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), 34.61

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[1] When he had brought the king around to this opinion, and thought that he should prepare the minds of his countrymen for what he was going to do, he did not dare to write a letter lest, if intercepted by any chance, it reveal his designs;

[2] he found at Ephesus a Tyrian, Aristo by name, and having tested his resourcefulness on less important errands, he loaded him with gifts and also with the hope of rewards, to which even the king finally gave his assent, and sent him to Carthage with his instructions.

[3] He gave him the names of the persons whom he needed to meet, and provided him with secret modes of identification, by means of which they could be assured that the instructions were from him.

[4] When this Aristo arrived in Carthage, his reason for coming was discovered as quickly by the enemies of Hannibal as by his friends.

[5] And at first the incident was discussed in conversations at social gatherings and at dinners;

[6] later, in the senate some said that nothing had been accomplished by the exile of Hannibal if, even when away, he could plot revolution and by stirring up men's minds disturb the security of the state;

[7] a certain Aristo, a stranger from Tyre, had come¹ equipped with instructions from Hannibal and King Antiochus; every day certain individuals had secret conferences with him; schemes were being concocted in secret which would presently break out in the ruin of the entire community.

[8] All exclaimed that Aristo ought to be summoned and asked why he had come, and if he gave no good explanation, he should be sent to Rome in charge of ambassadors; they had already suffered enough punishment for the rashness of one man; private citizens might do wrong at their own risk, but the state should be saved not only from doing wrong but also from the reputation of doing wrong.

[9] Aristo when summoned defended himself and made use of the strongest argument for his innocence, that he had brought no written communication to anyone;

[10] but he did not make entirely clear the reason why he had come, and was most noticeably at a loss when they charged him with having relations only with men of the Barcine faction.²

[11] A violent debate then began, some arguing that he should be at once arrested as a spy and held under guard, others saying that there was no cause for measures that suggested martial law;

[12] it set a bad precedent to arrest strangers with no convincing proof, and the same treatment would be applied to Carthaginians, not only in Tyre but in other markets which they frequently visited.

[13] A decision was not reached that day.

[14] Aristo, employing Carthaginian artifice against Carthaginians, as soon as it was dusk hung a written tablet over the place where the magistrates daily held their sessions, in the most crowded part of the city, and in the third watch went on board his ship and escaped. The next day, when the sufetes³ took their seats to administer⁴ justice, the tablet was seen, taken down, and read.

[15] Its message was that Aristo had come with a private message for no man, but with a public errand to the elders — so they call their senate. The charge having thus been made general, the investigation of a few men was less vigorously pushed;

[16] nevertheless, it was voted that an embassy should be sent to Rome to report the whole affair to the consuls and the senate, and at the same time to complain about the injuries inflicted by Masinissa.

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.) — 34.61 focus

[1] in hanc sententiam cum adduxisset regemn regem, praeparandos sibi ad id popularium animos ratus litteras, ne quo casu interceptae palam facerent conata scribere non est ausus;

[2] Aristonem quendam Tyriul Tyrium nanctus Ephesi expertusque sollertiam levioribus ministeriis, partim donis, partim spe praemiorum oneratum, quibus etiam ipse rex adnuerat, Carthaginem cum mandatis mittit.

[3] edit nomina eorum, quibus conventis opus esset; instruit etiam secretis notis, per quas haud dubie agnoscerent sua mandata esse.

[4] hune hunc Aristonem Carthagine obversantem non prius amici quam inimici Hannibalis, qua de casa causa venisset, cognoverunt.

[5] et primo in circulis conviviisque celebrata sermonibus res est;

[6] deinde in senatu quidam ihil nihil actum esse dicere exilio Hannibalis, si absens quoque novas moliri res et sollicitando animos hominum turbare statum civitatis posset;

[7] Aristonem quendam, Tyrium advenam, instructum mandatis ab Hannibale et rege Antiocho venisse; certos homines cotidie cum eo secreta colloquia serere; in occulto coqui, quod mox in omnium perniciem erupturum esset.

