Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, D. Spillan, A.M., M.D. (Translator), Cyrus Edmonds (Translator), William A. McDevitte (Translator), 3.24

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[1]

This war being concluded, a tribunitian war at home alarms the senate. They exclaim, "that the detaining the army abroad was done for a fraudulent motive: that such frustration was for the purpose of doing away with the law; that they, however, would go through with the matter undertaken by them.

[2] Publius Lucretius, however, the praefect of the city, so far prevailed that the proceedings of the tribunes were postponed till the arrival of the consuls. A new cause of disturbance also arose.

[3] Aulus Cornelius and Quintus Ser- vilius, quaestors, appoint a day of trial for Marcus Volscius, because he had come forward as a manifestly false witness against Caeso. For it appeared by many proofs, that the brother of Volscius, from the time he first became ill, not only never appeared in public, but that he had not even arisen from his sick bed, and that he died of an illness of several months' standing;

[4] and that at the time to which the witness had referred the commission of the crime, Caeso had not been seen at Rome: those who served in the army with him, positively stating that at that time he had constantly attended at his post with them without any leave of absence.

[5] Many persons proposed on their own private responsibility to Volscius to have a judicial decision on the matter. ¹ As he would not venture to go to trial, all these matters coinciding rendered the condemnation of Volscius no less certain. than that of Caeso

[6] had been on the testimony of Volscius. The tribunes occasioned a delay, who said that they would not suffer the quaestors to hold the assembly ² concerning the accused, unless it was first held concerning the law. Thus both matters were spun out till the arrival of the consuls. When they entered the city in triumph with their victorious army, because silence was (observed) with regard to the law, many thought that the tribunes were struck with dismay. But they, (for it was now the close of the year,) desirous of obtaining a fourth tribuneship, had turned

[7] away their efforts from the law to canvassing for the elections; and when the consuls strove with no less strenuousness than if the law in question were proposed for the purpose of lessening their own dignity, the victory in the contest was on the side of the tribunes. On the same year peace was granted to the Aequi on their suing for it. The census, a matter commenced on the preceding year, is

[8] completed. The number of citizens rated were one hundred and seventeen thousand three hundred and nineteen. The consuls obtained great glory this year both at home and in war, because they both re-established peace abroad and at home; though the state was not in a state of absolute concord, yet it was less disturbed than at other times.

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

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

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.) — 3.24 focus

[1] hoc bello perfecto tribunicium domi bellum patres territat. clamant fraude fieri, quod foris teneatur exercitus; frustrationem ear eam legis tollendae esse: se nihilo minus rem susceptam peracturos.

[2] obtinuit tamen L. Lucretius, praefectus urbis, ut actiones tribuniciae in adventum consulum differrentur. erat et nova exorta causa motus.

[3] A. Cornelius et Q. Servilius quaestores M. Volscio, quod falsus haud dubie testis in Caesonem extitisset, diem dixerant. multis enim emanabat indiciis neque fratrem Volsci,

[4] ex quo semel fuerit aeger, umquam non modo visum in publico, sed ne adsurrexisse quidem ex morbo multorumque tabe mensum mortuum,

[5] nec iis temporibus, in quae testis crimen coniecisset, Caesonem Romae visum, adfirmantibus, qui una meruerant, secum eum tum frequentem ad signa sine ullo commeatu fuisse. nisi ita esset, multi privatim ferebant Volscio iudicem.

[6] cum ad iudicium ire non auderet, omnes eae res in unum congruentes baud haud magis dubiam damnationem Volsci, quam Caesonis Volscio teste fuerat, faciebant.

[7] in mora tribuni erant, qui comitia quaestores habere de reo, nisi prius habita de lege essent, passuros negabant. ita extracta utraque res in consulum adventum est.

[8] qui ubi triumphantes victore cum exercitu urbem inierunt, quia silentium de lege erat, perculsos magna pars credebant tribunos.

[9] at illi — etenim extremum anni iam erat — quartum adfectantes tribunatum in comitiorum disceptationem ab lege certamen averterant. et cum consules nihilo minus adversus continuationem tribunatus, quam si lex minuendae suae maiestatis causa promulgata ferretur, tetendissent, victoria certaminis penes tribunos fuit. eodem anno Aequis pax est petentibus data.

[10] census, res priore anno inchoata, perficitur; idque lustrum ab origine urbis decimum conditum ferunt. censa civium capita centum septendecim milia trecenta undeviginti.

