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), 39.4

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[1] Before the consuls returned to Rome, the proconsul Marcus Fulvius returned from Aetolia;

[2] and when the senate, in the temple of Apollo, had heard him describe his exploits in Aetolia and Cephallania, he asked the Fathers, if they deemed it proper, by reason of his successful and fortunate conduct of the¹ business of the state, both to order that honour should be paid to the immortal gods and to decree a triumph to him.

[3] Marcus Aburius, tribune of the people, announced that, if any decree on that subject were passed prior to the arrival of Marcus Aemilius, he would veto it: Aemilius, he said, wished to speak against it, and on his departure to his province had given instructions to him, the tribune, that this whole discussion should be reserved for his return.

[4] Fulvius, he said, was suffering the loss of time only: even with the consul present the senate would decree what he wished.

[5] Then Fulvius replied: if either the quarrel between him and Marcus Aemilius was unknown to men, or if it was unknown with what uncontrollable and almost tyrannical passion Aemilius carried on the feud, even then it would have been unendurable that the absent consul should both stand in the way of the honour due to

[6] the immortal gods and delay an earned and merited triumph, and that a general after a brilliant campaign and a victorious army with its booty and prisoners should stand

[7] before the gates until it suited the fancy of a consul (who stayed away for just that reason) to return to Rome.

[8] But as a matter of fact, he went on, since his quarrel with the consul was very well known, what justice could be expected from a man who had deposited in the treasury a decree of the senate passed stealthily and in a poorly attended meeting, to the effect that Ambracia did not appear to have been taken by force, although it had been besieged with

[9] a mound and sheds, where other works were built anew when the first were burned, where the battle had raged around the walls for fifteen days, above and below² the ground, where from daylight, after the soldiers had already scaled the walls, until nightfall the battle had been maintained with uncertain issue, and where more than three thousand of the enemy had perished?

[10] Then, too, as to the plundering of the temples of the immortal gods in the captured city, what kind of insult was it that he had turned the booty over to the pontiffs?³

[11] Unless it had been lawful to adorn the City with the trophies of Syracuse and other

[12] captured towns, but that in the case of captured Ambracia alone the law of war did not hold good!

[13] He begged the conscript Fathers and he requested of the tribune that they should not permit him to be made a laughing-stock by this most insolent personal enemy.

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.) — 39.4 focus

[1] priusquam consules redirent Romam, M. Fulvius proconsul ex Aetolia redit;

[2] isque ad aedem Apollinis in senatu cum de rebus in Aetolia Cephallaniaque ab se gestis disseruisset, petit a patribus, ut, si aequum censerent, ob rem publicam bene ac feliciter gestam et diis immortalibus honorem haberi iuberent et sibi triumphum decernerent.

[3] M. Aburius tribunus plebis, si quid de ea re ante M. Aemilii consulis adventure decerneretur, intercessurum se ostendit:

[4] eum contra dicere velle, proficiscentemque in provinciam ita sibi mandasse, ut ea disceptatio integra in adventum suum servaretur. Fulvium temporis iacturam facere: senatum etiam praesente consule quod vellet decreturum.

[5] turn Fulvius: si aut simultas M. Aemilii secum ignota hominibus esset, aut quam is eas inimicitias impotenti ac prope regia ira exerceret,

[6] tamen non fuisse ferendum absentem consulem et deorum immortalium honori obstare et meritum debitumque triumphum morari,

[7] imperatorem rebus egregie gestis victoremque exercitum cum praeda et captivis ante portas stare, donec consuli ob hoc ipsum moranti redire Romam libitum esset.

[8] verum enimvero cum sint notissimae sibi cum consule inimicitiae, quid ab eo quemquam posse aequi exspectare, qui per infrequentiam furtim senatus consultum factum ad aerarium detulerit,

[9] Ambraciam non videri vi captam, quae aggere ac vineis oppugnata sit, ubi incensis operibus alia de integro facta sint, ubi circa muros supra subterque terram per dies quindecim pugnatum,

[10] ubi a prima luce, cum iam transcendisset muros miles, usque ad noctem diu anceps proelium tenuerit, ubi plus tria milia hostium sint caesa.

[11] iam de deorum immortalium templis spoliatis in capta urbe qualem calumniam ad pontifices attulerit?

[12] nisi Syracusarum ceterarumque captarum civitatium ornamentis urbem exornari fas fuerit, in Ambracia una capta non valuerit belli ius.

[13] se et patres conscriptos orare et ab tribuno petere, ne se superbissimo inimico ludibrio esse sinant.

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).) — 43.4 focus

[1]

tis tantum exinde pavorem ¹ ingressi ² castra, ostentantes capita, fecerunt, ut, si admotus extemplo exercitus foret, capi castra potuerint.

