---
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: 9 of 50
url: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/9/
cite: "Livy, tr. Benjamin Oliver Foster and Frank Gardner Moore, History of Rome, Books XXI–XXX · Ab urbe condita XXI–XXX, section 9. Scriptura (scriptura.si), https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/9/"
---

# 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.

## 9. Book XXII · chapters 30–42

Source: https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/9/ · cite a paragraph as https://scriptura.si/works/livy-history-of-rome-2/9/#p-N

[¶0] 30.9. For during the past two years they had so despised the Roman generals and soldiers that they could hardly believe that they were at war with the same nation as that of which they had heard such terrifying stories from their fathers.

> Latin: 30.9. nam biennio ante adeo et duces Romanos et milites spreuerant, ut uix cum eadem gente bellum esse crederent cuius terribilem [eam] famam a patribus accepissent.

[¶1] 30.10. And Hannibal is said to have remarked, as he was returning from the field, that at last that cloud which had long been hovering about the mountain-tops had broken in a storm of rain.

> Latin: 30.10. Hannibalem quoque ex acie redeuntem dixisse ferunt tandem eam nubem, quae sedere in iugis montium solita sit, cum procella imbrem dedisse.

[¶2] 31.1. While these things were happening in Italy, Gnaeus Servilius Geminus the consul, with a fleet of a hundred and twenty ships, sailed round Sardinia and Corsica, and after taking hostages from both, bore away for Africa. Before descending on the mainland, he plundered the island of Menix; and after accepting ten talents of silver, which the people of Cercina gave him, to induce him not to burn and pillage their territory also, he sailed in to the coast of Africa and disembarked his troops.

> Latin: 31.1. dum haec geruntur in Italia, Cn. Seruilius Geminus consul cum classe <centum uiginti> nauium circumuectus Sardiniae et Corsicae oram, et obsidibus utrimque acceptis in Africam transmisit et, priusquam in continentem escensiones faceret, Menige insula uastata et ab incolentibus Cercinam, ne et ipsorum ureretur diripereturque ager, decem talentis argenti acceptis ad litora Africae accessit copiasque exposuit.

[¶3] 31.3. Soldiers and naval allies went off to pillage the country-side and dispersed as freely as if they were plundering desert islands.

> Latin: 31.3. inde ad populandum agrum ducti milites naualesque socii iuxta effusi ac si <in> insulis cultorum egentibus praedarentur.

[¶4] 31.4. And so they quickly fell into an ambush, and losing contact with each other, and knowing nothing of the country, were set upon by large bands of their enemies, who knew it well, and driven back to their ships in a bloody and disgraceful rout.

> Latin: 31.4. itaque in insidias temere inlati, cum a frequentibus palantes et locorum ignari ab gnaris circumuenirentur, cum multa caede ac foeda fuga retro ad naues compulsi sunt.

[¶5] 31.5. Fully a thousand men were lost, including the quaestor, Tiberius Sempronius Blaesus. Moorings were cast off in a hurry, and the fleet, leaving the shore behind it lined with enemies, stood away for Sicily.

> Latin: 31.5. ad mille hominum cum Ti. Sempronio Blaeso quaestore amissum, classis ab litoribus hostium plenis trepide soluta in Siciliam cursum tenuit, traditaque Lilybaei T.

[¶6] 31.6. At Lilybaeum it was handed over to the praetor Titus Otacilius, to be conducted by his lieutenant, Publius Cincius, back to Rome.

> Latin: 31.6. Otacilio praetori, ut ab legato eius P. Cincio Romam reduceretur.

[¶7] 31.7. The consul himself proceeded overland through Sicily to the straits, where he crossed into Italy, in obedience to a dispatch from Quintus Fabius. The dictator had sent for Servilius, and for Marcus Atilius his colleague, to take over his armies, for his six months' tenure of authority was drawing to a close.

> Latin: 31.7. ipse per Siciliam pedibus profectus freto in Italiam traiecit, litteris Q. Fabi accitus et ipse et collega eius M. Atilius, ut exercitus ab se exacto iam prope semenstri imperio acciperent. omnium prope annales Fabium dictatorem aduersus Hannibalem rem gessisse tradunt;

[¶8] 31.8. Nearly all the annalists state that Fabius was dictator in his campaign against Hannibal; Coelius even writes that he was the first to be created dictator by the people.

> Latin: 31.8. Caelius etiam eum primum a populo creatum dictatorem scribit.

[¶9] 31.9. But Coelius and the rest forget that only the consul Gnaeus Servilius, who was then far away in his province of Gaul, had the right of naming a dictator.

> Latin: 31.9. sed et Caelium et ceteros fugit uni consuli Cn. Seruilio, qui tum procul in Gallia prouincia aberat, ius fuisse dicendi dictatoris;

[¶10] 31.10. It was because the nation, appalled by their great disaster, could not put up with so long a delay that resort was had to the popular election of an acting dictator.

> Latin: 31.10. quam moram quia exspectare territa iam clade ciuitas non poterat, eo decursum esse ut a populo crearetur qui pro dictatore esset;

[¶11] 31.11. Thereafter the general's successes and his great renown, and the additions which his descendants made to the inscription which accompanies his portrait, led easily to the belief that one who had in fact been made acting dictator had been dictator.

> Latin: 31.11. res inde gestas gloriamque insignem ducis et augentes titulum imaginis posteros, ut qui pro dictatore <creatus erat, dictator> crederetur, facile obtinuisse.

[¶12] 32.1. The consuls —Atilius taking over the army of Fabius and Geminus Servilius that of Minucius —constructed a winter camp betimes, and carried on the war for the rest of the autumn with the greatest harmony, on the lines laid down by Fabius.

> Latin: 32.1. consules Atilius Fabiano, Geminus Seruilius Minuciano exercitu accepto, hibernaculis mature communitis, <quod reli>- quum autumni erat Fabi artibus cum summa inter se concordia bellum gesserunt.

[¶13] 32.2. As often as Hannibal went out to forage, they were sure to appear, at one place or another, harassing his march and cutting off the stragglers: a general engagement, which the enemy sought with all the arts at his command, they declined to risk; and Hannibal was driven to such extremity of want, that if he had not thought that his departure would necessarily look like flight, he would have gone back into Gaul. For he had given up all hope of supporting his army in those regions, if the next consuls should make use of the same strategy.