[11] consulum magna domi bellique eo anno gloria fuit, quod et foris pacem peperere, et domi etsi non concors, minus tamen quam alias infesta civitas fuit.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Conway, Robert Seymour; Walters, Charles Flamstead; Johnson, Stephen Keymer, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1914-1935. (Oxford Classical Texts)) — 3.24 focus

[1]

hoc bello perfecto tribunicium domi bellum patres territat. clamant fraude fieri, quod foris teneatur exercitus; frustrationem eam ear legis tollendae esse; se nihilo minus rem susceptam peracturos.

[2] obtinuit tamen L. Lucretius, ¹ praefectus urbis, ut actiones tribuniciae in adventum consulum differrentur.

[3] erat et nova exorta causa motus. A. Cornelius et Q. Servilius quaestores M. Volscio, quod falsus haud dubie testis in Caesonem exstitisset, 4 diem dixerant. multis enim emanabat indiciis neque ² fratrem Volsci ex quo semel fuerit aeger unquam non modo visum in publico sed ne adsurrexisse quidem ex morbo, multorumque tabe mensum mensumn mortuum,

[4] nec iis ³ temporibus in quae testis crimen coniecisset Caesonem Romae visum, adfirmantibus qui una meruerant secum eum tum tur frequentem ad signa sine ullo commeatu fuisse. nisi ita esset, multi privatim ferebant Volscio iudicem.

[5] cum ad iudicium ire non auderet, omnes eae res ⁴ in unum congruentes haud magis dubiam damnationem Volsci quam Caesonis Volscio teste fuerat ⁵ faciebant.

[6] in mora tribuni erant, qui comitia quaestores habere de reo, nisi prius habita de lege essent, passuros nega. bant. ita extracta utraque res in consulum adventum est.

[7] qui ubi triumphantes triurnphantes victore cum exercitu urbem inierunt, quia silentium silentiunm de lege erat, perculsos magna pars credebant tribunos.

[8] at illi— etenim extremum anni iam erat,—quartum adfectantes tribunatum trilunatum , in comitiorum disceptationem ab lege certamen averterant. et cum consules nihilo minus adversus continuationem tribunatus quam si lex minuendae suae maiestatis causa promulgata ferretur tetendissent, victoria certaminis penes tribunos fuit.

[9] eodem anno Aequis pax est petentibus data. census , res priore anno incohata, perficitur; idque ⁶ lustrum ab origine urbis decimum conditum ferunt. censa⁷ civium capita centum septendecim milia ⁸ trecenta undeviginti. ⁹

[10] consulum magna domi bellique eo anno gloria fuit, quod et foris pacem peperere, et domi etsi non concors, minus tamen quam alias infesta civitas fuit.

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).) — 3.24 focus

[1]

hoc bello perfecto tribunicium domi bellum patres territat. clamant fraude fieri, quod foris teneatur exercitus; frustrationem eam ear legis tollendae esse; se nihilo minus rem susceptam peracturos.

[2] obtinuit tamen L. Lucretius, ¹ praefectus urbis, ut actiones tribuniciae in adventum consulum differrentur.

[5] cum ad iudicium ire non auderet, omnes eae res ⁴ in unum congruentes haud magis dubiam damnationem Volsci quam Caesonis Volscio teste fuerat ⁵ faciebant.

[6] in mora tribuni erant, qui comitia quaestores habere de reo, nisi prius habita de lege essent, passuros nega. bant. ita extracta utraque res in consulum adventum est.

[7] qui ubi triumphantes triurnphantes victore cum exercitu urbem inierunt, quia silentium silentiunm de lege erat, perculsos magna pars credebant tribunos.

[10] consulum magna domi bellique eo anno gloria fuit, quod et foris pacem peperere, et domi etsi non concors, minus tamen quam alias infesta civitas fuit.

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)) — 3.24 focus

[1]

This war was no sooner finished, than the patricians were alarmed by one waged against them at home, by the tribunes, who cried out that the army was dishonestly kept afield —a trick intended to frustrate the passage of the law; which, notwithstanding, they had undertaken and proposed to carry through.

[2] Still, Lucius Lucretius, the prefect of the City, obtained the postponement of any action by the tribunes until the consuls should have come.

[3] There had also arisen a new cause for disquiet. Aulus Cornelius and Quintus Servilius, the quaestors, had summoned Marcus Volscius to trial, on the charge that he had been guilty of undoubted perjury against Caeso.

[4] For it was becoming generally known, ¹ from many witnesses, first, that the brother of Volscius after having once fallen ill had not only never appeared in public, but had not even got up from his sick-bed, where he had died of a wasting disease which lasted many months;

[5] and secondly, that within the period to which Volscius, in his testimony, had referred the crime, Caeso had not been seen in Rome; for those who had served with him affirmed that he had often during that time been in their company at the front, without taking any furlough.

