- 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-lat2:29.33.1-29.33.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
Syphax, alongside his son Vermina, trapped and defeated Masinissa's forces in a double envelope. Masinissa escaped with a few horsemen and awaited the Roman arrival in Africa.
maiorem igitur iam rem Syphax ratus, quam ut per praefectos ageret,1 cum filio iuvene — nomen Vermina erat — parte exercitus missa imperat, ut circumducto agmine in se intentum hostem ab tergo invadat.
Therefore, Syphax, thinking the matter now too great to be conducted through his officers, sent a part of his army with his young son—whose name was Vermina—and ordered him to lead his force around and attack the enemy from the rear, while they were intent on himself.
nocte profectus Vermina, qui ex occulto adgressurus erat; Syphax autem interdiu aperto itinere, ut qui signis conlatis acie dimicaturus esset, movit castra.
Vermina set out by night, as he was to attack from ambush; Syphax, however, moved his camp by day along an open route, as if he were about to fight in a regular battle.
ubi tempus visum est, quo pervenisse iam circummissi videri poterant,2 et ipse leni clivo ferente3 ad hostem, cum multitudine fretus tum praeparatis ab tergo insidiis, per adversum montem erectam aciem ducit.
When the time seemed to have come at which those who had been sent around could now be seen to have arrived, he himself also, where the gentle slope led toward the enemy, relying both on his numbers and on the ambush prepared in the rear, led his line up the opposite mountain.
Masinissa fiducia maxime loci, quo multo aequiore pugnaturus erat, et ipse derigit suos. atrox proelium et diu anceps fuit, loco et virtute militum Masinissam, multitudine, quae nimio maior erat, Syphacem iuvante.
Masinissa, relying chiefly on the ground, where he was about to fight on much more favorable terms, also drew up his own men. The battle was fierce and for a long time undecided, with the ground and the courage of the soldiers aiding Masinissa, and the multitude, which was far greater, aiding Syphax.
ea multitudo divisa, cum pars a fronte urgeret, pars ab tergo se circumfudisset, victoriam haud dubiam Syphaci dedit, et ne effugium quidem patebat hinc a fronte, hinc ab tergo inclusis.
This multitude being divided, while one part pressed from the front and another had surrounded them from the rear, gave an undisputed victory to Syphax; and not even an escape lay open to those enclosed, on this side from the front, on that side from the rear.
itaque ceteri pedites equitesque caesi aut capti; ducentos ferme equites Masinissa circa se conglobatos divisosque turmatim in tres partes erumpere iubet, loco praedicto, in quem ex dissipata convenirent fuga.
Therefore, the rest of the infantry and cavalry were slain or captured; Masinissa ordered about two hundred horsemen, massed around him and divided into three bodies by squadrons, to break through, having appointed a place where they should assemble from their scattered flight.
ipse, qua intenderat, inter media tela hostium evasit; duae turmae haesere; altera metu dedita hosti, pertinacior in repugnando telis obruta et confixa est.
He himself escaped through the midst of the enemy’s weapons in the direction he had intended; two squadrons were trapped; one surrendered to the enemy out of fear, the other, more obstinate in resisting, was overwhelmed and transfixed by weapons.
Verminam prope vestigiis instantem in alia atque alia flectendo itinera eludens, taedio et desperatione tandem fessum absistere sequendo coegit; ipse cum sexaginta equitibus ad minorem Syrtim pervenit.
Eluding Vermina, who was pressing close on his heels, by turning into various paths, he finally forced him, exhausted by weariness and despair, to desist from the pursuit; he himself with sixty horsemen reached the Lesser Syrtis.
ibi cum conscientia egregia saepe repetiti regni paterni inter Punica Emporia gentemque Garamantum omne tempus usque ad C. Laeli classisque Romanae adventum in Africam consumpsit.
There, with the glorious consciousness of having so often recovered his paternal kingdom, he spent all the time between the Phoenician Emporia and the nation of the Garamantes, until the arrival of Gaius Laelius and the Roman fleet in Africa.
haec animum inclinant, ut cum modico potius quam cum magno praesidio equitum ad Scipionem quoque postea venisse Masinissam credam; quippe illa regnanti multitudo, haec paucitas exulis fortunae conveniens est.4
These facts incline my mind to believe that Masinissa afterwards came to Scipio also with a moderate rather than a large guard of horsemen; for that former multitude is suitable for one reigning, this latter small number for the fortune of an exile.
- 29.33.1maiorem igitur iam rem Syphax ratus, quam ut per praefectos ageret
The construction of a comparative (maiorem) followed by 'quam ut' and the subjunctive (ageret) means 'too great a matter to be conducted through his officers'.
- 29.33.3quo pervenisse iam circummissi videri poterant
The relative adverb 'quo' refers back to 'tempus', meaning 'the time at which those who had been sent around could now be seen to have arrived'. 'videri' is the passive infinitive meaning 'to seem' or 'to be seen'.
- 29.33.3leni clivo ferente
An ablative absolute with the present participle 'ferente'. The verb 'ferre' is used here in an intransitive or absolute sense, meaning '(the slope) leading' or 'tending'.
- 29.33.10illa regnanti multitudo, haec paucitas exulis fortunae conveniens est
A contrastive use of demonstrative pronouns. 'illa' (the former) refers to the large multitude Masinissa had while reigning, whereas 'haec' (the latter) refers to the small number suitable for his fortune as an exile.