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U. C. 537. sent, primos ire jussit: sequi Gallos, ut id agminis medium A. C. 217. esset; novissimos ire equites: Magonem inde cum expe

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ditis Numidis cogere agmen, maxime Gailos, si tædio laboris longæque viæ (ut est mollis ad talia gens) dilaberentur aut subsisterent, cohibentem. Primi, qua modo præirent duces, per præaltas fluvii ac profundas voragines, hausti pæne limo immergentesque se, tamen signa sequebantur. Galli neque sustinere se prolapsis, neque assurgere ex voraginibus poterant; aut corpora animis, aut animos spe sustinebant: alii fessa ægre trahentes membra; alii, ubi semel victis tædio animis procubuissent, inter jumenta, et ipsa jacentia passim, morientes: maximeque omnium vigiliæ conficiebant, per quatriduum jam et tres noctes toleQuum, omnia obtinentibus aquis, nihil, ubi in sicco fessa sternerent corpora, inveniri posset, cumulatis in aquas sarcinis insuper incumbebant. Jumentorum itinere toto" prostratorum passim acervi tantum, quod exstaret aqua, quærentibus ad quietem parvi temporis necessarium cubile dabant. Ipse Hannibal, æger oculis ex verna primum intemperie variante calores frigoraque, elephanto, qui unus superfuerat, quo altius ab aqua exstaret, vectus; vigiliis tandem et nocturno humore palustrique cœlo gravante caput, et quia medendi nec locus nec tempus erat, alteros oculo capitur.

ratæ.

Multis hominibus jumentisque foede amissis, quum tandem de paludibus emersisset, ubi primum in sicco potuit, castra locat: certumque per præmissos exploratores habuit, exercitum Romanum circa Arretii monia esse. Consulis deinde consilia atque animum, et situm regionum, itineraque, et copias ad commeatus expediendos, et cetera, quæ cognosse in rem erat, summa omnia cum cura' inquirendo exsequebatur. Regio erat in primis Italiæ fertilis', Etrusci

4 Præaltas-profundas.] These epithets differ in signifying, the former, "rising to a high level," and the latter, "extending far downwards." We may translate by the terms "full" and "deep."

5 Sustinere se prolapsi.] "Keep themselves from falling." For aut corpora &c. aut, Crevier reads, neque -neque. It is more probable, however, that Livy wrote haud &c. haud.

6 Omnia obtinentibus aquis.] All the rivers in this part of Italy are flooded in winter, and almost altogether disappear in summer.

7 Jumentorum itinere toto, &c.] "The heaps of cattle, lying along the whole line of march, alone afforded

a surface above the water to those who sought a resting place indispensable to a few moments' repose."

8 Tantum, quod exstaret aquá.] May be also taken after quærentibus: thus, "to those who sought merely some resting place above the water;" that is, who were satisfied with all else, if the surface were only dry.

9 Summá omnia cum curá, &c.] "All this he fully and carefully investigated;" literally, "persisted in inquiring," &c.

i Regio erat in primis Italia fertilis, &c.] These Etrurian plains, enclosed by two chains of hills, and intersected by the river Chiana or Clanis, form the val d'Arno, as cele

campi, qui Fæsulas inter Arretiumque jacent, frumenti ac U. C. 537. pecoris et omnium copia rerum opulenti. Consul ferox ab A. C. 217. consulatu priore, et non modo legum ac Patrum majestatis, sed ne deorum quidem satis metuens. Hanc insitam ingenio ejus temeritatem fortuna prospero civilibus bellicisque rebus successu aluerat. Itaque satis apparebat3, nec deos nec homines consulentem, ferociter omnia ac præpropere acturum. Quoque pronior esset in vitia sua, agitare eum atque irritare Poenus parat: et, læva relicto hoste, Fæsulas petens, medio Etruriæ agro prædatum profectus, quantam maximam vastitatem potest, cædibus incendiisque consuli procul ostendit. Flaminius, qui ne quieto quidem hoste ipse quieturus erat, tum vero, postquam res sociorum ante oculos prope suos ferri agique vidit, suum id dedecus ratus, per mediam jam Italiam vagari Poenum, atque, obsistente nullo, ad ipsa Romana moenia ire oppugnanda; ceteris omnibus in consilio salutaria magis, quam speciosa", suadentibus, collegam exspectandum, ut conjunctis exercitibus, ' communi animo consilioque rem gererent; interim equitatu auxiliisque levium armorum ab effusa prædandi li'centia hostem cohibendum;' iratus se ex consilio proripuit, signumque simul itineris pugnæque proposuit. Quin imo 'Arretii ante moenia sedeamus,' inquit: hic enim patria " et penates sunt. Hannibal emissus e manibus perpopule'tur Italiam, vastandoque et urendo omnia ad Romana 'monia perveniat; nec ante nos hinc moverimus, quam, sicut olim Camillum ab Veiis', C. Flaminium ab Arretio 'Patres acciverint.' Hæc simul increpans, quum ocius signa convelli juberet, et ipse in equum insiluisset, equus repente corruit, consulemque lapsum super caput effudit.

