---
title: "History of Rome, Books XXXI–XL · Ab urbe condita XXXI–XL"
author: "Livy"
translator: "Evan T. Sage and Alfred C. Schlesinger"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Classical Latin"
section: 13 of 45
url: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-3/13/
cite: "Livy, tr. Evan T. Sage and Alfred C. Schlesinger, History of Rome, Books XXXI–XL · Ab urbe condita XXXI–XL, section 13. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-3/13/"
---

# History of Rome, Books XXXI–XL · Ab urbe condita XXXI–XL

*Livy, tr. Evan T. Sage and Alfred C. Schlesinger*

Rome turns east: Philip V of Macedon beaten at Cynoscephalae, the freedom of the Greeks, Antiochus the Great, the Bacchanalia scandal and the death of Hannibal.

> Latin: Livy, Ab urbe condita XXXI–XL, ed. Wilhelm Weissenborn and Hermann Johannes Müller, from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit, phi0914.phi001.perseus-lat5, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Evan T. Sage and Alfred C. Schlesinger, Livy (Loeb Classical Library), from the Perseus Digital Library (phi0914.phi001.perseus-eng1). Notes are not included.

> Rows follow the references the two texts share (books, chapters and sections), cut where both reach the end of a sentence.

## 13. Book XXXIV · chapters 1–10

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-3/13/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-3/13/#p-N

[¶0] 1.1. Amid the anxieties of great wars, either scarce finished or soon to come, an incident occurred, trivial to relate, but which, by reason of the passions it aroused, developed into a violent contention.

> Latin: 1.1. inter bellorum magnorum aut vixdum finitorum aut imminentium curas intercessit res parva dictu, sed quae studiis in magnum certamen excesserit.

[¶1] 1.2. Marcus Fundanius and Lucius Valerius, tribunes of the people, proposed to the assembly the abrogation of the Oppian law.

> Latin: 1.2. M. Fundanius et L. Valerius tribuni plebi ad plebem tulerunt de Oppia lege abroganda.

[¶2] 1.3. The tribune Gaius Oppius had carried this law in the heat of the Punic War, in the consulship of Quintus Fabius and Tiberius Sempronius, that no woman should possess more than half an ounce of gold or wear a parti-coloured garment or ride in a carriage in the City or in a town within a mile thereof, except on the occasion of a religious festival.

> Latin: 1.3. tulerat eam C. Oppius tribunus plebis Q. Fabio Ti. Sempronio consulibus, in medio ardore Punici belli, ne qua mulier plus semunciam auri haberet nec vestimento versicolori uteretur neu iuncto vehiculo in urbe oppidove aut propius inde mille passus nisi sacrorum publicorum causa veheretur.

[¶3] 1.4. The tribunes Marcus and Publius Iunius Brutus were supporting the Oppian law, and averred that they would not permit its repeal; many distinguished men came forward to speak for and against it; the Capitoline was filled with crowds of supporters and opponents of the bill.

> Latin: 1.4. M. et P. Iunii Bruti tribuni plebis legem Oppiam tuebantur nec eam se abrogari passuros aiebant; ad suadendum dissuadendumque multi nobiles prodibant; Capitolium turba hominum faventium adversantiumque legi complebatur.

[¶4] 1.5. The matrons could not be kept at home by advice or modesty or their husbands' orders, but blocked all the streets and approaches to the Forum, begging the men as they came down to the Forum that, in the prosperous condition of the state, when the private fortunes of all men were daily increasing, they should allow the women too to have their former distinctions restored.

> Latin: 1.5. matronae nulla nec auctoritate nec verecundia nec imperio virorum contineri limine poterant, omnis vias urbis aditusque in forum obsidebant viros descendentis ad forum orantes, ut florente re publica, crescente in dies privata omnium fortuna matronis quoque pristinum ornatum reddi paterentur.

[¶5] 1.6. The crowd of women grew larger day by day; for they were now coming in from the towns and rural districts.

> Latin: 1.6. augebatur haec frequentia mulierum in dies; nam etiam ex oppidis conciliabulisque conveniebant.

[¶6] 1.7. Soon they dared even to approach and appeal to the consuls, the praetors, and the other officials, but one consul, at least, they found adamant, Marcus Porcius Cato, who spoke thus in favour of the law whose repeal was being urged.

> Latin: 1.7. iam et consules praetoresque et alios magistratus adire et rogare audebant; ceterum minime exorabilem alterum utique consulem, M. Porcium Catonem, habebant, qui pro lege, quae abrogabatur, ita disseruit:

[¶7] 2.1. "If each of us, citizens, had determined to assert his rights and dignity as a husband with respect to his own spouse, we should have less trouble with the sex as a whole;

> Latin: 2.1. ‘si in sua quisque nostrum matre familiae, Quirites, ius et maiestatem viri retinere instituisset, minus cum universis feminis negotii haberemus;

[¶8] 2.2. as it is, our liberty, destroyed at home by female violence, even here in the Forum is crushed and trodden underfoot, and because we have not kept them individually under control, we dread them collectively.

> Latin: 2.2. nunc domi victa libertas nostra impotentia muliebri hic quoque in foro obteritur et calcatur, et, quia singulas non continuimus, universas horremus.

[¶9] 2.3. For my part, I thought it a fairy-tale and a piece of fiction that on a certain island all the men were destroyed, root and branch, by a conspiracy of women; but from no class is there not the greatest danger if you permit them meetings and gatherings and secret consultations.

> Latin: 2.3. equidem fabulam et fictam rem ducebam esse, virorum omne genus in aliqua insula coniuratione muliebri ab stirpe sublatum esse;

[¶10] 2.4. And I can scarcely decide in my own mind whether the act itself or the precedent it sets is worse; the act concerns us consuls and other magistrates; the example, citizens, rather concerns you.

> Latin: 2.4. ab nullo genere non summum periculum est, si coetus et concilia et secretas consultationes esse sinas. atque ego vix statuere apud animum meum possum, utrum peior ipsa res an peiore exemplo agatur;

[¶11] 2.5. For whether the proposal which is laid before you is in the public interest or not is a question for you who are soon to cast your votes; but this female madness, whether it is spontaneous or due to your instigation, Marcus Fundanius and Lucius Valerius, but which beyond question brings discredit upon the magistrates — I do not know, I say, whether this madness is more shameful for you, tribunes, or for the consuls: for you, if you have brought these women here to support tribunicial seditions; for us, if we must accept laws given us by a secession of women, as formerly by a secession of plebeians.

