---
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: 6 of 50
url: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/6/
cite: "Livy, tr. Benjamin Oliver Foster and Frank Gardner Moore, History of Rome, Books XXI–XXX · Ab urbe condita XXI–XXX, section 6. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/6/"
---

# 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.

## 6. Book XXII · chapters 1–10

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/6/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/6/#p-N

[¶0] 1.1. SPRING was now drawing on, and accordingly Hannibal moved out of his winter encampment. He had tried before this to cross the Apennines, but had failed because of the intolerable cold.

> Latin: 1.1. iam uer appetebat cum Hannibal ex hibernis mouit, et nequiquam ante conatus transcendere Appenninum intolerandis frigoribus et cum ingenti periculo moratus ac metu.

[¶1] 1.2. And the delay had been attended with the greatest danger and anxiety; for when the Gauls, whom the hope of spoil and pillage had excited to revolt, perceived that instead of harrying and plundering the fields of others, their own lands were the seat of war and were burdened with the winter quarters of both armies, they turned their hatred back again from the Romans upon Hannibal.

> Latin: 1.2. Galli, quos praedae populationumque conciuerat spes, postquam pro eo ut ipsi ex alieno agro raperent agerentque, suas terras sedem belli esse premique utriusque partis exercituum hibernis uidere, uerterunt retro in Hannibalem ab Romanis odia;

[¶2] 1.3. But though their leaders laid many a plot against him, their treachery to one another saved him, for they gave him information of these conspiracies with the same inconstancy with which they had conspired. Moreover, changing now his dress and now his headgear, he protected himself against their plots by the uncertainty which this gave rise to.

> Latin: 1.3. petitusque saepe principum insidiis, ipsorum inter se fraude, eadem leuitate qua consenserant consensum indicantium, seruatus erat et mutando nunc uestem nunc tegumenta capitis errore etiam sese ab insidiis munierat.

[¶3] 1.4. Still, the fear of such plots was another reason for quitting his winter quarters early. About the same time, on the Ides of March, Gnaeus Servilius entered on his consulship at Rome.

> Latin: 1.4. ceterum hic quoque ei timor causa fuit maturius mouendi ex hibernis. per idem tempus Cn. Seruilius consul Romae idibus Martiis magistratum iniit.

[¶4] 1.5. On his then referring the state of the nation to the senate for discussion, their anger at Gaius Flaminius was renewed. They had chosen two consuls, they said, but had only one; for what proper authority or right of auspices did Flaminius possess?

> Latin: 1.5. ibi cum de re publica rettulisset, redintegrata in C. Flaminium inuidia est: duos se consules creasse, unum habere; quod enim illi iustum imperium, quod auspicium esse?

[¶5] 1.6. Magistrates, they urged, carried with them this prerogative when they set out from home —from their own and the nation's hearth —after celebrating the Latin Festival, sacrificing on the Alban Mount and duly offering up their vows on the Capitol;

> Latin: 1.6. magistratus id a domo, publicis priuatisque penatibus, Latinis feriis actis, sacrificio in monte perfecto, uotis rite in Capitolio nuncupatis, secum ferre;

[¶6] 1.7. but a private citizen could neither take the auspices with him, nor, if he had left Rome without them, receive them new from the beginning on foreign soil.

> Latin: 1.7. nec priuatum auspicia sequi nec sine auspiciis profectum in externo ea solo noua atque integra concipere posse.

[¶7] 1.8. Men's fears were augmented by the prodigies reported simultaneously from many places: that in Sicily the javelins of several soldiers had taken fire, and that in Sardinia, as a horseman was making the round of the night-watch, the same thing had happened to the truncheon which he held in his hand; that many fires had blazed up on the shore; that two shields had sweated blood; that certain soldiers had been struck with lightning; that the sun's disk had seemed to be contracted; that glowing stones had fallen from the sky at Praeneste; that at Arpi bucklers had appeared in the sky and the sun had seemed to be fighting with the moon; that at Capena two moons had risen in the daytime;

> Latin: 1.8. augebant metum prodigia ex pluribus simul locis nuntiata: in Sicilia militibus aliquot spicula, in Sardinia autem in muro circumeunti uigilias equiti scipionem quem manu tenuerit arsisse et litora crebris ignibus fulsisse et scuta duo sanguine sudasse, et milites quosdam ictos fulminibus et solis orbem minui uisum, et Praeneste ardentes lapides caelo cecidisse, et Arpis parmas in caelo uisas pugnantemque cum luna solem,

[¶8] 1.10. that the waters of Caere had flowed mixed with blood, and that bloodstains had appeared in the water that trickled from the spring of Hercules itself; that at Antium, when some men were reaping, bloody ears of corn had fallen into their basket; that at Falerii the sky had seemed to be rent as it were with a great fissure; and through the opening a bright light had shone;

> Latin: 1.10. et Capenae duas interdiu lunas ortas, et aquas Caeretes sanguine mixtas fluxisse fontemque ipsum Herculis cruentis manasse respersum maculis, et in Antiati metentibus cruentas in corbem spicas cecidisse, et Faleriis caelum findi uelut magno hiatu uisum quaque patuerit ingens lumen effulsisse;

[¶9] 1.11. and that lots had shrunk and that one had fallen out without being touched, on which was written, “Mavors brandishes his spear;”

> Latin: 1.11. sortes sua sponte attenuatas unamque excidisse ita scriptam:

[¶10] 1.12. that in Rome, about the same time, the statue of Mars on the Appian Way and the images of the wolves had sweated; that at Capua there had been the appearance of a sky on fire and of a moon that fell in the midst of a shower of rain.

> Latin: 1.12. 'Mauors telum suum concutit', et per idem tempus Romae signum Martis Appia uia ac simulacra luporum sudasse, et Capuae speciem caeli ardentis fuisse lunaeque inter imbrem cadentis.

[¶11] 1.13. Afterwards less memorable prodigies were also given credence: that certain folk had found their goats to have got woolly fleeces; that a hen had changed into a cock and a cock into a hen.

> Latin: 1.13. inde minoribus etiam dictu prodigiis fides habita: capras lanatas quibusdam factas, et gallinam in marem, gallum in feminam sese uertisse.

