---
title: "History of Rome, Books XXI–XXX · Ab urbe condita XXI–XXX"
author: "Livy"
translator: "Benjamin Oliver Foster and Frank Gardner Moore"
languages: [la, en]
shelf: "Classical Latin"
section: 49 of 50
url: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/49/
cite: "Livy, tr. Benjamin Oliver Foster and Frank Gardner Moore, History of Rome, Books XXI–XXX · Ab urbe condita XXI–XXX, section 49. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/49/"
---

# History of Rome, Books XXI–XXX · Ab urbe condita XXI–XXX

*Livy, tr. Benjamin Oliver Foster and Frank Gardner Moore*

The war with Hannibal: the Alps, Trasimene and Cannae, the long recovery of Rome, Scipio in Spain and Africa, and Zama.

> Latin: Livy, Ab urbe condita XXI–XXX, ed. Charles Flamstead Walters, Robert Seymour Conway and Stephen Keymer Johnson (Oxford Classical Texts), from the Perseus Digital Library (canonical-latinLit, phi0914.phi001.perseus-lat3, CC BY-SA 4.0).

> English: Benjamin Oliver Foster and Frank Gardner Moore, 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.

## 49. Book XXX · chapters 24–34

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/49/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/49/#p-N

[¶0] 24.10. The magistrates summoned the senate; the people before the entrance of the Senate House protested against letting go so much booty out of their sight and reach.

> Latin: 24.10. itaque ex tota urbe in forum concursum est; magistratus senatum uocare: populus in curiae uestibulo fremere ne tanta ex oculis manibusque amitteretur praeda.

[¶1] 24.11. While some objected, pleading the sanctity of peace negotiations, others that of the armistice —for its term had not yet expired —the meeting of the senate was all but merged with that of the people. It was agreed that Hasdrubal should sail over to Aegimurus with his fleet of fifty ships, and then gather up the Roman ships scattered along the shore and in the harbours.

> Latin: 24.11. cum quidam pacis petitae, alii indutiarum—necdum enim dies exierat—fidem opponerent, permixto paene senatus populique concilio consensum est ut classem quinquaginta nauium Hasdrubal Aegimurum traiceret, inde per litora portusque dispersas Romanas naues conligeret.

[¶2] 24.12. Deserted by the flight of their crews the transports were towed by the stern to Carthage, first from Aegimurus and then from Aquae.

> Latin: 24.12. desertae fuga nautarum primum ab Aegimuro, deinde ab Aquis onerariae Carthaginem puppibus tractae sunt.

[¶3] 25.1. Not yet had the envoys returned from Rome, nor was it known what had been the decision of the Roman senate in regard to war or peace; not yet had the term of the armistice expired.

> Latin: 25.1. nondum ab Roma reuerterant legati neque sciebatur quae senatus Romani de bello aut pace sententia esset, necdum indutiarum dies exierat;

[¶4] 25.2. For that reason Scipio thought it an even more shameful outrage that both the hope of peace and the sanctity of an armistice had been treated with disrespect by men who had sued for peace and an armistice. At once he sent Lucius Baebius, Lucius Sergius and Lucius Fabius as envoys to Carthage.

> Latin: 25.2. eo indigniorem iniuriam ratus Scipio ab iis qui petissent pacem et indutias et spem pacis et fidem indutiarum uiolatam esse, legatos Carthaginem L. Baebium L. Sergium L. Fabium extemplo misit.

[¶5] 25.3. These narrowly escaped injury at the hands of a mob and foresaw that their return would be no safer. Accordingly they begged the magistrates whose help had prevented violence to send ships to escort them.

> Latin: 25.3. qui cum multitudinis concursu prope uiolati essent nec reditum tutiorem futurum cernerent, petierunt a magistratibus quorum auxilio uis prohibita erat ut naues mitterent quae se prosequerentur.

[¶6] 25.4. Two triremes were furnished, and having reached the river Bagradas, from which the Roman camp was visible, they returned to Carthage.

> Latin: 25.4. datae triremes duae cum ad Bagradam flumen peruenissent unde castra Romana conspiciebantur Carthaginem rediere.

[¶7] 25.5. The Carthaginian fleet was lying at anchor near Utica. Three quadriremes from that fleet, just as the Roman quinquereme was rounding the promontory, suddenly attacked her from the seaward side, perhaps because a secret order to do so had been sent from Carthage, possibly because Hasdrubal, who was in command of the fleet, made bold to act without complicity on the part of the government.

> Latin: 25.5. classis Punica ad Uticam stationem habebat. ex ea tres quadriremes, seu clam misso a Carthagine nuntio ut id fieret, seu Hasdrubale qui classi praeerat sine publica fraude auso facinus, quinqueremem Romanam superantem promunturium ex alto repente adgressae sunt.

[¶8] 25.6. But they were unable to ram her as she eluded them by her speed, and the marines could not spring across from the lower vessels to the higher one. Also she was brilliantly defended so long as their missiles held out.

> Latin: 25.6. sed neque rostro ferire celeritate subterlabentem poterant neque transilire armati ex humilioribus in altiorem nauem; et defendebatur egregie quoad tela suppeditarunt.

[¶9] 25.7. When these failed them there was nothing else which could protect the ship but nearness to the land and the great numbers that poured out to the shore from the camp.

> Latin: 25.7. quis deficientibus iam nulla alia res eam quam propinquitas terrae multitudoque a castris in litus effusa tueri potuisset.

[¶10] 25.8. For propelled at full speed by the oars, they ran her on the shore with all possible momentum. Consequently the ship only was lost, and the men themselves escaped.

> Latin: 25.8. concitatam enim remis quanto maximo impetu poterant in terram cum immisissent, nauis tantum iactura facta incolumes ipsi euaserunt.

[¶11] 25.9. Thus the armistice beyond doubt had been broken by one crime after another when Laelius and Fulvius arrived from Rome with the Carthaginian envoys.

> Latin: 25.9. ita alio super aliud scelere cum haud dubie indutiae ruptae essent, Laelius Fuluiusque ab Roma cum legatis Carthaginiensibus superuenerunt.

[¶12] 25.10. Scipio informed these men that, although not only the sanctity of an armistice had been violated by the Carthaginians, but also the law of nations in regard to his envoys, nevertheless he would not in their case do anything unworthy of the established usages of the Roman people or of his own character. Whereupon he dismissed the envoys and made preparations for war.

> Latin: 25.10. quibus Scipio etsi non indutiarum fides modo a Carthaginiensibus sed ius etiam gentium in legatis uiolatum esset tamen se nihil nec institutis populi Romani nec suis moribus indignum in iis facturum esse cum dixisset, dimissis legatis bellum parabat.

[¶13] 25.11. As Hannibal was already nearing land, one of the sailors was ordered to go aloft, in order to make out what region they were approaching. When he reported that the bow was headed toward a ruined tomb, Hannibal with a prayer to avert such an omen ordered the pilot to sail on, brought his fleet in at Leptis, and there disembarked his troops.

> Latin: 25.11. Hannibali iam terrae adpropinquanti iussus e nauticis unus escendere in malum ut specularetur quam tenerent regionem cum dixisset sepulcrum dirutum proram spectare, abominatus praeteruehi iusso gubernatore ad Leptim adpulit classem atque ibi copias exposuit.

