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), 38.48

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[1] "The farther Antiochus should be removed, the more uncontrollable would be the rule of the Gauls in Asia, and all the lands on this side of the ridges of Taurus you would have added to Gallic territory, not to your own.

[2] Grant, if you will, that what my opponents say is true; but even on one occasion,¹ Delphi, the common oracle of the human race, the navel of the world, the Gauls despoiled, and the Romans did not on that account declare or wage a war upon them.

[3] For my part, I thought that there was some difference between that time, when Greece and Asia were not yet under your control and sway, as regards your interest and concern in what

[4] was happening in those lands, and this time, when you have fixed the Taurus mountain as the boundary of the Roman empire, when you bestow liberty and immunity upon cities, increase the territory of some, deprive others of their lands, impose tribute upon others, enlarge, diminish, give, take away kingdoms, and deem it your responsibility that they shall have peace on land and sea.

[5] Or, supposing that Antiochus had not withdrawn his² garrisons, which remained peacefully in their citadels, would you consider that Asia had not been set free; but, on the other hand, should the armies of the Gauls be wandering at will, would these gifts which you have presented to King Eumenes have been assured, would liberty have been assured to the cities?

[6] But why do I argue as if I had made the Gauls our enemies, not found them so?

[7] I appeal to you, Lucius Scipio (and when I succeeded to your authority I prayed to the immortal gods, and not in vain, for your valour and good fortune), to you, Publius Scipio, who had the rank of lieutenant but the authority of a colleague both with your brother the consul and with the army, to say whether you know that in the army of Antiochus there were legions of Gauls,³ whether you saw them in the line of battle, stationed on both flanks —for

[8] this was their strength, as it seemed⁴ —whether you fought with them as with lawful enemies, slew them, and carried off their spoils.

[9] But yet, they say, it Was with Antiochus and not with the Gauls that both the senate had decreed and the assembly had ordered. war. But at the same time, in my judgment, they had decreed and ordered war with those who were within his ranks;

[10] of those, with the exception of Antiochus, with whom Scipio had contracted a peace and with whom you had expressly ordered that a treaty be made, all were enemies who bore arms against us in the cause of Antiochus.⁵

[11] Although the Gauls before all were in this class and certain chiefs and⁶ tyrants,⁷ nevertheless I both negotiated for peace with the others, compelling them, in keeping with the dignity of your empire, to atone for their sins,⁸ and tried the sentiments of the Gauls, in the hope that perhaps their native fierceness could be softened, and, after I saw that they were untamed and intractable, then at length I decided that I must restrain them by force of arms.

[12] "Now, since I have answered the charge that I initiated the war, I must render account for its conduct.

[13] In this I for my part should trust my own cause even if I were pleading, not before the Roman, but before the Carthaginian senate, where commanders are said to be crucified if they have conducted a campaign with successful result but defective policy;⁹

[14] but in this state, which, in initiating and carrying out every action, calls upon the gods, for the reason that it exposes to the criticism of no man those actions which the gods have sanctioned, and which includes among its formal phrases, when it decrees a thanksgiving or a triumph, 'because he has conducted the affairs of the state well and successfully,' if I should be unwilling to speak, if I considered it overbearing and presumptuous

[15] to exult in our valour, if in recognition of the good fortune of myself and my army, in that we overthrew so great a nation with no loss of soldiers, I demanded that honour should be paid to

[16] the immortal gods and that I myself might in triumph mount to the Capitoline, whence I set out after duly announcing my vows, would you refuse this to me as well as to¹⁰ the immortal gods?¹¹

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.) — 38.48 focus

[1] quo longius Antiochus emotus esset, hoc impotentius in Asia Galli dominarentur, et, quidquid est terrarum citra Tauri iuga, Gallorum imperio, non vestro adiecissetis.

[2] at enim sunt quidem ista vera; sed etiam Delphos quondam, commune humani generis oraculum, umbilicum orbis terrarum, Galli spoliaverunt, nec ideo populus Romanus his bellum indixit aut intulit.

