Ennius: Annales (fragments)
Books 7-16
This translation is by E.H.Warmington (1935), with a few changes. See key to translations for an explanation of the format; the suggested context for each fragment, shown in red, is often just a conjecture. Click on the L symbols after the line numbers to go to the Latin text of the lines. The links to passages from other Latin authors will display the Latin text of these passages.
← Previous lines (1-209)
BOOK VII - Events leading to the Second Punic War L
[210-27] L
Prologue :
GELLIUS :
There is a very clever and graphic description and definition by Ennius in the seventh book of the Annales (in a sketch of Geminus Servilius, a man of noble birth), of what temper and cheerfulness and modesty ... it is seemly a man should show who is a friend of another his superior in birth and fortunes -
So saying he called to one with whom he shared willingly and cheerfully and right often his table, his talks, and his affairs, when, tired out, he had spent long hours of the day in managing the greatest affairs, by counsel given in the wide
forum and sacred senate-house ; one to whom care-free he would often speak out boldly matters great and small, and joke the while, and blurt out words good and bad to say, if so he wished at all, and store them in loyal keeping ; one with whom he could share many a pleasure and many a joy both openly and secretly ; whose nature no thought of mind led to do a bad deed lightly or with wrong intent ; a learned, trusty, agreeable man and a fine talker, content with his own, happy and shrewd ; one who spoke the right thing at the right time, and obliging ; of few words ; keeping many old-time ways of which a bygone age long buried is the maker, and manners old and new ; keeping also to the modes of many a one of our elders, and the laws too of gods and men ; one who could prudently speak out hearsay or keep it to himself. Him did Servilius, in the midst of battles, thus address.
They say that Lucius Aelius Stilo used to state that Quintus Ennius wrote this about none other than himself, and that the passage given here is a picture of the manners and temper of Quintus Ennius himself.
[228] L
Prologue continued ?
FESTUS : Quianam for quare and cur . . . -
For why has your intent been turned by my words ?
[229-30] L
Ennius alludes to his tale of his dream in the first book :
FESTUS : Sas ... In the seventh book of the same poet it must be confessed that eam is meant when he says -
nor has any man seen in his dreams Wisdom (a name we give to knowledge) before he has begun to learn her secrets.
[231-2] L
The first Punic War ; Naevius and others have already sung about it :
CICERO :
Nevertheless, the Punic War of this poet [Naevius], whom Ennius counts among the seers and Fauns, gives delight as though it were a work of Myron. I grant you, to be sure, that Ennius is the more perfect poet as he certainly is; but if he really scorned Naevius, as he pretends, he would not, in working through all our wars, have left undone the famous First Punic War, a most bitter one. But in his own words he tells us why he does it. He says-
Others have written of the matter in verses
And nobly indeed they wrote, even though they did it in less finished fashion than you did ; nor indeed ought it to appear otherwise to you who took many points from Naevius, if you confess it; or if you deny it, filched them.
[232-4] L
CICERO : Well? Our old verses, where are they? In his own words he speaks of himself (nor lies in his boasting) -
which once upon a time the Fauns and Seers used to sing, when no one had surmounted the rough rocks of the
Muses . . . nor was anyone mindful of style before this man , . .
[235] L
CICERO : Therefore since it was allowed to Ennius, when he scorned the old poetry, to say 'in verses which once upon a time the Fauns and seers used to sing,' must I be forbidden to speak of archaic writers in the same fashion? Especially since I am not going to say 'before me' as he does, nor what follows -
We have dared to unfold . . .
[236] L
The origins of Carthage. The Carthaginian stock ; the worship of Moloch :
PROBUS ,
on 'that he may sleep on shell-dye of Sarra' in Vergilius [Georg_2'506] : By shell-dye of 'Sarra' he wishes us to understand Tyrian purple. For that Tyre was called Sarra we are informed by Homer; Ennius also follows him as an authority when he says -
[237] L
FESTUS :
Puelli is a word derived in a diminutive form from pueri. Thus Ennius says -
Phoenicians accustomed to offer up to the gods their own little sons
[238] L
Appius Claudius Caudex enters Sicily, 264 B.C. :
CICERO : 'History' means public events remote from the recollection of our own age; such as -
Appius proclaimed war against the Carthaginians.
[239-40] L
Events between the First and Second Punic Wars. Rome obtains Corsica and Sardinia :
SERVIUS auctus :
By 'box' Vergilius [Georg_2'449] meant the wood and not the tree, although in using the neuter gender he could have meant even the tree after the example of Ennius; for that poet has it thus in the seventh book -
and tapering cypresses with notched leaves, and the box too, with bitter body, stand straight.
