50.5020
What shall we say then? Was
Hannibal, that famous Carthaginian, an
enemy strong and
powerful,
before whom the fortunes of
Rome trembled in doubt and uncertainty, and
its greatness shook—was he driven from
Italy by a
stone?
5021
| 5021
Lit., “did a stone drive,” etc. |
was he
subdued
by a
stone? was he made fearful, and timid, and unlike himself by a
stone? And with regard to
Rome’s again springing to the
height of
power and
royal supremacy, was nothing done by
wisdom,
nothing by the
strength of men; and, in returning to its former
eminence, was no assistance given by so many and so great
leaders by
their military skill, or by their acquaintance with affairs? Did
the
stone give
strength to some,
feebleness to others? Did it
hurl these down from success, raise the fortunes of others
which
seemed hopelessly
overthrown? And what man will believe that
a
stone taken from the
earth, having
5022
no feeling, of sooty colour and
dark5023
| 5023
So the ms. and edd.; but, on account of
the unnecessary repetition, Ursinus proposed to delete
atri. Unger (Anal. Propert., p. 87) has
suggested very happily arti—“of confined,
i.e., small body.’” |
body, was the
mother of the gods? or who, again, would listen to this,—for this
is the only alternative,—that the
power5024
| 5024
Vim, suggested by Orelli, and adopted by Hild. and Oehler. |
of any
deity dwelt in pieces of flint,
within
5025
| 5025
Lit., “subjected to.” |
its
mass,
5026
| 5026 So
Hild. and Oehler, reading moli for the unintelligible
ms. more. |
and hidden in
its veins? And how was the
victory procured if there was no
deity
in the Pessinuntine
stone? We may say, by the
zeal and valour of
the
soldiers, by
practice, time,
wisdom, reason; we may
say, by
fate also, and the alternating
fickleness of fortune. But if the
state of affairs was improved, and success and
victory were regained,
by the
stone’s assistance, where was the Phrygian mother at the
time when the
commonwealth was bowed down by the
slaughter of so many
and so great
armies, and was in
danger of utter
ruin? Why did she
not thrust herself before the threatening, the
strong
enemy? Why did she not
crush and repel
assaults5027
so
terrible before these awful blows
fell, by which all the
blood was shed, and the
life even
failed, the
vitals being almost exhausted? She had not been brought yet,
says my opponent, nor asked to show favour. Be it
so;
5028
| 5028
So Oehler, adding -o to the ms. est. The word immediately
preceding is in the ms.
pavorem—“panic,” which is of course utterly
out of place, and is therefore corrected, as above, f- in all
edd., except 1st, Ursinus, and Hild. |
but a
kind
helper never requires to be asked, always offering assistance of his
own
accord. She was not able,
you say, to expel the
enemy
and put him to flight, while still separated from
Italy5029
| 5029
So—ab Italia—Oehler has admirably emended the
ms. habitabilia. |
by much
sea
and land. But to a deity, if really one,
5030
nothing whatever is remote, to whom the
earth is a point, and by whose nod all things have been
established.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
