PAGE 46.
CH. 1.
2. =Cimbrīs et Teutonibus=: the Cimbri and Teutones were Germanic
tribes who had migrated from their homes and had come into Gaul. They
defeated the Romans in several engagements. In the battle of Arausio,
105 B.C., three Roman armies were cut to pieces. Then they turned their
course towards Spain and gave the Romans a respite of two years. In
102 B.C. they returned from Spain and prepared to invade Italy. Before
their entrance they divided. The Cimbri and the Tigurini crossed the
Rhone, intending to enter Italy by the eastern Alps. The Teutones and
the Ambrones tried to come in by the Maritime Alps, intending to join
their countrymen in the valley of the Po. Marius met them at Aquae
Sextiae, modern Aix, 102 B.C., and the mighty host of the barbarians
was annihilated. The next year the united armies of Marius and Catulus
met the Cimbri near Vercellae in Cisalpine Gaul and utterly defeated
them. Those who survived the battle were either killed or sold in the
slave market at Rome. “The human avalanche which for thirteen years
had alarmed the nations from the Danube to the Ebro, from the Seine to
the Po, rested beneath the sod, or toiled under the yoke of slavery.”
Mommsen, _History of Rome_, Vol. III, p. 203. Creighton, p. 63; _The
Story of the Romans_, p. 155.
7. =quantus … tempore=: ‘barely was it as great in the time of
Hannibal.’
8. =Marius=: Gaius Marius was born near Arpinum 157 B.C. of an obscure
family. By his valor and his energy he worked his way up in the army,
winning distinction in the siege of Numantia in Spain. In 119 B.C.
he was elected tribune of the plebs. He now became a marked man. He
acquired influence and importance by marrying into the family of the
Caesars. In 109 B.C. he went to Africa as lieutenant of Metellus. In
107 B.C. he was elected consul and brought the war with Jugurtha to an
end, Bk. IV, 27. After his return from Africa he was elected consul
the second time in 104 B.C. and took command of the war against the
Cimbri and Teutones. Again in 103, 102, and 101 B.C. he was elected
to the consulship, and crushed the barbarians in the two famous
battles of Aquae Sextiae and Vercellae, 102, 101 B.C., Chs. 1, 2. In
100 B.C. he was elected consul for the sixth time. The Social war
again called him into active service. He defeated the Marsi in two
successive engagements, Ch. 3. That he might gratify his ambition and
be sent to the war with Mithradates, he procured the passage of a law
removing Sulla from the command of the army and conferring it upon
himself. Sulla refused to give up his command, marched upon Rome, and
forced Marius to flee. After having arranged matters at Rome to his
satisfaction Sulla left for the East, Ch. 4. While he was away, Marius
returned to Italy, besieged Rome, and entered the city as a conqueror.
“The most frightful scenes followed. The guards of Marius stabbed every
one whom he did not salute, and the streets ran with the blood of the
noblest of the Roman aristocracy.” Ch. 7. Without the formality of an
election he became consul for the seventh time, 86 B.C. But he did not
long enjoy his honor. On the eighteenth day of his consulship he died.
15. =absēns=: this was unusual. The law provided that a man must be
present to stand for the consulship, and that at least ten years must
elapse before he could be re-elected.
CH. 2.
18. =dīmicātum est=: this battle was fought in the Campi Raudii, near
Vercellae. Before the battle, the Cimbri demanded that lands should be
given them for themselves and the Teutones. ‘The Teutones,’ replied
Marius, ‘have all the land they need on the other side of the Alps.’
=ā Catulī parte=: ‘on the part of Catulus.’
PAGE 47.
CH. 3.
7. =gravissimum bellum=: this is known as the Social or Italian war. It
was waged by the Italian allies of the Romans. For nearly thirty years
the hope of obtaining Roman citizenship had been held out to them, but
no measure had been carried to better their condition. The burdens
that Rome had imposed upon them had been steadily increased. Finally,
in despair of securing any reforms, they appealed to arms. At first
they were successful, but in the end the Romans conquered. However,
they were compelled to grant nearly all the Italians had demanded.
Creighton, p. 64.
12. =alius=: for _alter_.
15. =ā Rōmānīs=: ‘on the side of the Romans’; cf. _ā Catulī parte_, Ch.
2.
CH. 4.
24. =bellum cīvīle=: the First Civil war, called also the Civil war of
Marius and Sulla. See Chs. 7-9. _The Story of the Romans_, pp. 160-164;
Creighton, p. 66.
PAGE 48.
1. =Mithradāticum=: sc. _bellum commōtum est_.
=bellō cīvīlī=: in classical Latin probably a Genitive would have been
used.
