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character of the circumstances.

52.4.

Cf. per ambiguum favorem,

LV. 2. Ante signa.] H. adopts the Roman formation of battle. Signa 'the companies under their standards.'

Quod virium, quod roboris erat.] 'All the strength and pith of his army. According to Polybius, this division was 20,000 strong.

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In utramque partem.] On both wings.' 3. Incauti exciperentur.] Were checked unawares.' Ex cipere, to await the charge of anything, especially a wild animal.

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Signo receptui dato.] Having given the signal to retreat.' 4. Socium nominis Latini = soc. et nom. Lat.] Allies and the Latin body.' The states of Italy, subject to Rome, were comprehended under the name of socii et Latini, or socii nomen Latinum. The Latini formed a dependent class apart from the rest: they were nearest to Rome and felt her power the most. The rest were socii or fœderati, whose condition varied according to the terms of their several fœdera.

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5. Majore robore legiones.] The legions of greater solidity:' as opposed to the light troops of the Romans, who, Polybius tells us, gave way immediately.

Diducta.] Of course the Carthaginian light troops could not face the Roman legionaries; as soon as the Roman light troops give way, the Carthaginian light troops fall back through the intervals of the hastati, and wheel round to assist their cavalry at the wings.

6. Plerisque] With the exception, that is, of the Numidians who had crossed the river.

Insuper answers to vix jam: to begin with--over and

above.'

7. Eminentes.] 'Projecting.' The elephants, according to Livy, were added on as a continuation of the line of cavalry.

8. Pedestris pugna.] The battle between the infantry:' this began immediately on the retreat of the light troops.

9. Elephanti.] The elephants had taken no part in the cavalry engagements on the wings; but after the flight of the Roman horse, the ground being clear, they closed in from both wings on the infantry.

Improvida.]Without perceiving it.'

10. Tamen, &c.] Yet though so many dangers pressed them, the ranks stood for some time firm.'

11. Verrutis.] The verrutum was a light barb with an iron head. It was one of the arms assigned by Servius to the fourth class in his census. Nihil præter hastam et verrutum datum, i. 43. Qua maxime, &c.] 'Where they most readily are vulnerable from the softness of the hide.'

LVI. 1. Trepidantes.] Ungovernable.'

Media acie after agi.] We should have expected the preposition e; but the construction is not uncommon. Cf. pellendum Hispania Hasdrubalem, 32. 4; agendos castris, xliv. 35.

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2. In orbem pugnarent.] Lit. were fighting into a ring.' i.e.

so as to form a ring, were closing into a ring as they fought. The reason of this is obvious. The Romans placed their best troops in the centre of the line, Hannibal his worst. Thus the Romans drove themselves like a wedge into the enemy's line, while their own left and right wings were forced back upon them.

3. Pra imbri.] 'For the rain.'

Recto itinere.] 'By a straight march,' that is, by marching due north up the left bank of the Trebia, until they came opposite to Placentia. They could here cross the river, as I suppose them to have already done, when Scipio was changing his position see c. 48.

4. Cunctationem ingrediendi.] Their hesitation in entering.' Oppressi.] Overtaken and killed.'

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6. Homines.] These are the Carthaginians, as appears from what follows.

Prope omnes.] All but one, as we learn from Polybius; all but eight, according to L., as is implied from septem absumpti, c. 58, and elephanto qui unus superfuerat, xxii. 2.

8. Quod reliquum, &c.] Ex magna parte comes in rather awkwardly to further explain quod reliquum erat, 'the great bulk of the remaining soldiers.'

Ratibus.] This seems to me to strongly support the view that the battle was fought on the left bank. These rafts were clearly in the neighbourhood of Placentia, and were kept ready to transport the army as occasion required.

9. Trajectus Cremonam.] 'Was taken across to Cremona by the Po.' The more ordinary construction would have been trajecto Pado.

Duorum exercituum, i.e. the armies of both Scipio and Sempronius. Sempronius had probably fought his way through already.

LVII. 1. Urbem Romanam.] Used here as much more emphatic than urbem Romam; the adjective implying so much grandeur and power.

