2 quam cetera (sc. loca) circa = than the neighbouring country.

4-5 ut . . . ita = lit. as . . . so, i.e. although . . . yet . . .

6 postquam . . . ventum est = when they came to attack the wall in earnest. Effectum (verbal noun in us) = the completion of the work, i.e. the bringing up of the ram.—Dimsdale.

8 ut in suspecto loco = as (was natural) in a suspected (i.e. weak) spot.—Capes.

11-12 nec quicquam . . . pati = they allowed those engaged on the works no sort of safety, lit. not (even) moderate safety.—D.

18 adversum femur = in the front of the thigh.

SAGUNTUM (Murviedro = muri veteres) in Hispania Tarraconensis (about 20 miles S. of Valencia) was supposed to have been founded by Greek colonists from Zacynthos (Zante). In 226 B.C. Rome made an alliance with Saguntum and Hasdrubal was informed of the fact. Hannibal attacked the city ostensibly on the ground of its having molested subject-allies of Carthage, but really because he was unwilling to leave a strong city in his rear, and wished to obtain funds. After an eight months’ siege and a heroic defence, characteristic of Spanish towns, it was taken by storm 219 B.C.

Lucan, Phars. iii. 349-50.

Cf. also Juv. Sat. xv. 113-14, and the siege of Saragossa, 1808 A.D.

1 Coelius, i.e. L. Coelius Antipater (a contemporary of C. Gracchus 123 B.C.), wrote Annales, which contained a valuable account of the Second Punic War. Livy borrows largely from his narrative.

7 id . . . non potuisse. Cf. Livy ‘temperare oculis nequivisse = he could not restrain his eyes.’

8 cupiditate = from curiosity. Cf. Livy ‘cura ingeni humani = with the natural curiosity of the human mind.’

8-11 visam belluam . . . pervertere = he thought he saw a monster overthrowing.

202 hiatu = with its wide-open mouth.

203 Cyllenes, i.e. Mt. Cyllene (Zyria), the highest point in the Peloponnesus, on the borders of Arcadia and Achaia, where Hermes is said to have been born: hence styled Cyllenius.

209 tergore = tergo. poet. and post-Augustian.

Parallel Passage. Livy xxi. 22, and cf. Polybius iii. 47.

2 variat . . . rei = the accounts of what was done differ.—Dimsdale.

7 parte superiore . . . pontis = fastened to the upper part of the bank, i.e. to the bank at a point higher up stream.—D.

9 per solum = on firm ground.

14 ab actuariis = by some light craft, lit. ‘Easily moved’ (ago).

17-18 donec . . . agerentur = So long as they were being driven on what seemed a bridge connected with the land.—C. and B. Agebantur would be more usual, but agerentur may give the reason of nihil trepidabant. Cf. donec—fecisset ll. 21-22.

19 in altum = into mid stream, usu. of the Sea.—D.

 inter se = one on another, alii alios.

24 quaerendis pedetemptim vadis = feeling their way into shallow water. pedetemptim = step by step, lit. ‘stretching out the feet’ (pes + tendo). Cf. paulatim, sensim.

Reference. Polybius, iii. 46. Both Polybius and Livy thought that elephants could not swim.

2-3 varie . . . versat = works on their minds by different methods, i.e. castigando adhortandoque.—Dimsdale.

4-5 repens terror. Livy says that H.’s soldiers dreaded the Romans (victorious in the 1st Punic War), but still more the exaggerated and unknown terrors of the Alps.

7 Eos ipsos legatos, i.e. of the Boii (Insubrian Gauls), long settled in Gallia Cisalpina (round Mediolanum = Milan).

9 advenas Italiae cultores = foreign settlers in Italy. advenas = adj. here.—D.

11 migrantium modo = as immigrants.

16 Romam caput orbis. A rhetorical exaggeration, for Rome was not yet mistress even of all Italy (e.g. the Boii not subdued until 191 B.C.).

18 Cepisse Gallos. The Gauls sacked Rome 390 B.C.

20 genti . . . victae, e.g. at the Passage of the Rhone.

