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), 36.3

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[1] Commissioners were sent to Africa, three each to the Carthaginians and to Numidia, to solicit grain to be shipped to Greece, for which the Roman¹ people would pay.

[2] And so absorbed was the state in the preparation and provision for this war that Publius Cornelius the consul issued an edict to the effect that, of

[3] those who were senators and those who had the right to vote in the senate² and those who held the lesser offices, no one should be so far distant from the city of Rome that he could not return the same day, and that five senators should not be away from Rome at one time. In his zealous collection of a fleet Gaius Livius was delayed for a while by a dispute which arose with the colonists on the coast.

[4] For when they were drafted for naval service they appealed to the tribunes of the people; by them they were referred to the senate.

[5] With such unanimity that all the members to a man agreed, the senate voted that no exemptions from naval service should be granted to these colonists.

[6] Ostia, Fregenae, Castrum Novum, Pyrgi, Antium, Terracina, Minturnae and Sinuessa were the colonies which disputed with the praetor over exemptions. Then the consul Manius Acilius, with the authorization of the senate, laid the question before the college of fetials whether the declaration of war should be delivered to King Antiochus himself directly or whether it sufficed that it be proclaimed at some of his military stations;

[7] and also whether they ordered the war to be formally announced to the Aetolians independently, and whether the alliance and friendship with them should be formally broken off before the declaration of war.³

[8] The fetials replied that they had already earlier decided, when they were consulted regarding⁴ Philip,⁵ that it made no difference whether the declaration was delivered to him in person or at a military post;

[9] the friendship seemed to be already broken off since they had voted that restitution had not been made after ambassadors had so often demanded it nor fair satisfaction given;⁶ the Aetolians had taken the initiative in declaring war upon them when they had seized Demetrias,

[10] a city belonging to the allies, by violence, had proceeded to invest Chalcis by land and sea, and had invited King Antiochus to Europe to make war upon the

[11] Roman people.⁷ All arrangements having been satisfactorily made, the consul Manius Acilius issued an edict to the soldiers whom Lucius Quinctius

[12] had enlisted and those whom he had requisitioned from the allies of the Latin confederacy, whom he was to take with him to his province, and to the military tribunes⁸ of the first and the third legions, that they should all assemble at Brundisium on the Ides of May. He himself left the City in uniform on the fifth day before the Nones

[13] of May. About the same time the praetors too set out for their provinces.

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.) — 36.3 focus

[1] legati terni in Africam ad Carthaginienses et in Numidiam ad frumentum rogandum, quod in Graeciam portaretur, missi, pro quo pretium solueret solveret populus Romanus.

[2] adeoque in apparatum curamque eius belli ciuitas civitas intenta fuit,

[3] ut P. Cornelius consul ediceret, qui senatores essent quibusque in senatu sententiam dicere liceret, quique minores magistratus essent, ne quis eorum longius ab urbe Roma abiret, quam unde eo die redire posset, neue neve uno tempore quinque senatores ab urbe Roma abessent.

[4] in comparanda impigre classe C. Liuium Livium praetorem contentio orta cum colonis maritimis paulisper tenuit.

[5] nam cum cogerentur in classem, tribunos plebi appellarunt; ab iis ad senatum reiecti sunt. senatus ita, ut ad unum omnes consentirent, decreuit decrevit uacationem vacationem rei naualis navalis eis colonis non esse.

[6] Ostia et Fregenae et Castrum Nouum Novum et Pyrgi et Antium et Tarracina et Minturnae et Sinuessa fuerunt, quae cum praetore de uacatione vacatione certarunt.

[7] consul deinde M’. Acilius ex senatus consulto ad collegium fetialium rettulit, ipsine utique regi Antiocho indiceretur bellum, an satis esset ad praesidium aliquod eius nuntiari;

[8] et num Aetolis quoque separatim indici iuberent bellum, et num prius societas et amicitia eis renuntianda esset quam bellum indicendum.