> Latin: 2.5. quorum alterum ad nos consules reliquosque magistratus, alterum ad vos, Quirites, magis pertinet. nam utrum e re publica sit necne id, quod ad vos fertur, vestra existimatio est, qui in suffragium ituri estis; haec consternatio muliebris, sive sua sponte sive auctoribus vobis, M. Fundani et L. Valeri, facta est, haud dubie ad culpam magistratuum pertinens, nescio, vobis, tribuni, an consulibus magis sit deformis:

[¶12] 2.7. For myself, I could not conceal my blushes a while ago, when I had to make my way to the Forum through a crowd of women.

> Latin: 2.7. vobis, si feminas ad concitandas tribunicias seditiones iam adduxistis; nobis, si, ut plebis quondam, sic nunc mulierum secessione leges accipiendae sunt.

[¶13] 2.8. Had not respect for the dignity and modesty of some individuals among them rather than of the sex as a whole kept me silent, lest they should seem to have been rebuked by a consul, I should have said, 'What sort of practice is this, of running out into the streets and blocking the roads and speaking to other women's husbands?

> Latin: 2.8. equidem non sine rubore quodam paulo ante per medium agmen mulierum in forum perveni. quod nisi me verecundia singularum magis maiestatis et pudoris quam universarum tenuisset, ne compellatae a consule viderentur, dixissem:

[¶14] 2.9. Could you not have made the same requests, each of your own husband, at home? Or are you more attractive outside and to other women's husbands than to your own?

> Latin: 2.9. ‘qui hic mos est in publicum procurrendi et obsidendi vias et viros alienos appellandi apellandi? istud ipsum suos quaeque domi rogare non potuistis?

[¶15] 2.10. And yet, not even at home, if modesty would keep matrons within the limits of their proper rights, did it become you to concern yourselves with the question of what laws should be adopted in this place or repealed.'

> Latin: 2.10. an blandiores in publico quam in privato et alienis quam vestris estis? quamquam ne domi quidem vos, si sui iuris finibus matronas contineret pudor, quae leges hic rogarentur abrogarenturve, curare decuit.

[¶16] 2.11. Our ancestors permitted no woman to conduct even personal business without a guardian to intervene in her behalf; they wished them to be under the control of fathers, brothers, husbands; we (Heaven help us!) allow them now even to interfere in public affairs, yes, and to visit the Forum and our informal and formal sessions. What else are they doing now on the streets and at the corners except urging the bill of the tribunes and voting for the repeal of the law?

> Latin: 2.11. ’ maiores nostri nullam, ne privatam quidem rem agere feminas sine tutore auctore voluerunt, in manu esse parentium, fratrum, virorum; nos, si diis placet, iam etiam rem publicam capessere eas patimur et foro quoque et contionibus et comitiis immisceri.

[¶17] 2.12. Give loose rein to their uncontrollable nature and to this untamed creature and expect that they will themselves set bounds to their licence;

> Latin: 2.12. quid enim nunc aliud per vias et compita faciunt, quam rogationem tribunorum plebi suadent, quam legem abrogandam censent?

[¶18] 2.13. unless you act, this is the least of the things enjoined upon women by custom or law and to which they submit with a feeling of injustice.

> Latin: 2.13. date frenos impotenti naturae et indomito animali et sperate ipsas modum licentiae facturas;

[¶19] 2.14. It is complete liberty or, rather, if we wish to speak the truth, complete licence that they desire. "If they win in this, what will they not attempt? Review all the laws with which your forefathers restrained their licence and made them subject to their husbands; even with all these bonds you can scarcely control them. What of this?

> Latin: 2.14. nisi vos facietis, minimum hoc eorum est, quae iniquo animo feminae sibi aut moribus aut legibus iniuncta patiuntur. omnium rerum libertatem, immo licentiam, si vere dicere volumus, desiderant. quid enim, si hoc expugnaverint, non temptabunt? recensete omnia muliebria iura, quibus licentiam earum adligaverint maiores vestri per quaeque subiecerint viris; quibus omnibus constrictas vix tamen continere potestis.

[¶20] 3.2. If you suffer them to seize these bonds one by one and wrench themselves free and finally to be placed on a parity with their husbands, do you think that you will be able to endure them? The moment they begin to be your equals, they will be your superiors.

> Latin: 3.2. quid? si carpere singula et extorquere et aequari ad extremum viris patiemini, tolerabiles vobis eas fore creditis? extemplo, simul pares esse coeperint, superiores erunt.

[¶21] 3.3. But, by Hercules, they object to the passage of any new law against them, they complain not of law but of wrongs done them; what they want, rather, is that you repeal this law which you have approved and ratified and which in the trial and experience of so many years you have found good: in other words, that by abolishing this one law you weaken the force of all the rest.

> Latin: 3.3. at hercule ne quid novum in eas rogetur recusant, non ius sed iniuriam deprecantur, immo, ut, quam accepistis iussistis suffragiis vestris legem, quam usu tot annorum et experiendo comprobastis, hanc ut abrogetis, id est ut unam tollendo legem ceteras infirmetis.

[¶22] 3.5. No law is entirely convenient for everyone; this alone is asked, whether it is good for the majority and on the whole. If every law which harms anyone in his private affairs is to be repealed and discarded, what good will it do for all the citizens to pass laws which those at whom they are aimed will at once annul?

> Latin: 3.5. nulla lex satis commoda omnibus est; id modo quaeritur, si maiori parti et in summam prodest. si, quod cuique privatim officiet ius, id destruet ac demolietur, quid attinebit universos rogare leges, quas mox abrogare, in quos latae sunt, possint?

[¶23] 3.6. I should like to know what it is which has caused the panic-stricken matrons to rush out into the streets and barely refrain from entering the Forum and a public meeting. Is it that our captives, their fathers, husbands, sons or brothers, may be ransomed from Hannibal?

> Latin: 3.6. volo tamen audire, quid sit, propter quod matronae consternatae procucurrerint in publicum ac vix foro se et contione abstineant.

[¶24] 3.7. Such a calamity to the state is far away, and may it always be; but yet, when it did happen, you refused this to their pious prayers.