> Latin: 32.2. frumentatum exeunti Hannibali diuersis locis opportuni aderant, carpentes agmen palatosque excipientes; in casum uniuersae dimicationis, quam omnibus artibus petebat hostis, non ueniebant, adeoque inopia est coactus Hannibal ut, nisi cum fugae specie abeundum timuisset, Galliam repetiturus fuerit, nulla spe relicta alendi exercitus in eis locis si insequentes consules eisdem artibus bellum gererent.

[¶14] 32.4. Winter had already brought the fighting about Gereonium to a standstill, when envoys from Neapolis arrived in Rome. Bringing forty massive golden bowls into the senate-house, they delivered themselves to this effect: that they knew that the treasury of the Roman People was becoming exhausted by the war, and since it was being waged no less in behalf of the cities and lands of the allies than for the capital and citadel of Italy —the City of Rome —and for its empire, the Neapolitans had deemed it right to employ the gold which their ancestors had bequeathed them, whether for the adornment of their temples or as a subsidy in time of need, to assist the Roman People;

> Latin: 32.4. cum ad Gereonium iam hieme impediente constitisset bellum, Neapolitani legati Romam uenere. ab iis quadraginta paterae aureae magni ponderis in curiam inlatae atque ita uerba facta ut dicerent: scire sese populi <Romani> aerarium bello exhauriri et, cum iuxta pro urbibus agrisque sociorum ac pro capite atque arce Italiae urbe Romana atque imperio geratur, aequum censuisse Neapolitanos, quod auri sibi cum ad templorum ornatum tum ad subsidium fortunae a maioribus relictum foret, eo iuuare populum Romanum.

[¶15] 32.7. had they thought themselves capable of helping with their persons, they would have offered these with the same heartiness; it would gratify them if the Roman senators and people would look on all the possessions of the Neapolitans as their own, and consider that their gift deserved a willing acceptance, as being greater and of more account in respect of the friendliness and good-will of the givers than in actual value.

> Latin: 32.7. si quam opem in sese crederent, eodem studio fuisse oblaturos. gratum sibi patres Romanos populumque facturum si omnes res Neapolitanorum suas duxissent, dignosque iudicauerint ab quibus donum animo ac uoluntate eorum qui libentes darent quam re maius ampliusque acciperent.

[¶16] 32.9. The envoys received a vote of thanks for this generosity and thoughtfulness, and the bowl of least weight was accepted.

> Latin: 32.9. legatis gratiae actae pro munificentia curaque; patera, quae ponderis minimi fuit, accepta.

[¶17] 33.1. At about this time a Carthaginian spy who for two years had eluded capture was caught in Rome, and after his hands had been cut off, was allowed to go; and five and twenty slaves were crucified, on the charge of having conspired in the Campus Martius.

> Latin: 33.1. per eosdem dies speculator Carthaginiensis, qui per biennium fefellerat, Romae deprensus praecisisque manibus dimissus, et serui quinque et uiginti in crucem acti, quod in campo Martio coniurassent;

[¶18] 33.2. The informer was rewarded with freedom and twenty thousand sesterces.

> Latin: 33.2. indici data libertas et aeris grauis uiginti milia.

[¶19] 33.3. Ambassadors were dispatched to Philip, King of the Macedonians, to demand the person of Demetrius of Pharus, who, beaten in war, had fled to him for refuge; and others to expostulate with the Ligurians, because they had aided the Phoenician with supplies and men, and at the same time to observe at close range what was going on amongst the Boi and the Insubres.

> Latin: 33.3. legati et ad Philippum Macedonum regem missi ad deposcendum Demetrium Pharium, qui bello uictus ad eum fugisset, et alii <in> Ligures ad expostulandum quod Poenum opibus auxiliisque suis iuuissent, simul ad uisendum ex propinquo quae in Boiis atque Insubribus gererentur.

[¶20] 33.5. Ambassadors were likewise sent to King Pineus in Illyria, to demand a tribute which was overdue, or, in case he wished the time extended, to take hostages.

> Latin: 33.5. ad Pinnem quoque regem in Illyrios legati missi ad stipendium, cuius dies exierat, poscendum aut, si diem proferri uellet, obsides accipiendos.

[¶21] 33.6. So far were the Romans, though bearing upon their shoulders the burden of a mighty war, from permitting any concern of theirs to escape them, in however remote a part of the world it lay.

> Latin: 33.6. adeo, etsi bellum ingens in ceruicibus erat, nullius usquam terrarum rei cura Romanos, ne longinquae quidem effugiebat.

[¶22] 33.7. They were troubled, too, that the contract for the temple of Concord, which the praetor Lucius Manlius had vowed two years before in Gaul, during the mutiny of the soldiers, had hitherto not been let.

> Latin: 33.7. in religionem etiam uenit aedem Concordiae, quam per seditionem militarem biennio ante L. Manlius praetor in Gallia uouisset, locatam ad id tempus non esse.

[¶23] 33.8. Accordingly the city praetor, Marcus Aemilius, appointed for the purpose two commissioners, Gaius Pupius and Caeso Quinctius Flamininus, who arranged to have the temple built on the Citadel. The same praetor, acting on instructions from the senate, wrote to the consuls, requesting that, if it seemed good to them, one of them would come to Rome to hold an election of consuls, and promising to appoint the comitia for the day which they should designate.

> Latin: 33.8. itaque duumuiri ad eam rem creati a M. Aemilio praetore urbano, C. Pupius et Caeso Quinctius Flamininus, aedem in arce faciendam locauerunt. ab eodem praetore ex senatus consulto litterae ad consules missae ut, si iis uideretur, alter eorum ad consules creandos Romam ueniret;

[¶24] 33.9. To this the consuls answered that they could not withdraw from the presence of the enemy without detriment to the republic; it would therefore be better that the election be conducted by an interrex than that one of the consuls be called away from the seat

> Latin: 33.9. se in eam diem quam iussissent comitia edicturum. ad haec a consulibus rescriptum sine detrimento rei publicae abscedi non posse ab hoste; itaque per interregem comitia habenda esse potius quam consul alter a bello auocaretur.