[¶12] 1.14. When the consul had laid these reports before the senate exactly as they had come to him and had introduced into the House the men who vouched for their truth, he consulted the Fathers regarding their religious import.

> Latin: 1.14. his, sicut erant nuntiata, expositis auctoribusque in curiam introductis consul de religione patres consuluit.

[¶13] 1.15. It was voted that these prodigies should be expiated, in part with greater, in part with lesser victims, and that a supplication should be held for three days at all the couches of the gods;

> Latin: 1.15. decretum ut ea prodigia partim maioribus hostiis, partim lactentibus procurarentur et uti supplicatio per triduum ad omnia puluinaria haberetur;

[¶14] 1.16. as for the rest, when the decemvirs should have inspected the Books, such rites were to be observed as they should declare, in accordance with the sacred verses, to be pleasing to the gods.

> Latin: 1.16. cetera, cum decemuiri libros inspexissent, ut ita fierent quemadmodum cordi esse <di sibi> diuinis carminibus praefarentur.

[¶15] 1.17. Being so admonished by the decemvirs, they decreed that the first gift should be made to Jupiter, a golden thunderbolt weighing fifty pounds; and that Juno and Minerva should be given offerings of silver; that Juno Regina on the Aventine and Juno Sospita at Lanuvium should receive a sacrifice of greater victims, and that the matrons, each contributing as much as she could afford, should make up a sum of money and carry it as a gift to Juno Regina on the Aventine and there celebrate a lectisternium; and that even the very freed-women should contribute money, in proportion to their abilities, for an offering to Feronia.

> Latin: 1.17. decemuirorum monitu decretum est Ioui primum donum fulmen aureum pondo quinquaginta fieret, Iunoni Mineruaeque ex argento dona darentur et Iunoni reginae in Auentino Iunonique Sospitae Lanuui maioribus hostiis sacrificaretur, matronaeque pecunia conlata quantum conferre cuique commodum esset donum Iunoni reginae in Auentinum ferrent lectisterniumque fieret, et ut libertinae et ipsae unde Feroniae donum daretur pecuniam pro facultatibus suis conferrent.

[¶16] 1.19. These measures being taken, the decemvirs sacrificed at Ardea in the market-place with the greater victims. Finally-the month was now December —victims were slain at the temple of Saturn in Rome and a lectisternium was ordered-this time senators administered the rite —and a public feast, and throughout the City for a day and a night “Saturnalia” was cried, and the people were bidden to keep that day as a holiday and observe it in perpetuity.

> Latin: 1.19. haec ubi facta, decemuiri Ardeae in foro maioribus hostiis sacrificarunt. postremo Decembri iam mense ad aedem Saturni Romae immolatum est, lectisterniumque imperatum—et eum lectum senatores strauerunt—et conuiuium publicum, ac per urbem Saturnalia diem ac noctem clamata, populusque eum diem festum habere ac seruare in perpetuum iussus.

[¶17] 2.1. While the consul was occupied at Rome in appeasing the gods and levying troops, Hannibal, who had left his winter quarters, heard that Flaminius, the other consul, had already arrived at Arretium; and so, though another route, longer, to be sure, but less difficult, was pointed out to him, he took the shorter, though the marshes, which the river Arno had lately flooded to an unusual extent.

> Latin: 2.1. dum consul placandis Romae dis habendoque dilectu dat operam, Hannibal profectus ex hibernis, quia iam Flaminium consulem Arretium peruenisse fama erat, cum aliud longius, ceterum commodius ostenderetur iter, propiorem uiam per paludes petit, qua fluuius Arnus per eos dies solito magis inundauerat.

[¶18] 2.3. He ordered the Spaniards and the Africans and all the flower of his veteran army, taking their own baggage with them so as not to want the necessities of life wherever they might be forced to halt, to march in the van; the Gauls to follow them and form the centre of the column; and the cavalry to fall in behind.

> Latin: 2.3. Hispanos et Afros—id omne ueterani erat robur exercitus—admixtis ipsorum impedimentis necubi consistere coactis necessaria ad usus deessent, primos ire iussit; sequi Gallos, ut id agminis medium esset; nouissimos ire equites;

[¶19] 2.4. Mago and the Numidian light horse were to bring up the rear, their principal duty being to keep the Gauls in order, in case they should weary of the long and painful march —for the race is ill adapted to such hardships —and attempt to steal away or refuse to go forward.

> Latin: 2.4. Magonem inde cum expeditis Numidis cogere agmen, maxime Gallos, si taedio laboris longaeque uiae—ut est mollis ad talia gens—dilaberentur aut subsisterent, cohibentem.

[¶20] 2.5. Those in front only asked that their guides lead on before. Through deep and well-nigh bottomless quagmires left by the flood, almost engulfed in the mud into which they plunged, they nevertheless followed on after their standards.

> Latin: 2.5. primi, qua modo praeirent duces, per praealtas fluuii ac profundas uoragines, hausti paene limo immergentesque se, tamen signa sequebantur.

[¶21] 2.6. But the Gauls could neither keep from falling when they slipped, nor regain their footing, once they had plunged into a hole; the flesh was neither sustained by the spirit nor the spirit by hope. Some could hardly drag their tired limbs along; others, their courage yielding once for all to their weariness, dropped down and died amongst the baggage-animals, for these too were lying all about.

> Latin: 2.6. Galli neque sustinere se prolapsi neque adsurgere ex uoraginibus poterant, neque aut corpora animis aut animos spe sustinebant, alii fessa aegre trahentes membra, alii, ubi semel uictis taedio animis procubuissent, inter iumenta et ipsa iacentia passim morientes;

[¶22] 2.7. What distressed them most of all was the want of sleep, which they had now endured for four days and three nights.

> Latin: 2.7. maximeque omnium uigiliae conficiebant per quadriduum iam et tres noctes toleratae.

[¶23] 2.8. And since everything was under water and they could find no dry spot on which to stretch their weary bodies, they would pile their packs in the flood and lie down on these; or the heaps of sumpter-animals that were everywhere strewn about along the line of march would afford a makeshift bed —for all they asked was a place that stood out above the water, where they could snatch a little sleep.

