- 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-lat2:28.33.1-28.33.17
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-01
Scipio crosses the Ebro River and confronts the army of the Ilergetes. Utilizing the narrow terrain and a flanking maneuver by the cavalry under Laelius, the Romans split and utterly defeat the enemy's infantry and cavalry.
ab hac oratione dimissos ad iter se comparare in diem posterum iubet, profectusque decumis castris1 pervenit ad Hiberum flumen. inde superato amni die quarto in conspectu hostium posuit castra.
Having dismissed them after this speech, he ordered them to prepare for the march for the following day, and having set out, he arrived at the Hiberus River after ten days’ march. Then, having crossed the river, on the fourth day he pitched camp in sight of the enemy.
campus ante montibus circa saeptus erat. in eam vallem Scipio cum pecora, rapta pleraque ex ipsorum hostium agris, propelli ad inritandam feritatem barbarorum iussisset, velites subsidio misit, a quibus ubi2 per procursationem commissa pugna esset, Laelium cum equitatu impetum ex occulto facere iubet.
The plain in front was enclosed around by mountains. Into that valley, when Scipio had ordered the cattle, most of which had been plundered from the fields of the enemy themselves, to be driven forward to provoke the ferocity of the barbarians, he sent the light-armed troops as a support, by whom when the battle had been joined through a skirmish, he ordered Laelius to make an attack from ambush with the cavalry.
mons opportune prominens equitum insidias texit; nec ulla mora pugnae facta est. Hispani in conspecta procul pecora.3 velites in Hispanos praeda occupatos incurrere.
A mountain opportunely projecting covered the ambush of the cavalry; nor was there any delay in the battle. The Spaniards rushed upon the cattle seen in the distance; the light-armed troops charged the Spaniards who were occupied with the booty.
primo missilibus territavere, deinde missis levibus telis, quae inritare magis quam decernere pugnam poterant, gladios nudant, et conlato pede res coepta geri est;
At first they terrified them with missiles, then, having thrown light darts, which were able to provoke rather than decide the battle, they drew their swords, and the action began to be carried on hand to hand;
ancepsque pedestre certamen erat, ni equites supervenissent.4 neque ex adverso tantum inlati obvios obtrivere, sed circumvecti etiam quidam per infima clivi ab tergo se, ut plerosque intercluderent, obiecerunt, maiorque caedes fuit, quam quantam edere levia per excursiones proelia solent.
and the infantry contest would have been doubtful, if the cavalry had not come upon them. The cavalry, charged from the front, not only crushed those in their way, but some also, having ridden round through the bottom of the slope, threw themselves in from the rear so as to cut off the majority, and the slaughter was greater than light battles through skirmishes are accustomed to produce.
ira magis accensa adverso proelio barbaris est, quam imminuti animi. itaque ne perculsi viderentur, prima luce postero die in aciem processere.
The barbarians’ anger was more inflamed by the adverse battle than their spirits were dampened. Therefore, lest they should seem dismayed, they marched out into line of battle at dawn on the following day.
non capiebat omnes copias angusta, sicut ante dictum est, valles; duae ferme peditum partes et omnis equitatus in aciem descendit;
The narrow valley, as was said before, could not contain all the forces; almost two-thirds of the infantry and all the cavalry descended into battle;
quod relicum peditum erat, obliquo constituerunt colle.5 Scipio, pro se esse loci angustias ratus, et quod in arto pugna Romano aptior quam Hispano militi futura videbatur, et quod in eum locum detracta hostium acies esset, qui non omnem multitudinem eorum caperet, novo etiam consilio adiecit animum:
the rest of the infantry they posted on the sloping hill. Scipio, thinking that the narrowness of the place was in his favor, both because the fight in a confined space seemed likely to be more suitable for the Roman than for the Spanish soldier, and because the enemy’s line of battle had been drawn down into a place which could not contain their entire multitude, turned his mind also to a new plan:
equitem nec se posse circumdare cornibus in tam angusto spatio, et hosti, quem cum pedite deduxisset, inutilem fore.
namely, that he could neither surround the enemy with cavalry on the flanks in so narrow a space, and that it would be useless to the enemy, whom they had brought down with the infantry.