[¶25] 33.11. of war. To the senators it seemed preferable that the consuls should appoint a dictator to preside at the election. They appointed Lucius Veturius Philo, who named Marcus Pomponius Matho master of the horse.

> Latin: 33.11. patribus rectius uisum est dictatorem a consule dici comitiorum habendorum causa. dictus L. Ueturius Philo M. Pomponium Mathonem magistrum equitum dixit.

[¶26] 33.12. There was a flaw in their appointment and they were commanded on the fourteenth day to resign their magistracy, whereupon the state reverted to an interregnum.

> Latin: 33.12. iis uitio creatis iussisque die quarto decimo se magistratu abdicare, ad interregnum res rediit.

[¶27] 34.1. The authority of the consuls was extended for a year. To be interrex the Fathers named Gaius Claudius Cento, the son of Appius, and after him Publius Cornelius Asina. The latter conducted an election, which was marked by a bitter struggle between patricians and plebeians.

> Latin: 34.1. consulibus prorogatum in annum imperium. interreges proditi sunt a patribus C. Claudius Appi filius Cento, inde P. Cornelius Asina. in eius interregno comitia habita magno certamine patrum ac plebis.

[¶28] 34.2. Gaius Terentius Varro had endeared himself to the plebeians —the class to which he himself belonged —by invectives against the leading men and the usual tricks of the demagogue. The blow he had struck at the influence and dictatorial authority of Fabius brought him the glory which is won by defaming others, and the rabble was now striving to raise him to the consulship, while the patricians opposed the attempt with all their might, lest men should acquire the custom of assailing them as a means of rising to their level.

> Latin: 34.2. C. Terentio Uarroni, quem sui generis hominem, plebi insectatione principum popularibusque artibus conciliatum, ab Q. Fabi opibus et dictatorio imperio concusso aliena inuidia splendentem uolgus extrahere ad consulatum nitebatur, patres summa ope obstabant ne se insectando sibi aequari adsuescerent homines.

[¶29] 34.3. Quintus Baebius B.C. 217 Herennius, a tribune of the plebs and kinsman of Gaius Terentius, railed not only at the senate but at the augurs too, because they had forbidden the dictator to accomplish the election, and by placing them in an unfavourable light, strengthened the candidacy of his friend.

> Latin: 34.3. Q. Baebius Herennius tribunus plebis, cognatus C. Terenti, criminando non senatum modo sed etiam augures, quod dictatorem prohibuissent comitia perficere, per inuidiam eorum fauorem candidato suo conciliabat:

[¶30] 34.4. The nobles, he said, had been seeking war for many years, and it was they who had brought Hannibal into Italy. It was their machinations, too, that were spinning out the war, when it might be brought to a victorious conclusion.

> Latin: 34.4. ab hominibus nobilibus, per multos annos bellum quaerentibus, Hannibalem in Italiam adductum; ab iisdem, cum debellari possit, fraude bellum trahi.

[¶31] 34.5. That four legions if united were able to hold their own in a general engagement had been shown in a successful battle fought by Marcus Minucius, when Fabius was absent. Notwithstanding this, two legions had just been exposed to be massacred by the enemy and subsequently rescued from the massacre, to the end that the names of Father and Patron might be conferred on one who had kept the Romans from conquering before keeping them from being conquered.

> Latin: 34.5. cum quattuor legionibus uniuersis pugnari posse apparuisset eo quod M. Minucius absente Fabio prospere pugnasset, duas legiones hosti ad caedem obiectas, deinde ex ipsa caede ereptas ut pater patronusque appellaretur qui prius uincere prohibuisset Romanos quam uinci.

[¶32] 34.7. After that the consuls had employed the arts of Fabius to prolong the war, when they were able to have ended it. The nobles had all made a compact to this effect; nor would his hearers see an end of the war until they had elected a true plebeian, a new man, to the consulship; for the plebeian nobles had already been admitted to the same rites as the others and had begun to look down on the plebs from the moment when they themselves had ceased to be looked down on by the patricians.

> Latin: 34.7. consules deinde Fabianis artibus, cum debellare possent, bellum traxisse. id foedus inter omnes nobiles ictum nec finem ante belli habituros quam consulem uere plebeium, id est, hominem nouum fecissent; nam plebeios nobiles iam eisdem initiatos esse sacris et contemnere plebem, ex quo contemni patribus desierint, coepisse.

[¶33] 34.9. Who could fail to see that their end and purpose in resorting to an interregnum had been to keep the election in the hands of the patricians?

> Latin: 34.9. cui non apparere id actum et quaesitum esse ut interregnum iniretur, ut in patrum potestate comitia essent?

[¶34] 34.10. To this end both consuls had remained with their army in the field; to this end, later on, because a dictator had been named, against their wishes, for the purpose of holding an election, they had succeeded in having the augurs declare that there had been a flaw in his appointment.

> Latin: 34.10. id consules ambos ad exercitum morando quaesisse; id postea, quia inuitis iis dictator esset dictus comitiorum causa, expugnatum esse ut uitiosus dictator per augures fieret.

[¶35] 34.11. They had therefore the interregnum they desired. But at least one consulship belonged to the Roman plebs; and the people meant to keep it free, and bestow it on him who would rather win an early victory than remain long in command.

> Latin: 34.11. habere igitur interregnum eos; consulatum unum certe plebis Romanae esse; populum liberum habiturum ac daturum ei qui [magis] uere uincere quam diu imperare malit.

[¶36] 35.1. When the plebs had been inflamed by these harangues, though there were three patrician candidates, Publius Cornelius Merenda, Lucius Manlius Volso, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and two plebeians of families which had already been ennobled, namely, Gaius Atilius Serranus and Quintus Aelius Paetus, of whom one was a pontifex, the other an augur, Gaius Terentius was the only consul elected, and the assembly called to choose a colleague for him was therefore under his control.

> Latin: 35.1. cum his orationibus accensa plebs esset, tribus patriciis petentibus, P. Cornelio Merenda L. Manlio Uolsone M. Aemilio Lepido, duobus nobilium iam familiarum plebeiis, C. Atilio Serrano et Q. Aelio Paeto, quorum alter pontifex, alter augur erat, C. Terentius consul unus creatur, ut in manu eius essent comitia rogando collegae.

