Cornelius Nepos, Life of Hamilcar (part 2).

Here is part two of Nepos’ Life of Hamilcar.

Summary: Hamilcar goes to Spain as commander. He takes Hannibal with him and Hasdrubal, with whom he is said by some to have a sexual relationship. After the death of Hamilcar, Hasdrubal takes over the command of the army.

[3] Rebus his ex sententia peractis, fidenti animo atque infesto Romanis, quo facilius causam bellandi reperiret, effecit, ut imperator cum exercitu in Hispaniam mitteretur, eoque secum duxit filium Hannibalem annorum novem. 2 Erat praeterea cum eo adulescens illustris, formosus, Hasdrubal; quem nonnulli diligi turpius, quam par erat, ab Hamilcare loquebantur. Non enim maledici tanto viro deesse poterant. Quo factum est, ut a praefecto morum Hasdrubal cum eo vetaretur esse. Huic ille filiam suam in matrimonium dedit, quod moribus eorum non poterat interdici socero genero. 3 De hoc ideo mentionem fecimus, quod Hamilcare occiso ille exercitui praefuit resque magnas gessit et princeps largitione vetustos pervertit mores Carthaginiensium eiusdemque post mortem Hannibal ab exercitu accepit imperium.

Rebus his ex sententia peractis: abl. abs.  ex sententia `according to his plans’

fidenti animo atque infesto Romanis: with his mind confident and hostile towards the Romans

quo facilius causam bellandi reperiret, effecit, ut imperator cum exercitu in Hispaniam mitteretur = effecit, ut imperator cum exercitu in Hispaniam mitteretur, quo facilius causam bellandi reperiret

reperio repperi  repertum: to seek

imperator: predicate

quem nonnulli diligi turpius, quam par erat, ab Hamilcare loquebantur: whom some say to be loved by Hamilcar in a more shameful way, than was proper

maledici: slanderous people

praefectus morum: guardian of public morals

in matrimonium do:  to give in marriage

poterat interdici socero genero: it could not be forbidden to a father-in-law (socer) to be with his son-in-law (gener)

mentionem facio: to mention

Hamilcare occiso: after the death of Hamilcar (occido occidi occisum: to slay, kill)

largitio –ionis (f.): bribery

vetus veteris: old, ancient

Summary: Hamilcar is successful in Spain, but is killed before he is able to fight against the Romans again. He has filled his son Hannibal with so much hatred against the Romans, that this seems to be the reason for the Second Punic war.

[4] At Hamilcar posteaquam mare transiit in Hispaniamque venit, magnas res secunda gessit fortuna; maximas bellicosissimasque gentes subegit; equis, armis, viris, pecunia totam locupletavit Africam. 2 Hic cum in Italiam bellum inferre meditaretur, nono anno, postquam in Hispaniam venerat, in proelio pugnans adversus Vettones occisus est. 3 Huius perpetuum odium erga Romanos maxime concitasse videtur secundum bellum Poenicum. Namque Hannibal, filius eius, assiduis patris obtestationibus eo est perductus, ut interire quam Romanos non experiri mallet.

posteaquam = postquam

secunda fortuna: with good luck

locupleto: to fill

bellum infero in: wage war against

Vettones: tribe in Lusitania, Spain

concito: incite

secundum bellum Poenicum: 218-201 BC

assiduus: constant

obtestatio –ionis (f.): instigation

inter-eo: to perish, die

experior expertus sum: (here) to measure strength with

Translation by John Selby Watson, MA (1889)

III. These objects being executed according to his desire, he then, by dint of a spirit confident and incensed against the Romans, contrived, in order more easily to find a pretext for going to war with them, to be sent as commander-in-chief with an army into Spain, and took with him thither his son Hannibal, then nine years old. There also accompanied him a young man named Hasdrubal, a person of high birth and great beauty, who, as some said, was beloved by Hamilcar with less regard to his character than was becoming; for so great a man could not fail to have slanderers. Hence it happened that Hasdrubal was forbidden by the censor of public morals  to associate with him; but Hamilcar then gave him his daughter in marriage, because, according to their usages, a son-in-law could not be interdicted the society of his father-in-law. We have inserted this notice of Hasdrubal, because, after Hamilcar was killed, he took the command of the army, and achieved great exploits; and he was also the first that corrupted the ancient manners of the Carthaginians by bribery. After his death Hannibal received the command from the army.

IV. Hamilcar, however, after he had crossed the sea, and arrived in Spain, executed some great undertakings with excellent success; he subdued some very powerful and warlike nations, and supplied all Africa with horses, arms, men, and money. But as he was meditating to carry the war into Italy, in the ninth year after his arrival in Spain, he was killed in a battle with the Vettones.