[9] fetiales responderunt, iam ante sese, cum de Philippo consulerentur, decreuisse decrevisse nihil referre, ipsi coram an ad praesidium nuntiaretur;

[10] amicitiam renuntiatam uideri, videri, cum legatis totiens repetentibus res nec reddi nec satisfieri aequum censuissent;

[11] Aetolos ultro sibi bellum indixisse, cum Demetriadem, sociorum urbem,

[12] per uim vim occupassent, Chalcidem terra marique oppugnatum issent, regem Antiochum in Europam ad bellum populo Romano inferendum traduxissent.

[13] omnibus iam satis comparatis M’. Acilius consul edixit, ut quos L. Quinctius milites conscripsisset et quos sociis nominique Latino imperasset, quos secum in prouinciam provinciam ire oporteret, et tribuni militum legionis primae et tertiae, ut ii omnes Brundisium idibus Mais conuenirent. convenirent.

[14] ipse a. d. quintum nonas Maias paludatus urbe egressus est. per eosdem dies et praetores in prouincias provincias profecti sunt.

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).) — 30.3 focus

[1]

his transactis consules praetoresque in provincias profecti. omnibus tamen, velut eam sortitis, Africae cura erat, seu quia ibi summam rerum bellique verti cernebant seu ut Scipioni gratificarentur, in ¹ quem tum omnis versa civitas erat.

[2] itaque non ex Sardinia tantum, sicut ante dictum est, sed ex Sicilia quoque et Hispania vestimenta frumentumque, et arma etiam ex Sicilia ² et omne genus commeatus eo portabantur.

[3] nec Scipio ullo tempore hiemis belli opera remiserat, quae multa simul undique eum circumstabant: Uticam obsidebat; castra in conspectu Hasdrubalis erant;

[4] Carthaginienses deduxerant naves, classem paratam instructamque ad commeatus intercipiendos habebant. inter haec ne Syphacis quidem reconciliandi curam ex animo miserat, ³ si forte iam satias ⁴ amoris in uxore ex multa copia eum ⁵ cepisset.

[5] ab Syphace magis pacis cum Carthaginiensibus condiciones, ut Romani Romanii Africa, Poeni Italia excederent, quam, si bellaretur, spes ulla desciturum adferebatur.

[6] haec per nuntios nuttios acta magis equidem crediderim—et ita pars maior auctores sunt—quam ipsum Syphacem, ut Antias Valerius prodit, in castra Romana ad conloquium venisse.

[7] primo eas condiciones imperator Romanus vix auribus admisit; postea, ut causa probabilis suis commeandi foret in castra hostium, mollius eadem ilia abnuere ac spem facere saepius ultro citroque ⁶ agitantibus rem conventuram.

[8] hibernacula Carthaginiensium, ⁷ congesta temere ex agris materia exaedificata, lignea ferme tota erant.

[9] Numidae praecipue harundine textis storeaque pars maxima tectis passim nullo ordine, quidam, ut sine imperio occupatis locis, extra fossam etiam vallumque habitabant.

[10] haec relata Scipioni spem fecerant castra hostium per occasionem incendendi.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 36.3 focus

[1]

legati terni in Africam ad Carthaginienses et in Numidiam ad frumentum rogandum, quod in Graeciam portaretur, missi, pro quo pretium solveret populus Romanus.

[2] adeoque in apparatum curamque eius belli civitas intenta fuit,

[3] ut P. Cornelius consul ediceret, qui senatores essent ¹ quibusque in senatu sententiam dicere liceret, quique minores magistratus essent, ne quis eorum longius ab urbe Roma abiret, quam unde eo die redire posset, neve uno tempore quinque senatores ab urbe Roma abessent.

[4] in comparanda impigre classe C. Livium praetorem contentio orta cum colonis maritimis paulisper tenuit.