Infestis signis.] See 44. 3. It must be borne in mind that H. now stands between Rome and the consular armies.

3. Territis, sc. iis.] Governed in the dat. by ad in composition.

Fallendi, falleret.] Used in the same sense as fefellit; see 48. 5. Cf. Horace's fallentis semita vitæ.

4. Id quod, sc. ut comitia haberentur.

5. Ut quæque iis, &c.] Where any part was impracticable for them.'

6. Emporium.] As Placentia itself stood some little distance from the river, this would probably be a fortified place for landing stores for the main town. Hannibal could not make an attempt on Placentia itself from his want of any siege train, and from his general disinclination, after Saguntum, to blockades. Spei belongs to plurimum, not to effectum.

7. Consul, viz. Scipio, who, in the absence of his colleague, assumed the command in both Cremona and Placentia.

Quadrato agmine.] See 5. 16. This engagement is not mentioned by Polybius.

8. Præsidium.] The same as the castellum above: 'the be sieged place.'

9. Percurato.]

Thoroughly healed.' There is no instance

of this word before this passage.

10. Romanis.] Dative of agent. Cf. Nox una Hannibali sine impedimentis acta est, 34. 9.

Locum frequentaverant.] 12. Magis agmina, &c.] ments than in battle order.'

Had thickly settled the place.' They engaged rather by detachAgmina are the separate divisions, or masses without any order, which kept coming up. Of course Livy is only speaking of the country people as agmina. 13. Scribentibus.] 'Historians.'

14. Adeo, &c.] With such completeness was an exhibition of every license, barbarity, and inhuman wantonness made upon the unfortunates.'

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LVIII. 1. Dum.] Only so long as.'

2. Ad prima ac dubia signa.] Upon the first faint signs of spring. H. hoped to occupy Etruria before the Romans had raised another army. He also probably hoped to attach the Gauls to himself by quartering his forces on another people. Ducit.] Attempts to lead.'

Vi and voluntate refer to different subjects: vi, by putting pressure on them;' voluntate, with their good-will.'

3-5. The description of the storm rises gradually to a climax, by clauses severally introduced by quum-quia—quum— tum vero-effuso imbre. With the wind and rain together driving straight against their faces, at first, because they must either drop their arms, or, if they struggled against it, bo caught by the whirlwind and dashed down, they halted, but then, when it now began to stop their breath, and not suffer them to breathe regularly, they sat down for a little with their faces from the wind.'

Capti auribus.] Deafened.' Captus in this usage means 'deprived of the use of,' temporarily if not permanently. Cf. captus omnibus membris, ii. 36; luminibus captum, ix. 29.

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6. Tandem effuso, &c.] At length, the rain having spent itself, and the fury of the wind having been thereby aggravated.' 7. Explicare applies to the skins and canvas; statuere to the tent-poles.

8. Aqua levata vento: according to some, simply 'water blown up by the wind,' i.e. to a height at which it would freeze; according to others, 'mist' or 'vapour.'

Qbruti.] 'Crushed, because the coverings, which should have sheltered them, had fallen in upon them.

9. Strage.] A prostrate heap.' Levare, 'to disengage themselves.'

10. Movere ac recipere depend on cæpti sunt, understood from captus est after a while, as by keeping stirring they began to use their limbs and to recover their spirits, all the helpless men relied on the help of others.'

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11. Elephanti.] Cf. vis frigoris elephantos prope omnes absumpsit, 56. 6.

LIX. 1. Decem millia.] Passuum is understood.

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Quinque equitum quinque millia equitum. Polybius makes no mention of this combat, of which the object is not very clear. 3. Res Romana.] The Roman side.' The plural nominative to vincerent must be supplied from res Romana.

4. Confertos.] Used proleptically after recepit: 'the others he withdrew into the centre of the camp, and massed them.'

Spectare.] Almost the same as expectare: to look for.'

6. Dextra lævaque.] We must imagine the Carthaginian camp to have had four doors like a Roman camp: see note on prætorium, 3. 1.