[8] conclamare omnes vocari Aristonem debere, et quaeri, quid venisset, et, nisi expromeret, cum legatis Romam mitti; satis pro temeritate unius hominis suppliciorum pensum esse;

[9] privatos suo periculo peccaturos; rem publicam non extra noxam modo sed etiam extra famam noxae conservandam esse.

[10] vocatus Aristo purgare sese et firmissimo propugnaculo uti, quod litterarum nihil ad quemquam attulisset;

[11] ceterum nec causam adventus satis expediebat et in eo maxime haesitabat, quod cum Barcinae solum factionis hominibus collocutum eum arguebant.

[12] orta inde altercatio est aliis pro speculatore comprehendi iam et custodiri iubentibus, allis aliis negantibus tumultuandi causam esse;

[13] mali rem exempli esse de nihilo hospites corripi; idem Carthaginiensibus et Tyri et in aliis emporiis, quo frequenter commeent, eventurum.

[14] dilata eo die res est. Aristo Punico ingenio inter Poenos usus tabellas conscriptas celeberrimo loco super sedem cotidianam magistratuum prima vespera suspendit, ipse de tertia vigilia navem conscendit et profugit.

[15] postero die cum sufetes ad ius dicendum consedissent, conspectae tabellae demptaeque et lectae. scriptum erat Aristonem privatim ad neminem, publice ad seniores — ita senatum vocabant — mandata habuisse.

[16] publicato crimine minus intenta de paucis quaestio erat; mitti tamen legatos Romam, qui rem ad consules et senatum deferrent, placuit, simul qui de iniuriis Masinissae quererentur.

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).) — 30.45 focus

[1]

pace terra marique parta, exercitu in naves inposito, in Siciliam Lilybaeum traiecit.

[2] inde magna parte militum navibus ¹ missa ipse per ² laetam pace non minus quam victoria Italiam, effusis non urbibus modo ad habendos honores, sed agrestium etiam turba obsidente vias, Romam pervenit triumphoque omnium clarissimo urbem est invectus.

[3] argenti tulit in aerarium pondo centum viginti tria milia. ³ militibus ex praeda quadringenos aeris divisit.

[4] morte⁴ subtractus spectaculo magis hominum quam triumphantis gloriae Syphax est, Tiburi haud ita multo ante mortuus, quo ab Alba traductus fuerat. conspecta tamen mors eius fuit, quia publico funere est elatus.

[5] hunc regem in triumpho ductum Polybius, haudquaquam spernendus auctor, tradit. secutus Scipionem triumphantem est pilleo capiti inposito Q. Terentius Culleo, omnique deinde vita, ut dignum erat, libertatis auctorem coluit.

[6] africani cognomen militaris prius favor an popularis aura celebraverit an, sicuti Felicis Sullae Magnique Pompei patrum memoria, coeptum ab adsentatione familiari sit parum compertum habeo.

[7] primus certe hic hie imperator nomine victae ab se gentis est nobilitatus; exemplo deinde huius nequaquam victoria pares insignes imaginum imaginun titulos claraque cognomina familiarum ⁵ fecerunt. ⁶

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 34.61 focus

[1]

in hanc sententiam cum adduxisset regem, praeparandos sibi ad id popularium animos ratus litteras, ne quo casu interceptae palam facerent conata, scribere non est ausus;

[2] Aristonem quendam Tyrium nanctus Ephesi expertusque sollertiam levioribus ministeriis, partim donis, partim spe praemiorum oneratum, quibus etiam ipse rex adnuerat, Carthaginem cum mandatis mittit.

[3] edit nomina eorum, quibus conventis opus esset; instruit etiam secretis notis, per quas haud dubie agnoscerent sua mandata esse.

[4] hunc Aristonem Carthagine obversantem non prius amici quam inimici Hannibalis, qua de causa venisset, cognoverunt.

