Cesti (fragmenta) Index These things are in the <ζʹ> of Africanus' Cesti: 1. Concerning arming. -2. Concerning the destruction of enemies. -3. Agonist

 varied, having prepared their armament in common both against barbarians and against themselves a sign is <that> the faces of the combatants were fre

 Some anoint their arrows with poisons, so that every wound becomes fatal others place their strength in forests. Some, when fleeing, first destroy th

 fortified with food. These things do not bring a one-day death, nor do they immediately destroy the one who has used them, with the art of pestilence

 destruction, to avoid the plague I have anticipated the cure by setting it forth in the parchments before this. Themistocles, while commanding the nav

 Let the children of physicians heal a wound, with the one who is sick readily offering himself to their touch. 1.6 Taming of a horse Just as among men

 only believe him who says, they also see demons, and I know of many who have neighed at crossroads and have fallen and proclaimed the threat with the

 When the horses receive the smell of the evil thing, they go mad and snort fiercely and rear up in haste, as if fearing the exhalation from the ground

 and taking a very small amount of oil, then after moderately crushing it somewhat, pour the complete mixture through a horn into the left nostril of p

 the sides of the triangle are bisected.” For let ABΓ be a right-angled triangle, having the angle at B right. And let AB be bisected at Δ. And let ΔE

 lightest air, and they also abstain from everything hot and from salts, as these are causes of dull vision. So that they are never caught sleeping and

 you happen to be winged, I too get ahead of you with another wing. Thus are the nuptials of Pasithea to Hypnos. Eros indeed keeps watch the theft of

 to himself. And from this, a twofold advantage: for either in his pain he kills his own, consoling an incurable pain, or being unable to stand, he fal

 pinecones, about ten per chous of water having thrown these into the liquid, boil it just enough to warm it let the vessel be lacking 2 kotylai whi

 to shoot a third in succession and the others likewise, with the second always pausing the shot just long enough for the first's arrow to reach the ta

 Anoint with oil in which leeches have likewise been boiled down. <Πίναξ> '1 How one might, through wine, cause those who have drunk it to sleep for th

 This should be done from the beginning of spring until the end of autumn. And again, wormwood wine is drunk for the same purpose, not only before food

 for an elephantiasic horse of Africanus The liver of a land hedgehog, dried in the sun, heals elephantiasic horses. 3.2 Of Africanus for the eyes Th

 a dog's afterbirth, treated with myrrh and properly purified and tied on, becomes a cause of conception. So that the animal may conceive what you wish

 of figs and warts and acrochordons Warts are outgrowths of bodies resembling rough nails and they occur on many people in many places. They call the

 of coriander. And dung also works, when smeared with the juice of a fig tree with mulberry leaves or calamint or lentil smeared with oil. And the roo

 wounds. 3.33 Of Africanus: To prevent cattle from being harmed by a toad that lurks by night or in a dark place, by it puffing on them The toad is acc

 of equal weight to the Italian one which is called a “denarius,” for as a rule many now use the Italian weights. The Attic mina has 25 staters the It

 and tender maidens with the flower of new-grieved hearts and many wounded by bronze-tipped spears, men slain in battle, wearing blood-stained armor

 Put in 1 chous of bran, 4 choes of seaweed, having boiled it, put in the wool and leave it until late, and having taken it out, rinse it with sea-wate

 with slippings of veins, and something else that shines by night. It both kindles and extinguishes loves. And it blackens white hair, and whitens blac