> Latin: 2.8. cum omnia obtinentibus aquis nihil ubi in sicco fessa sternerent corpora inueniri posset, cumulatis in aqua sarcinis insuper incumbebant, <aut> iumentorum itinere toto prostratorum passim acerui tantum quod exstaret aqua quaerentibus ad quietem parui temporis necessarium cubile dabant.

[¶24] 2.10. Hannibal himself, whose eyes were suffering in the first place from the trying spring weather, alternating betwixt hot and cold, rode upon the sole surviving elephant, that he might be higher above the water. But lack of sleep, damp nights, and the air of the marshes affected his head, and since he had neither place nor time for employing remedies, he lost the sight of one of his eyes.

> Latin: 2.10. ipse Hannibal aeger oculis ex uerna primum intemperie uariante calores frigoraque, elephanto, qui unus superfuerat, quo altius ab aqua exstaret, uectus, uigiliis tamen et nocturno umore palustrique caelo grauante caput et quia medendi nec locus nec tempus erat altero oculo capitur.

[¶25] 3.1. Many men and beasts had perished miserably, when at last he got out from the marshes, and pitching his camp on the first dry ground available, ascertained from scouts whom he had sent on ahead that the Roman army lay around the walls of Arretium.

> Latin: 3.1. multis hominibus iumentisque foede amissis cum tandem e paludibus emersisset, ubi primum in sicco potuit, castra locat, certumque per praemissos exploratores habuit exercitum Romanum circa Arreti moenia esse.

[¶26] 3.2. He then went to work with all possible diligence to learn the plans and temper of the consul, the lie of the land and the roads, his resources for provisioning the army —everything, in short, which it was important to find out.

> Latin: 3.2. consulis deinde consilia atque animum et situm regionum itineraque et copias ad commeatus expediendos et cetera quae cognosse in rem erat summa omnia cum cura inquirendo exsequebatur.

[¶27] 3.3. The district was one of the most fertile in Italy, for the Etruscan plains between Faesulae and Arretium abound in corn and flocks and all sorts of provisions. The consul had been proud and headstrong since his former consulship, and lacked all proper reverence, not only for the laws and for the senate's majesty, but even for the gods.

> Latin: 3.3. regio erat in primis Italiae fertilis, Etrusci campi, qui Faesulas inter Arretiumque iacent, frumenti ac pecoris et omnium copia rerum opulenti;

[¶28] 3.4. This native rashness had been nourished by the success which Fortune had bestowed on him in political and military enterprises. It was therefore sufficiently apparent that, seeking no counsel, either divine or human, he would manage everything with recklessness and headlong haste; but to make him incline the more towards his characteristic faults, the Phoenician planned to provoke and exasperate him.

> Latin: 3.4. consul ferox ab consulatu priore et non modo legum aut patrum maiestatis sed ne deorum quidem satis metuens; hanc insitam ingenio eius temeritatem fortuna prospero ciuilibus bellicisque rebus successu aluerat. itaque satis apparebat nec deos nec homines consulentem ferociter omnia ac praepropere acturum;

[¶29] 3.5. Leaving the enemy therefore on his left, and looking out for an opportunity to ambush him, he proceeded to lay waste the heart of Etruria and exhibited to the consul from afar all the havoc that fire and sword could possibly effect.

> Latin: 3.5. quoque pronior esset in uitia sua, agitare eum atque inritare Poenus parat, et laeua relicto hoste Faesulas praeteriens medio Etruriae agro praedatum profectus, quantam maximam uastitatem potest caedibus incendiisque consuli procul ostendit.

[¶30] 3.7. Flaminius, even had his enemy sat still, was not the man to have sat still himself; but now, when he saw the farms of the allies being harried and pillaged almost under his own eyes, he felt it as a personal disgrace that the Phoenician should be roaming through the midst of Italy, and marching, with no one to dispute his passage, to assault the very walls of Rome.

> Latin: 3.7. Flaminius, qui ne quieto quidem hoste ipse quieturus erat, tum uero, postquam res sociorum ante oculos prope suos ferri agique uidit, suum id dedecus ratus per mediam iam Italiam uagari Poenum atque obsistente nullo ad ipsa Romana moenia ire oppugnanda, ceteris omnibus in consilio salutaria magis quam speciosa suadentibus:

[¶31] 3.8. In the council of war the rest were all for safe in preference to showy measures: he should wait, they said, for his colleague to come up, in order that they might unite their forces and conduct the war with a common policy and resolution; meantime, he should employ his cavalry and skirmishers to check the enemy's widespread, unrestricted pillaging.

> Latin: 3.8. collegam exspectandum, ut coniunctis exercitibus communi animo consilioque rem gererent, interim equitatu auxiliisque leuium armorum ab effusa praedandi licentia hostem cohibendum,—iratus se ex consilio proripuit, signumque simul itineris pugnaeque cum

[¶32] 3.10. Enraged by this advice, Flaminius flung out of the council, and having given the signal at once for marching and for fighting, exclaimed, “Ay, truly! Let us sit still under the walls of Arretium, for here are our native city and our household gods; let Hannibal slip through our fingers and ravage Italy, and, laying waste and burning everything, march clear to Rome; and let us not move from this spot, till the Fathers, as once they summoned Camillus from Veii, shall summon Gaius Flaminius from Arretium.” Uttering these scornful words he bade pluck up the standards quickly, and vaulted upon his horse, when suddenly the charger stumbled, and unseating the consul threw him over his head. The dismay which this occasioned in all who were present, as an evil omen for beginning the campaign, was intensified on its being reported that, although the standard-bearer was exerting all his might, the standard could not be pulled up.

> Latin: 3.10. <iussisset pronuntiari> 'immo Arreti ante moenia sedeamus' inquit, 'hic enim patria et penates sunt. Hannibal emissus e manibus perpopuletur Italiam uastandoque et urendo omnia ad Romana moenia perueniat, nec ante nos hinc mouerimus quam, sicut olim Camillum ab Ueiis, C. Flaminium ab Arretio patres acciuerint'. haec simul increpans cum ocius signa conuelli iuberet et ipse in equum insiluisset, equus repente corruit consulemque lapsum super caput effudit. territis omnibus qui circa erant uelut foedo omine incipiendae rei, insuper nuntiatur signum omni ui moliente signifero conuelli nequire.

