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it happens to be an exceedingly great natural chasm, at the bottom of which a continuous 8.35.3 fire burns. And this void happens to extend to such a depth that to a man standing on the summit and daring to peer down from there, the flame is not easily 8.35.4 visible. But whenever it happens for this mountain to belch forth the ash, as I have described, the flame, breaking off rocks from the depths of Vesuvius, hurls them high above the summit of this mountain, some of them small, and others exceedingly large, and sending them forth from there, it scatters them wherever they may chance 8.35.5 to fall. And a stream of fire also flows there, extending down from the summit to the foot of the mountain and even farther, all of which things are also wont to happen at Aetna. And the stream of fire creates high banks on either side, cutting through the land 8.35.6 below. And at first the flame, as it is carried along in the stream, resembles a burning outflow of water; but when it happens to be extinguished, its course is immediately checked in the stream, and the flow advances no further, and the sediment of this fire appears as mud resembling ash. 8.35.7 At the foot of this Vesuvius there are springs of drinkable water. And from them a river goes forth, Draco by name, which flows very near the city of Nuceria. On either side of this river both armies then 8.35.8 encamped. The Draco is short in its course, but not, however, fordable either for horsemen or for foot-soldiers, since, contracting its stream into a narrow space and cutting the earth very deeply on both sides, it makes the banks as if 8.35.9 overhanging. But whether its nature derives this characteristic from the land or from the water, I am unable to say. The Goths, having seized the bridge of the river, since they had encamped very near it, setting up wooden towers on it and constructed there other engines and what are called ballistrae, so that from there they might be able to shoot and harass the enemy from 8.35.10 above. It was therefore impossible for any hand-to-hand engagement to take place, since the river, as I have said, was between them; but both sides, getting as close as possible to its bank, for the most part used arrows 8.35.11 against each other. And some single combats also took place, when a Gothic warrior, as it happened, would cross the bridge by challenge. And a period of two months 8.35.12 was spent by the two armies in this way. So long, then, as the Goths controlled the sea there, they held out, bringing in their provisions by ship, since they were encamped not far from the 8.35.13 sea. But later the Romans captured the enemy's ships through the betrayal of a Goth, who was in command