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LIBER XXI.

(1) Reflections on the greatness of the second Punic war, the history of which is begun in this book. The well-known anecdote of Hannibal's oath. (2) Hasdrubal's conduct in Spain, and murder. (3) Discussion in the Carthaginian senate as to Hannibal's being appointed commander. (4) Hannibal's character. (5) He makes war on some Spanish tribes. (6) He commences hostilities against the Saguntines, allies of the Roman people. The Romans send ambassadors to him. (7-8) Saguntum besieged. (9-10) The Roman ambassadors, refused an audience by Hannibal, proceed to Carthage. Proceedings in the Carthaginian senate. Hanno's speech. (11-15) Siege of Saguntum continued. Alco and Alorcus. City taken. (16-17) Alarm at Rome. Arrangements for the war. (18) Roman ambassadors go to Carthage. War formally declared. (19-20) The ambassadors attempt to turn away the tribes of Spain and Gaul from the Carthaginians, but without much success. (21-22) Hannibal makes arrangements for the safety of Africa and Spain during his projected invasion of Italy. He sees a good omen. (23-24) He passes the Pyrenees. The Gauls are induced not to oppose his march. (25) A tumultuary war between the Romans and Boii. (26-32) P. Cornelius Scipio sent to the south of Gaul to oppose Hannibal's march. Hannibal crosses the Rhone, and continues his march without Scipio's being able to prevent it. He arrives at the foot of the Alps, and the consul returns to his ships. (33-37) Hannibal's celebrated march across the Alps. (38) Number of his forces. Point at which he crossed the Alps discussed. (39) Hannibal recruits his troops, and Scipio hurries north to the Ticinus, to attack him while his soldiers are yet weary with their terrible march. (40-41) Scipio's speech to his soldiers. (42) Hannibal contrives means of keeping up the spirits of his soldiers. (43-44) His speech to the troops. (45) He offers rewards for valour. (46) The battle on the Ticinus. Scipio worsted, and wounded. (47-48) Hannibal advances to the Trebia. He obtains possession of the village of Clastidium, where the Romans have stored up corn. (49-50) The Romans and Carthaginians have a sea-fight off Sicily. (51) The Consul Sempronius, having made arrangements for the safety of Sicily, joins his colleague at the Trebia. (52) Sempronius eager to fight, Scipio backward. A skirmish between the Romans and Carthaginians, in which the former have slightly the

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better. (53) Sempronius resolves to give battle. Hannibal equally eager, because sure of victory. (54) The Romans cross the Trebia, and are almost frozen. (55-56) The battle. (57-59) Great alarm at Rome. Cn. Servilius and C. Flaminius elected consuls. Hannibal's troops suffer severely from cold. Skirmish between Hannibal and Sempronius. (60) Scipio, sent to Spain, defeats Hanno, (61) and ravages the country of the allies of the Carthaginians. (62) Prodigies at Rome. (63) C. Flaminius enters on his consulship.

IN parte operis mei licet mihi praefari quod in principio summae totius1 professi plerique sunt rerum scriptores, bellum maxime omnium memorabile, quae unquam gesta sint, me scripturum, quod Hannibale duce Carthaginienses cum populo Romano gessere. Nam neque validiores opibus ullae inter se civitates gentesque contulerunt arma, neque his ipsis tantum unquam virium aut roboris fuit:2 et haud ignotas belli artes inter se,3 sed expertas primo Punico conserebant bello: et adeo varia belli fortuna ancepsque Mars fuit, ut propius periculum fuerint qui vicerunt.

Summa means

a

1 Summae totius, of a whole connected work.' 6 whole,' in opposition to its parts. Livy says, then, that having now come to a distinct part of his work-to wit, the history of the second Punic war-he may make the same remark which many other historians have made at the beginning of their works-namely, that they were about to describe very remarkable events. Thucydides, for example, commences his history of the Peloponnesian war with a similar observation. The whole history of a nation, such as Livy narrates, must contain portions of very various importance. The second Punic war, which broke out in 218 B. C., stands out in Roman history as of prime importance: it was a kind of ordeal of the Roman state; and when Rome came out of it, not unscathed, indeed, but still strong and proud, no nation afterwards could ever cope with her.

2 Livy says that at no time had Carthage and Rome been so powerful as when they began the second Punic war; and this statement is quite correct, for Carthage had made up for the loss of Sicily and Sardinia, which followed the first Punic war, by the appropriation of Spain; and all Roman writers unite in testifying that Italy, which was closely connected with Rome, was never more populous, or, from the military spirit and skill of its free-born inhabitants, more flourishing, than shortly before the outbreak of the Hannibalian war. wealth and population were great also in later times; but the wealth was in the hands of a comparatively small number, while the population in the Roman part was composed principally of slaves, freedmen, and very poor people, not, as formerly, of a respectable middle-class.

Its

3With each other,' a more particular definition added to haud ignotas: the manner and peculiarities of the warfare of each were known by experience to the other-were mutually known.

4 Livy uses both constructions-the dative and the accusative-with the comparative and superlative of prope. See Gram. § 255, note 2.