[¶33] 3.13. Rounding upon the messenger the consul cried, “Do you bring me a dispatch too from the senate, forbidding me to fight? Go, tell them to dig the standard out, if their hands are too numb with fear to pull it up!” The column then began to advance, though the higher officers, besides disapproving of the consul's plan, were terrified by the double prodigy. The soldiers, most of them, rejoiced in the temerity of their commander: their hopes ran high: the grounds for hoping they did not scrutinize.

> Latin: 3.13. conuersus ad nuntium 'num litteras quoque' inquit 'ab senatu adfers quae me rem gerere uetant? abi, nuntia, effodiant signum, si ad conuellendum manus prae metu obtorpuerit'. incedere inde agmen coepit primoribus, superquam quod dissenserant ab consilio, territis etiam duplici prodigio, milite in uolgus laeto ferocia ducis, cum spem magis ipsam quam causam spei intueretur.

[¶34] 4.1. Hannibal laid waste the land between the city of Cortona and Lake Trasumennus with every circumstance of cruelty known to war, in order the more to whet his enemy's anger and prompt him to avenge the sufferings of his allies.

> Latin: 4.1. Hannibal quod agri est inter Cortonam urbem Trasumennumque lacum omni clade belli peruastat, quo magis iram hosti ad uindicandas sociorum iniurias acuat;

[¶35] 4.2. And now he had reached a spot designed by nature for an ambuscade, where Trasumennus approaches closest to the mountains of Cortona. Between them is nothing but a very narrow track, as though room had been left expressly for this purpose; the ground then widens into a little plain; beyond this the hills rise steeply.

> Latin: 4.2. et iam peruenerant ad loca nata insidiis, ubi maxime montes Cortonenses in Trasumennum sidunt. uia tantum interest perangusta, uelut ad <id> ipsum de industria relicto spatio; deinde paulo latior patescit campus;

[¶36] 4.3. At this point he laid out a camp in the open, for himself and his African and Spanish troops only; the Baliares and the rest of his light-armed forces he led round behind the mountains; the cavalry he stationed near the entrance to the defile, where some hillocks formed a convenient screen for them, so that when the Romans should have entered the pass, they might block the road, and trap the entire army between the lake and the mountains. Flaminius had reached the lake at sunset; the next morning, without reconnoitring, and scarcely waiting for broad daylight, he passed through the defile.

> Latin: 4.3. inde colles adsurgunt. ibi castra in aperto locat, ubi ipse cum Afris modo Hispanisque consideret; Baliares ceteramque leuem armaturam post montes circumducit; equites ad ipsas fauces saltus tumulis apte tegentibus locat, ut, ubi intrassent Romani, obiecto equitatu clausa omnia lacu ac montibus essent. Flaminius cum pridie solis occasu ad lacum peruenisset, inexplorato postero die uixdum satis certa luce angustiis superatis, postquam in patentiorem campum pandi agmen coepit, id tantum hostium quod ex aduerso erat conspexit:

[¶37] 4.4. As the column began to spread out on the more open ground, they caught sight of those enemies only who were right in front of them; the ambush in their rear and that above them they failed to perceive. The Phoenician had now gained his object, the Romans were hemmed in between the mountains and the lake and their escape cut off by his own troops, when he made the signal for all his forces to attack at once.

> Latin: 4.4. ab tergo ac super caput deceptae insidiae. Poenus ubi, id quod petierat, clausum lacu ac montibus et circumfusum suis copiis habuit hostem, signum omnibus dat simul inuadendi.

[¶38] 4.6. As they charged down, each at the nearest point, their onset was all the more sudden and unforeseen inasmuch as the mist from the lake lay less thickly on the heights than on the plain, and the attacking columns had been clearly visible to one another from the various hills and had therefore delivered their charge at more nearly the same instant.

> Latin: 4.6. qui ubi, qua cuique proximum fuit, decucurrerunt, eo magis Romanis subita atque improuisa res fuit, quod orta ex lacu nebula campo quam montibus densior sederat agminaque hostium ex pluribus collibus ipsa inter se satis conspecta eoque magis pariter decucurrerant.

[¶39] 4.7. From the shouting that arose on every side the Romans learned, before they could clearly see, that they were surrounded; and they were already engaged on their front and flank before they could properly form up or get out their arms and draw their swords.

> Latin: 4.7. Romanus clamore prius undique orto quam satis cerneret se circumuentum esse sensit, et ante in frontem lateraque pugnari coeptum est quam satis instrueretur acies aut expediri arma stringique gladii possent.

[¶40] 5.1. Amidst the general consternation the consul himself displayed —if allowance be made for the terrifying circumstances —considerable coolness. He brought such order as time and place permitted out of the confusion in the ranks, where the men were all turning different ways to face the various shouts; and wherever he could go and make himself heard, he tried to encourage them and bade them stand and fight.

> Latin: 5.1. consul perculsis omnibus ipse satis ut in re trepida impauidus, turbatos ordines, uertente se quoque ad dissonos clamores, instruit ut tempus locusque patitur, et quacumque adire audirique potest, adhortatur ac stare ac pugnare iubet:

[¶41] 5.2. Their position, he said, was one from which vows and supplications to the gods could not extricate them, but only their own brave exertions: it was the sword that opened a way through embattled enemies, and the less men feared, the less, in general, was their danger.

> Latin: 5.2. nec enim inde uotis aut imploratione deum sed ui ac uirtute euadendum esse; per medias acies ferro uiam fieri et quo timoris minus sit, eo minus ferme periculi esse.

[¶42] 5.3. But the din and confusion were so great that neither advice nor orders could be heard, and so far were the men from knowing their proper standards companies and places, that they had hardly enough spirit to arm and prepare themselves to fight, and some were borne down while more encumbered than protected by their armour.

> Latin: 5.3. ceterum prae strepitu ac tumultu nec consilium nec imperium accipi poterat, tantumque aberat ut sua signa atque ordines et locum noscerent, ut uix ad arma capienda aptandaque pugnae competeret animus, opprimerenturque quidam onerati magis iis quam tecti. et erat in tanta caligine maior usus aurium quam oculorum.