> Latin: 3.7. ut captivi ab Hannibale redimantur parentes, viri, liberi, fratres earum? procul abest absitque semper talis fortuna rei publicae; sed tamen, cum fuit, negastis hoc piis precibus earum.

[¶25] 3.8. But it was not affection nor anxiety about their dear ones which had brought them together: it was a religious rite, and they were about to receive the Idaean Mother as she came from Pessinus in Phrygia. What pretext, respectable even to mention, is now given for this insurrection of the women?

> Latin: 3.8. at non pietas nec sollicitudo pro suis, sed religio congregavit eas: matrem Idaeam a Pessinunte ex Phrygia venientem accepturae sunt. quid honestum dictu saltem seditioni praetenditur muliebri?

[¶26] 3.9. 'That we may glitter with gold and purple,' says one, 'that we may ride in carriages on holidays and ordinary days, that we may be borne through the city as if in triumph over the conquered and vanquished law and over the votes which we have captured and wrested from you; that there may be no limits to our spending and our luxury.'

> Latin: 3.9. ‘ut auro et purpura fulgamus’ inquit, ‘ut carpentis festis profestisque diebus, velut triumphantes de lege victa et abrogata et captis et ereptis suffragiis vestris, per urbem vectemur; ne ullus modus sumptibus, ne luxuriae sit.

[¶27] 4.1. “You have often heard me complaining of the extravagance of the women and often of the men, both private citizens and magistrates even, and ” “lamenting that the state is suffering from those two opposing evils, avarice and luxury, which have been the destruction of every great empire.”

> Latin: 4.1. ’ saepe me querentem de feminarum, saepe de virorum nec de privatorum modo sed etiam magistratuum sumptibus audistis, diversisque duobus vitiis, avaritia et luxuria, civitatem laborare, quae pestes omnia magna imperia everterunt.

[¶28] 4.3. “The better and the happier becomes the fortune of our commonwealth day by day and the greater the empire grows — and already we have crossed into Greece and Asia, places filled with all the allurements of vice, and we are handling the treasures of kings — the more I fear that these things will capture us rather than we them.”

> Latin: 4.3. haec ego, quo melior laetiorque in dies fortuna rei publicae est imperiumque crescit—et iam in Graeciam Asiamque transcendimus omnibus libidinum illecebris repletas et regias etiam adtrectamus gazas—, eo plus horreo, ne illae magis res nos ceperint quam nos illas.

[¶29] 4.4. “Tokens of danger, believe me, were those statues which were brought to this city from Syracuse. Altogether too many people do I hear praising the baubles of Corinth and Athens and laughing at the fictile antefixes of our Roman gods.”

> Latin: 4.4. infesta, mihi credite, signa ab Syracusis illata sunt huic urbi. iam nimis multos audio Corinthi et Athenarum ornamenta laudantis mirantisque et antefixa fictilia deorum Romanorum ridentis.

[¶30] 4.5. “I prefer that these gods be propitious to us, and I trust that they will be if we allow them to remain in their own dwellings.”

> Latin: 4.5. ego hos malo propitios deos et ita spero futuros, si in suis manere sedibus patiemur.

[¶31] 4.6. “In the memory of our forefathers Pyrrhus, through his agent Cineas, tried to corrupt with gifts the minds of our men and women as well. Not yet had the Oppian law been passed to curb female extravagance, yet not one woman took his gifts. What do you think was the reason?”

> Latin: 4.6. patrum nostrorum memoria per legatum Cineam Pyrrhus non virorum modo sed etiam mulierum animos donis temptavit. nondum lex Oppia ad coercendam luxuriam muliebrem lata erat;

[¶32] 4.7. “The same thing which caused our ancestors to pass no law on the subject: there was no extravagance to be restrained.”

> Latin: 4.7. tamen nulla accepit. quam causam fuisse censetis? eadem fuit, quae maioribus nostris nihil de hac re lege sanciundi; nulla erat luxuria, quae coerceretur.

[¶33] 4.8. “As it is necessary that diseases be known before their cures, so passions are born before the laws which keep them within bounds. What provoked the Licinian law about the five hundred iugera except the uncontrolled desire of joining field to field?”

> Latin: 4.8. sicut ante morbos necesse est cognitos esse quam remedia eorum, sic cupiditates prius natae sunt quam leges, quae iis modum facerent.

[¶34] 4.9. “What brought about the Cincian law except that the plebeians had already begun to be vassals and tributaries to the senate? And so it is not strange that no Oppian or any other law was needed to limit female extravagance at the time when they spurned gifts of gold and purple voluntarily offered to them.”

> Latin: 4.9. quid legem Liciniam excitavit de quingentis iugeribus nisi ingens cupido agros continuandi? quid legem Cinciam de donis et muneribus, nisi quia vectigalis iam et stipendiaria plebs esse senatui coeperat?

[¶35] 4.10. “If it were to-day that Cineas were going about the city with those presents he would have found women standing in the streets to receive them. And for some desires I can find no reason or explanation.”

> Latin: 4.10. itaque minime mirum est nec Oppiam nec aliam ullam tum legem desideratam esse, quae modum sumptibus mulierum faceret, cum aurum et purpuram data et oblata ultro non accipiebant.

[¶36] 4.11. “For though it may perhaps cause some natural shame or even anger that what is denied to you is permitted to another, yet, when the dress of all is made alike, what is there which any of you fears will not be conspicuous in herself?”

> Latin: 4.11. si nunc cum illis donis Cineas urbem circumiret, stantis in publico invenisset, quae acciperent.

[¶37] 4.12. “The worst kind of shame, I tell you, is that derived from stinginess or poverty; but the law takes from you the chance of either, since you do not have what it is not allowed you to have.”

> Latin: 4.12. atque ego nonnullarum cupiditatium ne causam quidem aut rationem inire possum, nam ut, quod alii liceat, tibi non licere aliquid fortasse naturalis aut pudoris aut indignationis habeat, sic aequato omnium cultu quid unaquaeque vestrum veretur ne in se conspiciatur?

[¶38] 4.13. ' It is just this equality that I will not put up with,' says yonder rich woman. 'Why do I not stand out conspicuous by reason of gold and purple?

> Latin: 4.13. pessimus quidem pudor est vel parsimoniae vel paupertatis; sed utrumque lex vobis demit, cum id, quod habere non licet, non habetis.