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brated in modern times for beauty and fertility, as the vale of Tempe among the ancients. Fæsulæ (Fiesole) was originally, as was also Arretium, one of the twelve Etrurian cities; and after the submission of the whole confederacy to Rome, colonized by Sylla. It existed in considerable prosperity until the commencement of the eleventh century, when it was destroyed in a war with Florence. It is now a comparatively deserted, but still beautiful, village. Standing on an eminence, it commands a view of Florence and the valley.

2 Hanc insitam ingenio, &c.] "This constitutional imprudence circumstances had encouraged by the favourable results of civil and military

transactions."

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3 Satis apparebat.] "It was quite evident."

4 Medio Etruriæ agro prædatum,] i. e. (in) medio agro.

5 Qui ne quieto quidem hoste, &c.] "Who would not have remained quiet even during the repose of the enemy."

6 Salutaria magis, quam speciosa.] "Rather beneficial than imposing.'

7 Sicut olim Camillum ab Veiis, &c.] There is probably a twofold meaning in this allusion to Camillus. In the first place, the Government at home is charged with a habitual insensibility to the value of its generals: and secondly, but less directly, Flaminius compares himself with the conqueror of Veii.

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U.C. 537. Territis omnibus, qui circa erant, velut fœdo omine incipiA.C. 217. endæ rei, insuper nuntiatur, signum, omni vi moliente signifero, convelli nequire. Conversus ad nuntium, ' Num literas quoque,' inquit, ab senatu affers, quæ me rem gerere vetent? Abi, nuntia, signum effodiant, si ad con' vellendum manus præ metu obtorpuerint.' Incedere inde agmen cœpit; primoribus, super quam quod dissenserant9 a consilio, territis etiam duplici prodigio; milite in vulgus læto ferocia ducis, quum spem magis ipsam, quam causam spei, intueretur.

4.

Hannibal, quod agri est inter Cortonam urbem Trasimenumque lacum, omni clade belli pervastat, quo magis iram hosti ad vindicandas sociorum injurias acuat. Et jam pervenerant ad loca insidiis nata, ubi maxime' montes Corto

8 Num literas quoque, &c.] An allusion to his recall by the Senate on a former occasion.

9 Super quam quod dissenserant, &c.] "In addition to the fact of their having disapproved of" (to their previous dissent from) "his plans."

Uli maxime.] "Just at the point where," &c. The place chosen by Hannibal for this engagement was the plain, (about six miles long, by four miles in breadth,) enclosed on one side by the lake, and on the other by a semicircular wall of mountains (the Gualandra), to which the only entrances were narrow defiles at each extremity, lying between the water and a precipice, and very closely resembling the pass of Caudium. On the banks of the lake, which is about ten miles long and seven wide, there stand at present three modern villages, Torricelli, Passignano, and Borghetto. The road from Torricelli winds along the bank to Passignano, which is situated at one defile; and at the other end of the plain, where the mountains project upon the lake, stands Borghetto It was in the centre of the plain, so enclosed, that Hannibal encamped with his African and Spanish troops. The Baleares and other light infantry were distributed through the recesses of the mountains; and the cavalry ordered to occupy the defile as soon as the Romans should have passed through it. The Consul

had no sooner cleared the pass at Borghetto, which he did before daybreak in the morning (vixdum satis certa luce), in his anxiety to attack the enemy whom he saw in front, than he was informed, by the shout rising all around him, that he was entrapped: the lake was on his right; the main body of the enemy in front, on a rising ground toward Torricelli; the light troops occupying the Gualandra hills on the left; and the cavalry closing up the pass on the rear. While the Romans, thus hemmed in, were endeavouring to form a line of battle, a thick mist, rising from the water, darkened the whole scene, and brought on inextricable confusion. The battle lasted about three hours; and the return of sunshine shewed the ground, especially toward the hills near Borghetto, covered with the bodies of the Romans, and the lake stained with their blood. One of the two streamlets that flow from the hills, and which nearly bisects the plain, is still known by the name Sanguinetto, or Fossa del sangue. It is supposed to run by the spot where Flaminius fell, and to have on that day rolled a stream of blood to the lake. On an eminence over the road, near Borghetto, the ruins of a castle are still called "the tower of Hannibal;" and a small village in the neighbourhood, where human bones are frequently dug up, has received the name Ossaja, the origin of which is recorded in the following

nenses Trasimenus subit. Via tantum interest perangusta, U. C. 537. velut ad id ipsum de industria relicto spatio: deinde paullo A. C. 217. latior patescit campus; inde colles assurgunt. Ibi castra in aperto locat, ubi ipse cum Afris modo Hispanisque consideret. Baliares ceteramque levem armaturam post montes circumducit: equites ad ipsas fauces saltus, tumulis apte tegentibus, locat; ut, ubi intrassent Romani, objecto equitatu, clausa omnia lacu ac montibus essent.