[¶43] 5.4. Indeed the fog was so thick that ears were of more use than eyes, and the groans of the wounded, the sound of blows on body or armour and the mingled shouts and screams of assailants and assailed made them turn and gaze, now this way and now that.

> Latin: 5.4. ad gemitus uolnerum ictusque corporum aut armorum et mixtos strepentium pauentiumque clamores circumferebant ora oculosque.

[¶44] 5.5. Some, as they sought to escape, were swept into a crowd of combatants and held there; others, trying to get back into the fight, were turned aside by a throng of fugitives.

> Latin: 5.5. alii fugientes pugnantium globo inlati haerebant; alios redeuntes in pugnam auertebat fugientium agmen.

[¶45] 5.6. When attempts to break through had resulted everywhere in failure and they found themselves shut in on the flanks by the mountains and the lake, and in front and rear by the enemy; when it became apparent that their only hope of safety lay in their right arms and their swords; then every man became his own commander and urged himself to action, and the battle began all over again. It was no ordered battle, with the troops marshalled in triple line, nor did the vanguard fight before the standards and the rest of the army behind them, neither did each soldier keep to his proper legion cohort and maniple:

> Latin: 5.6. deinde, ubi in omnes partes nequiquam impetus capti et ab lateribus montes ac lacus, a fronte et ab tergo hostium acies claudebat apparuitque nullam nisi in dextera ferroque salutis spem esse, tum sibi quisque dux adhortatorque factus ad rem gerendam, et noua de integro exorta pugna est, non illa ordinata per principes hastatosque ac triarios nec ut pro signis antesignani, post signa alia pugnaret acies nec ut in sua legione miles aut cohorte aut manipulo esset;

[¶46] 5.8. it was chance that grouped them, and every man's own valour assigned him his post in van or rear; and such was the frenzy of their eagerness and so absorbed were they in fighting, that an earthquake, violent enough to overthrow large portions of many of the towns of Italy, turn swift streams from their courses, carry the sea up into rivers, and bring down mountains with great landslides, was not even felt by any of the combatants.

> Latin: 5.8. fors conglobat et animus suus cuique ante aut post pugnandi ordinem dabat tantusque fuit ardor animorum, adeo intentus pugnae animus, ut eum motum terrae qui multarum urbium Italiae magnas partes prostrauit auertitque cursu rapidos amnes, mare fluminibus inuexit, montes lapsu ingenti proruit, nemo pugnantium senserit.

[¶47] 6.1. The conflict lasted for about three hours, and was bitterly contested at every point; but nowhere did it rage so fiercely as about the consul.

> Latin: 6.1. tres ferme horas pugnatum est et ubique atrociter; circa consulem tamen acrior infestiorque pugna est.

[¶48] 6.2. He was attended by the bravest of his soldiers and stoutly lent a hand himself, wherever he saw the Romans hard pressed and in dire straits. His arms made him conspicuous, and the enemy attacked and his own people defended him with the greatest fury, until an Insubrian horseman, named Ducarius, who recognized the consul also by his face, cried out to his countrymen, “Behold the man who massacred our legions and laid waste our fields and our city! Now will I offer him up as a sacrifice to the shades of our fellow citizens so foully slain!”

> Latin: 6.2. eum et robora uirorum sequebantur et ipse, quacumque in parte premi ac laborare senserat suos, impigre ferebat opem, insignemque armis et hostes summa ui petebant et tuebantur ciues, donec Insuber eques—Ducario nomen erat—facie quoque noscitans consulem, '<en>' inquit 'hic est' popularibus suis, 'qui legiones nostras cecidit agrosque et urbem est depopulatus; iam ego hanc uictimam manibus peremptorum foede ciuium dabo'. subditisque calcaribus equo per confertissimam hostium turbam impetum facit obtruncatoque prius armigero, qui se infesto uenienti obuiam obiecerat, consulem lancea transfixit;

[¶49] 6.4. Then clapping spurs to his horse, he dashed through the very thick of his enemies, and first cutting down the armour-bearer, who had thrown himself in the way of his onset, transfixed the consul with his spear, but could not despoil him, for the veterans interposed their shields and kept him off. A great part of the Romans now began to run; neither lake nor mountains could any longer check the panic; defiles and precipices were all alike to them, as they rushed blindly to escape, and arms and men came down pell-mell together.

> Latin: 6.4. spoliare cupientem triarii obiectis scutis arcuere. magnae partis fuga inde primum coepit; et iam nec lacus nec montes pauori obstabant; per omnia arta praeruptaque uelut caeci euadunt, armaque et uiri super alium alii praecipitantur.

[¶50] 6.6. Many, having no room to flee, waded out into the shallow water at the margin of the lake, and kept on till only their heads and shoulders were above the surface.

> Latin: 6.6. pars magna, ubi locus fugae deest, per prima uada paludis in aquam progressi, quoad capitibus [umeris] exstare possunt, sese immergunt; fuere quos inconsultus pauor nando etiam capessere fugam impulerit;

[¶51] 6.7. Some were driven by their unreasoning panic even to attempt escape by swimming; but this was an endless, desperate undertaking, and either their hearts failed them and they sank in the deep water, or else, exhausted to no purpose, they struggled back with difficulty to the shoals, and were cut down on every hand by the horsemen, who rode into the water after them.

> Latin: 6.7. quae ubi immensa ac sine spe erat, aut deficientibus animis hauriebantur gurgitibus aut nequiquam fessi uada retro aegerrime repetebant atque ibi ab ingressis aquam hostium equitibus passim trucidabantur.

[¶52] 6.8. Some six thousand of those in the van made a valiant thrust through the enemy that barred their way, and got out of the defile without knowing anything of what was going on behind them. Taking up their stand on some rising ground, whence they could only hear the shouting and the clash of arms, they could neither know nor make out, for the murk, which way the victory was going.

> Latin: 6.8. sex milia ferme primi agminis per aduersos hostes eruptione impigre facta, ignari omnium quae post se agerentur, ex saltu euasere et, cum in tumulo quodam constitissent, clamorem modo ac sonum armorum audientes, quae fortuna pugnae esset neque scire nec perspicere prae caligine poterant.