of all the ships, and countless ships came to them from both Sicily and 8.35.14 the rest of the empire. At the same time Narses, by setting up wooden towers on the bank of the river, was completely able to break the spirit of the 8.35.15 enemy. At which the Goths, becoming terrified and pressed by lack of necessities, flee to a nearby mountain, which the Romans call Mons Lactarius in the Latin tongue; where the Romans were by no means able to pursue 8.35.16 them, as the difficult terrain stood in the way. But the barbarians, having ascended there, immediately repented it, since they were in much greater want of provisions, being unable by any means to provide 8.35.17 them for themselves and their horses. Therefore, thinking the end of life in battle to be preferable to that from famine, they advanced against the enemy contrary to expectation, and fell upon them suddenly and 8.35.18 unexpectedly. But the Romans stood to defend themselves as best they could under the circumstances, not having formed their battle line according to commanders or companies or regiments, nor distinguished from one another in any other way, nor about to hear the commands given them in the engagement, but prepared to oppose the enemy with all their might, in whatever way might 8.35.19 happen. The Goths, then, first dismounting from their horses, all stood on foot facing front in a deep phalanx, and the Romans, seeing this, also dismounted from their horses, and in the same manner

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ὑπερβολὴν ἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου τετύχηκεν εἶναι, οὗ δὴ ἔνερθεν διηνεκὲς τὸ 8.35.3 πῦρ καίεται. ἐς τόσον δὲ βάθος τοῦτο δὴ τὸ κενὸν διήκειν ξυμβαίνει ὥστε δὴ ἀνθρώπῳ ἐν τῇ ἀκρωρείᾳ ἑστῶτι ὑπερκύπτειν τε τολμῶντι ἐνθένδε οὐ ῥᾳδίως 8.35.4 ἡ φλὸξ ὁρατὴ γίνεται. ὁπηνίκα δὲ ξυνενεχθείη τῷ ὄρει τῷδε τὴν κόνιν, ᾗπέρ μοι ἐρρήθη, ἐρεύγεσθαι, καὶ πέτρας ἀποτεμνομένη ἀπὸ τῶν τοῦ Βεβίου ἐσχάτων ἡ φλὸξ ὑπὲρ τὴν κορυφὴν τοῦ ὄρους τούτου μετεωρίζει, τὰς μὲν βραχείας, τὰς δὲ καὶ μεγάλας κομιδῆ οὔσας, ἐνθένδε τε αὐτὰς ἀποπεμπομένη 8.35.5 ὅπη παρατύχοι διασκεδάννυσι. ῥέει δὲ καὶ ῥύαξ ἐνταῦθα πυρὸς ἐκ τῆς ἀκρωρείας κατατείνων ἄχρι ἐς τοῦ ὄρους τὸν πρόποδα καὶ ἔτι πρόσω, ἅπερ ἅπαντα καὶ κατὰ τὴν Αἴτνην γίνεσθαι πέφυκεν. ὄχθας δὲ ποιεῖται ὑψηλὰς ἑκατέρωθεν ὁ τοῦ πυρὸς ῥύαξ, τὰ 8.35.6 ἔνερθεν τέμνων. καὶ φερομένη μὲν ἐπὶ τοῦ ῥύακος τὰ πρῶτα ἡ φλὸξ καιομένῃ εἰκάζεται ὕδατος ἐκροῇ· ἐπεὶ δὲ αὐτῇ ἀποσβεσθῆναι ξυμβαίη, ἀναστέλλεται μὲν τῷ ῥύακι ὁ δρόμος εὐθὺς, ἐπίπροσθέν τε ὁ ῥοῦς οὐδαμῆ πρόεισι, τὸ δὲ ὑφιζάνον τούτου δὴ τοῦ πυρὸς πηλὸς φαίνεται σποδιᾷ ἐμφερής. 