Even today horses used by, for example, the police are trained to stay calm when experiencing noise and / or violent behaviour. Similarly, the unknown author of Dē Bellō Āfricō describes the training of elephants for warfare. Elephants are easily startled and, like any other wild animal, may act unpredictably. Therefore, what we read here is a training scenario emulating an attack by projectiles fired by slings.
The elephants are lined up facing soldiers who act as the
enemy. Behind the elephants are ‘friendly’ soldiers. The aim is to ensure that,
even if the animals, frightened by the enemy action, turn tail and head for
‘their side’, they will be forced by a second volley of stones to turn around
again and continue to advance towards the enemy. As the author implies, it’s a
high risk tactic since elephants do not know whose side they are on!
The adjective rudis has multiple meanings including:
untrained, coarse, awkward or wild. In other words, elephants are not quick on
the uptake, and considerable patience is required.
Scīpiō interim elephantōs hōc modō condocefacere īnstituit.
- Scipio meanwhile began training elephants in the following way.
Duās īnstrūxit aciēs,
- He drew up two (battle-) lines,
ūnam funditōrum contrā elephantōs,
- one (line) of slingers facing the elephants
quae quasi adversāriōrum locum obtinēret
- which, as it were, would take the place of the enemy
et contrā eōrum frontem adversam lapillōs minūtōs mitteret;
- and hurl small stones against their / the elephants’ opposing front
deinde in ōrdinem elephantōs cōnstituit,
- next he arranged the elephants in line
post illōs autem suam aciem īnstrūxit ut,
- and behind them drew up his own line so that,
cum ab adversāriīs lapidēs mittī coepissent
- when the stones had started to be thrown by the enemy
et elephantī perterritī sē ad suōs convertissent,
- and the terrified elephants had turned back upon their own side
rūrsus ab suā aciē lapidibus missīs eōs converterent adversus hostem.
- they would again turn them against the enemy by stones thrown from his own line.
Quod aegrē tardēque fīēbat;
- This was done with difficulty and slowly;
rudēs enim elephantī multōrum annōrum doctrīnā ūsūque vetustō vix ēdoctī
- for raw elephants, scarcely trained even by many years of instruction and long experience
tamen commūnī perīculō in aciem prōdūcuntur.
- are nevertheless brought into the battle-line, and equally dangerous to both sides.