[6] To prove this contention, many persons offered Volscius to refer the question of fact to a private arbitrator. Since he did not dare proceed to arbitration, all these things, pointing in one direction, made the condemnation of Volscius as certain as that of Caeso had been made by Volscius's evidence.

[7] The tribunes delayed matters by refusing to allow the quaestors to hold an assembly for his trial until one should first have been held to consider the law. So both affairs dragged on till the arrival of the consuls.

[8] When they had entered the City in triumph ² with their victorious army, nothing was said about the law, and many people thought the tribunes had been daunted.

[9] But the tribunes were seeking a fourth term of office —for the end of the year was now at hand —and had diverted their efforts from the law to the contest for the election. And though the consuls strove quite as vehemently against the re-election of the incumbents to the tribuneship, as if a law were being urged which had been promulgated to curtail their own majesty, the contest resulted in victory for the tribunes.

[10] That same year the Aequi sought and obtained peace. The census, which had been begun the year ³ before, was completed; and this, they say, was the tenth lustral sacrifice performed since the founding of the City. There were enrolled 117,319 citizens.

[11] This year the consuls won great renown, at home and in the field; not only had they brought about peace with other nations, but at home also, though the state was not yet harmonious, yet it was less troubled than at other times.

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.) — 3.24 focus

[1] ¹ When this war had been brought to a close, the fears of the patricians were aroused by a

[2] war which the tribunes commenced at home. They exclaimed that the army was being detained abroad from dishonest motives; it was intended to frustrate the passing of the Law; all the same they would

[3] carry through the task they had begun. L. Lucretius, the prefect of the City, succeeded, however, in inducing the tribunes to defer action till the arrival of the consuls. A fresh cause of trouble arose. A. Cornelius and Q. Servilius, the quaestors, ² indicted M. Volscius on the ground

[4] that he had given what was undoubtedly false evidence against Caeso. It had become known from many sources that after the brother of Volscius first became ill, he had not only never been seen in public, but had not even left his bed, and

[5] his death was due to an illness of many months' standing. On the date at which the witness fixed the crime, Caeso was not seen in Rome , whilst those who had served with him declared that he had constantly been in his place in

[6] the ranks with them and had not had leave of absence. Many people urged Volscius to institute a private suit before a judge. As he did not venture to take this course, and all the above mentioned evidence pointed to one conclusion, his condemnation was no more doubtful than that

[7] of Caeso had been on the evidence which he had given. The tribunes managed to delay matters; they said they would not allow the quaestors to bring the accused before the Assembly unless it had first been convened to carry the

[8] Law. Both questions were adjourned till the arrival of the consuls. When they made their triumphal entry at the head of their victorious army, nothing was said about

[9] the Law; most people therefore supposed that the tribunes were intimidated. But it was now the end of the year and they were aiming at a fourth year of office, so they turned their activity from the Law to canvassing the electors. Though the consuls had opposed the tribunes' continuance in office as strenuously as if the Law had been mooted

[10] solely to impair their authority, the victory remained with the tribunes. In the same year the Aequi sued for and obtained peace. The census, commenced the previous year, was completed, and the “ lustrum,” which was then closed, is stated

[11] to have been the tenth since the beginning of the City. The numbers of the census amounted to 117,319. The consuls in that year won a great reputation both at home and in war, for they secured peace abroad, and though there was not harmony at home, the commonwealth was less disturbed than it had been on other occasions.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. Ni ita esset, a legal form of expression, amounting in this place to

if Volscius attempted to deny it.

Privatim. Besides the quaestors who by virtue of their office were to prosecute Volscius, many persons on their own account, and on their private responsibility, cited him into court, and challenged him to discuss the case before a judge. A prosecutor was said 6 ferre judicem res, when he proposed to the accused person some one out of the judices selecti, before whom the case might be tried; if the accused person consented to the person named by prosecutor, then the judge was said convenisse, 7 to have been agreed on. Sometimes the accused was allowed to select his own judge, judicem dicere. When both the prosecutor and the accused agreed as to the judge, they presented a joint petition to the praetor that he would appoint ( ut daret ) that person to try the cause; at the same time they both bound themselves to pay a certain sum, the one if he did not establish his charge, ni ita esset; the other if he did not prove his 8 innocence.

2. Comitia, i. e. curiata, which exercised authority in the cases of persons accused of inflicting injuries on the patricians.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 3.24

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

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