When the spears were hurled with speed and force, the air was shaken and a fearsome cloud spread over the sky. Next came the sword at close quarters, and face pressed close to face, and eyes blazed with baleful flame. Those who despised the danger and rushed forward to meet the first shower of missiles were all laid low, and the earth grieved as she drank the blood of her sons. Masinissa, hot by nature and hot with youth, hurled his huge frame against the front rank of Macedonian horsemen, and dashed round the field with flying javelineers. Even so the woad-stained native of Thule drives his chariot armed with scythes round the close-packed ranks in battle. The phalanx of Greeks was drawn up in close order after the fashion of their country, and no foeman could force a way through the thick hedge of their pikes. For Philip, forgetting his pledges and faithless to his treaty, had sent them to the war, to prop up the falling city of Agenor. Worn out by many a wound, their ranks grew thin and, when corpses fell fast, wide passages opened up between the spears. In rushed a body of Romans carrying vast destruction with them, and broke the formation of the perjured Greeks. Archemorus was slain by Rutilus and Teucer by Norbanus — Mantua was the mother of both these youthful conquerors — the hand of warlike Calenus slew Samius, and Selius slew Clytius; Clytius, a native of Pella, was filled with empty pride by the name of his native town, but the fame of Pella could not defend the hapless wretch from the Roman sword.
Fiercer even than these, Laelius for Rome made havoc of the Bruttian ranks, taunting them thus: “Was the land of Italy so hateful to you, that you must needs flee from it over rough seas and furious waves on ships of Carthage? To have fled was surely guilt enough. Do you seek also to drench a foreign soil with Roman blood?” As he spoke thus he hurled his weapon, too quick for Silarus who was about to strike. The flying spear lodged in his throat, and the stroke robbed him of speech and life together. Caudinus was slain by Vergilius, and Laus by fierce Amanus. The fury of the Romans was heightened by the faces of their antagonists, the familiar fashion of their weapons, and their kindred speech. When the son of Hamilcar saw the Bruttians exposing their rear in flight, he came up shouting, “Stand firm and prove no traitors to our nation!” — and his valour rallied the fugitives. Even so, on the parching plains of the Garamantes, an Egyptian snake that has fed on the burning sands lifts its venomous neck on high and hurls liquid poison far through the sky and drenches the clouds. Herius, who bore a noble name from the famous town of Teate where he dwelt among the Marrucinians, was aiming a thrust with his spear, when Hannibal at once rushed before him and prevented him. Herius, eager to meet a foe so famous, made a mighty effort; but Hannibal drove his sword up to the hilt in the Roman’s body. The dying man’s eyes sought his brother, Pleminius; and up Pleminius came. Maddened by his brother’s fate, he brandished his sword in Hannibal’s face, and with loud threats demanded the life of the dead man. Hannibal replied thus: “Agreed, if you indeed are prepared to restore my brother to me! Only our bargain must be kept, and you must call back Hasdrubal from the shades. — Shall I ever forget the fierce hatred that I bear to Rome? Or shall I suffer my heart to be softened? Shall I spare a single son of Italy? Then may my brother keep my unloved spirit far from his eternal abode and drive me away from communion with him in Avernus!” Speaking thus he brought down the full weight of his shield upon Pleminius and felled him, where the earth, slippery with his brother’s blood, made his footing insecure; then he attacked him with the sword. As Pleminius fell, he stretched out his hands to embrace the body of Herius; and the pangs of death were lightened because they died together. Then Hannibal plunged into the thickest of the fray; far and fast he rushed on, forcing the foe to turn their backs. So, when thunder and lightning together affright the heavens, and the high dwelling of the Mighty Father is shaken, every race of man on earth is terrified; the fierce light flashes full in their faces, and each man in his panic believes that Jupiter stands in visible form before him and aims the fire at him.
