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

Some anoint their arrows with poisons, so that every wound becomes fatal; others place their strength in forests. Some, when fleeing, first destroy the pastures; many poison the wells. Alexander captured the Alans by cultivating hellebore. Thus one must not only attack one's opponents openly, but one must also use many and secret arts of generalship against the enemy. For this ancient law of the Carthaginians was devised, that they honored generals who had planned the best courses of action, even if they were not successful, but they punished those who undertook something rashly and accomplished it, making their judgment not of fortune but of intention; and the ancient iambic verse is also fine, that for all a cautious leader is more profitable than a rash one. The arts of strategy, then, are very many, and there is nothing unwritten of things that happen that does not teach so that they may not happen again: healthy and well-watered places for encampments, seizures of higher ground, entrenchments, advance guards, night marches, cavalry reconnaissances, searches, ambushes, spying, good weaponry, foraging parties and along with sleep, constant preparedness; in all things, mistrust towards the enemy. Now, to expose all the evils they do is, I think, clear and familiar even to those who have conversed with histories; drinking antidotes beforehand is a defense against poison-bearing arrows, but it is also an equal remedy for corrupted waters; we would refuse the drinking of brine for the many on account of the unpleasantness of taking it; but by cutting down the enemy's trees you will prevent your adversaries from hiding; and so as not to need another's pasture, the fodder one brings along is sufficient and all other things that have been devised for a long campaign so as to have an abundance of provisions and to suffer nothing harsh from the enemy; which is also the first heroic deed; for not to suffer is much better than to do wrong; Pyrrhus, for instance, while getting the better of the Romans, was destroyed. One must first and foremost use time and attrition and famine and destruction against the barbarians, for whom the gathering of the army is temporary and their power not lasting, but plunder from a raid. For they carry provisions measured for a number of days and a specified number of arrows, and their flight is manifest once these are used up. Why then meet enemies in haste, whom, if I wait, I will see pursued by their own deadline? Famine will come upon them overdue, their few provisions having been consumed in vain. Come now, let us not allow them to flee even when starving; let destruction hold them without iron, death without battle. Let us conquer them with air as