- 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-lat2:44.5.1-44.5.13
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-12
The Roman army suffered great hardships descending the steep mountain, employing a unique system of collapsible wooden bridges to slide their elephants down the cliffs. After days of grueling progress, they finally united their forces in the plains and established a camp near the sea.
inenarrabilis labor descendentibus cum ruina iumentorum sarcinarumque. progressis1 vixdum quattuor milia passuum nihil optabilius esse quam redire, qua venerant, si possent.
There was unspeakable toil for those descending, with the tumbling down of beasts of burden and baggage. Having advanced scarcely four miles, nothing seemed more desirable to them than to return by the way they had come, if they could.
hostilem prope tumultum agmini elephanti praebebant, qui, ubi ad invia venerant, deiectis rectoribus cum horrendo stridore pavorem ingentem, equis maxime, incutiebant, donec traducendi eos ratio inita est.
The elephants caused a disturbance almost like an enemy’s attack to the column; which, when they came to pathless places, having thrown off their riders, struck huge terror with a horrible trumpeting, especially into the horses, until a method of crossing them over was devised.
per proclive sumpto fastigio longi duo validi asseres ex inferiore parte in terra defigebantur, distantes inter se paulo plus, quam quanta beluae latitudo est;
A slope having been established along the steep decline, two long, strong beams were fixed in the ground at the lower part, at a distance from each other a little greater than the width of the beast.
in eos transverso incumbente tigno asses tricenos longi pedes, ut pons esset, iniungebantur humusque insuper iniciebatur.
Upon these, with a transverse beam resting on them, planks thirty feet long were joined together to form a bridge, and earth was thrown on top.
modico deinde infra intervallo similis alter pons, dein tertius et plures ex ordine, qua rupes abscisae erant, fiebant.
Then, at a moderate interval below, a second similar bridge was made, and then a third and more in succession, where the cliffs had been cut off sheer.
solido procedebat elephantus in pontem; cuius2 priusquam in extremum procederet, succisis asseribus conlapsus pons usque ad alterius initium pontis prolabi eum leniter cogebat.
The elephant proceeded from the solid ground onto the bridge; before it could reach the end of which, the beams being cut away, the collapsing bridge forced it to slide gently down to the beginning of the next bridge.
alii elephanti pedibus insistentes, alii clunibus subsidentes prolabebantur. ubi planities altera pontis excepisset eos, rursus simili ruina inferioris pontis deferebantur, donec ad aequiorem vallem perventum est.
Some elephants slid down standing on their feet, others crouching on their haunches. When the flat surface of the next bridge received them, they were carried down again by a similar collapse of the lower bridge, until they reached a more level valley.
paulo plus septem milia eo die Romani processerunt; minimum pedibus itineris confectum.3 plerumque provolventes se simul cum armis aliisque oneribus cum omni genere vexationis processerunt, adeo ut ne dux quidem et auctor itineris infitiaretur parva manu deleri omnem exercitum potuisse.
On that day the Romans advanced a little more than seven miles; very little of the journey was completed on foot. For the most part they proceeded rolling themselves down along with their arms and other burdens, with every kind of distress, so much so that not even the leader and author of the march would deny that the whole army could have been destroyed by a small band.
nocte ad modicam planitiem pervenerunt; nec, quam infestus is locus esset saeptus undique, circumspiciendi spatium fuit vix tandem ex insperato stabilem ad insistendum nanctis4 locum.
At night they reached a moderate plain; nor was there time to look around to see how dangerous that place was, shut in on all sides, having scarcely at last, contrary to expectation, found a stable place to stand on.
postero quoque die in tam cava valle opperiri Popilium ac relictas cum eo copias necesse fuit; quos et ipsos, cum ab nulla parte hostis terruisset, locorum asperitas hostiliter vexavit.
On the following day also, in so deep a valley, it was necessary to wait for Popilius and the forces left with him; whom also themselves, although no enemy had terrified them from any side, the roughness of the places harassed like an enemy.
tertio die coniunctis copiis eunt per saltum, quem incolae Callipeucen appellant.
On the third day, with their forces united, they went through the pass which the inhabitants call Callipeuce.
quarto inde die per aeque invia, sed adsuetudine peritius et meliore cum spe, quod nec hostis usquam apparebat et mari adpropinquabant, degressi in campos inter Heracleum et Libethrum posuerunt castra, quorum pars maior tumulos tenebat.
Then on the fourth day, through equally pathless places, but more skillfully from practice and with better hope, because the enemy appeared nowhere and they were approaching the sea, having descended into the plains, they pitched their camp between Heracleum and Libethrum, of which the greater part occupied the hills.
ibi pedes tendebat. vallo campi quoque partem, ubi eques tenderet, amplectebantur.
There the infantry pitched their tents. They also enclosed with a rampart a part of the plain where the cavalry might camp.
- 44.5.1progressis
Perfect participle plural dative, agreeing with an implied pronoun eis ('to them'). It functions as a dative of reference ('to them, having advanced...'), or as the logical subject of the historical infinitive esse (or a omitted verb of seeming).
- 44.5.6cuius
A relative connection (nexus relativus). Placed at the beginning of the clause, it refers back to the preceding pontem and functions as a genitive depending on the noun extremum ('the end of which').
- 44.5.8minimum pedibus itineris confectum
The neuter singular nominative adjective minimum takes itineris as a partitive genitive. The auxiliary verb est is omitted after the participle confectum, meaning 'very little of the journey was completed on foot.'
- 44.5.9nanctis
Dative plural participle (not ablative), agreeing with an implied eis. It serves as a dative of reference or possessor with fuit ('there was no time for them, who had scarcely at last found...'), explaining the background and reason for the lack of time to survey the area.