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Livy · Ab Urbe Condita XXI

Ab Urbe Condita 21.38

Hannibal's numbers and his route

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Liv. 21.38.1Hōc maximē modō in Ītaliam perventum est, quīntō mēnse ā Carthāgine Novā, ut quīdam auctōrēs sunt, quīntō decimō diē Alpibus superātīs.It was in this way, for the most part, that they reached Italy, in the fifth month after leaving New Carthage, as some authorities state, having crossed the Alps in fifteen days. Liv. 21.38.1Quantae cōpiae trānsgressō in Ītaliam Hannibalī fuerint, nēquāquam inter auctōrēs cōnstat.How large Hannibal's forces were when he had crossed into Italy is by no means agreed among the authorities. Liv. 21.38.2Quī plūrimum, centum mīlia peditum, vīgintī equitum fuisse scrībunt, quī minimum, vīgintī mīlia peditum, sex equitum.Those who give the highest figure write that there were a hundred thousand infantry and twenty thousand cavalry; those who give the lowest, twenty thousand infantry and six thousand cavalry. Liv. 21.38.3L. Cincius Alimentus quī captum sē ab Hannibale scrībit, maximē auctor movēret, nisi cōnfunderet numerum Gallīs Liguribusque additīs: cum hīs octōgintā mīlia peditum, decem equitum adducta — in Ītaliā magis adflūxisse vērī simile est, et ita quīdam auctōrēs sunt — ;Lucius Cincius Alimentus, who writes that he was taken prisoner by Hannibal, would carry most weight as an authority, if he did not confuse the total by adding the Gauls and Ligurians: with these, he says, eighty thousand infantry and ten thousand cavalry were brought — it is more likely that these flocked to him in Italy, and so some authorities state —; Liv. 21.38.5ex ipsō autem audīsse Hannibale, postquam Rhodanum trānsierit, trīgintā sex mīlia hominum ingentemque numerum equōrum et aliōrum iūmentōrum āmīsisse.but he says he heard from Hannibal himself that after crossing the Rhône he had lost thirty-six thousand men and a huge number of horses and other pack animals.

Liv. 21.38.5Taurīnī Sēmigallī proxuma gēns erat in Ītaliam dēgressō.The Taurini Semigalli were the nearest people to him as he came down into Italy. Liv. 21.38.6Id cum inter omnēs cōnstet, eō magis mīror ambigī, quānam Alpīs trānsierit, et vulgō crēdere Poenīnō — atque inde nōmen eī iugō Alpium inditum — trānsgressum, Coelium per Cremōnis iugum dīcere trānsīsse;Since this is agreed by all, I am the more surprised that there is dispute over where he crossed the Alps, and that it is commonly believed that he crossed by the Pennine pass — and that this ridge of the Alps got its name from that — while Coelius says he crossed by the ridge of Cremo; Liv. 21.38.7quī ambō saltūs eum nōn in Taurīnōs sed per Salassōs Montānōs ad Libuōs Gallōs dēdūxissent.both of these passes would have brought him down not among the Taurini but through the Salassi Montani to the Libuan Gauls. Liv. 21.38.8Nec vērī simile est ea tum ad Galliam patuisse itinera;Nor is it likely that those routes into Gaul were open at that time; Liv. 21.38.8utique, quae ad Poenīnum ferunt, obsaepta gentibus Sēmigermānīs fuissent.those which lead to the Pennine, at any rate, would have been blocked by half-German tribes.

Liv. 21.38.9Neque herculē montibus hīs, sī quem forte id movet, ab trānsitū Poenōrum ūllō Sedūnī Veragrī, incolae iugī eius, nōmen nōrint inditum, sed ab eō, quem in summō sacrātum vertice Poenīnum montānī appellant.Nor, by Hercules, do the Seduni Veragri, the inhabitants of that ridge, know of any name given to these mountains from the passage of the Carthaginians, if that happens to weigh with anyone, but from the god, worshipped on the highest summit, whom the mountaineers call Poeninus.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×2, indirect statement ×6