1

Odiis etiam prope majoribus certarunt quam viribus, Romanis indignantibus quod victoribus victi ultro inferrent arma, Poenis quod superbe avareque crederent imperitatum victis esse. Fama est etiam Hannibalem annorum ferme novem, 2 pueriliter blandientem patri Hamilcari ut duceretur in Hispaniam, cum perfecto Africo bello 3 exercitum eo trajecturus sacrificaret, altaribus admotum, tactis sacris jurejurando adactum se, cum primum posset, hostem fore populo Romano. Angebant ingentis spiritus virum Sicilia Sardiniaque amissae: nam et Siciliam nimis celeri desperatione rerum concessam, et Sardiniam inter motum Africae fraude Romanorum, stipendio 5 etiam insuper imposito, interceptam.

2. His anxius curis ita se Africo bello, quod fuit sub recentem Romanam pacem,6 per quinque annos, ita deinde novem annis in Hispania augendo Punico imperio gessit, ut appareret majus eum quam quod gereret agitare in animo bellum, et si diutius vixisset, Hamilcare duce Poenos arma Italiae illaturos fuisse, qui Hannibalis ductu intulerunt:7

1 The Romans had made use of their superiority after the first Punic war-whilst Carthage was engaged in a dangerous struggle with her rebellious mercenaries-to render the conditions of peace more severe, exacting more money, and taking possession of the island of Sardinia, to which, however, the Carthaginians had properly as little right as the Romans.

2 As to this genitive, see Gram. § 276.

3 This is the war, alluded to in a previous note, which the Carthaginians carried on with the mercenaries whom they had employed in the first Punic war, and afterwards shamefully dismissed without the pay due to them. These mercenary troops consisted chiefly of Gallic barbarians. This war, according to a statement of our author in the following chapter, lasted for five years; whereas Polybius, who gives a detailed account of it, mentions only three years and five months, probably reckoning, however, merely the time spent in actual warfare. The war was brought to a close principally by the skill and valour of Hamilcar.

4 Altaria, the high altar in the inner part of a temple, is commonly used as a plurale tantum (Gram. § 77), because such an altar consists, as it were, of several arae piled upon one another.

5 Stipendium is a war contribution,' so called because originally it was imposed on a conquered nation, to pay the troops who had been employed in the war by the conquerors.

6Immediately after the conclusion of peace with the Romans.' The adjective recentem merely expresses more definitely the sense implied in the preposition sub. See Zumpt, § 319.

7'It was evident that the Carthaginians, who invaded Italy under the command of Hannibal, would have done the same under Hamilcar,

mors Hamilcaris peropportuna et pueritia Hannibalis distulerunt bellum. Medius Hasdrubal inter patrem ac filium octo ferme annos imperium obtinuit, flore aetatis, uti ferunt, primo Hamilcari conciliatus,' gener inde ob altam indolem provecto annis ascitus, et quia gener erat, factionis Barcinae opibus, quae apud milites plebemque plus quam modicae erant, haud sane voluntate principum, in imperio positus.2 Is plura consilio quam vi gerens, hospitiis magis regulorum 3 conciliandisque per amicitiam principum novis gentibus quam bello aut armis rem Carthaginiensem auxit. Ceterum nihilo ei pax tutior fuit: barbarus eum quidam palam, ob iram interfecti ab eo domini, obtruncavit; comprehensusque ab circumstantibus haud alio quam si evasisset vultu, tormentis quoque cum laceraretur, eo fuit habitu oris ut superante laetitia dolores ridentis etiam speciem praebuerit.5 Cum hoc Hasdrubale, quia mirae artis in sollicitandis gentibus imperioque suo jungendis fuerat, foedus renovaverat populus Romanus, ut finis utriusque imperii esset amnis

if he had lived longer.' We have restored the reading of the manuscripts, qui, for which other editions give quae, referring to arma: the Carthaginians would have invaded Italy under Hamilcar, as they actually did under Hannibal.' The sense is not materially different.

1He first gained the favour of Hamilcar by his youthful beauty:" the author adds, as people say,' because this kind of recommendation leads to the suspicion of something immoral, and not creditable to the great Hamilcar.

2 Promoted to the supreme command.' Hamilcar was surnamed Barca, which was either a personal appellation, meaning 'lightning,' or a generic name, indicating that he was a member of the Carthaginian gens Barcina, which is mentioned by Livy in xxiii. 41. From Barca the party in Carthage which supported Hamilcar, and after him his son Hannibal, was called the factio Barcina. This party was opposed in the senate by another, less hostile to the Romans, and the heads of which are here called principes. Against their will Hasdrubal obtained the chief command in Spain; and in the same manner the factio Barcina maintained its influence during the remainder of the

war.

3 This was the name given to the princes of the Spanish tribes, and of petty tribes in general; whilst rex was reserved for greater states, and was in later times bestowed by the Roman senate as an honour on allied-that is, subordinate-princes.

4 From anger at the killing of his master by him (Hasdrubal).' As to the objective genitive, see Gram. § 273, with notes.

The perfect subjunctive, representing the statement as a result, not a part of the regular narrative. See Zumpt, § 504.

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