21 campum, i.e. the Campus Martius, N.W. of Rome, where the Tiber makes a wide curve. For the thought cf. p. 116, ll. 7, 8.

The Speeches of Livy. ‘He does not intend in them to reproduce the substance of words actually spoken, or even to imitate the tone of the time in which the speech is laid. He uses them as a vivid and dramatic method of portraying character and motive.’—Mackail.

Context. At a short distance from the summit of the Pass (prob. the Little St. Bernard) Hannibal finds his passage barred by a break in the road, caused by a landslip or avalanche.

2-3 in pedum . . . abruptus erat. Polybius says that the precipice at the side of the road (leaving only a narrow ledge) extended for about 1000 ft. in length. Livy in mistake converts this into 1000 ft. in depth.

3-4 Tandem . . . fatigatis, i.e. after H.’s attempt to pass by a side-way over a glacier failed.

4 in iugo, i.e. on the higher level where the road was broken away.

6 ad rupem muniendam = to cut a way through the rock. Munire (cf. moenia) = lit. ‘to wall,’ ‘to build.’ So munire viam = to make a road. Hannibal widened the narrow ledge of road by making a sort of terrace.

9 detruncatis = trimmed, (lit. ‘lopped off’), i.e. cleared of branches.

11-12 infuso aceto. Limestone rock might be softened by vinegar, which the posca, the soldiers’ regular drink of vinegar and water, would supply. Polybius does not mention this.

13-14 molliuntque . . . clivos = relieve the steepness of the descent by gently-sloping zigzag paths. Anfractus, from ambi + frango.

References. Polybius, iii. 54-56; Ihne, i. 171-179.

1 ad Trebiam, a small tributary S. of the Padus, which it joins 2 miles W. of Placentia (Piacenza).

2 castra. Ti. Sempronius Longus, with his army from Sicily, effected a junction with his colleague, Scipio, in his fortified camp on the W. or left bank of the Trebia.

8-9 ieiunum . . . rigefecit, i.e. Sempronius made stiff (rigefecit) with wading breast-high across the icy river his men faint with hunger (ieiunum).

11 oleoque, i.e. ut mollirent artus = to make their limbs supple.

12-13 nec defuit . . . caederet. The Romans kept their ground with the utmost courage till Mago burst out from his ambush and attacked them in rear.

574 precibus . . . undas. The poet, in his imitation of Vergil, makes Juno the devoted ally of Hannibal.

576 soli frustrata = prevented from reaching firm ground.

577 lento = sticky.

579 resoluta = crumbling.

References. Livy, xxi. 52-56; Ihne, ii. 187-191.

* Var. lect. decepere.
† For this qualifying use of ut cf. p. 42, iii. (b) and p. 83 line 1.

1 Flaminius (Gaius), the chief of the popular party at Rome. Consul 223 B.C., conquered the Insubrian Gauls, Censor 220 B.C. Connected Picenum with Rome by the Via Flaminia. Consul (a second time) 217 B.C., defeated and killed at Trasimene.

2 inexplorato = without reconnoitring. ‘This word expresses the whole blame attaching to Flaminius, and it is great.’—Dimsdale.

4 pandi (= se pandere) = to deploy.

13 ipsa . . . conspecta = were sufficiently visible to each other.

15 prius quam satis cerneret = before he could clearly distinguish anything.—D.

19 ut in re trepida = considering the confusion of the moment.—D.

The Scene of the Battle. At the N.W. end of the Lake the mountains of Cortona come right down to the lake, but a little further E. the pass expands and forms between the mountains and the lake a narrow plain from ½ to 1½ miles in width and about 4 miles in length. At the E. end of the plain the mountains again close down upon the lake. Here Hannibal encamped with his Africans and Spaniards; posted his light-armed troops behind the crests of the hills which bounded the plain on the N., and his cavalry at the entrance to the pass on the W. to cut off the Roman retreat.

* Var. lect. terrentium = of those causing fear.