[3] equidem aliquid interesse rebar inter id tempus, quo nondum in iure ac dicione vestra Graecia atque Asia erat, ad curandum animadvertendumque,

[4] quid in his terris fieret, et hoc, quo finem imperii Romani Taurum montem statuistis, quo libertatem, immunitatem civitatibus datis, quo aliis fines adicitis, alias agro multatis, aliis vectigal imponitis, regna augetis minuitis donatis adimitis, curae vestrae censetis esse, ut pacem terra marique habeant.

[5] an, nisi praesidia deduxisset Antiochus, quae quieta in suis arcibus erant, non putaretis liberatam Asiam; si Gallorum exercitus effusi vagarentur, rata dona vestra, quae dedistis, regi Eumeni, rata libertas civitatibus esset?

[6] sed quid ego haec ita argumentor, tamquam non acceperim, sed fecerim hostes Gallos?

[7] te, L. Scipio, appello, cuius ego mihi, succedens in vicem imperil imperii tui, virtutem felicitatemque pariter non frustra ab diis immortalibus precatus sum, te, P. Scipio, qui legati ius, collegae maiestatem et apud fratrem consulem et apud exercitum habuisti, sciatisne in exercitu Antiochi Gallorum legiones fuisse,

[8] videritis in acie eos, in cornu utroque — id enim roboris esse videbatur — locatos, pugnaveritis ut cum hostibus iustis, cecideritis, spolia eorum retnleritis. retuleritis.

[9] atqui cum Antiocho, non cum Gallis bellum et senatus decreverat et populus iusserat. sed simul, ut opinor, cum his decreverant iusserantque, qui intra praesidia eius fuissent;

[10] ex quibus praeter Antiochum, cum quo pacem pepigerat Scipio, et cum quo nominatim foedus ut fieret mandaveratis, omnes hostes erant, qui pro Antiocho arma adversus nos tulerunt.

[11] in qua causa cum Galli ante omnes fuissent et reguli l quidam et tyranni, ego tamen et cum aliis, pro dignitate imperil imperii vestri coactis luere peccata sua, pacem pepigi, et Gallorum animos, si possent mitigari a feritate insita,

[12] temptavi et, postquam indomitos atque implacabiles cernebam, tur tum demum vi atque armis coercendos ratus sum.”

[13] “ Nunc, nunc, quoniam suscepti belli purgatum est crimen, gesti reddenda est ratio. in quo confiderem equidem causae meae, etiam si non apud Romanum sed apud Carthaginiensem senatum agerem, ubi in crucem tolli imperatores dicuntur, si prospero eventu,

[14] pravo consilio rem gesserunt; sed ego in ea civitate, quae ideo omnibus rebus incipiendis gerendisque deos adhibet, quia nullius calumniae subicit ea, quae dii comprobaverunt, et in sollemnibus verbis habet, cum supplicationem aut triumphum decernit,

[15] “quod bene ac feliciter rem publicam administrarit,” si nollem, si grave ac superbum existimarem virtute gloriari, si pro felicitate mea exercitusque mei,

[16] quod tantam nationem sine ulla militum iactura devicimus, postularem, ut diis immortalibus honos haberetur et ipse triumphans in Capitolium ascenderem, unde votis rite nuncupatis profectus sum, negaretis hoc mihi cum diis immortalibus?

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 focus

[1]

Rex cum non ¹ minore vexatione iumentorum hominumque quam venerat in Macedoniam rediit; Appium tamen ab obsidione Phanotes fama ducentis ad Stratum Persei summovit.

[2] Cleuas cum praesidio impigrorum iuvenum insecutus sub radicibus prope inviis montium ² ad mille hominum ex agmine impedito occidit, ad ducentos cepit.

