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dared, but he sent Hanno to them as if concerning peace, wanting to waste time; for he was hoping that an army would be sent to him from home. But Hanno, when some were shouting to seize him because the Carthaginians had also seized Cornelius by deceit, said, "if you do this, you will be no better than the Libyans." He, therefore, having flattered them most opportunely, suffered nothing, and they once again took up the war. And so the consuls sailed from Messana, while Hamilcar and Hanno, having separated, planned to surround them from both sides. But Hanno did not withstand their approach, but having sailed ahead to Carthage, he guarded it; and Hamilcar, learning this, remained in his position. And the Romans, having disembarked onto the land, proceeded against the city of Aspis. The inhabitants, seeing them approaching, evacuated in advance; and the Romans, having taken it without a fight, made it a base of operations for the war, and from there they both ravaged the land and acquired cities, some willingly, others through fear, and they took much booty and 2.209 received very many deserters, and they recovered many of their own men who had been captured in the previous wars. And when winter came on, Mallius sailed away to Rome with the booty, but Regulus remained in Libya. And the Carthaginians were in every kind of trouble, with their country being ravaged and their neighbors being alienated, and being shut up within their wall they kept quiet. But to Regulus, while he was encamped beside the Bagradas river, there appeared a serpent of immense size, whose length is said to have been one hundred and twenty feet; for indeed its skin was brought to Rome for exhibition; and it had the rest of the bulk of its body in proportion. It destroyed many of the soldiers, some as they approached it, and others while drinking from the river. But Regulus overcame it with a multitude of soldiers and with stone-throwing engines. And he destroyed the serpent in this way, and he engaged Hamilcar, who was encamped on high and wooded ground, by night, and he destroyed many in their beds, and many who were roused; and if any did escape, they fell among those guarding the roads and were killed. And thus a great part of the Carthaginians was consumed and many of their cities went over to the Romans. And those in the city, fearing that they would be captured, sent heralds to the consul, so that by sending him away with some reasonable agreement they might escape the immediate danger. But since many 2.210 and burdensome things were demanded, so that the treaty was considered an outright capture of them, they chose rather to fight. Regulus, however, being successful up to that point, became full of boasting and arrogance, so that he even wrote to Rome that he had the gates of the Carthaginians sealed up by fear; and those with him and those in Rome thought the same. For this reason they were also brought to ruin. For other allies came to the Carthaginians, and Xanthippus also came from Lacedaemon. This man, having taken the supreme command of the Carthaginians; for the people eagerly entrusted affairs to him, and Hamilcar and the rest of those in authority voluntarily stood aside; he both prepared everything else well, and he led the Carthaginians down from the high ground, where they were out of fear, to the plain, where both their cavalry and their elephants were destined to be most effective. And for the rest of the time he kept quiet, but having once observed the Romans encamping contemptuously, for being very proud of their victory and looking down on Xanthippus as a Graecus; for thus they call the Hellenes, and they use the appellation against them as a reproach for low birth; they had made their encampments carelessly, so then, with the Romans in this state, Xanthippus attacked, and having routed their cavalry by means of the elephants, he cut down many, and took many prisoner, including Regulus himself. And because of these things the Carthaginians were in high spirits; but they kept the captured men safe, so that those previously taken captive from them by the Romans would not also be killed. The others therefore

