- 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-lat2:30.29.1-30.29.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Hannibal hastens to Zama due to the crisis near Carthage, and after sending back Roman spies with courtesy, he requests a conference with Scipio. Scipio accepts the proposal, and both generals move their camps near Naraggara for the meeting.
iam Hadrumetum pervenerat Hannibal, unde, ad reficiendum ex iactatione maritima militem paucis diebus sumptis, excitus pavidis nuntiis omnia circa Carthaginem obtineri armis adferentium,1 magnis itineribus Zamam contendit.
Hannibal had already arrived at Hadrumetum, whence, having taken a few days to refresh his soldiers from the tossing of the sea, aroused by the trembling messengers who reported that everything around Carthage was held by arms, he hastened by forced marches to Zama.
Zama quinque dierum iter ab Carthagine abest. inde praemissi speculatores cum excepti ab custodibus Romanis deducti ad Scipionem essent, traditos eos tribunos militum iussosque2 omisso metu visere omnia per castra, qua vellent, circumduci iussit;
Zama is five days’ journey from Carthage. When the spies sent ahead from there, having been caught by the Roman guards, were brought to Scipio, he ordered them to be handed over to the military tribunes and, with their fear dismissed, to be led around and shown everything throughout the camp wherever they wished.
percunctatusque, satin’3 per commodum omnia explorassent, datis, qui prosequerentur, retro ad Hannibalem dimisit.
And having inquired whether they had reconnoitered everything sufficiently to their convenience, he sent them back to Hannibal, giving them escorts to accompany them.
Hannibal nihil quidem eorum, quae nuntiabantur — nam et Masinissam cum sex milibus peditum, quattuor equitum venisse eo ipso forte die adferebant —, laeto animo audivit, maxime hostis fiducia audaciaque, non de nihilo profecto concepta, perculsus est.
Hannibal indeed heard none of these things that were reported with a joyful mind—for they also reported that Masinissa had arrived on that very day by chance with six thousand infantry and four thousand cavalry—but he was especially struck by the confidence and audacity of the enemy, which was certainly not conceived without reason.
itaque quamquam et ipse causa belli erat et adventu suo turbaverat et pactas indutias et spem foederum, tamen, si integer quam si victus peteret pacem, aequiora impetrari posse ratus, nuntium ad Scipionem misit, ut conloquendi secum potestatem faceret.
Therefore, although he himself was both the cause of the war and by his arrival had disturbed both the agreed truce and the hope of treaties, yet, thinking that fairer terms could be obtained if he sought peace as one unimpaired than as one defeated, he sent a messenger to Scipio to grant him an opportunity for a conference.
id utrum sua sponte fecerit an publico consilio, neutrum cur adfirmem habeo.
Whether he did this of his own accord or by public counsel, I have no reason to affirm either.
Valerius Antias primo proelio victum eum ab Scipione, quo duodecim milia armatorum in acie sint caesa, mille et septingenti capti, legatum cum aliis decem legatis tradit in castra ad Scipionem venisse.
Valerius Antias relates that having been defeated by Scipio in a first battle, in which twelve thousand armed men were slain in the field and one thousand seven hundred captured, he came to Scipio’s camp as an envoy with ten other envoys.
ceterum Scipio cum conloquium haud abnuisset, ambo ex composito duces castra protulerunt, ut coire ex propinquo possent.
But since Scipio had not refused a conference, both generals, by agreement, advanced their camps so that they could meet from a close distance.
Scipio haud procul Naraggara urbe, cum ad cetera loco opportuno tum quod aquatio intra teli coniectum erat, consedit.
Scipio took up a position not far from the city of Naraggara, which was convenient in other respects and especially because water supply was within a missile’s throw.
Hannibal tumulum a quattuor milibus inde, tutum commodumque alioqui, nisi quod longinquae aquationis4 erat, cepit. ibi in medio locus conspectus undique, ne quid insidiarum esset, delectus.
Hannibal occupied a hill four miles from there, safe and convenient in other respects, except that the water supply was far away. There, in the middle, a place visible from all sides was chosen, so that there would be no danger of ambush.
- 30.29.1adferentium
Present active participle in the genitive plural. It agrees by synesis (ad sensum) with the implied persons in pavidis nuntiis (ablative), which here pragmatically refers to "messengers" (human agents) rather than abstract "messages."
- 30.29.2traditos eos tribunos militum iussosque
The accusative participles traditos and iussos modify eos (the spies). Although manuscripts vary between tribunos (accusative) and tribunis (dative), it is construed as equivalent to the dative tribunis militum (handed over to the military tribunes) acting as the indirect object of traditos.
- 30.29.3satin’
A colloquial or dramatic shortening of satisne (whether sufficiently), introducing the indirect question dependent on the participle percunctatus.
- 30.29.10longinquae aquationis
A genitive of quality (description), indicating that the hill had the characteristic of having "a distant water supply" within the clause introduced by nisi quod.
Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-22)
- 2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
- 2026-09-21 AI review — source 1