4 ad arma capienda aptandaque = to seize and put on for the battle their arms.—Dimsdale.

5 onerati: i.e. most were cut down in their full marching equipment.

8-9 mixtos . . . clamores = the mingled shouts of noisy triumph (strepentium) or dismay.

10 pugnantium . . . haerebant = rushed upon a knot (globo) of combatants, and became entangled with it.—Jebb.

14 a fronte, i.e. by Hannibal’s African and Spanish infantry.

 ab tergo, i.e. by Hannibal’s cavalry and the Gauls.

18-19 non illa . . . triarios = not in that well-known (illa) mode of fighting (sc. pugna) arranged according to. . . . Livy refers to the old mode of formation (said to have been introduced by Camillus) of i. hastati, of young men, ii. principes, of men at their prime, iii. triarii, of middle-aged men.

References: Polybius, iii. 82-84; Ihne, Hist. vol, i. pp. 204-10.

644 Dum . . . hostes, i.e. after Flaminius’ vain attempt to rally and form his men, and his consequent resolve to atone for his fault (inexplorato* angustiis superatis) with his life.

645 Ducarius—Livy, ‘an Insubrian (Lombard) trooper.’

651 mānet = will flow. Cf. emanate.

652 populares = fellow-countrymen, but of Romans usu. civis.

658-666 Livy says more simply ‘He (Ducarius) was trying to despoil the corpse, when some veterans screened it with their shields.’

660 laeva = unfavourable, lit. ‘on the left side.’ Cf. sinister.

* See p. 124, l. 2, note.

Parallel Passages.—Livy, xxii. 6; Polyb. iii. 84.

Character of Flaminius. ‘The party feelings which have so coloured the language of the ancient writers (e.g. Livy, Polybius) respecting him need not be shared by a modern historian. Flaminius was indeed an unequal antagonist to Hannibal; but, in his previous life, as Consul and as Censor, he had served his country well; and if the defile of Trasimene witnessed his rashness, it also contains his honourable grave.’ Arnold, Hist. Rome, iii. 110.

1 Ego, i.e. M. Porcius Cato, the famous Censor of 184 B.C.

 eum qui Tarentum recepit. Tarentum was betrayed to Hannibal 212 B.C. and recovered by Fabius 209 B.C.

2-3 Erat . . . gravitas = that hero possessed dignity tempered by courtesy.—J. S. R. condita (condio) = lit. seasoned.

5 grandis, sc. natu. He was consul for a first time in 233 B.C.

6 iuveniliter. Hannibal was 29 when he crossed the Alps.

 exsultantem = wildly roaming, of a horse galloping at will.

7 noster Ennius, circ. 239-169 B.C., famous espec. for his Annales in Hexameter verse. He was the first Latin writer to use this metre.

9 Noenum (ne + oinum = not one thing) = non. Cf. nihil = ne + hilum = not a whit, nothing.

12-14 Flaminius, when tribune 232 B.C., by a vote of the Comitia Tributa (i.e. by a plebiscitum) and against the expressed wish of the Senate (contra senatus auctoritatem) carried an agrarian law for the division of public land in Picenum amongst Roman citizens.

18 laudatio, sc. funebris, the funeral speech.

19-20 in luce . . . civium = in public and under the gaze of his fellow-countrymen.—J. S. R.

References. Polybius, iii. 89, 90; Livy, xxii. 12; Plutarch, Fabius, vi.

Context. Fabius’ policy of ‘masterly inactivity’ had become so unpopular at Rome that the command of the army was divided between Fabius and Minucius, who risked a battle, and was only saved from a destruction as complete as that of the Trebia by the timely aid of Fabius. Minucius publicly and fully atones for his rashness.

4 consulat = can give counsel—so consulere l. 6.

6-7 extremi ingenii = has the meanest capacity. gen. of quality.

7-8 prima . . . sors est = the highest rank in the scale of spirit and intellect.—Dimsdale.

14 patronos = as the authors of your freedom. Patronus = legal title used by a freed slave (libertus) of his former master. The soldiers of Minucius are to think of themselves as liberti, owing their freedom to those of Fabius, who are thus their patroni.

