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P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus (236-184 BC) was an illustrious member of the patrician Cornelian
clan. He served in Spain in the Second Punic War before defeating Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in
202. He was opposed by Cato the Elder and other senators and eventually retired to his country estate
in Campania.
concipiō, -ere, -cēpī, -ceptum, to take or hold together; conceive. ipsī parvulō: dative with nocuit.
dracō, -ōnis m serpent; dragon. circumfundō, -ere, -fūdī, -fūsus, to pour around; embarce closely,
cling to.
nihil: not at all. noceō, -ēre, -uī + dat to harm. intempestā nocte: “in the dead of night”. euntem:
read with in Capitolium. latrō (1) to bark. Scipio was known to spend nights at the Temple of Jupiter
and was rumored to be in communication with the god. He may have believed this himself.
quicquam: from the indefinite pronoun quisquam, quidquam (quicquam). prius . . . quam: note the
common tmesis. cella, -ae f storeroom; chamber; chapel (where the image of a god stood). quasi conj
as if, as though.
Ticinum: The young Scipio survived the disastrous battles at the Ticinus and Trebia rivers in 218 BC
and at Cannae in 216. According to Polybius, he saved his fatherʻs life when he was 18, by "charging
the encircling force alone with reckless daring" at the Battle of Ticinus. clādēs, -is f disaster,
slaughter.
dēserō, -ere, -uī, -ertum, to foresake, abandon.
compescō, -ere, -uī, to restrain; repress, suppress. reliquae, -ārum fpl remnants, remainder; remains,
ashes. Canusium: place to which without preposition.
praetor: In 211 BC Scipioʻs father and his uncle Scipio Calvus had been killed in Spain by Hasdrubal
Barca. Scipio was appoined proconsul (not praetor) by popular vote to replace them. He arrived in
autumn 210 and captured Carthago Nova in 209. quā diē: “on the very day”. An exaggeration.
virginem pulcherrmam: according to Valerius Maximus, Scipio has a weakness for beautiful
women. adspectus, -ūs m look, sight. concurrō, -ere, -cūrrī, -cursum, to run together; rush. vetō,
-āre, -uī, -itum, to forbid, prohibit.
sponsor, -ōris m bondsman, surety. astō, -ere, -stitī, to stand by; assist. Scipio won by such
clemency the support of the Spanish tribe and was able to drive Hasdrubal and Mago from Spain.
Syphax . . . Massinissa: Numidian kings from North Africa, allies of Carthage.
domum regressus: after the final victory over Carthaginian forces at Illipa, Scipio returned to Rome
in late 206 BC and was elected consul for 205. ante annōs: Scipio was elected consul at the age of 31,
considerably in advance of the required age. collega: P. Licinius Crassus Dives.
trāiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectum, to throw across; carry across, transfer. perrumpō, -ere, -rūpī, -ruptum,
to break through; overcome.
revocātum: following Scipioʻs crossing to Africa in 204 BC, Hannibal was recalled from Italy in 202.
Scipio defeated him at the Battle of Zama and Carthage sued for peace. legēs: conditions of peace.
bellō Antiōchī: Scipio was legate to his brother L. Scpio in 190 BC and the primary architect of the
victory over Antiochus the Great at Magnesia and the subsequent Treaty of Apamea in 189.
Petilliō: tribune of the plebs Petillius brought a charge of peculation against Scipio (at the instigation
of Cato the Elder according to Livy). The affair is complicated and the sources inconsistent.
repetundārum: a charge for “recovering” money wrongly taken. librum ratiōnum: the “book of
accounts”.
scindō, -ere, scīdī, scissum, to tear, rend; destroy. On the anniversary of his victory at Zama, Scipio
destroyed his account books in the sight of the people and was triumphally escorted home by them.
His brother L. Scipio was apparently convicted in a separate proceeding.
supplicō (1) to beseech, supplicate.
concēdō, -ere, -cēssī, -cēssum, to leave, depart, retire.