quibus domi custodiri iussis, praetor senatu vocato edoctoque, quae indices iudices adferrent, proficisci ad ear eam coniurationem quaerendam atque opprimendam iussus,

[11] cum quinque legatis profectus obvios in agris sacramento rogatos arma capere et sequi cogebat.

[12] hoc tumultuario dilectu duobus milibus ferme hominum armatis Setiam omnibus, quo pergeret, ignaris venit.

[13] ibi raptim principibus coniurations coniurationis comprehensis fuga servorum ex oppido facta est. dimissis deinde per agros, qui vestigarent * * *.

[14] egregia duorum opera servorum indicum et unius liberi fuit. ei centum milia gravis aeris dari patres iusserunt, servis vicena quina milia aeris et libertatem;

[15] pretium eorum ex aerario solutum est dominis. haud ita multo post ex eiusdem coniurationis reliquiis nuntiatum est servitia Praeneste occupatura.

[16] eo L. Cornelius praetor profectus de quingentis fere hominibus, qui in ea ii noxa erant, supplicium sumpsit. in timore civitas fuit obsides captivosque Poenorum ea ii moliri.

[17] itaque et Romae vigiliae per vicos servatae iussique circumire eas minores magistratus, et triumviri carceris lautumiarum intentiorem custodiam habere iussi,

[18] et circa nomen Latinum a praetore litterae missae, ut et obsides in privato servarentur neque in publicum prodeundi facultas daretur, et captivi ne minus decem pondo compedibus vincti in nulla alia quam in carceris publici custodia essent.

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).) — 30.26 focus

[1]

haec eo anno in Africa gesta; insequentia excedunt in eum annum quo M. Servilius Geminus, ¹ qui tum magister equitum erat, et Ti. Claudius Nero consules facti sunt.

[2] ceterum exitu superioris anni cum legati sociarum urbium ex Graecia questi essent vastatos agros ab regiis praesidiis profectosque in Macedoniam legatos ad res repetendas non admissos ad Philippum regem,

[3] simul nuntiassent quattuor milia militum cum Sopatro duce traiecta in Africam dici, ut essent Carthaginiensibus praesidio, et pecuniae aliquantum una missum,

[4] legatos ad regem qui haec adversus foedus facta videri patribus nuntiarent mittendos censuit senatus. missi C. Terentius ² Varro, C. Mamilius, M. Aurelius; iis ³ tres quinqueremes datae.

[5] annus insignis incendio ingenti, quo Clivus Publicius ad solum exustus est,et aquarum magnitudine, sed et ⁴ annonae vilitate fuit, praeterquam quod pace omnis Italia erat aperta,

[6] etiam quod magnam vim frumenti ex Hispania missam M. Valerius Falto et M. Fabius Buteo aediles curules quaternis aeris vicatim populo discripserunt.

[7] eodem anno Q. Fabius Maximus moritur, exactae aetatis, si quidem verum est augurem duos et sexaginta ⁵ annos fuisse, quod quidam auctores sunt.

[8] vir certe fuit dignus tanto cognomine, vel si novum ab eo inciperet. superavit paternos honores, avitos aequavit. pluribus victoriis et maioribus proeliis avus insignis Rullus; sed omnia aequare unus hostis Hannibal potest.

[9] cautior tamen quam promptior hic habitus; et sicut dubites utrum ingenio cunctator fuerit an quia ita bello proprie quod tum gerebatur aptum erat, sic nihil certius est quam unum hominem nobis cunctando rem restituisse, sicut Ennius ait.

[10] augur in locum eius inauguratus Q. Fabius Maximus ⁶ filius; in eiusdem locum pontifex—nam duo sacerdotia habuit—Ser. Sulpicius Galba.

[11] ludi Romani diem unum, plebei ter toti instaurati ab aedilibus M. Sextio Sabino et Cn. Tremelio Flacco. hi⁷ ambo praetores facti et cum iis ⁸ C. Livius Salinator et C. Aurelius Cotta.

[12] comitia eius anni utrum C. Servilius consul habuerit an, quia eum res in Etruria tenuerint quaestiones ex senatus consulto de coniurationibus principum habentem, dictator ab eo dictus P. Sulpicius incertum ut sit diversi auctores faciunt.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 32.26 focus

[1]

in Gallia nihil sane memorabile ab Sex. Aelio consule ¹ gestum.

[2] cum duos exercitus in provincia habuisset, unum retentum, quem dimitti oportebat, cui L. Cornelius proconsul praefuerat — ipse ei C. Helvium praetorem praefecit —, alterum, quem in provinciam adduxit,

[3] totum prope annum Cremonensibus Placentinisque cogendis redire in colonias, unde belli casibus dissipati erant, consumpsit.

