M. Centenius is clearly the unfortunate subject of the episode.
in Lucanos . . . substiterat helps to fix the date as later than Cannae, 216 B.C.
(ii.) Observe carefully all phrases that will require special care in translating—e.g. bene gerendae rei—inter primipili centuriones—perfunctus militia—operae pretium—ad id locorum.
You will now have a sufficient general idea of the form and general sense of the passage, and may begin to translate sentence by sentence.
[I.] Hannibali alia in his locis bene gerendae rei fortuna oblata est.
(i.) Vocabulary.—
oblata, cf. ob-lation = an offering and of-fer.
(ii.) Translation.—
oblata est shows that the subject must be fortuna, with which alia must agree, and gerendae rei is dependent genitive. So you may at once translate literally Another fortune (chance) of carrying-on the matter well in these parts was offered to Hannibal. But you must not be satisfied with this, for though literally correct it is neither good History nor good English. So render: In this district Hannibal had another chance presented to him of achieving a success.
Here notice especially the use of the word res,[12] a remarkable example of the tendency of Roman writers to employ the ordinary and simple vocabulary wherever possible instead of inventing a new word. As a writer well says, ‘Res is, so to say, a blank cheque, to be filled up from the context to the requisite amount of meaning.’ Cf. ‘Consilium erat quo fortuna rem daret, eo inclinare vires,’ where res = victory.