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), 42.52

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[1] The twenty-sixth year was passing, since peace had been granted to Philip at his request;

[2] throughout all that time unmolested Macedonia had both produced offspring, a large number of whom were of military age, and yet, in minor wars with her Thracian neighbours, of a sort to give training rather than to produce weariness, had been unremittingly in arms.

[3] Also the long planning for war with Rome, first by Philip, then by Perseus, had brought it about that everything was ready and at hand.

[4] The array of the review was set briefly in motion (not however in a regular manoeuvre¹ ), so that they might not seem to have merely stood under arms; the king summoned them, in arms as they were, to an assembly.

[5] He himself stood on a platform, having about him his two sons, the elder of whom, Philip, was by birth his brother, by adoption his son, while the younger, whom they called Alexander, was his own.²

[6] He cheered the soldiers on to the war; he recited the wrongs done by the Roman people to his father and himself; the former had been driven by all sorts of outrages to fight back, but had been overtaken by fate during preparations for the war;

[7] to Perseus himself envoys had been sent at the same moment as soldiers for the seizing of the cities of Greece.

[8] Then through a treacherous conference, by means of a pretence of reorganizing peace, the winter had been wasted, so that the Romans might³ have time for preparation; now the consul was coming with two Roman legions, each of which contained six thousand infantry and three hundred cavalry, and about the same number of allied infantry and cavalry.

[9] Supposing that there were added to this force auxiliaries from the kings, Eumenes and Masinissa, there would be not more than thirty-seven thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry.

[10] Now that they had heard the numbers of the enemy let them consider their own army, how much it excelled in numbers and in type of soldiers, how much they, trained in the arts of warfare from boyhood, disciplined and hardened in so many wars, excelled these recruits hastily enrolled for this war. The auxiliaries of the Romans were Lydians, Phrygians,⁴ and Numidians; their own, Thracians and Gauls, the most warlike of all nations.

[11] Their enemies had such arms as each poverty-stricken soldier might have acquired for himself,⁵ the Macedonians had arms taken from the royal arsenals, laid up through so many years by his father's care and expenditure. Provisions for the enemy would come not only from a long distance, but subject to all the accidents of seafaring; he himself had stored up both money and grain, not counting the revenue from the mines, for a ten years' war.⁶

[12] Everything which, by the beneficence of the gods and by the prudence of the king, was to be made ready the Macedonians had in abundant plenty;

[13] they must have, too, the spirit which their ancestors had possessed, who, having⁷ subdued all

[14] Europe, had crossed to Asia and opened up with their arms a whole world unknown even to rumour, and had not ceased their conquests, until, within the barrier of the Indian Ocean,⁸ there was nothing left for them to conquer. But now, by Hercules, fortune had proclaimed a contest, not for the farthermost shores of India, but for the possession of Macedonia itself.

[15] When the Romans had been waging war with his father, they had held out the plausible pretext of the freedom of Greece; now openly they sought to enslave Macedonia, that there might be no king neighbouring the Roman empire, that no people famed in war might keep its arms.

[16] All these things they must surrender to haughty masters, along with their king and kingdom, if they wished to cease waging war and do the bidding of others.

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.) — 42.52 focus

[1] sextus et vicesimus annus agebatur, ex quo petenti Philippo data pax erat;

[2] per id omne tempus quieta Macedonia et progeniem ediderat, cuius magna pars matura militiae esset, et levibus bellis Thracum accolarum, quae exercerent magis quam fatigarent, sub adsidua tamen militia fuerat.

[3] et diu meditatum Philippo primo, deinde et Persei Romanum bellum, omnia ut instructa parataque essent, effecerat.

[4] mota parumper acies, non iusto decursu tamen, ne stetisse tantum in armis viderentur; armatosque, sicut erant, ad contionem vocavit.

[5] ipse constitit in tribunali, circa se habens filios duos, quorum maior Philippus natura frater, adoptione filius, minor, quem Alexandrum vocabant, naturalis erat.

