Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, D. Spillan, A.M., M.D. (Translator), Cyrus Edmonds (Translator), William A. McDevitte (Translator), 37.41

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[1]

A morning mist, which as the day advanced rose up in clouds, spread a general darkness; and the moisture issuing from it, and coming from the southward, wetted every thing. This circumstance, which was scarcely any inconvenience to the Romans, was very disadvantageous to the king's troops.

[2] For the indistinctness of the light did not take away from the Romans the view of all parts of their line, since it was of moderate length; and the moisture tended but little to blunt their swords and javelins, as they were almost all heavy-armed troops.

[3] The king's soldiers, as the line was so extensive, could not even see their wings from the centre, much less could those at the extremities see one another; and then, the moisture relaxed the strings of their bows, their slings, and the thongs of their javelins. Besides, the armed chariots, by means of which Antiochus had trusted utterly to disorder the enemy's line, turned the terror of their operations on their owners.

[4] The manner in which they were armed was this: from the yoke, on both sides of the pole, they had lances ¹ ten cubits

[5] long, projecting like horns, to transfix any thing that came in their way. At each extremity of the yoke, two scytheblades projected, one on a line with the yoke, the other on its lower side, pointing to the ground; the former to cut through any thing that might come within its reach on

[6] the side, the other to catch such as fell, or endeavoured to go under it. At each extremity of the axle of the wheels, two scythe-blades were fastened in the same manner. The king, as we mentioned before, had placed the chariots so armed in the front, because if they were placed in the rear, or between the ranks, they must be driven through their own soldiers.

[7] Which when Eumenes saw, not being ignorant of the method of op- posing them, and knowing that aid of that sort might be rendered as dangerous to one side as the other, if an opponent should cast terror into the horses, rather than attack them in a regular battle, ordered the Cretan bowmen, and slingers, and javelin-bearers, with some troops of horse, not in a body, but scattering themselves as widely as possible, to rush forwards, and pour weapons on them from all sides at once. This storm, as it were, partly by the wounds made by the missile

[8] weapons thrown from every quarter, and partly by the discordant shouts raised, so terrified the horses, that immediately, as if unbridled, they galloped about at random. The light infantry, the lightly-accoutred slingers, and the active Cretans, quickly evaded their encounter. The horsemen, following them, increased the tumult and the terror of the horses and camels, which were likewise affrighted, the clamour being multiplied and increased by the rest of the crowd of bystanders. By these means, the chariots were driven

[9] out of the ground between the two lines. When this fruitless mimicry of war was over, both parties gave the signal, and advanced to a regular engagement.

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.) — 37.41 focus

[1] rex ipse in dextro cornu erat; Seleucum filium et Antipatrum fratris filium in laevo praeposuit; media acies tribus permissa, Minnioni et Zeuxidi et Philippo, magistro elephantorum.

[2] nebula matutina, crescente die levata in nubes, caliginem dedit; umor inde ab austro velut * perfudit omnia;

[3] quae nihil admodum Romanis, eadem perincommoda regiis erant; nam et obscuritas lucis in acie modica Romanis non adimebat in omnis partes conspectum, et umor toto fere gravi armatu nihil gladios aut pila hebetabat;

[4] regii tam lata acie ne ex medio quidem cornua sua conspicere poterant, nedum extremi inter se conspicerentur, et umor arcus fundasque et iaculorum amenta emollierat.

[5] falcatae quoque quadrigae, quibus se perturbaturum hostium aciem Antiochus crediderat, in suos terrorem verterunt.

[6] armatae autem in hunc maxime modum erant: cuspides circa temonem ab iugo decem cubita exstantis velut cornua habebant,

[7] quibus, quidquid obvium daretur, transfigerent, et in extremis iugis binae circa eminebant falces, altera aequata iugo, altera inferior in terram devexa, illa ut, quidquid ab latere obiceretur, abscideret, haec ut prolapsos subeuntisque contingeret; item ab axibus rotarum utrimque binae eodem modo diversae deligabantur falces.

[8] sic armatas quadrigas, quia, si in extremo aut in medio locatae forent, per suos agendae erant, in prima acie, ut ante dictum est,

[9] locaverat rex. quod ubi Eumenes vidit, haud ignarus, quam anceps esset pugnae et auxilii genus, si quis pavorem magis equis iniceret, quam iusta adoriretur pugna, Cretenses sagittarios funditoresque et iaculatores cum aliquot turmis equitum non confertos, sed quam maxime possent dispersos excurrere iubet et ex omnibus simul partibus tela ingerere.

