Humanitext Reader

Livy · History of Rome §30.20.1-30.20.9

Hannibal's Regret and Departure from Italy

Passage 1001 of 1770 · Latin

Summary

Upon receiving the recall order from Carthage, Hannibal, filled with resentment toward his political rivals at home and deep regret, consolidates his forces in Italy and departs for Africa.

§30.20.1frendens gemensque ac vix lacrimis temperans dicitur legatorum verba audisse.
Gnashing his teeth and groaning, and scarcely restraining his tears, he is said to have heard the words of the envoys.
§30.20.2postquam edita sunt mandata “iam non perplexe” inquit, “sed palam revocant, qui vetando supplementum et pecuniam mitti iam pridem retrahebant.
After the instructions were delivered, he said, “Now they recall me no longer perplexedly, but openly, they who by forbidding reinforcements and money to be sent were already long since holding me back.
§30.20.3vicit ergo Hannibalem non populus Romanus, totiens caesus fugatusque, sed senatus Carthaginiensis obtrectatione atque invidia.
Therefore, it is not the Roman people, so often slaughtered and routed, that has conquered Hannibal, but the Carthaginian senate by detraction and envy.
§30.20.4neque hac deformitate reditus mei tam P. Scipio exsultabit atque efferet sese quam Hanno, qui domum nostram, quando alia re non potuit, §30.20.5ruina Carthaginis oppressit. ” iam hoc ipsum praesagiens animo praeparaverat ante naves.
Nor will Publius Scipio so much exult and pride himself on this dishonor of my return as Hanno, who has crushed our house by the ruin of Carthage, since he could not do it by any other means.” Already foreboding this very thing in his mind, he had prepared ships beforehand.
itaque inutili militum turba praesidii specie in oppida Bruttii agri, quae pauca metu magis quam fide continebantur, dimissa, §30.20.6quod roboris in exercitu erat in Africam transvexit, multis Italici generis, qui in Africam secuturos abnuentes concesserant in Iunonis Laciniae delubrum inviolatum ad eam diem, in templo ipso foede interfectis.
Therefore, having dismissed the useless crowd of soldiers under the appearance of a garrison into the towns of the Bruttian territory, which, few in number, were held by fear rather than by loyalty, he transported the strength of his army to Africa, many of Italian race, who, refusing to follow him to Africa, had withdrawn into the temple of Juno Lacinia, inviolate up to that day, being foully slaughtered in the temple itself.
§30.20.7raro quemquam alium patriam exilii causa relinquentem tam maestum abisse ferunt quam Hannibalem hostium terra excedentem.
They say that rarely has anyone else leaving his country for exile departed in such deep grief as Hannibal when withdrawing from the land of his enemies.
respexisse saepe Italiae litora, et deos hominesque accusantem in se quoque ac suum ipsius caput execratum, §30.20.8quod non cruentum ab Cannensi victoria militem Romam duxisset.
He is said to have often looked back at the shores of Italy, accusing both gods and men, and calling down curses upon himself and his own head, because he had not led his soldiers, bloody from the victory of Cannae, to Rome.
Scipionem ire ad Carthaginem ausum, qui consul hostem Poenum in Italia non vidisset; §30.20.9se centum milibus armatorum ad Trasumennum, ad Cannas caesis circa Casilinum Cumasque et Nolam consenuisse.
He complained that Scipio had dared to go to Carthage, who as consul had not seen a Carthaginian enemy in Italy; while he, after a hundred thousand armed men had been slain at Trasimene and at Cannae, had grown old around Casilinum, Cuma, and Nola.
haec accusans querensque ex diutina possessione Italiae est detractus.
Thus accusing and complaining, he was dragged away from his long-standing possession of Italy.

Notes

  1. 30.20.2qui ... retrahebant — The antecedent of the relative pronoun qui is the implied subject of revocant (his political rivals at home). The imperfect retrahebant expresses an attempted or ongoing action ('were trying to hold back' or 'had long been holding back').
  2. 30.20.4neque hac deformitate ... tam P. Scipio exsultabit ... quam Hanno — A comparative correlative construction tam ... quam with a negative (neque). It literally means 'Hanno will not exult as much as P. Scipio,' but paradoxically conveys the ironical sense that Hanno will exult even more, having successfully ruined Hannibal's house.
  3. 30.20.6quod roboris in exercitu erat — quod is a relative pronoun, and roboris (genitive of robur) acts as a partitive genitive qualifying quod, meaning 'whatever of strength there was in the army' (i.e., all the elite forces). The entire clause serves as the direct object of transvexit.
  4. 30.20.7respexisse saepe Italiae litora — The infinitives respexisse and execratum (with esse omitted) are part of the accusative-with-infinitive construction introduced by ferunt in the preceding sentence, with Hannibalem understood as the subject. The participle accusantem also modifies the subject.
  5. 30.20.8quod non cruentum ab Cannensi victoria militem Romam duxisset — The pluperfect subjunctive duxisset is used in the quod-clause to express Hannibal's own subjective reason (his deep regret or self-reproach) for not having acted.

Cite this passage

Livy, History of Rome §30.20.1-30.20.9. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:latinLit:phi0914.phi001.humanitext-lat2:30.20.1-30.20.9

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