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), 30.3

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[1]

Having completed these tasks the consuls and praetors set out for their provinces. All of them, however, turned their attention to Africa, just as though that had been allotted to them, either because they saw it was there that the main issue and the outcome of the war were centred, or in order to show ¹ Scipio favour, on whom the eyes of all the citizens were then fixed.

[2] Accordingly not only from Sardinia, as has been said above, but also from Sicily and Spain clothing and grain were being transported thither, and arms as well and supplies of every kind from Sicily.

[3] And at no time in the winter had Scipio lessened his military operations, which were many and all around him at the same time. He was besieging Utica; ² the camp of Hasdrubal could be seen; the Carthaginians had launched their ships; they kept their fleet ready and equipped, in order to intercept supplies.

[4] In the midst of all this he had also not forgotten his effort to recover the support of Syphax, in case by that time, after much indulgence, satiety might have overtaken him in his love for his wife.

[5] From Syphax came rather terms of peace with the Carthaginians under which the Romans should withdraw from Africa, the Carthaginians from Italy, than any hope that in the event of war he would change sides. ³

[6] That these dealings went on through messengers ⁴ I am more inclined to believe —and for this a majority of the historians vouch —than that Syphax came in person into the Roman camp for a conference, as Valerius Antias relates. At first the Roman general scarcely listened to such terms.

[7] Later, that his men might have a plausible reason for visiting the enemy's camp, he was less firm in rejecting the same offers, and encouraged the hope that, if they repeatedly discussed the matter ⁵ from both sides, agreement would be reached.

The winter quarters of the Carthaginians, being constructed of building material gathered at random from the farms, were almost entirely of wood. ⁶

[8] In particular the Numidians were dwelling in huts of plaited reeds,

[9] most of them under thatched roofs, and scattered without a plan, some of their number even outside the fosse and earthwork —the natural result of seizing upon a site without waiting for orders.

[10] This was reported to Scipio and had inspired the hope of setting fire to the camp of the enemy when opportunity should offer.

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.) — 30.3 focus

[1] his transactis consules praetoresque in provincias profecti. omnibus tamen, velut eam sortitis, Africae cura erat, seu quia ibi summam rerum bellique verti cernebant seu ut Scipioni gratificarentur, in quem tum omnis versa civitas erat.

[2] itaque non ex Sardinia tantum, sicut ante dictum est, sed ex Sicilia quoque et Hispania vestimenta frumentumque, et arma etiam ex Sicilia et omne genus commeatus eo portabantur.

[3] nec Scipio ullo tempore hiemis belli opera remiserat, quae multa simul undique eum circumstabant: Uticam obsidebat; castra in conspectu Hasdrubalis erant;

[4] Carthaginienses deduxerant naves, classem paratam instructamque ad commeatus intercipiendos habebant. Inter inter haec ne Syphacis quidem reconciliandi curam ex animo miserat, si forte iam satias amoris in uxore ex multa copia eum cepisset.

[5] ab Syphace magis pacis cum Carthaginiensibus condiciones, ut Romani Africa, Poeni Italia excederent, quam, si bellaretur, spes ulla desciturum adferebatur.

[6] haec per nuntios acta magis equidem crediderim — et ita pars maior auctores sunt — quam ipsum Syphacem, ut Antias Valerius prodit, in castra Romana ad conloquium venisse.

[7] primo eas condiciones imperator Romanus vix auribus admisit; postea, ut causa probabilis suis commeandi foret in castra hostium, mollius eadem illa abnuere ac spem facere saepius ultro citroque agitantibus rem conventuram.

[8] hibernacula Carthaginiensium congesta temere ex agris materia exaedificata, lignea ferme tota erant.

[9] Numidae praecipue harundine textis storeaque pars maxima tectis passim nullo ordine, quidam, ut sine imperio occupatis locis, extra fossam etiam vallumque habitabant.

[10] haec relata Scipioni spem fecerant castra hostium per occasionem incendendi.

Ab urbe condita Perseus (Conway, Robert Seymour; Walters, Charles Flamstead; Johnson, Stephen Keymer, editors. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1914-1935. (Oxford Classical Texts)) — 30.3 focus

[1]

his transactis consules praetoresque in prouincias profecti; omnibus tamen, uelut eam sortitis, Africae cura erat, seu quia ibi summam rerum bellique uerti cernebant seu ut Scipioni gratificarentur, in quem tum omnis uersa ciuitas erat.

