(1) Cum Perseō autem Aemilius Paulus cōnsul III Nōnās Septembrēs dīmicāvit vīcitque eum, vīgintī mīlibus peditum eius occīsīs. Equitātus cum rēge integer fūgit. Rōmānōrum centum mīlitēs āmissī sunt. Urbēs Macedoniae omnēs, quās rēx tenuerat, Rōmānīs sē dēdidērunt; ipse rēx, cum dēsererētur ab amīcīs, vēnit in Paulī potestātem.
(2) Sed honōrem eī Aemilius Paulus cōnsul nōn quasi victō habuit. Nam et volentem ad pedēs sibi cadere nōn permīsit et iūxta sē in sellā collocāvit. Macedonibus et Īllyriīs hae lēgēs ā Rōmānīs datae:
(3) ut līberī essent et dīmidium eōrum tribūtōrum praestārent, quae rēgibus praestitissent, ut appārēret populum Rōmānum prō aequitāte magis quam avāritiā dīmicāre. Itaque in conventū īnfīnītōrum populōrum Paulus hoc prōnūntiāvit et lēgātiōnēs multārum gentium, quae ad eum vēnerant, māgnificentissimē convīviō pāvit, dīcēns eiusdem hominis esse dēbēre et bellō vincere et convīviī apparātū ēlegantem esse.
notes
The Battle of Pydna, 168 BCE
For details, see Polybius 29.15–17; Plutarch, Aemilius 16–23; Livy 45.6–8.
(1) Cum Perseō: see Perseus
autem Aemilius Paulus cōnsul: see Lucius Aemilius Paulus Macedonicus
III Nōnās Septembrēs: the full expression would be ante diem tertium Nōnās Septembres (Hazzard), September 3. The actual date was September 4 (Bird).
vīcitque eum: eum refers to Perseus. The Battle of Pydna occurred in Macedonia, 168 BCE.
vīgintī mīlibus peditum eius occīsīs: ablative absolute using perfect passive participle (AG 419)
eius: Perseī
ipse rēx: Perseus
(2) honōrem ... habuit: "held him in honor" = "honored him" (Hazzard)
nōn quasi victō: "not like a conquered man." victō is dative agreeing with eī, Perseus. quasi without a verb, meaning "in the capacity of," "as," is a late Latinism. See OLD quasi 6.
ad pedēs sibi: "at his (Paulus') feet." sibi is the reflexive pronoun, dative of the interested person, see LS sui IV.B.
sē: both sibi and sē refer to Paulus (Hazzard).
hae lēgēs: condiciōnibus. The conditions of the treaty are listed in the subsequent purpose clause (AG 563), ut ... praestārent.
(3) ut appārēret populum Rōmānum prō aequitāte magis quam avāritiā dīmicāre: order: ut appārēret Rōmānum populum dīmicāre magis prō aequitāte quam avāritiā. ut is a purpose clause, not a condition of the treaty (AG 531), and the verb appārēret introduces indirect discourse (AG 577).
in conventū īnfīnītōrum populōrum: Eutropius often uses the adjective īnfīnītus hyperbolically.
pāvit: "he entertained" (lit., "fed") (LS pasco II.1).
dīcēns eiusdem hominis esse dēbēre et bellō vincere et convīviī apparātū ēlegantem esse: order: dīcēns dēbēre esse eiusdem hominis et vincere bellō et esse ēlegantem convīviī apparātū.
eiusdem hominis esse: "to be the part of the same man," an idiomatic type of possessive genitive. Compare the phrase sapientis est hoc facere, "it is [the correct role] of a wise man to do this."
convīviī apparātū: "in his entertainments" (Hazzard)
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
Aemilius, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman gens; Lūcius Aemilius, consul 224 B.C.; Mārcus Aemilius (Mamercus), dictator |
Paulus, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman family; (1) L. Aemilius Paulus, consul 216 B.C.; (2) L. Aemilius Paulus, surnamed Macedonicus, consul 168 B.C.; (3) M. Aemilius Paulus, consul 255 B.C. |
Nōnae, ārum, pl. f. |
the Nones, the seventh of March, May, July, and October, and the fifth of other months |
September, bris, m. |
September, the seventh month of the year beginning with March |
dīmicō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to fight |
pedes, itis [pēs], m. |
a foot soldier, infantry |
equitātus, ūs [equitō, to ride], m. |
cavalry |
Macedonia, ae, f. |
an extensive country north of Greece, between Thessaly and Thrace |
Perseus, eī, m. |
the last king of Macedonia, 178—168 B.C. |
dēdō, dere, didī, ditus |
to give up, surrender; devote |
amīcus, a, um [amō, to love], adj. |
friendly; as subst. amīcus, ī, m., a friend |
prōnūntiō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to tell, declare, recite, appoint |
pāscō, ere, pāvī, pāstus |
to feed; of animals, to graze, browse |
iūxtā, adv. and prep. with acc. |
near |
sella, ae [sedeō], f. |
a seat, chair |
conlocō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to place, arrange, station, establish |
Macedo, onis, m. |
a Macedonian |
Īllyriī, ōrum, pl. m. |
the inhabitants of Illyricum |
tribūtum, ī [tribuō], n. |
a tax, tribute |
dīmidium, ī, n. |
a half |
aequitās, ātis [aequus], f. |
evenness, fairness, justice |
avāritia, ae [avārus, greedy], f. |
greed, avarice |
dīmicō, āre, āvī, ātus |
to fight |
conventus, ūs [conveniō], m. |
a meeting, assembly |
īnfīnītus, a, um [in + fīniō], adj. |
unbounded, vast, enormous; numberless; as subst., īnfīnītum, ī, n., a large amount, a large number |
lēgātiō, ōnis [legō], f. |
an embassy |
māgnificē, adv., sup. māgnificentissimē, most splendidly, magnificently |
splendidly, very magnificently |
apparātus, ūs, m. |
equipment, preparation; splendor, pomp |
ēlegāns, antis [ēlegō, for ēligō], adj. |
select, elegant, polite |