2. =cum Sulla=: Lucius Cornelius Sulla was born of a patrician family
in 138 B.C. After having secured a good education, he passed his early
life in the pursuit of pleasure, squandering the small fortune left
him by his father. He served under Marius in Africa (Bk. IV, 8), and
received the surrender of Jugurtha. During the war with the Cimbri and
Teutones, he served under Marius and Catulus with distinction. When the
Social war broke out he again entered the service and won fresh laurels
(Ch. 3). In 88 B.C. he was elected consul and received the command of
the war against Mithradates (Chs. 5-7). When he had concluded peace
with Mithradates, he returned to Italy in 83 B.C., and prepared for
the campaign against the leaders of the Marian party. His efforts were
crowned with success. In 82 B.C. he brought the conflict to a close
with the decisive battle of the Colline gate (Ch. 8). Sulla was now
master of Italy. He resolved to take the most ample vengeance upon
his enemies, and utterly to crush the popular party. He inaugurated a
proscription, in which as many as 47,000 are said to have perished.
He was chosen dictator by the senate, and made various reforms in the
constitution of the state, all tending to strengthen the power of the
aristocracy and to weaken that of the commons. In 79 B.C. he resigned
his office and retired to his estate at Puteoli, where he died in 78
B.C. “None of his friends ever did him a kindness, and none of his
enemies a wrong, without being fully repaid.”
3. =gestūrus=: the Future Participle is not used by prose writers of
the classical period to denote purpose.
9. =prīmus … armātus=: a general with his army could not enter the
city, except when celebrating a triumph, without losing his command.
11. =in futūrum annum=: ‘for the next year.’
=Cn. Octāviō et L. Cornēliō Cinnā=: in apposition with _cōnsulibus_.
CH. 5.
13. =Mithradātēs=: Mithradates V was king of Pontus, a state of Asia
Minor. He is one of the most striking characters of Roman history.
Possessed of a large and powerful frame, he was endowed also with
a mind of great strength and alertness, indomitable courage, and
consuming ambition. It was the desire to extend his realm that brought
him into collision with the Romans. In 88 B.C. he overran Bithynia,
Cappadocia, and the greater part of the Roman province of Asia. In
84 B.C. peace was concluded with Sulla. In 83 B.C. he again began
war. This was brought to an end two years later (Chs. 6, 8). For the
third time he began to wage war in 74 B.C. This was the last and most
important war, and, owing to mismanagement on the part of the Romans,
was not concluded until 63 B.C., when he was driven from his kingdom
and forced to take his own life (Bk. VI, 14). Creighton, pp. 66, 71.
16. =eī=: the antecedent is _Nīcomēdēs_.
18. =faceret=: Subjunctive in Indirect Discourse representing the
Future Indicative in Direct.
=quod … patērētur=: this use of _quod_ with the Subjunctive after a
verb of speaking, instead of the Infinitive with subject Accusative, is
late. For the usual construction, cf. Bk. III, 11.
=et ipse=: ‘he too.’
23. =Ephesum=: Ephesus at the mouth of the Caÿster in Lydia, was the
chief city in Asia Minor. It was especially famous for its temple of
Diana.
24. =ūnō diē occiderentur=: on that day over 80,000 Italians were put
to death.
PAGE 49.
CH. 6.
1. =Aristōne=: he was a celebrated philosopher.
3. =Archelāum=: Archelaus was a distinguished general of Mithradates.
At first he met with some success, but was twice defeated by Sulla in
the battles of Chaeronea and Orchomenos in Boeotia.
11. =commīsit=: sc. _proelium_.
15. =iussit … agī=: lit. ‘ordered it to be treated concerning peace’ ＝
‘ordered a truce to be made.’
CH. 7.
18. =partim=: contrasted with _aliōs_.
22. =pāx … ōrdināta est=: by the terms of the peace arranged
Mithradates abandoned all his conquests in Asia Minor, confined himself
to the dominion he had held before the war, paid an indemnity of 3000
talents, and surrendered 80 ships of war fully equipped.
PAGE 50.
2. =prōscrīpsērunt=: ‘outlawed.’ This was the first proscription
in Roman history. It was so called from the list of the names of
the persons who were outlawed. They might be killed by any one with
impunity, even by slaves. Their property was confiscated to the state
and was sold at public auction. Their children and grandchildren lost
their votes in the Comitia and were excluded from all public offices.
6. =Norbānum et Scīpiōnem=: Lucius Norbanus and Gaius Scipio were
elected consuls for the year 83 B.C.
7. =contrā Norbānum=: the battle was fought at Mt. Tifata in Campania.
After the battle Norbanus shut himself up in Capua.
10. =tōtum … accēpit=: by means of Sulla’s emissaries the whole army
deserted Scipio, who was forced to retire from the war.
CH. 8.
12. =Marius=: Gaius Marius the younger was elected consul with Gnaeus
Papirius Carbo, though he had not yet attained the legal age for the
office.
14. =dīmicāvit=: at Sacriportus, between Signia and Praeneste. Marius
was driven to Praeneste, and when the town was captured was slain.
19. =portam Collīnam=: one of the gates of Rome on the Quirinal Hill.
The battle raged so fiercely and the result was so long in doubt, that
Sulla is said to have invoked the aid of Pythian Apollo. With this
battle the resistance of the Marian party in Italy was at an end.
PAGE 51.
CH. 9.
4. =nūllī Rōmānōrum=: this was the first time that any one who had not
held the office of consul was permitted to celebrate a triumph.
9. =XXIV=: sc. _mīlia_ with all these numbers, except the last.