[10] haec velut procella partim vulneribus missilium undique coniectorum partim clamoribus dissonis ita consternavit equos, ut repente velut effrenati passim incerto cursu ferrentur;

[11] quorum impetus et levis armatura et expediti funditores et velox Cretensis momento declinabant; et eques insequendo tumultum ac pavorem equis camelisque, et ipsis simul consternatis, augebat clamore et ab alia circumstantium turba multiplici adiecto.

[12] ita medio inter duas acies campo exiguntur quadrigae; amotoque inani ludibrio, tum demum ad iustum proelium signo utrimque dato concursum est.

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.) — 37.41 focus

[1]

rex ipse in dextro cornu erat; Seleucum filium et Antipatrum fratris filium in laevo praeposuit; media acies tribus permissa, Minnioni et Zeuxidi et Philippo, magistro elephantorum.

[2] nebula matutina, crescente die levata in nubes, caliginem dedit;

[3] umor inde ab austro velut perfudit omnia; quae nihil admodum Romanis, eadem perincommoda regiis erant: nam et obscuritas lucis in acie modica Romanis non adimebat in omnis partes conspectum, et umor toto fere gravi armatu nihil gladios aut pila hebetabat;

[4] regii tam lata acie ne ex medio quidem cornua ¹ sua circumspicere poterant, nedum extremi inter se conspicerentur, et umor arcus fundasque et iaculorum amenta emollierat.

[5] falcatae quoque quadrigae, quibus se perturbaturum hostium aciem Antiochus crediderat, in suos terrorem verterunt.

[6] armatae autem in hunc maxime modum erant; cuspides circa temonem ab iugo decem cubita exstantis velut cornua habebant, quibus, quidquid obvium daretur,

[7] transfigerent, et in extremis iugis binae circa eminebant falces, altera aequata iugo, altera inferior in terrain devexa, illa ut, quidquid ab latere obiceretur, abscideret, haec ut prolapsos subeuntisque contingeret; item ab axibus rotarum utrimque binae eodem modo diversae deligabantur falces.

[8] sic armatas quadrigas, quia, si in extremo aut in medio locatae forent, per suos agendae erant, in prima acie, ut ante dictum est. ² locaverat rex.

[9] quod ubi Eumenes vidit, haud ignarus pugnae, et quam anceps esset auxilii genus, si quis pavorem magis equis iniceret, quam iusta adoriretur pugna, Cretenses sagittarios funditoresque et iaculatores equitum non confertos, sed quam maxime possent dispersos excurrere iubet et ex omnibus simul partibus tela ingerere.

[10] haec velut procella partim vulneribus missilium undique coniectorum partim clamoribus dissonis ita consternavit equos, ut repente velut effrenati passim incerto cursu ferrentur;

[12] ita medio inter duas acies campo exiguntur quadrigae; amotoque inani ludibrio, tum demum ad iustum proelium signo utrimque dato concursum est.

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)) — 37.41 focus

[1] The king himself was on the right flank; he placed his son Seleucus and Antipater the son of his brother on the left; the centre of the line was entrusted to three commanders, Minnio and Zeuxis and Philippus, the master of the elephants.¹

[2] A morning mist, lightening into clouds as the day advanced, caused a fog; the moisture from this, like a rain brought on by the west wind, covered everything;

[3] these conditions brought absolutely no discomfort to the Romans, but at the same time they were very inconvenient for the king's army; for the faintness of the light, in a line of moderate frontage, did not deprive the Romans of a view in all directions,² and the moisture, in a force almost entirely composed of heavy infantry, did not at all dull the swords and spears;

[4] the king's troops, with their line so widely extended, could not see the flanks even from the centre, much less one flank from the other, and the moisture had softened the bowstrings and slings and the thongs³ of the javelins.

[5] The scythe-bearing chariots also, by which Antiochus had expected to cause panic in the hostile line, turned their terror upon their own men.

[6] They were in general equipped in the following fashion: they had points along the pole, projecting like horns ten cubits from the yoke, with which to pierce whatever they encountered, and

[7] on the ends of the yokes there were two scythes standing out in two directions, one in line with the yoke, the other pointed downward towards the ground, the former to cut up whatever was near it on the sides, the latter to wound men who had fallen and came under the chariot; also from the hubs of the wheels on both sides two other scythes, pointing in different directions, were similarly fastened.⁴

[8] The chariots so equipped, because, if they were stationed on the flanks or in the centre, they would of necessity have been driven through their own ranks, had been posted by the king, as has been said, in the front rank.

