runt. Feras bestias, caeco impetu ac rabie concitatas, si 12 ad cubilia et catulos earum ire pergas, ad opem suis ferendam avertas; Romanos Roma circumsessa, coniuges, 13 liberi, quorum ploratus hinc prope, exaudiebantur, arae, foci, deum delubra, sepulcra maiorum temerata ac violata a Capua non averterunt; tanta aviditas supplici expetendi, tanta sanguinis nostri hauriendi est sitis. Nec iniuria for- 14. sitan; nos quoque idem fecissemus, si data fortuna esset. Itaque quoniam aliter dis inmortalibus est visum, cum mortem ne recusare quidem debeam, cruciatus contumeliasque, quas parat hostis, dum liber, dum mei potens sum, effugere morte, praeterquam honesta, etiam leni possum. Non 15 videbo Ap. Claudium et Q. Fulvium victoria insolenti subnixos neque vinctus per urbem Romanam triumphi spectaculum trahar, ut deinde in carcere expirem aut ad palum deligatus lacerato virgis tergo cervicem securi Romanae subiciam; nec dirui incendique patriam videbo nec

rapi ad stuprum matres Campanas virginesque et ingenuos 16 pueros. Albam, unde ipsi oriundi erant, a fundamentis proruerunt, ne stirpis, ne memoria originum suarum extaret; nedum eos Capuae parsuros credam, cui infestiores 17 quam Carthagini sunt. Itaque quibus vestrum ante fato cedere quam haec tot tam acerba videant, in animo est, iis 18 apud me hodie epulae instructae parataeque sunt. Satiatis vino ciboque poculum idem quod mihi datum fuerit, circumferetur; ea potio corpus a cruciatu, animum a contumeliis, oculos, auris a videndis audiendisque omnibus acerbis indignisque, quae manent victos, vindicabit. Parati erunt qui magno rogo in propatulo aedium accenso 19 corpora exanima iniciant. Haec una via et honesta et libera ad mortem. Et ipsi virtutem mirabuntur hostes, et Hannibal fortis socios sciet ab se desertos ac proditos esse."

I 14. Hanc orationem Virri plures cum adsensu audierunt quam forti animo id quod probabant exsequi potuerunt;

...

16. Albam proruerunt: see I, 29, 6. -a fundamentis: the expression occurs again in 42, 63, 11 and 42, 67, 9; cf. 9, 34, 19 gens ab stirpe extincta est.stirpis: nom., as in I, I, II, but the meaning of the word is different in that passage. Here it is the stem, the ancestral stock, which would glory in the fact of Rome's birth from itself; memoria, on the other hand, is subjective; they themselves wished to forget that they were an Alban

colony. originum: for the plural cf. Praef. 4.

17. tot tam: cf. 30, 30, 7. videant for Livy's usage with antequam and priusquam cf. 9, 8, 7; 22, 3, 10; 22, 49, 10.

18. datum fuerit: see on I, 2, I. -oculos, auris: for the asyndeton see on 5, 48, 6. — propatulo: apparently sometimes synonymous with atrium; here, the space before the house; see on 5, 41, 8 vestibulis.

19. libera: not unobstructed, but fit for a freeman; cf. § 14 liber. desertos ac proditos: cf. 26, 12, 4.

4

maior pars senatus, multis saepe bellis expertam populi 2 Romani clementiam haud diffidentes sibi quoque placabilem fore, legatos ad dedendam Romanis Capuam decreverunt miseruntque. Vibium Virrium septem et viginti 3 ferme senatores domum secuti sunt epulatique cum eo et, quantum facere potuerant alienatis mentibus vino ab inminentis sensu mali, venenum omnes sumpserunt; inde misso convivio, dextris inter se datis ultimoque conplexu, conlacrimantes suum patriaeque casum alii, ut eodem rogo cremarentur, manserunt, alii domos digressi sunt. Inpletae cibis vinoque venae minus efficacem in maturanda morte vim veneni fecerunt; itaque noctem totam plerique eorum et diei insequentis partem cum animam egissent, omnes tamen prius quam aperirentur hostibus portae, expirarunt.

5

Postero die porta Iovis, quae adversus castra Romana 6

14. 2. multis saepe bellis : saepe has been explained as referring to the numerous instances in each war; it seems better, however, to regard it as a mere repetition of the idea of plurality; often in many wars; cf. 21, 4, 7.placabilem: grammatically but not logically connected with clementiam; if translated literally, it must be referred to the Romans, who practised clementia. For the thought cf. 25, 16, 12 veteri delicto haud inplacabilis fore Romanos; nullam umquam gentem magis exorabilem promptioremque veniae dandae fuisse.