Elsewhere, as if there were no fighting on the field except where Scipio drove the rout before him in furious warfare, the fierce battle displayed strange and diverse forms of death. One man lies prostrate, pierced by the sword; another, whose bones have been shattered by a stone, groans pitifully; some whom fear laid low lie prone in dishonour; others are brave men who offered their front to the slayer. The Roman general presses on over the heaps of dead. Even so, by the cold Hebrus, Mars, rejoicing in slaughter, stands erect in his chariot and drives it forward, melting the Getic snows with hot streams of blood; and the ear, groaning beneath the god’s weight, breaks the ice that the North-wands have piled up. And now Scipio in his burning rage sought out and slew with the sword all the bravest and most famous. The soldiers renowned over the world for feats of slaughter w ere slain over all the field in this battle. The men who ravished Saguntum and began the abominable war by destroying the walls of that ill-fated city; those who polluted with gore the sacred lake of Trasimene and the pools of Phaethon’s river; those who were bold enough to march against the throne and dwelling of the King of Heaven, to sack it — all these were slain in hand-to-hand battle and shared the same doom. Slain also were those who boasted that they had desecrated the secret places of the gods and opened up the Alps where no foot of man had trodden till then. The Carthaginians, filled with fear for such guilt, turned in haste and fled, robbed of their senses. Thus, when the scourge of fire has spread over the buildings of a city, and a gale fans the flying flame and scatters it over the house-tops, the people rush out into the streets, appalled with sudden fear; and there is widespread consternation, as if enemies had taken the city.
But Scipio was impatient of delay and weary of pursuing lesser adversaries in different parts of the field. He resolved to turn all his might at last against the cause of war and the originator of all Rome’s calamities. While Hannibal alone survived, Rome had gained nothing, even if the walls of Carthage were set on fire and all her soldiers slain; on the other hand, if Hannibal alone fell, all her weapons and all her men would profit the people of Carthage not at all. Therefore he turned his gaze all over the field, seeking and searching for Hannibal; he longed to begin the crowning conflict, and would welcome all Italy to watch the contest. Rising to his full height, he challenged his foe with taunts and a shout of defiance, and demanded a fresh antagonist.
Juno heard his speech and feared it might reach the ears of the dauntless African general. Therefore she made haste to fashion a shape in the likeness of Scipio, and adorned its high head with a glittering plume; she gave it also Scipio’s shield and helmet, and placed on its shoulders the general’s scarlet mantle; she gave it Scipio’s gait and his attitude in battle, and made the bodiless phantom step out boldly. Next she made a phantom steed, as unsubstantial as his rider, for the phantom warrior to ride at speed over the rough ground to a mock combat. Thus the Scipio whom Juno had fashioned sprang forth before the face of Hannibal and boldly brandished his weapons. The Carthaginian rejoiced to see the Roman general facing him; hoping soon to win a mighty prize, he threw his nimble limbs across his horse’s back and quickly hurled his furious spear at the adversary. The phantom turned round and fled fast along the plain and past the fighters. Then indeed Hannibal, sure of victory and of attaining his high ambition, spurred his horse till the blood came, and roughly shook the reins that lay loose on its neck. “Whither do you flee, Scipio? You forget that you are retreating from our realm. For you there is no hiding-place on the soil of Libya.” Speaking thus he pursued the flying phantom with drawn sword, until it led him astray to a spot far removed from the strife of battle. Then the delusive phantom vanished suddenly into the clouds. Fire flashed from Hannibal’s eyes:— “What god,” he cried, “has masked his divinity and matched himself against me? or why does he hide beneath this phantom? Are the gods so jealous of my fame? But, whichever of the gods it is that favours Rome, he shall never snatch my victim from me nor rob me by craft of the real foe.” Then in fury he turned his fleet horse’s head and was riding back to the fie
ld, when suddenly, by the contrivance of Juno, the stalwart steed, smitten by a mysterious fever-fit, fell down and soon breathed forth its life into the air from panting lungs. Hannibal could endure no more: “From you, ye gods,” he cried, “from you comes this second deception; but I see through your devices. Oh that I had been drowned at sea, that the rocks had been my tomb, and that the waves of ocean had swallowed me down! Was I saved for a death like this? The men who followed my standard and whom I led on to war are being slaughtered, and I am not with them; I hear their groans and their cries to Hannibal to help them. What river of Tartarus will ever purge away my guilt?” Even as he poured forth this complaint, he looked to the sword in his right hand in his passionate desire for death.
