Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, D. Spillan, A.M., M.D. (Translator), Cyrus Edmonds (Translator), William A. McDevitte (Translator), 44.46

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[1]

Paullus sent officers to hold the government of the several cities which had surrendered; lest, at a time when peace was but newly restored, the conquered might suffer any ill treatment. He detained with himself the ambassadors of Perseus;

[2] and, being uninformed of the flight of the king, detached Publius Nasica, with a small party of horse and foot, to Amphipolis, both that he might lay waste the country of Sintice, and be ready to obstruct every effort of the king. In the mean time, Melibœa was taken and sacked by Cneius Octavius.

[3] At Aeginium, to which Cneius Anicius, a lieutenant-general, had been despatched, two hundred men were lost by a sally made from the town; the Aeginians not being aware that the war was at an end. The consul, quitting Pydna, arrived with his whole army, on the second day, at Pella; and, pitching his camp at the distance of a mile from it, remained in that station for several days, reconnoitring on all sides the situation of the city; and he perceived that it was chosen to be the capital of the kingdom, not without good reason.

[4] It stands on a hill which faces the south-west, and is surrounded by morasses, formed by stagnant waters from the adjacent lakes, so deep as to be impassable either in winter or summer.

[5] In the part of the morass nearest to the city the citadel rises up like an island, being built on a mound of earth formed with immense labour, so as to be capable of supporting the wall, and secure against any injury from the water of the surrounding marsh.

[6] At a distance it seems to join the city rampart, but is divided from it by a river, and united by a bridge; so that if externally invaded it has no access from any part, and if the king chooses to confine any person within it, there is no way for an escape except by that bridge, which can be guarded with great ease.

[7] This was the depository of the royal treasure; but, at that time, there was nothing found there but the three hundred talents which had been sent to king Gentius, and afterwards brought back. While they were stationed at Pella, audience was given to a great number of embassies, which came with congratulations, especially out of Thessaly. Then, receiving intelligence that Perseus had passed over to Samothrace, the consul departed from Pella, and after four days' march, arrived at Amphipolis.

[8] Here the whole multitude poured out of the town to meet him; a plain demonstration that the people considered themselves not as ¹

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.) — 44.46 focus

[1] Paulus per omnes deditas civitates dimissis, qui praeessent, ne qua iniuria in nova pace victis fieret, retentisque apud se caduceatoribus regis P. Nasicam, ignarus fugae regis, Amphipolim misit cum modica peditum equitumque manu,

[2] simul ut Sinticen evastaret et ad omnes conatus regi impedimento esset.

[3] inter haec Meliboea a Cn. Octavio capitur diripiturque; ad Aeginium, ad quod oppugnandum Cn. Anicius legatus missus erat, ducenti eruptione ex oppido facta amissi sunt ignaris Aeginiensibus debellatum esse.

[4] consul a Pydna profectus cum toto exercitu die altero Pellam pervenit et cum castra mille passus inde posuisset, per aliquot dies ibi stativa habuit, situm urbis undique aspiciens, quam non sine causa delectam esse regiam animadvertit. sita est in tumulo vergente in occidentem hibernum;

[5] cingunt paludes inexsuperabilis altitudinis aestate et hieme, quas restagnantes faciunt amnes.

[6] arx Phacus in ipsa palude, qua proxima urbi est, velut insula eminet, aggeri operis ingentis imposita, qui et murum sustineat et umore circumfusae paludis nihil laedatur.

[7] muro urbis coniuncta procul videtur; divisa, est intermurali amni et eadem ponte iuncta, ut nec oppugnante externo aditum ab ulla parte habeat, nec, si quem ibi rex includat, ullum nisi per facillimae custodiae pontem effugium.

[8] et gaza regia in eo loco erat; sed tum nihil praeter trecenta talenta, quae missa Gentio regi, deinde retenta fuerant, inventum est.

[9] per quos dies ad Pellam stativa fuerunt. legationes frequentes, quae ad gratulandum convenerant, maxime ex Thessalia, auditae sunt.

[10] nuntio deinde accepto Persea Samothracam traiecisse, profectus a Pella consul quartis castris Amphipolim pervenit.

