§21.1ἐν δὲ τοῖς τῶν Σεγουντίνων πεδίοις εἰς τὰς ἐσχάτας ἀπορίας κατακεκλεικὼς τούς πολεμίους, ἠναγκάσθη συμβαλεῖν αὐτοῖς καταβαίνουσιν ἐφʼ ἁρπαγὴν καὶ σιτολογίαν.
But in the plains of the Seguntines, having shut up the enemy into extreme straits, he was forced to join battle with them as they came down for plunder and foraging.
ἠγωνίσθη δὲ λαμπρῶς παρʼ ἀμφοτέρων, καὶ Μέμμιος μὲν ὁ τῶν ὑπὸ Πομπηΐῳ στρατηγῶν ἡγεμονικώτατος ἐν τῷ καρτερωτάτῳ τῆς μάχης ἔπεσεν, ἐκράτει δὲ Σερτώριος καὶ φόνῳ πολλῷ τῶν ἔτι συνεστώτων ἐωθεῖτο πρὸς αὐτὸν Μέτελλον.
The battle was brilliantly contested by both sides, and Memmius, the most capable of the commanders under Pompey, fell in the hottest part of the fight; but Sertorius was victorious, and with a great slaughter of those who still resisted, was forcing his way toward Metellus himself.
§21.2ὁ δὲ παρʼ ἡλικίαν ὑποστὰς καὶ περιφανῶς ἀγωνιζόμενος παίεται δόρατι.
But Metellus, making a stand beyond his age and fighting conspicuously, was struck with a spear.
τοῦτο τούς μὲν ἰδόντας τῶν Ῥωμαίων, τοὺς δὲ ἀκούσαντας αἰδὼς ἔσχεν ἐγκαταλιπεῖν τὸν ἡγεμόνα, καὶ θυμὸς ἅμα πρὸς τούς πολεμίους παρέστη.
This filled the Romans, both those who saw it and those who heard of it, with shame at the thought of abandoning their leader, and at the same time anger against the enemy came upon them.
προθέμενοι δὲ τούς θυρεοὺς καὶ συνεξενεγκόντες εὐρώστως ἐξωθοῦσι τούς Ἴβηρας· §21.3καὶ γενομένης οὕτω παλιντρόπου τῆς νίκης, ὁ Σερτώριος ἐκείνοις τε φυγὰς ἀδεεῖς μηχανώμενος καὶ τεχνάζων ἑτέραν αὐτῷ δύναμιν συνελθεῖν ἐφʼ ἡσυχίας, εἰς πόλιν ὀρεινὴν καὶ καρτερὰν ἀναφυγὼν ἐφράγνυτο τὰ τείχη καὶ τὰς πύλας ὠχυροῦτο, πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ πολιορκίαν ὑπομένειν διανοούμενος, ἀλλʼ ἐξηπάτα τοὺς πολεμίους· §21.4ἐκείνῳ γὰρ προσκαθεζόμενοι καὶ τὸ χωρίον οὐ χαλεπῶς λήψεσθαι προσδοκῶντες, τούς τε φεύγοντας τῶν βαρβάρων προΐεντο καὶ τῆς ἀθροιζομένης αὖθις τῷ Σερτωρίῳ δυνάμεως ἠμέλησαν.
Putting their shields in front of them and charging together vigorously, they pushed back the Iberians; and the victory having thus turned around, Sertorius, planning safe retreats for his men and scheming for another force to assemble for him in quiet, fled for refuge to a mountainous and strong city, where he began to block up the walls and fortify the gates, intending anything rather than to endure a siege, but in fact deceiving the enemy; for they, sitting down before the place and expecting to capture it without difficulty, let go the fleeing barbarians and neglected the force that was being assembled again for Sertorius.
ἠθροίζετο δέ, πέμψαντος ἡγεμόνας ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις αὐτοῦ, καὶ κελεύοντος ὅταν ἤδη πολλοὺς ἔχωσιν, ἄγγελον ἀποστεῖλαι πρὸς αὐτόν.
And it was being assembled because he had sent officers to the cities, ordering them to send a messenger to him as soon as they had a large number of men.
§21.5ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπέστειλαν, σὺν οὐδενὶ πόνῳ διεκπαισάμενος τούς πολεμίους συνέμιξε τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ· καὶ πάλιν ἐπῄει πολὺς γεγονώς καὶ περιέκοπτεν αὐτῶν τὴν μὲν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς εὐπορίαν ἐνέδραις καὶ κυκλώσεσι καὶ τῷ πανταχόσε φοιτᾶν ὀξὺς ἐπιών, τὰ δʼ ἐκ θαλάττης λῃστρικοῖς σκάφεσι κατέχων τὴν παραλίαν, ὥστε ἠναγκάσθησαν οἱ στρατηγοὶ διαλυθέντες ὁ μὲν εἰς Γαλατίαν ἀπελθεῖν, Πομπήϊος δὲ περὶ Βακκαίους διαχειμάσαι μοχθηρῶς ὑπὸ ἀχρηματίας, γράφων πρὸς τὴν σύγκλητον ὡς ἀπάξει τὸν στρατόν, εἰ μὴ πέμποιεν ἀργύριον αὐτῷ· καταναλωκέναι γὰρ ἤδη τὰ αὑτοῦ προπολεμῶν τῆς Ἰταλίας.
And when they sent, having broken through the enemy without any difficulty, he joined his own forces; and again he came on with great strength and cut off their supplies from the land by ambushes, encirclements, and by attacking swiftly, moving everywhere, while he held the coast with piratical vessels to cut off those from the sea, so that the generals were forced to separate, and one departed to Gaul, while Pompey wintered among the Vaccaei in distress from lack of money, writing to the senate that he would lead his army away unless they sent him money; for he said he had already spent his own fortune while fighting in defense of Italy.
§21.6καὶ πολὺς ἦν οὗτος ἐν Ῥώμῃ λόγος, ὡς Πομπηΐου πρότερος εἰς Ἰταλίαν ἀφίξοιτο Σερτώριος· εἰς τοσοῦτον τοὺς πρώτους καὶ δυνατωτάτους τῶν τότε στρατηγῶν ἡ Σερτωρίου δεινότης κατέστησεν.
And this was a common talk in Rome, that Sertorius would arrive in Italy before Pompey; to such a pass did the skill of Sertorius reduce the first and most powerful generals of that time.