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), 43.14

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[1]

Thereupon the assembly for electing censors was announced. The leading men of the state sought the censorship, Gaius Valerius Laevinus, Lucius Postumius Albinus, Publius Mucius Scaevola, Marcus Junius Brutus, Gaius Claudius Pulcher, Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. The last two were elected censors by the Roman people.

[2] Since concern over holding the levy was greater, because of the Macedonian war, than at other times, the consuls blamed the commons before the senate because even ¹ the men of military age were not presenting themselves.

[3] Retorting to them Gaius Sulpicius and Marcus Claudius the praetors pleaded the cause of the commons; the levy, they said, was difficult, not for consuls, but for politically-minded consuls; they never enrolled a soldier against his will.

[4] That the Conscript Fathers might also be sure that this was so, they themselves, though praetors, whose powers of office and importance were less, would, if it seemed best to the senate, complete the levy. ² This task was entrusted to the praetors with great enthusiasm on the part of the Fathers, not without jeers at the consuls.

[5] The censors, to further the business, made the following proclamation before a meeting; that they were going to lay down a rule for taking the census that, besides the general oath for all citizens, ³ they would require assent on oath to the following:

[6]

Are you less than forty-six years of age, and have you, in accordance with the proclamation of Gaius Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius the censors, come forward for the levy, and as often as there shall be a levy, as long as these censors shall hold office, ⁴ if you have not entered the army, will you come forward for the levy?

;

[7] again, since it was rumoured that many were absent on leave from the legions in Macedonia without specific reason because of the popularity-hunting of the generals, they proclaimed concerning the soldiers enrolled for Macedonia in the consulship of Publius Aelius and Gaius Popilius ⁵ or after that consulship, that whoever of them were in Italy should within thirty days, having first appeared before the censors, return to their province, and that the names of those who were subject to the authority of father or grandfather ⁶ should be reported to the censors.

[8] They would also review, they said, the reasons for discharges, and those whose discharge before completion of their

[9] military service seemed to the censors to result from indulgence they would order to be enrolled as soldiers.

[10] Through this proclamation of the censors, and through their letters sent about throughout the markets and hamlets, so large a crowd of men of military age assembled at Rome that the unusual throng was burdensome to the city.

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.) — 43.14 focus

[1] censoribus deinde creandis comitia edicta sunt. petierunt censuram principes civitatis, C. Valerius Laevinus, L. Postumius Albinus, P. Mucius Scaevola, M. Iunius Brutus, C. Claudius Pulcher, Ti. Sempronius Gracchus. hos duos censores creavit populus Romanus.

[2] cum dilectus habendi maior quam alias propter Macedonicum bellum cura esset, consules plebem apud senatum accusabant, quod et iuniores non responderent.

[3] adversus quos C. Sulpicius et M. Claudius praetores plebis causam egerunt: non consulibus, sed ambitiosis consulibus dilectum difficilem esse; neminem invitum militem ab iis fieri.

[4] id ut ita esse scirent et patres conscripti, praetores se, quibus vis imperii minor et auctoritas esset, dilectum, si ita senatui videretur, perfecturos esse.

[5] id praetoribus magna patrum approbatione, non sine suggillatione consulum mandatum est. censores, ut eam rem adiuvarent, ita in contione edixerunt: legem censui censendo dicturos esse, ut praeter commune omnium civium ius iurandum haec adiurarent:

[6] “tu minor annis sex et quadraginta es tuque ex edicto C. Claudi Ti. Semproni censorum ad dilectum prodisti et, quotienscumque dilectus erit, quoad hi censores magistratum habebunt, si miles factus non eris, in dilectum prodibis?”

[7] item, quia fama erat multos ex Macedonicis legionibus incertis commeatibus per ambitionem imperatorum ab exercitu abesse, edixerunt de militibus P. Aelio C. Popilio consulibus postve eos consules in Macedoniam scriptis, ut, qui eorum in Italia essent, intra dies triginta, censi prius apud sese, in provinciam redirent;

[8] qui in patris aut avi potestate essent, eorum nomina ad se ederentur.

[9] missorum quoque causas sese cognituros esse; et quorum ante emerita stipendia gratiosa missio sibi visa esset, eos milites fieri iussuros.

[10] hoc edicto litterisque censorum per fora et conciliabula dimissis tanta multitudo iuniorum Romam convenit, ut gravis urbi turba insolita esset.

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).) — 43.14 focus

[1]

censoribus deinde creandis comitia edicta sunt. petierunt censuram principes civitatis, C. Valerius Laevinus, L. Postumius Albinus, P. Mucius Scaevola, M. ¹ Iunius Brutus, C. Claudius Pulcher, T. Sempronius Gracchus. hos duos censores creavit populus Romanus.

[2] cum dilectus habendi maior quam alias propter Macedonicum bellum cura esset, ² consules plebem apud senatum accusabant quod et ³ iuniores non responderent.