[¶37] 35.3. The nobles, finding that Varro's competitors had not been able to command the necessary strength, thereupon obliged Lucius Aemilius Paulus to stand, though he held out long and earnestly against their importunity. He had been consul together with Marcus Livius, and the condemnation of his colleague —from which he had not himself escaped unscathed —had embittered him against the plebs.

> Latin: 35.3. tum experta nobilitas parum fuisse uirium in competitoribus eius, L. Aemilium Paulum, qui cum M. Liuio consul fuerat et damnatione collegae sui prope ambustus euaserat, infestum plebei, diu ac multum recusantem ad petitionem compellit.

[¶38] 35.4. On the next election day all those who had been Varro's rivals withdrew their names, the consul was given Paulus, rather as a competent opponent than as a colleague.

> Latin: 35.4. is proximo comitiali die concedentibus omnibus, qui cum Uarrone certauerant, par magis in aduersandum quam collega datur consuli. inde praetorum comitia habita.

[¶39] 35.5. The election of praetors then took place, and Marcus Pomponius Matho and Publius Furius Philus were chosen. To Philus the lot assigned the urban praetorship, for administering justice in Rome; to Pomponius the jurisdiction in suits between Roman citizens and foreigners.

> Latin: 35.5. creati M. Pomponius Matho et P. Furius <Philus>; Philo Romae iuri dicundo urbana sors, Pomponio inter ciues Romanos et peregrinos euenit;

[¶40] 35.6. Two additional praetors were elected, Marcus Claudius Marcellus for Sicily, and Lucius Postumius Albinus for Gaul.

> Latin: 35.6. additi duo praetores, M. Claudius Marcellus in Siciliam, L. Postumius Albinus in Galliam.

[¶41] 35.7. These were all elected in their absence, and not one of them, except Terentius the consul, received a magistracy which he had not already filled before, a number of stout-hearted, active men being passed over because it seemed unwise at such a juncture to give any man an office to which he was new.

> Latin: 35.7. omnes absentes creati sunt nec cuiquam eorum praeter Terentium consulem mandatus honos quem non iam antea gessisset, praeteritis aliquot fortibus ac strenuis uiris, quia in tali tempore nulli nouus magistratus uidebatur mandandus.

[¶42] 36.1. The armies also were augmented. But how large were the additions of infantry and cavalry I should hardly venture to declare with any certainty —so greatly do historians differ in regard to the numbers and kinds of troops.

> Latin: 36.1. exercitus quoque multiplicati sunt; quantae autem copiae peditum equitumque additae sint adeo et numero et genere copiarum uariant auctores, ut uix quicquam satis certum adfirmare ausus sim.

[¶43] 36.2. Some say that ten thousand new soldiers were enlisted as replacements; others that four new legions were enrolled, so that they took the field with eight.

> Latin: 36.2. decem milia nouorum militum alii scripta in supplementum, alii nouas quattuor legiones ut octo legionibus rem gererent;

[¶44] 36.3. Some assert that the legions were also increased in the numbers of their infantry and cavalry, and that each received an additional thousand foot and a hundred horse, bringing up the total of every one to five thousand foot and three hundred horse; and that double the number of horse and an equal number of foot were furnished by the allies.

> Latin: 36.3. numero quoque peditum equitumque legiones auctas milibus peditum et centenis equitibus in singulas adiectis, ut quina milia peditum, treceni equites essent, socii duplicem numerum equitum darent, peditis aequarent, septem et octoginta milia armatorum et ducentos in castris Romanis <fuisse> cum pugnatum ad Cannas est quidam auctores sunt.

[¶45] 36.5. One thing is not disputed —that they proceeded with more energy and enthusiasm than in former years, because the dictator had given them ground for hoping that they would be able to defeat the enemy.

> Latin: 36.5. illud haudquaquam discrepat maiore conatu atque impetu rem actam quam prioribus annis, quia spem posse uinci hostem dictator praebuerat.

[¶46] 36.6. Before, however, the new legions marched out from the City, the decemvirs were instructed to consult the Sacred Books, on account of a general alarm occasioned by strange portents.

> Latin: 36.6. ceterum priusquam signa ab urbe nouae legiones mouerent, decemuiri libros adire atque inspicere iussi propter territos uolgo homines nouis prodigiis.

[¶47] 36.7. For a shower of stones had been reported as having fallen at Rome on the Aventine, and about the same time at Aricia; in the Sabine country the images of the gods, and at Caere the waters that flowed from the hot spring had been drenched with blood —a prodigy all the more alarming from its having occurred so often; and in the arched way which used to lead to the Campus Martius some men had been struck by lightning and killed.

> Latin: 36.7. nam et Romae in Auentino et Ariciae nuntiatum erat sub idem tempus lapidibus pluuisse, et multo cruore signa in Sabinis, Caeretes aquas [fonte callidos] manasse;

[¶48] 36.8. These prodigies were expiated as the Books directed. Ambassadors came from Paestum, bringing golden bowls to Rome. They were thanked, as the Neapolitans had been, but the gold was not accepted.

> Latin: 36.8. id quidem etiam, quod saepius acciderat, magis terrebat; et in uia fornicata, quae ad Campum erat, aliquot homines de caelo tacti exanimatique fuerant. ea prodigia ex libris procurata. legati a Paesto pateras aureas Romam attulerunt. iis, sicut Neapolitanis, gratiae actae, aurum non acceptum.

[¶49] 37.1. About this time a fleet came in to Ostia from King Hiero with a great store of supplies.

> Latin: 37.1. per eosdem dies ab Hierone classis Ostia cum magno commeatu accessit.

[¶50] 37.2. His envoys were introduced into the senate, where they told how the news of the destruction of Gaius Flaminius the consul and his army had so grieved the King that no disaster to himself or his own kingdom could have distressed him more.

> Latin: 37.2. legati in senatum introducti nuntiarunt caedem C. Flamini consulis exercitusque allatam adeo aegre tulisse regem Hieronem ut nulla sua propria regnique sui clade moueri magis potuerit.