[241] L
CHARISIUS :
Frus. Fem. gender because it is thus inflected by Ennius in the seventh book of the Annales -
the leaves turn ruddy
[242-3] L
Rome obtains Sardinia (238 B.C.) :
NONIUS : Rumor, favour, aid. ... -
The Roman army , cheered on by the crowd, attacked the ruins, and soon made away with the dwellings.
[244] L
War with the Illyrian pirates, 230-228 B.C. ? :
FESTUS : Sos for eos . . . -
While they were minded to startle them with threats, therewith they encouraged them,
[245-6] L
Advance of the Roman fleet under Cn. Fulvius and L. Postumius :
FESTUS :
Tonsa. By this word Ennius, when he says in the seventh book -
Lean ye right backward and beat ye your breasts with the trimmers ;
means an oar, because as it were tonditur, it is trimmed, with a knife; again -
Backward they reach, then again pull the trimmers to their breasts.
[247] L
A sea-fight ; Illyrians hard-pressed :
FESTUS : Nare. Cornificius states that this word is derived from navis . . . -
The one wishes to float in flight ; the other is ready to fight,
[248] L
An Illyrian ship is driven ashore :
PRISCIANUS : Mulgeo likewise takes mulsi for its perfect tense ... -
Hither the sea had gently washed a ship buffeted by the billows.
[249] L
The Illyrians resist stoutly :
PAULUS : Sibyna, a name given by the Illyrians to a javelin resembling a hunting-spear. Ennius -
The Illyrians stood fast and stabbed with curving knives and hunting-spears.
[250] L
War of the Boii and other Cisalpine and Transalpine Celts against Rome :
NONIUS : Gracilentum for gracilis ... -
They beat out handy swords like slender thread.
[251-2] L
The Gauls near Clusium, 225 B.C. ; terror at Rome :
MACROBIUS : -
on that night the Gauls with stealth attacked the wall-tops of the citadel in the sleep-time, and on a sudden brought bloodshed on the sentinels.
In this passage we must notice that Ennius not only used noctu and concubia but also qua noctu ; he puts this expression in the seventh book of the Annales. . . .
[253] L
Defeat of the Gauls at Telamon, 225 B.C. :
Not always does Jupiter upset your plans; now he stands on our side.
[254] L
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius [Aen_10'284] : 'Fortune favours the daring.' Ennius in the seventh book -
To men of fortitude is fortune granted.
[255] L
The Via Flaminia (220 B.C.) and Second Illyrian War (219 B.C.) :
PRISCIANUS : But Nar has kept the a long even in oblique cases. ... -
He built blow-holes by Nar's sulphurous waters.
PROPERTIUS [
3.3'8 ] :
And he sang ... of the royal trophies carried by Aemilius' ship.
[256-7] L
Hannibal advances from Carthago Nova (218 B.C.) :
SERVIUS auctus : Here by equitem Vergilius means equum . . . Ennius in the seventh book of the Annales -
At last with mighty rush the horseman at a four-footed gallop and the elephants too hurl themselves onwards.
CICERO :
Our poet Ennius was a dear friend of the elder Africanus, and that is why a marble statue of him, it is thought, was set up in the tomb of the Scipios. But his verses of praise are surely an adornment not only for him who is praised but also for the name of the Roman people. Cato, ancestor of Cato here, is extolled to the skies ; this carries with it great honour for the history of the Roman people.
In short, all those great names - the Maximi, Marcelli, Fulvii - are honoured by praise which is shared by all of us. Hence it was that he who had done all this, a native of Rudiae, was received by our ancestors into their citizenship.
BOOK VIII - The Second Punic War up to the departure of Scipio for Africa L
[258-9] L
Outbreak of Discord :
HORATIUS [
Sat_1.4'60 ] :
You would not still find the limbs of a dismembered poet as you would if you were to break up the following -
After foul Discord broke open the ironclad doors and doorposts of war,
PORPHYRIO on this passage :
The sense is : If you analyse my verses or Lucilius', you will not find the same sort of 'limbs' as you would in Ennius' verses, which are to be sure composed with mighty inspiration, with the use of a loftier diction as these are : 'After . . .'
[260-1] L
PROBUS :
Air surely is the thing which gives us supplies of the breath of life. Spiritus is the name given to it by Ennius also in the Annales -
[Discord], of hellish body daughter bred, woman of war in warrior's cloak, for whom water and fire and breath and heavy earth are equal.
