Ch. 7.
17. novum bellum: see The Story of the Romans, p. 167; Creighton, p. 70.
18. Spartacō: Spartacus was a Thracian by birth, and had been taken prisoner and sold to a trainer of gladiators. His character has been maligned by the Roman writers. “Accident made Spartacus a shepherd, a freebooter, and a gladiator; nature formed him a hero.”
19. ludō: ‘the gladiatorial school.’ The gladiators were mostly slaves, and were the property of the individuals who trained them and leased them for the games. This school belonged to Lentulus.
20. paene nōn levius: ‘not much lighter.’
22. armātōrum: many slaves joined them.
23. victī sunt in Āpūliā: they were conquered on the river Silarus, which flows between Lucania and Campania. Spartacus was slain in the battle.
Ch. 8.
27. duo: nominative masculine, agreeing with Lūcullī.