Titus Livius (Livy), Ab urbe condita, Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor), 29.32

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[1]

One of the king's officers, Bucar, a man of spirit and energy, was chosen for the purpose. Four thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry were given to him; and he was laden with immense rewards in anticipation, if ¹ he should bring back the head of Masinissa, or —and this would be a joy beyond price —should capture him alive.

[2] While they were scattered and off their guard Bucar unexpectedly attacked them, and separating the great number of cattle and men from their armed escort, he drove Masinissa himself with a few of his men up to the top of the mountain.

[3] Then, just as though the war had been already finished, he sent not only the booty in cattle and captives to the king but returned his troops also, as much too many for the remainder of the war.

[4] With not more than five hundred foot-soldiers and two hundred horsemen he pursued Masinissa (who had come down from the heights), and penned him in a gorge with both entrances blocked.

[5] There a great slaughter of the Maesulians took place; but Masinissa with no more than fifty horsemen following him through the unknown recesses of the mountain made his escape.

[6] Bucar, however, kept on the trail and overtaking him in an open plain near the city of Clupea ² so overwhelmed him that he slew every one of his horsemen except four. With these men, in the midst of the uproar he let the wounded Masinissa himself slip away when almost in his hands.

[7] The fugitives were insight; a squadron of cavalry, scattering over the breadth of the plain, while some, in order to head them off, pushed on obliquely, was pursuing five enemies.

[8] A broad stream ³ was the refuge of the fleeing; for without hesitation, under the pressure ⁴ of a greater fear, they put their horses into it; and swept by the whirling current, they were borne obliquely past the enemy.

[9] When two of them had been drowned in the swiftly whirling waters before the eyes of the enemy, Masinissa himself, whom they believed to have perished, and the two remaining horsemen with him made their way out among the bushes of the farther bank. That was the end of pursuit for Bucar, as he did not dare enter the river and believed he had no one left to pursue.

[10] Then he returned to the king, falsely reporting that Masinissa had been drowned; and messengers were sent to bring tidings of great joy to Carthage. And all Africa was filled with the story of Masinissa's death, producing different emotions.

[11] While Masinissa in a hidden cave was nursing his wound with herbs, he lived for some days on booty brought in by the two horsemen.

[12] As soon as the wound had closed and it seemed possible for him to endure jolting, with great audacity he set out to reclaim his kingdom.

[13] And after picking up not more than forty horsemen as he rode along, he came among the Maesulians, openly announcing now who he was; thereupon he caused a great stir, owing to their old-time favour and especially to their unexpected joy because they saw a man safe and sound whom they had believed to have perished.

[14] The results were that within a few days six thousand armed foot-soldiers and four thousand horsemen flocked to him, and that now he was not merely in possession of his father's kingdom but was even laying waste lands of allies of the Carthaginians and those of the Masaesulians, the kingdom, that is, of Syphax. Consequently, having provoked Syphax to ⁵ war, he established himself between Cirta ⁶ and Hippo ⁷ on a mountain range that in every way was favourable.

Ab urbe condita. Titus Livius (Livy). Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor). Medford, MA. .

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

History of Rome (English) (Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Sage, Evan T.; Schlesinger, Alfred C., translators. Cambridge, Mass.; London: Harvard University Press; William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959. (Loeb Classical Library))

Editions (3)

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Pars I-IV, Libri I-XL. Editio Stereotypica. Weissenborn, Wilhelm; Mueller, Moritz, editors. Leipzig: Teubner, 1884-1911.) — 29.32 focus

[1] Bucar ex praefectis regiis, vir acer et inpiger, ad id delectus. ei data quattuor milia peditum, duo equitum; praemiorumque ingentium spe oneratus, si caput Masinissae rettulisset aut vivum — id vero inaestimabile gaudium fore cepisset.

[2] palatos incurioseque agentes inproviso adortus, pecorum hominumque ingenti multitudine a praesidio armatorum exclusa, Masinissam ipsum cum paucis in verticem montis compellit.