[262-8] L
The people in time of war :
GELLIUS says :
'Ex iure manum consertum' are words drawn from ancient cases at law. . . . Ennius used these words . . . Then I myself recited from memory these lines from the eighth book of the Annales ... -
When news of battles is proclaimed, away from view is Wisdom thrust, with violence is action done, scorned is the speaker of good counsel, dear is the rude warrior. Not with learned speeches do men strive, but with evil speaking fall foul one of another, brewing unfriendliness. They rush to make joint seizure - not by law ; rather by the sword do they seek a due return and aim at the first place, and move on with pack and press.
[269] L
Rome thinks lightly of the Carthaginians :
PRISCIANUS :
Dido, Didonis. . . . : in the eighth book -
[270] L
GELLIUS :
Quintus Ennius does not appear to have spoken of the Carthaginians as
petticoated lads
without scorn.
[271] L
The Romans were unaware of Hannibal's character :
EKKEHART :
over a passage of Orosius, in a codex Sangallensis, referring to Hamilcar Rhodanus: Ennius has -
what kind of man he was in counsel, and how great his prowess in arms,
[272-3] L
EKKEHART ? : over another passage of Orosius, in the same codex, referring to Hannibal: On Hannibal Ennius has -
But not such a double-faced foe was
Burrus sprung from
Aeacus.
PROPERTIUS [
3.3'9-10 ] :
And he sang ... of Fabius' delays that were fraught with victory : and of the ill-starred fight of Cannae; and how the gods were turned to hear our heartfelt prayers.
[274] L
Paullus, on the eve of the battle of Cannae, urges Varro not to accept battle :
NONIUS : Praecox and praecoca . . . -
Time is unripe for fighting.
[275] L
Fears of Paullus :
DIOMEDES : In the old writers we notice that abnueo is used . . . -
I refuse to join issue ; I fear ruin for my legions.
[276-7] L
Hannibal to his troops on the occasion of the battle of Cannae, B.C. 216 :
CICERO : And further our renowned and greatest poet did not wish that famous encouragement to be Hannibal's any more than one common to all commanders -
He who will strike a blow at the enemy - hear me! he will be a Carthaginian, whatever his name will be ; whatever his country,
[278] L
The battle. The position of the sun favours both sides :
FESTUS : Obstipum, slanting. ... -
to grow much greater because of the slanting sun-light
[279] L
But the wind raised dust-clouds which hindered the Romans :
NONIUS : Pulvis in the feminine gender ... -
and just then a huge dust-cloud was seen to reach the sky.
[280] L
The infantry engagement :
PRISCIAN : Denseo inflected as from denso . . . -
The bristling spears of the warriors crowded thick upon the plain.
[281] L
The line of lancers scattered its lances ; came a shower of iron.
[282] L
Attack of the Numidians ; Romans are mutilated :
PAULUS : Men are called suppemati ['ham-strung'] whose upper thighs are cut through in the manner of pigs' haunches. Ennius -
The
Poeni hamstrung them, wicked haughty foes.
[283] L
Hasdrubal sends the Numidians in pursuit of the Romans : '
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius [Aen_8'596] : 'The four-footed beat of the hoofs shook the crumbling plain.' Ennius in the eighth book -
They gave chase : with mightiest clatter their hoofs shook the ground.
[284-6] L
The Senators prevent panic at Rome ? :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius [Aen_11'425] : 'Many a day and change of work in ever-varying life have brought back countless men to better state; and fortune, her eye now here now there, has had the laugh and set men anew on foundation firm.' Ennius in the eighth book -
Many things does one day bring about in war . . . and many fortunes through chance sink low again. In no wise has fortune followed any man all his days.
[287] L
The fourth consulship of Fabius, 214 B.C. :
NONIUS : Quartum and quarto. Ennius rightly has quartum in -
Quintus the father was made consul for the fourth time.
[288] L
During the siege of Capua, Hannibal marches on Rome, 211 B.C.
PAULUS : Ob . . . for ad; for example Ennius -
He began by night to lead his hosts against Rome.
PROPERTIUS [
3.3'11 ] :
And he sang . . . how our Lares put Hannibal to flight from their Roman home.
[289] L
Capua is stormed, 211 B.C. :
FESTUS says :
Oscans. Verrius states that the people we call by this name were formerly called the 'Opscians,' his witness being Ennius, since he says -
The Opscan gives battle from the wall.
[290] L
Tale of Seppius Loesius and others of Capua :
PAULUS :
Meddix is among the Oscans the name of a magistrate. Ennius -
There the chief magistrate was made prisoner, the other was put to death.