[¶51] 37.3. Accordingly, though well aware that the greatness of the Roman People was almost more astonishing in adversity than in prosperity, he had nevertheless sent them all those things with which good and faithful allies were wont to assist their friends in time of war, and he earnestly besought the Conscript Fathers not to refuse them.

> Latin: 37.3. itaque, quamquam probe sciat magnitudinem populi Romani admirabiliorem prope aduersis rebus quam secundis esse, tamen se omnia quibus a bonis fidelibusque sociis bella iuuari soleant misisse; quae ne accipere abnuant magno opere se patres conscriptos orare.

[¶52] 37.5. In the first place, for the omen's sake, they were bringing a golden Victory, weighing two hundred and twenty pounds, which they begged the Romans to accept and keep, and to regard it as their own for ever.

> Latin: 37.5. iam omnium primum ominis causa Uictoriam auream pondo ducentum ac uiginti adferre sese. acciperent eam tenerentque et haberent propriam et perpetuam.

[¶53] 37.6. They had also brought three hundred thousand measures of wheat and two hundred thousand of barley, that there might be no failure of provision; and whatever additional quantity were needed they stood ready to convey to any place which the senate might designate.

> Latin: 37.6. aduexisse etiam trecenta milia modium tritici, ducenta hordei, ne commeatus deessent, et quantum praeterea opus esset quo iussissent subuecturos.

[¶54] 37.7. For heavy foot and horse, the King knew that the Roman People employed none but Romans and Latins;

> Latin: 37.7. milite atque equite scire nisi Romano Latinique nominis non uti populum Romanum: leuium armorum auxilia etiam externa uidisse in castris Romanis.

[¶55] 37.8. but amongst the light-armed auxiliaries, he had seen in the camps of the Romans even foreigners; he had therefore sent a thousand archers and slingers, a force well adapted to cope with Moors and Baliares and other tribes that fought with missiles.

> Latin: 37.8. itaque misisse mille sagittariorum ac funditorum, aptam manum aduersus Baliares ac Mauros pugnacesque alias missili telo gentes.

[¶56] 37.9. To these gifts they added a piece of advice, that the praetor, namely, who might be assigned to Sicily should sail over with his fleet to Africa, so that the enemy, too, might have war on their own soil, whereby they would experience less freedom in dispatching aid to Hannibal.

> Latin: 37.9. ad ea dona consilium quoque addebant ut praetor, cui prouincia Sicilia euenisset, classem in Africam traiceret, ut et hostes in terra sua bellum haberent minusque laxamenti daretur iis ad auxilia Hannibali summittenda.

[¶57] 37.10. The senate, in replying to the royal emissaries, said that Hiero was a good man and a rare ally, who from the time when he became a friend of the Roman People had maintained an unswerving loyalty, and always and in every place had given generous assistance to the Roman cause. For this the Romans were grateful, as in duty bound.

> Latin: 37.10. ab senatu ita responsum regi est: uirum bonum egregiumque socium Hieronem esse atque uno tenore, ex quo in amicitiam populi Romani uenerit, fidem coluisse ac rem Romanam omni tempore ac loco munifice adiuuisse. id perinde ac deberet gratum populo Romano esse.

[¶58] 37.11. As for the gold, other states as well had proffered it, but the Roman People, though thankful for the kind intention, had not accepted it;

> Latin: 37.11. aurum et a ciuitatibus quibusdam allatum, gratia rei accepta, non accepisse populum Romanum;

[¶59] 37.12. the Victory and her omen they did accept; and to that goddess they dedicated and assigned the Capitol, the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, to be her seat. Established in that citadel of Rome she would be gracious and propitious, faithful and steadfast, to the Roman People.

> Latin: 37.12. Uictoriam omenque accipere sedemque ei se diuae dare dicare Capitolium, templum Iouis optimi maximi, in ea arce urbis Romanae sacratam uolentem propitiamque, firmam ac stabilem fore populo Romano.

[¶60] 37.13. The slingers and archers and the corn were turned over to the consuls. Twenty-five quinqueremes were added to the fleet of fifty ships that was under the command of Titus Otacilius in Sicily, and permission was given him, if he deemed it advantageous to the state, to sail across to Africa.

> Latin: 37.13. funditores sagittariique et frumentum traditum consulibus. quinqueremes ad <quinquaginta> nauium classem quae cum T. Otacilio propraetore in Sicilia erat quinque et uiginti additae, permissumque est ut, si e re publica censeret esse, in Africam traiceret.

[¶61] 38.1. When they had finished with the levy, the consuls waited a few days for the soldiers from the allies and the Latins to come in.

> Latin: 38.1. dilectu perfecto consules paucos morati dies dum ab sociis ac nomine Latino uenirent milites.

[¶62] 38.2. An oath was then administered to the soldiers by their tribunes — which was a thing that they had never done before.

> Latin: 38.2. tum, quod nunquam antea factum erat, iure iurando ab tribunis militum adacti milites;

[¶63] 38.3. For until that day there had only been the general oath to assemble at the bidding of the consuls and not depart without their orders; then, after assembling, they would exchange a voluntary pledge amongst themselves —the cavalrymen in their decuries and the infantry in their centuries —that they would not abandon their ranks for flight or fear, but only to take up or seek a weapon, either to smite an enemy or to save a fellow citizen.

> Latin: 38.3. nam ad eam diem nihil praeter sacramentum fuerat iussu consulum conuenturos neque iniussu abituros; et ubi ad decuriandum aut centuriandum conuenissent, sua uoluntate ipsi inter sese decuriati equites, centuriati pedites coniurabant sese fugae atque formidinis ergo non abituros neque ex ordine recessuros nisi teli sumendi aut petendi et aut hostis feriendi aut ciuis seruandi causa.

[¶64] 38.5. This voluntary agreement amongst the men themselves was replaced by an oath administered formally by the tribunes. Before the troops marched from the City, the consul Varro uttered many truculent harangues.

> Latin: 38.5. id ex uoluntario inter ipsos foedere ad tribunos ac legitimam iuris iurandi adactionem translatum.

[¶65] 38.6. He declared that the war had been brought into Italy by the nobles, and would not cease to prey upon the nation's vitals, if they had many generals like Fabius; but that he himself would put an end to it on the day when he came within sight of the enemy. His colleague Paulus spoke but once, on the day before he left the City.