[¶53] 6.9. It was not until the battle was decided, that the mist dissolved with the growing heat of the sun and revealed the day, when the clear light on hill and plain showed that all was lost and the Roman army shamefully discomfited.

> Latin: 6.9. inclinata denique re, cum incalescente sole dispulsa nebula aperuisset diem, tum liquida iam luce montes campique perditas res stratamque ostendere foede Romanam aciem.

[¶54] 6.10. And so, lest they should be seen afar and the enemy's cavalry be sent against them, they hurriedly pulled up their standards and marched off as fast as they could go.

> Latin: 6.10. itaque ne in conspectos procul immitteretur eques, sublatis raptim signis quam citatissimo poterant agmine sese abripuerunt.

[¶55] 6.11. On the following day, when besides their other misfortunes they were threatened also with the extremity of hunger, Maharbal —who with all the cavalry had overtaken them in the night —pledged his word that if they delivered up their arms, he would let them go, with a single garment each, and they surrendered.

> Latin: 6.11. postero die cum super cetera extrema fames etiam instaret, fidem dante Maharbale, qui cum omnibus equestribus copiis nocte consecutus erat, si arma tradidissent, abire cum singulis uestimentis passurum, sese dediderunt;

[¶56] 6.12. This pledge Hannibal observed with true Punic reverence and threw them all into chains.

> Latin: 6.12. quae Punica religione seruata fides ab Hannibale est atque in uincula omnes coniecti.

[¶57] 7.1. Such was the famous battle of Trasumennus, a disaster memorable as few others have been in Roman history.

> Latin: 7.1. haec est nobilis ad Trasumennum pugna atque inter paucas memorata populi Romani clades.

[¶58] 7.2. Fifteen thousand Romans were killed on the field; ten thousand, scattered in flight over all Etruria, made their way by different roads to the City.

> Latin: 7.2. quindecim milia Romanorum in acie caesa sunt; decem milia sparsa fuga per omnem Etruriam auersis itineribus urbem petiere;

[¶59] 7.3. Two thousand five hundred of the enemy fell in the battle and many perished subsequently of their wounds. Some writers multiply the losses on both sides: I myself, besides that I would not idly exaggerate anything —a vice to which historians are in general all too prone —have taken Fabius, who lived at the time of this war, as my authority, in preference to any other.

> Latin: 7.3. duo milia quingenti hostium in acie, multi postea [utrimque] ex uolneribus periere. multiplex caedes utrimque facta traditur ab aliis; ego praeterquam quod nihil auctum ex uano uelim, quo nimis inclinant ferme scribentium animi, Fabium, aequalem temporibus huiusce belli, potissimum auctorem habui.

[¶60] 7.5. Hannibal dismissed scot-free the prisoners of the Latin name and gave the Romans into captivity. Having issued orders that the bodies of his own dead should be sorted out from the heaps of their enemies and buried, he would have given the body of Flaminius burial also, but though he-caused it to be searched for with great diligence, he could not find it.

> Latin: 7.5. Hannibal captiuorum qui Latini nominis essent sine pretio dimissis, Romanis in uincula datis, segregata ex hostium coaceruatorum cumulis corpora suorum cum sepeliri iussisset, Flamini quoque corpus funeris causa magna cum cura inquisitum non inuenit.

[¶61] 7.6. At Rome the first tidings of this defeat brought the citizens into the Forum in a frightened and tumultuous throng, while the matrons wandered about the streets and demanded of all they met what sudden disaster had been reported and how it was going with the army.

> Latin: 7.6. Romae ad primum nuntium cladis eius cum ingenti terrore ac tumultu concursus in forum populi est factus.

[¶62] 7.7. And when the crowd, like some vast public assembly, turned to the Comitium and the senate-house and called for the magistrates, at last, as the sun was almost going down, Marcus Pomponius, the praetor, said, “A great battle has been fought, and we were beaten.”

> Latin: 7.7. matronae uagae per uias, quae repens clades allata quaeue fortuna exercitus esset, obuios percontantur; et cum frequentis contionis modo turba in comitium et curiam uersa magistratus uocaret, tandem haud multo ante solis occasum M.

[¶63] 7.8. And although they learned nothing more definite from him, still they picked up a rumour here and a rumour there, and returning to their homes brought word that the consul and a great part of his soldiers had been slain:

> Latin: 7.8. Pomponius praetor 'pugna' inquit 'magna uicti sumus'. et quamquam nihil certius ex eo auditum est, tamen alius ab alio impleti rumoribus domos referunt:

[¶64] 7.9. that only a few survived, either dispersed as fugitives throughout Etruria or taken prisoners by the enemy.

> Latin: 7.9. consulem cum magna parte copiarum caesum; superesse paucos aut fuga passim per Etruriam sparsos aut captos ab hoste.

[¶65] 7.10. The vicissitudes of the defeated army were no more various than the apprehensions which preyed upon the minds of those whose relatives had served under Gaius Flaminius, the consul. They were ignorant of how those dear to each of them were faring, nor did anyone really know what to hope or fear.

> Latin: 7.10. quot casus exercitus uicti fuerant, tot in curas distracti animi eorum erant quorum propinqui sub C. Flaminio consule meruerant, ignorantium quae cuiusque suorum fortuna esset; nec quisquam satis certum habet quid aut speret aut timeat.

[¶66] 7.11. On the next and on several succeeding days the City gates were thronged with a crowd in which the women almost outnumbered the men, waiting for some kinsman, or for news of him. Surrounding anybody who came along, they plied him with questions, nor could they tear themselves away —especially from those they were acquainted with —until they had enquired into every detail.

> Latin: 7.11. postero ac deinceps aliquot diebus ad portas maior prope mulierum quam uirorum multitudo stetit, aut suorum aliquem aut nuntios de iis opperiens; circumfundebanturque obuiis sciscitantes neque auelli, utique ab notis, priusquam ordine omnia inquisissent, poterant.

[¶67] 7.12. Very different were the expressions you would have noted in their countenances, according as the tidings they received were glad or sorrowful, when they moved away from their informants and returned to their homes, surrounded by friends, congratulating or consoling them.