[5] nam cum cogerentur in classem, tribunos plebi appellarunt; ab iis ad senatum reiecti sunt. senatus ita, ut ad unum omnes consentirent, decrevit vacationem rei navalis eis colonis non esse.

[6] Ostia et Fregenae et Castrum Novum et Pyrgi et Antium et Tarracina et Minturnae et Sinuessa fuerunt, quae cum praetore de vacatione certarunt.

[7] consul deinde M’. Acilius ex senatus consulto ad collegium fetialium rettulit, ipsine utique regi Antiocho indiceretur bellum, an satis esset ad praesidium aliquod eius nuntiari;

[8] et num Aetolis quoque separatim indici iuberent bellum, et num prius societas et amicitia eis ² renuntianda esset quam bellum indicendum.

[9] fetiales responderunt, iam ante sese, cum de Philippo consulerentur, decrevisse nihil referre, ipsi coram an ad praesidium nuntiaretur;

[10] amicitiam renuntiatam videri, cum legatis totiens repetentibus res nec reddi nec satisfieri aequum censuissent;

[11] Aetolos ultro sibi bellum indixisse, cum Demetriadem,

[12] sociorum urbem, per vim occupassent, Chalcidem terra marique oppugnatum issent, regem Antiochum in Europam ad bellum populo Romano inferendum traduxissent.

[13] omnibus iam satis comparatis M'. Acilius consul edixit, ut quos L. Quinctius milites conscripsisset et quos sociis nominique Latino imperasset, quos secum in provinciam ire oporteret, et tribuni militum legionis primae et tertiae, ut ii omnes Brundisium idibus Mais convenirent.

[14] ipse a. d. quintum nonas Maias paludatus urbe egressus est. per eosdem dies et praetores in provincias profecti sunt. ³

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 36.3 focus

[1]

Commissaries were sent into Africa, three to Carthage, and a like number to Numidia, to procure corn to be carried into Greece; for which the Roman people were to pay the value.

[2] And so attentive was the state to the making of every preparation and provision necessary for the carrying on of this

[3] war, that the consul, Publius Cornelius, published an edict, that

no senator, nor any who had the privilege of giving an opinion in the senate, nor any of the inferior magistrates, should go so far from the city of Rome as that they could not return the same day; and that five senators should not be absent from the city at the same time.

[4] A dispute which arose with the maritime colonies, for some time retarded Caius Livius, the praetor, when actively engaged in fitting out the fleet.

[5] For, when they were impressed for manning the ships, they appealed to the tribunes of the people, by whom the cause was referred to the senate. The senate, without one dissenting voice, resolved, that those colonies were not entitled to exemption from the sea-service.

[6] The colonies which disputed with the praetor on the subject of exemption were, Ostia, Fregenae, Castrumnovum, Pyrgi, Antium, Tarracina, Minturnae, and Sinuessa.

[7] The consul, Manius Acilius, then, by direction of the senate, consulted the college of heralds,

whether a declaration of war should be made to Antiochus in person, or whether it would be sufficient to declare it at some garrison town; whether they directed a separate declaration against the Aetolians, and whether their alliance and friendship ought not to be renounced before war was declared.

[8] The heralds answered, that

they had given their judgment before, when they were consulted respecting Philip, that it was of no consequence whether the declaration were made to himself in person, or at one of his garrisons.

[9]

That, in their opinion, friendship had been already renounced; because, after their ambassadors had so often demanded restitution, the Aetolians had not thought proper to make either restitution or apology.

[10]

That these, by their own act, had made a declaration of war against themselves, when they

[11]

seized, by force, Demetrias, a city in alliance with Rome;

[12]

when they laid siege to Chalcis by land and sea; and brought king Antiochus into Europe, to make war on the Romans.

[13] Every preparatory measure being now completed, the consul, Manius Acilius, issued an edict, that the

soldiers enlisted, or raised from among the allies by Titus Quinctius, and who were under orders to go with him to his province; as, likewise, the military tribunes of the first and third legions, should assemble at Brundusium, on the ides of May.

