- 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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- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:22.51.1-22.51.9
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-23
Immediately after the battle of Cannae, the cavalry commander Maharbal proposes an immediate march on Rome, but Hannibal hesitates. The next day, the Carthaginians inspect the battlefield and witness the gruesome deaths of the Roman soldiers.
Hannibali victori cum ceteri circumfusi gratularentur suaderentque, ut tanto perfunctus bello diei quod reliquum esset noctisque insequentis quietem1 et ipse sibi sumeret et fessis daret militibus, Maharbal praefectus equitum, minime cessandum ratus “immo ut, quid hac pugna sit actum, scias, die quinto” inquit “victor in Capitolio epulaberis. sequere; cum equite ut prius venisse quam venturum sciant, praecedam.” Hannibali nimis laeta res est visa maiorque, quam ut eam statim capere animo posset.2 itaque voluntatem se laudare Maharbalis ait; ad consilium pensandum temporis opus esse.
When the others crowded around the victorious Hannibal to congratulate him and urge him that, having completed so great a war, he should take rest for himself for what was left of the day and the following night, and give it to his weary soldiers, Maharbal, the commander of the cavalry, thinking that there should be no delay at all, said: “Indeed, so that you may know what has been accomplished by this battle, on the fifth day you shall feast as victor on the Capitol. Follow me; I will go ahead with the cavalry so that they may know we have arrived before they know we are coming.” To Hannibal, the matter seemed too joyful and too great, for him to be able to grasp it in his mind immediately. Therefore, he said that he praised Maharbal’s goodwill, but that time was needed to weigh the plan.
tum Maharbal: “non omnia nimirum eidem di dedere: vincere scis, Hannibal, victoria uti nescis.” mora eius diei satis creditur saluti fuisse urbi atque imperio.
Then Maharbal said: “Assuredly, the gods did not give all things to the same man: you know how to conquer, Hannibal, but you do not know how to use victory.” The delay of that day is widely believed to have been the salvation of the city and the empire.
Postero die ubi primum inluxit, ire ad spolia legenda foedamque etiam hostibus spectandam stragem insistunt.
On the next day, as soon as it dawned, they set about gathering the spoils and viewing the slaughter, which was ghastly even to the enemy.
iacebant tot Romanorum milia, pedites passim equitesque, ut quem cuique fors aut pugna iunxerat aut fuga.3 adsurgentes quidam ex strage media cruenti, quos stricta matutino frigore excitaverant vulnera, ab hoste oppressi sunt;
So many thousands of Romans lay there, infantry and cavalry everywhere, just as chance or battle or flight had joined each to each. Some, rising bloody from the midst of the slaughter, whose wounds had been stimulated by the sharp morning cold, were dispatched by the enemy;
quosdam et iacentis vivos succisis feminibus poplitibusque4 invenerunt, nudantis cervicem iugulumque et reliquum sanguinem iubentes haurire;
they found some lying alive with their thighs and knees hamstrung, baring their necks and throats and bidding them drain their remaining blood;
inventi quidam sunt mersis in effossam terram capitibus, quos sibi ipsos fecisse foveas obruentesque ora superiecta humo interclusisse spiritum apparebat.
some were found with their heads buried in the dug-up earth, and it was clear that they had made pits for themselves and, covering their faces with the earth thrown over them, had choked their breath.
praecipue convertit omnes subtractus Numida mortuo superincubanti Romano5 uivus naso auribusque laceratis, cum ille manibus ad capiendum telum inutilibus in rabiem ira versa laniando dentibus hostem expirasset.
Above all, what drew everyone’s attention was a living Numidian with his nose and ears mutilated, pulled out from under a dead Roman who lay on top of him; the Roman, with his hands useless for holding a weapon, his anger turned to fury, had expired while tearing his enemy with his teeth.
- 22.51.1diei quod reliquum esset noctisque insequentis quietem
The clause diei quod reliquum esset contains the relative clause quod reliquum esset acting as a noun clause ('what was left') with diei as a partitive genitive. quietem is coordinated with this noun phrase, serving as the object of sumeret and daret, meaning 'rest for what was left of the day and for the following night'.
- 22.51.2maiorque, quam ut eam statim capere animo posset
This is a comparative (maior) followed by quam ut and the subjunctive (posset) expressing result ('too great for him to be able to grasp immediately'). The pronoun eam refers back to laeta res.
- 22.51.6ut quem cuique fors aut pugna iunxerat aut fuga
The conjunction ut here means 'just as' or 'according as'. The relative pronoun quem is paired correlatively with the dative cuique, describing how 'chance, battle, or flight had joined each man (quem) to each (cuique)', highlighting the chaotic state of the corpses.
- 22.51.7succisis feminibus poplitibusque
An ablative absolute construction where the perfect passive participle succisis agrees with the plural ablative nouns feminibus and poplitibus, meaning 'their thighs and hamstrings having been cut'.
- 22.51.9mortuo superincubanti Romano
Romano (dative governed by the compound participle superincubanti, or ablative with sub- in subtractus) is modified by mortuo and superincubanti, meaning 'a dead Roman who lay on top of [the Numidian]'.