[3] adversus quos C. Sulpicius et M. Claudius praetores plebis causam egerunt: non consulibus, sed ambitiosis consulibus dilectum difficilem esse; neminem invitum militem ab iis fieri.

[4] id ut ita ⁴ esse scirent et patres conscripti, praetores se, ⁵ quibus vis imperii minor et auctoritas esset, dilectum, si ita senatui videretur, perfecturos esse.

[5] id praetoribus magna patrum approbatione, ⁶ non sine suggillatione consulum mandatum est. censores , ut eam rem adiuvarent, ita in contione edixerunt: ⁷ legem censui censendo dicturos esse, ut praeter commune omnium civium ⁸ ius iurandum haec adiurarent:

[6]

tu minor annis sex et quadraginta es tuque ⁹ ex edicto C. Claudi Ti. Semproni censorum ad dilectum prodisti ¹⁰ et quotienscumque dilectus erit quoad ¹¹ hi censores magistratum habebunt, si miles factus non eris, in dilectum ¹² prodibis ¹³ ?

[7]

item, quia fama erat multos ex Macedonicis legionibus incertis commeatibus per ambitionem imperatorum ab exercitu abesse, edixerunt de militibus P. Aelio C. Popilio ¹⁴ consulibus postve eos consules in Macedoniam scriptis,

[8] ut qui eorum in ¹⁵ Italia essent intra dies triginta, censi ¹⁶ prius apud sese, in provinciam redirent; qui in patris aut avi potestate essent, eorum nomina ad se ederentur. ¹⁷

[9] missorum quoque causas sese cognituros esse; et quorum ante emerita stipendia gratiosa missio sibi visa esset, eos milites fieri iussuros.

[10] hoc edicto litterisque censorum per fora et conciliabula dimissis tanta multitudo iuniorum Romam convenit, ut gravis urbi turba insolita esset.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 43.14 focus

[1]

censoribus deinde creandis comitia edicta sunt. petierunt censuram principes civitatis C. Valerius Laevinus , L. Postumius Albinus , P. Mucius Scaevola , M. Iunius Brutus , C. Claudius Pulcher , Ti. Sempronius Gracchus .

[2] hos duos censores creavit populus Romanus. cum dilectus habendi maior quam alias propter Macedonicum bellum cura esset, consules plebem apud senatum accusabant, quod [et] iuniores non responderent.

[3] adversus quos ¹ C. Sulpicius et M. Claudius praetores plebis causam egerunt: non consulibus, sed ambitiosis consulibus dilectum difficilem esse;

[4] neminem invitum militem ab iis fieri. id ut ita esse scirent et patres conscripti, praetores, quibus et vis imperii minor et auctoritas esset, dilectum, si ita senatui videretur, perfecturos esse.

[5] id praetoribus magna patrum approbatione non sine suggillatione consulum mandatum est. censores ut eam rem adiuvarent, ita in contione edixerunt: legem censui censendo dicturos esse, ut praeter commune omnium civium ius iurandum haec adiurarent:

[6] ‘tu minor annis sex et quadraginta es tuque ex edicto C. Claudi Ti. Semproni censorum ad dilectum prodisti et ² quotienscumque dilectus erit, quoad hi censores magistratum habebunt, si miles factus non eris, in dilectu prodibis?

[7] ’ item quia fama erat multos ex Macedonicis legionibus incertis commeatibus per ambitionem imperatorum ab exercitu abesse, edixerunt de militibus P. Aelio C. Popilio consulibus postve eos consules in Macedoniam scriptis,

[8] ut qui eorum in Italia essent, intra dies triginta, censi prius apud sese, in provinciam redirent; qui in patris aut avi potestate essent, eorum nomina ad se ederentur.

[9] missorum quoque causas sese cognituros esse et quorum ante emerita stipendia gratiosa missio sibi visa esset, eos milites fieri iussuros.

[10] hoc edicto ³ litterisque censorum per fora et conciliabula dimissis tanta multitudo iuniorum Romam convenit, ut gravis urbi turba insolita esset.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 43.14 focus

[1]

Then the elections were held for the creation of censors. Several of the first men in the state, including Caius Valerius Laevinus, Lucius Postumius Albinus, Publius Mucius Scaevola, Marcus Junius Brutus, Caius Claudius Pulcher, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, were candidates for this office. The Roman people appointed the two last censors.

[2] As, on account of the Macedonian war, greater attention was paid to holding the levy than usual, the consuls made a complaint to the senate against the plebeians, that even the younger men did not obey their summons.

[3] But, in opposition to them, Caius Sulpicius and Marcus Claudius, tribunes of the people, pleaded in favour of the plebeians; asserting, that

the levying of soldiers was a difficult task, not to the consuls in general, but to such consuls as affected popularity; that no man was made a soldier by them against his inclination; and that the conscript fathers might be convinced of the truth of this, the praetors, who in their office had less power and authority, would, if it seemed good to the senate, complete the levy.