> Latin: 38.6. contiones, priusquam ab urbe signa mouerentur, consulis Uarronis multae ac feroces fuere denuntiantis bellum arcessitum in Italiam ab nobilibus mansurumque in uisceribus rei publicae, si plures Fabios imperatores haberet, se quo die hostem uidisset perfecturum.

[¶66] 38.8. His words were more truthful than agreeable to the people; but he said nothing harsh against Varro, except this: that he marvelled —and indeed how should he not? —that a general, who before he knew either his own or the enemy's army or the lie of the land or the character of the country, was already certain, ere he had yet laid aside the dress of a civilian, what measures he must adopt when in the field —he

> Latin: 38.8. collegae eius Pauli una, pridie quam ex urbe proficisceretur, contio fuit, uerior quam gratior populo, qua nihil inclementer in Uarronem dictum nisi id modo mirari se quidni qui dux priusquam aut suum aut hostium exercitum locorum situm naturam regionis nosset, iam nunc togatus in urbe sciret quae sibi agenda armato forent,

[¶67] 38.10. marvelled that such a general should even be able to predict the very day on which he would be giving battle to the enemy!

> Latin: 38.10. [et] diem quoque praedicere posset qua cum hoste signis conlatis esset dimicaturus:

[¶68] 38.11. For himself, he would not anticipate, before they ripened, those plans with which circumstances provided men but which men could not well impose on circumstances.

> Latin: 38.11. se, quae consilia magis res dent hominibus quam homines rebus, ea ante tempus immatura non praecepturum; optare ut quae caute ac consulte gesta essent satis prospere euenirent;

[¶69] 38.12. He hoped that what was done with care and caution would turn out for the best: rashness was not only foolish but had hitherto been unfortunate as well It was quite apparently his own intention to choose a safe course rather than a hasty one; and, to confirm him in this resolution, Quintus Fabius Maximus is said to have addressed him, on his setting out, to this effect: — "If either, Lucius Aemilius, you had, as I should prefer, a colleague like yourself, or if you were like your colleague, my words would be superfluous.

> Latin: 38.12. temeritatem, praeterquam quod stulta sit, infelicem etiam ad id locorum fuisse. et sua sponte apparebat tuta celeribus consiliis praepositurum, et, quo id constantius perseueraret, Q. Fabius Maximus sic eum proficiscentem adlocutus fertur. 'si aut collegam, id quod mallem, tui similem, L. Aemili, haberes aut tu collegae tui esses similis, superuacanea esset oratio mea;

[¶70] 39.2. For, as two good consuls, even if I held my peace, you would act in all respects in accordance with the public interest and your own loyalty; and, as bad ones, you would neither take my words into your ears nor my advice into your hearts.

> Latin: 39.2. nam et duo boni consules, etiam me indicente, omnia e re publica fide uestra faceretis, et mali nec mea uerba auribus uestris nec consilia animis acciperetis.

[¶71] 39.3. As it is, when I see what your colleague is like and what you are like, it is to you alone that I must address myself: though I perceive that you will be a good man and good citizen to little purpose, if the state is lame on the other side and evil counsels enjoy the same rights and the same authority as good.

> Latin: 39.3. nunc et collegam tuum et te talem uirum intuenti mihi tecum omnis oratio est, quem uideo nequiquam et uirum bonum et ciuem fore, si altera parte claudente re publica malis consiliis idem ac bonis iuris et potestatis erit.

[¶72] 39.4. For you err, Lucius Paulus, if you suppose that your struggle will be less with Gaius Terentius than with Hannibal. I am not sure that you may not find the one more dangerous as an opponent than the other as an enemy, and that with your enemy you will have to contend only in battle; with your opponent, everywhere and at all times.

> Latin: 39.4. erras enim, L. Paule, si tibi minus certaminis cum C. Terentio quam cum Hannibale futurum censes; nescio an infestior hic aduersarius quam ille hostis maneat;

[¶73] 39.5. Against Hannibal and his legions you will have your cavalry and infantry to fight for you: when Varro takes the field, it will be to attack you with your own soldiers.

> Latin: 39.5. cum illo in acie tantum, cum hoc omnibus locis ac temporibus certaturus es; aduersus Hannibalem legionesque eius tuis equitibus ac peditibus pugnandum tibi est, Uarro dux tuis militibus te est oppugnaturus.

[¶74] 39.6. "For the very omen's sake, I would not have you remember Gaius Flaminius! Yet Flaminius only began to rave when he had been made consul and was in his province and had joined his army; whereas Varro was mad before he sought the consulship, as he was thereafter during his canvass, and is now as consul, before he has ever beheld his camp or the enemy.

> Latin: 39.6. ominis etiam tibi causa absit C. Flamini memoria. tamen ille consul demum et in prouincia et ad exercitum coepit furere: hic, priusquam peteret consulatum, deinde in petendo consulatu, nunc quoque consul, priusquam castra uideat aut hostem, insanit.

[¶75] 39.7. And if a man can rouse such gusts of passion even now, by bragging of battles and of stricken fields among civilians, what think you he will do when surrounded by armed youths, where words are translated instantly into deeds?

> Latin: 39.7. et qui tantas iam nunc procellas proelia atque acies iactando inter togatos ciet, quid inter armatam iuuentutem censes facturum et ubi extemplo res uerba sequitur?

[¶76] 39.8. And yet, if he fights at once, as he declares that he intends to do, either I know nothing of military science, of the nature of this war, and of our enemy, or another place will be more notorious than Trasumennus for our overthrow.

> Latin: 39.8. atqui si hic, quod facturum se denuntiat, extemplo pugnauerit, aut ego rem militarem, belli hoc genus, hostem hunc ignoro, aut nobilior alius Trasumenno locus nostris cladibus erit.

[¶77] 39.9. "It is no time to boast, when I am speaking to one man, and for my part I had rather go too far in despising than in seeking reputation; but the simple truth is that the only way of conducting a war with Hannibal is the way in which I have conducted it;

> Latin: 39.9. nec gloriandi tempus aduersus unum est, et ego contemnendo potius quam appetendo gloriam modum excesserim; sed ita res se habet: una ratio belli gerendi aduersus Hannibalem est qua ego gessi.

