Spoken to Italian soldiers of Rome captured at the Battle of Lake Trasimene (24 June 217 BC) as quoted in Hannibal : One Man Against Rome (1958) by Harold Lamb, p. 119.
“
I have come not to make war on the Italians, but to aid the Italians against Rome.
— Hannibal
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "I have come not to make war on the Italians, but to aid the Italians against Rome." in the context of "Spoken to Italian soldiers of Rome captured at the Battle of Lake Trasimene (24 June 217 BC) as quoted in Hannibal : One Man Against Rome (1958) by Harold Lamb, p. 119." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Hannibal" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Hannibal
Hannibal (from Punic, literally "Baal is merciful to me", 247 BC – 182 BC) was a politician, statesman and military commander of ancient Carthage, famous for his victories against Roman forces and occupation of much of Italy for 15 years, until a counter-invasion of North Africa forced his return to Carthage, where he was decisively defeated at the Battle of Zama by Scipio Africanus.
About Hannibal
Hannibal (from Punic, literally "Baal is merciful to me", 247 BC – 182 BC) was a politician, statesman and military commander of ancient Carthage, famous for his victories against Roman forces and occupation of much of Italy for 15 years, until a counter-invasion of North Africa forced his return to Carthage, where he was decisively defeated at the Battle of Zama by Scipio Africanus.
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