[5] et primo in circulis conviviis celebrata sermonibus res est;

[6] deinde in senatu quidam nihil actum esse dicere exilio Hannibalis, si absens quoque novas moliri res et sollicitando animos hominum turbare statum civitatis posset;

[8] conclamare omnes vocari Aristonem debere, et quaeri, quid venisset, et, nisi expromeret, cum legatis Romam mitti; satis pro temeritate unius hominis suppliciorum pensum esse;

[9] privatos suo periculo peccaturos; rem publicam non extra ¹ noxam modo sed etiam extra famam noxae conservandam esse.

[10] vocatus Ariston purgare sese et firmissimo propugnaculo uti, quod litterarum nihil ad quemquam attulisset;

[11] ceterum nec causam adventus satis expediebat et in eo maxime haesitabat, quod cum Barcinae solum factionis hominibus collocutum eum arguebant.

[12] orta inde altercatio est aliis pro speculatore comprehendi iam et custodiri iubentibus, aliis negantibus tumultuandi causam esse;

[13] mali rem exempli esse de nihilo hospites corripi; idem Carthaginiensibus et Tyri et in aliis emporiis, quo frequenter commeent, eventurum.

[14] dilata eo die res est. Ariston Punico ingenio inter Poenos usus tabellas conscriptas celeberrimo loco super sedem cotidianam magistratuum prima vespera suspendit, ipse de tertia vigilia navem conscendit et profugit.

[16] publicato crimine minus intenta de paucis quaestio erat; mitti tamen legatos Romam, qui rem ad consules et senatum deferrent, placuit, simul qui de iniuriis Masinissae quererentur. ²

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 34.61 focus

[1]

When he had brought the king to agree in his opinion, he judged it necessary to predispose the minds of his countrymen to the same; but he durst not send a letter, lest it might, by some accident, be intercepted, and his plans by that means be discovered.

[2] He had found at Ephesus a Tyrian called Aristo, and in several less important commissions, had discovered him to possess a good degree of ingenuity. This man he now loaded with presents and promises of rewards, which were confirmed by the king himself, and sent him to Carthage with messages.

[3] He told him the names of the persons whom it was necessary that he should see, and furnished him with secret tokens, by which they would know, with certainty, that the messages came from him.

[4] On this Aristo's appearing at Carthage, the reason of his coming was not discovered by Hannibal's friends sooner than by his enemies.

[5] At first, the subject was bruited about in their circles and at their tables;

[6] and at last some persons declared in the senate, that

the banishment of Hannibal answered no purpose, if, while resident in another country, he was still able to propagate designs for changing the administration, and disturbing the quiet of the state by his intrigues.

[7]

That a Tyrian stranger, named Aristo, had come with a commission from Hannibal and king Antiochus; that certain men daily held secret conferences with him, and were concocting that in private, the consequences of which would soon break out, to the ruin of the public.

[8] This produced a general outcry, that

Aristo ought to be summoned, and examined respecting the reason of his coming; and if he did not disclose it, to be sent to Rome, with ambassadors accompanying him: that they had already suffered enough of punishment in atonement of the headstrong rashness of one individual;

[9]

that the faults of private citizens should be at their own risk, and the state should be preserved free, not only from guilt, but even from the suspicion of it.

[10] Aristo, being summoned, contended for his innocence; and urged, as his strongest defence, that he had brought no letter to any person whatever:

[11] but he gave no satisfactory reason for his coming, and was chiefly embarrassed by the fact which they urged, that he had conversed solely with men of the Barcine faction.

[12] A warm debate ensued; some earnestly pressing, that he should be immediately seized as a spy, and kept in custody; while others insisted, that there were not sufficient grounds for such violent measures; that

putting strangers into confinement, without reason, was a step that afforded a bad precedent; for that the same would happen to the Carthaginians at Tyre, and other marts, where they frequently traded.

[13] The question was ad- journed on that day.