itaque imperat Laelio, ut per colles quam occultissimo itinere circumducat equites segregetque, quantum possit, equestrem a pedestri pugnam;
Therefore, he ordered Laelius to lead the cavalry around through the hills by as secret a route as possible, and to separate, as much as he could, the cavalry fight from the infantry fight;
ipse omnia signa peditum in hostes vertit; quattuor cohortes in fronte statuit, quia latius pandere aciem non poterat.
he himself turned all the standards of the infantry against the enemy; he stationed four cohorts in front, because he could not extend his line of battle more widely.
moram pugnandi nullam fecit, ut ipso certamine averteret ab conspectu transeuntium per colles equitum. neque ante circumductos sensere, quam tumultum equestris pugnae ab tergo accepere.
He made no delay in fighting, so that by the contest itself he might turn their attention from the sight of the cavalry passing over the hills. Nor did they perceive them wheeled around before they heard the tumult of the cavalry fight from behind.
ita duo diversa proelia erant: duae peditum acies, duo equitatus per longitudinem campi, quia misceri ex genere utroque proelium angustiae non patiebantur, pugnabant.
Thus there were two distinct battles: two lines of infantry and two bodies of cavalry were fighting along the length of the plain, because the narrowness did not allow the battle to be mixed from both kinds of forces.
Hispanorum cum6 neque pedes equiti nec eques pediti auxilio esset, pedes fiducia equitis temere commissus campo caederetur, eques circumventus nec peditem a fronte — iam enim stratae pedestres copiae erant — nec ab tergo equitem sustineret, et ipsi, cum diu in orbem sese stantibus equis defendissent, ad unum omnes caesi sunt, nec quisquam peditum equitumve superfuit, qui in valle pugnaverunt.
Since neither the infantry of the Spaniards could help the cavalry, nor the cavalry the infantry, and the infantry, having rashly committed themselves to the plain in reliance on the cavalry, were being slaughtered, while the cavalry, surrounded, could withstand neither the infantry in front—for the infantry forces had already been laid low—nor the cavalry from behind, and they themselves, having defended themselves for a long time in a circle with their horses standing still, were all slain to a man, nor did any of the infantry or cavalry survive who had fought in the valley.
tertia pars quae in colle ad spectaculum magis tutum quam ad partem pugnae capessendam steterat, et locum et tempus ad fugiendum habuit.
The third part, which had stood on the hill rather for a safe spectacle than to take a part in the fight, had both room and time for flight.
inter eos et reguli ipsi fugerunt, priusquam tota circumveniretur acies inter tumultum elapsi.
Among them, the chieftains themselves also fled, having escaped during the tumult before the entire line of battle could be surrounded.
- 28.33.1decumis castris
The noun castra (camp, plural noun), which was established at the end of each day's march, is used with an ordinal numeral to express the number of days of marching. Here decumis (tenth) with castris means "after a ten days' march (on the tenth day)."
- 28.33.3a quibus ubi
The relative pronoun quibus in a connecting usage (relative connection) is combined with the conjunction ubi which introduces a subordinate clause. quibus refers to the preceding velites, meaning "by whom."
- 28.33.4Hispani in conspecta procul pecora
This clause lacks a verb; either the verb incurrere from the subsequent clause velites in Hispanos ... incurrere (historical infinitive) is omitted by ellipsis, or a verb of attack such as impetum fecerunt must be understood.
- 28.33.6ancepsque pedestre certamen erat, ni equites supervenissent
In this contrary-to-fact conditional sentence, the indicative imperfect erat is used in the apodosis instead of the subjunctive pluperfect fuisset. This rhetorical use of the indicative emphasizes the certainty or vividness of the outcome that was on the verge of happening.
- 28.33.9quod relicum peditum erat, obliquo constituerunt colle
The subject of constituerunt (they posted) is the Spanish (enemy) leaders, continued from the barbaris in the preceding sentence. Care must be taken not to confuse this with the Roman disposition.
- 28.33.15Hispanorum cum
The genitive plural Hispanorum (of the Spaniards) is placed at the beginning of the sentence to modify both pedes (infantry) and eques (cavalry) within the long cum-clause, indicating that they are the Spanish forces.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1