11.11. that the Bruttians and Apulians and some of the Samnites and Lucanians had revolted to the Carthaginians; that Capua, which was the capital not only of Campania, but, since the blow inflicted upon the Roman state by the battle of Cannae, of Italy also, had surrendered to Hannibal.
11.11. Bruttios Apulosque, partim Samnitium ac Lucanorum defecisse ad Poenos. Capuam, quod caput non Campaniae modo sed post adflictam rem Romanam Cannensi pugna Italiae sit, Hannibali se tradidisse.
11.12. For these victories, so many and so great, it was proper, he said, that gratitude be expressed and felt toward the immortal gods.
11.12. pro his tantis totque uictoriis uerum esse grates deis immortalibus agi haberique.
12.1. Then in evidence of such successes he ordered the golden rings to be poured out at the entrance of the Senate House. And so great was the heap of them that, when measured, they filled, as some historians assert, three pecks and a half.
12.1. ad fidem deinde tam laetarum rerum effundi in uestibulo curiae iussit anulos aureos, qui tantus aceruus fuit ut metientibus dimidium supra tres modios explesse sint quidam auctores:
12.2. The prevailing report, and nearer the truth, is that there was not more than one peck. Then, that it might be proof of a greater calamity, he added in explanation that no one but a knight, and even of the knights only those of the higher class, wore that token.
12.2. fama tenuit quae propior uero est, haud plus fuisse modio. adiecit deinde uerbis, quo maioris cladis indicium esset, neminem nisi equitem, atque eorum ipsorum primores, id gerere insigne.
12.3. The main point of his speech was that the nearer Hannibal came to realizing his hope of ending the war, the more necessary it was to help him by every means. For his campaigning was far from home, in the midst of the enemy's country.
12.3. summa fuit orationis, quo propius spem belli perficiendi sit, eo magis omni ope iuuandum Hannibalem esse; procul enim ab domo militiam esse, in media hostium terra;
12.4. A large amount of grain and money was being consumed, he said, and though so many battles had destroyed the enemy's armies, still they had considerably diminished the forces of the victor as well.
12.4. magnam uim frumenti pecuniae absumi, et tot acies, ut hostium exercitus delesse, ita uictoris etiam copias parte aliqua minuisse;
12.5. Therefore they must send reinforcements, they must send money to pay them and grain to soldiers who had deserved so well of the Carthaginian nation. After these words of Mago, while all were rejoicing, Himilco, a man of the Barca party, thought it an opportunity to rebuke Hanno.
12.5. mittendum igitur supplementum esse, mittendam in stipendium pecuniam frumentumque tam bene meritis de nomine Punico militibus. secundum haec dicta Magonis laetis omnibus, Himilco, uir factionis Barcinae, locum Hannonis increpandi esse ratus, 'quid est, Hanno?'
12.6. “Tell me, Hanno,” he-said, “is it still to be regretted that we undertook a war against the Romans? Order the surrender of Hannibal!”
12.6. inquit; 'etiam nunc paenitet belli suscepti aduersus Romanos?
12.7. “In the midst of such successes forbid the rendering of thanks to the immortal gods! Let us listen to a Roman senator in the Carthaginian 'Senate House.”
12.7. iube dedi Hannibalem; ueta in tam prosperis rebus grates deis immortalibus agi; audiamus Romanum senatorem in Carthaginiensium curia.' tum Hanno:
12.8. Thereupon Hanno said: “I should have remained silent to-day, members of the senate, for fear of saying something which in the universal rejoicing would bring less joy to you.”
12.8. 'tacuissem hodie, patres conscripti, ne quid in communi omnium gaudio minus laetum quod esset uobis loquerer;
12.9. “As it is, when a senator asks me whether it is still a matter of regret that we entered upon a war against the Romans, if I were to remain silent I should be thought either haughty or subservient, of which the one marks a man forgetful of another's independence, the other a man who forgets his own.”
12.9. nunc interroganti senatori, paeniteatne adhuc suscepti aduersus Romanos belli, si reticeam, aut superbus aut obnoxius uidear, quorum alterum est hominis alienae libertatis obliti, alterum suae.
12.10. “I should like to say in reply to Himilco,” he said, “that I have not ceased to regret the war, and will not cease to accuse your invincible commander until I shall see the war ended on some sufferable terms; nor will anything else than a new peace end my longing for the old peace.”
12.10. respondeam' inquit 'Himilconi non desisse paenitere me belli neque desiturum ante inuictum uestrum imperatorem incusare quam finitum aliqua tolerabili condicione bellum uidero; nec mihi pacis antiquae desiderium ulla alia res quam pax noua finiet. itaque ista quae modo Mago iactauit Himilconi ceterisque Hannibalis satellitibus iam laeta sunt:
12.11. “And so those facts which Mago has just boastfully reported already give joy to Himilco and the other minions of Hannibal, and may give joy to me, since successes in war, if we are willing to make use of our good fortune, will give us a more favourable peace.”
12.11. mihi possunt laeta esse, quia res bello bene gestae, si uolumus fortuna uti, pacem nobis aequiorem dabunt;
12.12. “I mean that if we let slip this moment, when we may be considered as giving, rather than receiving, a peace, I fear that this joy also of ours may run to excess and come to nothing.”
12.12. nam si praetermittimus hoc tempus quo magis dare quam accipere possumus uideri pacem, uereor ne haec quoque laetitia luxuriet nobis ac uana euadat.
12.13. “But even now what is it worth? ' I have slain armies of the enemy. Send me soldiers! ' What else would you ask for if you had been defeated?”
12.13. quae tamen nunc quoque qualis est? occidi exercitus hostium; mittite milites mihi. quid aliud rogares, si esses uictus?
12.14. ' I have captured two camps of the enemy,' full of booty and supplies, of course. ' Give me grain and money!