[¶39] 4.14. “Why does the poverty of other women lie concealed under cover of this law, that it may seem that, had it been legal, they would have owned what it is not in their power to own?' Do you wish, citizens, to start a race like this among your wives, so that the rich shall want to own what no other woman can have and the poor, lest they be despised for their poverty, shall spend beyond their means?”

> Latin: 4.14. ‘hanc’ inquit ‘ipsam exaequationem non fero’ illa locuples. ‘cur non insignis auro et purpura conspicior? cur paupertas aliarum sub hac legis specie latet, ut, quod habere non possunt, habiturae, si liceret, fuisse videantur?

[¶40] 4.15. “Once let these women begin to be ashamed of what they should not be ashamed, and they will not be ashamed of what they ought.”

> Latin: 4.15. ‘vultis hoc certamen uxoribus vestris inicere, Quirites, ut divites id habere velint, quod nulla alia possit; pauperes, ne ob hoc ipsum contemnantur, supra vires se extendant?

[¶41] 4.16. “She who can buy from her own purse will buy; she who cannot will beg her husband. Poor wretch that husband, both he who yields and he who yields not, since what he will not himself give he will see given by another man.”

> Latin: 4.16. ne eas simul pudere, quod non oportet, coeperit, quod oportet, non pudebit. quae de suo poterit, parabit, quae non poterit, virum rogabit.

[¶42] 4.17. “Now they publicly address other women's husbands, and, what is more serious, they beg for a law and votes, and from sundry men they get what they ask.”

> Latin: 4.17. miserum illum virum, et qui exoratus et qui non exoratus erit, cum, quod ipse non dederit, datum ab alio videbit.

[¶43] 4.18. “In matters affecting yourself, your property, your children, you, Sir, can be importuned; once the law has ceased to set a limit to your wife's expenditures you will never set it yourself. Do not think, citizens, that the situation which existed before the law was passed will ever return.”

> Latin: 4.18. nunc vulgo alienos viros rogant et, quod maius est, legem et suffragia rogant et a quibusdam impetrant. adversus te et rem tuam et liberos tuos exorabilis es; simul lex modum sumptibus uxoris tuae facere desierit, tu numquam facies.

[¶44] 4.19. “It is safer for a criminal to go unaccused than to be acquitted; and luxury, left undisturbed, would have been more endurable then than it will be now, when it has been, like a wild beast, first rendered angry by its very fetters and then let loose. My opinion is that the Oppian law should on no account be repealed; whatever is your decision, I pray that all the gods may prosper it.”

> Latin: 4.19. nolite eodem loco existimare, Quirites, futuram rem, quo fuit, antequam lex de hoc ferretur. et hominem improbum non accusari tutius est quam absolvi, et luxuria non mota tolerabilior esset, quam erit nunc, ipsis vinculis, sicut ferae bestiae, irritata, deinde emissa. ego nullo modo abrogandam legem Oppiam censeo; vos quod faxitis, deos omnis fortunare velim.’

[¶45] 5.1. After this the tribunes of the people who had declared that they would veto the bill spoke briefly to the same effect, and then Lucius Valerius argued thus for the measure which he had proposed: "If only private citizens had come forward to support or oppose the measure which we have placed before you, I too, since I judged that enough had been said on each side, should have waited in silence for your ballots;

> Latin: 5.1. post haec tribuni quoque plebi, qui se intercessuros professi erant, cum pauca in eandem sententiam adiecissent, tum L. Valerius pro rogatione ab se promulgata ita disseruit: ‘si privati tantummodo ad suadendum dissuadendumque id, quod ab nobis rogatur, processissent, ego quoque, cum satis dictum pro utraque parte existimarem, tacitus suffragia vestra expectassem;

[¶46] 5.2. now, since that most influential man, the consul Marcus Porcius, has attacked our proposal not only with his authority, which unexpressed would have had enough of weight, but also in along and carefully-prepared speech, it is necessary to make a brief reply.

> Latin: 5.2. nunc cum vir gravissimus, consul M. Porcius, non auctoritate solum, quae tacita satis momenti habuisset, sed oratione etiam longa et accurata insectatus sit rogationem nostram, necesse est paucis respondere.

[¶47] 5.3. And yet he used up more words in reproving the matrons than he did in opposing our bill, and, in fact, left it in doubt whether the conduct for which he rebuked the matrons was spontaneous or inspired by us.

> Latin: 5.3. qui tamen plura verba in castigandis matronis quam in rogatione nostra dissuadenda consumpsit, et quidem ut in dubio poneret, utrum id, quod reprenderet, matronae sua sponte an nobis auctoribus fecissent.

[¶48] 5.4. I propose to defend the measure rather than ourselves, at whom the consul directed his insinuations, more to have something to say than to make a serious charge.

> Latin: 5.4. rem defendam, non nos, in quos iecit magis hoc consul verbo tenus, quam ut re insimularet.

[¶49] 5.5. This gathering of women he called a sedition and sometimes' a female secession,' because the matrons, in the streets, had requested you to repeal, in a time of peace and in a rich and prosperous commonwealth, a law that was passed against them in the trying days of a war.

> Latin: 5.5. coetum et seditionem et interdum secessionem muliebrem appellavit, quod matronae in publico vos rogassent, ut legem in se latam per bellum temporibus duris in pace et florenti ac beata re publica abrogaretis.

[¶50] 5.6. I know that there is this and still other vigorous language, which has been sought out to make the argument sound more convincing; we all know, too, that Marcus Cato is an orator not only powerful but sometimes even savage, though he is kind of heart.

> Latin: 5.6. verba magna, quae rei augendae causa conquirantur, et haec et alia esse scio, et M. Catonem oratorem non solum gravem sed interdum etiam trucem esse scimus omnes, cum ingenio sit mitis.

[¶51] 5.7. What new thing, pray, have the matrons done in coming out into the streets in crowds in a case that concerned them? Have they never before this moment appeared in public? Let me unroll your own Origines against you.

> Latin: 5.7. nam quid tandem novi matronae fecerunt, quod frequentes in causa ad se pertinente in publicum processerunt? numquam ante hoc tempus in publico apparuerunt? tuas adversus te Origines revolvam.

[¶52] 5.8. Hear how often they have done it and always, indeed, for the general good. Even in the beginning, while Romulus was king, when the Capitoline had been taken by the Sabines and pitched battle was raging in the centre of the Forum, was not the fighting stopped by the rush of the matrons between the two battle-lines? What of this?