[¶14] 26.1. Such were the events of that year in Africa. What follows runs over into the year in which Marcus Servilius Geminus, who at that time was master of the horse, and Tiberius Claudius Nero became consuls.

> Latin: 26.1. haec eo anno in Africa gesta; insequentia excedunt in eum annum quo M. Seruilius Geminus, qui tum magister equitum erat, et Ti. Claudius Nero consules facti sunt.

[¶15] 26.2. But at the end of the previous year envoys from Greece representing allied cities had complained that their territories had been ravaged by the king's forces, and that envoys who had gone into Macedonia to claim damages were not admitted to King Philip's presence. They had at the same time brought word that four thousand soldiers under the command of Sopater were alleged to have crossed over to Africa to defend the Carthaginians, and that a considerable sum of money was said to have been sent with them.

> Latin: 26.2. ceterum exitus superioris anni cum legati sociarum urbium ex Graecia questi essent uastatos agros ab regiis praesidiis profectosque in Macedoniam legatos ad res repetendas non admissos ad Philippum regem, simul nuntiassent quattuor milia militum cum Sopatro duce traiecta in Africam dici ut essent Carthaginiensibus praesidio et pecuniae aliquantum una missum,

[¶16] 26.4. Consequently the senate voted to send envoys to the king to report that in the opinion of the senators these acts had violated the treaty. The men sent were Gaius Terentius Varro, Gaius Mamilius, Marcus Aurelius; three quinqueremes were furnished them.

> Latin: 26.4. legatos ad regem qui haec aduersus foedus facta uideri patribus nuntiarent mittendos censuit senatus. missi C. Terentius Uarro C. Mamilius M. Aurelius; iis tres quinqueremes datae.

[¶17] 26.5. The year was marked by a great conflagration in which the Clivus Publicius was burned to the ground, and by floods, but also by the low price of grain, because not only was all Italy open by reason of peace, but also a great quantity of grain had been sent from Spain;

> Latin: 26.5. annus insignis incendio ingenti, quo cliuus Publicius ad solum exustus est, et aquarum magnitudine, sed annonae uilitate fuit, praeterquam quod pace omnis Italia erat aperta, etiam quod magnam uim frumenti ex Hispania missam M.

[¶18] 26.6. and Marcus Valerius Falto and Marcus Fabius Buteo, the curule aediles, distributed this to the populace by precincts at four asses a peck.

> Latin: 26.6. Ualerius Falto et M. Fabius Buteo aediles curules quaternis aeris uicatim populo discripserunt.

[¶19] 26.7. In the same year Quintus Fabius Maximus died at a very advanced age, if indeed it is true that he had been an augur for sixty-two years, as some authorities say.

> Latin: 26.7. eodem anno Q. Fabius Maximus moritur, exactae aetatis si quidem uerum est augurem duos et sexaginta annos fuisse, quod quidam auctores sunt.

[¶20] 26.8. He certainly was a man who deserved such a surname, even if it had been first applied to him. He surpassed the number of magistracies held by his father and equalled those of his grandfather. A larger number of victories and greater battles made the fame of his grandfather Rullus; but all of them can be balanced by a single enemy, Hannibal.

> Latin: 26.8. uir certe fuit dignus tanto cognomine uel si nouum ab eo inciperet. superauit paternos honores, auitos aequauit. pluribus uictoriis et maioribus proeliis auus insignis Rullus; sed omnia aequare unus hostis Hannibal potest.

[¶21] 26.9. Nevertheless Fabius has been accounted a man of caution rather than of action. And while one may question whether he was the “Delayer” by nature, or because that was especially suited to the war then in progress, still nothing is more certain than that one man by delaying restored our state, as Ennius says.

> Latin: 26.9. cautior tamen quam promptior hic habitus; et sicut dubites utrum ingenio cunctator fuerit an quia ita bello proprie quod tum gerebatur aptum erat, sic nihil certius est quam unum hominem nobis cunctando rem restituisse, sicut Ennius ait.

[¶22] 26.10. In his place as augur his son Quintus Fabius Maximus was installed; likewise in his place as pontifex —for he held two priesthoods —Servius Sulpicius Galba.

> Latin: 26.10. augur in locum eius inauguratus Q. Fabius Maximus filius: in eiusdem locum pontifex—nam duo sacerdotia habuit— Ser. Sulpicius Galba.

[¶23] 26.11. The Roman Games were repeated for a single day, the entire Plebeian Games three times over by the aediles Marcus Sextius Sabinus and Gnaeus Tremelius Flaccus. Both of them were made praetors, and with them Gaius Livius Salinator and Gaius Aurelius Cotta.

> Latin: 26.11. ludi Romani diem unum, plebeii ter toti instaurati ab aedilibus M. Sextio Sabino et Cn. Tremelio Flacco. ii ambo praetores facti et cum his C. Liuius Salinator et C. Aurelius Cotta.

[¶24] 26.12. As for the elections of that year, conflicting authorities make it uncertain whether Gaius Servilius as consul conducted them or Publius Sulpicius as dictator, appointed by Servilius because business detained him in Etruria, where in accordance with a decree of the senate he was conducting trials for conspiracy among the leading citizens.

> Latin: 26.12. comitia eius anni utrum C. Seruilius consul habuerit an, quia eum res in Etruria tenuerint quaestiones ex senatus consulto de coniurationibus principum habentem, dictator ab eo dictus P. Sulpicius incertum ut sit diuersi auctores faciunt.

[¶25] 27.1. At the beginning of the following year Marcus Servilius and Tiberius Claudius summoned the senate to the Capitol and raised the question of the provinces. They wished that lots should be cast for Italy and Africa, both of them being eager to have Africa.

> Latin: 27.1. principio insequenti anni M. Seruilius et Ti. Claudius senatu in Capitolium uocato de prouinciis rettulerunt. Italiam atque Africam in sortem conici, Africam ambo cupientes, uolebant;

[¶26] 27.2. But chiefly owing to the efforts of Quintus Metellus Africa was not refused nor yet given them.

> Latin: 27.2. ceterum Q. Metello maxime adnitente neque negata neque data est Africa.

[¶27] 27.3. The consuls were instructed to arrange with the tribunes of the plebs that, with their approval, they should bring before the people the question whom they wished for the conduct of the war in Africa.

> Latin: 27.3. consules iussi cum tribunis plebis agere ut, si iis uideretur, populum rogarent quem uellet in Africa bellum gerere.

[¶28] 27.4. All the tribes voted for Publius Scipio. In spite of that the consuls cast lots for Africa as a province, for so the senate had decreed.

> Latin: 27.4. omnes tribus P. Scipionem iusserunt. nihilo minus consules prouinciam Africam—ita enim senatus decreuerat—in sortem coniecerunt.

[¶29] 27.5. Africa fell to Tiberius Claudius, with the provision that he should take a fleet of fifty ships, all of them quinqueremes, over to Africa, and that he should be commanding general with an authority equal to that of Scipio.

> Latin: 27.5. Ti. Claudio Africa euenit ut quinquaginta nauium classem, omnes quinqueremes, in Africam traiceret parique imperio cum P. Scipione imperator esset: M. Seruilius Etruriam sortitus.