12.14. hostium cepi bina castra, praedae uidelicet plena et commeatuum; frumentum et pecuniam date. quid aliud, si spoliatus, si exutus castris esses, peteres?
12.15. ' What else would you beg if you had been despoiled, if you had lost your camp? And, not to have all the amazement to myself —for it is right and proper for me too, having answered Himilco, to turn questioner, —I “should like either Himilco or Mago to answer, in the first place, whether any state among the Latins has revolted to us, although the battle of Cannae meant the utter destruction of the Roman power, and it is known that all Italy is in revolt; in the second place, whether any man out of the thirty-five tribes has deserted to Hannibal.”
12.15. et ne omnia ipse mirer—mihi quoque enim, quoniam respondi Himilconi, interrogare ius fasque est—uelim seu Himilco seu Mago respondeat, cum ad internecionem Romani imperii pugnatum ad Cannas sit constetque in defectione totam Italiam esse, primum, ecquis Latini nominis populus defecerit ad nos, deinde, ecquis homo ex quinque et triginta tribubus ad Hannibalem transfugerit.'
12.17. On Mago's negative answer to both Hanno said: "Accordingly there remains, to be sure, a very great number of the enemy. But what spirit, what hope that multitude has, I should like to know.'
12.17. cum utrumque Mago negasset, 'hostium quidem ergo' inquit 'adhuc nimis multum superest. sed multitudo ea quid animorum quidue spei habeat scire uelim.'
13.1. As Mago said he did not know, “Nothing is easier to know,” said Hanno. “Have the Romans sent any emissaries to Hannibal suing for peace? Has it been reported to you that even any mention of peace has been made at Rome?”
13.1. cum id nescire Mago diceret, 'nihil facilius scitu est' inquit. 'ecquos legatos ad Hannibalem Romani miserunt de pace? ecquam denique mentionem pacis Romae factam esse allatum ad uos est?'
13.2. The answer to this also being negative, “Therefore,” he said, “we have the war intact, as truly as we had on the day on which Hannibal crossed into Italy.”
13.2. cum id quoque negasset, 'bellum igitur' inquit 'tam integrum habemus quam habuimus qua die Hannibal in Italiam est transgressus.
13.3. “How often victory shifted in the previous Punic War very many of us are alive to remember. Never have our fortunes seemed more favourable on land and sea than they were before the consulship of Gaius Lutatius and Aulus Postumius. But in the consulship of Lutatius and Postumius we were utterly defeated off the Aegates Islands.”
13.3. quam uaria uictoria priore [Punico] bello fuerit plerique qui meminerimus supersumus. nunquam terra marique magis prosperae res nostrae uisae sunt quam ante consules C. Lutatium et A. Postumium fuerunt;
13.4. “And if now also-may the gods avert the omen! —fortune shall shift to any extent, do you hope that at the time of our defeat we shall have a peace which no one gives us now when we are victorious?”
13.4. Lutatio et Postumio consulibus deuicti ad Aegates insulas sumus. quod si, id quod di omen auertant, nunc quoque fortuna aliquid uariauerit, tum pacem speratis cum uincemur, quam nunc cum uincimus dat nemo?
13.5. “For myself, if some one is about to bring up the question either of offering peace to the enemy or of accepting it, I know what opinion to express. But if you are raising the question of Mago's demands, I do not think it to the point to send those things to victors, and I think it much less necessary to send them to men who are deluding us with a hope unfounded and empty.”
13.5. ego, si quis de pace consulet seu deferenda hostibus seu accipienda, habeo quid sententiae dicam; si de iis quae Mago postulat refertis, nec uictoribus mitti attinere puto et frustrantibus nos falsa atque inani spe multo minus censeo mittenda esse.' haud multos mouit Hannonis oratio;
13.6. Not many were moved by Hanno's speech. For the feud with the Barca family made his advice less weighty, and then minds filled with the joy of the moment would not listen to anything which made their rejoicing less well-founded. And they thought that, if they were willing to add a little to their efforts, the war would soon be finished.
13.6. nam et simultas cum familia Barcina leuiorem auctorem faciebat et occupati animi praesenti laetitia nihil quo uanius fieret gaudium suum auribus admittebant debellatumque mox fore, si adniti paulum uoluissent, rebantur.
13.7. Accordingly the senate with great unanimity decreed that four thousand Numidians should be sent to Hannibal as a reinforcement; also forty elephants and... silver talents. And... was sent in advance to Spain with Mago, for the purpose of hiring twenty thousand infantry and four thousand horse, to reinforce the armies that were in Italy and those in Spain.
13.7. itaque ingenti consensu fit senatus consultum ut Hannibali quattuor milia Numidarum in supplementum mitterentur et quadraginta elephanti et argenti talenta, † dictatorque cum Magone in Hispaniam praemissus est ad conducenda uiginti milia peditum, quattuor milia equitum, quibus exercitus qui in Italia quique in Hispania erant, supplerentur.
14.1. But, as usual in prosperous times, these measures were carried out without spirit and in leisurely fashion, while the Romans, in addition to their inborn activity, were prevented by misfortune also from delaying.
14.1. ceterum haec, ut in secundis rebus, segniter otioseque gesta; Romanos praeter insitam industriam animis fortuna etiam cunctari prohibebat.
14.2. That is, the consul was not found wanting in anything which it was his to do, and the dictator, Marcus Junius Pera, after performing the religious rites, proposed to the people according to custom a bill allowing him to be mounted. And then, in addition to the two city legions which had been enrolled by the consuls at the beginning of the year, and the levy of slaves, also the cohorts raised from the Picene and Gallic districts, he stooped to that last defence of a state almost despaired of, when honour yields to necessity: namely, he issued an edict that, if any men who had committed a capital offence, or were in chains as judgment debtors, should become soldiers under him, he would order their release from punishment or debt.
