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), 35.14

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[1] Sulpicius was ill and remained at Pergamum; but Villius, when he learned that the king was involved in the war in Pisidia, set out for Ephesus, and while he tarried there for a

[2] few days he saw to it that he had frequent meetings with Hannibal,¹ who

[3] happened to be there, that he might explore his sentiments and, if it was in any way possible, dispel his fear that any danger threatened him from the Romans.

[4] By these conversations nothing else was accomplished, yet it followed automatically, as if it had been consciously sought, that Hannibal, by reason of them, was less highly valued by the king and was more an object of suspicion in all respects.

[5] Claudius, following the Greek history of Acilius,² reports that Publius Africanus was a member of that embassy and that at Ephesus he conferred with Hannibal, and he even relates one conversation:

[6] when Africanus asked who, in Hannibal's opinion,³ was the greatest general, Hannibal named Alexander, the king of the Macedonians, because with a small

[7] force he had routed armies innumerable and because he had traversed the most distant regions, even to see which transcended human hopes.⁴

[8] To the next request, as to whom he would rank second, Hannibal selected Pyrrhus;⁵ saying that he had been the first to teach the art of castrametation;⁶

[9] besides, no one had chosen his ground or placed his troops more discriminatingly; he possessed also the art of winning men over to him, so that the Italian peoples preferred the lordship of a foreign king to that of the Roman people, so long the master in that land. When he continued, asking whom Hannibal considered third, he named himself without hesitation.

[10] Then Scipio broke into a laugh and said,

What would you say if you had defeated me?

[11]

Then, beyond doubt,

he replied,

I should place myself both before Alexander and before Pyrrhus and before all other generals.

⁷

[12] Both this response, with the unexpected turn given it by Punic cleverness,⁸ and this unlooked-for kind of flattery, he says, stirred Scipio deeply, because⁹ Hannibal had segregated him from all other commanders as one beyond estimation.¹⁰

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.) — 35.14 focus

[1] Sulpicius aeger Pergami substitit; Villius cum Pisidiae bello occupatum esse regem audisset, Ephesum profectus, dum paucos ibi moratur dies, dedit operam,

[2] ut cum Hannibale, qui tur tum ibi forte erat,

[3] saepe congrederetur, ut animum eius temptaret et, si qua posset, metum demeret periculi quicquam ei ab Romanis esse.

[4] iis colloquiis aliud quidem actum nihil est, secutum tamen sua sponte est, velut consilio petitum esset, ut vilior ob ea regi Hannibal et suspectior ad omnia fieret.

[5] Claudius, secutus Graecos Acilianos libros, P. Africanum in ea fuisse legatione tradit eumque Ephesi collocutum cum Hannibale, et sermonem unum etiam refert:

[6] quaerenti Africano, quern quem fuisse maximum iaperatorem imperatorem Hannibal crederet,

[7] respondisse, Alexandrum Macedonum regem, quod parva manu innumerabiles exercitus fudisset quodque ultimas oras, quas visere supra spem humanam esset, peragrasset.

[8] quaerenti deinde, quem secundum poneret, Pyrrhum dixisse;

[9] castra metari primum docuisse; ad hoc neminem elegantius loca cepisse, praesidia disposuisse; artem etiam conciliandi sibi homines ear eam habuisse, ut Italicae gentes regis externi quam populi Romani, tam diu principis in ea terra, imperium esse mallent.

[10] exequenti, quem tertium duceret, baud haud dubie semet ipsum dixisse.

[11] tum risum obortum Scipioni, et subiecisse “quidnam tu diceres, si me vicisses?” “turtum vero me” inquit “ ,et et ante Alexandrum et ante Pyrrhum et ante alios omnes imperatores esse.”

[12] et perplexum Punico astu responsum et improvisum adsentationis genus Scipionem movisse, quod e grege se imperatorur imperatorum velut inaestimabilem secrevisset.

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).) — 30.14 focus

[1]

haec¹ non hostili modo odio, sed amoris etiam stimulis, amatam ² apud aemulum cernens, cum dixisset, non mediocri cura Scipionis animum pepulit.

[2] et fidem criminibus raptae ³ prope inter arma nuptiae neque consulto neque exspectato Laelio faciebant tamque praeceps festinatio ut quo die captam captain hostem hosted⁴ vidisset, eodem matrimonio iunctam acciperet et ad penates hostis sui nuptiale sacrum conficeret;

[3] et ⁵ eo foediora haec videbantur Scipioni, quod ipsum in Hispania iuvenem nullius forma pepulerat captivae. haec secum volutanti Laelius ac Masinissa supervenerunt. quos cum pariter ambo et benigno voltu excepisset et egregiis laudibus frequenti praetorio celebrasset,

[4] abductum in secretum Masinissam sic adloquitur: " aliqua te, Masinissa, existimo ⁶ intuentem in me bona et principio in Hispania ad iungendam mecum amicitiam venisse et postea in Africa te ipsum spesque omnes tuas in fidem meam commisisse.

