---
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: 7 of 50
url: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/7/
cite: "Livy, tr. Benjamin Oliver Foster and Frank Gardner Moore, History of Rome, Books XXI–XXX · Ab urbe condita XXI–XXX, section 7. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/7/"
---

# 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.

## 7. Book XXII · chapters 10–20

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/7/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/7/#p-N

[¶0] 10.8. For the same cause great games were vowed, to cost three hundred and thirty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty-three and a third bronze asses, and, besides, a sacrifice to Jupiter of three hundred oxen, and of white oxen and the other customary victims to many other gods. When the vows had been duly pronounced, a supplication was decreed, and was performed not only by the urban population, with their wives and children, but by such country folk besides, as, having some fortune of their own, were beginning to feel concern for the Commonwealth.

> Latin: 10.8. uotis rite nuncupatis supplicatio edicta; supplicatumque iere cum coniugibus ac liberis non urbana multitudo tantum sed agrestium etiam, quos in aliqua sua fortuna publica quoque contingebat cura.

[¶1] 10.9. A lectisternium was then celebrated during three days under the supervision of the decemvirs who had charge of sacrifices. Six couches were displayed: one for Jupiter and Juno, a second for Neptune and Minerva, a third for Mars and Venus, a fourth for Apollo and Diana, a fifth for Vulcan and Vesta, a sixth for Mercury and Ceres.

> Latin: 10.9. tum lectisternium per triduum habitum decemuiris sacrorum curantibus: sex puluinaria in conspectu fuerunt, Ioui ac Iunoni unum, alterum Neptuno ac Mineruae, tertium Marti ac Ueneri, quartum Apollini ac Dianae, quintum Uolcano ac Uestae, sextum Mercurio et Cereri.

[¶2] 10.10. The temples were then vowed —that to Venus Erycina by Quintus Fabius Maximus the dictator, because the Books of Fate had given out that he whose authority in the state was paramount should make the vow; and the temple to Mens by the praetor Titus Otacilius.

> Latin: 10.10. tum aedes uotae. Ueneri Erycinae aedem Q. Fabius Maximus dictator uouit, quia ita ex fatalibus libris editum erat ut is uoueret cuius maximum imperium in ciuitate esset; Menti aedem T. Otacilius praetor uouit.

[¶3] 11.1. Religious duties being thus acquitted, the dictator turned to affairs of war and state, and called upon the senate to decide with what and how many legions the victorious enemy should be faced.

> Latin: 11.1. ita rebus diuinis peractis, tum de bello reque [de] publica dictator rettulit quibus quotue legionibus uictori hosti obuiam eundum esse patres censerent.

[¶4] 11.2. It was voted that he should take over the army of Gnaeus Servilius, the consul; that he should enroll, besides, from the citizens and the allies, as many horsemen and foot-soldiers as seemed good to him; and with regard to all other questions should act as he deemed conducive to the welfare of the state.

> Latin: 11.2. decretum ut ab Cn. Seruilio consule exercitum acciperet; scriberet praeterea ex ciuibus sociisque quantum equitum ac peditum uideretur; cetera omnia ageret faceretque ut e re publica duceret.

[¶5] 11.3. Fabius announced that he should add two legions to the army that Servilius had commanded. These legions he enlisted, through his master of the horse, and commanded them to assemble at Tibur on a given day.

> Latin: 11.3. Fabius duas legiones se adiecturum ad Seruilianum exercitum dixit. iis per magistrum equitum scriptis Tibur diem ad conueniendum edixit.

[¶6] 11.4. He also issued an edict that those who dwelt in unfortified towns and hamlets should remove to places of safety; and that all the inhabitants of that district where Hannibal was likely to be marching should abandon their farms, first burning the buildings and destroying the crops, that there might be no supplies for him of any kind. He himself went out by the Flaminian way to meet the consul and his army, and when, close to the Tiber near Ocriculum, he came in sight of the column and saw the consul riding towards him at the head of his cavalry, he dispatched an orderly to bid the consul appear before the dictator without lictors.

> Latin: 11.4. edictoque proposito ut, quibus oppida castellaque immunita essent, ut ii commigrarent in loca tuta, ex agris quoque demigrarent omnes regionis eius qua iturus Hannibal esset tectis prius incensis ac frugibus corruptis ne cuius rei copia esset, ipse uia Flaminia profectus obuiam consuli exercituque, cum ad Tiberim circa Ocriculum prospexisset agmen consulemque cum equitibus ad se progredientem, <substitit> uiatore misso qui consuli nuntiaret ut sine lictoribus ad dictatorem ueniret.

[¶7] 11.6. The consul obeyed, and their meeting vividly impressed the greatness of the dictatorship on citizens and allies, who had now, with the lapse of years, almost forgotten that supreme authority. Just then a dispatch was delivered from the City, announcing that ships of burden with supplies from Ostia for the army in Spain had been captured by the Punic fleet off the port of Cosa.

> Latin: 11.6. qui cum dicto paruisset congressusque eorum ingentem speciem dictaturae apud ciues sociosque uetustate iam prope oblitos eius imperii fecisset, litterae ab urbe allatae sunt naues onerarias commeatum ab Ostia in Hispaniam ad exercitum portantes a classe Punica circa portum Cosanum captas esse.

[¶8] 11.7. Accordingly, the consul was ordered to set out at once for Ostia and, manning such ships as were at Rome or Ostia with soldiers and naval allies, to pursue the enemy's fleet and protect the coasts of Italy.

> Latin: 11.7. itaque extemplo consul Ostiam proficisci iussus nauibusque quae ad urbem Romanam aut Ostiae essent completis milite ac naualibus sociis persequi hostium classem ac litora Italiae tutari.

[¶9] 11.8. A vast number of men had been enrolled in Rome; even freedmen who had children and were of military age had taken the oath.

> Latin: 11.8. magna uis hominum conscripta Romae erat; libertini etiam, quibus liberi essent et aetas militaris, in uerba iurauerant.

[¶10] 11.9. Of this urban levy those who were less than thirty-five years old were sent on board the ships; the others were left to garrison the City.