[2] tum quoque fuga ingens facta est; et erant qui legatos mittendos ad pacem precibus petendam censerent; civitatesque complures eo nuntio audito in deditionem venerunt.

[3] quibus purgantibus sese culpamque in duorum amentiam conferentibus, qui se ultro ad poenam ipsi obtulissent,

[4] cum veniam dedisset praetor, profectus extemplo ad alias civitates omnibus imperata facientibus quieto exercitu pacatum agrum, qui paulo ante ingenti tumultu arserat, peragravit.

[5] haec lenitas praetoris, qua sine sanguine ferocissimam gentem domuerat, eo gratior plebi patribusque fuit, quo crudelius avariusque in Graecia bellatum et ab consule Licinio et ab Lucretio praetore erat.

[6] Lucretium tribuni plebis absentem contionibus adsiduis lacerabant, cum rei publicae causa abesse excusaretur; sed tum adeo vicina etiam inexplorata erant ut is eo tempore in agro suo Antiati esset aquamque ³ ex manubiis Antium ex flumine Loracinae duceret.

[7] id opus centum triginta milibus ⁴ aeris locasse dicitur; tabulis quoque pictis ex praeda fanum Aesculapi exornavit.

[8] invidiam infamiamque ab Lucretio averterunt ⁵ in Hortensium, successorem eius, Abderitae legati flentes ante curiam querentesque oppidum suum ab Hortensio expugnatum ac direptum esse:

[9] causam causum excidii fuisse urbi, quod, cum centum milia denarium et tritici quinquaginta milia modium imperaret, ⁶ spatium petierint, quo de ea re et ad Hostilium consulem et Romam mitterent legatos.

[10] vixdum ad consulem se pervenisse et audisse oppidum expugnatum, principes securi percussos, sub corona ceteros venisse. ⁷

[11] indigna res senatui ⁸ visa, decreveruntque eadem de Abderitis, quae de Coronaeis ⁹ decreverant priore anno, eademque pro contione edicere Q. Maenium praetorem iusserunt.

[12] et legati duo, C. Sempronius Blaesus Sex. iulius Caesar, ad restituendos in libertatem Abderitas missi.

[13] iisdem mandatum, ut et Hostilio consuli et Hortensio praetori nuntiarent, senatum ¹⁰ Abderitis iniustum bellum illatum conquirique omnes, qui in servitute sint, et restitui in libertatem aequum ¹¹ censere.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 39.4 focus

[1]

priusquam consules redirent Roman, M. Fulvius proconsul ex Aetolia redit;

[2] isque ad aedem Apollinis in senatu cum de rebus in Aetolia Cephalleniaque ab se gestis disseruisset, petit a patribus, ut aequum censerent ob rem publicam bene ac feliciter gestam diis inmortalibus honorem haberi [iuberent], et sibi triumphum decernerent.

[3] M. Aburius tribunus plebis, si quid de ea re ante M. Aemili consulis adventum decerneretur, intercessurum se ostendit:

[4] eum contradicere velle, proficiscentemque in provinciam ita sibi mandasse, uti ea disceptatio integra in adventum suum servaretur. Fulvium temporis iacturam facere; senatum etiam praesente consule, quod vellet, decreturum.

[5] tum Fulvius: si aut simultas M. Aemili secum ignota hominibus esset, aut quam is eas inimicitias inpotenti ac prope regia ira exerceret, ¹ tamen non fuisse ferendum,

[6] absentem consulem et deorum inmortalium honori obstare et meritum debitumque triumphum morari,

[7] imperatorem rebus egregie gestis victoremque exercitum cum praeda et captivis ante portas stare, donec consuli ob hoc ipsum moranti redire Romam libitum esset.

[8] verum enimvero, cum sint nobilissimae sibi cum consule inimicitiae, quid ab eo quemquam posse aequi expectare, qui per infrequentiam furtim senatus consultum factum ad aerarium detulerit Ambraciam non videri vi captam,

[9] quae aggere ac vineis obpugnata sit, ubi incensis operibus alia de integro facta sint, ubi circa muros supra subterque terram per dies quindecim pugnatum,

[10] ubi a prima luce, cum iam transcendisset muros miles, usque ad noctem diu anceps proelium tenuerit, ubi plus tria milia hostium sint caesa.

[11] iam de deorum inmortalium inmortalum templis spoliatis in capta urbe qualem calumniam ad pontifices adtulerit?

[12] nisi Syracusarum ² ceterarumque captarum civitatum ornamentis urbem exornari fas fuerit, in Ambracia una capta non valuerit belli ius.

[13] se et patres conscriptos orare et ab tribuno petere, ne se superbissimo inimico ludibrio esse sinant.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 39.4 focus

[1]

Before the consuls came home to Rome, Marcus Fulvius, the proconsul, returned from Aetolia.

