ἱστορίαι Historiai
Liv. 30.5 The History of Rome, Livy; served verbatim
Destruction o f Hasdrubal's and Syphax's Camps.-After making these arrangements he summoned a council of war and ordered the spies to report what they had discovered, and at the same time requested Masinissa who knew all about the enemy to give the council any information he could. He then laid before them his own plan of operations for the coming night and directed the tribunes to. lead the troops out of camp aS soon as the trumpets sounded on the break-up of the council. In obedience to his order the march out began at sunset. About the first watch the column of march was deployed into line of battle. After advancing in this order at an easy pace for seven miles they reached the hostile camp about midnight. Scipio assigned a portion of his force. including Masinissa and his Numidians, to Laelius with instructions to attack night attack. He told them that he should attack Hasdrubal and the Carthaginian camp, but would wait until he saw the king's camp on fire. He had not to wait long, for when the fire was’ cast on the nearest huts it very soon caught the next ones and then running along in all directions spread over the whole camp. Such an extensive fire breaking out at night naturall produced alarm and confusion, but Syphax 's men thinking Ly.It was due to accident and not to the enemy rushed out without arms to try and extinguish it. They found themselves at once confronted by an armed foe, mainly Numidians whom Masinissa, thoroughly acauainted with the arranvement of the came. had postea in places wnere tney couta aiocx an the avenues. Some were caught by the flames, whilst half asleep in their beds, numbers who had fled precipitately, scrambling over - one another were trampled to death in the camp gates.

The Greek stands ready in the workroom; the English is served. Both faces will read together.

← Liv. 30.4 contents Liv. 30.6 →

Filed here — the addresses this episode attests; counted by the house’s first pass
Carthaginian — a candidate entry Hasdrubal — a candidate entry Laelius — a candidate entry Masinissa — a candidate entry

The History of Rome, Livy — translated by Rev. Canon Roberts, 1912
Apparatus shelf + pinned Wikisource — Livy, The History of Rome (Rev. Canon Roberts translation, Everyman's Library) · Rev. Canon Roberts, Everyman's Library (J. M. Dent & Sons / E. P. Dutton), first issue 1912; six volumes
license: public-domain (the Roberts translation's Everyman first issue is 1912, pre-1930; Wikisource dates the translation 1905 — either way decades inside the US public domain; digital-door text carries no additional rights)