> Latin: 5.8. accipe, quotiens id fecerint, et quidem semper bono publico. iam a principio, regnante Romulo, cum Capitolio ab Sabinis capto medio in foro signis collatis dimicaretur, nonne intercursu matronarum inter acies duas proelium sedatum est? quid? regibus exactis cum Coriolano Marcio duce legiones Volscorum castra ad quintum lapidem posuissent, nonne id agmen, quo obruta haec urbs esset, matronae averterunt?

[¶53] 5.9. When, after the expulsion of the kings, the Volscian legions led by Marcius Coriolanus had encamped at the fifth milestone, did not the matrons turn away from us the army which would have destroyed our city? When the City was later captured by the Gauls, how was it ransomed? Why, the matrons by unanimous consent contributed their gold to the public use. In the recent war (not to go to remoter times), did not the widows, when there was a scarcity of money, aid the treasury with their wealth, and when new gods too were brought in to help us in our crisis, did not the matrons in a body go down to the sea to receive the Idaean Mother? These cases, you say, are different.

> Latin: 5.9. iam urbe capta a Gallis aurum, quo redempta urbs est, nonne matronae consensu omnium in publicum contulerunt? proximo bello, ne antiqua repetam, nonne et, cum pecunia opus fuit, viduarum pecuniae adiuverunt aerarium, et, cum dii quoque novi ad opem ferendam dubiis rebus accerserentur, matronae universae ad mare profectae sunt ad matrem Idaeam accipiendam?

[¶54] 5.11. It is not my purpose to prove them similar; it suffices if I prove that this is nothing new. But what no one wonders that all, - men and women alike, have done in matters that concern them, do we wonder that the women have done in a case peculiarly their own? What now have they done?

> Latin: 5.11. dissimiles, inquis, causae sunt. nec mihi causas aequare propositum est; nihil novi factum purgare satis est. ceterum quod in rebus ad omnis pariter, viros feminas, pertinentibus fecisse eas nemo miratus est, in causa proprie ad ipsas pertinente miramur fecisse?

[¶55] 5.13. We have proud ears, upon my word, if, although masters do not scorn to hear the petitions of slaves, we complain that we are appealed to by respectable women.

> Latin: 5.13. quid autem fecerunt? superbas, me dius fidius, aures habemus, si, cum domini servorum non fastidiant preces, nos rogari ab honestis feminis indignamur.

[¶56] 6.1. "I come now to the matter which is under discussion. On this point the consul's argument was two fold: for he protested against the repeal of any law at all, and particularly of that law which was designed to limit feminine luxury.

> Latin: 6.1. venio nunc ad id, de quo agitur. in quo duplex consulis oratio fuit; nam et legem ullam omnino abrogari est indignatus, et eam praecipue legem, quae luxuriae muliebris coercendae causa lata esset.

[¶57] 6.2. The former argument, a general appeal on behalf of the laws, was becoming to a consul; the latter, against luxury, was consistent with his strict moral code;

> Latin: 6.2. et illa communis pro legibus visa consularis oratio est, et haec adversus luxuriam severissimis moribus conveniebat;

[¶58] 6.3. accordingly, unless I reveal the fallacy in both, there is a danger that some misconception may blind your eyes.

> Latin: 6.3. itaque periculum est, nisi, quid in utraque re vani sit, docuerimus, ne quis error vobis offundatur.

[¶59] 6.4. For while I acknowledge that, of these laws which have been passed, not for a particular occasion, but as permanent institutions because of their enduring benefit, none should be repealed, unless experience shows it to be useless or some emergency in the state renders it valueless, yet I see that certain laws which crises in the state have demanded are, so to speak, mortal, and subject to change as conditions themselves change.

> Latin: 6.4. ego enim quem ad modum ex iis legibus, quae non in tempus aliquod, sed perpetuae utilitatis causa in aeternum latae sunt, nullam abrogari debere fateor, nisi quam aut usus coarguit aut status aliquis rei publicae inutilem fecit, sic, quas tempora aliqua desiderarunt leges, mortales, ut ita dicam, et temporibus ipsis mutabiles esse video.

[¶60] 6.6. Laws passed in time of peace, war frequently annuls, and peace those passed in times of war, just as in handling a ship some means are useful in fair weather and others in a storm.

> Latin: 6.6. quae in pace lata sunt, plerumque bellum abrogat, quae in bello, pax, ut in navis administratione alia in secunda, alia in adversa tempestate usui sunt.

[¶61] 6.7. Since they are so distinguished by nature, to which class, I ask, does the law which we are trying to repeal seem to belong? Well? Is it an ancient regal law, born with the City itself, or, what is next to that, one inscribed on the twelve tables by the decemvirs appointed to codify the law? Is it a law without which our ancestors held that a matron's virtue could not be preserved, and which we too must fear to repeal lest along with it we repeal the modesty and purity of our women?

> Latin: 6.7. haec cum ita natura distincta sint, ex utro tandem genere ea lex esse videtur, quam abrogamus? quid? vetus regia lex, simul cum ipsa urbe nata aut, quod secundum est, ab decemviris ad condenda iura creatis in duodecim tabulis scripta, sine qua cum maiores nostri non existimarint decus matronale servari posse, nobis quoque verendum sit, ne cum ea pudorem sanctitatemque feminarum abrogemus?

[¶62] 6.9. Who is there, then, who does not know that this is a new law, passed twenty years ago, in the consulship of Quintus Fabius and Tiberius Sempronius? Since for so many years our matrons lived virtuous lives without it, what danger is there that when it is repealed they will rush into riotous luxury?

> Latin: 6.9. quis igitur nescit novam istam legem esse, Q. Fabio et Ti. Sempronio consulibus viginti ante annis latam? sine qua cum per tot annos matronae optimis moribus vixerint, quod tandem, ne abrogata ea effundantur ad luxuriam, periculum est?

[¶63] 6.10. For if it were an ancient law, or passed for the purpose of holding feminine caprice under restraint, there would be danger that its abrogation would rouse their passion; but the occasion itself will tell you why the law was passed.