14.2. nam nec consul ulli rei quae per eum agenda esset deerat, et dictator M. Iunius Pera, rebus diuinis perfectis latoque, ut solet, ad populum ut equum escendere liceret, praeter duas urbanas legiones quae principio anni a consulibus conscriptae fuerant et seruorum dilectum cohortesque ex agro Piceno et Gallico collectas, ad ultimum prope desperatae rei publicae auxilium—cum honesta utilibus cedunt—descendit edixitque qui capitalem fraudem ausi quique pecuniae iudicati in uinculis essent, qui eorum apud se milites fierent, eos noxa pecuniaque sese exsolui iussurum.
14.4. Six thousand such men he armed with Gallic spoils which had been carried in the triumph of Gaius Flaminius, and thus set out from the city with twenty-five thousand armed men.
14.4. ea sex milia hominum Gallicis spoliis, quae triumpho C. Flamini tralata erant, armauit, itaque cum uiginti quinque milibus armatorum ab urbe proficiscitur.
14.5. Hannibal, after gaining possession of Capua and vainly trying, partly by hope, partly by fear, to work for the second time upon the feelings of the Neapolitans, led his army over into the territory of Nola. Though this was not at first with hostile intent, since he did not despair of a voluntary surrender, still he was ready, if they baulked his hope, to omit none of the things which they might suffer or fear to suffer. The senate and especially its leading members stood loyally by the alliance with Rome.
14.5. Hannibal Capua recepta, cum iterum Neapolitanorum animos partim spe, partim metu nequiquam temptasset, in agrum Nolanum exercitum traducit, ut non hostiliter statim, quia non desperabat uoluntariam deditionem, ita, si morarentur spem, nihil eorum quae pati aut timere possent praetermissurus.
14.7. But the common people, as usual, were all for a change of government and for Hannibal; and they called to mind the fear of devastation of their lands and the many hardships and indignities they must suffer in case of a siege. And men were not lacking to propose revolt.
14.7. senatus ac maxime primores eius in societate Romana cum fide perstare; plebs nouarum, ut solet, rerum atque Hannibalis tota esse metumque agrorum populationis et patienda in obsidione multa grauia indignaque proponere animo; neque auctores defectionis deerant.
14.8. Accordingly the senators, now obsessed by the fear that, if they should move openly, there could be no resisting the excited crowd, found a way to postpone the evil by pretending agreement.
14.8. itaque ubi senatum metus cepit, si propalam tenderent, resisti multitudini concitatae non posse, secunda simulando dilationem mali inueniunt.
14.9. For they pretend that they favour revolt to Hannibal, but that there is no agreement as to the terms on which they may go over to a new alliance and friendship.
14.9. placere enim sibi defectionem ad Hannibalem simulant; quibus autem condicionibus in foedus amicitiamque nouam transeant, parum constare.
14.10. Thus gaining time, they send emissaries in haste to the Roman praetor, Marcellus Claudius, who was at Casilinum with his army, and inform him in what danger the Nolan state is placed; that its territory is in the hands of Hannibal and the Carthaginians, and that the city will be so at once, if help be not given;
14.10. ita spatio sumpto legatos propere ad praetorem Romanum M[arcellum] Claudium, qui Casilini cum exercitu erat, mittunt docentque quanto in discrimine sit Nolana res: agrum Hannibalis esse et Poenorum, urbem extemplo futuram ni subueniatur;
14.11. that the senate, by conceding to the common people that they would revolt whenever the people wished, had prevented their making haste to revolt.
14.11. concedendo plebei senatum ubi uelint defecturos se, ne deficere praefestinarent effecisse.
14.12. Marcellus, after warmly praising the men of Nola, bade them postpone matters by the same pretence until his arrival; in the meantime to conceal the dealings they had had with him and all hope of Roman aid.
14.12. Marcellus conlaudatis Nolanis eadem simulatione extrahi rem in suum aduentum iussit; interim celari quae secum acta essent spemque omnem auxilii Romani.
14.13. He himself went from Casilinum to Caiatia, and thence, after crossing the river Volturnus, made his way to Nola through the territory of Saticula and that of Trebia, above Suessula and through the mountains.
14.13. ipse a Casilino Caiatiam petit atque inde Uolturno amni traiecto per agrum Saticulanum Trebianumque super Suessulam per montes Nolam peruenit.
15.1. Upon the arrival of the Roman praetor the Carthaginian left the territory of Nola and came down to the sea near Neapolis, desiring to gain possession of a coast town to which ships might have a safe passage from Africa.
15.1. sub aduentum praetoris Romani Poenus agro Nolano excessit et ad mare proxime Neapolim descendit, cupidus maritimi oppidi potiundi, quo cursus nauibus tutus ex Africa esset;
15.2. But on learning that Neapolis was held by a Roman prefect —it was Marcus Junius Silanus, who had been called in by the Neapolitans themselves —he turned aside from Neapolis also, as he had from Nola, and made for Nuceria.
15.2. ceterum postquam Neapolim a praefecto Romano teneri accepit— M. Iunius Silanus erat, ab ipsis Neapolitanis accitus—Neapoli quoque, sicut Nola, omissa petit Nuceriam.
15.3. He had besieged that city for some time, often attacking, often attempting in vain to win over the populace, and at another time the leading citizens, when at last by starving them he gained their surrender, stipulating that they leave unarmed and with one garment only.
15.3. eam cum aliquamdiu circumsedisset, saepe ui, saepe sollicitandis nequiquam nunc plebe, nunc principibus, fame demum in deditionem accepit, pactus ut inermes cum singulis abirent uestimentis.
15.4. And then, as from the beginning he had wished to be thought merciful to all Italians except the Romans, he promised rewards and honours to any who remained and would serve under him.
15.4. deinde ut qui a principio mitis omnibus Italicis praeter Romanos uideri uellet, praemia atque honores qui remanserint ac militare secum uoluissent proposuit.
