Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, John C. Rolfe (Translator), 21.16.15

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[15] Now, although this emperor in foreign wars met with loss and disaster, yet he was elated by his success in civil conflicts and drenched with awful gore from the internal wounds of the state. It was on this unworthy rather than just or usual ground¹ that in Gaul and Pannonia he erected triumphal arches² at great expense commemorating the ruin of the provinces,³ and added records of his deeds, that men might read of him so long as those monuments could last.

Res Gestae. Ammianus Marcellinus. John C. Rolfe (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1935-1940.

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Current edition Perseus

History (English) (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., translator. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).)

Editions (1)

Res Gestae Perseus (Ammianus Marcellinus. Ammianus Marcellinus, with an English translation, Vols. I-III. Rolfe, John C., editor. Cambridge, MA; London: Harvard University Press; W. Heinemann, 1935-1940 (printing).) — 21.16.15 focus

[15] Ut autem in externis bellis hie princeps fuit saucius et afflictus, ita prospere succedentibus pugnis civilibus tumidus, et intestinis ulceribus rei publicae sanie perfusus horrenda: quo pravo proposito magis quam recto vel usitato, triumphalis arcus ex clade provinciarum sumptibus magnis erexit in Galliis et Pannoniis, titulis gestorum affixis, se (quoad stare poterunt monumenta) lecturis.

Notes on the current edition

History

1. It was usual to celebrate a triumph only over foreign enemies, and the same rule applied to triumphal arches.

2. Although this term is so common in English, this is the first and only occurrence in Latin literature, and it is found besides only in four late inscriptions from northern Africa.

3. That is, his victories over his rivals, and the bloodshed and ruin attending them.

Ammianus Marcellinus Res Gestae 21.16.15

John C. Rolfe (Translator)

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