[¶30] 27.6. Marcus Servilius received Etruria by lot. In the same province Gaius Servilius' command was also continued, in case the senate decided that the consul should remain near the city.

> Latin: 27.6. in eadem prouincia et C. Seruilio prorogatum imperium si consulem manere ad urbem senatui placuisset.

[¶31] 27.7. Of the praetors Marcus Sextius received Gaul by lot, with the understanding that Publius Quinctilius Varus should turn over to him the two legions with the province;

> Latin: 27.7. praetores M. Sextius Galliam est sortitus ut duas legiones prouinciamque traderet ei P. Quinctilius Uarus: C. Liuius Bruttios cum duabus legionibus quibus P.

[¶32] 27.8. Gaius Livius received the land of the Bruttii with the two legions which Publius Sempronius had commanded in the previous year as proconsul; Gnaeus Tremelius was allotted Sicily, to take over the province from Publius Villius Tappulus, praetor of the previous year, and the two legions. Villius as propraetor was to defend the coast of Sicily with twenty war-ships and a thousand soldiers.

> Latin: 27.8. Sempronius proconsul priore anno praefuerat: Cn. Tremelius Siciliam ut a P. Uillio Tappulo praetore prioris anni prouinciam et duas legiones acciperet; Uillius pro praetore uiginti nauibus longis militibus mille oram Siciliae tutaretur:

[¶33] 27.9. Marcus Pomponius with the remaining twenty ships was to transport fifteen hundred soldiers back to Rome. The city praetorship fell to Gaius Aurelius Cotta. For the rest of the praetors their commands were continued just as they then held their several provinces and armies.

> Latin: 27.9. M. Pomponius uiginti nauibus reliquis mille et quingentos milites Romam deportaret. C. Aurelio Cottae urbana euenit. ceteris ita uti quisque obtinebant prouincias exercitusque prorogata imperia.

[¶34] 27.10. With no more than sixteen legions the empire was defended that year.

> Latin: 27.10. sedecim non amplius eo anno legionibus defensum imperium est.

[¶35] 27.11. And that they might begin everything and carry it on with the favour of the gods, inasmuch as in the consulship of Marcus Claudius Marcellus and Titus Quinctius the dictator Titus Manlius had vowed games and full-grown victims if the state should remain for four years as it was before, it was ordered that the consuls should celebrate those games before they set out for the war.

> Latin: 27.11. et ut placatis dis omnia inciperent agerentque, ludos quos M. Claudio Marcello T. Quinctio consulibus T. Manlius dictator quasque hostias maiores uouerat si per quinquennium res publica eodem statu fuisset, ut eos ludos consules priusquam ad bellum proficiscerentur facerent.

[¶36] 27.12. The games were celebrated in the Circus for four days, and victims were sacrificed to the gods to whom they had been vowed.

> Latin: 27.12. ludi in circo per quadriduum facti hostiaeque quibus uotae erant dis caesae.

[¶37] 28.1. Meanwhile hope and anxiety alike were increasing from day to day, and men could not quite make up their minds whether it was a fit subject for rejoicing that Hannibal, retiring from Italy after sixteen years, had left the Roman people free to take possession of it, and not rather a ground for apprehension that he had crossed over to Africa with his army intact.

> Latin: 28.1. inter haec simul spes simul cura in dies crescebat nec satis certum constare apud animos poterat utrum gaudio dignius esset Hannibalem post sextum decimum annum ex Italia decedentem uacuam possessionem eius reliquisse populo Romano, an magis metuendum quod incolumi exercitu in Africam transisset:

[¶38] 28.2. The place doubtless had been changed, they thought, not the danger. Foretelling that mighty conflict Quintus Fabius, recently deceased, had often predicted, not without reason, that in his own land Hannibal would be a more terrible enemy than in a foreign country.

> Latin: 28.2. locum nimirum non periculum mutatum; cuius tantae dimicationis uatem qui nuper decessisset Q. Fabium haud frustra canere solitum grauiorem in sua terra futurum hostem Hannibalem quam in aliena fuisset.

[¶39] 28.3. And Scipio would have to deal neither with Syphax, king of a land of untrained barbarians, for whom Statorius, who was little more than a sutler, commonly commanded his armies, nor with the father-in-law of Syphax, Hasdrubal, a general very swift in flight, nor with irregular armies suddenly raised from a half-armed mob of rustics. Rather would he have to do with Hannibal, who had been born, one might almost say, at the headquarters of his father, the bravest of generals, had been reared and brought up in the midst of arms;

> Latin: 28.3. nec Scipioni aut cum Syphace inconditae barbariae rege, cui Statorius semilixa ducere exercitus solitus sit, aut cum socero eius Hasdrubale fugacissimo duce rem futuram, aut <cum> tumultuariis exercitibus ex agrestium semermi turba subito conlectis, sed cum Hannibale, prope nato in praetorio patris fortissimi ducis, alito atque educato inter arma, puero quondam milite, uixdum iuuene imperatore,

[¶40] 28.5. who even in boyhood was a soldier, in earliest manhood a general; who, ageing as a victor, had filled the Spanish and Gallic lands and Italy from the Alps to the Straits with the evidence of his mighty deeds. He was in command of an army whose campaigns equalled his own in number; was toughened by enduring such hardships as one could scarcely believe human beings had endured; had been spattered with Roman blood a thousand times and carried the spoils, not of soldiers only but also of generals.

> Latin: 28.5. qui senex uincendo factus Hispanias Gallias Italiam ab Alpibus ad fretum monumentis ingentium rerum complesset. ducere exercitum aequalem stipendiis suis, duratum omnium rerum patientia quas uix fides fiat homines passos, perfusum miliens cruore Romano, exuuias non militum tantum sed etiam imperatorum portantem.

[¶41] 28.6. Many men who would encounter Scipio in battle had with their own hands slain Roman praetors, generals-in-command, consuls; had been decorated with crowns for bravery in scaling city-walls and camp defences; had wandered through captured camps, captured cities of the Romans.

> Latin: 28.6. multos occursuros Scipioni in acie qui praetores, qui imperatores, qui consules Romanos sua manu occidissent, muralibus uallaribusque insignes coronis, peruagatos capta castra captas urbes Romanas.

[¶42] 28.7. All the magistrates of the Roman people did not at that time have so many fasces as Hannibal was able to have borne before him, having captured them from fallen generals.

> Latin: 28.7. non esse hodie tot fasces magistratibus populi Romani quot captos ex caede imperatorum prae se ferre posset Hannibal.

[¶43] 28.8. By brooding over such terrifying thoughts men were adding to their own anxieties and fears, for another reason too: whereas year after year it had been their habit to carry on a war before their eyes in one part and then in another of Italy, with hope deferred and looking to no immediate end of the conflict, all men's interest was now intensified by Scipio and Hannibal, as it were, pitted against each other for the final combat.

> Latin: 28.8. has formidines agitando animis ipsi curas et metus augebant, etiam quod, cum adsuessent per aliquot annos bellum ante oculos aliis atque aliis in Italiae partibus lenta spe in nullum propinquum debellandi finem gerere, erexerant omnium animos Scipio et Hannibal uelut ad supremum certamen comparati duces. iis quoque quibus erat ingens in Scipione fiducia et uictoriae spes quo magis in propinquam eam imminebant animis eo curae intentiores erant.