[291] L
Hymn of Livius Andronicus (?) to Juno :
SCHOLIAST : Ennius says in the eighth book -
The flute composed a song of music,
[292] L
Juno begins to favour the Romans :
PRISCIANUS : Authors are wont to vary their figures . . . for example, Ennius -
Saturn's daughter, mighty among goddesses, dearest of those that dwell in heaven,
[293] L
SERVIUS :
'She will change her counsels for the better' [Vergilius, Aen_1'281] because in the Second Punic War, according to Ennius -
Juno was appeased and began to show the Romans her good-will.
SERVIUS :
In Ennius, Jupiter is introduced as promising the Romans that Carthage shall be overthrown.
[294] L
The drunken Gauls at the Battle of the Metaurus, 207 B.C. :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius [Aen_2'265] : 'They rushed on the city, which was buried in sleep and wine.' Ennius in the eighth book -
And now the enemy, mastered by wine and buried in sleep,
[295] L
FESTUS : Occasus . . , for occasio . . . -
But when the occasion or the time smothered their daring,
[296] L
Triumphant return of the two consuls :
SERVIUS auctus : Mactus. Even the form mactatus was used for this; for example, Ennius -
[297-9] L
New fleet of Scipio Africanus (consul, 205) in training ? :
NONIUS : Portisculus is, in its proper sense, the term for the time-beater of a ship's oarsmen ; that is to say, the man who holds the staff for which the term portisculus is used; by means of this he times the rhythm and 'lay to' . . . -
that, holding the oar forward, they should obey and watch when the boatswain began to give them the signal.
BOOK IX - Scipio's campaigns in Africa; Peace, 201 B.C. L
[300-5] L
M.Cornelius and P.Sempronius consuls, 204 B.C. :
CICERO :
The following is a passage in Ennius' work, in the ninth book, I think, of the Annales -
Then Marcus Cornelius
Cethegus, son of Marcus, an orator whose mouth spoke pleasant speech, is put in as a colleague to Tuditanus.
He calls him an orator and also grants him pleasantness of speech . . . but the greatest stroke in praise of his eloquence is surely this -
. . . By those fellow-countrymen who were then alive and had their being he was once upon a time called the 'choice flower' of the people,
Well said indeed. For, as the glory of a man is his natural talents, so the lustre of those very talents is eloquence; and a man surpassing in eloquence was admirably called by the men of that time 'flower of the people' -
. . . This Cethegus was consul with Publius Tuditanus in the Second Punic War, and Marcus Cato was a quaestor in their consulship, in round numbers only one hundred and fifty years before my own consulship ; and were this fact not known through the testimony of Ennius alone, antiquity would have buried this very Cethegus, as maybe it has buried many others, in oblivion.
[306] L
Scipio'a campaigns in Africa? '
FESTUS : Metonymia . . . when the meaning of a word contains exactly the contents of its equivalent ; for example, Ennius when he says -
Trembled Africa, land rough and rude, with a terrible tumult.
[307] L
Battle of Zama ? 202 B.C. :
NONIUS : Luctant for luctantur . . . -
The soldiers struggled with sturdy strength.
[308] L
NONIUS : Pulvis ... of the feminine gender . . .
Brown dust flies aloft
[309] L
NONIUS : Debil, the same as debilis . . . -
a feeble fellow
[310-11] L
PRISCIANUS : Verbs ending in -geo ... -
Just as the Cyclops' belly once swelled high, stretched tight with human flesh
[312] L
The spoils won after the battle of Zama :
SERVIUS ( ? ) :
Undantem, the same as abundantem . . . Ennius in the ninth book of the Annales -
the army billowed in booty.
[313-14] L
Hannibal's defeat ? :
NONIUS : Famul, the same as famulus ... -
Fortune on a sudden casts down the highest mortal from the height of his sway, to become the lowliest thrall.
[315] L
Scipio to Hannibal ? :
PRISCIANUS : Ennius ... in the ninth book puts frux, which is an adjective, for frugi homo -
But to what end do I speak so? "No sooner said than done" - so acts your man of worth.
[316] L
Terms of peace imposed an Carthage, 201 B.C. :
VARRO says : Militis stipendia (soldier's pay) is a term used because they paid it as a stips (small coins in piles). This is the derivation of stipendia as used by Ennius among others -
The Poeni paid payments of money.
[317] L
Funeral of the slain ? :
MACROBIUS :
Vergilius inserted into his work even Greek words . . . following the daring of ancient authors. . . . Ennius in the ninth book -
twice six lighted lamps
[318-19] L
Italy after the war ? the soldiers must return to the soil :
NONIUS : Politiones, diligent cultivations of fields . . .
He will take toothed rakes for to dress the fields.