> Latin: 11.9. ex hoc urbano exercitu, qui minores quinque et triginta annis erant, in naues impositi, alii ut urbi praesiderent relicti.

[¶11] 12.1. The dictator, after taking over the consul's army from Fulvius Flaccus, his lieutenant, marched through the Sabine country to Tibur, where he had given the new levies notice to assemble on a certain day.

> Latin: 12.1. dictator exercitu consulis accepto a Fuluio Flacco legato per agrum Sabinum Tibur, quo diem ad conueniendum edixerat nouis militibus, uenit.

[¶12] 12.2. From Tibur he marched to Praeneste, and striking across the country came out into the Latin Way, and then, reconnoitring the roads with the utmost circumspection, advanced in the direction of the enemy, though resolved nowhere to commit himself to fortune, except in so far as necessity might compel him.

> Latin: 12.2. inde Praeneste ac transuersis limitibus in uiam Latinam est egressus, unde itineribus summa cum cura exploratis ad hostem ducit, nullo loco, nisi quantum necessitas cogeret, fortunae se commissurus.

[¶13] 12.3. On the day when Fabius first encamped in sight of the enemy, not far from Arpi, the Phoenician promptly led out his forces into line and offered battle.

> Latin: 12.3. quo primum die haud procul Arpis in conspectu hostium posuit castra, nulla mora facta quin Poenus educeret in aciem copiamque pugnandi faceret.

[¶14] 12.4. But when he perceived that all was quiet on the other side, and could hear no sounds of commotion in their camp, he went back to his quarters, exclaiming scornfully that the boasted martial spirit of the Romans was broken at last, that the war was fought and won, that they had openly bade valour and renown farewell;

> Latin: 12.4. sed ubi quieta omnia apud hostes nec castra ullo tumultu mota uidet, increpans quidem uictos tandem illos Martios animos Romanis, debellatumque et concessum propalam de uirtute ac gloria esse, in castra rediit;

[¶15] 12.5. but in the silence of his heart he was troubled by the thought that he would have a general to deal with by no means like Flaminius or Sempronius, since the Romans, schooled by their misfortunes, had now at last sought out a leader to match Hannibal.

> Latin: 12.5. ceterum tacita cura animum incessit quod cum duce haudquaquam Flamini Sempronique simili futura sibi res esset ac tum demum edocti malis Romani parem Hannibali ducem quaesissent.

[¶16] 12.6. The prudence of the dictator was indeed an immediate source of worry to him, but, possessing as yet no experience of his firmness, he began to provoke and try his temper by frequent shifting of his camp and by pillaging the lands of the allies before his very eyes. Now he would march off rapidly and disappear; and now would lie in wait at some turn of the road, in hopes to cut the Romans off when they had descended on to level ground.

> Latin: 12.6. et prudentiam quidem [non uim] dictatoris extemplo timuit; constantiam hauddum expertus, agitare ac temptare animum mouendo crebro castra populandoque in oculis eius agros sociorum coepit, et modo citato agmine ex conspectu abibat, modo repente in aliquo flexu uiae, si excipere degressum in aequum posset, occultus subsistebat.

[¶17] 12.8. Fabius kept leading his troops along the heights, at a moderate distance from the enemy, so as neither to lose touch nor yet come to blows with him. He would keep his men in camp, except for such necessary duties as obliged their leaving it; when they went out for wood and fodder, they were neither few in number nor dispersed;

> Latin: 12.8. Fabius per loca alta agmen ducebat, modico ab hoste interuallo ut neque omitteret eum neque congrederetur. castris, nisi quantum usus necessarii cogerent, tenebatur miles; pabulum et ligna nec pauci petebant nec passim;

[¶18] 12.9. a corps of cavalry and skirmishers drawn up and ready for sudden onsets made everything safe for his own men and dangerous for the scattered pillagers of the enemy.

> Latin: 12.9. equitum leuisque armaturae statio, composita instructaque in subitos tumultus, et suo militi tuta omnia et infesta effusis hostium populatoribus praebebat;

[¶19] 12.10. He refused to stake all on a general engagement, and yet by means of little skirmishes, undertaken from a safe position and with a place of refuge close at hand, he at length accustomed his soldiers, disheartened by their former defeats, to be less diffident of their own courage and good fortune.

> Latin: 12.10. neque uniuerso periculo summa rerum committebatur et parua momenta leuium certaminum ex tuto coeptorum, finitimo receptu, adsuefaciebant territum pristinis cladibus militem minus iam tandem aut uirtutis aut fortunae paenitere suae.

[¶20] 12.11. But even Hannibal was not more vexed by these prudent measures than was the master of the horse, who was only withheld from plunging the nation into ruin by his subordinate authority. Violent and hasty in his opinions and of unbridled tongue, he spoke of Fabius —at first in the hearing of a few, but after a time quite openly to everybody —not as deliberate but as slothful, not as cautious but as timid, inventing faults that neighboured on his virtues; and exalted himself by disparaging his superior —an infamous practice, which has grown in favour from the all too great prosperity of many who have followed it.

> Latin: 12.11. sed non Hannibalem magis infestum tam sanis consiliis habebat quam magistrum equitum, qui nihil aliud quam quod impar erat imperio morae ad rem publicam praecipitandam habebat. ferox rapidusque consiliis ac lingua immodicus, primo inter paucos, dein propalam in uolgus, pro cunctatore segnem, pro cauto timidum, adfingens uicina uirtutibus uitia, compellabat, premendoque superiorem, quae pessima ars nimis prosperis multorum successibus creuit, sese extollebat.

[¶21] 13.1. Hannibal, leaving the Hirpini, crossed over into Samnium, laid waste the lands of Beneventum, and captured the city of Telesia. He even deliberately sought to vex the Roman general, for he hoped that by so often insulting and distressing his allies he might anger him and induce him to come down and fight on equal terms.

> Latin: 13.1. Hannibal ex Hirpinis in Samnium transit, Beneuentanum depopulatur agrum, Telesiam urbem capit, inritat etiam de industria Romanum ducem, si forte accensum tot indignitatibus [cladibus] sociorum detrahere ad aequum certamen possit.