[¶44] 28.10. Even in the case of those who had great confidence in Scipio and high hope of victory, the more their minds were bent upon immediate victory the more intense were their anxieties. Not unlike were the feelings of the Carthaginians, who at one moment, when they thought of Hannibal and the greatness of his achievements, regretted having sued for peace, at another moment, on reflecting that they had been twice defeated in battle, that Syphax had been captured, that they had been driven out of Spain, driven out of Italy, and all this accomplished by the courage and strategy of Scipio alone, they dreaded him as a predestined commander, born to work their destruction.

> Latin: 28.10. haud dispar habitus animorum Carthaginiensibus erat quos modo petisse pacem, intuentes Hannibalem ac rerum gestarum eius magnitudinem, paenitebat, modo cum respicerent bis sese acie uictos, Syphacem captum, pulsos se Hispania, pulsos Italia, atque ea omnia unius uirtute et consilio Scipionis facta, uelut fatalem eum ducem in exitium suum natum horrebant. iam Hadrumetum peruenerat Hannibal; unde, ad reficiendum ex iactatione maritima militem paucis diebus sumptis, excitus pauidis nuntiis omnia circa Carthaginem obtineri armis adferentium magnis itineribus Zamam contendit.—Zama quinque dierum iter ab Carthagine abest.

[¶45] 29.2. XXIX. By this time Hannibal had reached Hadrumetum. From there, after he had spent a few days that his soldiers might recuperate from sea-sickness, he was called away by alarming news brought by men who reported that all the country round Carthage was occupied by armed forces, and he hastened to Zama by forced marches. Zama is distant five day's marches from Carthage.

> Latin: 29.2. — inde praemissi speculatores cum excepti ab custodibus Romanis deducti ad Scipionem essent, traditos eos tribuno militum, iussosque omisso metu uisere omnia, per castra qua uellent circumduci iussit;

[¶46] 29.3. Scouts who had been sent in advance from that position were captured and brought before Scipio by their Roman guards.

> Latin: 29.3. percontatusque satin per commodum omnia explorassent, datis qui prosequerentur retro ad Hannibalem dimisit.

[¶47] 29.4. Thereupon he turned them over to a tribune of the soldiers, and bidding them go and see everything without fear, he ordered them to be led about the camp wherever they wished to go; and after questioning them as to whether they had examined everything quite at their leisure, he sent them back to Hannibal, furnishing men to escort them.

> Latin: 29.4. Hannibal nihil quidem eorum quae nuntiabantur—nam et Masinissam cum sex milibus peditum quattuor equitum uenisse eo ipso forte die adferebant—laeto animo audiuit, maxime hostis fiducia, quae non de nihilo profecto concepta esset, perculsus.

[¶48] 29.5. Hannibal did not indeed hear with joy any of the reports of his scouts, for they reported that Masinissa had also arrived that very day, as it happened, with six thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry. But he was particularly dismayed by the enemy's confidence, which surely seemed to be not without foundation.

> Latin: 29.5. itaque quamquam et ipse causa belli erat et aduentu suo turbauerat et pactas indutias et spem foederum, tamen si integer quam si uictus peteret pacem aequiora impetrari posse ratus, nuntium ad Scipionem misit ut conloquendi secum potestatem faceret.

[¶49] 29.6. Consequently, although he was himself at once the cause of the war and by his coming the breaker of a truce already arranged and of a prospective treaty as well, nevertheless, thinking that fairer terms could be obtained if he should sue for peace while his army was intact, rather than after defeat, he sent a messenger to Scipio, requesting that he grant the privilege of a conference with him. Whether he did so on his own responsibility or that of the state, I have no means of deciding either this way or that.

> Latin: 29.6. —id utrum sua sponte fecerit an publico consilio, neutrum cur adfirmem habeo. Ualerius Antias primo proelio uictum eum ab Scipione, quo duodecim milia armatorum in acie sint caesa, mille et septingenti capti, legatum cum aliis decem legatis tradit in castra ad Scipionem uenisse.

[¶50] 29.8. Valerius Antias relates that he was defeated by Scipio in their first engagement, in which twelve thousand soldiers were slain in battle and seventeen hundred captured; and that as an envoy with ten other envoys Hannibal came to Scipio in his camp.

> Latin: 29.8. ceterum Scipio cum conloquium haud abnuisset, ambo ex composito duces castra protulerunt ut coire ex propinquo possent.

[¶51] 29.9. To resume, once Scipio had assented to the conference, both generals by agreement advanced the position of their camps, so that their meeting might be at a short distance. Scipio established himself not far from the city of Naraggara, in a situation otherwise favourable, but particularly because water was to be had within the range of a javelin. Hannibal occupied a hill four miles away, safe and convenient otherwise, except that one had to go far for water. Half-way between them a spot was chosen which was visible from all sides, that there might be no ambuscades.

> Latin: 29.9. Scipio haud procul Naraggara urbe cum ad cetera loco opportuno tum quod aquatio intra teli coniectum erat consedit. Hannibal tumulum a quattuor milibus inde, tutum commodumque alioqui nisi quod longinquae aquationis erat, cepit. ibi in medio locus conspectus undique ne quid insidiarum esset delectus.

[¶52] 30.1. Keeping their armed men at the same distance the generals, each attended by one interpreter, met, being not only the greatest of their own age, but equal to any of the kings or commanders of all nations in all history before their time.

> Latin: 30.1. summotis pari spatio armatis, cum singulis interpretibus congressi sunt, non suae modo aetatis maximi duces sed omnis ante se memoriae omnium gentium cuilibet regum imperatorumue pares.

[¶53] 30.2. For a moment they remained silent, looking at each other and almost dumbfounded by mutual admiration.

> Latin: 30.2. paulisper alter alterius conspectu, admiratione mutua prope attoniti, conticuere; tum Hannibal prior:

[¶54] 30.3. Then Hannibal was the first to speak: "If it was foreordained by fate that I, who was the first to make war upon the Roman people and who have so often had the victory almost in my grasp, should come forward to sue for peace, I rejoice that destiny has given me you, and no one else, to whom I should bring my suit.

> Latin: 30.3. 'si hoc ita fato datum erat ut qui primus bellum intuli populo Romano, quique totiens prope in manibus uictoriam habui, is ultro ad pacem petendam uenirem, laetor te mihi sorte potissimum datum a quo peterem.

[¶55] 30.4. For you also, among your many distinctions, it will prove not the least of your honours that Hannibal, to whom the gods have given the victory over so many Roman generals, has submitted to you, and that you have made an end of this war, which was memorable at first for your disasters and then for ours.

> Latin: 30.4. tibi quoque inter multa egregia non in ultimis laudum hoc fuerit Hannibalem cui tot de Romanis ducibus uictoriam di dedissent tibi cessisse, teque huic bello uestris prius quam nostris cladibus insigni finem imposuisse.

[¶56] 30.5. This also may prove to be Fortune's mocking sport, that having taken up arms when your father was consul, and having fought with him my first battle with a Roman general, I come to his son unarmed to sue for peace.

