- 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
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:27.41.1-27.41.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-30
Hannibal arrives at Grumentum, and the Roman consul Nero moves to confront him. Utilizing the terrain and the enemy's confidence, Nero places an ambush behind the open hills and orders an aggressive cavalry charge against the scattered Carthaginian forces.
Hannibal undique contracto exercitu, quem in hibernis aut in praesidiis agri Bruttii habuerat, in Lucanos ad Grumentum venit spe recipiendi oppida, quae per metum ad Romanos defecissent.1
Hannibal, having assembled from all sides the army which he had kept in winter quarters or in garrisons in the territory of the Bruttii, came into the country of the Lucanians to Grumentum, in the hope of recovering the towns which had defected to the Romans out of fear.
eodem a Venusia consul Romanus exploratis itineribus contendit, et mille fere et quingentos passus castra ab hoste locat.
To the same place the Roman consul, having reconnoitered the routes, hastened from Venusia, and pitched his camp about fifteen hundred paces from the enemy.
Grumenti moenibus prope iniunctum videbatur Poenorum vallum;
The rampart of the Carthaginians seemed almost joined to the walls of Grumentum;
quingenti passus intererant. castra Punica ac Romana interiacebat campus; colles imminebant nudi sinistro lateri Carthaginiensium, dextro Romanorum, neutris suspecti,2 quod nihil silvae neque ad insidias latebrarum habebant.
five hundred paces lay between them. A plain lay between the Punic and Roman camps; bare hills overlooked the left flank of the Carthaginians and the right of the Romans, suspected by neither side, because they had no woods nor any hiding places for an ambush.
in medio campo ab stationibus procursantes certamina haud satis digna dictu serebant. id modo Romanum3 quaerere apparebat, ne abire hostem pateretur: Hannibal inde evadere cupiens totis viribus in aciem descendebat.
In the middle of the plain, those who rushed forward from the outposts engaged in skirmishes hardly worth mentioning. It appeared that the Roman sought only this, not to allow the enemy to depart; Hannibal, desiring to escape from there, was marching down into the plain with all his forces.
tum consul ingenio hostis usus, quo minus4 in tam apertis collibus timeri insidiae poterant, quinque cohortes additis quinque manipulis nocte iugum superare et in aversis vallibus considere iubet.
Then the consul, taking advantage of the character of the enemy—since in hills so open an ambush was the less to be feared—ordered five cohorts, with the addition of five maniples, to cross the ridge by night and post themselves in the valleys on the opposite side.
tempus exsurgendi ex insidiis et adgrediendi hostem Ti. Claudium Asellum tribunum militum et P. Claudium praefectum socium edocet, quos cum iis mittebat.
He thoroughly instructed Tiberius Claudius Asellus, a military tribune, and Publius Claudius, prefect of the allies, whom he was sending with them, as to the time for rising from the ambush and attacking the enemy.
ipse luce prima copias omnes peditum equitumque in aciem eduxit. paulo post et ab Hannibale signum pugnae propositum est, clamorque in castris ad arma discurrentium est sublatus. inde eques pedesque certatim portis ruere ac palati per campum properare5 ad hostes.
He himself at dawn led out all his forces of infantry and cavalry into battle array. Shortly after, the signal for battle was also displayed by Hannibal, and a shout was raised in the camp of those running to arms. Then, cavalry and infantry rushed eagerly from the gates, and dispersing over the plain, hastened toward the enemy.
quos ubi i effusos consul videt, tribuno militum tertiae legionis C. Aurunculeio imperat, ut equites legionis quanto maximo impetu possit in hostem emittat:
When the consul saw them thus scattered, he ordered Gaius Aurunculeius, a military tribune of the third legion, to send the cavalry of the legion against the enemy with the greatest possible force:
ita pecorum modo incompositos toto passim campo se fudisse,6 ut sterni obterique, priusquam instruantur, possint.
saying that they had scattered themselves all over the plain in disorder like a flock of sheep, so that they could be laid low and trampled upon before they could form their ranks.
- 27.41.1defecissent
Subjunctive pluperfect in the relative clause. It expresses not a mere historical fact, but Hannibal's subjective reason or perspective (implied oblique clause: 'towns which, as he believed, had defected').
- 27.41.4neutris suspecti
The pronoun neutris is a dative plural of neuter (dative of agent or reference with the adjective suspecti), meaning 'suspected by neither of the two sides'.
- 27.41.5Romanum
The singular noun Romanum stands collectively for 'the Roman commander' or 'the Roman side'. Furthermore, the pronoun id anticipatively represents the appositive ne-clause.
- 27.41.6quo minus
The word quo is an ablative of measure of difference, and minus is a comparative adverb. It means 'by so much the less could an ambush be feared on hills so open', explaining the reason why the consul could exploit the enemy's disposition.
- 27.41.8ruere ac palati ... properare
Both ruere and properare are historical infinitives, taking the nominative subject eques pedesque. The plural masculine participle palati agrees in sense (ad sensum) with the grammatically singular but collectively plural subject.
- 27.41.10se fudisse
An accusative with infinitive clause representing the consul's speech or thought (indirect discourse) depending on imperat. The subject is the reflexive pronoun se referring to the scattered enemy (incompositos).
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — note 1