8. Accensum.] Begun with fury.'

9. Equestris ordinis.] This is an anachronism as far as the title is concerned. Livy means to distinguish those for whom the state found horses from the ordinary troopers, equites legionarii, who found their own horses. The tribunes of the Roman legions and the præfects of the allied legions held exactly similar offices.

10. Duo quæstores.] 'Two paymasters,' probably attached to the consular army. It was the duty of the quæstors to control all the money matters.

LX. 3. Lacetanis.] There seems a mistake here, as the Lacetani are mentioned (23. 2) as an inland tribe in the gorges of the Pyrenees.

4. Ad maritimos populos.] Among the maritime tribes.' Cf. potentis viri ad plebem, vi. 37.

Societas armorum.] 'An offensive alliance.' pledged themselves to furnish auxiliary contingents.

These tribes

Auxiliorum.] Auxilia was the regular term for all contingents furnished by others than the Italian allies.

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7. Nec magni certaminis.] Nor was that conflict one of great obstinacy:' it did not cost the Romans much effort.

Principibus.] These were probably some of the Carthaginian Gerusiasts, who accompanied the generals.

8. Rerum fuit.] Consisted of things of little value. Mancipiorum depends on præda, repeated from the beginning

of the clause.

Scissis would appear to have been the last town of the Spanish tribes which H. annexed.

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Citra.] On this side,' that is for the Romans who were in Spain.

LXI. 1. Tamquam gives the same subjective force to a participle as s: thinking to confront him at the first landing of the R.'

2. Classici milites may be fairly rendered marines.' They were the fighting men on board ship, and were considered inferior to the legionaries: they took a rank just a little above the crews, navales socii.

Quod ferme fit, ut, &c.] 'As it generally happens, namely, that, &c.' The clause ut-creent is in apposition with quod.

4. Agmine acto.]

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Having brought up a column.' Præfectos navium.] The captains of the ships.' The term is probably framed after the Greek vaúapxos. Præfectus classis, 'an admiral.'

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6. Excito hibernis.] Having been drawn out of his winter quarters.'

7. Pecunia.] The ablative of the means or method: 'fined in a sum of money.'

In jus ditionemque recepit.] 'Reduced them under his authority and control.' Jus in this sense means the legal right of a Roman father over all those in manu; hence the distinction between those sui juris and those alieni juris. So, whereas, before this unsuccessful rising, the right of independence resided in the Spaniards, it now resided in the Romans. Ditio is a less technical word, and means a general power of disposal.

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10. Pedes.] In the acc. after minus alta: during which the snow scarcely ever lay less than four feet deep.' Observe that quam is omitted after the comparative.

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Pluteos.] Niches.' These do not seem to have differed materially from the vinee, except in being smaller. For vineæ, see 7. 5.

11. Pacti.] The passive participle from paciscor. Talentis, abl. of price.

LXII. 1. Motis semel in religionem.] 'Having once been directed towards the supernatural.'

2. Forum olitorium.] 'The vegetable market.' Forum bovarium,' 'the cattle market.'

4. Pulvinarium was a luxuriously stuffed couch on which an image of the god of the temple was placed at the lectisternia, mentioned just below.

5. Vigili.]

A dative of reference after abstulisse: 'that a wolf plucked a sword from a sentinel out of the scabbard, and ran away with it.'

6. Libros adire.] 'To consult the books.' These were the three Sibylline books, kept in a stone chest underground in the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, under the custody of certain officers, at first only two in number, but at this time ten, whose duty it was to inspect the books on all important occasions, by command of the senate.

Novemdiale was a fast of nine days appointed whenever stones rained from heaven. Tullus Hostilius first instituted the fast after a shower of stones on the Alban Mount.

Aliis procurandis.] Governed in the dat. by operata: 'occupied itself in paying heed to the other matters.'

7. Hostia majores.] Full-grown victims,' as opposed to hostie lactentes, sucklings.' See for the distinction decretum ut ea prodigia partim majoribus hostibus procurarentur, xxii.

1.8.

Quibus editum est diis.] To those gods to whom it was appointed' that they should be sacrificed.

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8 Lectisternium Cære, &c.] And a feast of offerings was

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