15.5. And yet he did not hold anyone by that hope. They all dispersed, wherever hospitality or impulse happened to carry them, among the cities of Campania, especially Nola and Neapolis.
15.5. nec ea spe quemquam tenuit; dilapsi omnes, quocumque hospitia aut fortuitus animi impetus tulit, per Campaniae urbes, maxime Nolam Neapolimque.
15.6. A group of some thirty senators, and as it chanced all the most prominent, came to Capua, and being refused admission because they had closed their gates to Hannibal, went to Cumae. At Nuceria the booty was given to the soldiers, the city sacked and burned. As for Nola, Marcellus held it not more by confidence in his force than by the good-will of the leading citizens.
15.6. cum ferme triginta senatores, ac forte primus quisque, Capuam petissent, exclusi inde, quod portas Hannibali clausissent, Cumas se contulerunt. Nucerina praeda militi data est, urbs direpta atque incensa. Nolam Marcellus non sui magis fiducia praesidii quam uoluntate principum habebat;
15.7. He was apprehensive of the common people and above all of Lucius Bantius, who was impelled by the consciousness of an attempted revolt and by fear of the Roman praetor, now to betray his native city, now, if fortune should not favour him in that, to desert.
15.7. plebs timebatur et ante omnes L. Bantius, quem conscientia temptatae defectionis ac metus a praetore Romano nunc ad proditionem patriae, nunc, si ad id fortuna defuisset, ad transfugiendum stimulabat.
15.8. He was a young man of spirit and at that time almost the best-known horseman among the allies. He had been found half-dead at Cannae in a pile of the slain; and Hannibal, after nursing him kindly, had sent him home, even adding gifts.
15.8. erat iuuenis acer et sociorum ea tempestate prope nobilissimus eques. seminecem eum ad Cannas in aceruo caesorum corporum inuentum curatumque benigne, etiam cum donis Hannibal domum remiserat.
15.9. Out of gratitude for that service Bantius had wished to put the state of Nola under the authority and rule of the Carthaginian. And the praetor saw that he was troubled and tormented by his desire for a revolution. But since he had either to be restrained by punishment or else won over by kindness, Marcellus preferred rather to gain for himself a brave and energetic ally than merely to take such a man away from the enemy, and summoning him addressed him kindly.
15.9. ob eius gratiam meriti rem Nolanam in ius dicionemque dare uoluerat Poeno, anxiumque eum et sollicitum cura nouandi res praetor cernebat. ceterum cum aut poena cohibendus esset aut beneficio conciliandus, sibi adsumpsisse quam hosti ademisse fortem ac strenuum maluit socium, accitumque ad se benigne appellat: multos eum inuidos inter populares habere inde existimatu facile esse quod nemo ciuis Nolanus sibi indicauerit quam multa eius egregia facinora militaria essent;
15.11. It was easy, he said, to judge that he had among his countrymen many who envied him, and this from the fact that no citizen of Nola had told the speaker how many were his brilliant feats of arms. But to a man who had served in the Roman camp his bravery could not be unknown. Many who had been in the service with Bantius were telling the speaker what a man he was, and what dangers he had incurred for the safety and honour of the Roman people, and how often;
15.11. sed qui in Romanis militauerit castris, non posse obscuram eius uirtutem esse. multos sibi qui cum eo stipendia fecerint, referre qui uir esset ille quaeque et quotiens pericula pro salute ac dignitate populi Romani adisset, utique Cannensi proelio non prius pugna abstiterit quam prope exsanguis ruina superincidentium uirorum equorum armorumque sit oppressus. 'itaque macte uirtute esto' inquit.
15.13. also how at the battle of Cannae he had not ceased fighting until, almost lifeless, he had been overwhelmed by the mass of men, horses and arms that fell upon him. “And so,” he said, “all honour to your courage!”
15.13. 'apud me tibi omnis honos atque omne praemium erit et, quo frequentior mecum fueris, senties eam rem tibi dignitati atque emolumento esse.'
15.14. “Under me you will have every advancement and every reward, and the more constantly you are with me, the more you will feel that it is a distinction and an advantage to you.” The youth was delighted with the promises, and Marcellus gave him a fine horse and ordered the quaestor to pay him five hundred denarii. The lictors were bidden to allow him access to the commander whenever he wished.
15.14. laetoque iuueni promissis equum eximium dono dat bigatosque quingentos quaestorem numerare iubet; lictoribus imperat ut eum se adire quotiens uelit patiantur.
16.1. By this kindliness on the part of Marcellus the high spirit of the young man was so tempered that thereafter none of the allies more bravely and loyally aided the Roman cause.
16.1. hac comitate Marcelli ferocis iuuenis animus adeo est mollitus ut nemo inde sociorum rem Romanam fortius ac fidelius iuuerit.
16.2. While Hannibal was at the gates —for he again moved his camp from Nuceria to Nola —and the common people of Nola were making fresh plans to revolt, Marcellus, upon the arrival of the enemy, withdrew within the walls, not fearing for his camp, but lest he give the great number who were impatient for it an opportunity to betray the city.
16.2. cum Hannibal ad portas esset—Nolam enim rursus a Nuceria mouit castra—plebesque Nolana de integro ad defectionem spectaret, Marcellus sub aduentum hostium intra muros se recepit, non castris metuens sed ne prodendae urbis occasionem nimis multis in eam imminentibus daret.
16.4. Then on both sides they began to form their battle-lines, the Romans before the walls of Nola, the Carthaginians in front of their camp. Thereupon there were small engagements with varying results in the space between the city and the camp, since the commanders wished neither to forbid small numbers who rashly challenged the enemy, nor to give the signal for a general engagement.