> Latin: 7.12. inde uarios uoltus digredientium ab nuntiis cerneres, ut cuique laeta aut tristia nuntiabantur, gratulantesque aut consolantes redeuntibus domos circumfusos. feminarum praecipue et gaudia insignia erant et luctus.

[¶68] 7.13. The women especially exhibited extremes of joy and grief; one, on suddenly meeting her son safe and sound at the very gate, expired, they say, in his embrace; another, whose son had been falsely reported dead, sat sorrowing at home, and no sooner beheld him entering the house, than she died of excessive joy.

> Latin: 7.13. unam in ipsa porta sospiti filio repente oblatam in complexu eius exspirasse ferunt; alteram, cui mors filii falso nuntiata erat, maestam sedentem domi, ad primum conspectum redeuntis filii gaudio nimio exanimatam.

[¶69] 7.14. For some days the praetors kept the senate in session in the Curia, from sunrise until sunset, deliberating with what possible commander or what forces they could withstand the victorious Phoenicians.

> Latin: 7.14. senatum praetores per dies aliquot ab orto usque ad occidentem solem in curia retinent, consultantes quonam duce aut quibus copiis resisti uictoribus Poenis posset.

[¶70] 8.1. They had not yet fully determined what to do, when, lo! another disaster was reported, for which they were quite unprepared. Four thousand horse under the propraetor Gaius Centenius had been sent by the Consul Servilius to join his colleague; but on hearing of the battle at Trasumennus they had turned aside into Umbria, and had there fallen into the hands of Hannibal.

> Latin: 8.1. priusquam satis certa consilia essent, repens alia nuntiatur clades, quattuor milia equitum cum C. Centenio propraetore missa ad collegam ab Seruilio consule in Umbria, quo post pugnam ad Trasumennum auditam auerterant iter, ab Hannibale circumuenta.

[¶71] 8.2. The news of this affair affected people variously: some, whose thoughts were taken up with a greater sorrow, regarded this fresh loss of the cavalry as trivial in comparison with their former losses;

> Latin: 8.2. eius rei fama uarie homines adfecit. pars occupatis maiore aegritudine animis leuem ex comparatione priorum ducere recentem equitum iacturam;

[¶72] 8.3. others refused to judge of the misfortune as an isolated fact, but held that, just as when a man was sick, any disorder, however slight, was felt more than a worse one would be by a healthy man, so now, when the state was sick and suffering, any untoward occurrence should be gauged not by its intrinsic importance but by the enfeebled condition of the commonwealth, which could endure no aggravation.

> Latin: 8.3. pars non id quod acciderat per se aestimare sed, ut in adfecto corpore quamuis leuis causa magis quam <in> ualido grauior sentiretur, ita tum aegrae et adfectae ciuitati quodcumque aduersi inciderit, non rerum magnitudine sed uiribus extenuatis, quae nihil quod adgrauaret pati possent, aestimandum esse.

[¶73] 8.5. And so the citizens had recourse to a remedy that had now for a long time neither been employed nor needed —the creation of a dictator. And because the consul, who alone was supposed to possess the power to nominate one, was absent, and because it was no easy matter, when Italy was beset with Punic arms, to get a courier or a letter through to him, they did what had never been done until that day, and created a dictator by popular election.

> Latin: 8.5. itaque ad remedium iam diu neque desideratum nec adhibitum, dictatorem dicendum, ciuitas confugit; et quia et consul aberat, a quo uno dici posse uidebatur, nec per occupatam armis Punicis Italiam facile erat aut nuntium aut litteras mitti [nec dictatorem populus creare poterat], quod nunquam ante eam diem factum erat, dictatorem populus creauit Q.

[¶74] 8.6. Their choice fell on Quintus Fabius Maximus, and Marcus Minucius Rufus they made master of the horse.

> Latin: 8.6. Fabium Maximum et magistrum equitum M. Minucium Rufum;

[¶75] 8.7. To them the senate entrusted the task of strengthening the walls and towers of the City, of disposing its defences as to them seemed good, and of breaking down the bridges over the rivers: they would have to fight for their City and their homes, since they had not been able to save Italy.

> Latin: 8.7. iisque negotium ab senatu datum, ut muros turresque urbis firmarent et praesidia disponerent, quibus locis uideretur, pontesque rescinderent fluminum: pro urbe dimicandum esse ac penatibus quando Italiam tueri nequissent.

[¶76] 9.1. Hannibal marched straight on through Umbria as far as Spoletium.

> Latin: 9.1. Hannibal recto itinere per Umbriam usque ad Spoletium uenit.

[¶77] 9.2. But when, after systematically ravaging the country, he attempted to storm the town, he was repulsed with heavy losses; and conjecturing from the strength of a single colony which he had unsuccessfully attacked how vast an undertaking the City of Rome would be, he turned aside into the Picentine territory, a land not only abounding in all kinds of produce, but filled with livestock, which his greedy and impoverished men gathered in from far and wide.

> Latin: 9.2. inde, cum perpopulato agro urbem oppugnare adortus esset, cum magna caede suorum repulsus, coniectans ex unius coloniae minus prospere temptatae uiribus quanta moles Romanae urbis esset, in agrum Picenum auertit iter, non copia solum omnis generis frugum abundantem sed refertum praeda, quam effuse auidi atque egentes rapiebant.

[¶78] 9.4. He remained in camp there for some days, while his soldiers recovered from the marches they had made in wintry weather and through swamps, and from the battle, which, however successful its outcome, had been no light or easy adventure.

> Latin: 9.4. ibi per dies aliquot statiua habita refectusque miles hibernis itineribus ac palustri uia proelioque magis ad euentum secundo quam leui aut facili adfectus.

[¶79] 9.5. After allowing sufficient rest to his soldiers, who delighted more in booty and rapine than in quiet and repose, he resumed his march and laid waste the Praetutian and Hadrian fields, and after these the lands of the Marsi, Marrucini and Paeligni, and the nearest part of Apulia, in the vicinity of Arpi and Luceria.