[5] atqui nulla earum virtus est propter quas tibi adpetendus visus sim qua ego aeque ac temperantia et continentia libidinum gloriatus fuerim.

[6] hanc te quoque ad ceteras tuas eximias virtutes, Masinissa, adiecisse velim. non est, non—mihi crede—tantum ab hostibus armatis aetati nostrae periculi ⁷ quantum ab circumfusis undique voluptatibus.

[7] qui eas temperantia sua frenavit ac domuit multo maius decus maioremque victoriam sibi peperit quam nos Syphace victo habemus.

[8] quae me absente strenue ac fortiter fecisti libenter et commemoravi et memini; cetera te ipsum tecum reputare quam me dicente erubescere malo. Syphax populi Romani auspiciis victus captusque est.

[9] itaque ipse, coniunx, regnum, ager, oppida, homines qui incolunt, quidquid denique Syphacis fuit praeda populi Romani est;

[10] et regem ⁸ coniugemque eius, etiamsi non civis Carthaginiensis esset,etiamsi non patrem eius imperatorem hostium videremus, Romam oporteret mitti, ac senatus populique Romani de ea iudicium atque arbitrium esse quae regem socium nobis alienasse atque in arma egisse ⁹ praecipitem dicatur.

[11] vince animum; cave ¹⁰ deformes multa bona uno vitio et tot meritorum gratiam maiore culpa quam causa culpae est conrumpas.

Ab urbe condita libri, erklärt von M. Weissenborn Perseus (Weissenborn, W.; Müller, H. J., editors. Berlin: Weidmannsche Buchhandlung, 1873-1883.) — 35.14 focus

[1]

Sulpicius aeger Pergami substitit; Villius cum Pisidiae bello occupatum esse regem audisset, Ephesum profectus, dum paucos ibi moratur dies,

[2] dedit operam, ut cum Hannibale, qui tum ibi forte erat,

[3] saepe congrederetur, ut animum eius temptaret, et, si qua posset, metum demeret periculi quicquam ei ab Romanis esse.

[4] iis colloquiis aliud quidem actum nihil est, secutum tamen sua sponte est, velut consilio petitum esset, ut vilior ob ea regi Hannibal et suspectior ad omnia fieret.

[5] Claudius, secutus Graecos Acilianos libros, P. Africanum in ea fuisse legatione tradit, eumque Ephesi collocutum cum Hannibale, et sermonem unum etiam refert:

[6] quaerenti Africano, quem fuisse maximum imperatorem Hannibal crederet, respondisse, Alexandrum Macedonum regem,

[7] quod parva manu ¹ innumerabiles exercitus fudisset, quodque ultimas oras, quas visere supra spem humanam esset, peragrasset.

[8] quaerenti deinde, quem secundum poneret, Pyrrhum dixisse; castra metari primum docuisse;

[9] ad hoc neminem elegantius loca cepisse, praesidia disposuisse; artem etiam conciliandi sibi homines eam habuisse, ut Italicae gentes regis externi quam populi Romani, tam diu principis in ea terra, imperium esse mallent.

[10] exequenti, quem tertium duceret, haud dubie semet ipsum dixisse.

[11] tum risum obortum Scipioni, et subiecisse “quidnam tu diceres, si me vicisses?” “tum vero me” inquit “et ante Alexandrum et ante Pyrrhum et ante alios omnes imperatores esse.

[12] ” et perplexum Punico astu responsum et improvisum adsentationis genus Scipionem movisse, quod e grege se imperatorum velut inaestimabilem secrevisset.

Translations (2)

History of Rome Perseus (Spillan, D.; Edmonds, Cyrus; McDevitte, William A., translators. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1849-1868. (Bohn's Classical Library)) — 35.14 focus

[1]

Sulpicius, falling sick, staid at Pergamus. Villius, on hearing that the king was carrying on war in Pisidia. went on to Ephesus, and, during a few days that he halted in that city, took pains

[2] to procure frequent interviews with Hannibal, who happened to be there at the time, in

[3] order to sound his intentions, if possible, and to remove his apprehensions of danger threatening him from the Romans.

[4] No other business, indeed, of any kind was brought forward at these meetings; yet they accidentally produced an important consequence, as effectually as if it had been intentionally sought; the lowering Hannibal in the esteem of the king, and rendering him more obnoxious to suspicion in every matter.

[5] Claudius, following the history written in Greek by Acilius, says, that Publius Africanus was employed in this embassy, and that it was he who conversed with Hannibal at Ephesus. He even relates one of their conversations, in which Scipio asked Hannibal,

whom he thought the greatest captain?

[6] and that he answered,

Alexander, king of Macedonia; because, with a small band, he defeated armies whose numbers were beyond reckoning;

[7]

and because he had overrun the remotest regions, the merely visiting of which was a thing above human aspiration.

Scipio then asked,

to whom he gave the second place?

[8] and he replied,

To Pyrrhus; for he first taught the method of encamping;

[9]

and besides, no one ever showed more exquisite judgment, in choosing his ground, and disposing his posts; while he also possessed the art of conciliating mankind to himself to such a degree, that the nations of Italy wished him, though a foreign prince, to hold the sovereignty among them, rather than the Roman people, who had so long possessed the dominion of that part of the world.