[¶22] 13.2. Amongst the numerous allies of Italian stock who had been made prisoners by Hannibal at Trasumennus and afterwards released were three Campanian knights, whom he had even then enticed with gifts and promises to procure for him the goodwill of their countrymen.

> Latin: 13.2. inter multitudinem sociorum Italici generis, qui ad Trasumennum capti ab Hannibale dimissique fuerant, tres Campani equites erant, multis iam tum inlecti donis promissisque Hannibalis ad conciliandos popularium animos.

[¶23] 13.3. These men now informed him that if he would bring his army into Campania the opportunity would be afforded him of taking Capua. It was a weighty undertaking for such men to enter into, and Hannibal hesitated, now trusting and again distrusting them, but in the end they persuaded him to march from Samnium into Campania.

> Latin: 13.3. hi nuntiantes si in Campaniam exercitum admouisset Capuae potiendae copiam fore, cum res maior quam auctores esset, dubium Hannibalem alternisque fidentem ac diffidentem tamen ut Campaniam ex Samnio peteret mouerunt.

[¶24] 13.4. He warned them again and again to confirm their words with deeds, and dismissed them with orders to come back to him with more people, including some of their leading men.

> Latin: 13.4. monitos etiam atque etiam promissa rebus adfirmarent iussosque cum pluribus et aliquibus principum redire ad se dimisit.

[¶25] 13.5. He then ordered his guide to conduct him to the territory of Casinum, for he had been told by those who knew the country that if he occupied that pass he could keep the Romans from marching to the aid of their allies.

> Latin: 13.5. ipse imperat duci ut se in agrum Casinatem ducat, edoctus a peritis regionum, si eum saltum occupasset, exitum Romano ad opem ferendam sociis interclusurum;

[¶26] 13.6. But the difficulty experienced by Carthaginians in pronouncing Latin names caused the guide to understand Casilinum instead of Casinum; and quitting the proper road he led him down through the districts of Allifae, Caiatia and Cales into the Plain of Stella.

> Latin: 13.6. sed Punicum abhorrens ab Latinorum nominum <locutione os, Casilinum> pro Casino dux ut acciperet, fecit, auersusque ab suo itinere per Allifanum Caiatinumque et Calenum agrum in campum Stellatem descendit.

[¶27] 13.7. There Hannibal, looking round on the mountains and rivers that enclosed the plain, called up the guide and asked him where in the world he was.

> Latin: 13.7. ubi cum montibus fluminibusque clausam regionem circumspexisset, uocatum ducem percontatur ubi terrarum esset.

[¶28] 13.8. And only when the guide had answered that he should lodge that night in Casilinum, did he perceive at last how the man had blundered, and that Casinum lay far off in another direction.

> Latin: 13.8. cum is Casilini eo die mansurum eum dixisset, tum demum cognitus est error et Casinum longe inde alia regione esse;

[¶29] 13.9. Whereupon he scourged the guide, and, to terrify the others, crucified him, and going into camp behind entrenchments, dispatched Maharbal with the cavalry to ravage the Falernian countryside. The devastation extended even to the Baths of Sinuessa.

> Latin: 13.9. uirgisque caeso duce et ad reliquorum terrorem in crucem sublato, castris communitis Maharbalem cum equitibus in agrum Falernum praedatum dimisit. usque ad aquas Sinuessanas populatio ea peruenit.

[¶30] 13.10. The Numidians wrought great havoc and spread dismay and terror more widely still;

> Latin: 13.10. ingentem cladem, fugam [tamen] terroremque latius Numidae fecerunt;

[¶31] 13.11. yet this terror, even though all the country blazed with war, did not cause the allies to waver in their loyalty, assuredly because the rule under which they were governed was just and temperate, nor did they refuse —and that is the only guarantee of loyalty —to yield obedience to their betters.

> Latin: 13.11. nec tamen is terror, cum omnia bello flagrarent, fide socios dimouit, uidelicet quia iusto et moderato regebantur imperio nec abnuebant, quod unum uinculum fidei est, melioribus parere.

[¶32] 14.1. But when Hannibal had encamped by the river Volturnus, and the fairest district in all Italy was in flames, and the smoke went curling up from burning farm-houses, while Fabius continued to march along the ridges of Mount Massicus, there was almost a new outburst of sedition.

> Latin: 14.1. ut uero, <post>quam ad Uolturnum flumen castra sunt posita, exurebatur amoenissimus Italiae ager uillaeque passim incendiis fumabant, per iuga Massici montis Fabio ducente, tum prope de integro seditio [ac de seditione] accensa;

[¶33] 14.2. For the disaffected had kept quiet for several days, believing that the army, which had been moving more rapidly than usual, was hastening to preserve Campania from devastation.

> Latin: 14.2. †quidam fuerant† enim per paucos dies, quia, cum celerius solito ductum agmen esset, festinari ad prohibendam populationibus Campaniam crediderant.

[¶34] 14.3. But when they reached the farthest extremity of the range, and saw the enemy down below them setting fire to the farms of the Falernian district and the colony of Sinuessa, and yet no word was uttered about fighting, Minucius cried, “Are we come here as to a spectacle, that we may gratify our eyes with the slaughter of our friends and the burning of their homes?”

> Latin: 14.3. ut uero in extrema iuga Massici montis uentum est <et> hostes sub oculis erant Falerni agri colonorumque Sinuessae tecta urentes, nec ulla erat mentio pugnae, 'spectatum huc' inquit Minucius, 'ad rem fruendam oculis, sociorum caedes et incendia uenimus?

[¶35] 14.4. “If nothing else can awaken us to a sense of shame, do we feel none when we behold these fellow citizens of ours whom our fathers sent as colonists to Sinuessa to secure this frontier from the Samnite enemy?” “It is not our Samnite neighbours who are wasting it now, but Phoenician invaders, who have been suffered to come all this way, from the farthest, limits of the world, by our delays and slothfulness. So greatly, alas!”

