Scipio had managed to beat Rome’s most dangerous enemy, the Carthaginian Hannibal, in Africa. This is a description of his arrival in Rome afterwards:
Iam nōnnūllās hōrās magna multitūdō hominum victōrem legiōnēsque eius exspectat. Subitō ūnus ex multitūdine:
“Vidētisne agmen prīmum? Iam tubae, iam carmina mīlitum sonant! Āfricāne! Āfricāne!”
“Quid clāmant hominēs? Num Scīpiōnī novum nōmen datum est?”
“Certē! Victor Āfricānī bellī ā senātōribus nōmine Āfricānī honōrātus est, quod Poenōs foedere coercuit.”
“Spectā corpora elephantōrum! Quanta quamque firma sunt! Nōnne tū quoque terrēris?”
“Utrum mīlitēs nostrī magis rōbore eōrum an strīdōre territī sunt?”
“Ignōrō. Equidem et magnitūdine corporum et strīdōre terreor.”
“Ecce! Scīpiō ipse adest! Macte, Āfricāne! Ē summō discrīmine Rōmam servāvistī! Lūmen et decus populī Rōmānī es!”
“Bonīs cum ōminibus Rōmam intrās! Nunc tempora laeta erunt, nunc bellō et operibus Mārtis līberātī erimus!”
coerceō, -ēre, -uī, coercitus [2] (here) restrain; control; as in the English derivative coerce, /oe/ in the Latin verb are pronounced as separate vowels i.e. co-er-ceō
decus, -oris [3/n]: honour; glory
discrīmen, -inis [3/n]: (here) crisis; danger; risk
foedus, -eris [3/n]: treaty; alliance; agreement
rōbur, -oris [3/n]: [i] oak tree [ii] (here) strength; compare the English phrase “hearts of oak”
strīdor, -ōris [3/m]: harsh or shrill noise; (here) trumpeting (of the elephants)
macte: bravo! well done!
Careful reading needed:
Bonīs cum ōminibus Rōmam intrās!
Not a form of omnis, -e (all; every) but of ōmen, -inis [3/n]: omen
Notes:
[1] Iam nōnnūllās hōrās magna multitūdō hominum victōrem legiōnēsque eius exspectat.
Latin: expression of duration of time + present tense is conveyed by English present perfect continuous tense [has / have been doing something for a period of time]
For several hours now, a great crowd of people has been waiting.
[2] [i] Quanta [ii] quamque firma sunt!
quantus, -a, -um: how much, (pl.) how many; (here) how big i.e. quantus functions alone as an adjective specifically referring to size
quam (indeclinable) + other adjectives i.e. quam firma … sunt │ how strong they are
Both have an exclamatory function here, expressing a feeling e.g. wonderment in this context:
Spectā corpora elephantōrum! Quanta quamque firma sunt! │ Look at the bodies of the elephants! How big and (how) strong they are!
[3] bellō et operibus Mārtis līberātī erimus
The ablative – sometimes with prepositions – is used when x is “separated” from y, that separation being physical or abstract, positive or negative.
We will be free / will have been freed from war and (from) the works of Mars!
17.06.25: Level 3; summary of the uses of the ablative case [15]: the ablative of separation
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/03/170625-level-3-summary-of-of-uses-of.html
[4] Review: asking questions
[i] Nōnne tū quoque terrēris?
nōnne: surely …?; the question expects a positive reply
Surely, you’re frightened too? / You’re frightened too, aren’t you?
[ii] Num Scīpiōnī novum nōmen datum est?
num: surely …not?; the question expects a negative reply
Surely a new name hasn’t been given to Scipio? / A new name hasn’t been given to Scipio, has it?
Bear in mind, however, that translations may not distinguish these so precisely, and that, even if a question expects either a positive or negative reply, it does not necessarily receive one.
Num Scīpiōnī novum nōmen datum est?│ A new name hasn’t been given to Scipio, has it?
Certē! Victor Āfricānī bellī ā senātōribus nōmine Āfricānī honōrātus est …”│“Certainly / of course (it has)! The victor of the African war has been honoured by the senators with the name ‘Africanus’”
[iii] Utrum mīlitēs nostrī magis rōbore eōrum an strīdōre territī sunt?”
utrum … an …: introduces an alternative or double question e.g. Is it X or Y? Do you have A or B? In this type of question utrum is not translated into English.
Were our soldiers more frightened [X] by their strength or [Y] by their trumpeting?”
25.07.25: Level 3; pronominal adjectives [6](2); utrum … an …; double questions
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/04/250725-level-3-pronominal-adjectives-62.html
[5] review: 3rd declension neuter nouns; patterns
Remember that the term pattern does not imply that every noun is declined in the same way, but note the common features of certain types of neuter nouns which do have consistent stem changes: there may be exceptions, but they are rare.
(a) -en > -inis
agmen, agminis
carmen, carminis
discrīmen, discrīminis
lūmen, lūminis
nōmen, nōminis
ōmen, ōminis
(b) -us > -eris / -oris
corpus, corporis
decus, decoris
tempus, temporis
foedus, foederis
opus, operis
____________________
For several hours now, a great crowd of people has been waiting for the victorious general and his legions. Suddenly, one man from the crowd says:
“Do you see the first column? Already the trumpets, already the songs of the soldiers are sounding! Africanus! Africanus!”
“What are the people shouting? A new name hasn’t been given to Scipio, has it?”
“Certainly (it has)! The victor of the African war has been honoured by the senators with the name ‘Africanus,’ because he subdued the Carthaginians by a treaty.”
“Look at the bodies of the elephants! How large and how strong they are! Surely, you’re frightened too?”
“Were our soldiers more frightened by their strength or by their trumpeting?”
“I don’t know. I myself am frightened both by the size of their bodies and by their noise.”
“Look! Scipio himself is here! Well done, Africanus! You have saved Rome from the greatest danger! You are the light and glory of the Roman people!”
“With good omens you enter Rome! Now there will be happy times; now we will be free from war and the works of Mars!