[320-21] L
Let Rome's liberty be maintained :
NONIUS : Perpetuassit, may it be perpetual, eternal ... -
. . . and liberty, that it may last for ever and all that I may have done
BOOK X - War with Macedonia up to the settlement after the battle of Cynoscephalae L
[322-3] L
Prologue :
GELLIUS :
Inseque has the sense of 'go on to tell,' and this therefore is the form used by Ennius in these verses -
Go on to tell what each commander of the Romans wrought with his troops in war with King
Philippus.
But the other . . . insisted that we must trust Velius Longus, . . . who wrote that in Ennius we should read not inseque but insece . . .
[324] L
First Macedonian War ; expedition of Valerius Laevinus (214) :
PRISCIANUS : The oldest writers used to say also campso, campsas, bend. Ennius in the tenth book -
They doubled Leucate.
[325] L
Second Macedonian War, 200-196 B.C. Consuls of 200 ;
ISIDORUS : Zeugma is a period when more than one idea is completed by one verb . . . for example ... -
[326] L
Sextus Aelius Paetus, consul with Flamininus, 198 ;
CICERO : -
A man uncommonly well-witted, shrewd Sextus Aelius
who was a man of more than common wit and shrewd, and called such by Ennius not because he used to search for things which he could never discover, but because he used to give such answers as freed from anxiety and trouble those who had asked him questions.
[327-9] L
A shepherd, sent to guide the Romans, asks Flamininus :
CICERO : -
O Titus, if it is I can help you in anything and lighten you of the worry which, stubborn in your breast, now sears and haunts you, will there be any reward ?
[330-1] L
Charops assures Flamininus that the shepherd is trustworthy :
CICERO continues :
for I may be allowed to address to you, Atticus, the same verses as those in which Flamininus is addressed by -
That man not blessed with wealth but full of loyalty,
although I know for certain it is not, like Flamininus -
that you are care-worn, Titus, thus day and night.
[332] L
The night-march of Flamininus, guided by the shepherd :
And then the night came on, dotted with blazing stars
[333-5] L
The Battle of Cynoscephalae, 197 B.C. ; anxiety of Flamininus :
SERVIUS auctus : Mussant also means 'they murmur' . . . -
He was watching the mettle of his army, waiting to see if they would grumble, saying what rest will there be at last from our fighting, or end to our hard toil ?
[336] L
Speech of Flamininus before the battle :
DIOMEDES : Some old writers used the form horitatur ... -
The commander . . . cheers and cheers them on
'horitatur' being as it were in iterative form.
[337-8] L
The battle : special troop of Philip :
PRISCIANUS : The oldest writers did not always elide ... -
Then he led some eight thousand warriors, wearing badges, chosen men, strong to bear war well.
[339-41] L
Impatience of Flamininus' army ? :
FESTUS : Nictit is a term used of a dog gently whimpering as he scents the tracks of wild animals ... -
And just as sometimes a fleet hunting-dog, tied up by a chain, is wont to do if by chance her keen-scented nostril has caught scent of wild quarry - she lifts her voice in a whimper and straightway loudly gives tongue.
[342] L
Fighting on rough ground :
DIOMEDES : Pinsit, according to the third conjugation . . . -
They bruise their knees on the ground.
[343-4] L
Demetrius, younger son of Philip, taken by Rome as a hostage ; the parting with Philip :
NONIUS : Passum, stretched out, spread open : whence we also say passus, step; because the feet spread open, as they step apart, each from the other ... -
Sick at heart and with hands flung wide, the father ...
By passis as applied to palmis he means open wide and outstretched.
[345] L
Lament of Philip on the exile of Demetrius :
DONATUS ,
on 'Indeed the columen of his household' in Terentius [Phorm_2.1'57] : Columen in the sense of summit or columen in the sense of pillar ? . . . -
They have now overturned and moved away the pillar of the realm.
BOOK XI - From 196 B.C. to the opening of the War with Antiochus; Cato in Spain L
[346] L
Greece after Philip's defeat :
FESTUS :
That quippe means quidni Ennius is a witness in the eleventh book -
Surely are all kings wont in times of good fortune . . .
[347-8] L
Flamininus points to the relation of the Romans to the Greeks :
FESTUS : Sos for eos . . . -
They maintain that the Greeks - men are wont to speak of them as Grai - . . . language through long . . .
[349-50] L
Brachyllas (?) warns the Greeks against the power of Rome :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius : 'When captured, could they be in truth captured? No. And did Troy burning burn her warriors ? No.' [Aen_7'295] Ennius, when he was speaking about Pergama in the eleventh book, wrote -
Troy's citadel, which on the plains of
Dardanus could not perish or be captive when captured or when burnt become ashes.
