Chapter 4
Having crossed the Alps, Hannibal fights decisive battles · Life of Hannibal · A-level Latin · OCR H443/03
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SubjectObjectVerbGenitiveDativeAblativeConjunctionAdverb
Latin
English
conflixerat apud Rhodanum cum P. Cornelio Scipione consule eumque pepulerat. cum hoc
He had already fought the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio at the Rhone and driven him back; with this
eodem Clastidi apud Padum decernit sauciumque inde ac fugatum dimittit.
same man he fought again at Clastidium on the Po, and sent him off wounded and routed.
tertio idem Scipio cum collega Tiberio Longo apud Trebiam adversus eum venit. cum his
A third time this same Scipio, now with his colleague Tiberius Longus, met him at the Trebia;
manum conseruit, utrosque profligavit. inde per Ligures Appenninum transiit, petens
Hannibal engaged them both and crushed them. From there he crossed the Apennines through the territory of the Ligurians,
Etruriam.
making for Etruria.
hoc itinere adeo gravi morbo afficitur oculorum, ut postea numquam dextro aeque bene
On this march he was struck by such a severe eye infection that afterwards he never had
usus sit. qua valetudine cum etiam tum premeretur lecticaque ferretur, C. Flaminium
the full use of his right eye again. While still suffering from this and being carried in a litter, he ambushed and destroyed the consul Gaius Flaminius
consulem apud Trasumenum cum exercitu insidiis circumventum occidit neque multo post
and his army at Lake Trasimene, and not long after that
C. Centenium praetorem cum delecta manu saltus occupantem.
the praetor Gaius Centenius, along with his picked troops holding the mountain passes.
hinc in Apuliam pervenit. ibi obviam ei venerunt duo consules, C. Terentius et L. Aemilius.
From here he reached Apulia, where the two consuls, Gaius Terentius and Lucius Aemilius, came out to meet him.
utriusque exercitus uno proelio fugavit, Paulum consulem occidit et aliquot praeterea
In a single battle he put both their armies to flight, killed the consul Paulus, and several ex-consuls
consulares, in his Cn. Servilium Geminum, qui superiore anno fuerat consul.
besides, among them Gnaeus Servilius Geminus, who had been consul the year before.
Style notes this section · 15Repetition and structure · 5Word choice · 8Grammar · 2
conflixerat … pepuleratPluperfect
he had fought … had driven back
The pluperfects reach back before chapter 3 ended, so the narrative picks up events that happened on the way to the Alps.
cum hoc eodem … tertio idem ScipioRepetition
with this same man … for the third time this same Scipio
Nepos keeps stressing that it is the same Roman commander, beaten again and again, which makes Hannibal's dominance seem relentless.
decernit … dimittitHistoric present
he fights it out … sends him away
The switch into the present makes this second battle vivid, as if happening before the reader's eyes.
sauciumque inde ac fugatumVivid detail
wounded and routed
Two participles show the consul both hurt and running, a humiliating picture of a Roman commander.
manum conseruit, utrosque profligavitAsyndeton
he engaged them, he crushed them both
Two short clauses with no connective: the battle is over as soon as it begins.
utrosqueEmphasis
both of them
Two consuls together still cannot stop Hannibal, which raises the scale of the victory.
adeo gravi morbo afficitur oculorum, ut postea numquam dextro aeque bene usus sitContrast
he was struck by so severe an eye disease that he never again used his right eye as well
Right in the middle of his victories, Hannibal is shown as a man suffering lasting physical harm, which makes him human.
lecticaque ferreturPathos
was being carried in a litter
The great general is too ill to walk or ride, which makes what follows all the more remarkable.
lecticaque ferretur, C. Flaminium consulem … occiditContrast
was carried in a litter … killed the consul Gaius Flaminius
A sick man in a litter destroys a consul and his army: the contrast shows that Hannibal's mind, not his body, wins battles.
insidiis circumventumCharacterisation
surrounded by an ambush
Hannibal wins by cunning, a theme that runs through the Life: Romans fall into his traps.
cum delecta manuEmphasis
with a picked force
Even Rome's best troops are beaten, which adds to the sense that no one can resist him.
obviam ei venerunt duo consulesCharacterisation
the two consuls came out to meet him
Rome sends both its consuls at once, a sign of how desperate the situation has become.
uno proelioEmphasis
in a single battle
Two consular armies routed in one battle: the phrase stresses the scale of Cannae without needing to name it.
