Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, D. Spillan, A.M., M.D. (Translator), Cyrus Edmonds (Translator), William A. McDevitte (Translator), 21.43

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[1]

When he had dismissed the soldiers, thus affected after viewing several pairs of combatants, having then summoned an assembly, he is said to have addressed them in these terms: "If, soldiers, you shall by and by, in judging of your own fortune, preserve the same feelings which you experienced a little before in the example of the fate of others, we have already conquered;

[2] for neither was that merely a spectacle, but as it were a certain representation of your condition.

[3] And I know not whether fortune has not thrown around you still stronger chains and more urgent necessities than around your captives.

[4] On the right and left two seas enclose you, without your possessing a single ship even for escape. The river Po around you, the Po larger and more impetuous than the Rhone, the Alps behind, scarcely passed by you when fresh and vigorous, hem you in.

[5] Here, soldiers, where you have first met the enemy, you must conquer or die; and the same fortune which has imposed the necessity of fighting, holds out to you, if victorious, rewards, than which men are not wont to desire greater, even from the immortal gods.

[6] If we were only about to recover by our valour Sicily and Sardinia, wrested from our fathers, the recompence would be sufficiently ample; but whatever, acquired and amassed by so many triumphs, the Romans possess, all, with its masters themselves, will become yours. To gain this rich reward, hasten, then, and seize your arms with the favour of the gods.

[7] Long enough in pursuing cattle among the desert mountains of Lusitania ¹ and Celtiberia, you have seen no emolument from so many toils and dangers:

[8] it is time to make rich and profitable campaigns, and to gain the great reward of your labours, after having accomplished such a length of journey over so many mountains and rivers, and so many nations in arms.

[9] Here fortune has granted you the termination of your labours; here she will bestow a reward worthy of the service you have undergone.

[10] Nor, in proportion as the war is great in name, ought you to consider that the victory will be difficult.

[11] A despised enemy has often maintained a sanguinary contest, and renowned states and kings been conquered by a very slight effort. For, setting aside only the splendour of the Roman name, what remains in which they can be compared to you?

[12] To pass over in silence your service for twenty years, distinguished by such valour and success, you have made your way to this place from the pillars of Hercules, ² from the ocean, and the remotest limits of the world, advancing victorious through so many of the fiercest nations

[13] of Gaul and Spain: you will fight with a raw army, which this very summer was beaten, conquered, and surrounded by the Gauls, as yet unknown to its general, and ignorant of him. Shall I compare myself, almost born, and certainly bred in the tent of my father, that most illustrious commander, myself the

[14] subjugator of Spain and Gaul, the conqueror too not only of the Alpine nations, but what is much more, of the Alps themselves, with this six months' general, the deserter of

[15] his army? To whom, if any one, having taken away their standards, should show to-day the Carthaginians and Romans, I am sure that he would not know of which army he was consul. I do not regard it, soldiers, as of small account, that there is not a man among you before whose eyes I

[16] have not often achieved some military exploit; and to whom, in like manner, I the spectator and witness of his valour, could not recount his own gallant deeds, particularized by time and place. With soldiers who have a thousand times received

[17] my praises and gifts, I, who was the pupil of you all before I became your commander, will march out in battle-array against those who are unknown to and ignorant of each other.

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). D. Spillan, A.M., M.D. (Translator), Cyrus Edmonds (Translator), William A. McDevitte (Translator). Medford, MA. .

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Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's 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.) — 21.43 focus

[1] cum sic aliquot spectatis paribus adfectos dimisisset, contione inde advocata ita apud eos locutus fertur:

[2] “si, quem animum in alienae sortis exemplo paulo ante habuistis, eundem mox in aestimanda fortuna vestra habueritis, vicimus, milites; neque enim spectaculum modo illud, sed quaedam veluti imago vestrae condicionis erat.

[3] ac nescio an maiora vincula maioresque necessitates vobis quam captivis vestris fortuna circumdederit:

[4] dextra laevaque duo maria claudunt nullam ne ad effugium quidem navem habentis, circa Padus amnis maior ac violentior Rhodano, ab tergo Alpes urgent, vix integris vobis ac vigentibus transitae.