[6] cohortatus est milites ad bellum; iniurias populi Romani in patrem seque commemoravit:

[7] illum omnibus indignitatibus conpulsum ad rebellandum, inter apparatum belli fato oppressum; ad se simul legatos, simul milites ad occupandas Graeciae urbes missos.

[8] fallaci dein conloquio per speciem reconciliandae pacis extractam hiemem, ut tempus ad conparandum haberent; consulem nunc venire cum duabus legionibus Romanis, quae singulae sena milia peditum, trecenos equites habeant, et pari ferme numero sociorum peditum equitumque.

[9] eo ut accedant regum auxilia, Eumenis et Masinissae, non plus triginta septem milia peditum, duo equitum futura.

[10] auditis hostium copiis respicerent suum ipsi exercitum, quantum numero, quantum genere militum praestarent tironibus raptim ad id bellum conscriptis ipsi, a pueris eruditi artibus militiae, tot subacti atque durati bellis.

[11] auxilia Romanis Lydos et Phrygas et Numidas esse, sibi Thracas Gallosque, ferocissimas gentium. arma illos habere ea, quae sibi quisque paraverit pauper miles, Macedonas prompta ex regio apparatu, per tot annos patris sui cura et inpensa facta.

[12] commeatum illis cum procul, tum omnibus sub casibus maritimis fore; se et pecuniam et frumentum, praeter reditus metallorum, in decem annos seposuisse.

[13] omnia, quae deorum indulgentia, quae regia cura praeparanda fuerint, plena cumulataque habere Macedonas;

[14] animos habendos esse, quos habuerint maiores eorum, qui Europa omni domita transgressi in Asiam incognitum famae aperuerint armis orbem terrarum nec ante vincere desierint, quam Rubro mari inclusis, quod vincerent, defuerit.

[15] at hercule nunc non de ultimis Indiae oris, sed de ipsius Macedoniae possessione certamen fortunam indixisse. cum patre suo gerentis bellum Romanos speciosum Graeciae liberandae praetulisse titulum:

[16] nunc propalam Macedoniam in servitutem petere, ne rex vicinus imperio sit Romano, ne gens bello nobilis arma habeat. haec enim tradenda superbis dominis esse cum rege regnoque, si absistere bello et facere imperata velint.

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.) — 42.52 focus

[1]

sextus et vicesimus annus agebatur, ex quo petenti Philippo data pax erat;

[3] et diu meditatum Philippo primo, deinde et Persei Romanum bellum, omnia ut instructa parataque essent, effecerat.

[4] mota parumper acies, non iusto decursu tamen, ne stetisse tantum in armis viderentur; armatosque, sicut erant, ad contionem vocavit.

[5] ipse constitit in tribunali, circa se habens filios duos, quorum maior Philippus natura frater, adoptione filius, minor, quem Alexandrum vocabant, naturalis erat.

[6] cohortatus est milites ad bellum, iniurias populi Romani in patrem seque conmemoravit:

[7] illum omnibus indignitatibus conpulsum ad rebellandum, inter apparatum belli fato oppressum; ad se simul legatos, simul milites ad occupandas Graeciae urbes ¹ missos.

[8] fallaci deinde conloquio per speciem reconciliandae pacis extractam hiemem, ut tempus ad conparandum haberent; consulem nunc venire cum duabus legionibus Romanis, quae , trecenos equites habeant, et pari ferme numero sociorum peditum equitumque;

[9] eo ut accedant regum auxilia, Eumenis et Masinissae, non plus septem milia peditum, duo equitum futura.

[10] auditis hostium copiis respicerent suum ipsi exercitum, quantum numero, quantum genere militum praestarent tironibus raptim ad id bellum conscriptis ipsi a pueris eruditi artibus militiae, tot subacti atque durati bellis.

[12] commeatum illis cum procul, tum omnibus sub casibus maritimis fore; se et pecuniam et frumentum, praeter reditus metallorum, in decem annos seposuisse.