> Latin: 6.10. nam si ista lex vetus aut ideo lata esset, ut finiret libidinem muliebrem, verendum foret, ne abrogata incitaret;

[¶64] 6.11. Hannibal was in Italy, victorious at Cannae; he already held Tarentum, Arpi, Capua; he seemed ready to march on our city of Rome;

> Latin: 6.11. cur sit autem lata, ipsum indicabit tempus. Hannibal in Italia erat, victor ad Cannas; iam Tarentum, iam Arpos, iam Capuam habebat;

[¶65] 6.12. our allies had deserted us; we had no troops in reserve, no naval allies to maintain the fleet, no money in the treasury; slaves were being purchased for employment as soldiers, on condition that the price should be paid their owners after the war;

> Latin: 6.12. ad urbem Romam admoturus exercitum videbatur; defecerant socii; non milites in supplementum, non socios navalis ad classem tuendam, non pecuniam in aerario habebamus; servi, quibus arma darentur, ita ut pretium pro iis bello perfecto dominis solveretur, emebantur;

[¶66] 6.13. the contractors agreed to furnish grain and other things demanded by the war on the same settlement-day; we furnished slaves for rowers in proportion to our census-ratings, and ourselves bore the costs; we all, following the example set by the senators, gave our gold and silver for the public use;

> Latin: 6.13. in eandem diem pecuniae frumentum et cetera, quae belli usus postulabant, praebenda publicani se conducturos professi erant; servos ad remum numero ex censu constituto cum stipendio nostro dabamus;

[¶67] 6.14. widows and minors deposited their money in the treasury; we were forbidden to have at home more than a certain quantity of gold or silver plate or coined silver or bronze; at such a time were the matrons so absorbed in luxury and adornment that the Oppian law was needed to restrain them, when, since the rites of Ceres had to be omitted because all the women were in mourning, the senate limited the period of mourning to thirty days?

> Latin: 6.14. aurum et argentum omne ab senatoribus eius rei initio orto in publicum conferebamus; viduae et pupilli pecunias suas in aerarium deferebant; cautum erat, quo ne plus auri et argenti facti, quo ne plus signati argenti et aeris domi haberemus — : tali tempore in luxuria et ornatu matronae occupatae erant, ut ad eam coercendam Oppia lex desiderata sit, cum, quia Cereris sacrificium lugentibus omnibus matronis intermissum erat, senatus finiri luctum triginta

[¶68] 6.16. Who fails to see that the poverty and distress of the state wrote that law, since all private property had to be diverted to public use, and that the law was to remain in force so long as the cause of its enactment lasted? For, if whatever emergency measure was passed by senatorial decree or popular vote should be for ever observed, why do we repay the loans advanced by private citizens?

> Latin: 6.16. diebus iussit? cui non apparet inopiam et miseriam civitatis [et] quia omnium privatorum pecuniae in usum publicum vertendae erant, istam legem scripsisse, tam diu mansuram, quam diu causa scribendae legis mansisset?

[¶69] 6.17. Why do we let contracts calling for cash payment? Why are slaves not bought to serve in the armies? Why do not private citizens furnish rowers as we did then?

> Latin: 6.17. nam si, quae tunc temporis causa aut decrevit senatus aut populus iussit, in perpetuum servari oportet, cur pecunias reddimus privatis? cur publica praesenti pecunia locamus? cur servi, qui militent, non emuntur? cur privati non damus remiges, sicut tunc dedimus?

[¶70] 7.1. “All other orders, all men, will feel the change for the better in the state; shall our wives alone get no enjoyment from national peace and tranquillity?”

> Latin: 7.1. omnes alii ordines, omnes homines mutationem in meliorem statum rei publicae sentient: ad coniuges tantum nostras pacis et tranquillitatis publicae fructus non perveniet?

[¶71] 7.2. “Shall we men wear purple and walk clad in the toga praetexta while holding priesthoods and offices? Shall our sons wear togas bordered with purple? Shall officials in the colonies and the municipal towns, and here in Rome, the ward-masters, the lowest official rank, be allowed to wear the toga praetexta, and enjoy so great a distinction not only during life, but even after death be burned with it: shall women and women alone be forbidden the use of purple?”

> Latin: 7.2. purpura viri utemur, praetextati in magistratibus, in sacerdotiis; liberi nostri praetextis purpura togis utentur; magistratibus in coloniis municipiisque, hic Romae infimo generi, magistris vicorum, togae praetextae habendae ius permittemus, nec ut vivi solum habeant [tantum] insigne, sed etiam ut cum eo crementur mortui;

[¶72] 7.3. “And when you, a man, are allowed to have purple on your outer garment, will you not permit your wife to own a purple cloak, and will the trappings of your horse be more splendid than the dress of your wife?”

> Latin: 7.3. feminis dumtaxat purpurae usu interdicemus? et, cum tibi viro liceat purpura in vestem stragulam uti, matrem familiae tuam purpureum amiculum habere non sines, et equus tuus speciosius instratus erit quam uxor vestita?

[¶73] 7.4. “In the matter of purple, which is worn out and destroyed, I see some reason — not a good one, it is true — for niggardliness; but in regard to gold, in which there is no loss except the cost of manufacture, what spitefulness does the law show! It is rather a safeguard for use in both private and public emergency, as in fact you have experienced.”

> Latin: 7.4. sed in purpura, quae teritur absumitur, iniustam quidem, sed aliquam tamen causam tenacitatis video; in auro vero, in quo praeter manu pretium nihil intertrimenti fit, quae malignitas est? praesidium potius in eo est et ad privatos et ad publicos usus, sicut experti estis.

[¶74] 7.5. “He said there would be no rivalry among individuals if no one owned anything. But, by Hercules, there is mourning and anger among all when they see the wives of allies of the Latin ” “confederacy permitted the ornaments which are refused to them, when they see them decked out in gold and purple, when they see them riding through the city, and themselves following on foot, as if dominion resided in the Latin towns and not in Rome.”

> Latin: 7.5. nullam aemulationem inter se singularum, quoniam nulla haberet, esse aiebat. at hercule universis dolor et indignatio est, cum sociorum Latini nominis uxoribus vident ea concessa ornamenta, quae sibi adempta sint, cum insignis eas esse auro et purpura, cum illas vehi per urbem, se pedibus sequi, tamquam in illarum civitatibus, non in sua imperium sit.

[¶75] 7.7. “A thing like this would hurt the feelings even of men: what do you think is its effect upon weak women, whom even little things disturb?”