[5] hic vincendum aut moriendum, milites, est, ubi primum hosti occurristis. et eadem fortuna, quae necessitatem pugnandi imposuit, praemia vobis ea victoribus proponit, quibus ampliora homines ne ab diis quidem immortalibus optare solent.

[6] si Siciliam tantum ac Sardiniam parentibus nostris ereptas nostra virtute recuperaturi essemus, satis tamen ampla pretia essent: quidquid Romani tot triumphis partum congestumque possident, id omne vestrum cum ipsis dominis futurum est.

[7] in hanc tam opimam mercedem, agite dum, diis bene iuvantibus arma capite.

[8] satis adhuc in vastis Lusitaniae Celtiberiaeque montibus pecora consectando nullum emolumentum tot laborum periculorumque vestrorum vidistis;

[9] tempus est iam opulenta vos ac ditia stipendia facere et magna operae pretia mereri, tantum itineris per tot montes fluminaque et tot armatas gentes emensos.

[10] hic vobis terminum laborum fortuna dedit; hic dignam mercedem emeritis stipendiis dabit.

[11] nec, quam magni nominis bellum est, tam difficilem existimaritis victoriam fore: saepe et contemptus hostis cruentum certamen edidit et incluti populi regesque perlevi momento victi sunt.

[12] nam dempto hoc uno fulgore nominis Romani quid est, cur illi vobis comparandi sint?

[13] ut viginti annorum militiam vestram cum illa virtute, cum illa fortuna taceam, ab Herculis columnis, ab Oceano terminisque ultimis terrarum per tot ferocissimos Hispaniae et Galliae populos vincentes huc pervenistis;

[14] pugnabitis cum exercitu tirone, hac ipsa aestate caeso victo circumsesso a Gallis, ignoto adhuc duci suo ignorantique ducem an me in praetorio patris,

[15] clarissimi imperatoris, prope natum, certe eductum, domitorem Hispaniae Galliaeque, victorem eundem non Alpinarum modo gentium sed ipsarum, quod multo maius est, Alpium, cum semenstri hoc conferam duce, desertore exercitus sui?

[16] cui si quis demptis signis Poenos Romanosque hodie ostendat, ignoraturum certum habeo, utrius exercitus sit consul.

[17] non ego illud parvi aestimo, milites, quod nemo est vestrum, cuius non ante oculos ipse saepe militare aliquod ediderim facinus, cui non idem ego virtutis spectator ac testis notata temporibus locisque referre sua possim decora.

[18] cum laudatis a me miliens donatisque alumnus prius omnium vestrum quam imperator, procedam in aciem adversus ignotos inter se ignorantesque.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Conway, Robert Seymour; Walters, Charles Flamstead; Johnson, Stephen Keymer, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1914-1935. (Oxford Classical Texts)) — 21.43 focus

[1]

cum sic aliquot spectatis paribus adfectos dimisisset, contione inde aduocata ita apud eos locutus fertur. 'si, quem animum in alienae sortis exemplo paulo ante habuistis, eundem mox in aestimanda fortuna uestra habueritis, uicimus, milites;

[2] neque enim spectaculum modo illud sed quaedam ueluti imago uestrae condicionis erat.

[3] ac nescio an maiora uincula maioresque necessitates uobis quam captiuis uestris fortuna circumdederit.

[4] dextra laeuaque duo maria claudunt nullam ne ad effugium quidem nauem habentes; circa Padus amnis, maior [Padus] ac uiolentior Rhodano, ab tergo Alpes urgent, uix integris uobis ac uigentibus transitae.

[5] hic uincendum aut moriendum, milites, est, ubi primum hosti occurristis. et eadem fortuna, quae necessitatem pugnandi imposuit, praemia uobis ea uictoribus proponit quibus ampliora homines ne ab dis quidem immortalibus optare solent.

[6] si Siciliam tantum ac Sardiniam parentibus nostris ereptas nostra uirtute reciperaturi essemus, satis tamen ampla pretia essent: quidquid Romani tot triumphis partum congestumque possident, id omne uestrum cum ipsis dominis futurum est;

[7] in hanc tam opimam mercedem, agite dum, dis bene iuuantibus arma capite.