[11] effusa omnis obviam turba cuivis indicio erat non bono ac iusto rege orba .

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).) — 44.46 focus

[1]

Paulus per omnes deditas civitates dimissis qui praeessent, ne qua iniuria in nova pace victis ¹ fieret, retentisque apud se caduceatoribus regis P. Nasicam, ignarus fugae regis, Amphipolim misit cum 2 modica peditum equitumque manu,

[2] simul ut Sinticen evastaret et ad omnes conatus regi ² impedimento esset.

[3] inter haec Meliboea a Cn. Octavio capitur diripiturque; ad Aeginium, ad quod oppugnandum Cn. Anicius legatus missus erat, ducenti ³ eruptione ex oppido facta amissi sunt ignaris Aeginiensibus debellatum esse.

[4] Consul a Pydna profectus cum toto exercitu die altero Pellam pervenit et cum castra mille passus inde posuisset, per aliquot dies ibi stativa habuit, situm urbis undique aspiciens, quam non sine causa delectam esse regiam animadvertit. ⁴

[5] sita est in tumulo vergente in occidentem hibernum; cingunt paludes inexsuperabilis altitudinis aestate et hieme, quas restagnantes faciunt amnes. ⁵

[6] arx Phacus in ipsa palude, qua proxima urbi est, velut insula eminet, aggeri operis ingentis imposita, qui et murum sustineat et umore circumfusae paludis nihil laedatur.

[7] muro urbis coniuncta procul videtur; divisa est intermurali amni et eadem ponte iuncta, ut nec oppugnante externo aditum ab ulla parte habeat, nec, si quem ibi rex includat, ullum nisi per facillimae custodiae pontem effugium.

[8] et gaza regia in eo loco erat; sed tum nihil praeter trecenta talenta quae missa Gentio regi, deinde retenta fuerant, inventum est.

[9] per quos dies ad Peliam stativa fuerunt, legationes frequentes ⁶ quae ad gratulandum convenerant, maxime ex Thessalia, auditae sunt.

[10] nuntio deinde accepto Persea Samothracam traiecisse, profectus a Pella consul quartis castris Amphipolim pervenit.

[11] effusa omnis obviam ⁷ turba cuivis indicio erat non bono ac iusto rege orbavisse se Paulum . . . ⁸

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 44.46 focus

[1]

Paulus per omnes deditas civitates dimissis, qui praeessent, ne qua iniuria in nova pace victis fieret, retentisque apud se caduceatoribus regis P. Nasicam , ignarus fugae regis, Amphipolim misit cum modica peditum equitumque manu,

[2] simul ut Sinticen evastaret et ad omnes conatus regis impedimento esset.

[4] consul a Pydna profectus cum toto exercitu die altero Pellam pervenit et cum castra mille passus inde posuisset, per aliquot dies ibi stativa habuit situm urbis undique aspiciens, quam non sine causa delectam esse regiam advertit.

[5] sita est in tumulo vergente in occidentem hibernum; cingunt paludes ¹ inexsuperabilis altitudinis aestate et hieme, quas restagnantes faciunt . arx Phacus in ipsa palude,

[6] qua proxima urbi est, velut insula eminet aggeri operis ingentis imposita, qui et murum sustineat et umore circumfusae paludis nihil laedatur.

[8] et gaza regia in eo loco erat; sed tum nihil praeter trecenta talenta, quae missa Gentio regi, deinde retenta fuerant, inventum est.

[9] per quos dies ad Pellam stativa fuerunt, legationes frequentes, quae ad gratulandum convenerant, ² maxime ex Thessalia, auditae sunt.

[10] nuntio deinde accepto Persea Samothracam traiecisse, profectus a Pella consul quartis castris Amphipolim pervenit.

[11] effusa omnis obviam turba cuivis indicio erat non bono ac iusto rege orba

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)) — 44.46 focus

[1]

Paulus sent men to take charge of all the surrendered cities, so that no wrong should be done ¹ to the conquered in the first days of peace; he kept the king's ambassadors with him and, since he did not know of the king's flight, sent Publius Nasica to Amphipolis with a small force of infantry and cavalry,

[2] both to ravage Sintica and to interfere with any moves of the king.

