§21.31.1his adhortationibus incitatos corpora curare atque ad iter se parare iubet. §21.31.2postero die profectus adversa ripa Rhodani mediterranea Galliae petit, non quia rectior ad Alpis via esset, sed, quantum a maria recessisset, minus obvium fore Romanum credens, cum quo, §21.31.3priusquam in Italiam ventum foret, non erat in animo manus conserere. §21.31.4quartis castris ad Insulam pervenit.
Having incited them by these encouragements, he ordered them to refresh their bodies and prepare themselves for the march. Setting out on the following day, he headed for the inland parts of Gaul along the bank of the Rhone, going against its stream; not because this was the more direct route to the Alps, but believing that the further he retreated from the sea, the less likely he would be to meet the Romans, with whom, before he arrived in Italy, he had no intention of engaging in battle. At the fourth encampment he came to the Island.
ibi Isara Rhodanusque amnes diversis ex Alpibus decurrentes agri aliquantum amplexi confluunt in unum; §21.31.5mediis campis Insulae nomen inditum.
There the rivers Isara and Rhone, flowing down from different parts of the Alps, after embracing a considerable extent of country, flow together into one; the name of the Island is given to the plains in the middle.
incolunt prope Allobroges, gens iam inde nulla Gallica gente opibus aut fama inferior.
Near them dwell the Allobroges, a tribe even from that time inferior to no Gallic nation in wealth or reputation.
tum discors erat: regni certamine ambigebant fratres; §21.31.6maior et qui prius imperitarat, Braneus nomine, a fratre minore et coetu iuniorum, qui iure minus, vi plus poterat, pellebatur. §21.31.7huius seditionis peropportuna disceptatio cum ad Hannibalem delegata esset, arbiter regni factus, quod ea senatus principumque sententia fuerat, imperium maiori restituit. §21.31.8ob id meritum commeatu copiaque rerum omnium, maxime vestis, est adiutus, quam infames frigoribus Alpes praeparari cogebant. §21.31.9sedatis Hannibal certaminibus Allobrogum cum iam Alpes peteret, non recta regione iter instituit, sed ad laevam in Tricastinos flexit; inde per extremam oram Vocontiorum agri tendit in Tricorios, haud usquam impedita via, priusquam ad Druentiam flumen pervenit. §21.31.10is et ipse Alpinus amnis longe omnium Galliae fluminum difficillimus transitu est. §21.31.11nam cum aquae vim vehat ingentem, non tamen navium patiens est, quia nullis coercitus ripis, pluribus simul neque isdem alveis fluens, nova semper vada novosque gurgites gignit, et ob eadem pediti quoque incerta via est; ad hoc saxa glareosa volvens nihil stabile nec tutum ingredienti praebet. §21.31.12et tum forte imbribus auctus ingentem transgredientibus tumultum fecit, cum super cetera trepidatione ipsi sua atque incertis clamoribus turbarentur.
At that time they were at discord: two brothers were disputing in a contest for the kingship; the elder, Braneus by name, who had previously ruled, was being expelled by his younger brother and a faction of the younger men, who, though having less right, had more power. When the decision of this timely strife was referred to Hannibal, having been made arbiter of the kingdom, he restored the sovereign power to the elder, because such had been the opinion of the senate and the leading men. On account of this service, he was assisted with provisions and an abundance of all supplies, especially clothing, which the Alps, infamous for their cold, compelled to be prepared. Having settled the disputes of the Allobroges, when Hannibal was now heading for the Alps, he did not direct his course in a straight line, but turned to the left into the territory of the Tricastini; thence, through the extreme border of the country of the Vocontii, he advanced towards the Tricorii, his march being nowhere impeded until he reached the river Druentia. This also is an Alpine river, by far the most difficult of passage of all the rivers of Gaul. For though it carries a vast force of water, it is nevertheless not navigable, because, being confined by no banks and flowing at the same time in several and not the same channels, it always creates new shallows and new whirlpools, and for the same reasons the way is uncertain for a foot soldier too; moreover, rolling down gravelly stones, it offers nothing stable or safe to one who enters it. And at that time, having happened to be swollen by rains, it caused a great tumult for those crossing, since, besides everything else, they were thrown into disorder by their own trepidation and uncertain shouts.