[3] Appius superatis angustiis in campo quem Meleona vocant stativa dierum paucorum habuit. interim Cleuas assumpto Philostrato, qui quingentos ex ³ Epirotarum gente habebat, in agrum Antigonensem transcendit. ⁴ Macedones ad depopulationem profecti;

[4] Philostratus⁵ cum cohorte sua in insidiis loco ⁶ obscuro consedit. in palatos populatores cum erupissent ab Antigonea armati, ⁷ fugientes eos persequentes effusius in vallem insessam ab hostibus praecipitant.

[5] ibi ad mille ⁸ occisis, centum ferme captis, et ubique prospere gesta re prope stativa Appi castra movent, ne qua vis sociis suis ab Romano exercitu inferri possit.

[6] Appius nequiquam in his locis terens tempus, dimissis Chaonum Thesprotorumque ⁹ et si qui alii Epirotae erant praesidiis, cum Italicis militibus in Illyricum regressus, per Parthinorum ¹⁰ socias urbes in hiberna militibus divisis, ¹¹ ipse Romam sacrificii causa redit.

[7] Perseus ex Penestarum gente mille pedites, ducentos equites revocatos Cassandream, praesidio ut essent, misit.

[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.) — 38.48 focus

[1]

quo longius Antiochus emotus esset, hoc impotentius in Asia Galli dominarentur, et, quidquid est terrarum citra Tauri iuga, Gallorum imperio, non vestro adiecissetis.

[2] at enim sunt quidem ista, verum etiam Delphos quondam, commune humani generis oraculum, umbilicum orbis terrarum, Galli spoliaverunt, nec ideo populus Romanus his bellum indixit aut intulit.

[3] equidem aliquid interesse rebar inter id tempus, quo nondum in iure ac dicione vestra Graecia atque Asia erat, ad curandum animadvertendumque,

[6] sed quid ego haec ita argumentor, tamquam non acceperim, sed fecerim hostes Gallos?

[7] te, L. Scipio , appello, cuius ego mihi, succedens in vicem imperii tui, virtutem felicitatemque pariter non frustra ab diis immortalibus precatus sum, te, P. Scipio , qui legati ius, collegae maiestatem et apud fratrem consulem et apud exercitum habuisti, sciatisne in exercitu Antiochi Gallorum legiones fuisse,

[8] videritis in acie eos, in cornu utroque — id enim roboris esse videbatur — locatos, pugnaveritis ut cum hostibus iustis, cecideritis, spolia eorum retuleritis.

[9] atqui cum Antiocho, non cum Gallis bellum et senatus decreverat et populus iusserat. sed simul, ut opinor, cum his decreverant iusserantque, qui intra praesidia eius fuissent;

[10] ex quibus praeter Antiochum, cum quo pacem pepigerat Scipio, et cum quo nominatim foedus ut fieret mandaveratis, omnes hostes erant, qui pro Antiocho arma adversus nos tulerunt. ² in qua causa cum Galli ante omnes fuissent et reguli quidam et tyranni,

[11] ego tamen et cum aliis, pro dignitate imperii vestri coactis luere peccata sua, pacem pepigi, et Gallorum animos, si possent mitigari a feritate insita,

[12] temptavi et, postquam indomitos atque implacabiles cernebam, tum demum vi atque armis coercendos ratus sum.”

[13] “nunc, quoniam suscepti belli purgatum est crimen, gesti reddenda est ratio. in quo confiderem equidem causae meae, etiam si non apud Romanum sed apud Carthaginiensem senatum agerem, ubi in crucem tolli imperatores dicuntur, si prospero eventu, pravo consilio rem gesserunt;

[14] sed ego in ea civitate, quae ideo omnibus rebus incipiendis gerendisque deos adhibet, quia nullius calumniae subicit ea, quae dii comprobaverunt, et in sollemnibus verbis habet, cum supplicationem aut triumphum ³ decernit, “

[15] quod bene ac feliciter rem publicam administrarit”, si nollem, si grave ac superbum existimarem virtute gloriari, pro felicitate mea exercitusque mei, quod tantam nationem sine ulla militum iactura devicimus,

[16] postularem, ut diis immortalibus honos haberetur et ipse triumphans in Capitolium ascenderem, unde votis rite nuncupatis profectus sum, negaretis hoc mihi cum diis immortalibus?