[8] satis adhuc in uastis Lusitaniae Celtiberiaeque montibus pecora consectando nullum emolumentum tot laborum periculorumque uestrorum uidistis;

[9] tempus est iam opulenta uos ac ditia stipendia facere et magna operae pretia mereri, tantum itineris per tot montes fluminaque et tot armatas gentes emensos.

[10] hic uobis terminum laborum fortuna dedit; hic dignam mercedem emeritis stipendiis dabit.

[11] nec, quam magni nominis bellum est, tam difficilem existimaritis uictoriam fore; saepe et contemptus hostis cruentum certamen edidit et incliti populi regesque perleui momento uicti sunt.

[12] nam dempto hoc uno fulgore nominis Romani, quid est cur illi uobis comparandi sint?

[13] ut uiginti annorum militiam uestram cum illa uirtute, cum illa fortuna taceam, ab Herculis columnis, ab Oceano terminisque ultimis terrarum per tot ferocissimos Hispaniae et Galliae populos uincentes huc peruenistis;

[14] pugnabitis cum exercitu tirone, hac ipsa aestate caeso, uicto, circumsesso a Gallis, ignoto adhuc duci suo ignorantique ducem.

[15] an me in praetorio patris, clarissimi imperatoris, prope natum, certe eductum, domitorem Hispaniae Galliaeque, uictorem eundem non Alpinarum modo gentium sed ipsarum, quod multo maius est, Alpium, cum semenstri hoc conferam duce, desertore exercitus sui?

[16] cui si quis demptis signis Poenos Romanosque hodie ostendat, ignoraturum certum habeo utrius exercitus sit consul.

[17] non ego illud parui aestimo, milites, quod nemo est uestrum cuius non ante oculos ipse saepe militare aliquod ediderim facinus, cui non idem ego uirtutis spectator ac testis notata temporibus locisque referre sua possim decora.

[18] cum laudatis a me miliens donatisque, alumnus prius omnium uestrum quam imperator, procedam in aciem aduersus ignotos inter se ignorantesque.

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).) — 21.43 focus

[1]

cum sic aliquot spectatis paribus adfectos dimisisset, contione inde advocata ita apud eos locutus fertur:

[2] "Si, quem animum in alienae sortis exemplo paulo ante habuistis, eundem mox in aestimanda fortuna vestra habueritis, vicimus, milites; neque enim spectaculum modo illud sed quaedam veluti imago vestrae condicionis erat.

[3] ac nescio an maiora vincula maioresque necessitates vobis quam captivis vestris Fortuna circumdederit:

[4] dextra laevaque duo maria claudunt nullam ne ad effugium quidem navem habentes; ¹ circa Padus amnis—maior Padus ac violentior Rhodano; ab tergo Alpes urgent, vix integris vobis ac vigentibus transitae.

[5] hic vincendum aut moriendum, milites, est, ubi primum hosti occurristis. et eadem Fortuna quae necessitatem pugnandi imposuit praemia vobis ea victoribus proponit, quibus ampliora homines ne ab dis quidem immortalibus optare solent.

[6] si Siciliam tantum ac Sardiniam parentibus nostris ereptas nostra virtute reciperaturi essemus, satis tamen ampla pretia essent; nunc quidquid ² Romani tot triumphis partum congestumque possident, id omne vestrum cum ipsis dominis futurum est.

[7] in hanc tam opimam mercedem agite dum, ³

[8] dis bene iuvantibus arma capite! satis adhuc in vastis Lusitaniae Celtiberiaeque montibus pecora consectando nullum emolumentum tot laborum periculorumque vestrorum vidistis;

[9] tempus est iam opulenta vos ac ditia stipendia facere et magna operae pretia mereri tantum itineris per tot montes fluminaque et tot armatas gentes emensos.

[10] hic vobis terminum laborum Fortuna dedit; hic dignam mercedem emeritis stipendiis dabit.

[11] " nec quam magni nominis bellum est tam difficilem existimaritis victoriam fore: saepe et contemptus hostis cruentum certamen edidit et incliti populi regesque perlevi momento victi sunt.

[12] nam dempto hoc uno ⁴ fulgore nominis Romani quid est cur illi vobis comparandi sint?