[3] inde prope ut iam debellato, nec praeda modo pecorum hominumque captorum missa ad regem, sed copiis etiam, ut aliquanto maioribus quam pro reliquiis belli, remissis,

[4] cum quingentis haud amplius peditibus ducentisque equitibus degressum iugis Masinissam persecutus in valle arta faucibus utrimque obsessis inclusit, ubi ingens caedes Maesuliorum facta.

[5] Masinissa cum quinquaginta haud amplius equitibus per anfractus montis ignotos sequentibus se eripuit;

[6] tenuit tamen vestigia Bucar adeptusque eum patentibus prope Clupeam urbem campis ita circumvenit, ut praeter quattuor equites omnes ad unum interfecerit. cum iis ipsum quoque Masinissam saucium prope e manibus inter tumultum amisit.

[7] in conspectu erant fugientes; ala equitum dispersa lato campo, quibusdam, ut occurrerent, per obliqua tendentibus, quinque hostes sequebatur.

[8] amnis ingens fugientes accepit — neque enim cunctanter, ut quos maior metus urgeret, immiserant equos — raptique gurgite in obliquum praelati.

[9] duobus in conspectu hostium in praerapidum gurgitem haustis ipse, perisse creditus, ac duo reliqui equites cum eo inter virgulta ulterioris ripae emerserunt. is finis Bucari sequendi fuit nec ingredi flumen auso nec habere credenti se iam, quem sequeretur.

[10] inde vanus auctor absumpti Masinissae ad regem rediit, missique, qui Carthaginem gaudium ingens nuntiarent; totaque Africa fama mortis Masinissae repens allata varie animos adfecit.

[11] Masinissa in spelunca occulta cum herbis curaret vulnus, duorum equitum latrocinio per dies aliquot vixit.

[12] ubi primum ducta cicatrix, patique posse visus iactationem, audacia ingenti pergit ire ad regnum repetendum; atque in ipso itinere baud haud plus quadraginta equitibus conlectis cum in Maesulios palam iam, quis esset,

[13] ferens venisset, tantum motum cum favore pristino tum gaudio insperato, quod, quem perisse crediderant,

[14] incolumem cernebant, fecit, ut intra paucos dies sex milia peditum armatorum, quattuor equitum ad eum convenirent, iamque non in possessione modo paterni regni esset, sed etiam socios Carthaginiensium populos Masaesuliorumque fines — id Syphacis regnum erat — vastaret. inde inritato ad bellum Syphace, inter Cirtam Hipponemque in iugis opportunorum ad omnia montium consedit.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Conway, Robert Seymour; Walters, Charles Flamstead; Johnson, Stephen Keymer, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1914-1935. (Oxford Classical Texts)) — 29.32 focus

[1]

Bucar ex praefectis regis, uir acer et impiger, ad id delectus. ei data quattuor milia peditum duo equitum, praemiorumque ingentium spe oneratus si caput Masinissae rettulisset aut uiuum—id uero inaestimabile gaudium fore— cepisset.

[2] palatos incurioseque agentes improuiso adortus, pecorum hominumque ingenti multitudine a praesidio armatorum exclusa Masinissam ipsum cum paucis in uerticem montis compellit.

[3] inde prope iam ut debellato nec praeda modo pecorum hominumque captorum missa ad regem sed copiis etiam, ut aliquanto maioribus quam pro reliquiis belli,

[4] remissis, cum quingentis haud amplius peditibus ducentisque equitibus degressum iugis Masinissam persecutus in ualle arta faucibus utrimque obsessis inclusit. ibi ingens caedes Maesuliorum facta:

[5] Masinissa cum quinquaginta haud amplius equitibus per anfractus montis ignotos sequentibus se eripuit.

[6] tenuit tamen uestigia Bucar, adeptusque eum patentibus prope Clupeam urbem campis ita circumuenit ut praeter quattuor equites omnes ad unum interfecerit. cum iis ipsum quoque Masinissam saucium prope e manibus inter tumultum amisit.

[7] in conspectu erant fugientes; ala equitum dispersa lato campo quibusdam ut occurrerent per obliqua tendentibus quinque hostes sequebatur.

