"esse" + genitive in Livy XXII

[LaurentiusH]

Hello,

In Livy XXII, there are two sentences using (I think) "esse" + genitive that I don't fully understand:

First sentence : "Ad Cannas fugientem consulem uix quinquaginta secuti sunt, alterius morientis prope totus exercitus fuit."

I suppose the second part of the sentence means something like: "The other consul died and almost all the army met the same fate", but IMO it requires some creativity to interpret "consulis exercitus fuit" as "the army shared the fate of the consul".

Second sentence: "Varro ipse Canusium copias traduxit; et iam aliqua species consularis exercitus erat moenibusque se certe, si non armis, ab hoste uidebantur defensuri."

In "aliqua species consularis exercitus erat" I understand "consularis exercitus" as a genitive (but am I correct?), meaning something like "there was some semblance of a consular army".

I'm not even sure "consulis exercitus fuit" and "exercitus species erat" are the same grammatical phenomenon.

Do both sentences contain the same grammatical feature? If so, could someone explain it or point me to some explanation?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Laurentius]

Yes it seems to imply, by saying that the army was of the dying consul, that they shared the same fate. On the second sentence I think you are right.

 

[Bitmap]

Doesn't the first sentence just say that the consul who fled had only fifty people with him, while the other one, who was dying, had almost the entire army with him?

 

[LaurentiusH]

Laurentius and Bitmap, thanks for your answers. As I understand it now, the consul had a whole army while dying (morientis), which would, or at least could, imply that the army died with him.

Thanks again!

 

[Laurentius]

Laurentius and Bitmap, thanks for your answers. As I understand it now, the consul had a whole army while dying (morientis), which would, or at least could, imply that the army died with him.

Thanks again!

When in doubt, just translate what you see written. In this case I see many translations saying that the army died with him, but it'd be best to just translate what is written like Bitmap said.