16 caesi dicuntur; in his ambo consulum quaestores, L. Ati lius et L. Furius Bibaculus, et undetriginta tribuni militum, consulares quidam praetoriique et aedilicii — inter eos Cn. Servilium Geminum et M. Minucium numerant, qui magister equitum priore anno, aliquot annis ante consul fuerat 17 octoginta praeterea aut senatores aut qui eos magistratus gessissent, unde in senatum legi deberent, cum sua 18 voluntate milites in legionibus facti essent. Capta eo proelio tria milia peditum et equites mille et quingenti dicuntur.

I 50. Haec est pugna Cannensis, Aliensi cladi nobilitate 2 par, ceterum uti eis quae post pugnam accidere levior, quia ab hoste est cessatum, sic strage exercitus gravior foedior3 que. Fuga namque ad Aliam sicut urbem prodidit, ita exercitum servavit; ad Cannas fugientem consulem vix quinquaginta secuti sunt, alterius morientis prope totus exercitus fuit.

BOOK XXIV

Siege of Syracuse

B.C.

33. Inde terra marique simul coeptae oppugnari Syra- 9 cusae, terra ab Hexapylo, mari ab Achradina, cuius murus 214 fluctu adluitur. Et quia, sicut Leontinos terrore ac primo impetu ceperant, non diffidebant vastam disiectamque spatio urbem parte aliqua se invasuros, omnem apparatum oppugnandarum urbium muris admoverunt.

Frontin. Strat. 4, 5, 6 Varro collega eius vel maiore constantia post eandem cladem vixit gratiaeque ei a senatu et populo actae sunt, quod non desperasset rem publicam. Non autem vitae cupiditate, sed rei publicae amore se superfuisse reliquo aetatis suae tempore adprobavit ; et barbam capillumque submisit et postea numquam recubans cibum cepit; honoribus quoque, cum ei deferrentur a populo, renuntiavit, dicens felicioribus magistratibus rei publicae opus esse.

Book XXIV. 339–34. Book XXV. 31. References: Polyb. 8, 5-9; 37. Plut. Marcellus, 14–19. Ihne, 2, 299-313. Mommsen, 2, 309-313. Arnold, Second Punic War, 205-209; 216-231.

33. 9. coeptae: see on 2, I, 4. - oppugnari: Hiero, king of Syracuse, the lifelong friend of Rome (see on 21, 1, 5), died in 216 and was succeeded by his grandson, Hieronymus, who allied himself with Carthage. On this account

Marcellus, consul in 214, went at the end of that year or, possibly, at the beginning of the next to besiege the city. Marcellus himself commanded the fleet, the propraetor, Appius Claudius, the land forces (Polyb. 8, 5, 2). — ab Hexapylo: i.e. the gate of that name, located on the northern side of the city, was the center of operations; for the use of ab see on I, 24, 2. - Achradina: the wide promontory, which, with the little peninsula of Ortygia, constituted the eastern part of the city. - murus adluitur: the coast line of Achradina is rocky and precipitous, but it was still further protected by a wall. Leontinos: about twenty miles northwest of Syracuse. The capture of the town is described in the preceding chapters. - vastam

...

spatio of great size and widely separated in its parts; in 25, 24, 6 Livy says of Syracuse, in vastae magnitudinis urbe partium sensu non satis pertinente in omnia. For the language cf. 24, 2,

I

34. Et habuisset tanto impetu coepta res fortunam, nisi 2 unus homo Syracusis ea tempestate fuisset. Archimedes is erat, unicus spectator caeli siderumque, mirabilior tamen inventor ac machinator bellicorum tormentorum operumque, quibus quidquid hostes ingenti mole agerent ipse per3 levi momento ludificaretur. Muros per inaequalis ductos colles, pleraque alta et difficilia aditu, submissa quaedam et quae planis vallibus adiri possent, ut cuique aptum visum est loco, ita genere omni tormentorum instruxit. 4 Achradinae murum, qui, ut ante dictum est, mari adlui5 tur, sexaginta quinqueremibus Marcellus oppugnabat. Ex ceteris navibus sagittarii funditoresque et velites etiam, quorum telum ad remittendum inhabile imperitis est, vix quemquam sine vulnere consistere in muro patiebantur.

