10. Interiectīs aliquot annīs iterum sē Gallōrum cōpiae contrā Rōmānōs Tuscīs Samnītibusque iūnxērunt, sed cum Rōmam tenderent, ā Cn. Cornēliō Dolābellā cōnsule dēlētae sunt.
11. (1) Eōdem tempore Tarentīnīs, quī iam in ultimā Ītaliā sunt, bellum indictum est, quia lēgātīs Rōmānōrum iniūriam fēcissent. Hī Pyrrhum, Ēpīrī rēgem, contrā Rōmānōs auxilium poposcērunt, quī ex genere Achillis orīginem trahēbat. Is mox ad Ītaliam vēnit; tumque prīmum Rōmānī cum trānsmarīnō hoste dīmicāvērunt.
(2) Missus est contrā eum cōnsul P. Valerius Laevīnus. Quī cum explōrātōrēs Pyrrhī cēpisset, iussit eōs per castra dūcī, ostendī omnem exercitum tumque dīmittī, ut renūntiārent Pyrrhō quaecum<que ā> Rōmānīs agerentur. Commissā mox pūgnā, cum iam Pyrrhus fugeret, elephantōrum auxiliō vīcit, quōs incognitōs Rōmānī expāvērunt.
(3) Sed nox proeliō fīnem dedit; Laevīnus tamen per noctem fūgit, Pyrrhus Rōmānōs mīlle octingentōs cēpit et eōs summō honōre trāctāvit, occīsōs sepelīvit. Quōs cum adversō vulnere et trucī vultū etiam mortuōs iacēre vīdisset, tulisse ad caelum manūs dīcitur cum hāc vōce: sē tōtīus orbis dominum esse potuisse, sī tālēs sibi mīlitēs contigissent.
notes
Chapter 10: War with the Gauls and Etruscans, 283 BCE
Interiectīs aliquot annīs: "A few years later," ablative absolute using a perfect passive participle (AG 419)
Gallōrum cōpiae: In 284–283 BCE the Gallic Boii, observing the destruction of the lands of the Senones by Curius Dentatus, invaded Etruria and together with an Etruscan contingent marched within fifty miles of Rome. They were defeated by P. Cornelius Dolabella near Lake Vadimo (Bird).
iūnxērunt: with sē, "united" (Hazzard)
Chapter 11: War with Tarentum and Pyrrhus, 281-272 BCE. Battle of Heraclea, 280 BCE
(1) Tarentīnīs: dative object of indictum est. The Tarentines had sunk four Roman ships and captured a fifth near their harbor in 282 BCE. The following year Rome asked for modest reparations, but her envoys were mistreated and war commenced in 280 BCE (Bird).
in ultimā Ītaliā: "in the most remote part of Italy" (Hazzard)
quia lēgātīs Rōmānōrum iniūriam fēcissent: Florus explains how a simple misunderstanding escalated quickly:
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They happened to be celebrating a festival when they saw a Roman fleet approaching their shore. Thinking the Romans were attacking, they did not hesitate to engage with them with hostility, demanding to know who they were and where they came from. And that's not all. When ambassadors approached them demanding redress, they insulted them with inappropriate and disgraceful taunts. And so it came to war. But the preparations for war were terrifying, since so many different nations rose up to fight on the behalf of the Tarentines. The most notable of these was Pyrrhus, a man who vowed to defend the Greek city (or, rather, half-Greek, as Tarentum was founded by Lacedaemonians), who brought with him all of the fighting forces of Epirus, Thessaly, and Macedonia. This included the use of elephants, which were at that time still unknown to the Romans; in addition to the terror inspired by such monstrous beasts, he brought terror to the Romans on land and on sea, using infantry, cavalry, and weapons (Florus 1.13.15-27).
Hī: Tarentīnī
Pyrrhum, Ēpīrī rēgem: Pyrrhus (319-272 BCE), King of Epirus,
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arrived at Tarentum in 280 BCE with an army of 25,000 men and twenty elephants. That year he defeated the Romans under P. Valerius Laevinus at Heraclea and detached several Greek cities as well as the Samnites, Lucanians and Bruttii. He then marched to Praeneste in order to cause further defections and force a favorable peace treaty, but harassed by two Roman armies he was compelled to withdraw to Campania. Much of what follows in his campaigns is interlarded with Roman patriotic fiction and consequently untrustworthy in details (Bird).
orīginem trahēbat: "was claiming royal descent." It was the custom of royal families to claim descent from heroes or gods (Hazzard). Pyrrhus claimed the famed Trojan War hero Achilles as his ancestor.