[9] When Eumenes saw this, being not unaware how uncertain was this sort of fighting and this kind of auxiliary, if one could frighten the horses rather than meet them in regular battle, he ordered the Cretan archers with the slingers and dart-throwers, with some troops of cavalry, not in mass-formation but as widely⁵ separated as possible, to rush out and shower weapons upon them from all sides at once.

[10] This storm, as it were, partly by the wounds dealt by weapons hurled from all directions, partly by the discordant shouts, so frightened the horses that, as if they were set free from the reins, they rushed in every direction, not knowing where they were going;

[11] their charges were easily avoided by the light infantry and the lightly-equipped slingers and the swift-footed Cretans; and the cavalry pursuing increased the confusion and fright of the horses and camels, these too being overcome with terror, while added to it all were the manifold cries of the throng of bystanders.⁶ So the chariots were driven away from the space between the two lines and, this idle show being ended, then at length the signal was given on both sides and the clash of regular battle began.

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.) — 37.41 focus

[1]

The king commanded the right in person, the left he placed in charge of his son Seleucus and his nephew Antipater. The centre was entrusted to three commanders, Minnio, Zeuxis and Philip; the latter was the master of the elephants.

[2] The morning haze, which as the day advanced lifted into clouds, obscured the atmosphere, and then a drizzling rain coming with the south wind wetted everything.

[3] This did not inconvenience the Romans much, but it was a serious disadvantage to the king's troops. As the Roman line was of only moderate length, the indistinctness of the light did not obstruct the view over the whole of it, and as it consisted almost entirely of heavy-armed troops, the fine rain had no effect on their weapons which were swords and javelins.

[4] The king's line, on the other hand, was of such an enormous length that it was impossible to see the wings from the centre, let alone the fact that the extremes of the line

[5] were out of sight of each other, and the wetting mist relaxed their bows and slings and the thongs of their missile spears.

[6] Antiochus trusted to his scythe chariots to throw the enemy ranks into utter confusion, but they only turned the danger against their own side.

[7] These chariots were armed in the following manner: On either side of the pole where the yoke-bar was fastened spikes were fixed which projected forward like horns, ten cubits long, so as to pierce anything that came in their way, and at each end of the yoke-bar two scythes projected, one on a level with the bar so as to cut off sideways anything it came against, the other turned towards the ground to catch those lying down or trying to get under it.

[8] Similarly two scythes pointing in opposite directions to each end of the axis of the wheels.

The chariots thus armed were stationed, as I have already said, in front of the line for had they been in the rear or the centre they must have been driven through their own men.

[9] When he saw this, Eumenes, who was quite familiar with their mode of fighting, and knew how much their assistance would be worth when once the horses were terrified, ordered the Cretan archers, the slingers and javelin men, in conjunction with some troops of cavalry, to run forward, not in close order but as loosely as possible, and discharge their missiles simultaneously from every side.

[10] What with the wounds inflicted by the missiles and the wild shouts of the assailants, this tempestuous onslaught so scared the horses that they started to gallop wildly about the field as though without bit or bridle.

[11] The light infantry and slingers and the active Cretans easily avoided them when they dashed towards them, and the cavalry increased the confusion and panic by affrighting the horses and even the camels, and to this was added the shouts of those who had not gone into action.

[12] The chariots were driven off the field, and now that this silly show was got rid of the signal was given, and both sides closed in a regular battle.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. The difficulty, which Scheffer, Crevier, and Drakenborch apparently had, in interpreting this passage with the reading 5 (decem cubita), seems to me to have arisen principally from their misinterpretation of the word cuspis; which in the classics is no where used as the edge of a cutting, but the point of a piercing instrument —differt a mucrone, quae est acies gladii. —Facciolati. That the cuspides, here spoken of, must have been piercing, 6 not cutting instruments, is likewise proved from the meaning of the word

transfigerent,

which is never used in reference to a cutting instrument. Taking it for granted, then, that the

cuspitibus decem cubita

were spears ten feet long, fastened to the pole and extended from the yoke, I can easily understand how 7 they, being so long, were likely to clear the way far in front of the horses, while the

falces

on either side were intended to cut down those that escaped the cuspides; and this being the case, I see no necessity for Scheffer's reading,

cubito,

which Crevier also seems to favour, and Drakenborch's

duo

for

decem;

both of which seem to have been adopted, owing to the seeming improbability of cutting weapons so long, and proportionably heavy, being attached to the poles of chariots.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 37.41

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

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