> Latin: 30.5. hoc quoque ludibrium casus ediderit fortuna ut cum patre tuo consule ceperim arma, cum eodem primum Romano imperatore signa contulerim, ad filium eius inermis ad pacem petendam ueniam.

[¶57] 30.6. It would indeed have been best if the gods had given our fathers the disposition to be contented, you with rule over Italy and us in turn with ruling Africa.

> Latin: 30.6. optimum quidem fuerat eam patribus nostris mentem datam ab dis esse ut et uos Italiae et nos Africae imperio contenti essemus;

[¶58] 30.7. For even for you Sicily and Sardinia have been no adequate compensation for the loss of so many fleets, so many armies, so many remarkable generals. But the past is sooner disapproved than changed for the better.

> Latin: 30.7. neque enim ne uobis quidem Sicilia ac Sardinia satis digna pretia sunt pro tot classibus, tot exercitibus, tot tam egregiis amissis ducibus; sed praeterita magis reprehendi possunt quam corrigi.

[¶59] 30.8. In grasping at what was not ours we fell to fighting for our own; and for us Carthaginians it came to be a war not in Italy alone, nor for you entirely in Africa. On the contrary you have seen the enemy's standards and arms almost at your gates and walls, just as we can hear from Carthage the noise of a Roman camp.

> Latin: 30.8. ita aliena appetiuimus ut de nostris dimicaremus nec in Italia solum nobis bellum, uobis in Africa esset; sed et uos in portis uestris prope ac moenibus signa armaque hostium uidistis et nos ab Carthagine fremitum castrorum Romanorum exaudimus.

[¶60] 30.9. Consequently we discuss terms of peace while Fortune is favouring you —a situation most ominous for us, while you could pray for nothing better. We who are treating have the most to gain by peace, and furthermore, whatever terms we are to make our states will ratify. We need only a temper not averse to measures calmly considered. "As for myself, age has at last taught me, returning as an old man to my native city, from which I set out as a boy, success and failure have at last so schooled me that I prefer to follow reason rather than chance.

> Latin: 30.9. quod igitur nos maxime abominaremur, uos ante omnia optaretis, in meliore uestra fortuna de pace agitur. agimus ii quorum et maxime interest pacem esse, et qui quodcumque egerimus ratum ciuitates nostrae habiturae sunt: animo tantum nobis opus est non abhorrente a quietis consiliis. 'quod ad me attinet, iam aetas senem in patriam reuertentem unde puer profectus sum, iam secundae, iam aduersae res ita erudierunt ut rationem sequi quam fortunam malim:

[¶61] 30.10. In your case I am apprehensive alike of your youth and of your unbroken success, both of them too refractory for the demands of calmly considered measures.

> Latin: 30.10. tuam et adulescentiam et perpetuam felicitatem, ferociora utraque quam quietis opus est consiliis, metuo. non temere incerta casuum reputat quem fortuna nunquam decepit. quod ego fui ad Trasumennum, ad Cannas, id tu hodie es.

[¶62] 30.11. It is not easy for a man whom fortune has never deceived to weigh uncertain chances. What I was at Trasumennus, at Cannae, that you are today.

> Latin: 30.11. uixdum militari aetate imperio accepto omnia audacissime incipientem nusquam fefellit fortuna.

[¶63] 30.12. Although you had received a command when hardly of an age to serve, and undertook everything with the greatest boldness, nowhere has fortune deluded you.

> Latin: 30.12. patris et patrui persecutus mortem ex calamitate uestrae domus decus insigne uirtutis pietatisque eximiae cepisti; amissas Hispanias reciperasti quattuor inde Punicis exercitibus pulsis;

[¶64] 30.13. By avenging the death of your father and uncle you won from the disaster to your family signal honour for courage and extraordinary devotion. You recovered the lost Spanish provinces by driving out of them four Punic armies.

> Latin: 30.13. consul creatus, cum ceteris ad tutandam Italiam parum animi esset, transgressus in Africam duobus hic exercitibus caesis, binis eadem hora captis simul incensisque castris, Syphace potentissimo rege capto, tot urbibus regni eius, tot nostri imperii ereptis, me sextum decimum iam annum haerentem in possessione Italiae detraxisti.

[¶65] 30.14. Elected consul, while the rest lacked courage to defend Italy, you crossed over to Africa; and by destroying two armies here, by taking and at the same time burning two camps in the same hour, by capturing Syphax, a most powerful king, by seizing so many cities of his kingdom, so many in our domain, you dragged me away when now for sixteen years I had clung to the possession of Italy. It is possible for the heart to prefer victory to a peace. I know those aspirations that soar but are ineffectual; on me too such fortune as yours once shone.

> Latin: 30.14. potest uictoriam malle quam pacem animus. noui spiritus magnos magis quam utiles; et mihi talis aliquando fortuna adfulsit. quod si in secundis rebus bonam quoque mentem darent di, non ea solum quae euenissent sed etiam ea quae euenire possent reputaremus. ut omnium obliuiscaris aliorum, satis ego documenti in omnes casus sum quem modo castris inter Anienem atque urbem uestram positis signa inferentem ac iam prope scandentem moenia Romana uideris, hic cernas duobus fratribus, fortissimis uiris, clarissimis imperatoribus orbatum ante moenia prope obsessae patriae quibus terrui uestram urbem ea pro mea deprecantem.

[¶66] 30.16. But if in prosperity the gods blessed us with sound reason also, we should be reflecting not merely upon what has happened but also upon what can happen. Though you forget everything else, I am a sufficient warning against all that may chance. For it was I that, pitching my camp not long ago between the Anio and your city, was advancing my standards and now almost scaling the walls of Rome. But here bereft of my two brothers, the bravest of men, the most eminent of generals, you see me before the walls of my native city, already almost invested, and I am praying that she may be spared the terrors which I brought to yours. "The greatest good fortune is always the least to be trusted. In your favourable circumstances, in our uncertain situation, peace, if you grant it, will bring you honour and glory; for us who sue it is necessary rather than honourable. Better and safer is an assured peace than a victory hoped for. The one is in your own power, the other in the hands of the gods. Do not commit the success of so many years to the test of a single hour.

> Latin: 30.16. 'maximae cuique fortunae minime credendum est. in bonis tuis rebus, nostris dubiis, tibi ampla ac speciosa danti est pax, nobis petentibus magis necessaria quam honesta. melior tutiorque est certa pax quam sperata uictoria; haec in tua, illa in deorum manu est. ne tot annorum felicitatem in unius horae dederis discrimen. cum tuas uires tum uim fortunae Martemque belli communem propone animo; utrimque ferrum, utrimque corpora humana erunt; nusquam minus quam in bello euentus respondent.

[¶67] 30.20. Bear in mind not only your own resources but also the might of Fortune and the impartial god of war. On both sides will be the sword, on both sides human bodies. Nowhere less than in war do results match men's hopes.

> Latin: 30.20. non tantum ad id quod data pace iam habere potes, si proelio uinces, gloriae adieceris, quantum <dempseris>, si quid aduersi eueniat. simul parta ac sperata decora unius horae fortuna euertere potest.

[¶68] 30.21. You will not add so much glory, if victorious in battle, to what you can now have by granting peace, as you will lose in case of any reverse. The fortune of a single hour can lay low honours already won, and with them those in prospect. In making peace, Publius Cornelius, you have everything in your own power. In the other case you will have to bear the lot which the gods may give.