[8] amnis ingens fugientes accepit—neque enim cunctanter, ut quos maior metus urgeret, immiserant equos—raptique gurgite in obliquum praelati.

[9] duobus in conspectu hostium in praerapidum gurgitem haustis, ipse perisse creditus ac duo reliqui equites cum eo inter uirgulta ulterioris ripae emerserunt. is finis Bucari sequendi fuit, nec ingredi flumen auso nec habere credenti se iam quem sequeretur. inde uanus auctor absumpti Masinissae ad regem rediit, missique qui Carthaginem gaudium ingens nuntiarent;

[10] totaque Africa fama mortis Masinissae repleta uarie animos adfecit.

[11] Masinissa in spelunca occulta cum herbis curaret uolnus duorum equitum latrocinio per dies aliquot uixit.

[12] ubi primum ducta cicatrix patique posse uisus iactationem, audacia ingenti pergit ire ad regnum repetendum; atque in ipso itinere haud plus quadraginta equitibus conlectis cum in Maesulios palam iam quis esset ferens uenisset,

[13] tantum motum cum fauore pristino tum gaudio insperato quod quem perisse crediderant incolumem cernebant fecit ut intra paucos dies sex milia peditum armatorum quattuor equitum ad eum confluerent,

[14] iamque non in possessione modo paterni regni esset sed etiam socios Carthaginiensium populos Masaesuliorumque fines—id Syphacis regnum erat— uastaret. inde inritato ad bellum Syphace, inter Cirtam Hipponemque in iugis opportunorum ad omnia montium consedit.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Livy in Fourteen Volumes. Foster, Benjamin Oliver; Moore, Frank Gardener; Schlesinger, Alfred C., editors. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919-1959 (printing).) — 29.32 focus

[1]

Bucar ex praefectis regis, ¹ vir acer et inpiger, ad id delectus. ei data quattuor milia peditum, duo equitum; praemiorumque ingentium ² spe oneratus, si caput ³ Masinissae rettulisset aut vivum—id vero inaestimabile gaudium fore—cepisset.

[2] palatos incurioseque ⁴ agentes inproviso adortus, pecorum hominumque ingenti multitudine a praesidio armatorum exclusa, Masinissam ipsum cum paucis in verticem montis compellit.

[3] inde prope ut iam ⁵ debellato, nec praeda modo pecorum hominumque captorum missa ad regem, sed copiis etiam, ut aliquanto maioribus quam pro reliquiis belli bell ,

[4] remissis, cum quingentis ⁶ haud amplius peditibus ducentisque equitibus degressum iugis Masinissam persecutus in valle arta faucibus utrimque obsessis inclusit. Ibi⁷ ingens caedes Maesuliorum facta;

[5] Masinissa cum quinquaginta haud amplius equitibus per anfractus montis ignotos sequentibus se eripuit.

[6] tenuit tamen vestigia Bucar adeptusque eum patentibus prope Clupeam urbem campis ita circumvenit ut praeter quattuor equites omnes ad unum interfecerit. ⁸ cum iis ipsum quoque Masinissam saucium prope e manibus inter tumultum amisit.

[7] In conspectu erant fugientes; ala equitum dispersa lato campo, quibusdam, ut occurrerent, per obliqua tendentibus, quinque hostes sequebatur. ⁹

[8] amnis ingens fugientes accepit—neque enim cunctanter, ut quos maior metus ¹⁰ urgeret, immiserant equos—raptique gurgite ¹¹ in obliquum praelati.

[9] duobus in conspectu hostium in praerapidum gurgitem haustis, ipse perisse creditus ac duo reliqui equites cum eo inter virgulta ulterioris ripae emerserunt. ¹² is finis Bucari sequendi fuit, nec ingredi flumen auso nec habere credenti se iam quem sequeretur.

[10] inde vanus auctor absumpti Masinissae ad regem rediit, missique qui Carthaginem gaudium ingens nuntiarent; totaque Africa fama mortis Masinissae repleta ¹³ varie animos adfecit.