[¶78] 39.10. and not only the event —that schoolmaster of fools —teaches us this, but the same reasoning which held good then will hold unchanged, so long as circumstances remain the same.

> Latin: 39.10. nec euentus modo hoc docet—stultorum iste magister est—sed eadem ratio, quae fuit futuraque donec res eaedem manebunt, immutabilis est.

[¶79] 39.11. It is in Italy, our home-land, that we are fighting; everywhere about us are fellow citizens and friends;

> Latin: 39.11. in Italia bellum gerimus, in sede ac solo nostro; omnia circa plena ciuium ac sociorum sunt;

[¶80] 39.12. they are helping us with arms, men, horses, and supplies, and will continue helping us —such proof of loyalty have they already given us in our adversity; each day that passes makes us better, wiser, more steadfast men.

> Latin: 39.12. armis, uiris, equis, commeatibus iuuant iuuabuntque,—id iam fidei documentum in aduersis rebus nostris dederunt; meliores, prudentiores, constantiores nos tempus diesque facit.

[¶81] 39.13. Hannibal, on the contrary, is in an alien and hostile country, where all his surroundings are inimical and threatening, far from home and native city; for him there is no peace, on either land or sea; no cities receive him, no walls protect him; nowhere does he see aught that he can call his own; he subsists on the plunder of each day; he has barely a third of that army which he led across the Ebro;

> Latin: 39.13. Hannibal contra in aliena, in hostili est terra inter omnia inimica infestaque, procul ab domo, ab patria; neque illi terra neque mari est pax; nullae eum urbes accipiunt, nulla moenia; nihil usquam sui uidet, in diem rapto uiuit; partem uix tertiam exercitus eius habet quem Hiberum amnem traiecit;

[¶82] 39.14. more have perished by starvation than by the sword, and the few that are left have no longer any food.

> Latin: 39.14. plures fame quam ferro absumpti; nec his paucis iam uictus suppeditat.

[¶83] 39.15. Can you doubt then that if we sit still we must gain the victory over one who is growing weaker every day and is destitute of provisions, of replacements, and of money?

> Latin: 39.15. dubitas ergo quin sedendo superaturi simus eum qui senescat in dies, non commeatus, non supplementum, non pecuniam habeat?

[¶84] 39.16. How long, before Gereonium, a pitiful fort in Apulia, as if it had been the walls of Carthage, has he —but of myself I will not boast, even to you.

> Latin: 39.16. quamdiu pro Gereoni, castelli Apuliae inopis, tamquam pro Carthaginis moenibus sedet?

[¶85] 39.17. See how the consuls of last year, Servilius and Atilius, made a mock of him! “This is the only way of safety, Lucius Paulus, and your fellow citizens will do more than your enemies to make it hard and dangerous for you.”

> Latin: 39.17. ne aduersus te quidem de me gloriabor: Seruilius atque Atilius, proximi consules, uide quemadmodum eum ludificati sint. haec una salutis est uia, L. Paule, quam difficilem infestamque ciues tibi magis quam hostes facient.

[¶86] 39.18. “For your own soldiers will desire the same thing as the soldiers of the enemy; Varro, the Roman consul, will long for the same thing as Hannibal, the Phoenician commander-in-chief. Single-handed you will have to thwart two generals. But thwart them you will, if you stand out with sufficient firmness against rumours and men's idle talk, if neither the foolish applause bestowed upon your colleague nor your own unmerited disgrace shall move you.”

> Latin: 39.18. idem enim tui quod hostium milites uolent; idem Uarro consul Romanus quod Hannibal Poenus imperator cupiet. duobus ducibus unus resistas oportet. resistes autem, aduersus famam rumoresque hominum si satis firmus steteris, si te neque collegae uana gloria neque tua falsa infamia mouerit.

[¶87] 39.19. “Truth, they say, is all too frequently eclipsed but never extinguished. He who scorns false glory shall possess the true.”

> Latin: 39.19. ueritatem laborare nimis saepe aiunt, exstingui nunquam. gloriam qui spreuerit, ueram habebit.

[¶88] 39.20. “Let them call you timid, instead of cautious; slow, instead of circumspect; unwarlike, instead of experienced soldier. I had rather a wise enemy should fear you than foolish fellow citizens should praise you. He who dares all things will earn Hannibal's contempt; he who does nothing rashly will inspire him with fear.”

> Latin: 39.20. sine timidum pro cauto, tardum pro considerato, imbellem pro perito belli uocent. malo te sapiens hostis metuat quam stulti ciues laudent. omnia audentem contemnet Hannibal, nihil temere agentem metuet.

[¶89] 39.21. “Yet I do not urge that you do nothing, but that reason and not fortune should be your guide. Be master always of yourself and all that is yours; be armed and watchful; be not wanting when opportunity presents itself to you, neither present an opportunity to your enemy.”

> Latin: 39.21. nec ego ut nihil agatur <hortor> sed ut agentem te ratio ducat, non fortuna; tuae potestatis semper tu tuaque omnia sint; armatus intentusque sis; neque occasioni tuae desis neque suam occasionem hosti des.

[¶90] 39.22. “All things will be clear and definite to one who does not hurry. Haste is improvident and blind.”

> Latin: 39.22. omnia non properanti clara certaque erunt; festinatio improuida est et caeca.'

[¶91] 40.1. In reply to this the consul spoke in no very cheerful strain, admitting rather that what Fabius said was true than that it was easy of accomplishment.

> Latin: 40.1. aduersus ea consulis oratio haud sane laeta fuit, magis fatentis ea quae diceret uera quam facilia factu esse;

[¶92] 40.2. The dictator had found his master of the horse intolerable: what power or influence then would a consul have over a turbulent and headstrong colleague?

> Latin: 40.2. dictatori magistrum equitum intolerabilem fuisse; quid consuli aduersus collegam seditiosum ac temerarium uirium atque auctoritatis fore?

[¶93] 40.3. In his former consulship he had escaped badly burnt from the flames of popular resentment; he hoped that everything would turn out for the best; but if any misfortune should befall, he would sooner expose his life to the swords of the enemy than to the suffrages of his angry fellow citizens.