16.4. instrui deinde utrimque acies coeptae, Romanorum pro moenibus Nolae, Poenorum ante castra sua. proelia hinc parua inter urbem castraque et uario euentu fiebant, quia duces nec prohibere paucos temere prouocantes nec dare signum uniuersae pugnae uolebant.
16.5. During this daily guard-duty of the two armies leading citizens of Nola reported to Marcellus that conferences between the common people and the Carthaginians were taking place by night; and that it had been settled that, when the Roman force should be outside the gates and in line, they would plunder their baggage-train and their packs, then close the gates and take possession of the walls, so that, having the control of their affairs and the city in their own hands, they would then admit the Carthaginian instead of the Roman.
16.5. in hac cotidiana duorum exercituum statione principes Nolanorum nuntiant Marcello nocturna conloquia inter plebem ac Poenos fieri statutumque esse ut, cum Romana acies egressa portis foret, impedimenta eorum ac sarcinas diriperent, clauderent deinde portas murosque occuparent, ut potentes rerum suarum atque urbis Poenum inde pro Romano acciperent.
16.7. This being reported to Marcellus, he warmly praised the senators of Nola and resolved to try the fortune of battle before there should be any movement in the city.
16.7. haec ubi nuntiata Marcello sunt, conlaudatis senatoribus Nolanis, priusquam aliqui motus in urbe oreretur, fortunam pugnae experiri statuit.
16.8. At the three gates facing the enemy he drew up his army in three sections. He ordered the baggage to bring up the rear, the camp-servants and sutlers and incapacitated soldiers to carry stakes. At the middle gate he posted the pick of the legionaries with the Roman cavalry, at the two gates to right and left the recruits, light-armed and cavalry of the allies.
16.8. ad tres portas in hostes uersas tripertito exercitum instruxit; impedimenta subsequi iussit, calones lixasque et inualidos milites uallum ferre. media porta robora legionum et Romanos equites, duabus circa portis nouos milites leuemque armaturam ac sociorum equites statuit.
16.9. The men of Nola were forbidden to approach the walls and gates, and the forces to be used as reserves were assigned to the baggage, in order to prevent an attack upon it while the legions were fighting.
16.9. Nolani muros portasque adire uetiti subsidiaque destinata impedimentis data, ne occupatis proelio legionibus in ea impetus fieret. ita instructi intra portas stabant.
16.10. In this formation they were standing inside the gates. Hannibal, who remained in battle-line under the standards until late in the day, as he had done for several days, at first wondered that the Roman army did not come out of the gate and that there was not one armed man on the walls.
16.10. Hannibali sub signis, id quod per aliquot dies fecerat, ad multum diei in acie stanti primo miraculo esse quod nec exercitus Romanus porta egrederetur nec armatus quisquam in muris esset.
16.11. Then, supposing the conferences to have been betrayed, and that inaction was the result of fear, he sent part of his soldiers back to the camp, with orders to bring up in haste to the front line all the equipment for besieging the city.
16.11. ratus deinde prodita conloquia esse metuque resides factos, partem militum in castra remittit iussos propere apparatum omnem oppugnandae urbis in primam aciem adferre, satis fidens, si cunctantibus instaret, tumultum aliquem in urbe plebem moturam.
16.12. He was quite confident that, if he should press the hesitating, the common people would stir up some outbreak in the city. While they were scattering to their several duties and hastening to the first standards, and the line was advancing to the walls, the gate suddenly opened and Marcellus ordered the trumpets to be sounded and a shout raised; that infantry at first, and then cavalry should sally out against the enemy with all the dash possible.
16.12. dum in sua quisque ministeria discursu trepidat ad prima signa succeditque ad muros acies, patefacta repente porta Marcellus signa canere clamoremque tolli ac pedites primum, deinde equites, quanto maximo possent impetu in hostem erumpere iubet.
16.13. They had carried sufficient panic and confusion into the centre, when Publius Valerius Flaccus and Gaius Aurelius, his lieutenants, sallied out of the two gates on this side and that, to attack the enemy's wings.
16.13. satis terroris tumultusque in aciem mediam intulerant, cum duabus circa portis P. Ualerius Flaccus et C. Aurelius legati in cornua hostium erupere.
16.14. Sutlers and camp-servants raised another shout, as did the rest of the crowd stationed to guard the baggage so that the shouting gave the sudden impression of a very large army to the Carthaginians, who particularly despised their small numbers.
16.14. addidere clamorem lixae calonesque et alia turba custodiae impedimentorum adposita, ut paucitatem maxime spernentibus Poenis ingentis repente exercitus speciem fecerit.
16.15. I should hardly venture to assert, what some have affirmed, that 2800 of the enemy were slain, while not more than 500 of the Romans were lost.
16.15. uix equidem ausim adfirmare, quod quidam auctores sunt, duo milia et octingentos hostium caesos non plus quingentis Romanorum amissis;
16.16. But whether the victory was on such a scale or less, a very great thing, I rather think the greatest in that war, was accomplished that day. For not to be defeated by Hannibal was a more difficult thing than it was later to defeat him.
16.16. sed, siue tanta siue minor uictoria fuit, ingens eo die res ac nescio an maxima illo bello gesta sit; non uinci enim ab Hannibale [uincentibus] difficilius fuit quam postea uincere.
17.1. Now that Hannibal had lost hope of gaining Nola and had retired to Acerrae, Marcellus at once closed the gates, stationed guards to prevent anyone from leaving, and carried on in the forum an investigation of those who had been in secret conferences with the enemy.
17.1. Hannibal spe potiundae Nolae adempta cum Acerras recessisset, Marcellus extemplo clausis portis custodibusque dispositis ne quis egrederetur quaestionem in foro de iis qui clam in conloquiis hostium fuerant habuit.
17.2. Over seventy having been condemned as traitors, he beheaded them and ordered that their possessions should be public property of the Roman people. And setting out with his whole army, after turning over the government to the senate, he pitched camp and established himself above Suessula.