[11] Masinissa in spelunca occulta cum herbis curaret volnus, duorum equitum latrocinio per dies aliquot vixit.

[12] ubi primum ducta cicatrix, patique posse visus ¹⁴ iactationem, audacia ingenti pergit ire ad regnum repetendum; atque in ipso itinere haud plus quadraginta ¹⁵ equitibus conlectis cum in Maesulios palam iam quis esset ferens venisset,

[13] tantum motum cum favore pristino tum gaudio insperato, quod quem perisse crediderant incolumem cernebant, fecit ut intra paucos dies sex milia peditum armatorum, quattuor equitum ad eum convenirent, ¹⁶

[14] iamque ¹⁷ non in possessione modo paterni regni esset, sed etiam socios Carthaginiensium populos Masaesuliorumque fines—id Syphacis regnum erat—vastaret. inde inritato ad bellum Syphace, inter Cirtam ¹⁸ Hipponemque in iugis opportunorum ad omnia montium consedit.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 29.32 focus

[1]

Bocchar, one of the king's generals, an enterprising and active officer, was chosen for this service. Four thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry were assigned him; and having been loaded with promises of immense rewards if he brought back the head of Masinissa, or if, which would be a source of incalculable joy, he took him alive;

[2] he unexpectedly attacked his party while dispersed and carelessly employed, and after cutting off an immense quantity of cattle and men from the troops which guarded them, drove Masinissa himself with a small body of attendants to the summit of the mountain.

[3] On this, considering the business as in a manner settled, he not only sent the booty of cattle and the prisoners he had made to the king, but also sent back a part of his forces, as being considerably more than were necessary to accomplish what remained of the war;

[4] and then pursuing Maninissa, who had come down from the top of the mountain with not more than five hundred foot and two hundred horse, shut him up in a narrow valley, both the entrances of which he blocked up.

[5] Here great slaughter was made of the Massylians. Masinissa, with not more than fifty horsemen, disengaged himself from the defile by passing through steep descents of the mountains, which were not known to his pursuers.

[6] Bocchar, however, followed close upon him, and overtaking him in the open plains near Clupea, so effectually surrounded him, that he slew every one of his attendants except four horsemen. These, together with Masinissa himself, who was wounded, he let slip, in a manner, out of his hands during the confusion.

[7] The fugitives were in sight, and a body of horse, dispersed over the whole plain, pursued the five horsemen of the enemy, some of them pushing off in an oblique direction, in order to meet them.

[8] The fugitives met with a very broad river, into which they unhesitatingly plunged their horses, as they were pressed by greater danger from behind, and carried away by the current were borne along obliquely.

[9] Two of them having sunk in the rapid eddy in the sight of the enemy, Masinissa himself was supposed to have perished; but he with the two remaining had emerged among the bushes on the farther bank. Here Bocchar stopped his pursuit, as he neither had courage to enter the river, nor believed that he now had any one to pursue. Upon this he returned to the king, with the false account of the death of Masinissa.

[10] Messengers were despatched to Carthage to convey this most joyful event, and all Africa rang with the news of Masinissa's death; but the minds of men were variously affected by it.

[11] Masinissa, while curing his wound by the application of herbs, was supported for several days in a secret cave by what the two horsemen procured by plunder.

[12] As soon as it was cicatrized, and he thought himself able to bear the motion, with extraordinary resolution he set out to recover his kingdom;

[13] and collecting not more than forty horsemen during his progress, when he arrived among the Massylians, where he now made himself known, he produced such a sensation among them, both by reason of their former regard for him, and also from the unhoped-for joy they experienced at seeing him safe whom they supposed to have perished, that within a few days six thousand armed foot and four thousand horse came and joined him;

[14] and now he not only was in possession of his paternal dominions, but was also laying waste the lands of the states in alliance with the Carthaginians, and the frontiers of the Massylians, the dominions of Syphax. Then, having provoked Syphax to war, he took up a position between Cirta and Hippo, on the tops of mountains which were conveniently situated for all his purposes.