His constant hatred to the Romans seems to have been the chief cause of producing the second Punic war; for Hannibal, his son, was so wrought upon by the continual instigations of his father, that he would have chosen to die rather than not make trial of the Romans.  

Cornelius Nepos: Life of Hamilcar (part 1)

Biographies are a popular genre and publishers are eager to have them in their collection as they are often well sold. This genre was also known in Antiquity: authors like Suetonius, Plutarch and Cornelius Nepos have written biographies and these are often important sources for historians. However, there was no such thing as a critical biography as the people described were either portrayed as villains or as heroes. Their lives were seen as exempla and the biography served didactic and moral purposes and was not meant as a balanced portrait. Another difference is that these biographies were by far shorter than modern biographies as paper was expensive and writers had not the resources modern biographers have for giving a detailed portrait. Cornelius Nepos (110-25) has produced a large amount of biographies, but only some biographies from his De viris illustribus have survived, mostly concerning non Roman generals. Due to his fairly straight forward Latin, Nepos has often served as the first prose writer for pupils learning this language. There is however a great drawback: he is not the most exiting writer. Also things military cannot capture the imagination of many girls as I know from experience….

The following biography is of the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca (275-228 BC). It consists of just four paragraphs of which I will treat the first two in this post and the next 2 in the following post. Hamilcar Barca was the father of the famous Hannibal, but he himself too was a superb general and military organizer and respected by the Romans.

Cornelius Nepos, De Viris Illustibus, Vita Hamilcaris:

Summary: Already at a young age Hamilcar is appointed as a commander of the city of Eryx (Sicily) during the final stages of the first Punic war (264 -241 BC). He manages to defend that city successfully, though the Carthaginians lose the rest of Sicily to the Romans and due to sever losses have to come to terms with the Romans. Tough Hamilcar wants still to fight, he sees that the situation is hopeless and he agrees, but sees the cease fire as an opportunity to regain strenght and fight the Romans again. He refuses to surrender his arms and is allowed to retreat with honour to Carthage by the Roman general Catulus.

[1] HAMILCAR, Hannibalis filius, cognomine Barca, Carthaginiensis, primo Poenico bello, sed temporibus extremis, admodum adulescentulus in Sicilia praeesse coepit exercitui. 2 Cum ante eius adventum et mari et terra male res gererentur Carthaginiensium, ipse, ubi adfuit, numquam hosti cessit neque locum nocendi dedit saepeque e contrario occasione data lacessivit semperque superior discessit. Quo facto, cum paene omnia in Sicilia Poeni amisissent, ille Erycem sic defendit, ut bellum eo loco gestum non videretur. 3 Interim Carthaginienses classe apud insulas Aegatis a C. Lutatio, consule Romanorum, superati statuerunt belli facere finem eamque rem arbitrio permiserunt Hamilcaris. Ille etsi flagrabat bellandi cupiditate, tamen paci serviundum putavit, quod patriam, exhaustam sumptibus, diutius calamitates belli ferre non posse intellegebat, 4 sed ita, ut statim mente agitaret, si paulum modo res essent refectae, bellum renovare Romanosque armis persequi, donicum aut virtute vicissent aut victi manus dedissent 5 Hoc consilio pacem conciliavit; in quo tanta fuit ferocia, cum Catulus negaret bellum compositurum, nisi ille cum suis, qui Erycem tenuerunt, armis relictis Sicilia decederent, ut succumbente patria ipse periturum se potius dixerit, quam cum tanto flagitio domum rediret. Non enim suae esse virtutis arma a patria accepta adversus hostis adversariis tradere. Huius pertinaciae cessit Catulus.

Hannibal: The famous Hannibal was called after his grandfather.

Barca: Punic word `lighting’

sed temporibus extremis: but at the very end

admodum adulescentulus: still a youth

praesum (+dat.): to have charge of

male res gererentur: things were going badly

cado cessi cessum: give way to, yield to

locus: opportunity

noceo nocui: to harm

lacesso lacessivi lacessum: to attack

Quo facto: that being done

amitto amisi amisum: to lose

bellum gero: to wage war

classe: at sea

flagro: to burn

exhaustam sumptibus: exhausted by the costs (of war)

sed ita, ut statim mente agitaret, si paulum modo res essent refectae, bellum renovare Romanosque armis persequi, donicum aut virtute vicissent aut victi manus dedissent: But so, as he immediately planned, if conditions  would improve a little, to renew the war and to hunt after the Romans with arms, till (donicum) they would have conquered (the Romans) by skill or being conquered would surrender (manus do: to give hands =  to surrender) 

ferocia: pride, stubbornness

bellum compono: to end a war

ille: Hamilcar

ut succumbente patria ipse periturum se potius dixerit: with the result that (ut) Hamilcar said – though his fatherland has surrendered – he would rather die

flagitium: disgrace

Non enim suae esse virtutis: it was namely not in his character

Summary: The situation at Carthage is worse than expected by Hamilcar. Due to the costs of war people are fed up and civil strife has broken out with mercenary troops also rebelling. Hamilcar is appointed as commander and succeeds to drive the troops away and many die of starvation in the desert. Hamilcar even expands the Punic territories.