> Latin: 14.4. nec, si nullius alterius nos ne ciuium quidem horum pudet, quos Sinuessam colonos patres nostri miserunt, ut ab Samnite hoste tuta haec ora esset, quam nunc non uicinus Samnis urit sed Poenus aduena, ab extremis orbis terrarum terminis nostra cunctatione et socordia iam huc progressus?

[¶36] 14.6. “do we degenerate from our fathers that we behold overrun with enemies and in the possession of Numidians and Moors that coast past which they could not see the Punic navies cruising without feeling that their empire was disgraced.”

> Latin: 14.6. tantum pro. degeneramus a patribus nostris ut, praeter quam [per] oram illi [suam] Punicas uagari classes dedecus esse imperii sui duxerint, eam nunc plenam hostium Numidarumque ac Maurorum iam factam uideamus?

[¶37] 14.7. “When, a little while ago, Saguntum was besieged, we appealed indignantly, not to men only, but to treaties and to the gods; but now that Hannibal is scaling the walls of a Roman colony, we look on with indifference.”

> Latin: 14.7. qui modo Saguntum oppugnari indignando non homines tantum sed foedera et deos ciebamus, scandentem moenia Romanae coloniae Hannibalem laeti spectamus.

[¶38] 14.8. “The smoke from burning farm-houses and fields comes into our eyes and mouths; our ears are ringing with the lamentations of our allies, who invoke our aid more often than that of Heaven; and here we are, leading our army —like a flock of sheep —through summer pastures and by devious mountain trails, and hiding ourselves in clouds and forests.”

> Latin: 14.8. fumus ex incendiis uillarum agrorumque in oculos atque ora uenit; strepunt aures clamoribus plorantium sociorum, saepius nostram quam deorum inuocantium opem; nos hic pecorum modo per aestiuos saltus deuiasque calles exercitum ducimus, conditi nubibus siluisque.

[¶39] 14.9. “If Marcus Furius had tried to recover Rome from the Gauls by wandering thus over mountain heights and passes, even as this new Camillus, this wonderful dictator to whom we have turned in our distress, is planning to recover Italy from Hannibal, the Gauls would be in Rome to-day; and I fear that if we linger thus, our fathers will so often have preserved it only for Hannibal and the Phoenicians.” “But that brave man and true Roman, on the day that the news was brought to Veii of his being appointed dictator, by command of the people in pursuance of a senatorial resolution —though ” “Janiculum was high enough for him to have sat there and enjoyed a prospect of the enemy —came down into the plain, and on that very day, in the midst of the City —where now the Gallic Pyres are —and again on the following day, this side of Gabii, cut the legions of the Gauls to ”

> Latin: 14.9. si hoc modo peragrando cacumina saltusque M. Furius recipere a Gallis urbem uoluisset, quo hic nouus Camillus, nobis dictator unicus in rebus adfectis quaesitus, Italiam ab Hannibale reciperare parat, Gallorum Roma esset, quam uereor ne sic cunctantibus nobis Hannibali ac Poenis totiens seruauerint maiores nostri. sed uir ac uere Romanus, quo die dictatorem eum ex auctoritate patrum iussuque populi dictum Ueios allatum est, cum esset satis altum Ianiculum ubi sedens prospectaret hostem, descendit in aequum atque illo ipso die media in urbe, qua nunc busta Gallica sunt, et postero die citra Gabios cecidit Gallorum legiones. quid?

[¶40] 14.12. “pieces. What! When, many years later, at the Caudine Forks, our Samnite foe had sent us under the yoke, was it, pray, by scouring the heights of Samnium, or by pressing Luceria hard and laying siege to it, and by challenging the victorious enemy, that Lucius Papirius Cursor struck off the yoke from Roman necks and imposed it on the ” “haughty Samnite?

> Latin: 14.12. post multos annos cum ad Furculas Caudinas ab Samnite hoste sub iugum missi sumus, utrum tandem L. Papirius Cursor iuga Samni perlustrando an Luceriam premendo obsidendoque et lacessendo uictorem hostem depulsum ab Romanis ceruicibus iugum superbo Samniti imposuit?

[¶41] 14.13. What else was it than swiftness that gave the victory, not long since, to Gaius Lutatius, who bore down upon the enemy's fleet, laden deep with stores and hampered with its own munitions and equipment, on the day after he ” “sighted it?

> Latin: 14.13. modo C. Lutatio quae alia res quam celeritas uictoriam dedit, quod postero die quam hostem uidit classem grauem commeatibus, impeditam suomet ipsam instrumento atque apparatu, oppressit?

[¶42] 14.14. It is folly to think that a war can be won by sitting still or making vows; you must arm and go down into the field, and do battle, man to man! Rome's greatness has come from daring and from doing; not from these sluggish policies that timid folk ” “term cautious.”

> Latin: 14.14. stultitia est sedendo aut uotis debellari credere posse. arma capias oportet et descendas in aequum et uir cum uiro congrediaris. audendo atque agendo res Romana creuit, non his segnibus consiliis quae timidi cauta uocant.'

[¶43] 14.15. When Minucius held forth in this fashion, like a general encouraging his troops, a crowd of tribunes and Roman knights would gather round him, and his fiery words even reached the ears of the common soldiers; and if the election of their general had rested with the men, they showed unmistakably that Minucius would have been preferred to Fabius.

> Latin: 14.15. haec uelut contionanti Minucio circumfundebatur tribunorum equitumque Romanorum multitudo, et ad aures quoque militum dicta ferocia euoluebantur; ac si militaris suffragii res esset, haud dubie ferebant Minucium Fabio duci praelaturos.

[¶44] 15.1. But Fabius, watching his own men no less carefully than the enemy, proved first that it was not in them to overcome his resolution. Though he knew full well that his policy of waiting was in bad repute, not only in his camp but by this time in Rome as well, he held doggedly to the same line of conduct and dragged out the remainder of the summer; so that Hannibal, disappointed in his hopes of the battle which he had made every effort to bring on, was now looking round for a place to winter in; for the country where he was, though a land of plenty for the time being, could not support him permanently, being taken up with orchards and vineyards, and planted everywhere with agreeable rather than necessary fruits.