[2] itaque non ex Sardinia tantum, sicut ante dictum est, sed ex Sicilia quoque et Hispania uestimenta frumentumque, et arma etiam ex Sicilia et omne genus commeatus eo portabantur.

[3] nec Scipio ullo tempore hiemis belli opera remiserat, quae multa simul undique eum circumstabant. Uticam obsidebat; castra in conspectu Hasdrubalis erant; Carthaginienses deduxerant naues;

[4] classem paratam instructamque ad commeatus intercipiendos habebant. inter haec ne Syphacis quidem reconciliandi curam ex animo miserat, si forte iam satias amoris in uxore ex multa copia eum cepisset.

[5] ab Syphace magis pacis cum Carthaginiensibus condiciones ut Romani Africa, Poeni Italia excederent quam, si bellaretur, spes ulla desciturum adferebatur.

[6] —haec per nuntios acta magis equidem crediderim—et ita pars maior auctores sunt—quam ipsum Syphacem, ut Antias Ualerius prodit, in castra Romana ad conloquium uenisse. —

[7] primo eas condiciones imperator Romanus uix auribus admisit; postea, ut causa probabilis suis commeandi foret in castra hostium, mollius eadem illa abnuere ac spem facere saepius ultro citroque agitantibus rem conuenturam.

[8] hibernacula Carthaginiensium, congesta temere ex agris materia exaedificata, lignea ferme tota erant.

[9] Numidae praecipue harundine textis storeaque pars maxima tectis, passim nullo ordine, quidam ut sine imperio occupatis locis extra fossam etiam uallumque habitabant.

[10] haec relata Scipioni spem fecerant castra hostium per occasionem incendendi.

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).) — 30.3 focus

[1]

his transactis consules praetoresque in provincias profecti. omnibus tamen, velut eam sortitis, Africae cura erat, seu quia ibi summam rerum bellique verti cernebant seu ut Scipioni gratificarentur, in ¹ quem tum omnis versa civitas erat.

[2] itaque non ex Sardinia tantum, sicut ante dictum est, sed ex Sicilia quoque et Hispania vestimenta frumentumque, et arma etiam ex Sicilia ² et omne genus commeatus eo portabantur.

[3] nec Scipio ullo tempore hiemis belli opera remiserat, quae multa simul undique eum circumstabant: Uticam obsidebat; castra in conspectu Hasdrubalis erant;

[4] Carthaginienses deduxerant naves, classem paratam instructamque ad commeatus intercipiendos habebant. inter haec ne Syphacis quidem reconciliandi curam ex animo miserat, ³ si forte iam satias ⁴ amoris in uxore ex multa copia eum ⁵ cepisset.

[5] ab Syphace magis pacis cum Carthaginiensibus condiciones, ut Romani Romanii Africa, Poeni Italia excederent, quam, si bellaretur, spes ulla desciturum adferebatur.

[6] haec per nuntios nuttios acta magis equidem crediderim—et ita pars maior auctores sunt—quam ipsum Syphacem, ut Antias Valerius prodit, in castra Romana ad conloquium venisse.

[7] primo eas condiciones imperator Romanus vix auribus admisit; postea, ut causa probabilis suis commeandi foret in castra hostium, mollius eadem ilia abnuere ac spem facere saepius ultro citroque ⁶ agitantibus rem conventuram.

[8] hibernacula Carthaginiensium, ⁷ congesta temere ex agris materia exaedificata, lignea ferme tota erant.

[9] Numidae praecipue harundine textis storeaque pars maxima tectis passim nullo ordine, quidam, ut sine imperio occupatis locis, extra fossam etiam vallumque habitabant.

[10] haec relata Scipioni spem fecerant castra hostium per occasionem incendendi.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 30.3 focus

[1]

After these matters were finished, the consuls and praetors set out for their provinces. All, however, made Africa the great object of their concern, as though it had been allotted to them; whether it was because they saw that the welfare of the state and the issue of the war turned upon the operations there, or that they might oblige Scipio, on whom the whole state was then intent.

[2] Accordingly, not only from Sardinia, as has been before mentioned, but from Sicily also and Spain, clothing and corn, and from Sicily arms also, together with every kind of stores, were conveyed thither.

