Latin Component 3 Hannibal Crosses the Alps

Section B part 1

missus Hannibal in Hispaniam primo statim adventu omnem exercitum in se convertit; Hamilcarem iuvenem redditum esse sibi veteres milites crediderunt;eundem vigorem in vultu vimque in oculis, habitum oris lineamentaque intuebantur. dein brevi effecit ut pater in se minimum momentum ad favorem conciliandum esset.

Hannibal was sent to Spain, and no sooner had he arrived than he won over the whole army; the old soldiers believed that Hamilcar had been returned to them in the person of this young man;they saw that he had the same liveliness in his face and energy in his eyes, the same appearance of face and features. After a short time, his resemblance to his father was the least important factor in gaining him popularity

Section B part 2:

numquam ingenium idem ad res diversissimas, parendum atque imperandum, habilius fuit. itaque haud facile discerneres utrum imperatori an exercitui carior esset;neque Hasdrubal alium quemquam praeficere malebat ubi quid fortiter ac strenue agendum esset, neque milites alio duce plus confidebant aut audebant. plurimum audaciae ad pericula capessenda, plurimum consilii inter ipsa pericula erat.nullo labore aut corpus fatigari aut animus vinci poterat. caloris ac frigoris patientia par; cibi potionisque desiderio naturali, non voluptate modus finitus;vigiliarum somnique nec die nec nocte discriminata tempora; id quod gerendis rebus superesset quieti datum; ea neque molli strato neque silentio arcessita; multi saepe militari sagulo

never was the same nature more suitable to such diverse things as obeying and commanding, therefore you could not easily decide whether he was more popular with the general or the army. Hasdrubal preferred no one else in command whenever something had to be done bravely and promptly, and nor, under any other leader, were the soldiers more confident or daring. He had the most recklessness in grasping at danger, and the most tactical sense when in the midst of dangers himself. Neither his body nor his spirit could be tired out by any task. His endurance was the same in heat or cold; his way of eating and drinking was limited by natural need, not by pleasure. His time for waking or sleeping was not determined by day or night; whatever time was left from doing tasks was given to rest, which was not summoned by a soft bed or silence. Often, many saw him lying on the ground,

Section B part 3:

opertum humi iacentem inter custodias stationesque militum conspexerunt.vestitus nihil inter aequales excellens: arma atque equi conspiciebantur. equitum peditumque idem longe primus erat; princeps in proelium ibat, ultimus conserto proelio excedebat.has tantas viri virtutes ingentia vitia aequabant, inhumana crudelitas, perfidia plus quam Punica, nihil veri, nihil sancti, nullus deorum metus, nullum ius iurandum, nulla religio.cum hac indole virtutum atque vitiorum triennio sub Hasdrubale imperatore meruit, nulla re quae agenda videndaque magno futuro duci esset praetermissa.

wrapped in a military cloak, amongst the guards and sentry points of the soldiers. His clothing in no way outshone that of his companions: but his weapons and horses attracted attention. He was by far both the first of the cavalry and the infantry to enter battle and the last to leave it once battle was joined. His huge vices were equal to his virtues, great as they were; his inhuman cruelty, his treachery was more than Punic, he had no care for the truth, no care for moral goodness, no fear of the gods, no care for an oath sworn, no religious scruples. With these innate good and evil qualities, he served for three years under Hasdrubal, and nothing was omitted which should be done or seen by a future great leader.

what happens in section C of the story:

Hannibal marched his army to the Ebro River and the coast. There, the story goes, in a dream he saw a young man of godlike appearance, who told him he had been sent by Jupiter to guide him to Italy and that he should follow him and never take his eyes off him. At first he was afraid but did not look left or right nor behind as he followed; then with natural human curiosity, since he had been forbidden to look back, he was unable to control his eyes. He saw, behind him, a snake of amazing size, bringing dreadful destruction to trees and bushes, and a storm-cloud with a thunderclap. He asked what the monster was and what it meant and learnt that it showed the destruction of Italy: he was told to proceed onwards and not enquire further but to allow fate to remain in darkness.

What happened in Section D:

I believe various methods were used for transporting the elephants across the river; there are certainly different accounts of how it was done. One account tells us that the elephants were gathered at the riverbank and one of them, the most ferocious, was goaded by his driver to pursue him into the river as he swam off, so that the rest of the herd followed, where the force of the current carried them to the further bank, as each one in terror lost their footing in the deep water. It is more generally agreed that they were carried across on rafts. This would seem to be the safer option and easier to believe. A raft 200 feet long and 50 feet wide was constructed and launched onto the river where it was tethered to the bank by several strong cables to prevent it being carried downstream. It was then covered with earth like a bridge so that the beasts would happily walk on it as on firm ground. Another raft, equally wide, was constructed, but of 100 feet in length, which was suitable for towing across the river, and 5 10 15 10 was attached to the first raft. Some of the elephants, led by the females, were driven onto the raft and it was detached from the larger raft before being dragged across the river by light craft. The operation was repeated. They did not seem to be afraid while they were being driven onto the raft, but they showed fear when the raft was cast off and was carried into mid-stream. Those on the edge backed away, making the others afraid, until their terror itself quietened them as they looked at the water. Some of them panicked and fell into the river, but stabilised by their weight, and having thrown off their riders, they felt their way to shallow waters and made it to shore.