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Cornelius Nepos · Hannibal §4.1-4.4

Victories at the Trebia and Trasumene and Loss of an Eye

Passage 4 of 13 · Latin

Summary

Hannibal's early consecutive victories against the Romans at the Trebia, Trasumene, and Cannae after entering Italy are described, along with his loss of sight in his right eye due to an illness during the march.

§4.1Conflixerat apud Rhodanum cum P. Cornelio Scipione consule eumque pepulerat.
He had clashed near the Rhone with the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio and had repulsed him.
cum hoc eodem Clastidii apud Padum decernit sauciumque inde ac fugatum dimittit.
With this same man he joined battle at Clastidium near the Po, and sent him away from there wounded and put to flight.
§4.2tertio idem Scipio cum collega Ti. Longo apud Trebiam adversus eum venit.
For the third time, the same Scipio came against him near the Trebia with his colleague Tiberius Longus.
cum iis manum conseruit, utrosque profligavit.
He joined battle with them and routed both.
inde per Ligures Appenninum transiit, petens Etruriam.
From there, he crossed the Apennines through the territory of the Ligurians, heading for Etruria.
§4.3hoc in itinere adeo gravi morbo afficitur oculorum, ut postea numquam dextro aeque bene usus sit.
On this march he was afflicted with so severe a disease of the eyes that afterwards he never used his right eye as well as before.
qua valetudine cum etiamnum premeretur lecticaque ferretur, C. Flaminium consulem apud Trasumennum cum exercitu insidiis circumventum occidit, neque multo post C. Centenium praetorem cum delecta manu saltus occupantem.
While he was still suffering from this illness and was being carried in a litter, he killed the consul Gaius Flaminius near Trasumene, who, along with his army, had been surrounded by an ambush; and not long after, the praetor Gaius Centenius, who with a select band was occupying the mountain passes.
§4.4hinc in Apuliam pervenit.
From here he arrived in Apulia.
ibi obviam ei venerunt duo consules, C. Terentius et L. Aemilius.
There the two consuls, Gaius Terentius and Lucius Aemilius, came to meet him.
utriusque exercitus uno proelio fugavit, Paulum consulem occidit et aliquot praeterea consulares, in eis Cn. Servilium Geminum, qui superiore anno fuerat consul.
In a single battle he put the armies of both to flight, killed the consul Paulus and several other men of consular rank, including Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, who had been consul the year before.

Notes

  1. §4.1Clastidii — The locative singular of the town name Clastidium (second declension), meaning "at Clastidium." Along with 'apud Padum' (near the Po), it specifies the location of the action for the historical present verb 'decernit.'
  2. §4.3dextro — Ablative masculine singular of the adjective 'dexter' (right), with the noun 'oculo' (eye) understood. It is in the ablative case because the verb 'utor' (to use) governs the ablative.
  3. §4.3occupantem — The accusative masculine singular of the present active participle 'occupans', modifying the preceding 'C. Centenium praetorem'. In this passage, 'occidit' governs two parallel accusative objects with participles: 'C. Flaminium ... circumventum' and 'C. Centenium ... occupantem'.
  4. §4.4utriusque exercitus — 'utriusque' is the genitive singular of the pronominal adjective 'uterque' (each of the two), and 'exercitus' is the accusative singular of the fourth-declension noun. It means "the army of each (of the two consuls)" and serves as the direct object of the transitive verb 'fugavit'.

Cite this passage

Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal §4.1-4.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0588.abo023.humanitext-lat2:4.1-4.4

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