[46] ‘In the war against Numantia.’ Numantia was the capital of the Arevaci, a tribe of the Celtiberians in Spain, and was situated on the upper Durius (now Duero), in the mountainous district whence the Durius and Tagus flow westward, and other rivers eastward, into the Iberus (Ebro), and southward into the Mediterranean. This city carried on a desperate war against Rome to defend its own independence. After a brave resistance of many years, it was taken and destroyed, B. C. 133, by Scipio the younger, the destroyer of Carthage. Its ruins are believed to be in the neighbourhood of the modern Soria.
[47] Qui tum erat — that is, quem tum Romani imperatorem habebant.
[48] Difficillimum in primis, like difficillimum omnium; that is, the most difficult among those that were the first or foremost in difficulty.
[49] The one — namely, to be good in council — usually produces timidity; the other — namely, to be bold in battle — rashness. Alterum — alterum, takes up the things mentioned before, but in an inverse order; respecting which, see Zumpt, § 700, note.
[50] Erat for the usual subjunctive esset.
[8.]
[51] ‘To whom wealth was of more importance than that which is good and noble.’
[52] For the meaning of pro in this and similar expressions, see Zumpt, § 311.
[53] Not to make presents to individuals, quibus being used for aliquibus. Scipio must have seen with displeasure the intimacy between Jugurtha and certain young ambitious Romans of an equivocal character.
[54] ‘In his own mode of acting,’ must be understood here of his honourable mode of acting; though there are also malae artes, such as faithlessness, cunning, flattery, and the like.
[9.]
[55] Certo scio; we also find certe scio. See Zumpt, § 266, note.
[56] Verba habere is sometimes used in the sense of orationem habere.
[10.]
[57] Me falsum habuit for me fefellit. We remarked before ([Cat. 51]) that Sallust is fond of using habere in certain phrases.
[58] Amicissimos. See Zumpt, § 410.
[59] Per regni fidem, ‘by the conscientiousness which is observed in governing, and must be observed;’ so that it is almost the same as per regiam fidem, or per fidem regum, which kings owe to one another.
[60] Adjungere; supply tibi, ‘connect yourself with strangers,’ as opposed to supporting and maintaining friendly relations with his friends and kinsmen.
[61] Sallust here changes his expression. He might have said parantur, but parere also occurs in other authors in the sense of parare, or ‘to acquire.’
[62] Ante hos, ‘in preference to these.’
[63] Observare has a sense similar to that of colere, ‘to honour’ and refers to the observance of all the duties of devotedness, especially in the external relations of social life.
[11.]
[64] Reguli may be petty kings with small dominions as well as young kings — that is, princes. We here take the latter to be the meaning.
[65] Adherbalem assedit, or Adherbali assedit, ‘he sat himself down at the right-hand side of Adherbal.’ See Zumpt, § 386, note. There accordingly remained for Jugurtha only the place on the left of Adherbal — that is, the least honourable of the three places.
[66] Fatigatus is commonly construed with an ablative, which is here to be supplied (precibus); but without such an addition, fatigare signifies ‘to importune a person with prayers and requests.’
[67] ‘Within the last three years;’ but as the author is here speaking of the time at which something happened, it is used instead of ante triennium, or triennio ante.
[68] Cum animo habere, the same as cum, or in animo agitare, volvere, reputare. Here, again, we must attend to the use of habere.