> Latin: 15.1. Fabius pariter in suos haud minus quam in hostes intentus, prius ab illis inuictum animum praestat. quamquam probe scit non in castris modo suis sed iam etiam Romae infamem suam cunctationem esse, obstinatus tamen tenore eodem consiliorum aestatis reliquum extraxit, ut Hannibal destitutus ab spe summa ope petiti certaminis iam hibernis locum circumspectaret, quia ea regio praesentis erat copiae, non perpetuae, arbusta uineaeque et consita omnia magis amoenis quam necessariis fructibus.

[¶45] 15.3. Fabius was informed of this by his scouts. Feeling certain that Hannibal would leave the Falernian district, by the same passes through which he had entered it, he posted a fair-sized garrison on Mount Callicula and another in Casilinum.

> Latin: 15.3. haec per exploratores relata Fabio. cum satis sciret per easdem angustias quibus intrauerat Falernum agrum rediturum, Calliculam montem et Casilinum occupat modicis praesidiis, quae urbs Uolturno flumine dirempta Falernum a Campano agro diuidit;

[¶46] 15.4. (The river Volturnus runs through this town, which marks the boundary between the Falernian district and Campania). The main army he led back by the same ridges, after sending on Lucius Hostilius Mancinus with four hundred cavalry of the allies to reconnoitre.

> Latin: 15.4. ipse iugis iisdem exercitum reducit, misso exploratum cum quadringentis equitibus sociorum L. Hostilio Mancino.

[¶47] 15.5. Mancinus was one of the crowd of young officers who often listened to the blustering speeches of the master of the horse. He advanced at first as if making a reconnaissance, with the object of observing the enemy from a safe distance. But when he saw the Numidians roaming about through the villages, and had even seized the opportunity to cut off a few of them, his heart was suddenly filled with the lust of combat, and he forgot the instructions of the dictator, who had bade him proceed as far as was compatible with safety, and retire before the enemy should see him.

> Latin: 15.5. qui ex turba iuuenum audientium saepe ferociter contionantem magistrum equitum, progressus primo exploratoris modo ut ex tuto specularetur hostem, ubi uagos passim per uicos Numidas <peruastantes uidit,> per occasionem etiam paucos occidit, extemplo occupatus certamine est animus excideruntque praecepta dictatoris, qui quantum tuto posset progressum prius recipere sese iusserat quam in conspectum hostium ueniret. Numidae alii atque alii, occursantes refugientesque, ad castra prope eum cum fatigatione equorum atque hominum pertraxere.

[¶48] 15.8. The Numidians, first one troop and then another, by charging and then retreating, drew him on almost to their very camp and wore out his horses and his men. Then Carthalo, the commander of all the enemy's cavalry, swooped down upon the Romans at a gallop, and routing them before he had got within a javelin-throw, pursued them as they fled for nearly five miles at one stretch.

> Latin: 15.8. inde Carthalo, penes quem summa equestris imperii erat, concitatis equis inuectus, cum priusquam ad coniectum teli ueniret auertisset hostes, quinque ferme milia continenti cursu secutus est fugientes.

[¶49] 15.9. As soon as Mancinus perceived that the enemy would not give over the pursuit, and that he could not hope to get away, he rallied his men and led them back into the fight, though overmatched in every particular.

> Latin: 15.9. Mancinus postquam nec hostem desistere sequi nec spem uidit effugiendi esse, cohortatus suos in proelium rediit, omni parte uirium impar. itaque ipse et delecti equitum circumuenti occiduntur; ceteri effuso rursus cursu Cales primum, inde prope inuiis callibus ad dictatorem perfugerunt.

[¶50] 15.11. Accordingly, he himself and the best of his troopers were surrounded and slain, and the rest in a scattered flight made their way first to Cales, and thence, by well-nigh impassable trails, to the dictator. It happened that on that day Minucius had joined Fabius. He had been sent to secure the pass which contracts above Tarracina into a narrow gorge close to the sea, to prevent the Phoenician from taking the Appian Way from Sinuessa into Roman territory.

> Latin: 15.11. eo forte die Minucius se coniunxerat Fabio missus ad firmandum praesidio saltum, qui super Tarracinam in artas coactus fauces imminet mari, ne ab Sinuessa Poenus Appiae limite peruenire in agrum Romanum posset.

[¶51] 15.12. Combining their forces, the dictator and the master of the horse camped on the road where Hannibal was going to march.

> Latin: 15.12. coniunctis exercitibus dictator ac magister equitum castra in uiam deferunt qua Hannibal ducturus erat; duo inde milia hostes aberant.

[¶52] 16.1. The enemy was two miles away. Next day the Phoenicians were on the march, filling the road which lay between the two camps.

> Latin: 16.1. postero die Poeni quod uiae inter bina castra erat agmine compleuere.

[¶53] 16.2. The Romans had formed up just under their rampart and had clearly the advantage of position. None the less did Hannibal advance with his light infantry and cavalry, to provoke them into fighting. At one point after another the Phoenicians attacked, dashing up and then retreating. The Roman line stood firm.

> Latin: 16.2. cum Romani sub ipso constitissent uallo haud dubie aequiore loco, successit tamen Poenus cum expeditis equitibusque ad lacessendum hostem. carptim Poeni et procursando recipiendoque sese pugnauere; restitit suo loco Romana acies;

[¶54] 16.3. The battle was long drawn out and was more to the liking of the dictator than of Hannibal. Two hundred fell on the Roman side, and eight hundred of the enemy.

> Latin: 16.3. lenta pugna et ex dictatoris magis quam Hannibalis uoluntate fuit. ducenti ab Romanis, octingenti hostium cecidere.

[¶55] 16.4. Hannibal now seemed to be hemmed in, the road to Casilinum being blocked. The Romans had Capua and Samnium at their backs and all their wealthy allies to furnish them with provisions; but the Phoenicians faced the prospect of passing the winter between the cliffs of Formiae and the sands and marshes of Liternum, and amid tangled forests.