[14] Aristo practised on the Carthaginians a Carthaginian artifice; for having early in the evening hung up a written tablet, in the most frequented place of the city, over the tribunal where the magistrates daily sat, he went on board his ship at the third watch, and fled. Next day, when the suffetes had taken their seats to administer justice, the tablet was observed, taken down, and read.

[15] Its contents were, that

Aristo came not with a private commission to any person, but with a public one to the elders;

by this name they called the senate. The imputation being thus thrown on the state, less pains were taken in searching into the suspicions harboured of a few individuals:

[16] however, it was determined, that ambassadors should be sent to Rome, to represent the affair to the consuls and the senate, and, at the same time, to complain of the injuries received from Masinissa.

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.) — 34.61 focus

[1]

When he had brought the king over to his view, he thought he ought to prepare his countrymen, but he would not run the risk of sending a written communication lest it should be intercepted and his plans discovered.

[2] During his visit to Ephesus he had picked up a Tyrian servant named Aristo and, as he had experience of the intelligent way in which he executed less important commissions, Hannibal decided to make use of him. By means of bribes and lavish promises, which the king himself endorsed, he was induced to go to Carthage with instructions.

[3] Hannibal supplied him with a list of those whom it was necessary to interview, and he also provided him with secret signs by which they might know that he had really been commissioned by Hannibal.

[4] As the man was constantly going about Carthage, Hannibal's enemies found out the reason for his

[5] visit quite as soon as his friends, and the matter became the subject of conversation at social gatherings and in the clubs.

[6] At last it gave rise to discussion in the senate, where various speakers asserted that nothing was gained by Hannibal's banishment if he was able to form treasonable designs, and by carrying on an agitation amongst the citizens threaten the peace and security of the State.

[7] They declared that one Aristo, a Tyrian stranger, had come furnished with instructions from Hannibal and Antiochus, that men who were well known were holding furtive colloquies with him every day, and that a mischief was being secretly hatched which would soon break out and bring about universal ruin.

[8] There was a general outcry and all present demanded that Aristo should be summoned and questioned as to the object of his visit, and unless he explained it, sent with a deputation to Rome.

[9] "We have suffered enough," they said, "for one man's recklessness; if private citizens offend it will be at their own risk, the State must be preserved from the taint and even from the suspicion of guilt."

[10] When Aristo appeared he endeavoured to clear himself by relying mainly on the fact that he had brought nothing in the shape of a letter to anyone.

[11] Still he did not give a satisfactory explanation of the object of his visit, and what caused him most embarrassment was the allegation that his interviews were confined to the members of the Barcine party.

[12] On this a heated discussion arose, one side demanding his arrest and detention as a spy, the other asserting that there was no ground for such irregular action, and it would form a bad precedent if visitors from abroad were to be apprehended for no reason whatever.

[13] The same thing would happen to the Carthaginians at Tyre and the other commercial cities which they so largely frequented. The debate was adjourned. Aristo, having to do with Carthaginians, adopted a Carthaginian stratagem.

[14] Early in the evening he hung up a placard in the busiest part of the city over the tribunal where the magistrates sat day by day. In the third watch of the night he boarded a vessel and fled away. When the suffetes took their seats the next morning to administer justice they saw the placard, took it down and read it.

[15] It stated that Aristo's instructions were not intended for private citizens; they were public and addressed to the "elders"-for so they designated their senate. As this involved the whole government there was less eagerness to investigate the few cases where suspicion fell.

[16] It was, however, decided that a deputation should be sent to Rome to report the affair to the consuls and the senate and at the same time lay a complaint against Masinissa.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. B.C. 193

2. The party of Hannibal; its name was derived from the name of the father of Hannibal, Hamilcar Barca (XXI. ii. 4).

3. These officials, two in number, corresponded to the consuls at Rome, though etymologically the word is closer to the older title of praetor. The word sufetes seems an attempt to express in Latin characters and sounds the Punic title.

4. B.C. 193

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 34.61

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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