Paulum consulem occidit et aliquot praeterea consulares, in his Cn. Servilium GeminumClimax
he killed the consul Paulus and several former consuls besides, among them Gnaeus Servilius Geminus
The list of dead rises from a consul to a group of ex-consuls, so the reader sees how much of Rome's leadership died at Cannae.
qui superiore anno fuerat consulPrecise detail
who had been consul the year before
Naming a man who was consul only a year earlier makes the losses concrete and personal for Roman readers.
Notes on the text 5
P. Cornelio Scipione consulePublius Cornelius Scipio
the consul Publius Cornelius Scipio
Consul in 218 BC and father of Scipio Africanus, who would beat Hannibal at Zama. At the Rhône there was only a clash of cavalry patrols: Scipio arrived after Hannibal had already crossed.
Clastidi apud PadumClastidium and the Po
at Clastidium on the Po
The battle usually called the Ticinus (218 BC), a cavalry battle near the Po, in which Scipio was badly wounded. Clastidium was a nearby town that Hannibal later took.
apud TrebiamThe Trebia
at the Trebia
A tributary of the Po. In December 218 BC Hannibal lured the Romans across the freezing river and ambushed them with troops hidden in a stream bed.
apud TrasumenumLake Trasimene
at Lake Trasimene
In June 217 BC Hannibal trapped Flaminius' army in mist between the hills and the lake shore. Flaminius and about 15,000 Romans were killed.
in ApuliamCannae
into Apulia
Cannae, in Apulia in south-east Italy, where in 216 BC Hannibal encircled and destroyed the army of Paullus and Varro (here C. Terentius).
Questions to think about · 3
- This chapter is largely a list of battles. How does Nepos stop it from becoming monotonous?
- Why do you think Nepos includes the detail of Hannibal's eye disease and the litter in the middle of his victories?
- Nepos names Roman commanders and their offices carefully. What effect does this have on a Roman reader?
Hannibal's victories in Italy background
In 218 BC Hannibal came down from the Alps into the Po valley. He beat Publius Cornelius Scipio in a cavalry battle at the Ticinus, near Clastidium, where Scipio was wounded, and then, in December, the combined armies of Scipio and Tiberius Sempronius Longus at the river Trebia. In spring 217 BC he crossed the Apennines and the flooded marshes of the Arno, where he lost the sight of one eye, and in June trapped the consul Gaius Flaminius at Lake Trasimene: Flaminius and most of his army were killed.
In 216 BC came Cannae in Apulia. The consuls Lucius Aemilius Paullus and Gaius Terentius Varro led the largest army Rome had ever put into the field, and Hannibal surrounded and destroyed it. Paullus died with tens of thousands of his men. It was the worst defeat in Rome's history.