Flaminius quum pridie solis occasu ad lacum pervenisset, inexplorato, postero die, vixdum satis certa luce, angustiis superatis, postquam in patentiorem campum pandi agmen cœpit, id tantum hostium, quod ex adverso erat, conspexit : ab tergo et super caput decepere insidiæ. Poenus ubi, id quod petierat, clausum lacu ac montibus et circumfusum suis copiis habuit hostem, signum omnibus dat simul invadendi. Qui ubi, qua cuique proximum fuit, decucurrere, eo magis Romanis subita atque improvisa res fuit, quod orta ex lacu nebula campo, quam montibus, densior sederat, agminaque hostium ex pluribus collibus ipsa inter se satis. conspecta, eoque magis pariter decucurrerunt. Romanus clamore prius undique orto, quam satis cerneret, se circumventum esse sensit; et ante in frontem lateraque pugnari coeptum est, quam satis instrueretur acies, aut expediri arma, stringique gladii possent. Consul, perculsis omnibus,

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Quæ dolus Hannibalis fudit, et hasta simul."

It is reported, and, as at Marathon, believed by the native peasantry, that a sound of clashing shields and charging armies is sometimes heard upon this plain at night. A similar superstition prevails at Neerwinden, where the French under Dumourier were defeated, in 1793, by the Austrians under the Prince of Saxe Coburg; and at Tewkesbury, where, on the plain still known as "the bloody field," a numerous force of

Lancastrians were massacred. This

popular belief is beautifully illustrated by Ugo Foscolo in the lines on Marathon.

"il navigante, Che veleggio quel mar sotto l' Eubea, Vedea per l'ampia oscurita scintlle," &c.

2 Pœnus ubi, id quod petierat, &c.] "As soon as the Carthaginian had his enemy-as he had been desiring-shut in by the lake

and the hills, and surrounded by his
own troops, he gave the signal of
attack to all at the same moment;
and when they ran down by their
several shortest ways, the movement
was the more sudden and unforeseen

by the Romans, as the mist rising
from the lake had rested more
thickly on the plain than on the
hills; and the divisions of the
enemy came down with a clear view
of each other from the several
valleys, and therefore, more simul-
taneously. The Romans perceived
by the shout that rose all around
them, before they could see clearly,
(i. e. obtain an open view,) that they
were surrounded; and the battle
began in front and on the flanks, be-
fore their lines could be well formed,
their arms adjusted, or their swords
drawn.' Collibus instead of vallibus
has been suggested by Lipsius,
under the impression that the whole
space was but one valley. The
name, however, may be applicable
to the several recesses and in-
equalities on the sides of the hills.

5.

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U. C. 537. ipse satis, ut in trepida re3, impavidus turbatos ordines, verA. C. 217. tente se quoque ad dissonos clamores, instruit, ut tempus locusque patitur; et quacunque adire audirique potest, adhortatur, ac stare et pugnare jubet; nec enim inde votis ' aut imploratione deum, sed vi ac virtute, evadendum esse. 'Per medias acies ferro viam fieri: et, quo timoris minus 'sit, eo minus ferme periculi esse.' Ceterum præ strepitu ac tumultu nec consilium nec imperium accipi poterat: tantumque aberat, ut sua signa atque ordinem et locum nosceret miles, ut vix ad arma capienda aptandaque pugnæ competeret animus: opprimerenturque quidam, onerati magis his, quam tecti: et erat in tanta caligine major usus aurium quam oculorum. Ad gemitus vulnerum ictusque corporum aut armorum, et mixtos strepentium paventiumque clamores, circumferebant ora oculosque. Alii fugientes pugnantium globo illati hærebant: alios redeuntes in pugnam avertebat fugientium agmen. Deinde, ubi in omnes partes nequicquam impetus capti, et ab lateribus montes ac lacus, a fronte et ab tergo hostium acies claudebat, apparuitque, nullam, nisi in dextra ferroque, salutis spem esse; tum sibi quisque dux adhortatorque factus ad rem gerendam, et nova de integro pugna exorta est; non illa ordinata' per principes hastatosque ac triarios, nec ut pro signis antesignani, post signa alia pugnaret acies; nec ut in sua legione miles, aut cohorte, aut manipulo esset. Fors conglobat, et animus suus cuiques ante aut post pugnandi ordinem dabat: tantusque fuit ardor armorum, adeo intentus pugnæ animus,

3 Ut in trepida re.] "Considering his dangerous position."

4 Viam fieri-esse.] The present infinitive implies that these are general observations: sc. "A path can be opened with the sword through surrounding ranks; and the less fear there is, the less in general the danger."

5 Vix-competeret animus.] "They had scarcely presence of mind."

6 Alii fugientes &c.] "Some were impeded in their flight by coming in contact with" &c.

7 Non illa ordinata &c.] The regular arrangement of the Roman line of battle is intelligible, as being available only on the supposition that they stood in a quin

cunx.

Such an arrangement would have afforded the intervals necessary for the use of the weapons of the ranks behind the van, and for

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