[4] quem ad modum Gallia praeter spem quieta eo anno fuit, ita circa urbem servilis prope tumultus est excitatus.

[5] obsides Carthaginiensium Setiae custodiebantur. cum iis, ut principum liberis, magna vis servorum erat.

[6] augebant eorum numerum, ut ab recenti Africo bello, et ab ipsis Setinis captiva aliquot nationis eius empta ex praeda mancipia.

[7] ii cum coniurationem fecissent, missis ex eo numero, primum qui in Setino agro, deinde circa Norbam et Cerceios servitia sollicitarent, satis iam omnibus praeparatis, ludis, qui Setiae prope diem futuri erant, spectaculo intentum populum adgredi statuerant;

[8] Setia per caedem et repentinum tumultum capta Norbam et Cerceios occupare servitia. huius rei tam foedae indicium Romam ad L. Cornelium Lentulum praetorem urbanum delatum est.

[9] servi duo ante lucem ² ad eum venerunt atque ordine omnia, quae facta futuraque erant exposuerunt.

[10] quibus domi custodiri iussis, praetor senatu vocato edoctoque, quae iudices adferrent, proficisci ad eam coniurationem quaerendam atque opprimendam iussus,

[11] cum quinque legatis profectus obvios in agris sacramento rogatos arma capere et sequi cogebat.

[12] hoc tumultuario dilectu duobus milibus ferme hominum armatis Setiam omnibus, quo pergeret, ignaris venit.

[13] ibi raptim principibus coniurationis comprehensis fuga servorum ex oppido facta est. dimissis deinde per agros, qui vestigarent . egregia duorum opera servorum indicum et unius liberi fuit.

[14] ei centum milia gravis aeris dari patres iusserunt, servis vicena quina milia aeris et libertatem; pretium eorum ex ³ aerario solutum est dominis.

[15] haud ita multo post ex eiusdem coniurationis reliquiis nuntiatum est servitia Praeneste occupatura.

[16] eo L. Cornelius praetor profectus de quingentis fere hominibus, qui in ea noxa erant, supplicium sumpsit. in timore civitas fuit obsides captivosque Poenorum ea moliri.

[17] itaque et Romae vigiliae per vicos servatae iussique circumire eas minores magistratus, et triumviri carceris lautumiarum intentiorem custodiam habere iussi,

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 32.26 focus

[1]

In Gaul, the consul Sextus Aelius did nothing worth mention, though he had two armies in the province:

[2] one, which he had retained under their standards, although it ought to have been disbanded; and of this, which had served under Lucius Cornelius, proconsul, he had given the command to Caius Helvius, the praetor: the other he had brought with him into the province.

[3] He spent nearly the whole summer in compelling the people of Cremona and Placentia to return to their colonies, from whence they had been driven to various places by the calamities of war.

[4] While Gaul, beyond expectation, remained quiet through the whole year, an insurrection of the slaves was very near taking place in the neighbourhood of the city.

[5] The hostages, given by the Carthaginians, were kept in custody at Setia:

[6] as they were the children of the principal families, they were attended by a great multitude of slaves; to this number many were added, in consequence of the late African war, and by the Setians themselves having bought, from among the spoil, several of those which had been captured.

[7] Having conspired together, they sent some of their number to engage in the cause the slaves of the country round Setia, and then those at Norba and Circeii. When every thing was fully prepared, they determined, during the games which were soon to be solemnized at the first-mentioned place, to attack the people while intent on the show, and when Setia had been taken in the midst of the slaughter and unexpected turmoil, then to seize on Norba and Circeii.

[8] Information of this atrocious plot was brought to Rome, to Lucius Cornelius Merula, the city praetor. Two slaves came to him before daylight, and disclosed to him in order the whole proceedings and intentions of the conspirators.

[9] The praetor, ordering them to be guarded in his own house, summoned a meeting of the senate;

[10] and having laid before them the information of the discoverers, he was ordered to go himself to the spot, and examine into and crush the conspiracy.

[11] Setting out, accordingly, with five lieutenant-generals, he compelled such as he found in the country to take the military oath, to arm, and follow him.

[12] Having by this tumultuary kind of levy armed about two thousand men, while all were ignorant of his destination, he came to Setia.

[13] There the leaders of the conspiracy were instantly apprehended; on which, the remainder fled from the city; but parties were sent through the country to search them out. The services of the two who made the discovery, and of one free person employed, were highly meritorious.

[14] The senate ordered a present to the latter of a hundred thousand asses;¹ to the slaves, twenty-five thousand asses² each, and their freedom. The price was paid to their owners out of the treasury.