[13] ut viginti annorum militia vestram cum illa virtute cum illa fortuna taceam, ab Herculis columnis ab Oceano terminisque ultimis terrarum per tot ferocissimos Hispaniae et Galliae populos vincentes huc pervenistis; pugnabitis cum exercitu tirone,

[14] hac ipsa aestate caeso victo ⁵ circumsesso a Gallis, ignoto adhuc duci suo ignorantique ducem.

[15] An me in praetorio patris, clarissimi imperatoris, prope natum, ⁶ certe eductum, domitorem Hispaniae Galliaeque, victorem eundem non Alpinarum modo gentium, sed ipsarum, quod multo maius est, Alpium, cum semenstri hoc conferam duce, desertore exercitus sui?

[16] cui si quis demptis signis Poenos Romanosque hodie ostendat, ignoraturum certum habeo utrius exercitus sit consul.

[17] non ego illud parvi aestimo, milites, quod nemo est vestrum cuius non ante oculos ipse saepe militare aliquod ediderim facinus, cui non idem ego virtutis spectator ac testis notata temporibus locisque referre sua possim decora.

[18] cum laudatis a me ⁷ miliens donatisque, alumnus prius omnium vestrum quam imperator, procedam in aciem adversus ignotos inter se ignorantesque.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (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)) — 21.43 focus

[1]

Having thus, by the exhibition of several pairs, worked on the passions of his troops, he dismissed them. Then, convening an assembly, he addressed them —so it is said —in the following strain: "If that spirit which but now was roused in you by the example of the plight of others shall presently be yours, when you consider your own prospects, then, soldiers, the victory is ours.

[2] For that was no mere spectacle, but a kind of picture, as it were, of your own condition.

[3] And I incline to think that Fortune has laid you under stronger bonds and heavier necessities than your captives.

[4] On the right and on the left two seas encompass you, and you have not a single ship, even to flee in; round you is the river Po —the Po, a greater and more turbulent river than the Rhone; behind you tower the Alps, which you hardly scaled when you were fresh and vigorous.

[5] Here, soldiers, you must conquer or die, where for the first time you have faced the enemy. And the same Fortune which has laid upon you the necessity of fighting holds forth the promise of such ¹ prizes, in the event of victory, that men are wont to ask not even the immortal gods for greater.

[6] If it were only Sicily and Sardinia, wrested from our fathers, that we were going to recover by our valour, these would still be great enough rewards. As it is, whatever the Romans have won and heaped up in the course of all their triumphs, whatever they possess, is all destined —and its owners with it —to be yours.

[7] Come then! Arm yourselves, with Heaven helping you, to earn this splendid wage!

[8] Long enough have you been chasing flocks on the barren mountains of Lusitania and Celtiberia, without seeing any recompense for all your toil and dangers.

[9] It is now time for you to make rich and lucrative campaigns, and reap the large rewards of so long a march over so many mountains and rivers and through so many warlike tribes. Here Fortune has fixed the final goal of your labours; here, when your wars are ended, she will worthily requite you.

[10] "Nor must you think that in proportion to the great name of the war will be the difficulty you will have in winning it.

[11] It has often happened that even an enemy held cheap has caused a bloody battle, and that nations and princes of renown have been very lightly overcome. Take from your enemies this one glory of the Roman name, and in what particular can they bear comparison with you?

[12] To say nothing of your twenty years of service and your far-famed courage and good fortune, you

[13] have come from the Pillars of Hercules, from the Ocean and the uttermost limits of the world, and through so many of the fiercest tribes of Spain and Gaul have fought your way victoriously to this field.

[14] You will be pitted against an army of recruits, who have been ² this very summer cut to pieces, routed, and besieged by Gauls —an army as yet unknown to its general and one that knows not him.

[15] Or am I, who if not actually born in the headquarters of my father-most illustrious of commanders —was at least brought up there, am I, the subjugator of Spain and Gaul and conqueror not only of the Alpine tribes, but —what is much more —of the Alps themselves, am I, I ask you, to compare myself to this six-months general, who has deserted his own army?

[16] Why, if one were to show him to-day the Phoenicians and Romans without their standards, I am certain he would not know which army he was consul of.