Is: Pyrrhus
prīmum: "for the first time" (Hazzard)
(2) Qui: Rōmānī
cum explōrātōrēs Pyrrhī cēpissent: cum here is circumstantial (AG 546). For a similar treatment of spies, see Brev. 3.22.
dūcī: like the following present passive infinitives ostendī and dīmittī, complementary infinitives governed by the main verb iussit (AG 456)
ut renūntiārent Pyrrhō: purpose clause signaled by ut (AG 531)
quaecumque ā Rōmānīs agerentur: indirect question (AG 573)
Commissā mox pūgnā: ablative absolute using perfect passive participle (AG 419)
cum iam Pyrrhus fugeret: cum here is concessive (AG 549)
quōs: elephantōs
(3) Quōs: connecting relative referring to occīsōs (mīlitēs) (AG 308.f)
adversō vulnere: "with their wounds in front" (Hazzard), i.e., they died courageously facing the enemy, not fleeing.
etiam mortuōs: "even in death"
tulisse: "raised," infinitive within the indirect statement construction following dīcitur (AG 577; LS fero I.B.1.a)
sē tōtīus orbis dominum esse potuisse: indirect discourse signaled by the main verb dīcitur (AG 577)
sī tālēs sibi mīlitēs contigissent: "if such soldiers had been available to him" (Bird); past contrary to fact conditional (AG 514.C.2)
vocabulary
Core Vocabulary | Numbers | Dates
| intericiō, icere, iēcī, iectus |
to throw or place between, interpose; intervene (in pass.) |
| aliquot [alius + quot], indef. indecl. adj. | some, several |
| Gallus, a, um |
pertaining to Gaul. Gallī, ōrum, pl. m., the Gauls. |
| Tuscī, ōrum, pl. m. | the Etruscans, inhabitants of Etruria |
| Samnītēs, um, Gr. acc. pl. Samnītas, pl. m. |
the Samnites, a branch of the Sabine race inhabiting the mountains southeast of Latium |
| Dolābella, ae, m. | Cn. Cornēlius Dolābella, consul 283 BCE |
| dēleō, ēre, ēvī, ētus | to destroy, overthrow, rain |
| Tarentīnī, ōrum, pl. m. | the inhabitants of Tarentum 11. |
| Pyrrhus, ī, m. |
king of Epirus, waged war against Rome 281—272 B.C. |
| Ēpīrus, ī, f. |
a country on the Ionian Sea, northwest of Greece proper |
| Achillēs, is, m. |
a famous Greek chief at the siege of Troy, slain by Paris, the hero of the Iliad |
| orīgō, inis [orior], f. | an origin, source, pedigree |
| trānsmarīnus, a, um [trāns + mare], adj. | beyond the sea |
| dīmicō, āre, āvī, ātus | to fight |
| P. |
abbreviation of the praenomen or nomen Publius |
| Valerius, ī, m. | the name of a Roman gens. |
| Laevīnus, ī, m. |
the name of a Roman family. (1) L. Valerius (Laevīnus), consul 206 B.C.; (2) M. Valerius Laevīnus, consul 210 B.C.; (3) P. Valerius Laevīnus, consul 280 B.C. |
| explōrātor, ōris [explōrō, to search out], m. | a scout |
| renūntiō, āre, āvī, ātus | to announce, to report |
| elephantus, ī, m. | elephant |
| incognitus, a, um [in + cognōscō], adj. | unknown |
| expavēscō, ere, pāvī, -- [ex + pavēscō, incho. of paveō, to become alarmed] | to dread, fear greatly (rare) |
| tractō, āre, āvī, ātus [freq. of trahō] | to treat |
| sepeliō, īre, īvī (iī), sepultus | to bury, inter |
| trux, trucis, adj. | wild, savage, stern |