3. facere the inf. is usually omitted; see 5, 47, 6. —ab . sensu: cf. 5, 42, 8; with alienare

LIVY- 19

the abl. without the prep. is used,

e.g. in 25, 39, 4; and the dat. in 44, 27, 8 Gentium regem sibi alienavit. For another use of alienare cf. 3, 48, I.

4. misso convivio: cf. the common phrase mittere senatum and 21, 54, 3 praetorium missum. datis connect with conplexu as well as with dextris.

289

5. cibis for the case cf. 1, 2, 5 fama; Livy uses also the gen. with inpleo, but only of abstract nouns. cum: for the position see on 21, 34, 4. animam egissent: in 3, 6, 8 trahebat animam is used in the same sense.

6. castra Romana: according to 25, 22, 8 there were three Roman camps; the camp of the procon

erat, iussu proconsulis aperta est. Ea intromissa legio 7 una et duae alae cum C. Fulvio legato. Is cum omnium primum arma telaque quae Capuae erant ad se conferenda curasset, custodiis ad omnes portas dispositis, ne quis exire aut emitti posset, praesidium Punicum conprehendit, senatum Campanum ire in castra ad imperatores 8 Romanos iussit. Quo cum venissent, extemplo iis omnibus catenae iniectae, iussique ad quaestores deferre quod auri atque argenti haberent. Auri pondo duo milia septuaginta fuit, argenti triginta milia pondo et mille ducenta. 9 Senatores quinque et viginti Cales in custodiam, duodetriginta Teanum missi, quorum de sententia maxime descitum ab Romanis constabat.

BOOK XXVII

Battle of the Metaurus River

I 43. Inter haec ab Hasdrubale, postquam a Placentiae 207 obsidione abscessit, quattuor Galli equites, duo Numidae

B.C.

deferre to report.—auri . . . fuit: the singular verb may be explained by supplying a subject pondus (weight) and taking pondo (pounds) as ablative. The indeclinable noun pondo is elsewhere used more simply as a nom. plural with a plural verb. The gold pound was worth about $225, the silver pound about $15.- mille: this separation of the smaller number of thousands is unusual.

9. Cales ... Teanum: these two towns had remained loyal to Rome.

cum litteris missi ad Hannibalem cum per medios hostes totam ferme longitudinem Italiae emensi essent, dum Meta- 2 pontum cedentem Hannibalem sequuntur, incertis itineribus Tarentum delati a vagis per agros pabulatoribus Romanis ad Q. Claudium propraetorem deducuntur. Eum 3 primo incertis inplicantes responsis, ut metus tormentorum admotus fateri vera coegit, edocuerunt litteras se ab Hasdrubale ad Hannibalem ferre. Cum iis litteris sicut erant 4 signatis L. Verginio tribuno militum ducendi ad Clau

Refer-
App.

Book XXVII. 43-51.
ences: Polyb. 11, 1-3.
Hann. 52. Ihne, 2, 387-394.
Mommsen, 2, 346-349. Arnold,
Second Punic War, 282-294.
Dodge, Hannibal, 546-560.

43. I. inter haec: since the fall of Capua, Hannibal had remained in southern Italy; he won several battles against Roman generals, but, on the whole, accomplished little, and his position was weakened by the loss of Tarentum in 209. His brother Hasdrubal, having been defeated in Spain by Scipio at the battle of Baecula in 208, marched rapidly through Gaul and over the Alps into Italy. ab Hasdrubale: this phrase in its conspicuous position serves to transfer the scene from southern to northern Italy. · a Placentiae obsidione he had attempted to take the place by storm; he had not time for a long siege, as he was anxious to join Hannibal at the earliest possible moment. cum for the position of the conjunction see on 21, 34, 4.

2. Metapontum : Hannibal had been recently defeated by the consul, C. Claudius Nero, near Grumentum in Lucania. From there he escaped to Venusia and thence to Metapontum. Having sent a recruiting force from there into Bruttium, he himself returned to Venusia, and then proceeded to Canusium in Apulia. In all these movements he was followed by the Roman consul. · - incertis itineribus: i.e. they were easily deceived because of their ignorance of the road. - Tarentum now held by the Romans; see on 26, 12, 14.Romanis connect with

a

delati.

inplicantes: after trying to perplex him; the present participle refers to a time which is past with reference to the principal verb; cf. 40, 55, 7 negantem. metus. . . admotus cf. 6, 10, 3 populationibus agri terror est oppidanis admotus; 40, 55, 5:

4. sicut erant: i.e. the seal was not broken.