Livy summary 5.39

(1) Gallos quoque velut obstupefactos miraculum victoriae tam repentinae tenuit et ipsi pavore defixi primum steterunt, velut ignari quid accidisset; deinde insidias vereri; postremo caesorum spolia legere armorumque cumulos, ut mos eis est, coacervare;

The astonishment of so sudden victory gripped the Gauls too, as though stunned, and they themselves stood, at first, fixed to the spot with fear, as if unaware of what had happened; next, they feared an ambush; finally, they gathered the spoils of the slain and piled up heaps of arms, as is their custom;

(2) tum demum postquam nihil usquam hostile cernebatur viam ingressi, haud multo ante solis occasum ad urbem Romam perveniunt. ubi cum praegressi equites non portas clausas, non stationem pro portis excubare, non armatos esse in muris rettulissent, aliud priori simile miraculum eos sustinuit;

Then at last, after nothing was seen of the enemy anywhere as they proceeded on their journey, they reached the city of Rome not long before sunset. There, when the cavalry who had gone ahead reported that the gates were not closed, that no sentry was camped out before them, that no armed men were on the walls, another astonishment like the one before held them fast;

(3) noctemque veriti et ignotae situm urbis inter Romam atque Anienem consedere exploratoribus missis circa moenia aliasque portas quaenam hostibus in perdita re consilia essent.

And fearing the night, and the lie (site) of the unknown city, they made camp between Rome and the Anio River, after scouts had been sent around the walls and gates to find out what plans the enemy could possibly have in their desperate situation.

(4) Romani cum pars maior ex acie Veios petisset quam Romam, nemo superesse quemquam praeter eos qui Romam refugerant crederet, complorati omnes pariter vivi mortuique totam prope urbem lamentis impleverunt.

As for the Romans, since a greater part from the battle had made for Veii than for Rome, and since no one believed that anyone had survived except those who had taken refuge in Rome, all were mourned equally, both the living and the dead, and they filled nearly the whole city with lamentations.

(5) privatos deinde luctus stupefecit publicus pavor, postquam hostes adesse nuntiatum est; mox ululatus cantusque dissonos vagantibus circa moenia turmatim barbaris audiebant.

Then general panic overwhelmed their private grief, after it was announced that the enemy were at hand; soon they could hear the dissonant howls and songs from the barbarians roaming about the walls in their squadrons. (think terrifying football chants)

(6) omne inde tempus suspensos ita tenuit animos eisque ad lucem alteram ut identidem iam in urbem futurus videretur impetus; primo adventu, quia accesserant ad urbem; mansuros enim ad Alliam fuisse nisi hoc consilii foret -;

From that point, the whole interval up to the following morning kept the minds of the Romans in such suspense that from moment to moment, an attack seemed about to be made on the city; on the Gauls' first approach, because they had come close to the city (for they would have remained at Allia, had this not been their plan),

(7) deinde sub occasum solis, quia haud multum diei supererat - ante noctem certe invasuros - tum in noctem dilatum consilium esse, quo plus pavoris inferrent; postremo lux adpropinquans exanimare;

Then again towards sundown, because not much of the day was left - surely they would invade before nightfall? - the Romans thought that the Gauls' plan was delayed until nightfall, in order to strike more fear into them; finally, the approaching dawn put them out of their minds;

(8) (postremo lux appropinquans exanimare;) timorique perpetuo ipsum malum continens fuit cum signa infesta portis sunt inlata. nequaquam tamen ea nocte neque in sequenti die similis illi quae ad Alliam tam pavide fugerat civitas fuit.

*** issues... "was when enemy standards were carried through the gates". Yet in no way whatever that night, nor on the following day, did the citizen body act like those who had fled in such terror at Allia.

(9) nam cum defendi urbem posse tam parva relicta spes nulla esset, placuit cum coniugibus ac liberis iuventutem militarem senatusque robur in arcem Capitoliumque concedere,

For when there was no hope that the city could be defended with such a small force, the strength of the senate resolved (placuit, senate terminology) that the youth of military age, with their wives and children, would retreat to the citadel and Capitol,

(10) armisque et frumento conlato, ex loco inde munito deos hominesque et Romanum nomen defendere;

With their arms and gathered grain, and from that fortified place they would defend gods and men and the Roman nation (nomen, niche vocab);

(11) flaminem sacerdotesque Vestales sacra publica a caede, ab incendis procul auferre, nec ante deseri cultum deorum quam non superessent qui colerent.

the flamen and priestesses of Vesta would take the state relics far from the carnage and the flames, and the cult of the gods would not be abandoned until no one survived to attend it.

(12) si arx Capitoliumque, sedes deorum, si senatus, caput publici consolii, si militiaris iuventus superfuerit imminenti ruinae urbis, facilem iacturam esse seniorum relictae in urbe utique periturae turbae.

If the citadel and the Capitol, seat of the gods, if the senate, fount of public guidance, if the youth of military age survived the imminent destruction of the city, then the loss (iacturam) of the older people would be bearable, for any crowds remaining in the city would perish in any case.*** (is this right?)

(13) et quo id aequiore animo de plebe multitudo ferret, senes triumphales consularesque simul se cum illis palam dicere obituros, nec his corporibus, quibus non arma ferre, non tueri patriam possent, oneraturos inopiam armatorum.

And so that the mass of plebeians would bear this with a calmer mind, the old men who had achieved triumphs and consulships declared publicly that they would perish at the same time with them, and that they would not burden the scarce resources of the fighting men with these bodies, which could neither bear arms nor protect the fatherland.