[351] L
a place in Greece :
FESTUS : 'Rocks' ; of these there are two kinds, of which one is natural stone jutting out into the sea , . . -
a cliff deep-falling, covered by mighty crags.
[352] L
Cato on the one-time modesty of women :
NONIUS : Lacte in the nominative case ... -
and at once she blushed like milk and crimson mingled.
[353] L
He contrasts the luxury of his own day :
NONIUS : Peniculamentum ; a term which old writers use for part of a dress. ... -
skirts hang low down to every little foot.
[354-5] L
He curses the 'moderns' ;
NONIUS : Crux of the masculine gender . . . - -
Says he, 'Give them destruction,
Jupiter, with utter hell!
[356] L
Cato in Spain, 195 B.C. ; battle with the rebels :
PRISCIANUS : Sono goes on both sonas and sonis . . . -
Then the round shields resounded, and the iron spear-points whizzed ;
[357] L
PRISCIANUS : From strido some have conjugated . . . stridi -
and the spear, shot into his breast, whizzed as it sped through.
[358] L
A Spanish chief parleys with a Roman embassy ? :
CHARISIUS :
Hispane is a form used by Ennius in a book of the Annales -
Report you : it is the Spanish that I speak, and not the Roman tongue.
[359] L
Unplaced fragment :
PAULUS : Rimari means to search thoroughly, as it were in the very rimae [crannies].
FESTUS : . . . Ennius (?) in the eleventh book -
both parties {pried}.
BOOK XII - ???? L
[360-2] L
A reminiscence of Fabius Maximus Cunctator :
CICERO : How much better was the behaviour of Quintus Maximus of whom Ennius says -
One man by his delays restored the state ; hearsay he would not put before our safety ; hence to this day the warrior's glory shines - in after time, and all the more for that.
[363-5] L
Rejoicing after victory ? :
PRISCIANUS : Acer and alacer and saluber and celeber are found inflected in both -er and -is in both genders ... -
Yes, all those victors, every single soul, contented from the bottom of their hearts - sleep on a sudden, over all the plain, most soft thrilled tingling through them, tended well by wine.
GELLIUS :
Marcus Varro has recorded that Ennius, in his sixty-seventh year, wrote the twelfth book of the Annales; and that Ennius himself mentions this very fact in the same book.
BOOK XIII - The early stages of the war with Antiochus L
[366-8] L
Antiochus suspects Hannibal (193 B.C.) :
GELLIUS :
Ennius used cor, said Caesellius, as he did many other similar nouns, in the masculine gender; for in the thirteenth book of Annales he wrote quem cor. He then added two lines of Ennius. . . . Antiochus, King of Asia, is the speaker of these words. . . . But what Ennius meant was something different by far. For there are three lines, not two, which go to complete this sentence of Ennius; of these Caesellius overlooked the third -
while Hannibal with bold breast exhorts me not to make war - he whom my heart believed to be a most mighty counsellor, yea one devoted in war's ruggedness.
[369] L
Reminiscence of Xerxes crossing from Asia to Europe (480 B.C.) :
VARRO :
The phrase 'As it were the Hellespont and its barriers' comes from the fact that Xerxes at one time made a 'barrier' in that region. For, as Ennius says -
and he stretched a bridge over deep Hellespont.
[370] L
Antiochus laments his defeat at Thermopylae in 191 B.C. by Glabrio :
GELLIUS : No one on that occasion remembered that the verb verant was used by Ennius in the thirteenth book of the Annales ... -
Do seers, in all their life's course, tell much of truth ?
[371] L
Siege of Pergamum by Seleucus IV in 190 B.C. ? :
SERVIUS auctus : Farere. The old writers used it even in the sense of velle. Ennius -
The matrons crowded the walls, eager to look on.
BOOK XIV - The end of the war, and the settlement of Asia after the Battle of Magnesia L
[372-3] L
Victory of Aemilius Regillus at Myonnesus ; departure of the Roman fleet :
GELLIUS : You made me understand those very charming words from Ennius' fourteenth book of Annales . . . -
Forthwith they gently swept a sea of yellow marble ; green foamed the brine beaten by the thronging ships.
[374] L
The rapid advance :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius : 'Smooth glides the well-greased fir-wood through the waters.' [Aen_8'91] Ennius in the fourteenth book -
Smooth glided the well-greased keel and skimmed over the waves with a rush.