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ἐτόλμα, Αννωνα δὲ πρὸς αὐτοὺς επεμψεν ὡς ὑπὲρ εἰρήνης, βουλόμενος τὸν καιρὸν τρίβειν· ηλπιζε γὰρ στράτευμά οἱ πεμφθήσεσθαι οικοθεν. Αννων δέ, βοώντων τινῶν συλλαβεῖν αὐτὸν οτι καὶ Καρχηδόνιοι ἀπάτῃ συνέλαβον τὸν Κορνήλιον, "αν τοῦτο ποιήσητε" ειπεν, "οὐδὲν ετι κρείττους τῶν Λιβύων εσεσθε." ἐκεῖνος μὲν ουν εὐκαιρότατα θωπεύσας οὐδὲν επαθεν, οἱ δὲ καὶ αυθις τοῦ πολέμου ειχοντο. καὶ οἱ μὲν υπατοι ἐκ τῆς Μεσσήνης επλεον, ̓Αμίλκας δὲ καὶ Αννων διαιρεθέντες ἀμφοτέρωθεν αὐτοὺς περισχεῖν ἐμελέτων. ἀλλ' ὁ μὲν Αννων οὐχ ὑπέστη προσιόντας αὐτούς, προκαταπλεύσας δ' εἰς Καρχηδόνα ταύτην ἐφύλασσεν· ὁ δὲ ̓Αμίλκας πυθόμενος τοῦτο κατὰ χώραν εμενεν. ἐκβάντες δ' εἰς τὴν γῆν οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι ἐπὶ τὴν ̓Ασπίδα τὴν πόλιν ἐχώρησαν. ους ἰδόντες προσιόντας οἱ ἐπιχώριοι προϋπεξῆλθον· καὶ ἀμαχεὶ κατασχόντες αὐτὴν οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι τοῦ πολέμου ὁρμητήριον ἐποιήσαντο, κἀντεῦθεν τήν τε γῆν ἐπόρθουν καὶ πόλεις τὰς μὲν ἐθελουσίας, τὰς δὲ φόβῳ προσεκτῶντο, λείαν τε πολλὴν ἐλάμβανον καὶ 2.209 αὐτομόλους πλείστους ἐδέχοντο, καὶ τῶν οἰκείων συχνοὺς τῶν ἐν τοῖς πρὶν πολέμοις ἁλόντων ἐκομίζοντο. Χειμῶνος δὲ ἐπιγενομένου Μάλλιος μὲν εἰς ̔Ρώμην σὺν τῇ λείᾳ ἀπέπλευσε, ̔Ρηγοῦλος δ' ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ ὑπέμεινε. καὶ οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι ἐν παντὶ κακοῦ γεγόνασι, τῆς χώρας τε πορθουμένης αὐτῶν καὶ τῶν περιοίκων ἀλλοτριουμένων, καὶ κατειληθέντες εἰς τὸ τεῖχος ἡσύχαζον. ̔Ρηγούλῳ δὲ παρὰ τὸν Βαγράδαν ποταμὸν στρατοπεδευομένῳ δράκων ἐπεφάνη ὑπερμεγέθης, ου τὸ μῆκος λέγεται ειναι ποδῶν ἑκατὸν πρὸς τοῖς εικοσι· καὶ γὰρ ἡ λεβηρὶς αὐτοῦ εἰς τὴν ̔Ρώμην κεκόμιστο δι' ἐπίδειξιν· ἀνάλογον δὲ καὶ τὸν αλλον ογκον ειχε τοῦ σώματος. ος συχνοὺς τῶν στρατιωτῶν τοὺς μὲν πελάζοντας αὐτῷ, τοὺς δὲ καὶ πίνοντας ἐκ τοῦ ποταμοῦ διέφθειρε. κατειργάσατο δ' αὐτὸν ὁ ̔Ρηγοῦλος πλήθει στρατιωτῶν καὶ μηχαναῖς λιθοβόλοις. καὶ τὸν μὲν ουτως εφθειρεν, τῷ δὲ ̓Αμίλκᾳ ἐπὶ μετεώρου καὶ ὑλώδους στρατοπεδευομένῳ χωρίου νύκτωρ προσέμιξε, καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἐν ταῖς εὐναῖς, πολλοὺς δ' ἐξεγερθέντας διώλεσεν· εἰ δέ τινες καὶ διέφυγον, τοῖς τὰς ὁδοὺς τηροῦσιν ἐμπίπτοντες ωλλυντο. καὶ ουτω τῶν τε Καρχηδονίων μέρος ἀναλώθη πολὺ καὶ πόλεις αὐτῶν συχναὶ πρὸς ̔Ρωμαίους μεθίσταντο. φοβηθέντες δ' οἱ ἐν τῇ πόλει μὴ ἁλῶσι διεκηρυκεύσαντο πρὸς τὸν υπατον, οπως ὁμολογίᾳ τινὶ ἐπιεικεῖ ἀποπέμψαντες αὐτὸν τὸ παραυτίκα δεινὸν ὑπεκφύγωσιν. ἐπεὶ δὲ πολλὰ ἀπῃτοῦντο 2.210 καὶ φορτικά, ὡς αλωσιν αὐτῶν ἀκριβῆ νομίζεσθαι τὰς σπονδάς, πολεμεῖν μᾶλλον ειλοντο. ̔Ο μέντοι ̔Ρηγοῦλος μέχρι τότε εὐτυχῶν αὐχήματος μεστὸς ἐγένετο καὶ φρονήματος, ωστε καὶ γράφειν εἰς τὴν ̔Ρώμην οτι κατεσφραγισμένας εχει τὰς τῶν Καρχηδονίων πύλας ὑπὸ τοῦ φόβου· τὰ ισα δὲ καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ ἐν τῇ ̔Ρώμῃ ἐφρόνουν. οθεν καὶ ἐσφάλησαν. ηλθον μὲν γὰρ τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις καὶ ετεροι σύμμαχοι, ηλθε δὲ καὶ ἐκ Λακεδαίμονος Ξάνθιππος. ουτος τὴν αὐτοκράτορα τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἀρχὴν εἰληφώς· ο τε γὰρ δῆμος αὐτῷ τὰ πράγματα προθύμως ἐπέτρεψε καὶ ὁ ̓Αμίλκας καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ οἱ ἐν τέλει ἑκουσίως ἐξέστησαν· τά τε αλλα παρεσκεύασεν ευ, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν μετεώρων τοὺς Καρχηδονίους, ἐν οις ὑπὸ δέους ησαν, κατήγαγεν εἰς τὸ ὁμαλόν, ἐν ῳ η τε ἱππεία αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἐλέφαντες πλεῖστον ἰσχύσειν εμελλον. καὶ τὸν μὲν αλλον χρόνον ἡσύχαζε, τηρήσας δέ ποτε τοὺς ̔Ρωμαίους καταφρονητικῶς αὐλιζομένους, μέγα γὰρ τῇ νίκῃ φρονοῦντες καὶ τὸν Ξάνθιππον ὡς Γραικὸν ὑπερορῶντες· ουτω γὰρ καλοῦσι τοὺς Ελληνας, καὶ εἰς ονειδος δυσγενείας τῷ προσρήματι κατ' αὐτῶν χρῶνται· τὰς στρατοπεδείας ἀπερισκέπτως πεποίηντο, ουτως ουν τοῖς ̔Ρωμαίοις διακειμένοις ὁ Ξάνθιππος ἐπελθών, καὶ τὸ ἱππικὸν αὐτῶν διὰ τῶν ἐλεφάντων τρεψάμενος, πολλοὺς μὲν κατέκοψε, πολλοὺς δὲ καὶ ἐζώγρησε καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ̔Ρηγοῦλον. καὶ ἐν φρονήματι διὰ ταῦτα ησαν οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι· τοὺς δὲ ἁλόντας περιέσωσαν, ινα μὴ καὶ οἱ παρὰ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων πρότερον ἐξ αὐτῶν αἰχμαλωτισθέντες κτανθῶσι. τοὺς μὲν ουν αλλους