varied, having prepared their armament in common both against barbarians and against themselves; a sign is <that> the faces of the combatants were free under a Laconian felt cap in the Macedonian fashion; and they call this practice and custom <that> of the soldier-king. For Alexander himself ordered his soldiers to shave their beards, and when someone reproached him for shearing off the ornament of the face, he said, “For do you not know, you who are un-campaigned, that in battle there is no more opportune hand-hold than a beard?” Therefore, no barbarian, however equipped he may be, would withstand this armament at close quarters. But for the Romans, a helmet of simple material, leaving little for their faces for breathing and sight, reaching down <to> the shoulder-blades, squeezing the neck immovably, a chain-mail cuirass, a single greave, a long sword, a thyreos shield carried at arm's length as a defense; the body becomes weaker in the locked-shield formation, with the soldier not being able to put his whole shoulder into the weapon; and their spears are shorter than the Greek ones. But they fight successfully against the aforementioned panoply; for they have security from their nearly equal equipment, but they have the advantage <in> lightness, being agile for attacks and retreats and quicker at seizing higher ground, and with the use of the sword they are prone to striking the Greek neck, anticipating the close engagement with the blow. And they themselves have also practiced every art of close-quarters fighting, so that while the experience on both sides is equal, they have the advantage in the lightness of their equipment. And so that the sharpness of their javelins might not be blunted nor broken by striking the Greek cuirasses, they skillfully fitted a missile, and pushing, they pierced the scales. Therefore, those who have almost always conquered the Greeks have rarely conquered those who have always been conquered by the Greeks. The first reason is their <not> charging at a run into close engagements so as not to abandon their baggage animals; and it is always enclosed within the rectangular formation of the army; and they drop to one knee, tiling the army with the overlapping of their shields in their eagerness to exhaust the Parthians' arrows; but this practice renders them both ineffective and unharmed, though worn out by the sun and toil, as the barbarians attack in succession and then retreat again, resting by means of the intermittent reinforcements of their tribes. Furthermore, no Roman fights by himself, nor does any single-combat champion emerge against the multitude; and things thrown from a sling strike their heads, crushing the helmet, and it is difficult to dodge an incoming arrow because of the iron part of the neck-guard. In addition to this, they do not throw their javelins with discrimination, expending perhaps ten for a single kill, and they do not counter the charging cavalry with their short pikes. If, then, someone were to put a Greek cuirass and helmet on a Roman soldier, and give him a longer spear, and teach each one to throw his javelins at a specific target and each to fight by himself, <and> sometimes order a charge, so that the attack on the enemy within arrow-shot becomes swift, no barbarian being cut down would be a match for the Romans. 1.2 Concerning the destruction of enemies One must not contend against the enemy in all engagements or battles, nor should one make fortune the mistress of all affairs. For the end of war is uncertain, and many things turn out contrary to expectation; indeed, those better prepared with iron and men or with bows and walls have often been harmed by the wind, or the sun, or the terrain, or trickery, or a sight and a phantom, and in great calamities the ever-present divinity is Pan. The Phocians, though better prepared in every way, did not receive the Thebans, when they saw them crowned with laurel, fleeing the wreath, they who had not feared the war. Flaminius and Paulus were mostly harmed by headwinds and the sun. The narrowness of the Gates made Leonidas equal to the five hundred myriads. Pan rushed together with the Athenians at Marathon against the Persians. And Themistocles drove Xerxes out of Greece by a lie.