17.2. supra septuaginta damnatos proditionis securi percussit bonaque eorum iussit publica populi Romani esse et summa rerum senatui tradita cum exercitu omni profectus supra Suessulam castris positis consedit.
17.4. The Carthaginian first tried to entice Acerrae into a voluntary surrender; then, seeing them steadfast, prepared to blockade and attack them. But the men of Acerrae had more courage than resources.
17.4. Poenus Acerras primum ad uoluntariam deditionem conatus perlicere, inde postquam obstinatos uidet, obsidere atque oppugnare parat. ceterum Acerranis plus animi quam uirium erat;
17.5. Accordingly they gave up hope of defending the city, and when they saw that their walls were being encircled, before the enemy's works should be made continuous, they slipped away in the dead of night through the gaps in the earthworks and through neglected guard-posts. Making their way along the roads and where there were none, just as prudence or chance guided the wanderer, they fled for refuge to those cities of Campania of which it was known that they had not changed sides.
17.5. itaque desperata tutela urbis, ut circumuallari moenia uiderunt, priusquam continuarentur hostium opera, per intermissa munimenta neglectasque custodias silentio noctis dilapsi, per uias inuiaque qua quemque aut consilium aut error tulit, in urbes Campaniae, quas satis certum erat non mutasse fidem, perfugerunt.
17.7. After plundering and burning Acerrae, when word had come from Casilinum that the Roman dictator and fresh legions were being summoned, Hannibal led his army to Casilinum, in order to prevent any uprising at Capua also, while the enemy's camp was so near.
17.7. Hannibal Acerris direptis atque incensis, cum a Casilino dictatorem Romanum legionesque acciri nuntiassent, ne quid noui tam propinquis hostium castris Capuae quoque occurreret, exercitum ad Casilinum ducit.
17.8. Casilinum was at that time held by five hundred Praenestines, with a few Romans and Latins, whom the news of the disaster at Cannae had brought thither.
17.8. Casilinum eo tempore quingenti Praenestini habebant cum paucis Romanis Latinique nominis, quos eodem audita Cannensis clades contulerat.
17.9. As the levy at Praeneste was not completed at the proper date, they had been late in setting out from home, and had reached Casilinum before the news of the defeat. And joined by others, Romans and allies, they set out from Casilinum and, as they were proceeding in a fairly large column, the report of the battle of Cannae turned them back again to Casilinum.
17.9. hi, non confecto Praeneste ad diem dilectu, serius profecti domo cum Casilinum ante famam aduersae pugnae uenissent et aliis adgregantibus sese Romanis sociisque, profecti a Casilino cum satis magno agmine irent, auertit eos retro Casilinum nuntius Cannensis pugnae.
17.10. There, being suspected by the Campanians and apprehensive, they spent some days in alternately guarding against plots and hatching them. When credibly informed that the revolt of Capua and Hannibal's entry were being negotiated, they slew townspeople in the night and seized that part of the city which is on this side of the Volturnus —for it is divided by that river; and this was the garrison the Romans had at Casilinum.
17.10. ibi cum dies aliquot, suspecti Campanis timentesque, cauendis ac struendis in uicem insidiis traduxissent, ut de Capuae defectione agi accipique Hannibalem satis pro certo habuere, interfectis nocte oppidanis partem urbis, quae cis Uolturnum est—eo enim diuiditur amni—occupauere idque praesidii Casilini habebant Romani.
17.11. It was joined by a cohort from Perusia, four hundred and sixty men, who had been driven to Casilinum by the same news as the Praenestines a few days before.
17.11. additur et Perusina cohors, homines quadringenti sexaginta, eodem nuntio quo Praenestini paucos ante dies, Casilinum compulsi.
17.12. And there were quite enough men to defend so small a walled city, bounded on one side by the river. But the lack of grain made it seem that there were even too many men.
17.12. et satis ferme armatorum ad tam exigua moenia et flumine altera parte cincta tuenda erat: penuria frumenti, nimium etiam ut uideretur hominum, efficiebat.
18.1. Hannibal, being now not far away, sent his Gaetulians ahead under a prefect named Isalcas.. And he ordered him, if there should be an opportunity for a conference, at first by kind words to entice them to open the gates and admit a garrison; but if they persisted in their obstinacy, to use force and see if at some point he could make his way into the city.
18.1. Hannibal cum iam inde haud procul esset, Gaetulos cum praefecto nomine Isalca praemittit ac primo, si fiat conloquii copia, uerbis benignis ad portas aperiundas praesidiumque accipiendum perlicere iubet: si in pertinacia perstent, ui rem gerere ac temptare si qua parte inuadere urbem possit.
18.2. When they approached the walls, because of the stillness they thought them deserted. And the barbarian, supposing the garrison had withdrawn in alarm, was preparing to force the gates and break open the bars, when suddenly the gates were opened and the two cohorts, drawn up inside for that very purpose, sallied out with a mighty uproar, and wrought havoc among the enemy.
18.2. ubi ad moenia accessere, quia silentium erat, solitudo uisa; metuque concessum barbarus ratus moliri portas et claustra refringere parat, cum patefactis repente portis cohortes duae, ad id ipsum instructae intus, ingenti cum tumultu erumpunt stragemque hostium faciunt.
18.4. The first troops being thus beaten back, Maharbal, who had been sent with a larger number of picked men, was likewise unable to withstand the sally of the cohorts.
18.4. ita primis repulsis Maharbal cum maiore robore uirorum missus nec ipse eruptionem cohortium sustinuit.
18.5. Finally Hannibal pitched his camp directly before the walls and prepared to assault the small city and small garrison with the greatest violence and with all his forces. And while he was pressing the attack, the walls being completely encircled by his men, he lost a considerable number, the most active at that, being hit by missiles from the wall and the towers.