17 ut colligantur vasa, i.e. impedimenta. Cf. signa movere.

Fabius Cunctator. ‘Fabius had to create a new army, to accustom it to war, and to inspire it with courage. He did this skilfully and persistently, and thus he rendered the most essential service that any general could at that time render to the State. It was probably at this time that the Senate voted him a crown of grass (corona graminea), the highest distinction which was awarded to a general who had saved a besieged town.’—Ihne.

1 Sub . . . certaminis, i.e. at the close of (sub) the first stage in the battle, in which the Roman cavalry were defeated.

2-3 constabant . . . Hispanisque. These formed Hannibal’s centre, the convex of his semicircular formation of his infantry, with the African troops on the horns of the semicircle to the right and left, but at some distance behind.

4 obliqua fronte, perh. = concave, so as to surround the projecting part of the enemy’s line (a cetera prominentem acie).

5 cuneum: here = the convex formation of the Gauls and Spaniards.

8-9 in mediam aciem = the centre of the line, i.e. of the Gauls and Spaniards, who were intended to engage with the Romans first.

10 subsidia = reserves, i.e. the Africans, on the right and left.

14-16 Afri circa . . . alas. Hannibal’s formation is now reversed.* The horns (cornua) of the semicircle (the Africans) are now advanced, and outflanked (circumdedere alas) the Romans, who rushed heedlessly into the intervening space (in medium, i.e. the concave part of H.’s line formed by the retirement of the Gauls and Spaniards).

21-22 recentibus ac vegetis = fresh in body and mind.

* i.e. the Africans now formed the horns of a crescent in relation to their centre, while it formed the concave part of the crescent.—D.

Results of the Battle. Hannibal becomes master of Magna Graecia, and the Romans lose (including 23,000 taken prisoners) about 70,000 men.

1 praetervehens equo = riding by. praetervehor used here as a deponent.—Dimsdale.

2 oppletum (= perfusum) = covered (lit. filled up), or drenched.

4 respicere = to look on with favour.—D.

9 macte virtute esto = lit. go on and prosper in your courage.

 mactus = i. magis + auctus = increased, glorified, or more prob. ii. = old partic. of obsolete mago (= augeo), from √μακ, e.g. in μάκ-αρ. Vocative used as nominative.

14 praeceptorum. His self-sacrifice was not in vain. The tactics of Fabius were again adopted after his death.

15 et vixisse adhuc et mori = died as he had ever lived.—D.

17 reus iterum e consulatu = a second time to stand on my defence in consequence of my consulship, i.e. on a charge that grew out of his acts as Consul (219 B.C.) with M. Livius Salinator of misappropriation of the spoils at the close of the Illyrian War.

18-19 ut . . . protegam. The two Consuls had the chief command of the army on alternate days. Varro was in command at Cannae.

‘The overthrow of Cannae was so complete that every other nation but the Romans would have given up the idea of further resistance.’—Ihne.

2-4 diei . . . sumeret = he should take what remained of that day and the following night for rest.—Church and Brodribb.

8 venisse, sc. te, suggested by sequere.—Dimsdale.

9 res = the idea, i.e. of such a rapid termination to the war.—D.

Hannibal was too far off (11 days’ march) to take Rome by storm. Its population contained as many soldiers as his army, and the city was strongly fortified by its situation and by art.

18 P. Scipio adulescens, i.e. P. Corn. Scipio Africanns Maior, fatalis dux huiusce belli, the predestined champion in this war.

Parallel Passage. Livy, xxii. 53, and cf. Livy, v. 50-55, where Camillus dissuades the commons from migrating to Veii.

37 Scauros* (= Scaurum) = such men as Scaurus. Censor, 100 B.C.

40 Fabricium, who despised the bribes of Pyrrhus. Censor 275 B.C. See p. 101, Fabricius the Just.

43-44 apto cum lare = with homestead to match.—Gow.

* Cf. in French, Les Vergiles.