[3] Nor did Scipio at any time during the winter relax in any of the various military operations in which he was engaged on all sides. He continued the siege of Utica. His camp was within sight of Hasdrubal. The Carthaginians had launched their ships, and had a fleet prepared and equipped to intercept his supplies.

[4] Amid these occupations he had not even lost sight of his endeavours to regain the friendship of Syphax, whose passion for his bride he thought might now perhaps have become satiated from unlimited enjoyment.

[5] From Syphax he received terms of peace with the Carthaginians, with proposals that the Romans should evacuate Africa, and the Carthaginians Italy, rather than any ground of hope that he would desert their cause if the war proceeded.

[6] For my part I am of opinion, and in this I am countenanced by the majority of writers, that these negotiations were carried on through messengers, rather than that Syphax himself came to the Roman camp to hold a conference, as Antias Valerius relates.

[7] At first the Roman general scarcely allowed these terms to be mentioned, but afterwards, in order that there might exist a plausible pretext for his emissaries to go frequently into the camp of the enemy, he rejected these same terms in a more qualified manner, holding out a hope that they might eventually come to an agreement by agitating the question on both sides.

[8] The winter huts of the Carthaginians, which were constructed from materials hastily collected out of the fields, were almost entirely of wood. The Numidians, particularly, lay for the most part in huts formed of interwoven reeds, and covered with mats, dispersed up and down without any regard to order;

[9] while some of them, having chosen the situations for their tents without waiting for orders, lay even without the trench and rampart.

[10] These circumstances having been reported to Scipio, gave him hopes that he might have an opportunity of burning the enemy's camp.

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.) — 30.3 focus

[1]

When this business was completed the consuls and praetors departed to their various provinces. They were all, however, interested in Africa, as much so indeed as if the ballot had assigned it to them, whether it was that they saw that the issue of the war and their country's fate would be decided there, or that they wished to do a service to Scipio as the man to whom all eyes were turned.

[2] So it was that not only from Sardinia, as above stated, but from Sicily itself and from Spain, clothing, corn, even arms as well as supplies of all kinds were forwarded to him from the Sicilian harbours.

[3] Throughout the winter there had been no pause in the numerous operations which Scipio was conducting on all sides.

[4] He maintained the investment of Utica; his camp was in full view of Hasdrubal; the Carthaginians had launched their ships, their fleet was fully equipped and ready to intercept his supplies. Nevertheless he had not lost sight of his purpose to win Syphax, in case his passion for his bride should have cooled through unstinted enjoyment.

[5] Syphax was anxious for peace and proposed as conditions that the Romans should evacuate Africa, and the Carthaginians Italy, but he gave Scipio to understand that if the war continued he should not desert his allies.

[6] I believe that the negotiations were conducted through intermediaries-and most of the authorities take this view-rather than that Syphax, as Antias Valerius asserts, came to the Roman camp to confer personally with Scipio.

[7] At first the Roman commander would hardly allow these terms to be mentioned; afterwards, however, in order that his men might have a plausible reason for visiting the enemies' camp he did not reject then so decidedly, and held out hopes that after frequent discussions they might come to an agreement.

[8] The winter quarters of the Carthaginians, constructed as they were of materials collected haphazard from the country round, were almost wholly built of wood.

[9] The Numidians in particular lived in huts made of wattled reeds and roofed with grass matting; they were dispersed all over the camp in no order or arrangement, and some even lay outside the lines.

[10] When this was reported to Scipio, he was hopeful of burning the camp down if an opportunity presented itself.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. B.C. 203

2. Resuming early in the spring (iv. 10) the siege abandoned in the previous autumn; XXIX. xxxv. 12.

3. I.e. would denounce his agreement with Carthage and renew previous relations with Scipio.

4. Cf. Polybius XIV. i. 6, who also seems to think Scipio began by sending messengers (i.e. envoys, below, iv. 2, 4) to Syphax. Others represent Syphax as beginning the negotiations; Zonaras IX. xii. 2; Appian Pun. 17, representing him as pretending friendship for both sides.

5. B.C. 203

6. Cf. Polybius l.c. §§ 6 f.; Zonaras § 8. Not that Roman hibernacula were always much less inflammable; XXVII. iii. 3 (outside the walls of Capua); Hirtius B.G. VIII. v. 2; Bell. Hisp. xvi. 2. No representations of them are known.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 30.3

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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