Liv. 21.31.1Hīs adhortātiōnibus incitātōs corpora cūrāre atque ad iter sē parāre iubet.Having roused them with these exhortations, he orders them to refresh their bodies and prepare themselves for the march. Liv. 21.31.2Posterō diē profectus adversā rīpā Rhodanī mediterrānea Galliae petit, nōn quia rēctior ad Alpīs via esset, sed, quantum ā marīrecessisset minus, obvium fore Rōmānum crēdēns cum, quō priusquam, in Ītaliam ventum foret nōn, erat in animō manūs cōnserere conserere.Setting out the next day, he makes for the interior of Gaul along the bank of the Rhône upstream, not because it was the more direct road to the Alps, but believing that the farther he withdrew from the sea, the less likely the Roman would be to meet him, since he had no intention of joining battle with him before they had come into Italy. Liv. 21.31.4Quartīs castrīs ad Īnsulam pervēnit.At the fourth camp he reached the Island. Liv. 21.31.4Ibi Isara Rhodanusque amnēs dīversīs ex Alpibus dēcurrentēs agrī aliquantum amplexī cōnfluunt in ūnum;There the rivers Isère and Rhône, running down from different parts of the Alps and enclosing a considerable stretch of land, flow together into one; Liv. 21.31.5mediīs campīs Īnsulae nōmen inditum.the plains between them have been given the name of the Island.
Liv. 21.31.5Incolunt prope Allobrogēs, gēns iam inde nūlla Gallicā gente opibus aut fāmā īnferior.Near by live the Allobroges, a nation even then inferior to no Gallic nation in wealth or reputation. Liv. 21.31.5Tum discors erat: regnī certāmine ambigēbant frātrēs;At that time it was divided: two brothers were contending in a struggle for the throne; Liv. 21.31.6maior et quī prius imperitārat, Braneus nōmine, ā frātre minōre et coetū iūniōrum, quī iūre minus, vī plūs poterat, pellēbātur.the elder, who had ruled earlier, Braneus by name, was being driven out by his younger brother and a band of younger men, who had less right but more might. Liv. 21.31.7Huius sēditiōnis peropportūna disceptātiō cum ad Hannibalem dēlēgāta esset, arbiter regnī factus, quod ea senātūs prīncipumque sententia fuerat, imperium maiōrī restituit.When the settlement of this dispute was very conveniently referred to Hannibal, he was made arbiter of the kingdom and restored power to the elder, because that had been the opinion of the senate and the chief men. Liv. 21.31.8Ob id meritum commeātū cōpiāque rērum omnium, maximē vestis, est adiūtus, quam īnfāmēs frīgoribus Alpēs praeparārī cōgēbant.For this service he was assisted with supplies and abundance of everything, especially clothing, which the Alps, notorious for their cold, made it necessary to provide in advance.
Liv. 21.31.9Sēdātīs Hannibal certāminibus Allobrogum cum iam Alpēs peteret, nōn rēctā regiōne iter īnstituit, sed ad laevam in Tricastīnōs flexit;When, having settled the quarrels of the Allobroges, Hannibal was now making for the Alps, he did not take a direct route, but turned left into the territory of the Tricastini; Liv. 21.31.9inde per extrēmam ōram Vocontiōrum agrī tendit in Tricoriōs, haud usquam impedītā viā, priusquam ad Druentiam flūmen pervēnit.from there he goes along the edge of the land of the Vocontii into that of the Tricorii, the road nowhere obstructed until he reached the river Durance. Liv. 21.31.10Is et ipse Alpīnus amnis longē omnium Galliae flūminum difficillimus trānsitū est.This too is an Alpine river, and by far the most difficult of all the rivers of Gaul to cross. Liv. 21.31.11Nam cum aquae vim vehat ingentem, nōn tamen nāvium patiēns est, quia nūllīs coercitus rīpīs, plūribus simul neque īsdem alveīs fluēns, nova semper vada novōsque gurgitēs gignit, et ob eadem peditī quoque incerta via est;For though it carries an immense volume of water, it still does not admit ships, because, confined by no banks, flowing in several channels at once and not always the same ones, it is forever creating new shallows and new pools, and for the same reasons the way is uncertain for a man on foot as well; Liv. 21.31.11ad hoc saxa glāreōsa volvēns nihil stabile nec tūtum ingredientī praebet.besides, rolling down gravelly stones, it offers nothing firm or safe to one who steps into it.
Liv. 21.31.12Et tum forte imbribus auctus ingentem trānsgredientibus tumultum fēcit, cum super cēterā trepidātiōne ipsī suā atque incertīs clamōribus turbārentur.And at that time, as it happened, swollen by rains, it caused great confusion to those crossing, since on top of everything else they were thrown into disorder by their own alarm and confused shouting.