[10] On his proceeding to ask,

whom he esteemed the third?

Hannibal replied,

Myself, beyond doubt.

[11] On this Scipio laughed, and added,

What would you have said if you had conquered me?

Then,

replied the other,

I would have placed Hannibal, not only before Alexander and Pyrrhus, but before all other commanders.

[12] This answer, turned with Punic dexterity, and conveying an unexpected kind of flattery, was highly grateful to Scipio, as it set him apart from the crowd of commanders, as one of incomparable eminence.

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.) — 35.14 focus

[1]

Owing to illness Sulpicius stopped at Pergamum, whilst Villius went on to Ephesus, as he heard that the king had commenced hostilities in Pisidia.

[2] He made a short stay there, and as Hannibal happened to be there at the time he made a point of paying frequent visits

[3] to him in order to ascertain his future plans and if possible remove any apprehension from his mind as to danger threatening him from Rome.

[4] Nothing else was discussed in these interviews, but they had one result, which though really undesigned might have been deliberately aimed at, for they lowered Hannibal's authority with the king and cast suspicion upon all that he said or did.

[5] Claudius, following Acilius who wrote in Greek, says that Publius Scipio Africanus was one of the commissioners, and that he had conversations with Hannibal. One of these he reports. Africanus asked Hannibal whom he considered to be the greatest commander, and the reply was, "Alexander of Macedon,

[6] for with a small force he routed innumerable armies and traversed the most distant shores of the world which no man ever hoped to visit."

[7] Africanus then asked him whom he would put second, and Hannibal replied, "Pyrrhus;

[8] he was the first who taught how to lay out a camp, and moreover no one ever showed more cleverness in the choice of positions and the disposition of troops.

[9] He possessed, too, the art of winning popularity to such an extent that the nations of Italy preferred the rule of a foreign king to that of the Roman people who had so long held the foremost place in that country." On Scipio's again asking him whom he regarded as the third, Hannibal, without any hesitation, replied, "Myself."

[10] Scipio smiled and asked, "What would you say if you had vanquished me?"

[11] "In that case," replied Hannibal, "I should say that I surpassed Alexander and Pyrrhus, and all other commanders in the world." Scipio was delighted with the turn which the speaker had with true Carthaginian adroitness given to his answer, and the unexpected flattery it conveyed,

[12] because Hannibal had set him apart from the ordinary run of military captains as an incomparable commander.

Notes on the current edition

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

1. The flight of Hannibal from Carthage to Syria was reported in XXXIV. lx ff.

2. The meaning of this phrase has been much debated, as has also the identification of this Claudius with Claudius Quadrigarius, who was one of the annalists used by Livy. I see no objection to taking the phrase literally, that Acilius ( ca. 150 B.C.), who wrote a Roman history in Greek, was the source of Claudius, whether he be Claudius Quadrigarius, Claudius (Clodius) Licinus, or someone else. Nevertheless, the appearance of the same story in Appian ( Syr. 10) suggests that the actual source of both Livy and Appian is Polybius, though the incident is not found in the extant portions of Polybius. There is an additional difficulty in the fact that Scipio was not, according to XXXIV. lix. 8, a member of this embassy, but Livy has omitted much of the narrative (cf. the note to xiii. 4 above), and there may have been other embassies: cf. the note to sect. 12 below.

3. B.C. 193

4. This seems to refer to Alexander's expeditions to Arabia and India.

5. Pyrrhus' campaign in Italy was used to show the necessity for the invasion of Greece in the Second Macedonian War: cf. XXXI. vii. 8, etc.

6. Neither Plutarch nor Appian confirms this; rather, Plutarch ( Pyrr. xvi. 5) says that Pyrrhus admired the skill of the Romans in laying out camps: cf. the similar remark of Philip, quoted by Livy at XXXI. xxxiv. 8.

7. The story thus far is found, with slight changes, in Appian ( Syr. 10) and Plutarch ( Flamin. xxi), although the latter writer has another version ( Pyrr. ix) in which he names Pyrrhus, Scipio and Hannibal as the foremost commanders. An important item, omitted by Livy and Plutarch but included by Appian, gives the reasons of Hannibal for listing himself in third place. While the story is generally regarded to-day as apocryphal, the ranking as given by Livy may be genuine and represent Hannibal's considered judgment.

8. Scipio's final question gives Hannibal an opening which he is quick to seize, for paying an indirect compliment to his conqueror. Appian also speaks of his

delicate flattery

of Scipio. Cf. also xlii. 8 below for another tribute to Hannibal's wit. An anecdote of him preserved by Cicero ( de or. II. 75), on the other hand, represents him as distinctly lacking in tact in his remarks about a rhetorician.

9. B.C. 193

10. The value of this story for characterizing purposes is evident, and it would be pleasant if we could believe it. Cf. also the final sentence of the note to XXXVII. xlv. 16 below.

Titus Livius (Livy) Ab urbe condita 35.14

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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