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 38.48 focus

[1]

But, allowing all this to be so; the Gauls formerly sacked Delphi, the common oracle to which all mankind resort, and the central point of the globe of the earth;

[2]

yet the Roman people did not, on that account, proclaim or wage war against them.

[3]

I really thought, that there was some distinction to be made between that period when Greece and Asia were not yet under your jurisdiction and dominion, and the present, when you have made Mount Taurus the boundary of the Roman empire;

[4]

when you grant liberty and independence to the states of that country; when you augment the territories of some; amerce others in a part of their lands; impose tribute;

[5]

add to, diminish, give, and take away kingdoms, and deem it your business to take care that they may enjoy peace both on land and sea.

[6]

Is it not the case that you would not have thought Asia liberated unless Antiochus withdrew his garrisons, which lay quiet in their citadels: if the armies of the Gauls roamed about without control, would the grants which you made to king Eumenes be secure, or the liberty of the states entire?

[7]

But why do I reason thus? as if I had not found the Gauls enemies, but made them such!

[8]

I appeal to you, Lucius Scipio, whose bravery and good fortune alike I suppliantly sought, and not in vain, from the immortal gods, when I succeeded you in the command;

[9]

and to you, Publius Scipio, who held, both with your brother the consul, and with the army, the commission of a lieutenant-general and the dignity of a colleague; did you ascertain that legions of the Gauls were in the army of Antiochus?

[10]

Did you see them in his line of battle, posted in both wings; for there was his main strength?

[11]

Did you fight with them as declared enemies? Did you kill them? Did you carry off their spoils? Yet the senate had decreed, and the people ordered, war against Antiochus, not against the Gauls.

[12]

But as I judge, they had at the same time decreed and ordered that war should be with all those who should be reckoned among his troops;

[13]

so that, excepting Antiochus, with whom Scipio had negotiated a peace, and with whom, specifying him by name, you had directed a treaty to be concluded, every one who had borne arms on the side of Antiochus against us, were our enemies.

[14]

And although the Gauls had been conspicuous in that cause, and several petty princes and tyrants also; nevertheless, I made peace with the rest, after compelling them to atone for their transgressions, as the dignity of your empire required.

[15]

I made trial, at the same time, of the temper of the Gauls, whether they could be reclaimed from their natural ferocity;

[16]

but, perceiving them untractable and implacable, I then judged it necessary to chastise them by force of arms.

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.) — 38.48 focus

[1]

"The greater the distance to which Antiochus was removed, the more tyrannically did the Gauls lord it over Asia; by his removal you added whatever lands lie on this side the Taurus to their dominion, not your own.

[2] But you say, 'Assuming this to be true, the Gauls once despoiled Delphi, but though it was the one oracle common to all mankind, and the central spot in the whole world, the Romans did not on that account declare or commence war against them.'

[3] I should certainly have thought that there was a considerable difference between the conditions existing when Greece and Asia had not yet passed under your suzerainty, as far as regards your interest and concern in their affairs, and the conditions prevailing now;

[4] when you have fixed the Taurus as the frontier of your dominion; when you are giving to the cities liberty and immunity from tribute; when you are enlarging the territories of some and depriving others of their land by way of punishment or imposing tribute: when you are extending, diminishing, giving, taking away kingdoms, and making it your one care that they shall keep the peace both on land and sea.

[5] Would you consider that the liberty of Asia would not have been secure had not Antiochus withdrawn his garrisons, which were remaining quietly in their quarters, and do you suppose that your gifts to Eumenes would be safe or the cities retain their freedom as

[6] long as the armies of the Gauls were roaming far and wide?