Then Juno took pity upon him. Putting on the likeness of a shepherd, she suddenly emerged from a shady grove, and addressed him thus while he had in mind a dishonourable death: “For what purpose came you here, a man in arms, to our peaceful woodlands? Seek you the stern battle, in which great Hannibal is defeating the remnant of the Romans? If speed is your desire and you seek to get there quickly, I will guide you by a neighbouring path to the midst of the combat.” He assented, and loaded the shepherd with promises of rich reward, saying that the rulers of mighty Carthage would give a great recompense and that he himself would be no less generous. Starting forward, he moved with great bounds over the surrounding plain; but Juno in disguise led him by a circuitous way, and, misdirecting him, earned no gratitude by saving his life against his will.
Meanwhile the Carthaginian army, deserted and affrighted, could see no sign of Hannibal nor of his famous achievements in the field. Some thought he had been slain by the sword; others, that he had abandoned the battle in despair, unable to cope with the ill-will of the gods. On came Scipio and drove them in flight all over the plain; and now even the towers of Carthage trembled. When her armies were routed, all Africa was filled with terror and confusion: flying, not fighting, panic-stricken men rushed with utmost speed to the most distant shores.
Some were scattered in flight as far as the land of Tartessus; some sought the city of Battus, and others the river of Lagus. So, when Vesuvius, at length mastered by some hidden force, vomits forth to heaven the fires it has fed for centuries, and the visitation of the fire-god spreads over sea and land, the Seres in the east — a marvel beyond belief — see their wool-bearing trees grow white with the ash from Italy.
But at last Hannibal was weary; and Juno, the queen of heaven, made him sit down on a hillock hard by, whence he had a clear view of all that awful battle and could trace every detail. As he had once seen the field by Mount Garganus, the marshes of the Trebia, the Etruscan lake, and the river of Phaethon, all covered with corpses, so now — unhappy man — he witnessed the dreadful sight of his army overthrown. Then Juno returned ill-pleased to her home in heaven. And now the enemy came up close to the hill where he sat, and he said in his heart: “Though the earth yawn asunder, though all the framework of heaven break up and fall upon my head, never shalt thou, Jupiter, wipe out the memory of Cannae, but thou shalt step down from thy throne ere the world forgets the name or achievements of Hannibal. Nor do I leave Home without dread of me: I shall survive my country and live on in the hope of warring against Rome. She wins this battle, but that is all; her foes are lying low. Enough, and more than enough for me, if Roman mothers and the people of Italy dread my coming while I live, and never know peace of mind.” Then he joined a band of fugitives and hurried away, seeking a sure hiding-place among the high mountains in his rear.
Thus the war ended. At once and willingly the citizens opened their gates to Seipio. He took from them their excessive power and their weapons, and engraved conditions of peace upon tablets; he broke down the power of their overweening wealth, and the huge beasts laid down the towers they carried. And then the citizens saw a cruel sight, when their tall ships were set on fire; the seas blazed up with a sudden conflagration, and Ocean was terrified by the glare.
Scipio had gained glory to last for ages; he was the first general to bear the name of the country he had conquered; he had no fear for the empire of Rome. And now he sailed back to Rome and entered his native city in a splendid triumphal procession. Before him went Syphax, borne on a litter, with the downcast eyes of a captive, and wearing chains of gold about his neck. Hanno walked there, with noble youths of Carthage; also the chief men of the Macedonians, with black-skinned Moors and Numidians, and the Garamantes whom the god Ammon sees as they scour the desert, and people of the Syrtis that wrecks so many ships. Then Carthage was seen in the procession, stretching out her conquered hands to heaven; and other figures also — Spain now pacified, Gades at the World’s End, Calpe the limit of the achievements of Hercules in ancient times, and the Baetis that is wont to bathe the sun’s coursers in its sweet waters. There too was Pyrene, the fierce mother of wars, thrusting her forest-clad height to heaven, and the Ebro, no gentle stream when it pours with violence into the sea all the streams it has brought down with it. But no sight attracted the eyes and minds of the people more than the picture of Hannibal in retreat over the plains. Scipio himself, erect in his chariot and splendid in purple and gold, gave to the citizens the spectacle of his martial countenance. So looked Bacchus, when he drove his car, wreathed with vine-leaves and drawn by tigers, down from the incense-breathing land of the Indians; and so looked Hercules, when he had slain the huge Giants and marched along the plains of Phlegra, with his head reaching the stars. Hail to thee, father and undefeated general, not inferior in glory to Quirinus, and not inferior to Camillus in thy services! Rome tells no lie, when she gives thee a divine origin and calls thee the son of the Thunder-god who dwells on the Capitol.