[4] That business was accordingly committed to the care of the praetors by an unanimous vote of the senate, not without great murmuring on the part of the consuls.

[5] The censors, in order to forward it, published, in a general assembly, the following notice: that

they would make it a rule in conducting the survey, that, besides the common oath taken by all citizens, the younger part should swear in this manner, when challenged, —You are younger than forty-six years, and you shall attend at the levy, pursuant to the edict of Caius Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius, censors; and you shall attend at the levy, as often as there shall be a levy held by any magistrate during the aforesaid censors' continuance in office, if you shall not have been already enlisted.

[6] Also as there was a report, that many men belonging to the legions in Macedon were absent from the army on furloughs, which did not limit the time, and were granted by the commanders to ingratiate themselves with the soldiers, they issued a proclamation concerning all who had been draughted for Macedon in the consulate of Publius Aelius and Caius Popilius, or since that period;

[7] that

such as were in Italy should, after being first registered by them in the survey, repair within thirty days to the province in which they served; and that, if any were under the power of a father or grandfather, the names of such should be notified to them.

[8]

That they would also make inquiry into the cases of the soldiers who had been discharged; and that they would order those, whose discharge should appear to have been obtained through favour, before the regular number of campaigns were served, to be enlisted again.

[9] In consequence of this proclamation, and letters from the censors being dispersed through the market-towns and villages, such multitudes of young men flocked to Rome, that the extraordinary crowd was even inconvenient to the city.

[10] Besides enrolling those whom it was necessary to send as a reinforcement for the armies, four legions were raised by the praetor, Caius Sulpicius, and the levies were completed within eleven days.

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.) — 43.14 focus

[1]

Then notice was given of the election of censors. Some of the leading men in the commonwealth were candidates, such as C. Valerius Laevinus, L. Postumius Albinus, P. Mucius Scaevola, M. Junius Brutus, C. Claudius Pulcher, and Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus. The two latter were elected censors by the people of Rome.

[2] Though, owing to the Macedonian war, greater care than usual was being shown in the raising of new troops, the consuls complained of the plebs in the senate, the younger men were avoiding enlistment.

[3] The two praetors C. Sulpicius and M. Claudius put forward the case for the plebs. The difficulty was due to the consuls, not because they were consuls, but because they were popularity-hunting consuls, they made no man a soldier against his will.

[4] That the senate might see how true this was, they, the praetors, though they had less power and authority, were prepared, if the senate approved, to carry the enlistment through. The senate quite approved and the praetors were entrusted with the task, not without some insulting remarks from the consuls.

[5] In order to help them the censors announced in a meeting of the Assembly that they should make it a rule in their assessment that in addition to the oath taken by all the citizens, the following questions must be answered: "Are you under 46 years of age?

[6] Have you come forward to be enrolled as required by the edict of the censors, C. Claudius and Tiberius Sempronius? As long as these censors are in office, will you, whenever troops are being raised, come forward to be enrolled if you have not already been made a soldier?"

[7] Moreover, owing to a report that many men in the legions in Macedonia were absent from the army, the commanders having granted furloughs for all sorts of reasons, that they might be popular, they issued an edict requiring all soldiers who had been conscripted in the consulship of P. Aelius and C. Popilius or subsequently, and were at the time in Italy, to return to Macedonia within thirty days after making their returns to the censors.

[8] Those who were under the guardianship of father or grandfather must give in the names of these to the censors. The censors would investigate the reasons for discharge, and where men had

[9] been discharged before serving their time simply as a favour they should order them to resume their place in the ranks.

[10] This notice of the censors was published in all the towns throughout Italy, and such a multitude of men of military age flocked to Rome that the City was inconveniently crowded by the unusual influx.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. This word is usually omitted by editors, on the ground that of the whole citizen-army only men of military age (the iuniores, 17-46 years old) were involved in the levy; but for the Macedonian campaign, older men (the seniores, 47-60 years old) also were drafted or volunteered, cf. XLII. xxxi. 4 and xxxii. 6.

2. Conduct of a levy by praetors when the consuls were otherwise occupied was not without precedent, cf. XXXIX. xx. 4, xxxviii. 10; XLII. xviii. 6; but the supplanting of the consuls was peculiar to this occasion.

3. B.C. 169

4. Either for a year and a half, during which the censors were allowed to be active, by the Aemilian law ( 434 B.C. , IV. xxiv. 5, cf. IX. xxxiii. 3 ff.), or for three years, as the censors' authority over construction and repairs was, according to XLV. xv. 9, customarily continued for a second period of equal length; hardly for the full five years till other censors were chosen.

5. 172 B.C. ; a small force crossed over to the towns of the west coast in that year, cf. XLII. xxvii.

6. Such men would not appear before the censors, as their property belonged to the estate of their controlling relative.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 43.14

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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