ποικίλον, κοινὴν καὶ κατὰ βαρβάρων καὶ πρὸς αὑτοὺς τὴν ὅπλισιν ἐπισκευάσαντες· σημεῖον δὲ <τὸ> ἐλευθέρας τῶν μαχομένων τὰς ὄψεις ὑπὸ πίλῳ Λακωνικῷ ἐν τῇ Μακεδονικῇ γεγενῆσθαι· καλοῦσι δὲ χρῆμα καὶ ἐπιτήδευμα <τοῦτο> τὸ τοῦ στρατιώτου βασιλέως. Αὐτός τε γὰρ καὶ τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐκέλευσε ξυρεῖσθαι τοὺς πώγωνας ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος καί τινος ἐπιτιμήσαντος ὅτι τοῦ προσώπου τὸν κόσμον ἀποκείροι, ὃ δὲ «οὐκ οἶσθα γὰρ» ἔφη «ὦ ἀστράτευτε, πώγωνος ἐν μάχῃ μὴ εἶναι εὐκαιροτέραν λαβήν». Τήνδε οὖν τὴν ὅπλισιν ἐν χρῷ γενόμενος οὐκ ἂν οὐδεὶς ὑπομείνειεν, ὅπως ἂν ᾖ ἐσταλμένος, βάρβαρος. Ῥωμαίοις δὲ κράνος ὕλης ἁπλῆς, τοῖς μὲν προσώποις λεῖπον ὀλίγον ἀναπνοῆς τε καὶ ὄψεως, ἄχρις <δ'> ἐπὶ τὰς ὠμοπλάτας καθῆκον, ἀπερίστροφον τὸν αὐχένα σφίγγον, ἁλυσιδωτὸς θώραξ, κνημὶς μία, μακρὰ ἡ σπάθη, θυρεὸς πρόβλημα ἄκρᾳ χειρὶ φορούμενον· ἀδρανέστερον εἰς τὸ σῶμα τῷ συνασπισμῷ γίνεται, τοῦ στρατιώτου μὴ ἔχοντος παντὶ τῷ ὤμῳ ἐς τὸ ὅπλον ἐμπεσεῖν· δόρατα δ' αὐτοῖς τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν κολοβώτερα. Μάχονται δὲ κατὰ τῆς προειρημένης πανοπλίας εὐτυχῶς· τὴν μὲν γὰρ ἀσφάλειαν ἔχουσιν ἀπὸ τῶν σχεδὸν ἴσων, πλεονεκτοῦσι <δὲ> τῇ κουφότητι, εἴς τε ἐφόδους καὶ ἀναχωρήσεις εὔκολοι καὶ ἐπὶ κατάληψιν ὑπερδεξίων χωρίων θάττονες, τῇ τε τῆς σπάθης χρήσει εὐκατάφοροι εἰς τὴν τοῦ Ἑλληνικοῦ αὐχένος κροῦσιν, προλαμβάνοντες τῇ πληγῇ τὴν συμπλοκήν. Πρὸς δὲ καὶ πᾶσαν ἀγχεμάχου παρατάξεως καὶ αὐτοὶ γεγυμνάκασι τέχνην, ὡς εἶναι τὸ μὲν ἐμπειρίας παρ' ἀμφοτέροις ἴσον, πλεονεκτεῖν δὲ τῷ τῆς στολῆς κούφῳ. Ὡς δὲ μὴ ἀμβλύνεσθαι αὐτοῖς τὴν τῶν δοράτων κεντότητα μηδὲ θραύεσθαι τῇ τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν θωράκων προσβολῇ, βέλος ἐντέχνως ἐφαρμόσαντες, τὰς φολίδας διέπειρον ὤσαντες. Τοὺς οὖν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἑλλήνων αἰεὶ νενικημένους οἱ τοὺς Ἕλληνας σχεδὸν εἰπεῖν ἀεὶ νενικηκότες σπανίως ἐνίκησαν. Αἴτιον δὲ πρῶτον μὲν τὸ <μὴ> ἵεσθαι δρόμῳ ἐς τὰς συμπλοκὰς τῷ μὴ τὰ σκευοφόρα ἀπολιπεῖν· ἀεὶ δὲ τῷ πλινθίῳ τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐγκέκλειται· καθιᾶσίν τε ἐς γόνυ, κεραμώσαντες τὸν στρατὸν ταῖς ἐπιβολαῖς τῶν ἀσπίδων τῇ σπουδῇ τοῦ ἀναλῶσαι τὰ Πάρθων βέλη· τόδε δὲ τὸ ἐπιτήδευμα καὶ ἀπράκτους ᾗ καὶ ἀπαθεῖς καθίστησιν ἡλίῳ καὶ κόπῳ ταλαιπωρουμένους, τῶν βαρβάρων ἐκ διαδοχῆς ἐπιόντων καὶ ἀναχωρούντων πάλιν, ταῖς τῶν ἐθνῶν ἐκ διαλείμματος ἐπιπομπαῖς ἀναπαυομένων. Ἔτι δὲ καὶ μάχεται Ῥωμαῖος καθ' αὑτὸν οὐδείς, οὐδέ τις γίνεται πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος μονομαχῶν ἀριστεύς· τά τε ἀπὸ σφενδόνης βληθέντα ταῖς κεφαλαῖς τὸ κράνος θλάσαντα ἐνδύει, ἐκνεῦσαί τε φερόμενον βέλος δύσκολον τῷ τοῦ περιαυχενίου σιδήρου τμήματι. Πρὸς δὲ τούτοις οὔτε κεκριμένα ἀφιᾶσιν τὰ ἀκόντια, τὰ δέκα εἰς ἕνα τυχὸν φόνον ἀναλοῦντες, καὶ κοντοῖς πρὸς τοὺς ἐπιόντας ἱππεῖς οὐκ ἀπαντῶσι μικροῖς. Εἰ γοῦν τις θώρακα Ἑλληνικὸν καὶ κράνος στρατιώτῃ Ῥωμαίῳ περιθείη, καὶ κοντὸν δοίη προμηκέστερον, καὶ ἕκαστον τῶν δοράτων ἐφ' ἑκάστου σκοποῦ βάλλειν καθ' αὑτόν τε ἕκαστον διδάσκοι μάχεσθαι, <καὶ> ἔσθ' ὅτε καταστήσειεν δρόμον, ὡς ὀξεῖαν γενέσθαι τὴν ἐντὸς βέλους τοῖς πολεμίοις ἐμβολήν, οὐκ ἂν βάρβαρος κοπτόμενος ἀρκέσειε Ῥωμαίοις. 1.2 Περὶ πολεμίων φθορᾶσ Οὐ πάντα συστάσεσιν οὐδὲ μάχαις πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ἀγωνιστέον, οὐδὲ ποιητέον τῶν ὅλων πραγμάτων κυρίαν τὴν τύχην. Ἄδηλον γὰρ τὸ τοῦ πολέμου τέλος, καὶ παρὰ δόξαν τὰ πολλὰ χωρεῖ· τοὺς γοῦν ἄμεινον παρεσκευασμένους σιδήρῳ καὶ ἀνδράσι ἢ τόξοις καὶ τοίχοις ἢ ἄνεμος πολλάκις ἠδίκησεν, ἢ ἥλιος, ἢ τόπος, ἢ δόλος, ἢ θέα μα καὶ φάσμα, συνεχὴς δὲ ἐν τοῖς μεγάλοις τραύμασι δαίμων ὁ Πάν. Οὐκ ἐδέξαντο μὲν Θηβαίους ἄμεινον τῷ παντὶ παρεσκευασμένοι Φωκεῖς, ἐστεφανωμένους αὐτοὺς θεασάμενοι δάφνῃ, τὸν στέφανον φυγόντες οἱ τὸν πόλεμον οὐ φοβηθέντες. Φλαμίνιον δὲ καὶ Παῦλον ἀντιπρόσωποι τὸ πλέον μὲν ἄνεμος ἠδίκησεν καὶ ἥλιος. Ἴσον ἐποίησεν Λεωνίδαν ταῖς πεντακοσίαις μυριάσιν ἡ τῶν Πυλῶν στενοχωρία. Συνέδραμεν εἰς Μαραθῶνα κατὰ Περσῶν Ἀθηναίοις ὁ Πάν. Ξέρξην δὲ Θεμιστοκλῆς Ἑλλάδος ἐξήλασε ψεύσματι.