Section 3D(iii) Hannibal's character Flashcards
ingenium habilissimum fuit:
His nature was most adaptable:
nam eī placuit uel imperātōrī pārēre uel imperāre mīlitibus.
for it pleased him either to obey his general or to give orders to his soldiers.
itaque et imperātōrī suō et exercituī cordī fuit Hannibal;
And so Hannibal was beloved by [to] both his (own) general and to his army;
et ubi rem fortiter ac strēnuē agere necesse fuit, …
and when it was necessary to act bravely and energetically, …
… Hasdrubal nēminem alium exercituī praeficere māluit, …
… Hasdrubal preferred to place no one else over the army, …
… neque mīlitēs aliī ducī plūs cōnfīsī sunt, …
… nor did the soldiers place more trust in (any) other leader, …
… quod semper eīs in pugnā salūtī fuit.
… because he was always a (source of) safety for them in a fight.
maxima in perīculīs audācia fuit, …
His boldness in (the midst of) dangers was extremely great, …
… cōnsilium inter ipsa perīcula optimum.
his advice among those same dangers was the best.
nūllus labor potuit aut corpus fatīgāre aut animum uincere.
No task could either tire his body or conquer his spirit.
calōrem ac frīgus aequē passus est;
he endured heat and cold equally;
cibus pōtiōque nōn uoluptātī eī fuit sed necessitātī;
food and drink for him were [was] not a (source of) pleasure but of necessity;
noctēs atque diēs uigilāre potuit;
he was able to stay awake for nights and for days;
requiēuit ubi ōtium eī fuit.
he rested when he had leisure.
saepe humī iacuit et inter mīlitēs dormīuit;
Often he lay on the ground and slept among the soldiers;
uestis īdem ac mīlitum fuit, arma atque equī praeclāriōrēs.
his clothing was the same as (that) of the soldiers, his weapons and horses were more distinguished.
equitum peditumque longē optimus fuit;
He was by far the best of the footsoldiers and the cavalry;
eī ōtium semper odiō fuit.
to him leisure was always a (source) of hatred.
prīmus in proelium iit, ultimus excessit.
He went first into battle, he departed last.
nihil eī unquam impedīmentō fuit.
Nothing was ever (as) an impediment to him.
hās tantās uirtūtēs ingentia uitia aequāuērunt:
(But) huge flaws balanced these (so) great virtues:
inhūmāna crūdēlitās, perfidia plūs quam Pūnica, …
an inhuman cruelty, a deceitfulness more than (the expected) Carthaginian (deceitfulness), …
… nihil uērī, nihil sānctī, nūllus deum metus, nūllum iūs iūrandum, nūlla religiō.
nothing of truth, nothing of the holy, no fear of the gods, no oath, no sense of religious obligation.
sed in bellō etiam uitia eī auxiliō fuērunt.
But in war even his failings were (as) a help to him.