[13] omnia, quae deorum indulgentia, quae regia cura praeparanda fuerint, plena cumulataque habere Macedonas.

[14] animum habendum esse, quem habuerint maiores eorum, qui Europa omni domita transgressi in Asiam incognitum famae aperuerint armis orbem terrarum nec ² ante vincere desierint, quam rubro mari inclusis quod vincerent defuerit.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 42.52 focus

[1]

It was now twenty-six years since peace had been granted to the suit of Philip;

[2] and Macedon, having through all that period enjoyed quiet, was become exceedingly populous, and very many were now grown up, and become qualified for the duties of the field; and owing to the unimportant wars with the neighbouring states of Thrace, which had given them exercise rather than fatigue, were in continual practice of military service.

[3] Besides, a war with Rome having been long meditated by, first, Philip, and afterwards by Perseus, had effected that all things should be arranged and prepared.

[4] The troops performed some few movements, but not the regular course of exercise, only that they might not seem to have stood motionless under arms. He then called them, armed as they were, to an assembly.

[5] He himself stood on his tribunal, with his two sons, one on each side of him; the elder of whom, Philip, was by birth his brother, his son by adoption; the younger, named Alexander, was his son by birth. The king exhorted his troops to a vigorous prosecution of the war.

[6] He enumerated the injuries offered by the Romans to Philip and himself; told them, that

his father, having been compelled, by every kind of indignity, to resolve on a renewal of hostilities, was, in the midst of his preparations for war, arrested by fate:

[7]

that ambassadors were sent by himself at the same time that soldiers were sent to seize the cities of Greece:

[8]

that then, under the pretext of re-establishing peace, they spun out the winter, by means of a fallacious conference, in order to gain time to make their preparations; that their consul was now coming, with two Roman legions, containing each six thousand foot and three hundred horse, and nearly the same number of auxiliaries; and that, should they even be joined by the troops of Eumenes and Masinissa, yet these could not amount to more than seven thousand foot and two thousand horse.

[9] He desired them,

after hearing the number of the enemy's forces, to reflect on their own army, how far it excelled both in number and in the qualifications of the men, a body of raw recruits, enlisted hastily for the present occasion;

[10]

whereas they them- selves had from childhood been instructed in the military art, and had been disciplined and inured to toil in a course of many wars. The auxiliaries of the Romans were Lydians, Phrygians, and Numidians; while his were Thracians and Gauls, the bravest nations in the world.

[11]

Their troops had such arms as each needy soldier procured for himself; but those of the Macedonians were furnished out of the royal stores, and had been made with much care at the expense of his father, in a course of many years.

[12]

They must bring their provisions not only from a great distance, but expose them to all the hazards of the sea; while he, besides his revenue from the mines, had laid up a store, both of money and food, sufficient for the consumption of ten years.

[13]

The Macedonians possessed in abundance every advantage, in point of preparation, that depended on the kindness of the gods, or the care of their sovereign: they ought therefore to have the same daring spirit which their fathers had before them;

[14]

who, after subduing all Europe, passed over into Asia, and opened by their arms a world unknown to fame, and never ceased to conquer until they were stopped by the Red Sea, and when nothing remained for them to subdue. But in truth fortune has determined the present struggle to be carried on, not for the far remote regions of India, but for the possession of Macedon itself.

[15]

When the Romans made war on his father, they held out the specious pretence of liberating Greece; now, they avowedly aimed at reducing Macedon to slavery, that there might be no king in the neighbourhood of the Roman empire, and that no nation, renowned in war, should have the possession of arms;

[16]

for these must be delivered up to their imperious masters, together with the king and kingdom, if they chose to decline a war, and obey their orders.

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.) — 42.52 focus

[1]

It was six-and-twenty years since the peace which Philip sought had been vouchsafed to him.

[2] During all that time Macedonia had been undisturbed and a new generation had grown up, ripe for military service, and in the small wars with their Thracian neighbours, which exercised rather than exhausted them, they had been constantly trained and disciplined.