> Latin: 7.7. virorum hoc animos vulnerare posset; quid muliercularum censetis, quas etiam parva movent?

[¶76] 7.8. “No offices, no priesthoods, no triumphs, no decorations, no gifts, no spoils of war can come to them; elegance of appearance, adornment, apparel — these are the woman's badges of honour; in these they rejoice and take delight; these our ancestors called the woman's world.”

> Latin: 7.8. non magistratus nec sacerdotia nec triumphi nec insignia nec dona aut spolia bellica iis contingere possunt;

[¶77] 7.9. “What else do they lay aside in times of mourning than purple and jewellery?” “What do they put on when they have finished their time of mourning? What do they add save more splendid jewels in times of congratulation and thanks giving?”

> Latin: 7.9. munditiae et ornatus et cultus, haec feminarum insignia sunt, his gaudent et gloriantur, hunc mundum muliebrem appellarunt maiores nostri, quid aliud in luctu quam purpuram atque aurum deponunt? quid, cum eluxerunt, sumunt? quid in gratulationibus supplicationibusque nisi excellentiorem ornatum adiciunt?

[¶78] 7.11. “Of course, if you repeal the Oppian law, you will have no authority if you wish to forbid any of these things which now the law forbids; daughters, wives, even sisters of some will be less under control — never ” “while their males survive is feminine slavery shaken off; and even they abhor the freedom which loss of husbands and fathers gives.”

> Latin: 7.11. scilicet, si legem Oppiam abrogaritis, non vestri arbitrii erit, si quid eius vetare volueritis, quod nunc lex vetat; minus filiae, uxores, sorores etiam quibusdam in manu erunt; — numquam salvis suis exuitur servitus muliebris; et ipsae libertatem, quam viduitas et orbitas facit, detestantur, in vestro arbitrio suum ornatum quam in legis malunt esse;

[¶79] 7.13. “They prefer to have their finery under your control and not the law's; you too should keep them in control and guardianship and not in slavery, and should prefer the name of father or husband to that of master. The consul a while ago used words intended to create prejudice when he spoke of female 'sedition' and 'secession.' ” “For the danger, he tells you, is that they will seize the Sacred Mount or the Aventine, as the angered plebeians once did: in reality their frail nature must endure whatever you decree.”

> Latin: 7.13. et vos in manu et tutela, non in servitio debetis habere eas et malle patres vos aut viros quam dominos dici. invidiosis nominibus utebatur modo consul seditionem muliebrem et secessionem appellando. id enim periculum est, ne Sacrum montem, sicut quondam irata plebs, aut Aventinum capiant;

[¶80] 7.15. “The greater the authority you exercise, the greater the self-restraint with which you should use your power.”

> Latin: 7.15. — patiendum huic infirmitati est, quodcumque vos censueritis. quo plus potestis, eo moderatius imperio uti debetis.’

[¶81] 8.1. When these speeches against and for the bill had been delivered, the next day an even greater crowd of women appeared in public, and all of them in a body beset the doors of the Bruti, who were vetoing their colleagues' proposal, and they did not desist until the threat of veto was withdrawn by the, tribunes.

> Latin: 8.1. haec cum contra legem proque lege dicta essent, aliquanto maior frequentia mulierum postero die sese in publicum effudit, unoque agmine omnes Brutorum ianuas obsederunt, qui collegarum rogationi intercedebant, nec ante abstiterunt, quam remissa intercessio ab tribunis est.

[¶82] 8.3. After that there was no question that all the tribes would vote to repeal the law. The law was repealed twenty years after it was passed.

> Latin: 8.3. nulla deinde dubitatio fuit, quin omnes tribus legem abrogarent. viginti annis post abrogata est quam lata.

[¶83] 8.4. Marcus Porcius the consul, as soon as the Oppian law was abrogated, at once set out for the harbour of Luna with twenty-five warships, of which five belonged to the allies, having ordered his army to muster at the same place and sent a proclamation along the coast to collect ships of every kind;

> Latin: 8.4. M. Porcius consul, postquam abrogata lex Oppia est, extemplo viginti quinque navibus longis, quarum quinque sociorum erant, ad Lunae portum profectus est eodem exercitu convenire iusso et edicto per oram maritimam misso navibus omnis generis contractis ab Luna proficiscens edixit, ut ad portum Pyrenaei sequerentur;

[¶84] 8.5. as he set out from Luna he issued an order that they should follow him to the port of Pyrenaeus, and thence he would proceed against the enemy with all the fleet. They sailed past the Ligurian mountains and the Gallic gulf and joined him on the day he had set. Thence they sailed to Rhoda and ejected by violence a guard of Spaniards that was in the fortress.

> Latin: 8.5. inde se frequenti classe ad hostis iturum. praetervecti Ligustinos montes sinumque Gallicum ad diem, quam edixerat, convenerunt. inde Rhodam ventum, et praesidium Hispanorum, quod in castello erat, vi deiectum.

[¶85] 8.7. From Rhoda with favouring winds they came to Emporiae, and there landed all the forces except the naval allies.

> Latin: 8.7. ab Rhoda secundo vento Emporias perventum. ibi copiae omnes praeter socios navales in terram expositae.

[¶86] 9.1. Even at that time Emporiae consisted of two towns separated by a wall. One was inhabited by Greeks from Phocaea, whence came the Massilienses also, the other by the Spaniards;

> Latin: 9.1. iam tunc Emporiae duo oppida erant muro divisa. unum Graeci habebant, a Phocaea, unde et Massilienses, oriundi, alterum Hispani;

[¶87] 9.2. but the Greek town, being entirely open to the sea, had only a small extent of wall, of less than four hundred paces in length, while the Spaniards, who were farther back from the sea, had a wall three miles around.

> Latin: 9.2. sed Graecum oppidum in mare expositum totum orbem muri minus quadringentos passus patentem habebat, Hispanis retractior a mari trium milium passuum in circuitu murus erat.

[¶88] 9.3. A third class of inhabitants, Roman colonists, was added by the deified Caesar after the final defeat of the sons of Pompey, and at present all are fused into one mass, the Spaniards first, and later the Greeks, having been received into Roman citizenship.

> Latin: 9.3. tertium genus Romani coloni ab divo Caesare post devictos Pompei liberos adiecti. nunc in corpus unum confusi omnes Hispanis prius, postremo et Graecis in civitatem Romanam adscitis.