> Latin: 9.5. ubi satis quietis datum praeda ac populationibus magis quam otio aut requie gaudentibus, profectus Praetutianum Hadrianumque agrum, Marsos inde Marrucinosque et Paelignos deuastat circaque Arpos et Luceriam proximam Apuliae regionem.

[¶80] 9.6. Gnaeus Servilius, the consul, had engaged in skirmishes with the Gauls and had taken one insignificant town by assault, when he learned of the destruction of his colleague and the army, and being now alarmed for the safety of the capital, lest he should be absent in the very crisis of its peril, set out for Rome.

> Latin: 9.6. Cn. Seruilius consul leuibus proeliis cum Gallis factis et uno oppido ignobili expugnato, postquam de collegae exercitusque caede audiuit, iam moenibus patriae metuens ne abesset in discrimine extremo, ad urbem iter intendit.

[¶81] 9.7. Quintus Fabius Maximus, dictator now for the second time, convened the senate on the day he entered upon his office. Taking up first the question of religion, he convinced the Fathers that the consul Flaminius had erred more through his neglect of the ceremonies and the auspices than through his recklessness and ignorance; and asserting that they ought to enquire of the gods themselves how the displeasure of the gods might be appeased, prevailed with them to do what is rarely done except when dreadful prodigies have been announced, and order the decemvirs to consult the Sibylline books.

> Latin: 9.7. Q. Fabius Maximus dictator iterum quo die magistratum iniit uocato senatu, ab dis orsus, cum edocuisset patres plus neglegentia caerimoniarum quam temeritate atque inscitia peccatum a C. Flaminio consule esse quaeque piacula irae deum essent ipsos deos consulendos esse, peruicit ut, quod non ferme decernitur nisi cum taetra prodigia nuntiata sunt, decemuiri libros Sibyllinos adire iuberentur.

[¶82] 9.9. When the decemvirs had inspected the Books of Fate, they reported to the Fathers that the vow which had been made to Mars on account of this war had not been duly performed, and must be performed afresh and on an ampler scale; that great games must be vowed to Jupiter, and temples to Venus Erycina and to Mens; and finally that a supplication and lectisternium must be celebrated in honour of the gods, and a Sacred Spring be vowed, if they proved victorious and the state remained as it had been before the outbreak of hostilities.

> Latin: 9.9. qui inspectis fatalibus libris rettulerunt patribus, quod eius belli causa uotum Marti foret, id non rite factum de integro atque amplius faciundum esse, et Ioui ludos magnos et aedes Ueneri Erycinae ac Menti uouendas esse, et supplicationem lectisterniumque habendum, et uer sacrum uouendum si bellatum prospere esset resque publica in eodem quo ante bellum fuisset statu permansisset.

[¶83] 9.11. The senate, seeing that Fabius would be occupied with the conduct of the war, commanded Marcus Aemilius the praetor, as the college of pontifices had recommended, to see that all these measures were promptly put into effect.

> Latin: 9.11. senatus, quoniam Fabium belli cura occupatura esset, M. Aemilium praetorem, ex collegii pontificum sententia omnia ea ut mature fiant, curare iubet.

[¶84] 10.1. When the senate had passed these resolutions, the praetor consulted the college, and Lucius Cornelius Lentulus, the Pontifex Maximus, gave his opinion that first of all a popular vote must be taken about the Sacred Spring; for it could not be vowed without the authorization of the people.

> Latin: 10.1. his senatus consultis perfectis, L. Cornelius Lentulus pontifex maximus consulente collegium praetore omnium primum populum consulendum de uere sacro censet: iniussu populi uoueri non posse.

[¶85] 10.2. The question was put to them in this form: “Do you will and so order that these things be done in the manner following? If the Republic of the Roman People, the Quirites, shall be preserved for the next five years —as I would wish it preserved —in ” “these wars, to wit, the war of the Roman People with the People of Carthage and the wars with the Gauls on this side of the Alps, let the Roman People, the Quirites, offer up in indefeasible sacrifice to Jupiter what the spring shall have produced of swine, sheep, goats and cattle —which shall not have been consecrated to some other deity —beginning with the day which the senate and the People shall have designated.”

> Latin: 10.2. rogatus in haec uerba populus: 'uelitis iubeatisne haec sic fieri? si res publica populi Romani Quiritium ad quinquennium proximum, sicut uelim <uou>eamque, salua seruata erit hisce duellis, quod duellum populo Romano cum Carthaginiensi est quaeque duella cum Gallis sunt qui cis Alpes sunt, tum donum duit populus Romanus Quiritium quod uer attulerit ex suillo ouillo caprino bouillo grege quaeque profana erunt Ioui fieri, ex qua die senatus populusque iusserit.

[¶86] 10.4. “Let him who shall make a sacrifice do so at such time and by such rite as shall seem good to him; in what manner soever he does it, let it be accounted duly done.”

> Latin: 10.4. qui faciet, quando uolet quaque lege uolet facito; quo modo faxit probe factum esto.

[¶87] 10.5. “If the animal which he ought to sacrifice dies, let it be deemed unconsecrate and let no guilt attach to him; if any shall hurt it or slay it unawares, let it be no sin; if any shall steal it, let no guilt attach to the People nor to him from whom it shall have been stolen;”

> Latin: 10.5. si id moritur quod fieri oportebit, profanum esto, neque scelus esto. si quis rumpet occidetue insciens, ne fraus esto. si quis clepsit, ne populo scelus esto neue cui cleptum erit. si atro die faxit insciens, probe factum esto.

[¶88] 10.6. “if he shall sacrifice unwittingly on a black day, let the sacrifice be deemed to have been duly made; by night or by day, if slave or freeman perform the sacrifice, let it be deemed to have been duly made; if sacrifice shall be performed before the senate and the People shall have ordered it to be performed, let the People be absolved therefrom and free ” “of obligation.”

> Latin: 10.6. si nocte siue luce, si seruus siue liber faxit, probe factum esto. si antidea senatus populusque iusserit fieri ac faxitur, eo populus solutus liber esto.' eiusdem rei causa ludi magni uoti aeris trecentis triginta tribus milibus, <trecentis triginta tribus> triente, praeterea bubus Ioui trecentis, multis aliis diuis bubus albis atque ceteris hostiis.