[7] "But why do I use these arguments, as though I had made the Gauls into enemies and had not found them such already? I appeal to you, L. Scipio, whose valour and good fortune alike I prayed to the immortal gods-and not in vain-to grant me, when I succeeded to your command; I appeal to you, P. Scipio, who though subordinate to your brother the consul, still possessed both with him and the army all the authority of a colleague;

[8] and I ask you whether you know that there were legions of Gauls in the army of Antiochus; whether you saw that they were posted at either end of his line, for there his main strength seemed to be; whether you fought with them as regular enemies, and killed them and brought their spoils home.

[9] And yet the war which the senate had decreed and the people ordered was a war against Antiochus, not against the Gauls.

[10] Yes, but I hold that the decree and order included those who had formed part of his army, and amongst these-with the exception of Antiochus with whom Scipio had concluded peace and with whom you ordered a special treaty to be made-all who bore arms on his behalf were our enemies.

[11] The Gauls above all supported his cause, as did also some petty kings and tyrants. With the others, however, I made peace and compelled them to make an expiation for their misdoings proportionate to the dignity of your empire, and I tried to influence the Gauls, if haply their innate ferocity could be mitigated. When I saw that they remained untameable and implacable, I thought they ought to be coerced by force of arms.

[12] "Now that I have cleared myself of the charge of wanton aggression, I have to account for my conduct of the war.

[13] On this topic I should feel perfect confidence in my case, even if I were pleading not before the Romans but before the Carthaginian senate, where it is said that their generals are crucified, even when successful, if their strategy has been faulty.

[14] But this State has recourse to the gods at the commencement and during the conduct of all its business, because it will not have those matters which the gods have approved of open to any man's censure, and when it decrees special thanksgivings or a triumph, employs the solemn formula: 'Whereas he has managed the affairs of the Republic with success and good fortune.'

[15] If, then, renouncing all assertion of my own merits as arrogant and presumptuous, I were to demand on behalf of my own good fortune and that of my army, in having crushed so powerful a nation without any loss, that honours should be paid to the immortal gods, and that

[16] I, myself, should go up in triumph to the Capitol, from whence I started after my vows and prayers had been duly offered, would you refuse this to me and to the immortal gods as well?

Notes on the current edition

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

1. Manlius contrasts his own realistic and his opponents' legalistic points of view. He then renders the latter absurd by putting into the mouths of his opponents the argument that Rome did not even intervene to protect Delphi in 279 B.C. ( sed etiam introduces a special case illustrating the general line of argument in ista). He refutes this imaginary argument by pointing out Rome's new position in the world.

2. B.C. 187

3. Manlius omits, as damaging to his argument, the fact that some, at least, of these Gauls were mercenaries (XXXVII. xviii. 7).

4. The phrase is curiously used. In XXXVII. xl. 3 the phalanx is called the strongest part of the army, and the meaning here may be simply that the Gauls were more valuable on the-flanks than in the centre.

5. The line of argument, not entirely free from fallacy, is briefly this: Rome had declared war on Antiochus and would have included his allies had she known in advance who they would be; peace had been made with Antiochus but not with the allies, upon whom war had not been formally declared; Manlius, on succeeding Scipio, had inherited any unfinished business and therefore needed no new or specific declaration of war upon such allies.

6. B.C. 187

7. Livy's narrative does not support this. The statement is broad enough and vague enough to permit Manlius to say that all the persons from whom he collected money came under this category.

8. It suffices to compare luendamque pecunia noxam (xxvii. 3 above).

9. Cf. Valerius Maximus II. vii. ext. 1. Extant cases seem to illustrate only crucifixion after defeat ( e.g. Per. XVII).

10. B.C. 187

11. Neither the grammar nor (possibly) the logic of this cumbersome sentence is impeccable, but I have not tried to improve either.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 38.48

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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