[2] At ille ut Carthaginem venit, multo aliter, ac sperarat, rem publicam se habentem cognovit. Namque diuturnitate externi mali tantum exarsit intestinum bellum, ut numquam in pari periculo fuerit Carthago, nisi cum deleta est. 2 Primo mercennarii milites, qui adversus Romanos fuerant, desciverunt; quorum numerus erat XX milium. Hi totam abalienarunt Africam, ipsam Carthaginem oppugnarunt. 3 Quibus malis adeo sunt Poeni perterriti, ut etiam auxilia ab Romanis petierint eaque impetrarint. Sed extremo, cum prope iam ad desperationem pervenissent, Hamilcarem imperatorem fecerunt. 4 Is non solum hostes a muris Carthaginis removit, cum amplius C milia facta essent armatorum, sed etiam eo compulit, ut locorum angustiis clausi plures fame quam ferro interirent. Omnia oppida abalienata, in his Uticam atque Hipponem, valentissima totius Africae, restituit patriae. 5 Neque eo fuit contentus, sed etiam fines imperii propagavit, tota Africa tantum otium reddidit, ut nullum in ea bellum videretur multis annis fuisse.

multo aliter: much more different

diuturnitas –atis (f.): long duration

exardesco exarsi exarsum: to burn

intestinus: internal

descisco descivo descitum: to leave, revolt

abalieno: to (cause to) alienate

peto petivi petitum: to ask

C milia: 100.000

eo compulit: compelled them to such a point (eo)

fames famis (f.): hunger

angustia: narrowness

inter-eo: to perish

eo: with that

propago: to extend

tota Africa: abl!

otium: rest, peace

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_Nepos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilcar_Barca

I found only this translation on internet and it is from 1886.

I. HAMILCAR the Carthaginian, the son of Hannibal, and surnamed Barcas, began in the first Punic war, but towards the end of it, to hold the command of the army in Sicily; and though, before his coming, the efforts of the Carthaginians were unsuccessful both by sea and land, he, after he arrived, never gave way to the enemy, or afforded them any opportunity of doing him harm, but, on the contrary, often attacked the foe when occasion presented itself, and always came off with the advantage. Afterwards, though the Carthaginians had lost almost every place in Sicily, he so ably defended Eryx,  that there seemed to be no war going on there. In the meantime, the Carthaginians, having been defeated at sea, near the islands called Aegates, by Caius Lutatius, the Roman consul, resolved on putting an end to the war, and left the settlement of the matter to the judgment of Hamilcar, who, though he ardently desired to continue in arms, thought it, nevertheless, necessary to submit to make peace, because he saw that his country, exhausted by the expenses of the war, was no longer in a condition to bear the pressure of it; but such was his feeling on the occasion, that he soon meditated, if the affairs of his country should be but in a small degree improved, to resume the war, and to pursue the Romans with hostilities, until they should indisputably obtain the mastery, or, being conquered, should make submission. With this resolution he concluded a peace, but showed such a spirit in the transaction, that when Catulus refused to desist from hostilities unless Hamilcar, with such of his men as were in |416 possession of Eryx, should lay down their arms and quit Sicily, Hamilcar replied, that, though his country submitted, he himself would rather perish on the spot than return home under such disgrace, for that it was not consistent with his spirit to resign to his enemies arms which he had received from his country as a defence against enemies.
II. Catulus yielded to his resolution. But Hamilcar, when he arrived at Carthage, found the republic in a far different condition than he had expected; for, through the long continuance of foreign troubles, so violent a rebellion had broken out at home, that Carthage was never in such danger, except when it was actually destroyed. In the first place, the mercenary troops, who had served against the Romans, and the number of whom amounted to twenty thousand, revolted; and these drew the whole of Africa over to their side, and laid siege to Carthage itself. With these disasters the Carthaginians were so much alarmed, that they requested aid even from the Romans, and obtained it. But at last, when they were almost sunk into despair, they made Hamilcar general, who not only repulsed the enemy from the walls of Carthage, though they amounted to a hundred thousand men in arms, but reduced them to such a condition, that being shut up in a confined space, they perished in greater numbers by famine than by the sword. All the towns that had revolted, and among them Utica and Hippo, the strongest cities of all Africa, he brought back to their allegiance to his country. Nor was he satisfied with these successes, but extended even the bounds of the Carthaginian empire, and re-established such tranquillity through all Africa, that there seemed to have been no war in it for many years.