> Latin: 40.3. se populare incendium priore consulatu semustum effugisse; optare ut omnia prospere euenirent; sed si quid aduersi caderet, hostium se telis potius quam suffragiis iratorum ciuium caput obiecturum. ab hoc sermone profectum Paulum tradunt prosequentibus primoribus patrum:

[¶94] 40.4. Immediately after this conference they say that Paulus set out, escorted by the foremost senators: the plebeian consul was escorted by his own friends, the plebeians —in point of numbers the more imposing throng, though it contained no persons of distinction. When they got to the camp, the new forces were united with the old and the camp was divided into two, with the new and smaller one nearer Hannibal, while the greater part of the army and all the choicest troops were in the old one.

> Latin: 40.4. plebeium consulem sua plebes prosecuta, turba conspectior cum dignitates deessent. ut in castra uenerunt, permixto nouo exercitu ac uetere, castris bifariam factis, ut noua minora essent propius Hannibalem, in ueteribus maior pars et omne robur uirium esset, consulum anni prioris M.

[¶95] 40.6. Of the consuls of the year before, Marcus Atilius pleaded the excuse of age and was sent back to Rome; Geminus Servilius was put in command of the smaller camp, having under him a Roman legion and two thousand infantry and cavalry of the allies.

> Latin: 40.6. Atilium, aetatem excusantem, Romam miserunt, Geminum Seruilium in minoribus castris legioni Romanae et socium peditum equitumque duobus milibus praeficiunt.

[¶96] 40.7. Hannibal, though lie perceived that the forces of his enemies were augmented by a half, was nevertheless greatly rejoiced at the coming of the consuls.

> Latin: 40.7. Hannibal quamquam parte dimidia auctas hostium copias cernebat, tamen aduentu consulum mire gaudere.

[¶97] 40.8. For not only were the spoils exhausted on which his men had subsisted from day to day, but there was not even any district left for them to spoil; for when it appeared that the farms were no longer safe, the corn had everywhere been carried into the walled towns, and in consequence there was barely grain enough left —as was afterwards discovered —to last ten days, and the Spaniards, for want of food, had made ready to desert, if the Romans had only waited till the time was ripe.

> Latin: 40.8. non solum enim nihil ex raptis in diem commeatibus superabat sed ne unde raperet quidem quicquam reliqui erat, omni undique frumento, postquam ager parum tutus erat, in urbes munitas conuecto, ut uix decem dierum, quod compertum postea est, frumentum superesset Hispanorumque ob inopiam transitio parata fuerit, si maturitas temporum exspectata foret.

[¶98] 41.1. But even Fortune furnished material to the recklessness and over-hasty temper of the consul. The repulse of a foraging party had led to a general mellay, which came about from the soldiers rushing forward to attack the enemy, rather than from any plan or orders on the part of the generals; and in this the Phoenicians by no means held their own.

> Latin: 41.1. ceterum temeritati consulis ac praepropero ingenio materiam etiam fortuna dedit, quod in prohibendis praedatoribus tumultuario proelio ac procursu magis militum quam ex praeparato aut iussu imperatorum orto haudquaquam par Poenis dimicatio fuit.

[¶99] 41.2. About seventeen hundred of them were slain and not more than a hundred of Romans and allies. But the consul Paulus, who was in command that day —for they commanded on alternate days —was fearful of an ambuscade and checked the victors in their headlong pursuit, despite the angry remonstrances of Varro, who cried out that they had let the enemy slip through their hands and that they might have brought the war to a conclusion if they had not relaxed their efforts.

> Latin: 41.2. ad mille et septingenti caesi, non plus centum Romanorum sociorumque occisis. ceterum uictoribus effuse sequentibus metu insidiarum obstitit Paulus consul, cuius eo die—nam alternis imperitabant—imperium erat, Uarrone indignante ac uociferante emissum hostem e manibus debellarique ni cessatum foret potuisse.

[¶100] 41.4. Hannibal was not greatly disconcerted by this reverse; indeed he rejoiced that the hook should have been baited, as it were, for the rashness of the more impetuous consul, and especially for that of the new soldiers.

> Latin: 41.4. Hannibal id damnum haud aegerrime pati; quin potius credere uelut inescatam temeritatem ferocioris consulis ac nouorum maxime militum esse.

[¶101] 41.5. All the circumstances of his enemies were as familiar to him as his own: that their generals were unlike each other and were at loggerheads, and that nearly two-thirds of their army consisted of recruits.

> Latin: 41.5. et omnia ei hostium haud secus quam sua nota erant: dissimiles discordesque imperitare, duas prope partes tironum militum in exercitu esse.

[¶102] 41.6. Believing, therefore, that place and time were favourable for a ruse, he left his camp full of every sort of public and of private riches, and putting himself at the head of his troops, who carried nothing but their weapons, marched over the nearest ridge, drew up the infantry in ambush on the left, and the cavalry on the right, and made the baggage-train pass through the valley between, intending to fall upon

> Latin: 41.6. itaque locum et tempus insidiis aptum se habere ratus, nocte proxima nihil praeter arma ferente secum milite castra plena omnis fortunae publicae priuataeque relinquit, transque proximos montes laeua pedites instructos condit, dextra equites, impedimenta per conuallem mediam traducit,

[¶103] 41.8. the enemy whilst they were preoccupied and encumbered with the pillage of the camp, which would seem to them to have been deserted by its owners.

> Latin: 41.8. ut diripiendis uelut desertis fuga dominorum castris occupatum impeditumque hostem opprimeret.

[¶104] 41.9. He left a large number of fires burning, as though he had sought by means of this illusory appearance of an encampment to hold the consuls to their positions —as he had cheated Fabius the year before —till he could gain as long a start as possible in his retreat.

> Latin: 41.9. crebri relicti in castris ignes, ut fides fieret dum ipse longius spatium fuga praeciperet falsa imagine castrorum, sicut Fabium priore anno frustratus esset, tenere in locis consules uoluisse.

[¶105] 42.1. When day came, first the fact that the outposts had been withdrawn, and afterwards —as they came nearer —the unwonted silence filled the Romans with amazement.

> Latin: 42.1. ubi inluxit, subductae primo stationes, deinde propius adeuntibus insolitum silentium admirationem fecit.