¹ He himself, on the fifth before the nones of May, ² set out from the city in his military robe of command.

[14] At the same time the praetors, likewise, departed for their respective provinces.

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.) — 36.3 focus

[1]

Six commissioners were sent to Africa to procure corn for Greece, the cost to be borne by Rome; three went to Carthage and three to Numidia.

[2] So determined were the citizens to be in perfect readiness for the war that the consul published an edict forbidding anyone who was a senator or had the right of speaking in the senate, or held office as an inferior magistrate, from leaving Rome for any place from which he could not return in a day.

[3] It was also forbidden for five senators to be absent from the City at any one time. Whilst C. Livius was doing his utmost to make the fleet ready for sea he was for some time delayed by a dispute with the citizens of the maritime colonies.

[4] When they were impressed for the fleet they appealed to the tribunes of the plebs, who referred them to the senate.

[5] The senate unanimously decreed that there was no exemption from service for the colonists. The colonies concerned were Ostia, Fregenae, Castrum Novum, Pyrgi, Antium, Tarracina, Minturnae and Sinuessa.

[6] The consul Acilius, in compliance with a resolution of the senate, submitted two questions to the College of Fetials. One was whether the declaration of war had to be made to Antiochus personally, or whether it would be sufficient to announce it at one of his frontier garrisons.

[7] The other was whether a separate declaration of war must be made to the Aetolians and whether in that case the league of amity and alliance must first be denounced.

[8] The Fetials replied that they had already on a previous occasion, when they were consulted in the case of Philip, decided that it was a matter of indifference whether the declaration were made personally or in one of his garrison towns.

[9] As to the league of amity, they held that it was obviously denounced, seeing that after the frequent demands put forward by our ambassadors the king had neither surrendered the towns nor given any satisfaction.

[10] In the case of the Aetolians, they had actually declared war on Rome by taking forcible possession of Demetrias,

[11] a city belonging to the allies of Rome, by going to attack Chalcis by land and sea, and by bringing Antiochus into Europe to levy war on Rome.

[12] When all the preparations were at last completed, Acilius issued an edict for a general muster at Brundisium by the

[13] 15th of May of the Roman soldiers whom L. Quinctius had called up and those who had been supplied to him by the Latins and allies, who were under orders to go with him to his province as well as the military tribunes of the first and third legions. He himself left the City wearing his paludamentum on the 3rd of that month.

[14] The praetors left at the same time for their respective provinces.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. B.C. 191

2. Persons who had held the offices which conferred eligibility to sit in the senate but had not yet been formally admitted by the censors were granted in the interim the ius sententiam dicendi.

3. Here, as in XXXV. xxxiii. 4, it is assumed that the alliance with the Aetolians was in effect, even though there is no mention of any formal renewal after the war with Philip. There is also no record of any declaration of war upon the Aetolians, except as they were included among the partisans of Antiochus (i. 5 above).

4. B.C. 191

5. Cf. XXXI. viii. 3.

6. The etiquette of declarations of war was a special function of the fetials, and the importance of proper ceremonial was very great, not only because of the Roman fondness for punctiliousness but because of their desire to have justice and the gods on their side. The traditional form of the fetial ritual 10 — probably little changed in later times —is described by Livy in I. xxxii; it put especial stress on the demand for restitution ( res repetere) of stolen property, as would be natural in early times. The same phraseology is used here: the immediate cause for complaint on Rome's part was Antiochus' attempt to recover the Greek cities on the Asian coast (XXXV. xvi. 3). The

restitution

demanded of him was the abandonment of the attempt to take away their liberties. The Aetolians were involved with him in this offence.

7. These actions on the part of the Aetolians were good enough causes for war, even though they were not, literally, the specific offences contemplated by the fetial institution. Possibly these overt acts justified the Romans in omitting a formal declaration of war upon them.

8. The military tribunes were elected by the assembly (XXVII. xxxvi. 14).

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 36.3

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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