Latin vocabulary for this passage (111 words)
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
maximē, adv.very greatly, exceedingly, especially
modus, -ī, m.way, manner
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome through, come, arrive, reach
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
quīntus, -a, -umfifth
mēnsis, -is m.month
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
novus, -a, -umnew; novissimus, last
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
auctor, -ōris m.originator, instigator
decimus, -a, -umtenth
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.day
superō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusovercome, defeat, conquer
quantus, -a, -umhow great or much?
cōpia, -ae, f.supply, abundance; plur., forces, troops
trānsgredior, -ī, -gressus sumcross over
nēquāquam (adv.)by no means, not at all
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
cōnstō, -stāre, -stitī, -stātūrusstand together, agree; consist;
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
plūrimum (adv.)most, very much (plūrimum posse: be most powerful)
centum, indecl. adj.one hundred
mīlle, indecl. adj.a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
pedes, peditis m.foot soldier
vīgintī, indecl. adj.twenty
eques, equitis m.horseman; (pl.) cavalry
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptuswrite
minimum, adv.very little, slightly
sex (indecl.)six
Cincius, -ī m.Cincius; L. Cincius Alimentus, Roman historian captured by Hannibal
capiō, capere, cēpī, captustake, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
moveō, movēre, mōvī, mōtusmove
nisi, conj.if not, unless
cōnfundō, -ere, -fūdī, -fūsuspour together, mingle; throw into disorder, confuse
numerus, -ī, m.number
que, enclitic conj.and
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditusadd, put to
cum, prep, with abl.with
octōgintā (indecl.)eighty
decem, indecl. adj.ten
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductuslead to, bring, take; induce, influence
magis, comp. adv.more, rather
affluō (adfluō), -ere, -flūxīflow towards; abound, be plentiful
vērum (conj.)but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also
similis, -elike, similar (vērī similis: likely)
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
autem, conj.moreover; but, however; now
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītushear; listen or attend to
postquam, conj.later than, after, when
trānseō, -īre, -iī, -itusgo across or over, cross
trīgintā (indecl.)thirty
homō, hominis, m.man
ingēns, -gentis, adj.huge, vast
equus, -ī, m.horse
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
iūmentum, -ī n.pack animal, beast of burden
āmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend away, lose
proximus, -a, -umnearest, next
gēns, gentis, f.race, nation
dēgredior, -ī, -gressus sumgo down, come down, descend
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
omnis, -eall, every
eō (adv.)to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
mīror, -ārī, -ātuswonder, wonder at
ambigō, -erebe in doubt, dispute, argue
quānam (adv.)by what way, by which route (emphatic)
vulgō (adv.)everywhere, commonly
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusbelieve
Poenīnus, -a, -umPennine; Alpes Poeninae, iuga Poenina: the Pennine Alps (Great St Bernard)
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
inde (adv.)from there; then
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
iugum, -ī, n.yoke
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictussay, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
ambō, -ae, -ōboth
saltus, -ūs m.wooded pass, forest glade, woodland
nōn, adv.not
sed, conj.but
montānus, -a, -umof the mountains, mountain-
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
dēdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductuslead down or away, bring; nāvem dēdūcere, to draw down or launch a ship
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
tum, adv.then, at that time
pateō, -ēre, -uīlie open; extend, stretch
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
utique (adv.)certainly, by all means; yes indeed
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātusbear, bring
obsaepiō, -īre, -saepsī, -saeptusfence off, block, bar
sēmigermānus, -a, -umhalf-German
hercle (interj.)by Hercules!, indeed
mōns, montis, m.mountain
sī, conj.if
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
forte, adv.by chance, accidentally
trānsitus, -ūs m.crossing, passage
ūllus, -a, -umany
incola, -ae, m. and f.inhabitant
nōscō, -ere, nōvī, nōtumget to know (perf. nōvī: know)
summus, -a, -umuppermost, highest, greatest
sacrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusconsecrate, dedicate
vertex, -icis m.top of the head, crown; summit
appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātuscall, name
Livy, Ab Urbe Condita XXI. Latin text: B. O. Foster, Livy (Loeb, 1919–29), with some passages from W. Weissenborn and H. J. Müller (Teubner, 1884–1911), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.