> Latin: 30.21. omnia in pace iungenda tuae potestatis sunt, P. Corneli: tunc ea habenda fortuna erit quam di dederint. inter pauca felicitatis uirtutisque exempla M. Atilius quondam in hac eadem terra fuisset, si uictor pacem petentibus dedisset patribus nostris; sed non statuendo felicitati modum nec cohibendo efferentem se fortunam quanto altius elatus erat, eo foedius corruit. 'est quidem eius qui dat, non qui petit, condiciones dicere pacis;

[¶69] 30.23. Among the foremost examples of success and courage would have been Marcus Atilius formerly in this same land, if as victor he had granted the peace which our fathers requested. But by setting no limit to his success and not reining in an unruly fortune, the higher he had climbed the more terribly did he fall. "It belongs, to be sure, to the giver of peace, not to the suitor, to name the terms. But possibly we may not be unworthy to impose a penalty upon ourselves. We do not reject the condition that all the possessions for which we went to war shall be yours —Sicily, Sardinia, Spain, and any islands existing in all the sea between Africa and Italy.

> Latin: 30.23. sed forsitan non indigni simus qui nobismet ipsi multam inrogemus. non recusamus quin omnia propter quae ad bellum itum est uestra sint, Sicilia Sardinia Hispania quidquid insularum toto inter Africam Italiamque continetur mari; Carthaginienses inclusi Africae litoribus uos, quando ita dis placuit, externa etiam terra marique uideamus regentes imperio.

[¶70] 30.26. Let us Carthaginians, confined by the coasts of Africa, behold you ruling under your authority even foreign countries by land and sea, since that has been the will of the gods. I would not deny that, on account of a lack of sincerity in our recent suit for peace, and because we did not wait for it, Punic honour for you Romans is now tainted with suspicion. For the faithful observance of a peace much depends, Scipio, on the persons by whom the suit is presented.

> Latin: 30.26. haud negauerim propter non nimis sincere petitam aut exspectatam nuper pacem suspectam esse uobis Punicam fidem: multum per quos petita sit ad fidem tuendae pacis pertinet, Scipio—uestri quoque, ut audio, patres nonnihil etiam ob hoc quia parum

[¶71] 30.28. Your senators also have refused the peace, I hear, partly for the reason that the embassy was lacking in dignity.

> Latin: 30.28. dignitatis in legatione erat negauerunt pacem—; Hannibal peto pacem qui neque peterem, nisi utilem crederem, et propter eandem utilitatem tuebor eam propter quam petii;

[¶72] 30.29. I, Hannibal, am suing for peace, I who should not be so doing if I did not think it an advantageous peace; and I shall uphold it because of the same advantage on account of which I have sued for it. And just as I, having begun the war, therefore made sure —until the gods themselves became envious —that no one should regret it, so will I strive to prevent any man from regretting the peace obtained through me.

> Latin: 30.29. et quemadmodum quia a me bellum coeptum est ne quem eius paeniteret quoad ipsi inuidere di praestiti, ita adnitar ne quem pacis per me partae paeniteat.'

[¶73] 31.1. To these pleas the Roman general replied somewhat to this effect: "I was not unaware, Hannibal, that the Carthaginians, anticipating your arrival, showed no respect either for present obligations to the armistice or for the peace in prospect;

> Latin: 31.1. aduersus haec imperator Romanus in hanc fere sententiam respondit: 'non me fallebat, Hannibal, aduentus tui spe Carthaginienses et praesentem indutiarum fidem et spem pacis turbasse;

[¶74] 31.2. and you surely make no concealment of that fact when you omit from the earlier terms of peace everything except what has long been in our possession.

> Latin: 31.2. neque tu id sane dissimulas qui de condicionibus superioribus pacis omnia subtrahas praeter ea quae iam pridem in nostra potestate sunt.

[¶75] 31.3. But just as you are concerned to have your citizens appreciate how great is the burden of which they are relieved by you, so I must exert myself that they do not have as the reward of perfidy any relaxation of the terms of peace to which they at that time agreed.

> Latin: 31.3. ceterum ut tibi curae est sentire ciues tuos quanto per te onere leuentur, sic mihi laborandum est ne quae tum pepigerunt hodie subtracta ex condicionibus pacis praemia perfidiae habeant.

[¶76] 31.4. Unworthy to have the same terms open to you as before, you Carthaginians are asking to have your dishonesty profit you. Our fathers were not aggressors in making war for Sicily; no more were we for Spain. In the former case the peril of our allies, the Mamertines, as in the latter instance the destruction of Saguntum, armed us with the weapons of duty and justice.

> Latin: 31.4. indigni quibus eadem pateat condicio, etiam ut prosit uobis fraus petitis. neque patres nostri priores de Sicilia neque nos de Hispania fecimus bellum; et tunc Mamertinorum sociorum periculum et nunc Sagunti excidium nobis pia ac iusta induerunt arma.

[¶77] 31.5. That your people were the aggressors you yourself admit, and the gods as well are our witnesses, who gave for that war and are giving and will give for this one an outcome in accordance with justice and the right.

> Latin: 31.5. uos lacessisse et tu ipse fateris et di testes sunt qui et illius belli exitum secundum ius fasque dederunt et huius dant et dabunt.

[¶78] 31.6. “So far as I am concerned, I am mindful of human weakness, and I reflect upon the might of Fortune and know that everything that we do is exposed to a thousand chances.”

> Latin: 31.6. 'quod ad me attinet, et humanae infirmitatis memini et uim fortunae reputo et omnia quaecumque agimus subiecta esse mille casibus scio;

[¶79] 31.7. “But, just as I should admit that I were acting with arrogance and violence if, before I had crossed over to Africa, I were to reject you when you were voluntarily withdrawing from Italy and, while your army was already on shipboard, you were coming in person to sue for peace, so now, when I have dragged you to Africa, resisting ” “and shifting ground as we almost came to blows, I am under no obligation to respect you.”

> Latin: 31.7. ceterum quemadmodum superbe et uiolenter me faterer facere si priusquam in Africam traiecissem te tua uoluntate cedentem Italia et imposito in naues exercitu ipsum uenientem ad pacem petendam aspernarer, sic nunc cum prope manu conserta restitantem ac tergiuersantem in Africam attraxerim nulla sum tibi uerecundia obstrictus.

[¶80] 31.9. “Therefore, if to the terms upon which peace was formerly about to be made, as it seemed, you are adding some kind of compensation for the ships loaded with supplies that were taken by force during the armistice, and for violence done to my envoys, I have reason to bring it before the council. But if that addition also seems too severe, prepare for war, since you have been unable to endure a peace.”

> Latin: 31.9. proinde si quid ad ea in quae tum pax conuentura uidebatur, quasi multa nauium cum commeatu per indutias expugnatarum legatorumque uiolatorum, adicitur, est quod referam ad consilium: sin illa quoque grauia uidentur, bellum parate quoniam pacem pati non potuistis.' ita infecta pace ex conloquio ad suos cum se recepissent, frustra uerba temptata renuntiant:

[¶81] 31.10. Accordingly without making peace they returned from the conference to their armies, reporting that words had been of no avail; that arms must decide the issue and they must accept whatever lot the gods should give them. Arrived at their camps, they both ordered their soldiers to have arms and their spirits in readiness for the final conflict to make them victors, if success attended them, not for one day but forever.