[2] He, when he had as usual recited to the senate, in the temple of Apollo, the services which he had performed in Aetolia and Cephallenia, then requested of the fathers, that, in consideration of his having conducted the business of the public with good fortune and success, they would think proper to order public thanks to be offered to the immortal gods, and to decree a triumph to him.

[3] Marcus Abutius, a tribune of the commons, gave notice, that, if any thing were determined on that subject before the arrival of Marcus Aemilius, he would enter his protest:

[4] for

the consul intended to oppose that measure; and, at his setting out for his province, had given him a charge to keep the discussion of it open until he should come home. That Fulvius would suffer a loss of nothing but time; for, notwithstanding the presence of the consul, the senate would determine according to their own wishes.

[5] Fulvius replied, that,

even if the quarrel subsisting between him and Marcus Aemilius was unknown to the world, or with what overbearing, and, in some measure, tyrannical rancour, that man prosecuted his enmity;

[6]

yet it was insufferable, that the absence of the consul should both obstruct the worship of the immortal gods, and delay a triumph merited and due;

[7]

that a commander, after performing signal services, and his victorious army with its booty and prisoners, should remain outside the gates, until a consul, who purposely delayed abroad, should be pleased to return to Rome.

[8]

But, in the present case, when the animosity between him and the consul was most notorious, what fair dealing could any one expect from a man who procured clandestinely, in a thin house, and lodged in the treasury, a decree of the senate, that

it did not appear that Ambracia was taken by force:

[9]

a town which was attacked with mounds and engines; where, after the works were burned, others were constructed anew; where a fight was carried on around the walls for fifteen days, both above and under ground; where, from the first dawn, when the soldiers mounted the walls, a battle, for a long time doubtful, lasted until night;

[10]

and where more than three thousand of the enemy were killed? Then, again, what a malicious misrepresentation did he make to the pontiffs, of the temples of the immortal gods being plundered in a captured city!

[11]

If it were allowable that Rome should be decorated with the ornaments of Syracuse, and other conquered

[12]

places, then the laws of war must lose their force in the case of Ambracia alone, among conquered towns.

[13]

For his part, he besought the conscript fathers, and requested the tribunes, not to suffer him to become a subject of derision to a most haughty enemy.

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.) — 39.4 focus

[1]

Before the consuls returned to Rome M. Fulvius came back from Aetolia.

[2] He had an audience of the senate in the temple of Apollo and gave a detailed report of his operations in Aetolia and Cephallenia. He then asked the senate to pass a resolution that it was right and proper, in consideration of the success and good fortune with which he had served the State, that honours should be paid to the immortal gods and that a triumph should be decreed to him.

[3] M. Albutius, one of the tribunes of the plebs, declared his intention of vetoing any decree which should be passed before the arrival of M. Aemilius.

[4] The consul had wished to speak against it, and on his departure for his province had charged him, the tribune, to reserve all discussion of the question till his return. Fulvius, he argued, would lose nothing by the delay; even when the consul was present, the senate would decree what it wished.

[5] To this Fulvius replied: "Even if Aemilius' hostility to him and the arbitrary and dictatorial temper he showed towards his opponents were not a matter of common knowledge, still it would be intolerable that an absent consul should stand in the way of honour being paid to the immortal gods and should

[6] delay a triumph which was well earned and justly due, or that a general who had achieved brilliant success should be standing before the gate of the City with his

[7] victorious army and the spoils of war and the prisoners until the consul, who was for this very purpose delaying his movements, should please to return to Rome. But as a matter of fact his differences with the consul were notorious.

[8] What fair dealing could any one look for from the man who in a thinly attended and secret meeting of the senate got a resolution carried and deposited in the treasury in the temple of Saturn stating that there was no evidence that Ambracia had been carried by assault.

[9] Why, that city was besieged by agger and vineae, and when the siege-works were burnt, new ones were constructed; for fifteen days fighting went on there round the walls above ground and below, and even when the soldiers had surmounted the walls, there was a long and doubtful struggle from early dawn till nightfall; more than 3000 of the enemy were slain.

[10] What was that malicious story which he told the pontiffs about the spoliation of the temples of the gods in the captured city?

[11] Unless, indeed, we are to suppose that whilst the adornments of Syracuse and other captured cities may decorate the City, this right of war does not hold in the solitary case of Ambracia."

[12] He implored the senators and begged the tribune not to make him an object of derision to his insolent enemy.

[13] The senators were with him to a man; some tried to persuade the tribune to forgo his veto, others assailed him with bitter reproaches.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. B.C. 187

2. B.C. 187

3. I have filled out the suspected lacuna in what seems the simplest way consistent with grammar and sense. Madvig takes the passage to mean that spoils captured by Fulvius would bestow fame upon the pontiffs when they used them in the decoration of temples. The action referred to is the decree reported in XXXVIII. xliv. 5 above.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 39.4

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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