> Latin: 16.4. inclusus inde uidere Hannibal uia ad Casilinum obsessa, cum Capua et Samnium et tantum ab tergo diuitum sociorum Romanis commeatus subueheret, Poenus inter Formiana saxa ac Literni harenas stagnaque et per horridas siluas hibernaturus esset;

[¶56] 16.5. Hannibal did not fail to perceive that his own strategy was being turned against him. Accordingly, since he could not get out by way of Casilinum, but must take to the mountains and cross the ridge of Callicula, fearing lest the Romans should assail his troops as they were marching through the gorges, he resolved to approach the mountains under cover of darkness in the forepart of the night, after first contriving a terrifying exhibition, to cheat the enemy's eyes.

> Latin: 16.5. nec Hannibalem fefellit suis se artibus peti. itaque cum per Casilinum euadere non posset petendique montes et iugum Calliculae superandum esset, necubi Romanus inclusum uallibus agmen adgrederetur, ludibrium oculorum specie terribile ad frustrandum hostem commentus, principio noctis furtim succedere ad montes statuit.

[¶57] 16.7. Preparations for the ruse were made as follows. Pine-knots, collected from all the country round, and bundles of twigs and dry branches were tied to the horns of cattle, of which —counting those that were broken in and those that were not —they possessed, among their other rustic spoils, a considerable number.

> Latin: 16.7. fallacis consilii talis apparatus fuit. faces undique ex agris collectae fascesque uirgarum atque aridi sarmenti praeligantur cornibus boum, quos domitos indomitosque multos inter ceteram agrestem praedam agebat.

[¶58] 16.8. Of these, they got together about two thousand head, and Hasdrubal was commissioned to drive this herd in the night, with their horns ablaze, on to the mountains, and particularly —if it should be feasible —above the pass held by the enemy.

> Latin: 16.8. ad duo milia ferme boum effecta, Hasdrubalique negotium datum ut nocte id armentum accensis cornibus ad montes ageret, maxime, si posset, super saltus ab hoste insessos.

[¶59] 17.1. In the dusk of evening the Carthaginians broke camp in silence, driving on the cattle a little way before the standards.

> Latin: 17.1. primis tenebris silentio mota castra; boues aliquanto ante signa acti.

[¶60] 17.2. When they reached the foothills and the narrow roads, the signal was immediately given to set fire to the horns and drive the herd up the mountain. And their very-fear, as the flames at once shot up from their heads, and the heat, that soon penetrated to the quick at the base of their horns, made the cattle as wild as though they had gone crazy.

> Latin: 17.2. ubi ad radices montium uiasque angustas uentum est, signum extemplo datur, ut accensis cornibus armenta in aduersos concitentur montes; et metus ipse relucentis flammae a capite calorque iam ad uiuum ad imaque cornua ueniens uelut stimulatos furore agebat boues. quo repente discursu, haud secus quam siluis montibusque accensis, omnia circum uirgulta ardere;

[¶61] 17.3. As they suddenly rushed this way and that, all the bushes far and near seemed to be burning, as if the woods and mountains had been set on fire; and when they shook their heads, they only fanned the blaze and made it: look as if men were running about in all directions. When the troops who had been posted to hold the pass caught sight of certain-fires on the mountain-tops above them, they thought that they were surrounded and forsook their station. Where the fewest flames were flashing —for this seemed the safest way —they made for the summits of the ridges, but nevertheless fell in with some of the cattle which had strayed from their herds.

> Latin: 17.3. capitumque inrita quassatio excitans flammam hominum passim discurrentium speciem praebebat. qui ad transitum saltus insidendum locati erant, ubi in summis montibus ac super se quosdam ignes conspexere, circumuentos se esse rati praesidio excessere. qua minime densae micabant flammae, uelut tutissimum iter petentes summa montium iuga, tamen in quosdam boues palatos a suis gregibus inciderunt.

[¶62] 17.5. And at first, when they saw them afar, breathing fire, as they supposed, they were dazed by the wonder of it, and stood stock still;

> Latin: 17.5. et primo cum procul cernerent, ueluti flammas spirantium miraculo attoniti constiterunt;

[¶63] 17.6. but afterwards, perceiving it to be a trick devised by men, they concluded that it was an ambush and took to their heels in greater confusion than before. They also ran into some light-armed soldiers of the enemy; the darkness, however, by equalizing their fears, kept both sides there till daylight without either beginning the battle.

> Latin: 17.6. deinde ut humana apparuit fraus, tum uero insidias rati esse, cum maiore tumultu concitant se in fugam. leui quoque armaturae hostium incurrere; ceterum nox aequato timore neutros pugnam incipientes ad lucem tenuit.

[¶64] 17.7. In the meanwhile Hannibal had conveyed his entire army through the pass — surprising some of his enemies in the pass itself —and had pitched his camp in the district of Allifae.

> Latin: 17.7. interea toto agmine Hannibal transducto per saltum et quibusdam in ipso saltu hostium oppressis in agro Allifano posuit castra.

[¶65] 18.1. Fabius heard the din, but believing it to be an ambush, and disliking, in any case, to fight at night, kept his men within their works. At break of day there was a battle under the ridge.

> Latin: 18.1. hunc tumultum sensit Fabius; ceterum et insidias esse ratus et ab nocturno utique abhorrens certamine, suos munimentis tenuit.

[¶66] 18.2. The- Romans had cut off the light-armed troops of the enemy from the others, and possessing some superiority in numbers, would easily have overpowered them, had it not been for the arrival of a cohort of Spaniards, which Hannibal had sent back expressly to forestall them.

> Latin: 18.2. luce prima sub iugo montis proelium fuit, quo interclusam ab suis leuem armaturam facile (etenim numero aliquantum praestabant) Romani superassent, nisi Hispanorum cohors ad id ipsum remissa ab Hannibale superuenisset.

[¶67] 18.3. These troops were more used to mountains, and better suited to skirmishing amid rocks and crags, and being more agile and more lightly armed, they had no difficulty —thanks to the nature of the fighting —in getting the better of an enemy whose heavy armour and stationary tactics were adapted to level ground.

> Latin: 18.3. ea adsuetior montibus et ad concursandum inter saxa rupesque aptior ac leuior cum uelocitate corporum, tum armorum habitu, campestrem hostem, grauem armis statariumque, pugnae genere facile elusit.