> Latin: 31.10. armis decernendum esse habendamque eam fortunam quam di dedissent. in castra ut est uentum, pronuntiant ambo arma expedirent milites animosque ad supremum certamen, non in unum diem sed in perpetuum, si felicitas adesset, uictores.

[¶82] 32.2. Whether Rome or Carthage should give laws to the nations they would know the next day before nightfall. For not Africa, they said, or Italy but the whole world would be the reward of victory —a reward matched by the danger for those whom the fortune of battle should not favour.

> Latin: 32.2. Roma an Carthago iura gentibus daret ante crastinam noctem scituros; neque enim Africam aut Italiam sed orbem terrarum uictoriae praemium fore; par periculum praemio quibus aduersa pugnae fortuna fuisset.

[¶83] 32.3. In fact the Romans had no way of escape open in a foreign and an unknown land, and for Carthage, once it had poured out its last resources, immediate destruction seemed impending.

> Latin: 32.3. nam neque Romanis effugium ullum patebat in aliena ignotaque terra, et Carthagini, supremo auxilio effuso, adesse uidebatur praesens excidium.

[¶84] 32.4. For this decision on the following day two generals far and away the most distinguished and two of the bravest armies of the two wealthiest nations went forth, on that day either to crown the many distinctions heretofore won, or to bring them to naught.

> Latin: 32.4. ad hoc discrimen procedunt postero die duorum opulentissimorum populorum duo longe clarissimi duces, duo fortissimi exercitus, multa ante parta decora aut cumulaturi eo die aut euersuri.

[¶85] 32.5. Consequently a wavering between hope and fear confused their spirits; and as they surveyed now their own battle-line, now that of the enemy, while weighing their strength more by the eye than by calculation, the bright side and at the same time the dark was before their minds. What did not occur to the men themselves of their own accord the generals would suggest in admonition and exhortation.

> Latin: 32.5. anceps igitur spes et metus miscebant animos; contemplantibusque modo suam, modo hostium aciem, cum oculis magis quam ratione pensarent uires, simul laeta, simul tristia obuersabantur: quae ipsis sua sponte non succurrebant, ea duces admonendo atque hortando subiciebant.

[¶86] 32.6. The Carthaginian kept recalling to their minds the achievements of sixteen years in the land of Italy, so many Roman generals, so many armies wiped out completely, and brave deeds of individuals, whenever he came to a soldier distinguished in the record of some battle.

> Latin: 32.6. Poenus sedecim annorum in terra Italia res gestas, tot duces Romanos, tot exercitus occidione occisos et sua cuique decora ubi ad insignem alicuius pugnae memoria militem uenerat referebat:

[¶87] 32.7. Scipio would recall the Spanish provinces and recent battles in Africa and the enemy's admission, in that on account of fear they could but sue for peace, and yet had been unable to abide by the peace on account of their ingrained perfidy.

> Latin: 32.7. Scipio Hispanias et recentia in Africa proelia et confessionem hostium quod neque non petere pacem propter metum neque manere in ea prae insita animis perfidia potuissent.

[¶88] 32.8. Furthermore, as his conference with Hannibal had been in private and could be freely altered, he gave it the direction he desired.

> Latin: 32.8. ad hoc conloquium Hannibalis in secreto habitum ac liberum fingenti qua uolt flectit.

[¶89] 32.9. He divined that as the Carthaginians went out into battle-line, the gods had given them the same omens as when their fathers fought at the Aegates Islands.

> Latin: 32.9. ominatur, quibus quondam auspiciis patres eorum ad Aegates pugnauerint insulas, ea illis exeuntibus in aciem portendisse deos.

[¶90] 32.10. The end of the war and hardship was at hand, he said, the spoils of Carthage within reach, and the return home to their native city, to parents, children, wives and household gods. So erect did he stand as he spoke these words, and with so happy a look on his face that one would have believed him already the victor.

> Latin: 32.10. adesse finem belli ac laboris; in manibus esse praedam Carthaginis, reditum domum in patriam ad parentes liberos coniuges penatesque deos.

[¶91] 32.11. Thereupon he drew up in the first line the hastati, behind them the principes, in the rear the triarii closing the formation.

> Latin: 32.11. celsus haec corpore uoltuque ita laeto ut uicisse iam crederes dicebat. instruit deinde primos hastatos, post eos principes; triariis postremam aciem clausit.

[¶92] 33.1. However, he did not form cohorts in close contact, each in advance of its standards, but rather maniples at a considerable distance from each other, so that there should be an interval where the enemy's elephants might be driven through without breaking up the ranks.

> Latin: 33.1. non confertas autem cohortes ante sua quamque signa instruebat sed manipulos aliquantum inter se distantes ut esset spatium qua elephanti hostium acti nihil ordines turbarent.

[¶93] 33.2. Laelius, whom he had previously had in his service as lieutenant, but in the present year as quaestor, assigned not by lot but by decree of the senate, was posted with the Italic cavalry on the left wing, Masinissa and the Numidians on the right.

> Latin: 33.2. Laelium, cuius ante legati, eo anno quaestoris extra sortem ex senatus consulto opera utebatur, cum Italico equitatu ab sinistro cornu, Masinissam Numidasque ab dextro opposuit.

[¶94] 33.3. The open passages between the maniples of the front line troops Scipio filled with velites, the light-armed of that day, under orders that, upon the charge of the elephants, they should either flee behind the ranks in the line, or else dashing to right and left and closing up to the maniles in the van, should give the beasts an opening through which they might rush among missiles hurled from both sides.

> Latin: 33.3. uias patentes inter manipulos antesignanorum uelitibus—ea tunc leuis armatura erat—compleuit, dato praecepto ut ad impetum elephantorum aut post directos refugerent ordines aut in dextram laeuamque discursu applicantes se antesignanis uiam qua inruerent in ancipitia tela beluis darent.

[¶95] 33.4. Hannibal in order to create a panic drew up his elephants in front, and there were eighty of them, a number he had never before had in any battle.

> Latin: 33.4. Hannibal ad terrorem primos elephantos—octoginta autem erant, quot nulla unquam in acie ante habuerat— instruxit, deinde auxilia Ligurum Gallorumque, Baliaribus Maurisque admixtis:

[¶96] 33.5. Next in order he placed the Ligurian and Gallic auxiliaries in combination with Balearic and Mauretanian troops; in the second line Carthaginians and Africans and the legion of Macedonians. Then, leaving a moderate interval, he drew up a reserve line of Italic soldiers, most of these Bruttians, more of whom had followed him under compulsion and of necessity than of their own consent as he retired from Italy.

> Latin: 33.5. in secunda acie Carthaginienses Afrosque et Macedonum legionem: modico deinde interuallo relicto subsidiariam aciem Italicorum militum—Bruttii plerique erant, ui ac necessitate plures quam sua uoluntate decedentem ex Italia secuti—instruxit. equitatum et ipse circumdedit cornibus; dextrum Carthaginienses, sinistrum Numidae tenuerunt.

