Opposition of the Nobles and Hannibal's Flight — Livy, History of Rome Book 33 (33.47.1–33.47.10), Latin & English

§33.47.1

Hannibal postquam, vectigalia quanta terrestria maritimaque essent et in quas res erogarentur, animadvertit,¹ et quid eorum ordinarii rei publicae usus consumerent, quantum peculatus averteret, omnibus residuis pecuniis exactis, tributo privatis remisso satis locupletem rem publicam fore ad vectigal praestandum Romanis pronuntiavit in contione et praestitit promissum.

After Hannibal noticed how great the revenues by land and sea were, and for what purposes they were expended, and how much of them the ordinary expenses of the state consumed, and how much embezzlement diverted, he declared in the assembly that, when all the remaining funds were collected and the tax on private citizens was remitted, the state would be rich enough to pay the tribute to the Romans; and he fulfilled his promise.

§33.47.3

tum vero ii, quos paverat per aliquot annos publicus peculatus, velut bonis ereptis, non furtorum manubiis extortis² infensi et irati Romanos in Hannibalem, et ipsos causam odii quaerentis, instigabant.

Then indeed those whom public embezzlement had fed for several years, as if their own property had been taken away and not the spoils of their thefts extorted, being incensed and angered, incited the Romans against Hannibal, who were themselves also seeking a cause of hatred.

§33.47.4

ita diu repugnante P. Scipione Africano, qui parum ex dignitate populi Romani esse ducebat subscribere³ odiis accusatorum Hannibalis et factionibus Carthaginiensium inserere publicam auctoritatem nec satis habere bello vicisse Hannibalem, nisi velut accusatores calumniam in eum iurarent ac nomen deferrent, tandem pervicerunt, ut legati Carthaginem mitterentur, qui ad senatum eorum arguerent Hannibalem cum Antiocho rege consilia belli faciendi inire.

Although Publius Scipio Africanus resisted this for a long time, as he thought it was not in keeping with the dignity of the Roman people to subscribe to the hatred of Hannibal’s accusers, and to introduce public authority into the factions of the Carthaginians, and not to be satisfied with having conquered Hannibal in war, unless like accusers they should swear a false oath against him and bring a charge, they finally prevailed that ambassadors should be sent to Carthage, who should accuse Hannibal before their senate of entering into plans of making war with King Antiochus.

§33.47.7

legati tres missi, Cn. Servilius, M. Claudius Marcellus, Q. Terentius Culleo. qui cum Carthaginem venissent, ex consilio inimicorum Hannibalis quaerentibus causam adventus dici iusserunt,⁴ venisse se ad controversias quae cum Masinissa rege Numidarum Carthaginiensibus essent, dirimendas.

Three ambassadors were sent, Gnaeus Servilius, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, and Quintus Terentius Culleo. When they had come to Carthage, by the advice of Hannibal’s enemies, they ordered it to be said to those who asked the reason of their arrival, that they had come to settle the disputes which the Carthaginians had with Masinissa, king of the Numidians.

§33.47.9

id creditum vulgo; unum Hannibalem se peti ab Romanis non fallebat⁵ et ita pacem Carthaginiensibus datam esse, ut inexpiabile bellum adversus se unum maneret.

This was commonly believed; but it did not escape Hannibal, that he alone that he was targeted by the Romans, and that peace had been given to the Carthaginians in such a way that an inexpiable war remained against himself alone.

§33.47.10

itaque cedere tempori et fortunae statuit; et praeparatis iam ante omnibus ad fugam, obversatus eo die in foro avertendae suspicionis causa, primis tenebris vestitu forensi ad portam cum duobus comitibus ignaris consilii est egressus.

Therefore, he decided to yield to the time and to fortune; and having already prepared everything beforehand for flight, having shown himself in the forum on that day for the sake of averting suspicion, at nightfall in his forum attire he went out to the gate with two companions who were ignorant of his plan.

Syntax notes5 items

33.47.1postquam, vectigalia quanta... animadvertit
The conjunction postquam governs the verb animadvertit, which takes the indirect questions starting with vectigalia quanta... as its objects. The main verbs of the sentence are pronuntiavit and praestitit (both in §33.47.2).
33.47.3velut bonis ereptis, non furtorum manubiis extortis
Both bonis ereptis and manubiis extortis are ablatives absolute. Accompanied by velut (as if), this phrase expresses an ironic contrast: the embezzlers are incensed as if their legitimate property (bona) had been taken away, whereas in reality only the spoils of their theft (manubiis) were wrested back.
33.47.4parum ex dignitate populi Romani esse ... subscribere
The infinitive subscribere (and inserere in the following clause) serves as the subject of the impersonal expression parum ... esse (to be insufficient/unbecoming) within the accusative and infinitive construction dependent on ducebat (he held/thought). ex dignitate means 'in keeping with the dignity'.
33.47.7quaerentibus causam adventus dici iusserunt
quaerentibus is a dative plural of the present participle used substantively ('to those inquiring'). dici is a passive infinitive, taking the following accusative and infinitive clause venisse se... as its subject, forming a causative construction: 'they ordered it to be said (to those inquiring) that they had come...'
33.47.9unum Hannibalem se peti ab Romanis non fallebat
non fallebat (literally 'it did not escape/deceive') takes Hannibalem as its object. The accusative and infinitive clause se peti (that he was being targeted) acts as the subject, meaning 'it was not hidden from Hannibal / Hannibal was not mistaken that he was targeted.'

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:33.47.1-33.47.10