[¶68] 18.4. Thus the struggle had been far from equal, when they parted and made off for their respective camps.

> Latin: 18.4. ita haudquaquam pari certamine digressi, Hispani fere omnes incolumes, Romani aliquot suis amissis in castra contenderunt.

[¶69] 18.5. Hardly any of the Spaniards had been hurt, but the Romans had lost a considerable number of their men. Fabius, too, broke camp, and marching through the pass established himself in a lofty and naturally strong position above Allifae.

> Latin: 18.5. Fabius quoque mouit castra transgressusque saltum super Allifas loco alto ac munito consedit.

[¶70] 18.6. Hannibal now feigned a movement upon Rome by way of Samnium, and marched back right to the land of the Paeligni, pillaging as he went. Fabius led his troops along the ridges between the enemy's army and the City, neither shunning his foe nor coming to grips with him.

> Latin: 18.6. tum per Samnium Romam se petere simulans Hannibal usque in Paelignos populabundus rediit; Fabius medius inter hostium agmen urbemque Romam iugis ducebat nec absistens nec congrediens.

[¶71] 18.7. From the Paelignian country the Phoenician turned, and marched back towards Apulia till he came to Gereonium, a town which its own inhabitants had abandoned in their alarm at the collapse of a part of its walls.

> Latin: 18.7. ex Paelignis Poenus flexit iter retroque Apuliam repetens Gereonium peruenit, urbem metu, quia conlapsa ruinis pars moenium erat, ab suis desertam:

[¶72] 18.8. The dictator encamped in the country about Larinum, and being summoned thence to Rome on religious business, commanded, counselled, and all but entreated the master of the horse to put more trust in prudence than in fortune, and rather to imitate his strategy than that of Sempronius and Flaminius.

> Latin: 18.8. dictator in Larinate agro castra communiit. inde sacrorum causa Romam reuocatus, non imperio modo sed consilio etiam ac prope precibus agens cum magistro equitum, ut plus consilio quam fortunae confidat et se potius ducem quam Sempronium Flaminiumque imitetur:

[¶73] 18.9. He was not to suppose, said Fabius, that nothing had been accomplished, because almost the whole summer had been tediously spent in baffling the enemy;. physicians too sometimes found rest more efficacious than motion and activity;, it was no small matter to have ceased to be defeated by an enemy who had so often been victorious, and to have breathed again after a series of disasters.

> Latin: 18.9. ne nihil actum censeret extracta prope aestate per ludificationem hostis; medicos quoque plus interdum quiete quam mouendo atque agendo proficere;

[¶74] 18.10. When he had thus fore-warned the master of the horse —but all in vain —he set out for Rome. At the beginning of the summer in which these operations were carried on, war was also begun in Spain by land and sea.

> Latin: 18.10. haud paruam rem esse ab totiens uictore hoste uinci desisse ac respirasse ab continuis cladibus,—haec nequiquam praemonito magistro equitum Romam est profectus. principio aestatis qua haec gerebantur in Hispania quoque terra marique coeptum bellum est.

[¶75] 19.2. To the number of ships, all rigged and fitted out, which Hasdrubal had taken over from his brother he added ten, and entrusted the fleet of forty sail to Himilco;

> Latin: 19.2. Hasdrubal ad eum nauium numerum, quem a fratre instructum paratumque acceperat, decem adiecit;

[¶76] 19.3. and then, setting out from Carthage, he made his ships keep near the land and led his army along the shore, prepared to do battle with whatever part of their forces tile Romans might bring against him.

> Latin: 19.3. quadraginta nauium classem Himilconi tradit atque ita Carthagine profectus nauibus prope terram, exercitum in litore ducebat, paratus confligere quacumque parte copiarum hostis occurrisset.

[¶77] 19.4. When Gnaeus Scipio learned that the enemy had left his winter quarters, he was minded at first to do the same; but on second thoughts concluded not to risk a battle on land, in view of the enormous number of auxiliaries with which rumour credited the Carthaginian, and embarking some of his best troops, went out to meet the enemy with a fleet of five and thirty ships.

> Latin: 19.4. Cn. Scipio postquam mouisse ex hibernis hostem audiuit, primo idem consilii fuit; deinde minus terra propter ingentem famam nouorum auxiliorum concurrere ausus, delecto milite ad naues imposito quinque et triginta nauium classe ire obuiam hosti pergit.

[¶78] 19.5. On the second day out of Tarraco he came to an anchorage ten miles from the mouth of the river Ebro. Thence he dispatched two Massiliot scouting vessels, who reported that the Punic fleet was lying in the mouth of the river and their camp established on the bank.

> Latin: 19.5. altero ab Tarracone die <ad> stationem decem milia passuum distantem ab ostio Hiberi amnis peruenit. inde duae Massiliensium speculatoriae praemissae rettulere, classem Punicam stare in ostio fluminis castraque in ripa posita.

[¶79] 19.6. Accordingly, in order to take them off their guard and unprepared, while at the same time spreading a universal panic, he weighed anchor and proceeded towards the enemy. The Spaniards have numerous towers built on heights, which they use both as watch-towers and also for protection against pirates.

> Latin: 19.6. itaque ut improuidos incautosque uniuerso simul offuso terrore opprimeret, sublatis ancoris ad hostem uadit. multas et locis altis positas turres Hispania habet, quibus et speculis et propugnaculis aduersus latrones utuntur.

[¶80] 19.7. From one of these the hostile ships were first descried, and on a signal being made to Hasdrubal, the alarm broke out on land and in the camp before it reached the sea and the ships; for no one had yet heard the beat of the oars or other nautical sounds, nor had the promontories yet disclosed the fleet to view, when suddenly one galloper-after another, sent off by Hasdrubal, dashed up to the sailors, who were strolling about the beach or resting in their tents and thinking of nothing so little as of the enemy or of fighting on that day, and bade them board their ships in haste and arm themselves, for the Roman fleet was even then close to the harbour.