18.5. postremo Hannibal castris ante ipsa moenia oppositis paruam urbem paruumque praesidium summa ui atque omnibus copiis oppugnare parat, ac dum instat lacessitque corona undique circumdatis moenibus, aliquot milites et promptissimum quemque e muro turribusque ictos amisit. semel ultro erumpentes agmine elephantorum opposito prope interclusit trepidosque compulit in urbem satis multis ut ex tanta paucitate interfectis;
18.6. When they actually sallied out once, he almost cut off their retreat by sending a column of elephants against them, and drove them in alarm into the city, after a good number, for so small a force, had been slain. More would have fallen if night had not interrupted the battle. On the next day all were fired to make the assault, especially after a mural crown of gold was displayed to them, and the general himself kept making their spiritless attack upon a fort on level ground a reproach to the captors of Saguntum, reminding them singly and collectively of Cannae and Trasumennus and Trebia.
18.6. plures cecidissent ni nox proelio interuenisset. postero die omnium animi ad oppugnandum accenduntur, utique postquam corona aurea muralis proposita est atque ipse dux castelli plano loco positi segnem oppugnationem Sagunti expugnatoribus exprobrabat, Cannarum Trasumennique et Trebiae singulos admonens uniuersosque.
18.8. Then they began to push forward their sheds also and mines. And to meet the different attempts made by the enemy no kind of activity, no ingenuity, proved lacking to the allies of the Romans. They set up defences to meet the sheds; by transverse mines they intercepted the enemy's mines; they forestalled his attempts both visible and invisible, until shame helped to divert Hannibal from his undertaking.
18.8. inde uineae quoque coeptae agi cuniculique; nec ad uarios conatus hostium aut uis ulla aut ars deerat sociis Romanorum. propugnacula aduersus uineas statuere, transuersis cuniculis hostium cuniculos excipere, et palam et clam coeptis obuiam ire, donec pudor etiam Hannibalem ab incepto auertit, castrisque communitis ac praesidio modico imposito, ne omissa res uideretur, in hiberna Capuam concessit.
18.10. And after fortifying his camp and posting a small garrison, that the attempt might not appear to have been abandoned, he retired into winter-quarters at Capua. There he kept under roofs for the greater part of the winter troops that had been hardened long and repeatedly against all human hardships, but had no experience or familiarity with comforts.
18.10. ibi partem maiorem hiemis exercitum in tectis habuit, aduersus omnia humana mala saepe ac diu duratum, bonis inexpertum atque insuetum.
18.11. And so those whom no severe hardship had conquered were ruined by excess of comfort and immoderate pleasures and the more completely ruined the more eagerly they in their inexperience had plunged into them.
18.11. itaque, quos nulla mali uicerat uis, perdidere nimia bona ac uoluptates immodicae, et eo impensius quo auidius ex insolentia in eas se merserant.
18.12. For sleep and wine, and feasts and harlots, and baths and idleness, which habit made daily more seductive, so weakened their bodies and spirits that it was their past victories rather than their present strength which thereafter protected them; and this was regarded among the military experts as a more serious failure in their commander than that he had not led his men from the field of Cannae forthwith to the city of Rome.
18.12. somnus enim et uinum et epulae et scorta balineaque et otium consuetudine in dies blandius ita eneruauerunt corpora animosque ut magis deinde praeteritae uictoriae eos quam praesentes tutarentur uires, maiusque id peccatum ducis apud peritos artium militarium haberetur quam quod non ex Cannensi acie protinus ad urbem Romanam duxisset;
18.13. For that delay could be regarded as having merely retarded the victory, this mistake as having robbed him of the power to win.
18.13. illa enim cunctatio distulisse modo uictoriam uideri potuit, hic error uires ademisse ad uincendum.
18.14. And so in fact, just as if he were setting out from Capua with a different army, not a trace of the old-time morale survived.
18.14. itaque hercule, uelut si cum alio exercitu a Capua exiret, nihil usquam pristinae disciplinae tenuit.
18.15. For they came back most of them ensnared by harlots, and also as soon as they began to be quartered in tents, and the march and other tasks of the soldier followed, they would give out both in body and in spirit after the manner of recruits. And afterwards through the whole season of summer camps a great many kept slipping away from their standards without furloughs; and deserters had no hiding-places other than Capua.
18.15. nam et redierunt plerique scortis impliciti et, ubi primum sub pellibus haberi coepti sunt, uiaque et alius militaris labor excepit, tironum modo corporibus animisque deficiebant, et deinde per omne aestiuorum tempus magna pars sine commeatibus ab signis dilabebantur neque aliae latebrae quam Capua desertoribus erant.
19.1. But when winter was now growing mild, Hannibal led his troops out of winter quarters and returned to Casilinum. There, although they had been making no more attacks, an uninterrupted blockade had nevertheless brought townspeople and garrison to extreme want.
19.1. ceterum mitescente iam hieme educto ex hibernis milite Casilinum redit, ubi, quamquam ab oppugnatione cessatum erat, obsidio tamen continua oppidanos praesidiumque ad ultimum inopiae adduxerat.
19.3. The Roman camp was commanded by Tiberius Sempronius, since the dictator had gone to Rome to take new auspices.
19.3. castris Romanis Ti. Sempronius praeerat dictatore auspiciorum repetendorum causa profecto Romam.
19.4. Marcellus, who was likewise eager to bring aid to the besieged, was held back both by a flood of the river Volturnus and by entreaties of the men of Nola and Acerrae, who feared the Campanians if the Roman garrison should withdraw.
19.4. Marcellum et ipsum cupientem ferre auxilium obsessis et Uolturnus amnis inflatus aquis et preces Nolanorum Acerranorumque tenebant, Campanos timentium si praesidium Romanum abscessisset.
19.5. Gracchus, merely remaining near Casilinum, because it was the dictator's order that he take no action in his absence, made no move, although facts which would easily pass all endurance were being reported from Casilinum.