[375-6] L
They sight the enemy near Myonnesus :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius : ' Looking down on the sail-fluttering sea.' [Aen_1'224] . . . Ennius in the fourteenth book -
When they saw far off the enemy coming towards them with the breeze in sail-fluttering ships,
[377] L
The Scipios cross the Hellespont, 190 B.C. :
PRISCIANUS : These same verbs are found, in the oldest writers, inflected according to the third conjugation also ... -
The broad beaches sound
[378-9] L
Speech before the battle of Magnesia, 190 B.C. :
PRISCIANUS : Orior and morior are found to have been inflected by authors according to both the third and the fourth conjugation. ... -
Now is the day when glory most great shows itself to us, whether we live or die.
[380] L
Beginning of the battle :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius : 'Then the battle-field, all iron, bristles with lances' [Aen_11'601]. 'Bristles' is strange here. But Ennius too in the fourteenth book has -
On both sides the host bristles rough with javelins.
. . . But again earlier than all writers Homer said [ Il_13'339 ] : 'The battle, man-destroying, bristled with long spears.'
[381-2] L
Antiochus in his defeat :
PRISCIANUS : Still, the oldest writers pronounced both long and short the penultimate syllable of the above-mentioned word (that is tutudi) . . . -
He began to speak - 'O my countrymen, fortune who has thus bruised me - and I deserved it not - and has destroyed me in fierce, in bitter war'
[383] L
Burning of the dead after the battle :
FESTUS : Ob instead of ad . . . -
All butchered, and burnt in the clear calm night.
BOOK XV - The Aetolian War; the original conclusion of the Annales
L
[384] L
The siege of Ambracia by Fulvius Nobilior, 189 B.C. :
NONIUS : Falae are wooden towers ... -
They cleft the corner-beams ; floors and siege-towers were built
[385-6] L
PRISCIANUS :
Ennius in the fifteenth book of the Annales -
Many were laid low by death with sword and stone in headlong fall within or without the walls.
[387] L
PRISCIANUS : Arcus ... is found even in the feminine gender in old writers ... -
They look up at the bows which are said by mortals ...
MACROBIUS :
There are other passages [in Vergilius], consisting of several lines, which Maro, with the alteration of a few words, transferred from the old poets to his own work. . . . The passage about Pandarus and Bitias opening the gates [Aen_9'672] is taken from the fifteenth book of Ennius, who introduced the tale of how two Histrians during a siege burst out of the gate and caused a slaughter among the besieging enemy."
[388-9] L
Ennius' original ending to his Annales ; his old age :
CICERO : For it is their own blemishes and their own sins that fools lay to the charge of old age, a thing which he, of whom I made mention just now, was not wont to do, Ennius -
Just as a valiant steed, who has often won victories at the
Olympic games in the last lap, now at length, worn out by old age, takes rest,
He is comparing his old age to that of a valiant and victorious horse.
BOOK XVI - From 188 B.C. to the end of the Istrian War L
[390] L
Prologue ; past work ; growing age :
FESTUS : That quippe means quidni Ennius is a witness ... in the sixteenth book -
Surely it is enough that the old-time wars of warriors were undertaken
[391] L
NONIUS : Pigret . . . -
I am reluctant to take up the task, late in ageing life.
[392] L
GELLIUS : Dies instead of diei . . . -
Lastly, that which the long age of my days has crushed. . . .
PLINIUS :
Quintus Ennius had a particular admiration for Titus Aelius Teucer and his brother, and on their account added to his Annales the sixteenth book.
[393-4] L
A general remark on this period of Roman History ? :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius [Aen_12'552] : 'They strain with all their might and main' : Ennius ... in the sixteenth book -
Kings throughout their kingship are in quest of statues and sepulchres ; they build up a name and strain with all their might and main.
[395] L
Censorship of M. Aemilius Lepidus and M. Fulvius Nobilior, 179 B.C. :
PRISCIANOS : Acer ... -
Autumn follows on summer; after it comes keen winter.
CICERO :
But is it not true that our famous Marcus Lepidus, who was twice consul and also pontifex maximus, is praised, not only by the record of tradition but also in the written evidence of Annales and by the greatest of our poets, because with his colleague Marcus Fulvius, a great enemy of his, on the day when he was made censor, he at once made a reconciliation in the Campus?
[396] L
An ageing Roman ? :
FESTUS : Regimen for regimentum . . . -
First the aged man, tardy in his ruling, skilled in war
[397] L
The Istrian War, 178-7 B.C.
FESTUS : Spicit is likewise used by archaic writers without a preposition prefixed. . . . Ennius in the sixteenth book has spexit -
When King
Epulo spied them from the top of high crags,
[398] L
The Istrians keep watch over the Roman camp by the Lacus Timavus :
FESTUS : Obstipum, slanting ... -
Slanting mountains standing in the way, whence rises up the night.
[399] L
The Istrians are well prepared :
PRISCIANUS : Frux . . . derived from φρύγω . . .