> Latin: 19.7. inde primo conspectis hostium nauibus datum signum Hasdrubali est, tumultusque prius in terra et castris quam ad mare et ad naues est ortus, nondum aut pulsu remorum strepituque alio nautico exaudito aut aperientibus classem promunturiis, cum repente eques alius super alium ab Hasdrubale missus uagos in litore quietosque in tentoriis suis, nihil minus quam hostem aut proelium eo die exspectantes, conscendere naues propere atque arma capere iubet:

[¶81] 19.8. These orders the gallopers who had been sent out carried far and wide, and presently Hasdrubal himself appeared on the scene with his entire army, and all was noise and confusion as the rowers and soldiers rushed down together to their ships, as though their object were rather to flee the shore than to enter battle.

> Latin: 19.8. classem Romanam iam haud procul portu esse. haec equites dimissi passim imperabant; mox Hasdrubal ipse cum omni exercitu aderat, uarioque omnia tumultu strepunt ruentibus in naues simul remigibus militibusque, fugientium magis e terra quam in pugnam euntium modo.

[¶82] 19.10. Hardly were they all on board, when some cast off the hawsers and swung out on to their anchors, and others —that nothing might detain them —cut the anchor cables, and, in the hurry and excessive haste with which everything was done, the soldiers' gear interfered with the sailors in the performance of their tasks, and the confusion of the sailors kept the soldiers from taking and fitting on their armour.

> Latin: 19.10. uixdum omnes conscenderant cum alii resolutis oris in ancoras euehuntur, alii, ne quid teneat, ancoralia incidunt; raptimque omnia <ac> praepropere agendo militum apparatu nautica ministeria impediuntur, trepidatione nautarum capere et aptare arma miles prohibetur.

[¶83] 19.11. By this time the Romans were not only drawing near, but had already formed their ships in order of battle. The result was that the Phoenicians were dismayed alike by the enemy's attack and by their own confusion, and after making rather a pretence of fighting than actually engaging, turned about and ran for it.

> Latin: 19.11. et iam Romanus non appropinquabat modo sed direxerat etiam in pugnam naues. itaque non ab hoste et proelio magis Poeni quam suomet ipsi tumultu turbati, temptata uerius pugna quam inita in fugam auerterunt classem;

[¶84] 19.12. With a line so extended —and many ships came up at the same time —they were quite unable to get into the river's mouth against the current, but rowed in anywhere to the land; and getting ashore, some through shoals and others on a dry beach, some with their arms and some without, they fled to the battle-line of their friends, which was drawn up along the shore. Two, however, of the Punic ships had been taken in the first attack and four had been sunk.

> Latin: 19.12. et, cum aduersi amnis os lato agmini et tam multis simul uenientibus haud sane intrabile esset, in litus passim naues egerunt, atque alii uadis, alii sicco litore excepti, partim armati, partim inermes ad instructam per litus aciem suorum perfugere; duae tamen primo concursu captae erant Punicae naues, quattuor suppressae.

[¶85] 20.1. The Romans, although the land was in the possession of the enemy, whose line of battle could be seen extending all along the shore, continued without the slightest hesitation to press their pursuit of the terror-stricken fleet, and, attaching cables to the stern of every vessel which had neither broken its prow on the beach nor grounded its keel in the shoals, they towed it out to sea, until they had captured some twenty-five of the forty ships.

> Latin: 20.1. Romani, quamquam terra hostium erat armatamque aciem toto praetentam in litore cernebant, haud cunctanter insecuti trepidam hostium classem naues omnes, quae non aut perfregerant proras litori inlisas aut carinas fixerant uadis, religatas puppibus in altum extraxere; ad quinque et uiginti naues e quadraginta cepere.

[¶86] 20.3. Nor was this the most brilliant feature of the victory, but the fact that the Romans in one easy battle had made themselves the masters of all that coast.

> Latin: 20.3. neque id pulcherrimum eius uictoriae fuit sed quod una leui pugna toto eius orae mari potiti erant.

[¶87] 20.4. So they spread their sails for Onusa, where they disembarked and stormed and sacked the city, and thence laid a course for Carthage, and after devastating all the country round about, ended by setting fire even to the buildings that adjoined the walls and gates.

> Latin: 20.4. itaque ad Onusam classe prouecti; escensio ab nauibus in terram facta. cum urbem ui cepissent captamque diripuissent, Carthaginem inde petunt, atque omnem agrum circa depopulati postremo tecta quoque coniuncta muro portisque incenderunt.

[¶88] 20.6. Then the fleet —heavy-laden now with plunder —sailed to Longuntica, where they found a great quantity of esparto-grass, which Hasdrubal had got together for the use of his ships. Of this they took what they needed and burned all the rest.

> Latin: 20.6. inde iam praeda grauis ad Longunticam peruenit classis, ubi uis magna sparti <erat> ad rem nauticam congesta ab Hasdrubale. quod satis in usum fuit sublato ceterum omne incensum est.

[¶89] 20.7. And they not only cruised along the mainland, but crossed over to the island of Ebusus. There they endeavoured strenuously for two days, but without success, to capture the chief city of the island. And when they saw that their hopes were vain and their time was being wasted, they betook themselves to pillaging the country-side, and after sacking and burning several villages, returned to their ships with more booty than they had collected from the mainland.

> Latin: 20.7. nec continentis modo praelecta est ora, sed in Ebusum insulam transmissum. ibi urbe, quae caput insulae est, biduum nequiquam summo labore oppugnata, ubi in spem inritam frustra teri tempus animaduersum est,

[¶90] 20.9. Here envoys from the Baliaric islands came to Scipio to sue for peace. The fleet now put about and returned to the northern part of the province, and thither flocked ambassadors from all the communities on this side of the Ebro and even from many places in farthest Spain; but the communities that gave hostages and really came under the rule and government of Rome were more than a hundred and twenty.

> Latin: 20.9. ad populationem agri uersi, direptis aliquot incensisque uicis maiore quam ex continenti praeda parta cum in naues se recepissent, ex Baliaribus insulis legati pacem petentes ad Scipionem uenerunt. inde flexa retro classis reditumque in citeriora prouinciae, quo omnium populorum, qui <cis> Hiberum incolunt, multorum et ultimae Hispaniae legati concurrerunt;