9 in vasta urbe lateque moenibus disiectis.-invasuros: would force themselves in; the verb often has this idea of hostile invasion.

34. 1. et: and in fact; for a similarly pregnant use of et, where the meaning is, however, somewhat different, see 2, 28, 8; in such cases the verb usually follows the conjunction immediately. fortunam: success; cf. 27, 49, 4. — tempestate = tempore; see on I, 5, 2.

2. Archimedes cf. 2, 10, 2 pons sublicius iter paene hostibus dedit, ni unus vir fuisset, Horatius Cocles. unicus: cf. § 13 and see on 3, 33, 8. machinator: constructor. mole : effort; contrasted with perlevi momento. momento: see on 5, 49, 5.

3. pleraque: sc. loca; in app.

with colles; for pleraque = the greater number, the majority, cf. 21, 35, 4.- planis vallibus: on level ground. This was true of only the extreme western part of the town and the narrow space between Achradina and the peninsula of Ortygia. At all other points the city was naturally protected.

5. ceteris : some; contrasted with aliae in § 6. ceterae and aliae are included in sexaginta quinqueremes. According to Polyb. 8, 6, 2 there were sixty vessels carrying light-armed troops and eight besides joined in pairs. — velites armed with light javelins. - etiam: emphasizing the surprising fact that they were fighting by sea. inhabile: cf. 22, 46, 5

habiles.

Hi, quia spatio missilibus opus est, procul muro tenebant 6 naves. Iunctae aliae binae quinqueremes, demptis interioribus remis, ut latus lateri adplicaretur, cum exteriore 7 ordine remorum velut una navis agerentur, turres contabulatas machinamentaque alia quatiendis muris portabant. Adversus hunc navalem apparatum Archimedes variae 8 magnitudinis tormenta in muris disposuit. In eas quae procul erant navis saxa ingenti pondere emittebat, propiores levioribus eoque magis crebris petebat telis; pos- 9 tremo, ut sui volnere intacti tela in hostem ingererent, murum ab imo ad summum crebris cubitalibus fere cavis aperuit, per quae cava pars sagittis, pars scorpionibus modicis ex occulto petebant hostem. Quae propius [quae- 10 dam] subibant naves, quo interiores ictibus tormentorum essent, in eas tollenone super murum eminente ferrea

manus, firmae catenae inligata, cum iniecta prorae esset gravique libramento plumbi recelleret ad solum, suspensa I prora navem in puppim statuebat; dein remissa subito velut ex muro cadentem navem cum ingenti trepidatione nautarum ita undae adfligebat, ut, etiamsi recta reciderat, 12 aliquantum aquae acciperet. Ita maritima oppugnatio est elusa omnisque spes eo versa, ut totis viribus terra ad13 grederentur. Sed ea quoque pars eodem omni apparatu tormentorum instructa erat Hieronis inpensis curaque per 14 multos annos, Archimedis unica arte. Natura etiam adiuvabat loci, quod saxum cui inposita muri fundamenta sunt magna parte ita proclive est, ut non solum missa tormento, sed etiam quae pondere suo provoluta essent, graviter in 15 hostem inciderent. Eadem causa ad subeundum arduum 16 aditum instabilemque ingressum praebebat. Ita consilio habito, quoniam omnis conatus ludibrio esset, absistere oppugnatione atque obsidendo tantum arcere terra marique commeatibus hostem placuit.

common construction with inicio, to indicate the particular part of the boat which was seized by the hook. tollenone: a derrick. libramento: counterpoise. — recelleret the language is inexact. manus is the subject, but it was the end of the supporting beam (tolleno) inside the wall which descended to the ground, thus lifting the hook at the other end. prora: ablative.

11. remissa released, agreeing with manus, which is still the subject. This could be done by free

ing the other end of the beam from the weight (libramentum). — undae collective, as in 44, 33, 2 venae in mare permanantes undae miscerentur; elsewhere only poetical in this use. - recta: upright; i.e. right side up; cf. 21, 36, 1.

12. spes: sc. Romanorum.

14. magna parte: unusual, for the regular magna ex parte; cf. 9, 24, 12 maxima parte; ex magna parte and partem magnam (adverbial) are found rarely.

16. ludibrio esset: serving as a passive for ludificor; see § 2.