[3] Meanwhile Meliboea was captured and plundered by Gnaeus Octavius. At Aeginium, to besiege which the staff-officer Gnaeus Anicius had been sent, two hundred men were lost in a sally from the town because the people of Aeginium did not know that the war was over.

[4] The consul set out from Pydna with his whole army and on the second day reached Pella, pitched camp a mile from there, and remained in this camp for a few days, examining the site of the city from all sides and noticing that it had not been chosen to be the capital without good reason.

[5] It is situated on a hill sloping to the south-west; swamps of a depth impenetrable in summer or winter surround it, formed by the ponding of rivers.

[6] The citadel Phacus projects like an island from the swamp itself, where it comes nearest the city, and is set on an embankment, a huge construction designed to bear the weight of a wall and remain undamaged by the water of the surrounding swamp.

[7] At a distance it appears to be joined to the city wall, but it is separated by a river within the walls and likewise connected by a bridge, so that there is no approach for a besieger from without nor is there any escape for anyone imprisoned by the king within, except over a very easily guarded bridge.

[8] The royal treasury was located there; but at that time nothing was found except the three hundred talents which had been sent to King Gentius and then withheld.

[9] During the days in camp at Pella, numerous embassies ² were received which came, especially from Thessaly, to offer congratulations.

[10] Then on receiving the news that Perseus had crossed to Samothrace, the consul set out from Pella and arrived at Amphipolis on the fourth day's march.

[11] The pouring out of the entire populace to meet him showed to any one that Paulus had not robbed them of a just and good king. . . ³

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.) — 44.46 focus

[1]

Paulus placed Roman officers in charge of the cities which had surrendered, so that the vanquished party might not be ill-treated now that peace was established.

[2] He kept the heralds from Perseus with him, and as he was unaware of the king's flight he sent P. Nasica with a small detachment of horse and foot to Amphipolis for the purpose of ravaging Sintice and frustrating any attempt which the king might make.

[3] At the same time Meliboea was taken and sacked by Cn. Octavius. Cn. Anicius was sent to Aegeum, but as the citizens did not know that the war was over they made a sortie from the town and the Romans lost 200 men.

[4] The following day the consul left Pydna with the whole of his army and formed his camp two miles distant from Pella. He remained there several days, surveying the city from every side, and he observed that it was not without good reason that it had been chosen as the royal residence. It is situated on the south-west slope of a hill and surrounded by a marsh too deep to be crossed on foot either in summer or winter.

[5] The citadel the "Phacus," which is close to the city, stands in the marsh itself,

[6] projecting like an island, and is built on a huge substructure which is strong enough to carry a wall and prevent any damage from the infiltration from the water of the lagoon.

[7] At a distance it appears to be continuous with the city wall, but it is really separated by a channel which flows between the two walls and is connected with the city by a bridge. Thus it cuts off all means of access from an external foe, and if the king shut anyone up there, there could be no possibility of escape except by the bridge, which could be very easily guarded.

[8] The royal treasure was kept there, but nothing was found there at that time beyond the 300 talents which had been sent to Gentius and then kept back.

[9] During the time the camp was at Pella numerous embassies of congratulation were received, mostly from Thessaly. On receiving intelligence that Perseus had sailed to Samothrace the consul left Pella, and after a few days' march arrived at Amphipolis.

[10] The fact of the whole population coming out to meet him was a sufficient proof that they

[11] were not mourning the loss of a good and just king.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. Crevier supplement:

bereft of a good and just king, but as delivered from a haughty tyrant. Paullus having entered the city while engaged in religious services, and performing a solemn sacrifice, 9?? the altar was sud- denly kindled by lightning, while all considered the event to signify that the offerings of the consul were most acceptable to the gods, since they were consecrated by fire from heaven. The consul, after a 10?? short delay at Amphipolis, proceeded at once in pursuit of Perseus, and also that he might carry his victorious arms round to all the nations which had been under his sway, made for 11?? the province of Odomantice, a region be- yond the river Strymon, and encamped at Sirae.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 44.46

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

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