History of Rome Perseus (Volumes 1-2. Roberts, Canon, Rev, translator. London, New York: J. M. Dent and Sons; E. P. Dutton and Co., 1912.) — 29.32 focus

[1]

Boncar, one of the king's officers, a keen and energetic soldier, was selected for the task. He was supplied with 4000 infantry and 200 horsemen and he had a good prospect of gaining rewards if he brought back Masinissa's head, or-what would afford measureless gratification-captured him alive.

[2] Making a surprise attack on the plunderers when they were suspecting no danger, he cut off an enormous number of men and cattle from their armed escort and drove Masinissa himself with a few followers up to the summit of the mountain.

[3] He now regarded serious hostilities as at an end, and after despatching his capture of men and cattle to the king, sent back also the bulk of his troops whom he considered unnecessary for what remained of the fighting, retaining only 500 infantry and 200 mounted men.

[4] With these he hastened in pursuit of Masinissa who had left the heights and, catching him in a narrow valley, he blocked both entrances and inflicted a very severe loss on the Maesulii.

[5] Masinissa with not more than fifty troopers got away through steep mountain tracks unknown to his pursuers.

[6] Boncar, however, kept on his track and overtook him in the open country near Clupea where he surrounded him so completely that the whole party were killed with the exception of four who with Masinissa, himself wounded, slipped out of his hands during the fray. Their flight was observed and the cavalry were sent in pursuit.

[7] They spread over the plain, some making a short cut to head off the five fugitives, whose flight brought them to a large river.

[8] Dreading the enemy more than the river, they spurred their horses without a moment's hesitation into the water, and the rapid current carried them down stream.

[9] Two were drowned before their pursuers' eyes, and it was believed that Masinissa had perished. He, however, with the two survivors, landed amongst the bush on the other side. This was the end of Boncar's pursuit, as he would not venture into the river and did not believe that there was any one now left for him to follow. He returned to the king with the baseless story of Masinissa's death, and messengers were sent to carry the good news to Carthage.

[10] The report soon spread throughout Africa, and affected men's minds in very different ways. Masinissa was resting in a secret cave and treating

[11] his wound with herbs, and for some days kept himself alive on what his two troopers brought in from their forays.

[12] As soon as his wound was sufficiently healed to allow him to bear the movements of the horse he started with extraordinary boldness on a fresh attempt to recover his kingdom. During his journey he did not collect more than forty horsemen, but when he reached the Maesulii and made his identity known, his appearance created intense excitement.

[13] His former popularity and the unhoped-for delight of seeing him safe and sound, after they had believed him dead, had such an effect that in a few days 6000 infantry and 4000 cavalry had gathered round his standard.

[14] He was now in possession of his kingdom, and began to devastate the tribes who were friendly to Carthage, and the territory of the Maesulii, which formed part of the dominions of Syphax. Having thus provoked Syphax into hostilities, Masinissa took up a position on some mountain heights between Cirto and Hippo, a situation which was every way advantageous.

Notes on the current edition

Ab Urbe Condita With An English Translation, books 1-10, 21-45, with periochae 11-20

1. B.C. 204

2. Unknown, the name perhaps confused with that of the city on Cap Bon (XXVII. xxix. 7), now Kelibia. The place meant here was probably in north-western Tunisia or north-eastern Algeria.

3. Probably the Bagradas (Medjerda), as streams of size are rare in the region.

4. B.C. 204

5. B.C. 204

6. This was Syphax' capital; XXX. xii. 3, 7 f. Given to Masinissa, ibid. xliv. 12. Formidably defended by great cliffs. Later it was the city of Fronto, teacher of Marcus Aurelius. Rebuilt by Constantine, whose name it still bears. Cf. Appian Pun. 27; Strabo XVII. iii. 13.

7. I.e. Hippo Regius (Bône), not the Hippo meant on p. 218.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 29.32

Benjamin Oliver Foster, Ph.D. (Editor), Frank Gardener Moore (Editor), Evan T. Sage, Ph.D. (Editor), Alfred C. Schlesinger, Ph.D. (Editor)

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