The Latin Text
Roman ruins at Padua, northern Italy — some historians believe Silius was born in the city of Patavium, due to his of the region in the ‘Punica’ and the prevalence of the name Asconius in inscriptions from the region.
CONTENTS OF THE LATIN TEXT
In this section of the eBook, readers can view the original Latin text of the ‘Punica’. You may wish to Bookmark this page for future reference.
CONTENTS
LIBER I
LIBER II
LIBER III
LIBER IV
LIBER V
LIBER VI
LIBER VII
LIBER VIII
LIBER IX
LIBER X
LIBER XI
LIBER XII
LIBER XIII
LIBER XIV
LIBER XV
LIBER XVI
LIBER XVII
LIBER I
Ordior arma, quibus caelo se gloria tollit
Aeneadum, patiturque ferox Oenotria iura
Carthago. da, Musa, decus memorare laborum
antiquae Hesperiae, quantosque ad bella crearit
et quot Roma uiros, sacri cum perfida pacti 5
gens Cadmea super regno certamina mouit,
quaesitumque diu, qua tandem poneret arce
terrarum Fortuna caput. ter Marte sinistro
iuratumque Ioui foedus conuentaque patrum
Sidonii fregere duces, atque impius ensis 10
ter placitam suasit temerando rumpere pacem.
sed medio finem bello excidiumque uicissim
molitae gentes, propiusque fuere periclo
quis superare datum: reserauit Dardanus arces
ductor Agenoreas, obsessa Palatia uallo 15
Poenorum ac muris defendit Roma salutem.
Tantarum causas irarum odiumque perenni
seruatum studio et mandata nepotibus arma
fas aperire mihi superasque recludere mentes.
iamque adeo magni repetam primordia motus. 20
Pygmalioneis quondam per caerula terris
pollutum fugiens fraterno crimine regnum
fatali Dido Libyes appellitur orae.
tum pretio mercata locos noua moenia ponit,
cingere qua secto permissum litora tauro. 25
&
nbsp; hic Iuno ante Argos (sic credidit alta uetustas),
ante Agamemnoniam, gratissima tecta, Mycenen
optauit profugis aeternam condere gentem.
uerum ubi magnanimis Romam caput urbibus alte
exerere ac missas etiam trans aequora classes 30
totum signa uidet uictricia ferre per orbem,
iam propius metuens bellandi corda furore
Phoenicum extimulat. sed enim conamine primae
contuso pugnae fractisque in gurgite coeptis
Sicanio Libycis, iterum instaurata capessens 35
arma remolitur; dux agmina sufficit unus
turbanti terras pontumque mouere paranti.
Iamque deae cunctas sibi belliger induit iras
Hannibal: hunc audet solum componere fatis.
sanguineo tum laeta uiro atque in regna Latini 40
turbine mox saeuo uenientum haud inscia cladum,
‘Intulerit Latio, spreta me, Troius’ inquit
‘exul Dardaniam et bis numina capta penates
sceptraque fundarit uictor Lauinia Teucris,
dum Romana tuae, Ticine, cadauera ripae 45
non capiant, famulusque mihi per Celtica rura
sanguine Pergameo Trebia et stipantibus armis
corporibusque uirum retro fluat, ac sua largo
stagna reformidet Trasimennus turbida tabo,
Complete Works of Silius Italicus Page 39