(1) Pāx displicuit: remandātum Pyrrhō est ā senātū eum cum Rōmānīs, nisi ex Ītaliā recessisset, pācem habēre nōn posse.
(2) Tum Rōmānī iussērunt captīvōs omnēs, quōs Pyrrhus reddiderat, īnfāmēs habērī, quod armātī capī potuissent, nec ante eōs ad veterem statum revertī, quam sī bīnōrum hostium occīsōrum spolia rettulissent. Ita lēgātus Pyrrhī reversus est.
(3) Ā quō cum quaereret Pyrrhus, quālem Rōmam comperisset, Cīneās dīxit rēgum sē patriam vīdisse; scīlicet tālēs illīc ferē omnēs esse, quālis ūnus Pyrrhus apud Ēpīrum et reliquam Graeciam putārētur.
(4) Missī sunt contrā Pyrrhum ducēs P. Sulpicius et Decius Mūs cōnsulēs. Certāmine commissō Pyrrhus vulnerātus est, elephantī interfectī, vīgintī mīlia caesa hostium et ex Rōmānīs tantum quīnque mīlia; Pyrrhus Tarentum fugātus.
notes
Battle of Asculum, 279 BCE
(1) Pāx displicuit: It is said that at first the senate wavered; but by the energy of the blind and aged Appius Claudius, who caused himself to be carried into the senate house, their courage was revived (Hazzard). For the original terms of the treaty, see Brev. 2.12.
remandātum...est: "A response was made," introducing indirect statement eum...non posse (AG 577)
eum: Pyrrhum
(2) īnfāmēs: "Officially disgraced."The Romans severely punished soldiers guilty of cowardice in face of the enemy (infāmia). Whole units were paraded in front of their legion and every tenth man was selected by lot and cudgeled, often to death [decimātio]. The rest were put on rations of barley instead of wheat and compelled to erect their tents outside of camp. They were also demoted, cavalry to infantry, infantry to slingers, etc. (Bird)
armātī: "while armed"
veterem: "former" (Hazzard), i.e., respected and honored
revertī: present passive infinitive within indirect discourse construction signaled by iussērunt
ante...quam: tmesis form of antequam
sī bīnōrum hostium occīsōrum spolia rettulissent: rettulissent is pluperfect subjunctive form within a past contrary to fact condition signaled by sī (AG 514.C.1). bīnōrum = "two apiece" (Hazzard)
(3) Ā quō: lēgātus
cum quaereret Pyrrhus: cum here is circumstantial (AG 546)
quālem Rōmam comperisset: predicate to Rōmam; "what sort (of a city) he had found Rome (to be)" (Hazzard). Indirect question construction (AG 574)
Cīneās dīxit rēgum sē patriam vīdisse: English word order: Cīneās dīxit sē vīdisse patriam rēgum. Indirect discourse governed by the verb dīxit (AG 577)
scīlicet tālēs illīc ferē omnēs esse, quālis ūnus Pyrrhus: English word order: scīlicet illīc ferē omnēs esse tālēs, quālis Pyrrhus ūnus putārētur apud Ēpīrum et reliquam Graeciam. Tālēs and quālis make a direct comparison; the statement is indirect discourse governed by the verb dīxit (AG 577).
(4) ducēs P. Sulpicius et Decius Mūs cōnsulēs: In 279 BCE at Asculum in Picenum, Pyrrhus won a second victory over the Romans under P. Sulpicius Saverrio and P. Decius Mus. The victory was so expensive that Pyrrhus is said to have exclaimed that another such victory would be fatal to him (Bird). The modern term Pyrrhic victory is derived from this episode in history.
Certāmine commissō: ablative absolute using perfect passive participle (AG 419)
interfectī: supply sunt. According to Eutropius, the campaigns against Pyrrhus were the first time Romans experienced elephants used in military maneuvers (Brev. 2.11).
caesa: supply sunt
quīnque mīlia: also governed by the verb caesa sunt
fugātus: "was routed." supply est. Pyrrhus fled to his stronghold in Tarentum. Tarentum is accusative of place to which (AG 427.2).
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
|
displiceō, ēre, uī, —— |
to displease |
|
remandō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to send back word (very rare) |
|
Pyrrhus, ī, m. |
king of Epirus, waged war against Rome 281—272 B.C. |
|
captīvus, a, um [capiō], adj. |
captive; as subst., captīvus, ī, m., captīva, ae, f., captive, prisoner of war 2 |
|
īnfāmis, e [in + fāma], adj. |
infamous |
|
armō, āre, āvī, ātus [arma] |
to arm, equip; ārmatī, armed men, soldiers |
|
status, ūs [stō], m. |
state, position, rank |
|
bini, ae, a |
(dist. num. adj.) two by two, two each |
|
revertor, ī, revertī or (less often) reversus sum |
to return; revert, recur |
|
spolium, ī, n. |
spoil, booty |
|
Cīneas, ae, m. |
the friend and minister of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus 3 |
|
Ēpīrus, ī, f. |
a country on the Ionian Sea, northwest of Greece proper |
|
Graecia, ae, f. |
Greece |
|
P. |
abbreviation of the praenomen or nomen Publius 4 |
|
Sulpicius, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman gens. 1) C. Sulpicius, dictator 304 B.C.; (2) P. Sulpicius, consul 279 B.C.; (3) P. Sulpicius, consul 211 B.C. |
|
Decius, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman gens. (Metius) Decius, Roman emperor 249–251 A.D. |
|
Mūs, Mūris, m. |
(P.) Decius Mūs, consul 279 B.C. |
|
certāmen, inis [certō, to fight], n. |
a struggle, battle, engagement |
|
vulnerō, āre, āvī, ātus [vulnus,] |
to wound, hurt, injure |
|
elephantus, ī, m. |
elephant |
|
Tarentum, ī, n. |
a flourishing Greek city on the southern coast of Italy |