[¶97] 33.8. As for the cavalry, he also placed them on the wings; the Carthaginians held the right wing, the Numidians the left. In an army made up of so many men who had no language, no custom, no law, no arms, no clothing and general appearance in common, nor the same reason for serving, exhortation took various forms.

> Latin: 33.8. uaria adhortatio erat in exercitu inter tot homines quibus non lingua, non mos, non lex, non arma, non uestitus habitusque, non causa militandi eadem esset.

[¶98] 33.9. To the auxiliaries was offered pay in cash and greatly increased by a share in the booty. The Gauls had their own inbred hatred of the Romans fanned into flame.

> Latin: 33.9. auxiliaribus et praesens et multiplicata ex praeda merces ostentatur: Galli proprio atque insito in Romanos odio accenduntur: Liguribus campi uberes Italiae deductis ex asperrimis montibus in spem uictoriae ostentantur:

[¶99] 33.10. Ligurians were offered as an incentive to victory the rich plains of Italy, once they were brought down from their rugged mountains.

> Latin: 33.10. Mauros Numidasque Masinissae impotenti futuro dominatu terret:

[¶100] 33.11. Mauretanians and Numidians were frightened by Hannibal with the prospect of Masinissa's tyrannical rule. To different nations different hopes and fears were displayed. The Carthaginians' attention was called to the walls of their city, to household gods, tombs of ancestors, children and parents and terror-stricken wives, to destruction and servitude on the one hand, on the other to rule over the world, to the absence of any ground between the extremes of fear and hope.

> Latin: 33.11. aliis aliae spes ac metus iactantur. Carthaginiensibus moenia patriae, di penates, sepulcra maiorum, liberi cum parentibus coniugesque pauidae, aut excidium seruitiumque aut imperium orbis terrarum, nihil aut in metum aut in spem medium, ostentatur.

[¶101] 33.12. Just as the general was thus speaking among the Carthaginians, and the national leaders among their countrymen, mainly through interpreters, since foreigners were intermingled, trumpets and horns sounded on the Roman side, and such shouts were raised that the elephants turned against their own men, especially against the left wing, the Mauretanians and Numidians.

> Latin: 33.12. cum maxime haec imperator apud Carthaginienses, duces suarum gentium inter populares, pleraque per interpretes inter immixtos alienigenis agerent, tubae cornuaque ab Romanis cecinerunt, tantusque clamor ortus ut elephanti in suos, sinistrum maxime cornu, uerterentur, Mauros ac Numidas.

[¶102] 33.13. Masinissa easily increased their panic and stripped that end of the line of its cavalry support.

> Latin: 33.13. addidit facile Masinissa perculsis terrorem nudauitque ab ea parte aciem equestri auxilio.

[¶103] 33.14. A few of the beasts, however, being fearlessly driven into the enemy, caused great losses among the ranks of the light-armed, though suffering many wounds themselves.

> Latin: 33.14. paucae tamen bestiarum intrepidae in hostem actae inter uelitum ordines cum multis suis uolneribus ingentem stragem edebant.

[¶104] 33.15. For springing back to the maniples the light-armed made way for the elephants, to avoid being trampled down, and then would hurl their lances from both sides against the beasts doubly exposed to missiles. Nor was there any slackening in the javelins of the men in the front lines until these elephants also, driven out of the Roman line and into their own men by missiles showered upon them from all sides, put the right wing, even the Carthaginian cavalry, to flight. Laelius, on seeing the enemy in confusion, increased their panic.

> Latin: 33.15. resilientes enim ad manipulos uelites cum uiam elephantis ne obtererentur fecissent, in ancipites ad ictum utrimque coniciebant hastas, nec pila ab antesignanis cessabant donec undique incidentibus telis exacti ex Romana acie hi quoque in suo dextro cornu ipsos Carthaginiensium equites in fugam uerterunt. Laelius, ut turbatos uidit hostes, addidit perculsis terrorem.

[¶105] 34.1. On both sides the Punic battle-line had been stripped of its cavalry when the infantry clashed, now no longer matched either in their hopes or in their strength. In addition there were what seem small things to mention, but at the same time were highly important in the battle: a harmony in the shouting of the Romans, which consequently was greater in volume and more terrifying;

> Latin: 34.1. utrimque nudata equite erat Punica acies cum pedes concurrit, nec spe nec uiribus iam par. ad hoc dictu parua sed magna eadem in re gerenda momenta: congruens clamor ab Romanis eoque maior et terribilior, dissonae illis, ut gentium multarum discrepantibus linguis, uoces;

[¶106] 34.2. on the other side discordant voices, as was natural from many nations with a confusion of tongues; for the Romans a battle of little movement, as they pressed on into the enemy by their own weight and that of their arms; on the other side repeated charges at high speed but with less power.

> Latin: 34.2. pugna Romana stabilis et suo et armorum pondere incumbentium in hostem, concursatio et uelocitas illinc maior quam uis.

[¶107] 34.3. Consequently by the first attack the Romans at once dislodged the enemy's line. Then beating them back with their shoulders and the bosses of their shields, being now in close contact with men forced from their position, they made considerable progress, as no one offered any resistance, while as soon as they saw that the enemy's line had given way, even the rear line pressed upon the first, a circumstance which of itself gave them great force in repulsing the enemy.

> Latin: 34.3. igitur primo impetu extemplo mouere loco hostium aciem Romani. ala deinde et umbonibus pulsantes in summotos gradu inlato aliquantum spatii uelut nullo resistente incessere, urgentibus et nouissimis primos ut semel motam aciem sensere, quod ipsum uim magnam ad pellendum hostem addebat.

[¶108] 34.5. Among the enemy so far was their second line, the Africans and Carthaginians, from supporting the auxiliaries as they gave way, that on the contrary they even drew back for fear the enemy, by slaying the men of the first line if these stoutly resisted, should reach themselves.

> Latin: 34.5. apud hostes auxiliares cedentes secunda acies, Afri et Carthaginienses, adeo non sustinebant ut contra etiam, ne resistentes pertinaciter primos caedendo ad se perueniret hostis, pedem referrent.

[¶109] 34.6. Accordingly the auxiliaries suddenly retreated and facing their own men, some found refuge in the second line, others, having been refused aid shortly before, and also admission now to the ranks, slashed at those who would not make place for them.

> Latin: 34.6. igitur auxiliares terga dant repente et in suos uersi partim refugere in secundam aciem, partim non recipientes caedere, ut et paulo ante non adiuti et tunc exclusi;

[¶110] 34.7. And by this time there were almost two battles in one, since the Carthaginians were forced to engage with the enemy and at the same time with their own men.

> Latin: 34.7. et prope duo iam permixta proelia erant, cum Carthaginienses simul cum hostibus simul cum suis cogerentur manus conserere.

[¶111] 34.8. Nevertheless even so they did not admit the panic-stricken, angry men into the line, but closing up their ranks, they forced them out upon the wings and into the empty plain on this side and that outside of the battle, in order not to contaminate their own line, still intact and fresh, with soldiers alarmed by the flight and their wounds.

> Latin: 34.8. non tamen ita perculsos iratosque in aciem accepere sed densatis ordinibus in cornua uacuumque circa campum extra proelium eiecere, ne pauido fuga uolneribusque milite sinceram et integram aciem miscerent.