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his own trireme the consul and the tribunes, as if to meet with the admiral. And these they sent away to Carthage, but the rest they captured without their even taking up their arms. Then Hannibal was ravaging Italy, and Hamilcar marched against Egesta, where the greatest part of the Romans' infantry was; when the tribune Gaius Caecilius wished to bring them aid, he laid an ambush and killed many of his men. When those in Rome learned this, they immediately sent out the praetor and urged Duilius on; and he, on coming to Sicily and learning that the ships of the Carthaginians were inferior to their own in sturdiness and size, but superior in the speed of their rowing and the variety of their sailing, devised machines for the triremes, both grappling-irons and iron hands on poles and other such things, so that by casting them onto the enemy ships they might bind them to their own, and crossing over to them, they might come to close quarters with the Carthaginians and engage with them as in a land battle. So when the Carthaginians engaged with the Roman ships, they sailed around them, using swift rowing, and attacked them suddenly. 2.204 For some time, then, the sea-battle was evenly matched, then the Romans, gaining the upper hand, sank many and captured many. And Hannibal, fighting on a septireme, when his own ship was grappled by a trireme, fearing that he might be captured, both abandoned the septireme and, crossing to another, escaped. This, then, was the end of the sea-battle, and much booty was taken; and the Carthaginians would have killed Hannibal for the defeat, if he had not immediately asked them, as if matters were still undecided, whether they ordered him to fight a naval battle or not. For when they agreed to fight, being proud that they excelled in their navy, he replied that "I have therefore done no wrong, since hoping for the same things as you I engaged; for I was master of my judgment, but not of fortune." And so he was saved, but he was deprived of his command; and Duilius, taking command of the infantry, rescued the Egestaeans, as Hamilcar did not venture to come to close quarters with him, and he secured the other allied cities, and when the summer had passed, he returned to Rome. But after he departed, Hamilcar fortified the place called Drepanum, which is a strategic harbor, and deposited in it his most valuable possessions, and he relocated all the Erycinians, and razed their city, so that the Romans might not capture it, since it was strong, and make it a base of operations for the war, and he captured cities, some by force, others by treachery; and if Gaius Florus, who was wintering there, had not checked him, he would have subdued all of Sicily. And Lucius Scipio, his colleague, campaigned against Sardinia and Corsica, which lie in the Tyrrhenian 2.205 sea a short