our ally and water as our helper; let us arm ourselves with the elements against them. I command a secret battle-line, I use an unseen battle. Let every enemy fall, having breathed, thirsted, or eaten; I make all things dangerous for him. Let him starve if he stays, and let him sicken with plague so that he may not flee. Let us make it the work of a great prayer. Allied air emptied Athens filled with Lacedaemonians, and such a condition seized the Carthaginians in Sicily. Those who win such wars dedicate them to their own gods. Let us too imitate those gods; spontaneous fortune comes about by our art. So much then for food; let us make loaves, which will nourish the last day, creatures which are described at the end, in pentagon <aʹ>, in which are placed line by line signs of the Lydian mode being added, an incomplete zeta and an upturned tau. Shut both up together in a vessel, sealing the lid with clay, so that there is no breathing for the creatures consumed by themselves inside; then, having ground up their remains, put them into the water from which the cake is kneaded. And you will do the same if you smear the ovens with this juice; but for those who bake this is a danger <.....>. Therefore, having prepared a sufficient quantity of such foods, provide it to the enemy in whatever way you can. And it might happen without suspicion, if someone were to carry out the transport negligently for an easy raid by the enemy and a desirable seizure of the things being carried for them, or if someone, feigning a hasty flight, should cede the camp to the attackers with such

Χρίουσι τὰ βέλη τινὲς φαρμάκοις, ἵνα τραῦμα πᾶν γένηται καίριον· τὴν ἐν ὕλαις ἰσχὺν ἄλλοι τίθενται. Προδιαφθείρουσί τινες φεύγοντες τὰς νομάς· φαρμακεύουσι τὰ φρέατα πολλοί. Ἀλανοὺς δὲ εἷλεν Ἀλέξανδρος ἐλλέβορον γεωργῶν. Οὕτως οὐκ ἐκ τοῦ φανεροῦ μόνον ἐπιχειρητέον τοῖς ἀνθεστηκόσιν, ἀλλὰ γὰρ πολλαῖς τισι κατὰ τῶν πολεμίων καὶ ταῖς λανθανούσαις τέχναις στρατηγητέον. Ἐπινενόηται γοῦν Καρχηδονίων παλαιὸς οὗτος νόμος, ὅτι τοὺς στρατηγοὺς βουλευσαμένους μὲν τὰ ἄριστα, εἰ καὶ μὴ κατορθώσαντας, ἐτίμων, τοὺς δὲ προπετές τι ἐγχειρήσαντας καὶ καταπραξαμένους ἐκόλαζον, οὐ τῆς τύχης ποιούμενοι ἀλλὰ τῆς γνώμης τὴν κρίσιν· καλὸν δὲ καὶ τὸ ἰαμβεῖον τὸ ἀρχαῖον, ὡς λυσιτελέστερος πᾶσι τοῦ προπετοῦς ὁ ἀσφαλὴς ἡγεμών. Τέχναι μὲν οὖν στρατηγίας πλεῖσται καὶ οὐδὲν ὅ τι μὴ ἀνάγραπτον ὧν συμβαίνει διδάσκειν ἵνα μὴ γένωνται· ὑγιεινὰ στρατοπεδεύσεων καὶ ἔφυδρα χωρία, ὑψηλοτέρων καταλήψεις τόπων, ταφρεῖαι, προφυλακαί, νυκτοπορίαι, προϊππασίαι, διερευνήσεις, ἐνέδραι, κατασκοπαί, εὐοπλίαι, προνομείαι καὶ ἅμα τῷ ὕπνῳ παρασκευὴ διαρκής· πρὸς τοὺς πολεμίους ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἀπιστία. Πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὸ ἐλέγξαι ὅσα