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Livy · History of Rome §21.59.1-21.59.10

Inconclusive Battle near Placentia and the Withdrawals

Passage 590 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

After crossing the Apennines, Hannibal engages in a fierce and indecisive battle near Placentia against the Roman army led by the consul Sempronius. Afterwards, Hannibal withdraws to the Ligurians and Sempronius to Luca, where the Ligurians hand over captured Roman quaestors to Hannibal to seal their alliance.

§21.59.1degressus Appennino retro ad Placentiam castra movit et ad decem milia progressus consedit.
Having descended from the Apennines, he moved his camp back toward Placentia, and having advanced about ten miles, he pitched camp.
postero die duodecim milia peditum, quinque equitum adversus hostem ducit; §21.59.2nec Sempronius consul — iam enim redierat ab Roma — detrectavit certamen.
On the following day, he led twelve thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry against the enemy; nor did the consul Sempronius—for he had already returned from Rome—decline the battle.
atque eo die tria milia passuum inter bina castra fuere; §21.59.3postero die ingentibus animis vario eventu pugnatum est.
And on that day there were three miles between the two camps; on the next day, they fought with great spirit and with varying success.
primo concursu adeo res Romana superior fuit, ut non acie vincerent solum, sed pulsos hostes in castra persequerentur, mox castra quoque oppugnarent.
In the first encounter, the Roman cause was so superior that they not only conquered in the line of battle, but pursued the beaten enemy to their camp, and soon even attacked the camp.
§21.59.4Hannibal paucis propugnatoribus in vallo portisque positis ceteros confertos in media castra recepit, intentosque signum ad erumpendum exspectare iubet.
Hannibal, having posted a few defenders on the rampart and at the gates, withdrew the rest in a dense body to the center of the camp, and ordered them to wait attentively for the signal to sally forth.
§21.59.5iam nona ferme diei hora erat, cum Romanus nequiquam fatigato milite, postquam nulla spes erat potiundi castris, signum receptui dedit.
It was now almost the ninth hour of the day, when the Roman, having fatigued his soldiers in vain, after there was no hope of gaining the camp, gave the signal for retreat.
§21.59.6quod ubi Hannibal accepit laxatamque pugnam et recessum a castris vidit, extemplo equitibus dextra laevaque emissis in hostem ipse cum peditum robore mediis castris erupit.
When Hannibal perceived this, and saw that the fighting was slackened and a retreat made from the camp, he immediately sent out his cavalry on the right and left against the enemy, while he himself with the main strength of the infantry sallied forth from the middle of the camp.
§21.59.7pugna raro magis ulla saeva aut utriusque partis pernicie clarior fuisset, si extendi eam dies in longum spatium sivisset: §21.59.8nox accensum ingentibus animis proelium diremit.
Scarcely would any other battle have been more fierce or more famous for the destruction of both sides, if the day had allowed it to be prolonged into a longer space of time; night broke off the battle which had been kindled with great spirit.
itaque acrior concursus fuit quam caedes, et sicut aequata ferme pugna erat, ita clade pari discessum est.
Therefore, the clash was more fierce than the slaughter, and just as the battle had been almost equal, so they departed with equal loss.
§21.59.9ab neutra parte sescentis plus peditibus et dimidium eius equitum cecidit; sed maior Romanis quam pro numero iactura fuit, quia equestris ordinis aliquot et tribuni militum quinque et praefecti sociorum tres sunt interfecti.
On neither side fell more than six hundred infantry and half that number of cavalry; but the loss was greater to the Romans than in proportion to the number, because several of the equestrian order, five military tribunes, and three prefects of the allies were killed.
§21.59.10secundum eam pugnam Hannibal in Ligures, Sempronius Lucam concessit.
After this battle, Hannibal withdrew to the Ligurians, Sempronius to Luca.
venienti in Ligures Hannibali per insidias intercepti duo quaestores Romani, C. Fulvius et L. Lucretius, cum duobus tribunis militum et quinque equestris ordinis, senatorum ferme liberis, quo magis ratam fore cum iis pacem societatemque crederet, traduntur.
To Hannibal, as he was coming to the Ligurians, there were delivered two Roman quaestors, Gaius Fulvius and Lucius Lucretius, who had been intercepted by an ambush, together with two military tribunes and five of the equestrian order, mostly sons of senators, so that he might believe that peace and alliance with them would be more firmly established.

Notes

  1. 21.59.3adeo res Romana superior fuit, ut non acie vincerent solum, sed... — The subject of the verbs vincerent, persequerentur, and oppugnarent in the consecutive clause introduced by ut shifts to the "Romans" (implied), although the subject of the main clause is the abstract noun phrase res Romana (the Roman cause/state).
  2. 21.59.5potiundi castris — A gerundive construction of the deponent verb potior (to gain possession of). The gerundive potiundi agrees with or governs the ablative castris, which is the object of the verb.
  3. 21.59.7pugna... fuisset, si extendi eam dies in longum spatium sivisset — A past contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. Both the apodosis (fuisset) and the protasis (sivisset) are in the pluperfect subjunctive. The noun dies (day, daylight) is feminine here and serves as the subject of the condition.
  4. 21.59.9sescentis plus peditibus — The comparative plus often acts adverbially when used with numbers, without affecting the construction. Here, sescentis peditibus is in the ablative of comparison, meaning "more than six hundred infantrymen".
  5. 21.59.10quo magis ratam fore cum iis pacem societatemque crederet — quo introduces a purpose clause containing a comparative (magis), equivalent to ut eo. ratam fore (future infinitive of ratus esse, here feminine agreeing with pacem societatemque) is the infinitive in an indirect statement with pacem societatemque as its subject, indicating the purpose of the Ligurians in handing over the prisoners.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §21.59.1-21.59.10. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:21.59.1-21.59.10

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