19.5. Gracchus adsidens tantum Casilino, quia praedictum erat dictatoris ne quid absente eo rei gereret, nihil mouebat, quamquam quae facile omnem patientiam uincerent nuntiabantur a Casilino;
19.6. For it was established that some, unable to endure hunger, had thrown themselves from the wall, and that men stood unarmed on the walls exposing unprotected bodies to wounds from missile weapons.
19.6. nam et praecipitasse se quosdam non tolerantes famem constabat et stare inermes in muris, nuda corpora ad missilium telorum ictus praebentes.
19.7. Gracchus, though indignant at this, did not dare to engage the enemy without the dictator's order, and saw that, if he should try openly to carry in grain, he must fight. As there was also no hope of carrying it in secretly, he filled many huge jars with spelt brought from the farms all around, and sent word to the magistrate at Casilinum that they should catch up the jars which the river was bringing down.
19.7. ea aegre patiens Gracchus, cum neque pugnam conserere dictatoris iniussu auderet—pugnandum autem esse, si palam frumentum importaret, uidebat—neque clam importandi spes esset, farre ex agris circa undique conuecto cum complura dolia complesset, nuntium ad magistratum Casilinum misit ut exciperent dolia quae amnis deferret. insequenti nocte intentis omnibus in flumen ac spem ab nuntio Romano factam dolia medio missa amni defluxerunt;
19.9. In the following night, while all were intent upon the river and the hope aroused by the Roman messenger, the jars set adrift in midstream floated down, and the grain was evenly divided among them all. This was done the next day also and the third day. It was night when they were set adrift and when they arrived.
19.9. aequaliter inter omnes frumentum diuisum. id postero quoque die ac tertio factum est; nocte et mittebantur et perueniebant;
19.11. In that way they escaped the notice of the enemy's guards. After that the stream, now swifter than usual because of incessant rains, forced the jars by a cross current to the bank guarded by the enemy. There, caught among the willows growing on the banks, they were seen and it was reported to Hannibal. And thereafter by a closer watch they saw to it that nothing sent down the Volturnus to the city should escape notice.
19.11. eo custodias hostium fallebant. imbribus deinde continuis citatior solito amnis transuerso uertice dolia impulit ad ripam quam hostes seruabant. ibi haerentia inter obnata ripis salicta conspiciuntur, nuntiatumque Hannibali est et deinde intentiore custodia cautum ne quid falleret Uolturno ad urbem missum.
19.12. However nuts which were poured out from the Roman camp, as they floated down the middle of the river to Casilinum, were caught by wattled hurdles.
19.12. nuces tamen fusae ab Romanis castris, cum medio amni ad Casilinum defluerent, cratibus excipiebantur.
19.13. Finally they reached such a pitch of distress that they tried, after softening them by hot water, to chew thongs and the hides stripped off of shields; and they did not abstain from rats and other animals, and dug out every kind of plant and root from the bank beneath the wall.
19.13. postremo ad id uentum inopiae est, ut lora detractasque scutis pelles, ubi feruida mollissent aqua, mandere conarentur nec muribus alioue animali abstinerent et omne herbarum radicumque genus aggeribus infimis muri eruerent.
19.14. And when the enemy had ploughed up all the grassy ground outside the wall, the garrison sowed turnips, so that Hannibal exclaimed “Am I to sit before Casilinum until those seeds come up?”
19.14. et cum hostes obarassent quidquid herbidi terreni extra murum erat, raporum semen iniecerunt, ut Hannibal 'eone usque dum ea nascuntur ad Casilinum sessurus sum?' exclamaret;
19.15. And the man who had never before listened to any terms now at last allowed them to treat with him in regard to ransoming the free men. Seven-twelfths of a pound of gold was agreed upon as the price per man.
19.15. et qui nullam antea pactionem auribus admiserat, tum demum agi secum est passus de redemptione liberorum capitum. septunces auri in singulos pretium conuenit.
19.16. On receiving his promise they surrendered. They were kept in chains until all the gold was paid, then with strict regard for his promise they were released.
19.16. fide accepta tradiderunt sese. donec omne aurum persolutum est, in uinculis habiti;
19.17. This is the more correct version than that they were slain by a charge of cavalry as they departed. The majority were Praenestines. Of the five hundred and seventy who were in the garrison sword and starvation carried off less than half. The rest returned safe to Praeneste with their commander Marcus Anicius, who had formerly been a clerk.
19.17. tum remissi summa cum fide. id uerius est quam ab equite in abeuntes immisso interfectos. Praenestini maxima pars fuere. ex quingentis septuaginta qui in praesidio fuerunt, minus dimidium ferrum famesque absumpsit: ceteri incolumes Praeneste cum praetore suo M. Anicio —scriba is antea fuerat—redierunt.
19.18. As evidence there formerly stood in the forum of Praeneste a statue of the man, wearing a cuirass and draped in a toga, with his head covered. It had an inscription on a bronze plate, stating that Marcus Anicius had paid his vow on behalf of the soldiers who were in the garrison at Casilinum. The same inscription was placed beneath three images of gods set up in the Temple of Fortune.
19.18. statua eius indictio fuit, Praeneste in foro statuta, loricata, amicta toga, uelato capite, [et tria signa] cum titulo lamnae aeneae inscripto, M. Anicium pro militibus qui Casilini in praesidio fuerint uotum soluisse. idem titulus tribus signis in aede Fortunae positis fuit subiectus.
20.1. The town of Casilinum was restored to the Campanians and defended by a garrison of seven hundred men from the army of Hannibal, that the Romans might not attack it when the Carthaginian should withdraw.
20.1. Casilinum oppidum redditum Campanis est, firmatum septingentorum militum de exercitu Hannibalis praesidio, ne, ubi Poenus inde abscessisset, Romani oppugnarent.