If by daylight, if at night, if soon, if now we be given success.
[400] L
The Istrian plan of attack on the Romans :
FESTUS : Quando . . . -
When night shall fly girt up by constellations in her midst,
[401-2] L
Dawn comes :
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius [Aen_3'585] : 'Nor was there a clear and star-lit heaven.' Ennius had said before in his sixteenth book -
Meanwhile the torch dies out and pink trailing dawnlight covers the
Ocean.
[403-4] L
The Romans on the watch :
SERVIUS auctus, reading ore fave in Vergilius :
'Come close with the silence of worship' [Georg_4'230] : in the sixteenth book Ennius -
Here in ambush they keep watch, while some of them take rest, guarded by their swords, keeping a shut mouth under their shields.
[405] L
The tribune Aelius reminds the consul (A. Manlius Vulso) of his duty :
FESTUS : Navus swift and strenuous ... -
It is the part of commanders who are men of deeds, to keep discipline.
[406] L
Aelius says he will stand his ground :
FESTUS : The same [Ennius], when he says sapsa instead of 'ipsa nec alia', writes in the sixteenth book -
in the place where my very duty displays itself and commands me.
[407] L
The hopes of Aelius :
FESTUS : The archaic writers used a plural speres . . . -
I hope - if hopes can help at all,
[408] L
Possibly from the consul's reply to Aelius :
FESTUS : Prodit, . . . ruins ... -
Not to ruin the State by hoping eagerly
[409-16] L
Aelius stands fast against violent attacks :
MACROBIUS :
Vergilius has certain passages which he is believed to have transferred from Homer ; but I shall show that they are passages which were taken from authors of ours who, earlier than Vergilius, had transferred these passages from Homer to their own poetic works. . . . Homer on a fierce fight fought by Ajax has [ Il_16'102 ] -
"But Ajax could no longer stand his ground ; for distressed was he by spears. Yea, the will of Zeus overmastered him, the Trojans too who pelted him ; dread was the rattle which his shining helmet thus pelted kept around his brows, for pelted was it again and again over its fair-wrought cheek-pieces. Weary was he too in his shoulder - the left where he firm and constant held his motley shield, nor could they by lunging all around him with their javelins so dash him off. And ever was he gripped in cruel gasping, while sweat unquenched poured down off his limbs from every point, nor could he in any wise draw breath; but on all sides heaped was hurt on hurt."
This passage Ennius in the sixteenth book transferred to the fight of the tribune C. Aelius, in the following lines -
From all sides the javelins like a rain-storm showered in upon the tribune, and pierced his buckler ; then jangled the embossment under spears, the helmets too with brassy clang ; but not one of them, though strain they did from every side, could rend apart his body with the iron. Every time he shakes and breaks the waves of lances ; sweat covers all his body ; he is hard distressed ; to breathe he has not a chance. The iron came flying as the
Histrians cast the spears from their hands to harass him.
By the use of this as an example, Vergilius, on the subject of Turnus hemmed in, has rendered the same passage with a more elegant grace [Aen_9'803] ...
[417] L
The death of Aelius ? :
MACROBIUS :
'He fell forward upon the wound ; his weapons dinned over him' [Aen_10'488]. Ennius in the sixteenth book -
He tumbled and at once his armour dinned over him.
[418] L
The Istrians prevail, and feast in the Roman camp at the order of the king :
DIOMEDES : Horitur was used for hortatur . . . -
He orders and encourages them to break their fast.
[419-20] L
The Romans recover their camp ; King Epulo, half-drunk, escapes :
SERVIUS auctus : Others take vellere to mean 'to move.' Ennius -
Then the king, full roused, pulled himself up.
[421] L
The siege of Nesactum by C. Claudius Pulcher, 177 B.C. ? :
VARRO : There are many sounds which though belonging to animals have been used figuratively of men . . .Ennius. . . transferred from the goat -
The clamour rolling skyward bleated through the air.
[422] L
FESTUS : Vagor instead of vagitus . . . -
this clamour . . . the besiegers . . . with winged bleating
[423] L
From scenes of battle :
PRISCIANUS , on tutudi : . . . Ennius in the sixteenth book -
The lance of sturdy mettle punched through his right side.
[424] L
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius : 'Then a cold sweat came flowing down all my body' [Aen_3'175]. Ennius in the sixteenth book -
Then sweat flowed from all his fear-filled body.
[425-6] L
MACROBIUS ,
quoting Vergilius : 'Still the darting lance took away the helmet top' [Aen_12'492]. Ennius in the sixteenth book -
Still the lance flying at him carried away with it the badge.
Following lines (427-565) →
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