Vocabulary in this section · 97 wordsVocabulary tester
confligo, confligere, conflixi, conflictum fight, clash
apud (prep. + acc.) at, near, among
Rhodanus, -i (m.) the Rhone, river in Gaul
cum (prep. + abl.) with
Publius, -i (m.) Publius, Roman first name
Cornelius, -i (m.) Cornelius, Roman family name
Scipio, -onis (m.) Scipio (P. Cornelius Scipio, consul 218 BC)
consul, -is (m.) consul
is, ea, id + -que (conj.) he, she, it; this, that; and
pello, pellere, pepuli, pulsum drive, drive back, rout
hic, haec, hoc this; he, she, it
idem, eadem, idem the same
Clastidium, -i (n.) Clastidium, town in northern Italy
Padus, -i (m.) the Po, river in northern Italy
decerno, decernere, decrevi, decretum decide; fight it out, fight a decisive battle
saucius, -a, -um + -que (conj.) wounded; and
inde (adv.) from there
ac (conj.) and
fugo, fugare, fugavi, fugatum put to flight, rout
dimitto, dimittere, dimisi, dimissum send away, let go, dismiss
tertio (adv.) for the third time
collega, -ae (m.) colleague
Tiberius, -i (m.) Tiberius, Roman first name
Longus, -i (m.) Longus (Ti. Sempronius Longus, consul 218 BC)
Trebia, -ae (f.) the Trebia, river in northern Italy
adversus (prep. + acc.) against, towards
is, ea, id he, she, it; this, that
venio, venire, veni, ventum come
manus, -us (f.) hand; band of men
consero, conserere, conserui, consertum join; (manum conserere) engage in battle
uterque, utraque, utrumque each of two, both
profligo, profligare, profligavi, profligatum crush, overthrow, rout
per (prep. + acc.) through
Ligures, -um (m. pl.) the Ligurians, a people of north-west Italy
Appenninus, -i (m.) the Apennines, mountain range of Italy
transeo, transire, transii, transitum cross, go across
peto, petere, petivi, petitum seek, make for, head for
Etruria, -ae (f.) Etruria, region of central Italy
iter, itineris (n.) journey, march, route, road
adeo (adv.) so, to such an extent
gravis, -e heavy, serious, severe
morbus, -i (m.) illness, disease
afficio, afficere, affeci, affectum affect; (passive + abl.) be afflicted with
oculus, -i (m.) eye
ut (conj.) that, so that (+ subj.)
postea (adv.) afterwards
numquam (adv.) never
dexter, dextra, dextrum right
aeque (adv.) equally
bene (adv.) well
utor, uti, usus sum use, make use of (+ abl.)
sum, esse, fui be
qui, quae, quod who, which; (connecting) this, he
valetudo, -inis (f.) health; ill health, illness
cum (conj.) when, while, since (+ subj.)
etiam (adv.) even, also, still
tum (adv.) then (etiam tum = even then, still)
premo, premere, pressi, pressum press, oppress, afflict
lectica, -ae (f.) litter + -que (conj.) and
fero, ferre, tuli, latum carry, bear
Gaius, -i (m.) Gaius, Roman first name
Flaminius, -i (m.) Flaminius (C. Flaminius, consul 217 BC)
Trasumenus, -i (m.) Lake Trasimene, in Etruria
exercitus, -us (m.) army
insidiae, -arum (f. pl.) ambush, trap
circumvenio, circumvenire, circumveni, circumventum surround, trap
occido, occidere, occidi, occisum kill
neque (conj.) and not, nor
multus, -a, -um much, many
post (adv.) afterwards, later
Centenius, -i (m.) Centenius, Roman family name
praetor, -oris (m.) praetor, Roman magistrate
deligo, deligere, delegi, delectum choose, select, pick
saltus, -us (m.) mountain pass; woodland
occupo, occupare, occupavi, occupatum seize, occupy, hold
hinc (adv.) from here, from there
in (prep. + acc./abl.) into, to; in, on
Apulia, -ae (f.) Apulia, region of south-east Italy
pervenio, pervenire, perveni, perventum arrive, reach
ibi (adv.) there
obviam (adv.) in the way; (+ dat.) to meet
duo, duae, duo two
Terentius, -i (m.) Terentius (C. Terentius Varro, consul 216 BC)
et (conj.) and
Lucius, -i (m.) Lucius, Roman first name
Aemilius, -i (m.) Aemilius (L. Aemilius Paulus, consul 216 BC)
unus, -a, -um one, a single
proelium, -i (n.) battle
Paulus, -i (m.) Paulus (L. Aemilius Paulus, consul 216 BC)
aliquot (indecl. adj.) several, some
praeterea (adv.) besides, in addition
consularis, -is (m.) ex-consul, man of consular rank
Gnaeus, -i (m.) Gnaeus, Roman first name
Servilius, -i (m.) Servilius, Roman family name
Geminus, -i (m.) Geminus (Cn. Servilius Geminus, consul 217 BC)
superior, -ius higher; earlier, previous
annus, -i (m.) year