1–2
atHannibalannotertiopostquamdomoprofugerat,L.CornelioQ.Minucioconsulibus,cumquinquenavibusAfricamaccessitinfinibusCyrenaeorum
2
ContextL. Cornelio Q. Minucio consulibus dates this episode to 193 BC — Hannibal is now several years and several countries into his life on the run.
Contextin finibus Cyrenaeorum Cyrene sat right on the eastern edge of the old Carthaginian world; Hannibal would have sailed the whole way hugging the coastline, since losing sight of land wasn't something ancient sailors did lightly.
2–4
siforteCarthaginiensesadbellumAntiochispefiduciaqueinducereposset,cuiiampersuaseratutcumexercitibusinItaliamproficisceretur.
4
Grammarsi ... possent is an indirect question; spe fiduciaque are both ablatives of cause; cui refers to Antiochus.
Grammarpersuaserat ut ... proficisceretur an indirect command. Since Hannibal can't persuade the Carthaginians directly, he tries working on Antiochus instead.
Hendiadysspe fiduciaque 'with hope and confidence': two closely related words joined by -que, used together for emphasis rather than as two separate ideas.
Contextcui iam persuaserat this claim isn't quite true: Hannibal had actually failed to persuade Antiochus of anything of the sort.
4
hucMagonemfratremexcivit.
1
Grammarhuc 'to here', meaning Cyrene.
5
idubiPoenirescierunt,Magonemeadem,quafratrem,absentemaffeceruntpoena.
1
StyleThe sentence saves its most important word, poena ('punishment'), for the very end — a small but effective way of building suspense before landing the blow.
6–7
illidesperatisrebuscumsolvissentnavesacvelaventisdedissent,HannibaladAntiochumpervenit.
2
Grammarilli refers to Hannibal and his brother Mago.
Stylevela ventis dedissent 'gave their sails to the winds' is a poetic-sounding phrase, more the sort of thing you'd expect in Virgil than in a plain prose writer like Nepos; here it dresses up what is really a fairly desperate, hasty escape.
7–8
deMagonisinterituduplexmemoriaproditaest.namquealiinaufragio,aliiaservulisipsiusinterfectumeumscriptumreliquerunt.
2
Grammarinterfectum we need to supply esse to make this a perfect passive infinitive, since it's reporting what the written records say (indirect statement).
ContextNeither version is especially glorious, though there's also a third possibility floating around: that Mago actually died of wounds picked up fighting in northern Italy back in 203 BC.
9–10
Antiochusautem,sitamingerendobelloconsiliiseiusparerevoluisset,quaminsuscipiendoinstituerat,propiusTiberiquaminThermopylisdesummaimperiidimicasset.
4
Grammartam ... quam are correlatives, 'as ... as'; si ... voluisset is a conditional clause; eius refers to Hannibal.
Grammarin gerendo bello and in suscipiendo (bello) are both gerundives, literally 'in the war being waged' / 'in the war being undertaken'.
Balancesi tam in gerendo bello consiliis eius parere voluisset, quam in suscipiendo instituerat — the sentence sets Antiochus's early enthusiasm (suscipiendo, 'undertaking' the war) against his later reluctance to actually follow advice (gerendo, 'waging' it): all talk, not enough follow-through.
Contextpropius Tiberi the Tiber is the river running through Rome, i.e. Nepos is saying Antiochus could have fought Rome on Rome's own doorstep. Instead he was beaten at Thermopylae, in central Greece, in 191 BC, then defeated again the following year after retreating into Asia.
10–11
quemetsimultastulteconarividebat,tamennulladeseruitinre.
2
Grammarinstituerat is in the indicative mood.
Stylemulta ... nulla this quiet contrast (many foolish schemes, but not one abandonment) is Nepos's way of praising Hannibal's loyalty even while admitting his ally was hopeless.
12–13
praefuitpaucisnavibus,quasexSyriaiussuseratinAsiamducere,hisqueadversusRhodiorumclasseminPamphyliomariconflixit.
2
Grammarhisque ablative of instrument ('with these').
ContextThe battle itself was fought near Side, a coastal city in Pamphylia, just west of the river Melas — a detail worth knowing if a context question asks you to place it on a map.
13–14
quocummultitudineadversariorumsuisuperarentur,ipse,quocornuremgessit,fuitsuperior.
1
ContextAccording to another, probably more accurate, account, Hannibal actually did well early on but was eventually overwhelmed by sheer numbers and forced to flee. He wasn't really an experienced naval commander, but he clearly still did his best.
1–2
But Hannibal, in the third year after he had fled from home, in the consulship of Lucius Cornelius and Quintus Minucius, with five ships reached Africa in the territories of the Cyreneans,
2–4
to see if he could by any chance draw the Carthaginians into a war using the hope and confidence Antiochus inspired — Antiochus, whom he had already persuaded to march into Italy with his armies.
4
He also summoned his brother Mago to this place.
5
When the Carthaginians found this out, they punished Mago in his absence with the same penalty as his brother.
6–7
Since the situation was desperate, when they had raised anchor and set sail to the winds, Hannibal reached Antiochus.
7–8
Two accounts have been passed down about the death of Mago; for some have written that he died in a shipwreck, others that he was killed by his own slaves.
9–10
But Antiochus, if he had been as willing to follow Hannibal's advice in waging the war as he had been resolved on undertaking it, would have fought over supreme power nearer to the Tiber than at Thermopylae.
10–11
And although he saw that the king was attempting many things foolishly, yet in no matter did Hannibal abandon him.
12–13
He commanded a few ships, which he had been ordered to take from Syria to Asia, and with them he fought against a fleet of the Rhodians in the Pamphylian Sea.
13–14
In that battle, although his forces were outnumbered by the huge number of their opponents, he himself was superior on the wing where he fought.