distance from each other, so that from afar they seem to be one, and attacking Corsica first he took its strongest city, Valeria, by force, and subdued the rest without difficulty. But sailing to Sardinia he caught sight of a Carthaginian fleet, and turned against it. And they fled before engaging, and he himself came to the city of Olbia; where, when the Carthaginians appeared with their ships, he was frightened, for he did not have a strong enough infantry, and departed for home. At that time, others of the captives who were serving as slaves in the city, and the Samnites, for many had arrived for the preparation of the navy, conspired to plot against Rome. But Herius Potilius, the commander of the auxiliaries, learning of this, pretended to agree with them, so that he might learn precisely everything they had decided, and since he was not able to report the plot, for all the Samnites were around him, he persuaded them, while the senate was meeting, to gather in the forum and to cry out against him as if they were being wronged regarding the grain which they were receiving. And when they did this, he was summoned as the cause of the disturbance and revealed the plot to them. And then they sent them away, after quieting them down, but at night each of those who owned any of them as slaves arrested them; and thus the whole conspiracy was broken up. In the following summer both in Sicily and

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ἑαυτοῦ τριήρη τόν τε υπατον καὶ τοὺς χιλιάρχους ὡς τῷ ναυάρχῳ ἐντευξομένους. καὶ τούτους μὲν εἰς Καρχηδόνα ἀπέπεμψαν, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς οὐδὲ ἀραμένους τὰ οπλα ειλον. Ειτα ̓Αννίβας μὲν τὴν ̓Ιταλίαν ἐπόρθει, ̓Αμίλκας δὲ εἰς Εγεσταν ἐστράτευσεν, ἐν ῃ τὸ πλεῖστον τοῦ πεζοῦ τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις ην· οις ἐπικουρῆσαι Γάϊον Καικίλιον χιλίαρχον ἐθελήσαντα λοχήσας πολλοὺς ἐφόνευσε τῶν αὐτοῦ. ταῦτα δὲ μαθόντες οἱ ἐν ̔Ρώμῃ τὸν μὲν ἀστυνόμον εὐθὺς ἐξέπεμψαν καὶ τὸν ∆ουίλιον ἐπέσπευσαν· ὁ δὲ ἐς τὴν Σικελίαν ἐλθών, καὶ καταμαθὼν τὰς ναῦς τῶν Καρχηδονίων τῇ μὲν παχύτητι καὶ τῷ μεγέθει τῶν σφῶν ἐλαττουμένας, τῷ τάχει δὲ τῆς εἰρεσίας καὶ τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τοῦ πλοῦ προεχούσας, μηχανὰς ἐπὶ τῶν τριήρων ἀγκύρας τε καὶ χεῖρας περικόντους σιδηρᾶς καὶ αλλα τοιαῦτα κατεσκεύασεν, οπως ταῖς πολεμίαις ναυσὶν ἐπιρριπτοῦντες αὐτὰ συνάπτοιντο σφίσι, καὶ μεταβαίνοντες εἰς αὐτὰς εἰς χεῖρας ιοιεν τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις καὶ ὡς ἐν πεζῇ μάχῃ τούτοις συρρήγνυνται. συμμίξαντες ουν οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι ταῖς τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ναυσὶ περιέπλεον σφᾶς, συντόνῳ χρώμενοι εἰρεσίᾳ, καὶ ἐκ 2.204 τοῦ αἰφνιδίου προσέβαλλον. χρόνον μὲν ουν τινα ἰσοπαλὴς ἡ ναυμαχία ἐγίνετο, ειθ' οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι ἐπικρατέστεροι γεγονότες