224. properanti: properare, to hasten, act in haste.
226. sane: adv., indeed, truly, certainly.
fatentis: agrees with consulis but explains haud laeta, admitting that those things.
227. factu: abl. of the supine with facilia.
consuli: DAT. OF POSSESSION.
228. virium atque auctoritatis: PARTITIVE GEN. with quid.
229. fore: implied IND. STATE. (continued in the next sent.); although quid should technically introduce an IND. QUEST., the cl. has the force of an emphatic statement, and hence the inf. is used.
230. telis: telum, missile, javelin, spear, weapon.
231. caput: i.e., his life.
“Haec una salutis est via, L. Paule, quam difficilem infestamque 210 cives tibi magis quam hostes facient. Idem enim tui quod hostium milites volent; idem Varro consul Romanus quod Hannibal Poenus imperator cupiet. Duobus ducibus unus resistas oportet. Resistes autem, si adversus famam rumoresque hominum satis firmus steteris, si te 215 neque collegae vana gloria neque tua falsa infamia moverit. Veritatem laborare nimis saepe aiunt, exstingui numquam: vanam gloriam qui spreverit, veram habebit. Sine timidum pro cauto, tardum pro considerato, imbellem pro perito belli vocent. Malo te sapiens hostis metuat quam stulti cives laudent. Omnia audentem contemnet Hannibal, 220 nihil temere agentem metuet. Nec ego, ut nihil agatur, moneo, sed ut agentem te ratio ducat, non fortuna; tuae potestatis semper tu tuaque omnia sint; armatus intentusque sis; neque occasioni tuae desis neque suam occasionem hosti des. Omnia non properanti clara certaque erunt; festinatio improvida est et 225 caeca.” (XXII.38.13–39.22, excerpts)
Paulus replies firmly but with apprehension.
Adversus ea consulis oratio haud sane laeta fuit, magis fatentis ea, quae diceret, vera quam facilia factu esse: quid consuli adversus collegam seditiosum ac temerarium virium atque auctoritatis fore? Se optare ut omnia prospere evenirent; sed si quid 230 adversi caderet, hostium se telis potius quam suffragiis iratorum civium caput obiecturum. (XXII.40.1–3, excerpts)
232. satis exploratis: this much, at least, the Romans had learned from Flaminius’ fatal carelessness at Trasimene.
Poenum…Poenum (233): the first Poenum may refer to Hannibal (cp. 141 above) but the second, a collective sg., clearly means the Carthaginians.
233. Cannas: Cannae, a town on the Aufidus River in Apulia in southeast Italy. bina castra (234): two camps, one on either side of the river; with nouns like castra that were normally used only in the pl. the Romans regularly employed distributive numerals (singuli, bini, terni, etc.) instead of cardinals.
234. nactus: nancisci, to find, obtain; here = entertaining (the hope). facturos: sc. esse; for the idiom copiam pugnandi facere, see 141–42 above.
235. procursatione: procursatio, a charge, skirmish.
236. sollicitari: HIST. INF.; the subj., Romana castra, is delayed.
seditione:dissension, quarrel; the soldiers were quarreling over the best tactics to employ, just as their consular generals were.
238. speciosum: beautiful, splendid; but, when sarcastic, as here, = specious.
240. postero die: Paulus had been in command on the day before and had restrained the Romans from attacking; only one consul at a time had command of the troops, on alternate days.
sors:lot, fate; with imperii, responsibility for command.
nihil: = non,not at all.
243. cornua: Eng. would say the wings.
tenuere: for the form, see on petiere (109).
244. laevum: left, left-hand.
Gemino Servilio:Gnaeus Geminus Servilius, consul in 217, here was given command of the center of the army.
245. tuenda data: was given to be looked after, was given for command.
246. quosque: i.e., each of his units.
247. Hasdrubal…Maharbal…Magone (248): respectively, one of Hannibal’s unit commanders (not the Hasdrubal mentioned above in line 8), his chief cavalry officer, and his youngest brother, Mago.
248. adversus: here, an adj. agreeing with ventus, against, adverse (to).
249. pulvere: pulvis, dust.
250. ademit: adimere, to take away.
251. parte altera: Paulus had been in command of the right wing of the army, but when those troops had been routed he moved to the altera pars, i.e., the center.
252. funda: sling-stone.
et: = etiam.
253. confertis: closely packed, dense, crowded; here, sc. equitibus, with his cavalrymen in close formation.
254. omissis…equis: their horses having been let go = having dismounted.
255. pepulerunt: sc. hostes as subj.
256. superantes: here, surviving.