[15] Not long after, intelligence was received, that other slaves, belonging to the remains of the conspiracy, had formed a design of seizing Praeneste. The praetor, Lucius Cornelius, went thither, and inflicted punishment on near five hundred persons concerned in that wicked scheme.

[16] The public were under apprehensions that the Carthaginian hostages and prisoners fomented these plots: watches were, therefore, kept at Rome in all the streets, which the inferior magistrates were ordered to go round and inspect; while the triumvirs of the prison, called the Quarry, were to keep a stricter guard than usual.

[17] Circular letters were also sent by the praetor to all the Latin states, directing that the hostages should be confined within doors, and not at any time allowed the liberty of going into public;

[18] and that the prisoners should be kept bound with fetters, of not less than ten pounds weight, and confined in no other place of custody than the common jail.

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.) — 32.26 focus

[1]

In Gaul nothing of any importance was accomplished by the consul Sex.

[2] Aelius, though he had two armies in the province. He retained the one which L. Cornelius had commanded and which ought to have been disbanded, and placed C. Helvius in command of it, the other army he brought with him into the province.

[3] Almost the whole of his year of office was spent in compelling the former inhabitants of Cremona and Placentia to return to the homes from which they had been dispersed by the accidents of war.

[4] While things were unexpectedly quiet in Gaul this year, the districts round the City very nearly became the scene of a rising among the slaves.

[5] The Carthaginian hostages were under guard at Setia. As children of the nobility they were attended by a large body of

[6] slaves whose numbers had been swelled by many whom the Setians themselves had purchased from among the prisoners taken in the recent war in Africa.

[7] When they had set their conspiracy on foot they sent some of their number to gain over the slaves in the country round Setia and then in the districts of Norba and Cerceii. Their preparations being now sufficiently advanced they arranged to seize the opportunity of the Games which were shortly to take place at Setia and attack the people while their attention was absorbed in the spectacle.

[8] Then in the midst of the excitement and bloodshed the slaves were to seize Setia and then secure Norba and Cerceii.

Information of this monstrous affair was brought to Rome and laid before L. Cornelius, the City praetor. Two slaves came to him before daybreak and gave him a full account of what had been done and what was contemplated.

[9] After issuing instructions for them to be detained in his house he convened the senate and communicated the intelligence which the informers had brought.

[10] He received instructions to start off at once to investigate and crush the conspiracy.

[11] Accompanied by five assessors he compelled all whom he found in the fields to take the military oath, arm themselves and follow him. In this informal levy he collected an armed force of about 2000 men

[12] with which he reached Setia, all of them being perfectly ignorant of his destination. Here he promptly seized the ringleaders, and this led to a general flight of slaves from the town.

[13] Parties were sent through the fields to hunt them down. . . . . The service rendered by the two slaves who gave the information and by one who was a freeman was of the utmost value.

[14] To the latter the senate ordered a gratuity of 100,000 ases, to each of the slaves 5000 ases and their liberty, the owners being compensated out of the public treasury.

[15] Not long afterwards news arrived that some slaves, the remains of that conspiracy, were intending to seize Praeneste. L. Cornelius proceeded thither and inflicted punishment on nearly 2000 who had been involved in the plot.

[16] Fears were entertained by the citizens lest the Carthaginian hostages and prisoners of war should have been prime movers in the affair. Strict watch was accordingly kept in Rome in all the different wards, the subordinate magistrates were required to visit the posts and

[17] the superintendents of gaols were to see that the public prison at the quarries was more strictly guarded.

[18] Instructions were also sent by the praetor to the Latin communities for the hostages to be kept in privacy and not allowed to appear in public; the prisoners were to be manacled with fetters not less than ten pounds in weight, and not to be confined in custody anywhere but in the State prisons.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. In his account of events in Greece, Livy has generally followed Polybius. He now gathers up from various sources isolated events of the same period in other parts of the world.

2. See ix. 5 above.

3. B.C. 198

4. Lentulus is Livy's error for Merula. So also in § 16.

5. Some such addition as this seems necessary to complete the sentence. It may be assumed that an account of the search and the punishment of the criminals is still missing.

6. This town (now Palestrina), about twenty-five miles east of Rome, was strongly situated and therefore frequently a military objective. Catiline planned to seize it in 63 B.C.

7. B.C. 198

8. Stone quarries, probably on the north-east slope of the Capitoline, were used as places of temporary confinement, since imprisonment within Rome was rarely imposed as a punishment by the courts, and perhaps also for prisoners of war. The Mamertine Prison, still to be seen in the same vicinity, may have been a part of the system, at least originally. The triumviri capitales had charge of the prison and of executions.

9. That is, in a place like the lautumiae in Rome.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 32.26

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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