πολλοὺς μὲν κατέδυσαν, συνέσχον δὲ καὶ πολλούς. ὁ δ' ̓Αννίβας ἐπὶ ἑπτήρους ναυμαχῶν, συσχεθείσης τῆς αὐτοῦ νηὸς τριήρει τινί, φοβηθεὶς μὴ ἁλῷ, τὴν ἑπτήρη τε ἐγκατέλιπε καὶ μεταβὰς εἰς ἑτέραν διέφυγε. Τῆς μὲν ουν ναυμαχίας τοῦτο τέλος ἐγένετο καὶ λάφυρα πολλὰ ἐλήφθη· τὸν δ' ̓Αννίβαν οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι διὰ τὴν ητταν ἀπέκτειναν αν, εἰ μὴ εὐθὺς ἐπηρώτησε σφᾶς, ὡς ἀκεραίων ετι τῶν πραγμάτων οντων, εἰ ναυμαχῆσαι κελεύουσιν η μή. συνθεμένων γὰρ αὐτῶν ναυμαχῆσαι, ὡς τῷ ναυτικῷ προέχειν ἐπαιρομένων, ὑπεῖπεν οτι "οὐδὲν αρα ἠδίκηκα οτι τὰ αὐτὰ ὑμῖν ἐλπίσας συνέβαλον· τῆς γὰρ γνώμης, ἀλλ' οὐ τῆς τύχης ἐτύγχανον κύριος." καὶ ὁ μὲν ἐσώθη, τὴν δὲ ἡγεμονίαν ἀφῃρέθη· ∆ουίλιος δὲ τὸ πεζὸν προσλαβὼν τούς τε ̓Εγεσταίους ἐρρύσατο, μηδ' εἰς χεῖρας αὐτῷ τοῦ ̓Αμίλκου ἐλθεῖν ὑπομείναντος, καὶ τὰ φίλια τὰ αλλα ἐβεβαιώσατο, καὶ εἰς τὴν ̔Ρώμην τοῦ θέρους παρελθόντος ἀνεκομίσθη. ἀπάραντος δ' αὐτοῦ ὁ ̓Αμίλκας τό τε ∆ρέπανον κεκλημένον, εστι δὲ λιμὴν ἐπίκαιρος, ἐκρατύνατο καὶ ἐς αὐτὸν τὰ πλείστου κατέθετο αξια, καὶ τοὺς ̓Ερυκίνους απαντας μετανέστησε, καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν κατέσκαψεν, ινα μὴ οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι καρτερὰν αὐτὴν ουσαν καταλαβόντες ὁρμητήριον τοῦ πολέμου ποιήσωνται, καὶ πόλεις ειλε τὰς μὲν βίᾳ, τὰς δὲ προδοσίᾳ· καὶ εἰ μὴ Γάιος Φλῶρος αὐτὸν ἐπέσχεν ἐκεῖ χειμάσας, τὴν Σικελίαν αν κατεστρέψατο απασαν. Λούκιος δὲ Σκιπίων ὁ συνάρχων αὐτῷ ἐπὶ Σαρδὼ καὶ ἐπὶ Κύρνον ἐστράτευσε, κεῖνται δὲ ἐν τῷ Τυρ2.205 σηνικῷ πελάγει ἀλλήλων ὀλίγον ἀπέχουσαι, ὡς μίαν αὐτὰς πόρρωθεν ειναι δοκεῖν, καὶ προτέρᾳ τῇ Κύρνῳ προσβαλὼν τὴν μὲν Οὐαλερίαν τὴν κρατίστην αὐτῆς πόλιν βίᾳ ειλεν, ἀπόνως δὲ τὰ λοιπὰ ἐχειρώσατο. ἐς δὲ τὴν Σαρδὼ πλέων κατεῖδέ τι ναυτικὸν Καρχηδόνιον, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτὸ ἐτράπετο. καὶ οἱ μὲν εφυγον πρὶν η συμμίξαι, αὐτὸς δ' ἐπὶ πόλιν ̓Ολβίαν ηλθεν· ενθα τῶν Καρχηδονίων μετὰ τῶν νεῶν ἐπιφανέντων φοβηθείς, οὐ γὰρ ειχε τὸ πεζὸν ἀξιόμαχον, ἐπ' οικου ἀπῆρεν. ̓Εν δὲ τῷ τότε χρόνῳ αλλοι τε τῶν ἁλόντων καὶ ἐν τῷ αστει δουλευόντων, καὶ οἱ Σαυνῖται, συχνοὶ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ναυτικοῦ παρασκευὴν ἀφίκοντο, συνέθεντο τῇ ̔Ρώμῃ ἐπιβουλεῦσαι. μαθὼν δὲ τοῦτο Εριος Ποτίλιος ὁ τῆς βοηθείας αρχων προσεποιήσατο συμφρονεῖν αὐτοῖς, ινα ἀκριβώσῃ πᾶν τὸ δεδογμένον αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐπεὶ μὴ οιός τ' ην καταμηνῦσαι τὸ βούλευμα, πάντες γὰρ περὶ αὐτὸν ησαν οἱ Σαυνῖται, επεισεν αὐτοὺς βουλῆς ἀγομένης εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν ἀθροισθῆναι καὶ καταβοῆσαι αὐτοῦ ὡς περὶ τὸν σῖτον ἀδικουμένους ονπερ ἐλάμβανον. τῶν δὲ τοῦτο ποιησάντων μεταπεμφθεὶς ὡς αιτιος τοῦ θορύβου ἐξέφηνεν αὐτοῖς τὴν ἐπιβουλήν. καὶ τότε μὲν ἡσυχάσαντας ἀπέπεμψαν, νυκτὸς δὲ συνέλαβον εκαστοι τῶν ἐχόντων δούλους τινὰς ἐξ αὐτῶν· καὶ ουτως ἡ πᾶσα ἐλύθη συνωμοσία. Τῷ δ' ἐπιγενομένῳ θέρει εν τε τῇ Σικελίᾳ καὶ