[17] For my part, soldiers, I regard it as no slight advantage that there is not one of you in whose sight I have not often myself performed some soldierly feat; not one of whose courage I have not in my turn been a spectator and eye-witness —whose deeds of prowess, noted, together with their times and circumstances, I am not able to rehearse.

[18] I shall enter the battle in company with men whom I have praised and decorated a thousand times, and to all of whom I was a foster-son before I was their general. Opposed to me will be men who do not even know each other.

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.) — 21.43 focus

[1]

After his men had been impressed by watching several pairs of combatants Hannibal dismissed them, and afterwards summoned them round him, when he is reported to have made the following speech: "Soldiers, you have seen in the fate of others an example how to conquer or to die.

[2] If the feelings with which you watched them lead you to form a similar estimate of your own fortunes we are victors. That was no idle spectacle but a picture, as it were, of your own condition.

[3] Fortune, I am inclined to think has bound you in heavier chains and imposed upon you a sterner necessity than on your captives.

[4] You are shut in on the right hand and on the left by two seas, and you have not a single ship in which to make your escape; around you flows the Po, a greater river than the Rhone and a more rapid one; the barrier of the Alps frowns upon you behind, those Alps which you could hardly cross when your strength and vigour were unimpaired.

[5] Here, soldiers, on this spot where you have for the first time encountered the enemy you must either conquer or die. The same Fortune which has imposed upon you the necessity of fighting also holds out rewards of victory, rewards as great as any which men are wont to solicit from the immortal gods.

[6] Even if we were only going to recover Sicily and Sardinia, possessions which were wrested from our fathers, they would be prizes ample enough to satisfy us.

[7] Everything that the Romans now possess, which they have won through so many triumphs, all that they have amassed, will become yours, together with those who own it. Come then, seize your arms and with the help of heaven win this splendid reward.

[8] You have spent time enough in hunting cattle on the barren mountains of Lusitania and Celtiberia, and finding no recompense for all your toils and dangers;

[9] now the hour has come for you to enter upon rich and lucrative campaigns and to earn rewards which are worth the earning, after your long march over all those mountains and rivers, and through all those nations in arms.

[10] Here Fortune has vouchsafed an end to your toils, here she will vouchsafe a reward worthy of all your past services.

[11] "Do not think because the war, being against Rome, bears a great name, that therefore victory will be correspondingly difficult. Many a despised enemy has fought a long and costly fight; nations and kings of high renown have been beaten with a very slight effort.

[12] For, setting aside the glory which surrounds the name of Rome, what point is there in which they can be compared to you?

[13] To say nothing of your twenty years' campaigning earned on with all your courage, all your good fortune, from the pillars of Hercules, from the shores of the ocean, from the furthest corners of the earth, through the midst of all the most warlike peoples of Spain and Gaul, you have arrived here as victors.

[14] The army with which you will fight is made up of raw levies who were beaten, conquered, and hemmed in by the Gauls this very summer, who are strangers to their general, and he a stranger to them.

[15] I, reared as I was, almost born, in the headquarters tent of my father, a most distinguished general, I, who have subjugated Spain and Gaul, who have conquered not only the Alpine tribes, but, what is a much greater task, the Alps themselves-am I to compare myself with this six months' general who has deserted his own

[16] army, who, if any one were to point out to him the Romans and the Carthaginians after their standards were removed, would, I am quite certain, not know which army he was in command of as consul?

[17] I do not count it a small matter, soldiers, that there is not a man amongst you before whose eyes I have not done many a soldierly deed, or to whom I, who have witnessed and attested his courage, could not recount his own gallant exploits and the time and place where they were performed.

[18] I was your pupil before I was your commander, and I shall go into battle surrounded by men whom I have commended and rewarded thousands of times against those who know nothing of each other, who are mutual strangers.

Notes on the current edition

History of Rome, books 1-10, 21-45

1. The ancient name of Portugal.

2. Calpe, a mountain or rather rock in Spain, and Abyla in Africa, fabled to have been placed by Hercules as marks of his most 13 distant voyage, are now well known as Gibraltar and Ceuta.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 21.43

D. Spillan, A.M., M.D. (Translator), Cyrus Edmonds (Translator), William A. McDevitte (Translator)

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