[3] The prospect of a war with Rome, which had during the whole period been cherished by Philip and then by Perseus, had led to everything being in a state of readiness and efficiency.

[4] The army performed a few movements, not as regular maneuvers, but simply in order to avoid the appearance of only standing under arms. Perseus then called them, armed as they were, to stand round on parade, and ascended the tribunal with his two sons by his side;

[5] the elder one, Philip, his brother by birth, his son by adoption, the younger one, Alexander, his son by birth. He exhorted his soldiers to show their courage in the war, and enumerated the injuries which the Romans had inflicted on his father and on himself.

[6] His father had been compelled by all the indignities he had suffered to resume hostilities; in the midst of his preparations he had been struck down by fate.

[7] The Romans sent envoys to him (Perseus) to open negotiations and at the same time sent soldiers to occupy the cities of Greece.

[8] Then the winter was wasted over a conference, ostensibly to bring about a peaceful settlement, but really to give them time to make their preparations. Now the consul was coming with two Roman legions, each with its complement of 300 cavalry and contingents furnished by the allies of about the same strength. Even if the troops sent by Eumenes and Masinissa were counted in, there would not be more than 7000 infantry and 2000 cavalry.

[9] The king proceeded: "You have heard what the strength of the enemy is;

[10] now look at your own army, its superiority in numbers and in the quality of the soldiers as compared with the raw conscripts hastily embodied for this war, soldiers who have from their boyhood been trained in the school of war, disciplined and hardened by so many campaigns. Lydians, Phrygians and Numidians are furnishing troops for the Romans; we have on our side the Thracians, and the most warlike of all nations the Gauls.

[11] Their arms are just what each poverty-stricken soldier has provided himself with; you Macedonians are supplied from the royal arsenal with arms manufactured through all those years under my father's direction and at his cost. Their supplies will have to be brought from a distance and will be exposed to all the chances and accidents of the sea; we have for ten years been storing up money and corn in addition to the revenue from the mines.

[12] Everything which has been provided by the kindness of heaven or by the care and forethought of their king, the Macedonians have in full and overflowing measure.

[13] You must have the courage which your ancestors had when after subjugating the whole of Europe

[14] they crossed over to Asia and opened up by their arms an unknown world, and never ceased to conquer until they were hemmed in by the purple ocean and there was nothing more to conquer. Ay, but now it is not for the remotest shores of India but for the possession of Macedonia that Fortune has called us to this contest.

[15] When the Romans were at war with my father they put forward the specious pretext that they were liberating Greece, now they are openly aiming at the enslavement of Macedonia in order that Rome may have no monarch on its borders, no nation glorious in war retaining possession of its arms.

[16] These must be surrendered to your haughty and domineering masters, and your king and kingdom as well, if you are willing to lay aside all thoughts of war and execute their commands."

Notes on the current edition

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

1. Cf. XL. vi. 5-7.

2. Cf. Plutarch, Aemilius Paullus, xxxiii. 3-4 and xxxvii. 3.

3. B.C. 171

4. The state, however, supplied arms in case of need, and in wartime presumably had replacements in its arsenals, cf. XXIX. xxii. 3.

5. Traditionally regarded as effeminate and slavish by Greeks and Romans; the Lydians were said to have been made un warlike, to prevent uprisings, by Cyrus the Great; on advice of their ex-king Croesus, he had forbidden them arms and made them become merchants and musicians (Herodotus I, 155). Cf. XXXVIII. xvi. 13, and the note.

6. So also Justinus, XXXII. 1. 3: Perseo . . . decennis belli sumptus a patre paratus in thesauris et horreis erat.

7. B.C. 171

8. The

Red Sea

usually meant to a Roman the Persian Gulf, but cf. below, ultimis Indiae oris; the Indian Ocean had perhaps no separate name current in Livy's day; Roman seafaring in those waters came later.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 42.52

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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