Liv. 21.41.1Nōn vereor, nē quis mē haec vestrī adhortandī causā magnificē loquī exīstimet, ipsum aliter animō adfectum esse.I am not afraid that anyone may think that I am saying these things grandly to encourage you, while in my heart I myself feel otherwise. Liv. 21.41.2Licuit in Hispāniam prōvinciam meam, quō iam profectus eram, cum exercitū īre meō, ubi et frātrem cōnsiliī participem ac perīculī socium habērem et Hasdrubalem potius quam Hannibalem hostem et minōrem haud dubiē mōlem bellī;I was free to go with my army to Spain, my own province, for which I had already set out, where I should have had both my brother to share my counsels and my danger, and Hasdrubal rather than Hannibal as my enemy, and undoubtedly a lesser weight of war; Liv. 21.41.3tamen, cum praeterveherer nāvibus Galliae ōram, ad fāmam huius hostis in terram ēgressus praemissō equitātū ad Rhodanum mōvī castra.nevertheless, as I was sailing along the coast of Gaul, on hearing of this enemy I landed, sent my cavalry ahead and moved my camp to the Rhône. Liv. 21.41.4Equestrī proeliō, quā parte cōpiārum cōnserendī manum fortūna data est, hostem fūdī;In a cavalry battle, with the part of my forces with which fortune gave me the chance of engaging, I routed the enemy; Liv. 21.41.4peditum agmen, quod in modum fugientium raptim agēbātur, quia adsequī terrā nōn poteram, regressus ad nāvīs , quantā maximē potuī celeritāte tantō maris terrārumque circuitū in rādīcibus prope Alpium huic timendō hostī obvius fuī.his column of infantry, which was being hurried along like men in flight, I could not overtake by land, so I returned to my ships, and with all the speed I could, by so long a circuit of sea and land, I met this fearsome enemy almost at the foot of the Alps.
Liv. 21.41.5Utrum, cum dēclīnārem certāmen, inprōvidus incidisse videor, an occurrere in vestīgiīs eius, lacessere ac trahere ad dēcernendum?Do I seem to have stumbled on him unawares while trying to avoid a contest, or to be meeting him on his very tracks, provoking him and dragging him to a decisive fight? Liv. 21.41.6Experīrī iuvat, utrum aliōs repente Carthāginiēnsēs per vīgintī annōs terra ēdiderit, an īdem sint, quī ad Aegātēs pugnāvērunt īnsulās et quōs ab Eryce duodēvīcēnīs dēnāriīs aestimātōs ēmīsistis, et utrum Hannibal hic sit aemulus itinerum Herculis, ut ipse fert, an vectīgālis stīpendiāriusque et servus populī Rōmānī ā patre relictus.I am glad to put it to the test whether in these twenty years the earth has suddenly brought forth a different breed of Carthaginians, or whether they are the same men who fought at the Aegates islands and whom you let go from Eryx valued at eighteen denarii a head, and whether this Hannibal is a rival of the journeys of Hercules, as he himself claims, or one left by his father as a tributary, a tax-payer and a slave of the Roman people.
Liv. 21.41.8Quem nisi Saguntīnum scelus agitāret, respiceret profectō, sī nōn patriam victam, domum certē patremque et foedera Hamilcaris scrīptā manū, quī iussus ab cōnsule nostrō praesidium dēdūxit ab Eryce, quī gravēs inpositās victīs Carthāginiēnsibus lēgēs fremēns maerēnsque accēpit, quī dēcēdēns Siciliā stīpendium populō Rōmānō dare pactus est.If his crime at Saguntum did not drive him on like a fury, he would surely think back, if not on his conquered country, then at least on his house and his father and the treaties written in the hand of Hamilcar, who at the order of our consul withdrew his garrison from Eryx, who, chafing and grieving, accepted the harsh terms imposed on the defeated Carthaginians, who on leaving Sicily agreed to pay tribute to the Roman people. Liv. 21.41.10Itaque vōs ego, mīlitēs, nōn eō sōlum animō, quō adversus aliōs hostēs solētis, pugnāre velim, sed cum indignātiōne quādam atque īrā, velut sī servōs videātis vestrōs arma repente contrā vōs ferentēs.And so, soldiers, I would have you fight not only with the spirit you usually show against other enemies, but with a certain indignation and anger, as if you were to see your own slaves suddenly taking up arms against you.
Liv. 21.41.10Licuit ad Erycem clausōs ultimō suppliciō hūmānōrum, fame, interficere;We could have killed them when they were shut up at Eryx by the most extreme punishment known to men, starvation; Liv. 21.41.11licuit victrīcem classem in Āfricam trāicere atque intrā paucōs diēs sine ūllō certāmine Carthāginem dēlēre: veniam dedimus precantibus, ēmīsimus ex obsidiōne, pācem cum victīs fēcimus, tūtēlae deinde nostrae dūximus, cum Āfricō bellō urgērentur.we could have taken our victorious fleet across to Africa and destroyed Carthage within a few days without any fighting: we granted pardon when they begged, we released them from the siege, we made peace with the defeated, and afterwards we counted them under our protection when they were hard pressed by the African war. Liv. 21.41.13Prō hīs inpertītīs furiōsum iuvenem sequentēs oppugnātum patriam nostram veniunt.In return for these favours they come, following a madcap youth, to attack our country. Liv. 21.41.13Atque utinam prō decore tantum hoc vōbīs et nōn prō salūte esset certāmen.And I wish that this contest were for your honour only and not for your survival. Liv. 21.41.14Nōn dē possessiōne Siciliae ac Sardiniae, dē quibus quondam agēbātur, sed prō Ītaliā vōbīs est pugnandum.It is not for possession of Sicily and Sardinia, which were once in dispute, but for Italy that you have to fight.
Liv. 21.41.15Nec est alius ab tergō exercitus, quī, nisi nōs vincimus, hostī obsistat, nec Alpēs aliae sunt, quās dum superant, comparārī nova possint praesidia.Nor is there another army behind us which, if we do not win, could withstand the enemy, nor are there other Alps, while they are crossing which new defences could be prepared. Liv. 21.41.15Hīc est obstandum, mīlitēs, velut sī ante Rōmāna moenia pugnēmus.Here we must make our stand, soldiers, as if we were fighting before the walls of Rome. Liv. 21.41.16Ūnus quisque sē nōn corpus suum sed coniugem ac līberōs parvōs armīs prōtegere putet;Let each man believe that with his arms he is protecting not his own body but his wife and little children; Liv. 21.41.16nec domesticās sōlum agitet cūrās, sed identidem hoc animō reputet, nostrās nunc intuērī manūs senātum populumque Rōmānum: quālis nostra vīs virtūsque fuerit, tālem deinde fortūnam illīus urbis ac Rōmānī imperiī fore."nor let him think only of his cares at home, but let him reflect again and again on this: that the Senate and the Roman people are now watching our hands, and that as our strength and courage prove to be, such will be the fortune of that city and of the Roman empire hereafter.'