Chapters Seven and Eight

cum in apparando acerrime esset occupatus,

Although Hannibal had been most keenly occupied in making preparations for war,

Carthaginienses bellum cum Romanis composuerunt.

the Carthaginians arranged a war-truce with the Romans.

ille nihilo setius exercitui postea praefuit resque in Africa gessit

He afterwards nonetheless was put in charge of the army and he carried out affairs in Africa

itemque Mago frater eius usque ad P. Sulpicium C. Aurelium consules.

and likewise did his brother Mago right up until Publius Sulpicius and Gaius Aurelius were consuls.

his enim magistratibus legati Carthaginienses Romam venerunt,

For when these men were holding political office, Carthaginian ambassadors came to Rome

qui senatui populoque Romano gratias agerent, quod cum iis pacem fecissent,

to give thanks to the Roman senate and people because they had made peace with them

ob eamque rem corona aurea eos donarent simulque peterent,

and for this reason to gift them with a golden crown and at the same time to ask

ut obsides eorum Fregellis essent captivique redderentur.

that their hostages remain at Fregellae and the Carthaginian prisoners be given back.

his ex senatus consulto responsum est:

A reply was given to them from a decree of the senate:

munus eorum gratum acceptumque esse;

the Romans said that their gift was welcome and had been accepted;

obsides, quo loco rogarent, futuros;

that their hostages would remain in the place which they requested;

captivos non remissuros,

however that they would not send back their prisoners

quod Hannibalem, cuius opera susceptum bellum foret, inimicissimum nomini Romano, etiamnum cum imperio apud exercitum haberent

because they still kept Hannibal, due to whose work the war had been undertaken and who was most hostile to the name “Roman”, with the right to command among the army

itemque fratrem eius Magonem.

and likewise his brother, Mago.

hoc responso Carthaginienses cognito Hannibalem domum et Magonem revocarunt.

When this response had been found out, the Carthaginians called Hannibal back home and Mago.

huc ut rediit, rex factus est, postquam praetor fuerat, anno secundo et vicesimo:

When Hannibal returned there, he was made “rex”, after he had been “praetor”, in his 22^nd year [as general]:

ut enim Romae consules, sic Carthagine quotannis annui bini reges creabantur.

For just as consuls in Rome, so too in Carthage every year two kings were created, lasting a year.

in eo magistratu pari diligentia se Hannibal praebuit, ac fuerat in bello.

In that office Hannibal presented himself with equal care, as he had been in war.

namque effecit, ex novis vectigalibus non solum ut esset pecunia,

For he brought it about from new taxes not only that there was money

quae Romanis ex foedere penderetur,

which was to be paid to the Romans according to their treaty,

sed etiam superesset, quae in aerario reponeretur.

but also that there was some left over, which was to be laid aside in the treasury.

deinde M. Claudio L. Furio consulibus Roma legati Carthaginem venerunt.

Then, when Marcus Claudius and Lucius Furius were consuls, envoys came from Rome to Carthage.

hos Hannibal ratus sui exposcendi gratia missos,

Hannibal, thinking that these men had been sent for the sake of demanding himself to be surrended,

priusquam iis senatus daretur, navem ascendit clam atque in Syriam ad Antiochum profugit.

before a meeting was given to them, he boarded a ship secretly and fled to Syria to King Antiochus.

hac re palam facta Poeni naves duas, quae eum comprehenderent, si possent consequi, miserunt,

When this action had been made public, the Carthaginians sent two ships to seize him, if they could overtake him,

bona eius publicarunt, domum a fundamentis disiecerunt, ipsum exulem iudicarunt.

they confiscated his property, they demolished his house from the foundation and they publicly declared him himself an exile.

at Hannibal anno tertio, postquam domo profugerat, L. Cornelio Q. Minucio consulibus,

But Hannibal, in his third year, after he had fled from his home, while Lucius Cornelius and Quintus Minucius were serving as consuls,

cum quinque navibus Africam accessit in finibus Cyrenaeorum,

landed in Africa with five ships, in the borders of Cyrene,

si forte Carthaginienses ad bellum Antiochi spe fiduciaque inducere posset,

to see if by chance he could induce the Carthaginians to war [against the Romans], because of their belief and confidence in Antiochus,

cui iam persuaserat ut cum exercitibus in Italiam proficisceretur.

whom he had already persuaded to set out against Italy with his armies.

huc Magonem fratrem excivit.

He summoned his brother Mago to here to help.

id ubi Poeni resciverunt, Magonem eadem, qua fratrem, absentem affecerunt poena.

When the Carthaginians learnt this information, they treated Mago, although he was not present in person, with the same punishment with which they had treated his brother Hannibal.

illi desperatis rebus cum solvissent naves

Since the situation was desperate, when they had set sail

ac vela ventis dedissent, Hannibal ad Antiochum pervenit.

and had presented their sails to the winds, Hannibal reached Antiochus.

de Magonis interitu duplex memoria prodita est:

A double account has been produced about the death of Mago:

namque alii naufragio, alii a servolis ipsius interfectum eum scriptum reliquerunt.

for some have left a written account that he had been killed in a shipwreck, others that he had been killed by his very own slaves.

Antiochus autem si tam in agendo bello consiliis eius parere voluisset,

However Antiochus, if he had wanted to obey Hannibal’s counsel in the waging war to that extent

quam in suscipiendo instituerat,

to which he had been proactive in undertaking the war,

propius Tiberi quam in Thermopylis de summa imperii dimicasset.

he would have fought about the supremacy of command closer to the River Tiber than at Thermopylae.

quem etsi multa stulte conari videbat, tamen nulla deseruit in re.

Although Hannibal saw that Antiochus was trying many attempts foolishly, nevertheless he abandoned no efforts in the matter.

praefuit paucis navibus, quas ex Syria iussus erat in Asiam ducere,

He commanded a few ships, which he had been ordered to take from Syria to Asia

hisque adversus Rhodiorum classem in Pamphylio mari conflixit.

and with these he clashed against the fleet of the Rhodians in the Pamphylian Sea.

quo cum multitudine adversariorum sui superarentur,

Although his men were overcome by this number of opponents,

ipse, quo cornu rem gessit, fuit superior.

he was victorious on the wing on which he himself engaged in battle.