ὁ δὲ Ἀννίβας ὡς ἀπέρρηξεν ἑαυτὸν τοῦ Μαρκέλλου, χρώμενος ὥσπερ λελυμένῳ τῷ στρατεύματι, πᾶσαν ἀδεῶς ἐν κύκλῳ περιϊὼν ἔφλεγε τὴν Ἰταλίαν καὶ κακῶς ἤκουσεν ἐν Ῥώμῃ Μάρκελλος, οἱ δὲ ἐχθροὶ Πουβλίκιον Βίβλον, ἕνα τῶν δημάρχων, ἀνέστησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κατηγορίαν αὐτοῦ, δεινὸν εἰπεῖν ἄνδρα καὶ βίαιον·
But Hannibal, now that he had torn himself away from Marcellus, made free use of his army, and going fearlessly round about, wasted all Italy with fire. Meantime, at Rome, Marcellus was in ill repute, and his enemies incited Publicius Bibulus, one of the tribunes of the people, a powerful speaker and a man of violence, to bring a denunciation against him.
ὃς πολλάκις συναγαγὼν τὸν δῆμον ἔπειθεν ἄλλῳ παραδοῦναι στρατηγῷ τὴν δύναμιν, ἐπεὶ Μάρκελλος, ἔφη, μικρὰ τῷ πολέμῳ προσγεγυμνασμένος ὥσπερ ἐκ παλαίστρας ἐπὶ θερμὰ λουτρὰ θεραπεύσων ἑαυτὸν τέτραπται. ταῦτα πυνθανόμενος ὁ Μάρκελλος ἐπὶ μὲν τοῦ στρατοπέδου τοὺς πρεσβευτὰς ἀπέλιπεν, αὐτὸς δὲ πρὸς τὰς διαβολὰς ἐπλογησόμενος εἰς Ῥώμην ἐπανῆλθεν.
This man held frequent assemblies of the people and tried to persuade them to put the forces of Marcellus in charge of another general, since Marcellus, as he said, after giving himself a little exercise in the war, has withdrawn from it as from a palaestra, and betaken himself to warm baths for refreshment. On learning of this, Marcellus left his legates in charge of his army, while he himself went up to Rome to make answer to the accusations against him.
ἐκ δὲ τῶν διαβολῶν ἐκείνων δίκην εὗρε παρεσκευασμένην ἐφʼ αὑτόν, ἡμέρας οὖν ὁρισθείσης καὶ τοῦ δήμου συνελθόντος εἰς τὸν Φλαμίνιον ἱππόδρομον, ὁ μὲν Βίβλος ἀναβὰς κατηγόρησεν, ὁ δὲ· Μάρκελλος ἀπελογεῖτο, βραχέα μὲν καὶ ἁπλᾶ διʼ ἑαυτοῦ, πολλὴν δὲ καὶ λαμπρὰν οἱ δοκιμώτατοι καὶ πρῶτοι τῶν πολιτῶν παρρησίαν ἦγον, παρακαλοῦντες μὴ χείρονας τοῦ πολεμίου κριτὰς φανῆναι δειλίαν Μαρκέλλου καταψηφισαμένους, ὃν μόνον φεύγει τῶν ἡγεμόνων ἐκεῖνος καὶ διατελεῖ τούτῳ μὴ μάχεσθαι στρατηγῶν, ὡς τοῖς ἄλλοις μάχεσθαι.
There he found an impeachment prepared against him which was drawn from these accusations. Accordingly, on a day set for the trial, when the people had come together in the Flaminian circus, Bibulus rose up and denounced him. Then Marcellus spoke briefly and simply in his own defence, and the leading and most reputable citizens, with great boldness of speech and in glowing terms, exhorted the people not to show themselves worse judges than the enemy by convicting Marcellus of cowardice, whom alone of their leaders Hannibal avoided, and continually contrived not to fight with him, that he might fight with the rest.
ῥηθέντων δὲ τῶν λόγων τούτων τοσοῦτον ἡ τῆς δίκης ἐλπὶς ἐψεύσατο τὸν κατήγορον ὥστε μὴ μόνον ἀφεθῆναι τῶν αἰτιῶν τὸν Μάρκελλον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ πέμπτον ὕπατον ἀποδειχθῆναι.
When these speeches were ended, the accuser was so far disappointed in his hope of obtaining the verdict that Marcellus was not only acquitted of the charges against him, but actually appointed consul for the fifth time.
