- 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-lat2:24.13.1-24.13.11
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-26
While at Lake Avernus, Hannibal is approached by young Tarentines who promise the surrender of their city, a prospect in which he takes a deep interest. He then attempts to capture Puteoli and Nola, but the consul Marcellus acts swiftly to secure Nola first.
ad Hannibalem, cum ad lacum Averni esset, quinque nobiles iuvenes ab Tarento venerunt, partim ad Trasumennum lacum partim ad Cannas capti dimissique domos cum eadem comitate, qua usus adversus omnes Romanorum socios Poenus fuerat.
While Hannibal was at Lake Avernus, five noble young men came to him from Tarentum, who had been captured partly at Lake Trasumene, partly at Cannae, and had been sent home with the same courtesy which the Carthaginian had shown toward all the allies of the Romans.
ei memores beneficiorum eius perpulisse magnam partem se1 iuventutis Tarentinae referunt, ut Hannibalis amicitiam ac societatem quam populi Romani mallent, legatosque ab suis missos rogare Hannibalem, ut exercitum propius Tarentum admoveat.
Keeping his kindness in mind, they reported that they had induced a large part of the Tarentine youth to prefer the friendship and alliance of Hannibal to that of the Roman people, and that envoys sent by their people were asking Hannibal to move his army closer to Tarentum.
si signa eius, si castra conspecta a Tarento sint, haud ullam intercessuram moram, quin2 urbs in potestatem eius tradatur: in potestate iuniorum plebem, in manu plebis rem Tarentinam esse.
If his standards, if his camp should be seen from Tarentum, there would be no delay in the city being delivered into his power; for the common people were under the control of the younger men, and the Tarentine state was in the hands of the common people.
Hannibal conlaudatos eos oneratosque ingentibus promissis domum ad coepta maturanda redire iubet: se in tempore adfuturum esse.
Hannibal highly praised them and, loading them with vast promises, ordered them to return home to hasten their undertakings, saying that he would be there in due time.
hac cum spe dimissi Tarentini. ipsum ingens cupido incesserat Tarenti potiundi.3 urbem esse videbat cum opulentam nobilemque tum maritimam et in Macedoniam opportune versam, regemque Philippum hunc portum, si transiret in Italiam, quoniam Brundisium Romani haberent, petiturum.
With this hope the Tarentines were dismissed. An intense desire to gain possession of Tarentum had seized Hannibal himself. He saw that the city was not only wealthy and famous, but also maritime and conveniently situated facing Macedonia, and that King Philip, if he should cross over to Italy, would make for this port, since the Romans held Brundisium.
sacro inde perpetrato, ad quod venerat, et, dum ibi moratur, pervastato agro Cumano usque ad Miseni promunturium, Puteolos repente agmen convertit ad opprimendum praesidium Romanum.
Having then completed the sacrifice for which he had come, and, while delaying there, having thoroughly devastated the territory of Cumae as far as the promontory of Misenum, he suddenly turned his march toward Puteoli to overwhelm the Roman garrison.
sex milia hominum erant, et locus munimento quoque, non natura modo tutus. triduum ibi moratus Poenus ab omni parte temptato praesidio, deinde, ut nihil procedebat, ad populandum agrum Neapolitanum magis ira quam potiundae urbis spe processit.
There were six thousand men, and the place was secure not only by nature but also by fortifications. Having delayed there for three days and having assailed the garrison from every side, when no progress was being made, the Carthaginian proceeded to lay waste the territory of Neapolis, moved more by anger than by any hope of taking the city.
adventu eius in propinquum agrum mota Nolana est plebs, iam diu aversa ab Romanis et infesta senatui suo. itaque legati ad arcessendum Hannibalem cum haud dubio promisso tradendae urbis venerunt.
By his arrival in the neighboring territory, the common people of Nola were excited, having already for a long time been alienated from the Romans and hostile to their own senate. Therefore, envoys came to summon Hannibal, with an explicit promise of surrendering the city.
praevenit inceptum eorum Marcellus consul a primoribus accitus. die uno Suessulam a Calibus, cum Vulturnus amnis traicientem4 moratus esset, contenderat;
The consul Marcellus, summoned by the leading men, forestalled their attempt. In a single day he had marched from Cales to Suessula, although the river Vulturnus had delayed him as he was crossing.
inde proxima nocte sex milia peditum equites quingentos, qui praesidio senatui essent, Nolam intromisit.
From there, on the following night, he introduced into Nola six thousand infantry and five hundred cavalry to serve as a guard for the senate.
et uti a consule omnia inpigre facta sunt ad praeoccupandam Nolam, ita Hannibal tempus terebat, bis iam ante nequiquam temptata re segnior ad credendum Nolanis factus.
And just as everything was done energetically by the consul to preoccupy Nola, so Hannibal was wasting time, having become more reluctant to believe the Nolans since he had already twice before attempted the matter in vain.
- 24.13.2perpulisse magnam partem se
In the accusative with infinitive construction (A.c.I.) introduced by the main verb referunt, se (themselves) is the subject accusative of the infinitive perpulisse, while magnam partem is its direct object. Due to word order inversion (hyperbaton), se is placed after its object.
- 24.13.3haud ullam intercessuram moram, quin
Following an expression of delay or hindrance (moram intercessuram) accompanied by a negative (haud ullam), the conjunction quin is used to introduce a clause with the subjunctive tradatur.
- 24.13.5Tarenti potiundi
The verb potior (to obtain), which traditionally governs the genitive or ablative, is used here in a gerundive construction, where potiundi (an archaic spelling of potiendi) agrees in gender, number, and case with Tarenti (genitive of the neuter noun Tarentum).
- 24.13.9traicientem
Present active participle in the accusative masculine singular, modifying the omitted direct object Marcellum (the consul Marcellus). Within the concessive cum-clause (cum... moratus esset), it functions to mean 'as he was crossing (the river)'.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 2