[¶89] 9.4. One who saw them at that time would wonder what secured the safety of the Greeks, with the open sea on one side and the Spaniards, so fierce and warlike a people, their neighbours on the other. Discipline was their protector against their weakness, which among more vigorous peoples is best main tained when there is cause for fear.

> Latin: 9.4. miraretur, qui tum cerneret, aperto mari ab altera parte, ab altera Hispanis, tam fera et bellicosa gente, obiectis quae res eos tutaretur. disciplina erat custos infirmitatis, quam inter validiores optime timor continet.

[¶90] 9.5. The part of the wall which faced the interior they kept strongly fortified, with only a single gate leading in that direction, and at this one of the magistrates was posted as a continuous guard.

> Latin: 9.5. partem muri versam in agros egregie munitam habebant, una tantum in eam regionem porta imposita, cuius adsiduus custos semper aliquis ex magistratibus erat.

[¶91] 9.6. At night a third of the citizens kept vigil on the walls; they did this not merely as a result of custom or in obedience to the law, but they posted their sentinels and sent out their patrols with all the care they would have used had the enemy been at their gates.

> Latin: 9.6. nocte pars tertia civium in muris excubabat; neque moris causa tantum aut legis, sed quanta si hostis ad portas esset et servabant vigilias et circumibant cura.

[¶92] 9.7. No Spaniard was admitted to the city, nor did the Greeks themselves leave the city without good cause. Towards the sea the gates were open to all.

> Latin: 9.7. Hispanum neminem in urbem recipiebant; ne ipsi quidem temere urbe excedebant. ad mare patebat omnibus exitus.

[¶93] 9.8. Through the gate which led to the Spanish town they never passed except in large bodies, usually the third which had maintained the watch on the walls the night before.

> Latin: 9.8. porta ad Hispanorum oppidum versa numquam nisi frequentes, pars tertia fere, cuius proxima nocte vigiliae in muris fuerant, egrediebantur.

[¶94] 9.9. The cause of going out of the town was this: the Spaniards, who had no experience with the sea, enjoyed transacting business with them, and wanted both to buy the foreign merchandise which they brought in in their ships and to dispose of the products of their farms. The desire for the benefits of this interchange caused the Spanish city to be open to the Greeks.

> Latin: 9.9. causa exeundi haec erat: commercio eorum Hispani, imprudentes maris, gaudebant mercarique et ipsi ea, quae externa navibus inveherentur, et agrorum exigere fructus volebant. huius mutui usus desiderium, ut Hispana urbs Graecis pateret, faciebat.

[¶95] 9.10. They were safer, too, for the reason that they were under the shelter of the Roman friendship, which they cultivated with resources inferior to those of the Massilienses but with equal devotion. At this time also they received the consul and his army with courtesy and kindness.

> Latin: 9.10. erant etiam eo tutiores, quod sub umbra Romanae amicitiae latebant, quam sicut minoribus viribus quam Massilienses, pari colebant fide. tum quoque consulem exercitumque comiter ac benigne acceperunt.

[¶96] 9.11. Cato delayed there a few days, until he could find out where the forces of the enemy lay and what strength they possessed, and, not to be idle even in that time of waiting, he spent the whole period in drilling his troops.

> Latin: 9.11. paucos ibi moratus dies Cato, dum exploraret, ubi et quantae hostium copiae essent, ut ne mora quidem segnis esset, omne id tempus exercendis militibus consumpsit.

[¶97] 9.12. It happened to be the time of year when the Spaniards had the grain on their threshing floors; he therefore forbade the contractors to purchase any and sent them back to Rome, saying, “This war will support itself.”

> Latin: 9.12. id erat forte tempus anni, ut frumentum in areis Hispani haberent; itaque redemptoribus vetitis frumentum parare ac Romam dimissis ‘bellum’ inquit ‘ se ipsum alet’.

[¶98] 9.13. Leaving Emporiae, he burned and laid waste the fields of the enemy and filled everything with flight and terror.

> Latin: 9.13. profectus ab Emporiis agros hostium urit vastatque, omnia fuga et terrore complet.

[¶99] 10.1. At the same time, as Marcus Helvius was retiring from Farther Spain, accompanied by a guard of six thousand men furnished by Appius Claudius the praetor, the Celtiberi with a large force fell upon him near the town of Iliturgi.

> Latin: 10.1. eodem tempore M. Helvio decedenti ex ulteriore Hispania cum praesidio sex milium, dato ab Ap. Claudio praetore, Celtiberi agmine ingenti ad oppidum Iliturgi occurrunt.

[¶100] 10.2. Valerius writes that there were twenty thousand men there, that twelve thousand of them were killed, the town of Iliturgi taken and all the adults put to death.

> Latin: 10.2. viginti milia armatorum fuisse Valerius scribit, duodecim milia ex iis caesa, oppidum Iliturgi receptum et puberes omnis interfectos.

[¶101] 10.3. After that Helvius came to the camp of Cato, and, because this region was now safe from the enemy, sent his guard back to Farther Spain and set out for Rome, and by reason of his victory entered the city in an ovation.

> Latin: 10.3. inde ad castra Catonis Helvius pervenit et, quia tuta iam ab hostibus regio erat, praesidio in ulteriorem Hispaniam remisso Romam est profectus et ob rem feliciter gestam ovans urbem est ingressus.

[¶102] 10.4. He deposited in the treasury fourteen thousand seven hundred and thirty-two pounds of uncoined silver, seventeen thousand and twenty-three denarii stamped with the two-horse chariot, and one hundred and nineteen thousand four hundred and forty-nine silver coins of Osca.

> Latin: 10.4. argenti infecti tulit in aerarium decem quattuor milia pondo septingenta triginta duo et signati bigatorum septendecim milia viginti tres et Oscensis argenti undeviginti milia quadringentos undequadraginta;

[¶103] 10.5. The reason for the senate's refusal of a triumph was that he had fought under another's auspices and in another's province. But it was not until two years later that he had returned home, though he had turned his province over to his successor Quintus Minucius, having been detained there the following year by a long and serious illness.

> Latin: 10.5. causa triumphi negandi senatui fuit, quod alieno auspicio et in aliena provincia pugnasset. ceterum biennio post redierat, cum provincia successori Q. Minucio tradita annum insequentem retentus ibi longo et gravi fuisset morbo.