παραλαβὼν δὲ τὴν ἀρχήν πρῶτον μὲν ἐν Τυρρηνίᾳ μέγα κίνημα πρὸς ἀπόστασιν ἔπαυσε καὶ κατεπράϋνεν ἐπελθὼν τὰς πόλεις· ἔπειτα ναὸν ἐκ τῶν Σικελικῶν λαφύρων ᾠκοδομημένον ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ Δόξης καὶ Ἀρετῆς καθιερῶσαι βουλόμενος, καὶ κωλυθεὶς ὑπὸ τῶν ἱερέων οὐκ ἀξιούντων ἑνὶ ναῷ δύο θεοὺς περιέχεσθαι, πάλιν ἤρξατο προσοικοδομεῖν ἕτερον, οὐ ῥᾳδίως φέρων τὴν γεγενημένην ἀντίκρουσιν, ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ οἰωνιζόμενος.
After assuming his office, he first quelled a great agitation for revolt in Etruria, and visited and pacified the cities there; next, he desired to dedicate to Honour and Virtue a temple that he had built out of his Sicilian spoils, hut was prevented by the priests, who would not consent that two deities should occupy one temple; he therefore began to build another temple adjoining the first, although he resented the priests’ opposition and regarded it as ominous.
καὶ γὰρ ἄλλα πολλὰ σημεῖα διετάραττεν αὐτόν, ἱερῶν τινων κεραυνώσεις καὶ μύες τὸν ἐν Διὸς χρυσὸν διαφαγόντες ἐλέχθη δὲ καὶ βοῦν ἀνθρώπου φωνὴν ἀφεῖναι καὶ παιδίον ἔχον κεφαλὴν ἐλέφαντος γενέσθαι· καὶ περὶ τὰς ἐκθύσεις καὶ ἀποτροπὰς δυσιεροῦντες οἱ μάντεις κατεῖχον αὐτὸν ἐν Ῥώμῃ σπαργῶντα καὶ φλεγόμενον. οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἔρωτα τοσοῦτον ἠράσθη πράγματος οὐδενός ὅσον οὗτος ὁ ἀνὴρ τοῦ μάχῃ κριθῆναι πρὸς Ἀννίβαν.
And indeed many other portents disturbed him: sundry temples were struck by lightning, and in that of Jupiter, mice had gnawed the gold; it was reported also that an ox had uttered human speech, and that a boy had been born with an elephant’s head; moreover, in their expiatory rites and sacrifices, the seers received bad omens, and therefore detained him at Rome, though he was all on fire and impatient to be gone. For no man ever had such a passion for any thing as he had for fighting a decisive battle with Hannibal.
τοῦτο καὶ νύκτωρ ὄνειρον ἦν αὐτῷ καὶ μετὰ φίλων καὶ συναρχόντων ἓν βούλευμα καὶ μία πρὸς θεοὺς φωνή, παραταττόμενον Ἀννίβαν λαβεῖν, ἥδιστα δʼ ἄν μοι δοκεῖ τείχους ἑνὸς ἤ τινος χάρακος ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς στρατεύμασι περιτεθέντος διαγωνίσασθαι, καὶ εἰ μὴ πολλῆς μὲν ἤδη μεστὸς ὑπῆρχε δόξης, πολλὴν δὲ πεῖραν παρεσχήκει τοῦ παρʼ ὁντινοῦν τῶν στρατηγῶν ἐμβριθὴς γεγονέναι καὶ φρόνιμος, εἶπον ἂν ὅτι μειρακιῶδες αὐτῷ προσπεπτώκει καὶ φιλοτιμότερον πάθος ἢ κατὰ πρεσβύτην τοσοῦτον· ὑπὲρ γὰρ ἑξήκοντα γεγονὼς ἔτη τὸ πέμπτον ὑπάτευεν.
This was his dream at night, his one subject for deliberation with friends and colleagues, his one appeal to the gods, namely, that he might find Hannibal drawn up to meet him. And I think he would have been most pleased to have the struggle decided with both armies enclosed by a single wall or rampart; and if he had not been full already of abundant honour, and if he had not given abundant proof that he could be compared with any general whomsoever in solidity of judgement, I should have said that he had fallen a victim to a youthful ambition that ill became such a great age as his. For he had passed his sixtieth year when he entered upon his fifth consulship.
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