8.35.7 Κατὰ τούτου δὴ τοῦ Βεβίου τὸν πρόποδα ὕδατος πηγαὶ ποτίμου εἰσί. καὶ ποταμὸς ἀπ' αὐτῶν πρόεισι ∆ράκων ὄνομα, ὃς δὴ ἄγχιστά πη τῆς Νουκερίας πόλεως φέρεται. τούτου τοῦ ποταμοῦ ἑκατέρωθεν ἐστρα8.35.8 τοπεδεύσαντο ἀμφότεροι τότε. ἔστι δὲ ὁ ∆ράκων τὸ μὲν ῥεῦμα βραχὺς, οὐ μέντοι ἐσβατὸς οὔτε ἱππεῦσιν οὔτε πεζοῖς, ἐπεὶ ἐν στενῷ ξυνάγων τὸν ῥοῦν τήν τε γῆν ἀποτεμνόμενος ὡς βαθύτατα ἑκατέρωθεν ὥσπερ 8.35.9 ἀποκρεμαμένας ποιεῖται τὰς ὄχθας. πότερα δὲ τῆς γῆς ἢ τοῦ ὕδατος φέρεται τὴν αἰτίαν ἡ φύσις οὐκ ἔχω εἰδέναι. καταλαβόντες δὲ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τὴν γέφυραν Γότθοι, ἐπεὶ αὐτῆς ἐστρατοπεδεύσαντο ἄγχιστα, πύργους τε ξυλίνους ταύτῃ ἐνθέμενοι μηχανάς τε ἄλλας καὶ τὰς βαλλίστρας καλουμένας ἐνταῦθα πεποίηνται, ὅπως ἐνθένδε κατὰ κορυφὴν τῶν πολεμίων ἐνοχ8.35.10 λοῦντας δύνωνται βάλλειν. ἐκ χειρὸς μὲν οὖν γίνεσθαί τινα ξυμβολὴν ἀμήχανα ἦν, τοῦ ποταμοῦ, ᾗπέρ μοι εἴρηται, μεταξὺ ὄντος· ἀμφότεροι δὲ ὡς ἀγχοτάτω τῆς κατ' αὐτὸν ὄχθης γενόμενοι τοξεύμασι τὰ πολλὰ 8.35.11 ἐς ἀλλήλους ἐχρῶντο. ἐγίνοντο δὲ καὶ μονομαχίαι τινὲς, Γότθου ἀνδρὸς, ἂν οὕτω τύχοι, ἐκ προκλήσεως τὴν γέφυραν διαβαίνοντος. χρόνος τε μηνῶν δυοῖν 8.35.12 τοῖν στρατοπέδοιν ἐς τοῦτο ἐτρίβη. ἕως μὲν οὖν ἐθαλασσοκράτουν ἐνταῦθα οἱ Γότθοι, ἐσκομιζόμενοι τὰ ἐπιτήδεια ναυσὶν ἀντεῖχον, ἐπεὶ τῆς θαλάσσης 8.35.13 ἐστρατοπεδεύοντο οὐ πολλῷ ἄποθεν. ὕστερον δὲ Ῥωμαῖοι τά τε πλοῖα τῶν πολεμίων προδοσίᾳ Γότθου ἀνδρὸς εἷλον, ὃς δὴ ταῖς ναυσὶν ἐφειστήκει πάσαις, καὶ αὐτοῖς νῆες ἀνάριθμοι ἦλθον ἔκ τε Σικελίας καὶ 8.35.14 τῆς ἄλλης ἀρχῆς. ἅμα δὲ καὶ ὁ Ναρσῆς πύργους ξυλίνους ἐπὶ τοῦ ποταμοῦ τῇ ὄχθῃ καταστησάμενος δουλῶσαι τῶν ἐναντίων τὸ φρόνημα παντελῶς ἴσχυ8.35.15 σεν. οἷς δὴ οἱ Γότθοι περίφοβοι γεγενημένοι καὶ πιεζόμενοι τῶν ἀναγκαίων τῇ ἀπορίᾳ ἐς ὄρος ἄγχιστα ὂν καταφεύγουσιν, ὅπερ Ῥωμαῖοι Γάλακτος Ὄρος τῇ Λατίνων καλοῦσι φωνῇ· οὗ δὴ αὐτοῖς Ῥωμαῖοι ἐπισπέ8.35.16 σθαι οὐδαμῆ εἶχον, τῆς δυσχωρίας ἀντιστατούσης. ἀλλὰ τοῖς βαρβάροις αὐτίκα ἐνταῦθα ἀναβεβηκόσι μετέμελεν, ἐπεὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων πολλῷ ἔτι μᾶλλον ἐσπάνιζον, σφίσι τε αὐτοῖς καὶ τοῖς ἵπποις ἐκπορίζε8.35.17 σθαι αὐτὰ οὐδεμιᾷ μηχανῇ ἔχοντες. διὸ δὴ τὴν ἐν ξυμβολῇ τοῦ βίου καταστροφὴν αἱρετωτέραν τῆς πρὸς τοῦ λιμοῦ εἶναι οἰόμενοι ὁμόσε τοῖς πολεμίοις παρὰ δόξαν ἐχώρουν, ἀπροσδόκητοί τε αὐτοῖς ἐξαπιναίως 8.35.18 ἐπέπεσον. Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ αὐτοὺς ὡς ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ἀμυνούμενοι ἔστησαν, οὐ κατὰ ἄρχοντας ἢ λόχους ἢ καταλόγους τὴν τάξιν καταστησάμενοι, οὐδὲ τρόπῳ τῳ ἄλλῳ διακεκριμένοι ἀλλήλων, οὐδὲ τῶν σφίσι παραγγελλομένων ἐν τῇ ξυμβολῇ ἀκουσόμενοι, ἀλλ' ἀλκῇ τῇ πάσῃ, ὅπη ποτὲ παρατύχῃ, τοῖς πολεμίοις ἀντιταξό8.35.19 μενοι. Γότθοι μὲν οὖν τῶν ἵππων ἀφέμενοι πρῶτοι πεζῇ μετωπηδὸν εἰς βαθεῖαν φάλαγγα ἔστησαν ἅπαντες, καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ ταῦτα ἰδόντες τοὺς ἵππους ἀφῆκαν, καὶ τρόπῳ τῷ αὐτῷ