§21.41.1non vereor, ne quis me haec vestri adhortandi causa magnifice loqui existimet, ipsum aliter animo adfectum esse.
“I do not fear lest anyone should think that I am speaking these things boastfully for the sake of encouraging you, while I myself am inwardly disposed otherwise.
§21.41.2licuit in Hispaniam provinciam meam, quo iam profectus eram, cum exercitu ire meo, ubi et fratrem consilii participem ac periculi socium haberem et Hasdrubalem potius quam Hannibalem hostem et minorem haud dubie molem belli; §21.41.3tamen, cum praeterveherer navibus Galliae oram, ad famam huius hostis in terram egressus praemisso equitatu ad Rhodanum movi castra.
It was open to me to go with my army to Spain, my province, for which I had already set out, where I should have had both my brother as a sharer of my counsel and a partner in danger, and Hasdrubal rather than Hannibal as an enemy, and undoubtedly a smaller burden of war; nevertheless, as I was sailing past the coast of Gaul, having landed upon the report of this enemy, and having sent ahead my cavalry, I moved my camp to the Rhone.
§21.41.4equestri proelio, qua parte copiarum conserendi manum fortuna data est, hostem fudi; peditum agmen, quod in modum fugientium raptim agebatur, quia adsequi terra non poteram, regressus ad navis, quanta maxime potui celeritate tanto maris terrarumque circuitu in radicibus prope Alpium huic timendo hosti obvius fui.
In a cavalry battle, in which part of the forces fortune gave an opportunity to join hand, I routed the enemy; because I could not overtake on land the column of infantry, which was being marched rapidly in the manner of fugitives, I returned to the ships, and with the greatest speed I could make, after so great a circuit of sea and land, I met this dreaded enemy near the foothills of the Alps.
§21.41.5utrum, cum declinarem certamen, inprovidus incidisse videor, an occurrere in vestigiis eius, lacessere ac trahere ad decernendum?
Do I seem to have run into him by accident and without foresight while avoiding a contest, or to have met him in his tracks, to challenge him, and to drag him to a decision?
§21.41.6experiri iuvat, utrum alio repente Carthaginienses per viginti annos terra ediderit, an idem sint, qui ad Aegates pugnaverunt insulas et quos ab Eryce duodevicenis denariis aestimatos emisistis, §21.41.7et utrum Hannibal hic sit aemulus itinerum Herculis, ut ipse fert, an vectigalis stipendiariusque et servus populi Romani a patre relictus.
It is worth testing whether the earth has suddenly produced other Carthaginians during these twenty years, or whether they are the same who fought at the Aegates islands, and whom you released from Eryx, valued at eighteen denarii each, and whether this Hannibal is a rival of the journeys of Hercules, as he himself boasts, or a taxpayer and tributary and a slave of the Roman people, left by his father.
§21.41.8quem nisi Saguntinum scelus agitaret, respiceret profecto, si non patriam victam, domum certe patremque et foedera Hamilcaris scripta manu, qui iussus ab consule nostro praesidium deduxit ab Eryce, §21.41.9qui graves inpositas victis Carthaginiensibus leges fremens maerensque accepit, qui decedens Sicilia stipendium populo Romano dare pactus est.
Indeed, if the Saguntine crime were not driving him mad, he would surely look back upon, if not his conquered country, at least his home and father and the treaties written by the hand of Hamilcar, who, ordered by our consul, withdrew his garrison from Eryx, who, chafing and mourning, accepted the heavy terms imposed on the vanquished Carthaginians, and who, on departing from Sicily, agreed to pay tribute to the Roman people.
§21.41.10itaque vos ego, milites, non eo solum animo, quo adversus alios hostes soletis, pugnare velim, sed cum indignatione quadam atque ira, velut si servos videatis vestros arma repente contra vos ferentes.
Therefore I would wish you, soldiers, to fight not only with that spirit with which you are accustomed against other enemies, but with a certain resentment and anger, as if you saw your slaves suddenly bearing arms against you.
licuit ad Erycem clausos ultimo supplicio humanorum, §21.41.11fame, interficere; licuit victricem classem in Africam traicere atque intra paucos dies sine ullo certamine Carthaginem delere: §21.41.12veniam dedimus precantibus, emisimus ex obsidione, pacem cum victis fecimus, tutelae deinde nostrae duximus, cum Africo bello urgerentur.
It was permitted to kill them, shut up at Eryx, with the ultimate punishment of human sufferances, hunger; it was permitted to transport our victorious fleet to Africa and within a few days to destroy Carthage without any contest: we granted pardon to them when they begged, we let them go from blockade, we made peace with the vanquished, and then we held them under our protection when they were hard pressed by the African war.
§21.41.13pro his inpertitis furiosum iuvenem sequentes oppugnatum patriam nostram veniunt.
In return for these benefits, following a mad youth, they come to attack our country.
atque utinam pro decore tantum hoc vobis et non pro salute esset certamen.
And would that this contest were only for your honor, and not for your safety.
§21.41.14non de possessione Siciliae ac Sardiniae, de quibus quondam agebatur, sed pro Italia vobis est pugnandum.
You must fight not for the possession of Sicily and Sardinia, about which the dispute once was, but for Italy.
§21.41.15nec est alius ab tergo exercitus, qui, nisi nos vincimus, hosti obsistat, nec Alpes aliae sunt, quas dum superant, comparari nova possint praesidia.
Nor is there another army behind us to resist the enemy if we do not conquer, nor are there other Alps, which while they are crossing, new garrisons can be prepared.
hic est obstandum, milites, velut si ante Romana moenia pugnemus.
Here you must make your stand, soldiers, as if we were fighting before the Roman walls.
§21.41.16unus quisque se non corpus suum sed coniugem ac liberos parvos armis protegere putet; nec domesticas solum agitet curas, sed identidem hoc animo reputet, nostras nunc intueri manus senatum populumque Romanum: §21.41.17qualis nostra vis virtusque fuerit, talem deinde fortunam illius urbis ac Romani imperii fore. ”
Let each one think that he is protecting with his arms not his own body, but his wife and little children; nor let him harbor only domestic cares in his mind, but repeatedly reflect in his heart that the senate and the Roman people are now watching our hands: whatever our strength and valor shall be, such will be the fortune of that city and of the Roman empire hereafter.”