- Source
- Titi Livi ab urbe condita libri editionem priman, Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
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- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:22.47.1-22.47.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
At the Battle of Cannae, the cavalry of both sides clash in a restricted space, resulting in a fierce melee and the rout of the Roman cavalry. The subsequent infantry battle sees the Romans push back the protruding Carthaginian center, only to be drawn into a pre-arranged envelopment by the African reserves.
clamore sublato procursum ab auxiliis et pugna levibus primum armis commissa;1 deinde equitum Gallorum Hispanorumque laevum cornu cum dextro Romano concurrit, minime equestris more pugnae; frontibus enim adversis concurrendum erat, quia nullo circa ad evagandum relicto spatio hinc amnis, hinc peditum acies claudebant.
When the shout was raised, a charge was made by the auxiliaries, and the battle was first joined by the light-armed troops; then the left wing of the Gallic and Spanish cavalry clashed with the Roman right, in a manner least like a cavalry battle; for they had to clash head-on, because, with no space left around for wheeling about, the river on one side and the battle line of the infantry on the other hemmed them in.
in derectum utrimque nitentes stantibus ac confertis postremo turba equis2 vir virum amplexus detrahebat equo. pedestre magna iam ex parte certamen factum erat; acrius tamen quam diutius pugnatum est, pulsique Romani equites terga vertunt.
Pushing straight forward on both sides, when the horses finally stood still and were crowded together in a throng, man-to-man, grasping each other, they dragged one another from their horses. The contest had already become largely a pedestrian one; yet it was fought with more fierceness than duration, and the defeated Roman cavalry turned their backs.
sub equestris finem certaminis coorta est peditum pugna, primo et viribus et animis par, dum constabant ordines Gallis Hispanisque;
Near the end of the cavalry contest, the battle of the infantry began, at first equal both in strength and spirit, as long as the ranks of the Gauls and Spaniards held firm;
tandem Romani, diu ac saepe conisi, obliqua fronte acieque densa inpulere hostium cuneum nimis tenuem eoque parum validum, a cetera prominentem acie.
at length the Romans, having striven long and repeatedly, with an oblique front and a dense line, pushed back the enemy’s wedge, which was too thin and therefore lacked strength, protruding as it did from the rest of the line.
inpulsis deinde ac trepide referentibus pedem3 institere, ac tenore uno per praeceps pavore fugientium agmen in mediam primum aciem inlati postremo nullo resistente ad subsidia Afrorum pervenerunt, qui utrimque reductis alis constiterant, media, qua Galli Hispanique steterant, aliquantum prominente acie.
Then they pressed upon them as they were pushed back and retreated in panic, and in one continuous rush through the headlong flight of the terrified enemy, they broke first into the center of the line and finally, with no one resisting, reached the reserves of the Africans, who had stationed themselves with their wings drawn back on both sides, while the center of the line, where the Gauls and Spaniards had stood, protruded considerably.
qui cuneus ut pulsus aequavit frontem primum, dein cedendo etiam sinum in medio dedit, Afri circa iam cornua fecerant, irruentibusque incaute in medium Romanis circumdedere alas, mox cornua extendendo clausere et ab tergo hostis.
When this wedge, being pushed back, first leveled the front, and then by yielding even made a hollow in the center, the Africans had already formed wings around them, and as the Romans rushed incautiously into the center, they enveloped them with their wings, and soon, by extending their horns, they closed in on the enemy from behind as well.
hinc Romani defuncti nequiquam proelio uno4 omissis Gallis Hispanisque, quorum terga ceciderant,5 adversus Afros integram pugnam ineunt, non tantum eo iniquam, quod inclusi adversus circumfusos, sed etiam quod fessi cum recentibus ac vegetis pugnabant.
Hence the Romans, having finished one battle in vain, leaving aside the Gauls and Spaniards whose backs they had been cutting down, entered into a fresh fight against the Africans, which was unequal not only because, being shut in, they fought against those who surrounded them, but also because, being exhausted, they fought with those who were fresh and vigorous.
- 22.47.1procursum ab auxiliis et pugna levibus primum armis commissa
procursum [est] is an impersonal passive of the intransitive verb procurrere, meaning 'a charge was made.' ab auxiliis denotes the agent. In the second clause, commissa [est] is a perfect passive with the auxiliary verb est omitted, agreeing with the subject pugna. levibus armis is an ablative of instrument/means, referring to the light-armed troops.
- 22.47.3stantibus ac confertis postremo turba equis
stantibus ac confertis... equis is an ablative absolute. turba is the ablative singular of the noun meaning 'crowd' or 'throng,' expressing the cause (the horses standing still and being crowded because of the throng).
- 22.47.6inpulsis deinde ac trepide referentibus pedem
These are dative participles used substantively (the perfect passive inpulsis and the present active referentibus). They function as the object of the following verb institere (from insto, 'to press upon, pursue'), which governs the dative case.
- 22.47.9defuncti nequiquam proelio uno
defuncti is the perfect participle of the deponent verb defungor ('to finish, discharge'), agreeing with the subject Romani. Since defungor governs the ablative case, proelio uno is in the ablative. It means 'having finished one battle (in vain).'
- 22.47.9quorum terga ceciderant
The antecedent of the relative pronoun quorum is Gallis Hispanisque. The verb ceciderant is the pluperfect (third-person plural) of caedo ('to cut down, kill'), homonymous here with the pluperfect of cado ('to fall'), but contextually meaning 'whose backs they (the Romans) had been cutting down.'