κακουργοῦσι, φανερά, οἶμαι, καὶ τοῖς ὡμιληκόσιν ἱστορίαις γνώριμα· θηριακῶν μὲν ἀντιδότων προπόσεις τῶν ἰοφόρων βελῶν ἀλεξητήριον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ὑδάτων διεφθορότων τὸ ἴσον ἄκος· τὰς ἁλμοποσίας γ' ἂν διὰ τὸν ἀηδισμὸν τοῦ λαβεῖν τοῖς πολλοῖς παραιτοίμεθα· δένδρα δ' ἐχθρῶν ἐκκόπτων κωλύσεις τοὺς ἀντιπάλους λαθεῖν· εἰς δὲ τὸ μὴ χρῄζειν τῆς ἀλλοτρίας νομῆς ὁ ἐπιφερόμενος χιλὸς ἀρκεῖ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ἐπινενόηται εἰς στρατιὰ χρόνιον ἐς τὸ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων εὐπορεῖν ἔχειν καὶ πρὸς τὸ μηδὲν χαλεπὸν ὑπὸ τῶν ἐχθρῶν διατεθῆναι· ὅπερ καὶ πρῶτον ἀνδραγάθημα· τοῦ γὰρ ἀδικῆσαι πολλῷ τὸ μὴ παθεῖν κρεῖττον· Πύρρος γοῦν, Ῥωμαίους πλεονεκτῶν, ἀναλώθη. Χρόνῳ δὴ πρῶτον καὶ τριβῇ καὶ λιμῷ καὶ φθορᾷ μάλιστα κατὰ τῶν βαρβάρων χρηστέον, οἷς πρόσκαιρος ἡ τοῦ στρατεύματος συλλογὴ καὶ οὐ δύναμις διαρκής, ἀλλ' ἐξ ἐπιδρομῆς ἁρπαγή. Τροφάς τε γὰρ ἐπιφέρονται ἡμέραις μεμετρημένας καὶ ῥητὸν ἀριθμὸν βελῶν καὶ πρόδηλος, ἀναλωθέντων αὐτῶν, ἡ φυγή. Τί οὖν σπεύδουσιν πολεμίοις ἀπαντᾶν, οὕς, περιμείνας, ὄψομαι ὑπὸ τῆς αὑτῶν προθεσμίας δεδιωγμένους; Λιμὸς ἔπεισιν αὐτοὺς ὑπερήμερος, τῶν ὀλίγων τροφῶν μάτην ἀνηλωμένων. Ἄγε δὴ μὴ ἐπιτρέπωμεν μηδὲ λιμώττουσι ἐκείνοις φυγεῖν· κατασχέτω αὐτοὺς δίχα σιδήρου φθορά, δίχα μάχης ἡ τελευτή. Νικήσωμεν αὐτοὺς ἀέρι συμμάχῳ καὶ ὕδατι βοηθῷ· μετὰ τῶν στοιχείων κατ' αὐτῶν ὁπλισώμεθα. Ἀπορρήτου παρατάξεως στρατηγῶ, ἀσυμφανεῖ μάχῃ χρῶμαι. Πεσέτω πολέμιος πᾶς, ἀναπνεύσας, διψῶν, ἢ φαγών· ἐπικίνδυνα αὐτῷ πάντα ποιῶ. Λιμωττέτω μὲν ἂν μείνῃ, λοιμωττέτω δὲ ἵνα μὴ φύγῃ. Ἔργον μεγάλης ποιήσωμεν εὐχῆς. Ἐκένωσε τὰς Ἀθήνας πεπληρωμένας Λακεδαιμονίοις ἀὴρ συμμαχῶν, καὶ Καρχηδονίους τὸ τοιοῦτο κατάστημα κατέσχεν ἐν Σικελίᾳ. Ἀνατιθέασιν οἱ νικῶντες τοὺς τοιούτους πολέμους ἰδίοις θεοῖς. Ἐκείνους καὶ ἡμεῖς μιμησώμεθα τοὺς θεούς· αὐτόματος τύχη ὑπὸ τῆς ἡμετέρας τέχνης γίνεται. Τροφὴ μὲν οὖν οὕτως· ἄρτους ποιήσωμεν, τοὺς θρέψοντας τὴν ἐσχάτην ἡμέραν, ζῷα ἅπερ ἀνάγραπτα ἐπὶ τέλει κεῖται, ἐν πενταγώνῳ <αʹ>, ᾧ κατὰ γραμμοειδὲς ἔγκειται Λυδίου τρόπου προσλαμβανομένου σημεῖα, ζῆτα ἐλλιπὲς καὶ ταῦ ὕπτιον. Εἰς ἀγγεῖον κατάκλεισον ἀμφότερα κοινῇ, φιμώσας τὸ πῶμα πηλῷ, ὡς διάπνοιαν μὴ γενέσθαι τοῖς θηρίοις ὑφ' αὑτῶν ἔνδον ἀνηλωμένοις· εἶτ' αὐτῶν λειώσας τὰ λείψανα, εἰς τὸ ὕδωρ κάθες ὅθεν τὸ πέμμα φυρᾶται. Ταὐτὸ δὲ δράσεις ἂν τῷ χυλῷ τούτῳ τοὺς κριβάνους χρίσῃς· ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοῖς πέττουσι τοῦτο κίνδυνος <.....>. Τὸ αὔταρκες οὖν τῶν τοιούτων παρασκευάσας τροφῶν, πάρασχε τοῖς πολεμίοις ὃν δύνασαι τρόπον. Γένοιτο δ' ἂν ἀνυπόπτως, εἰ τὴν παρακομιδὴν ῥᾳθυμῶν τις ἐργάσαιτο εἰς τὴν τῶν ἐχθρῶν εὔκολον ἐπιδρομὴν καὶ εὐκταίαν τῶν φερομένων αὐτοῖς ἁρπαγήν, ἢ εἴ τις, πλασάμενος φυγὴν σπουδαίαν, παραχωρήσειεν ἐπιοῦσι τοῦ στρατοπέδου τοιαύταις