§17_18.1.1ὅτι ὁ Σαυνιτικὸς αὖθις ἀνερριπίσθη πόλεμος ἀπὸ τοιαύτης αἰτίας ἀρξάμενος.
That the Samnite war was rekindled, starting from the following cause.
μετὰ τὰς σπονδάς, ἃς ἐποιήσαντο πρὸς τὴν Ῥωμαίων πόλιν οἱ Σαυνῖται, χρόνον ὀλίγον ἐπισχόντες ἐπὶ Λευκανοὺς ἐστράτευσαν ὁμόρους ὄντας ἐκ παλαιᾶς τινος ὁρμηθέντες ἔχθρας.
After the treaty which they had made with the city of the Romans, the Samnites, having waited for a short time, marched against the Lucanians, who were their neighbors, being impelled by some ancient enmity.
§17_18.1.2κατʼ ἀρχὰς μὲν οὖν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν δυνάμεσι πιστεύοντες οἱ Λευκανοὶ τόν πόλεμον διέφερον· ἐν ἁπάσαις δὲ μειονεκτοῦντες ταῖς μάχαις καὶ πολλὰ μὲν ἀπολωλεκότες ἤδη χωρία, κινδυνεύοντες δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς ἄλλης γῆς ἁπάσης, ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥωμαίων βοήθειαν ἠναγκάσθησαν καταφυγεῖν, συνειδότες μὲν ἑαυτοῖς ἐψευσμένοις ἃς πρότερον ἐποιήσαντο πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁμολογίας, ἐν αἷς φιλίαν συνέθεντο καὶ συμμαχίαν, οὐκ ἀπογνόντες δὲ συμπείσειν αὐτούς, ἐὰν ἐξ ἁπάσης πόλεως τοὺς ἐπιφανεστάτους παῖδας ὁμήρους ἅμα τοῖς πρεσβευταῖς ἀποστείλωσιν· ὅπερ καὶ §17_18.1.3συνέβη.
At first, indeed, the Lucanians, trusting in their own forces, maintained the war; but being worsted in all the battles, and having already lost many places, and being in danger also concerning all the rest of their land, they were forced to fly to the assistance of the Romans. Although they were conscious within themselves of having broken the agreements they had previously made with them, in which they had established friendship and alliance, they did not despair of persuading them, if they should send the most distinguished children from every city as hostages together with the ambassadors; which indeed occurred.
ἀφικομένων γὰρ τῶν πρέσβεων καὶ πολλὰ δεομένων ἥ τε βουλὴ δέχεσθαι τὰ ὅμηρα ἔγνω καὶ τὴν φιλίαν πρὸς τοὺς Λευκανοὺς συνάψαι, καὶ ὁ §17_18.1.4δῆμος ἐπεκύρωσε τὰ ψηφισθέντα ὑπʼ αὐτῆς.
For when the ambassadors arrived and made many entreaties, the senate decided to receive the hostages and to conclude the friendship with the Lucanians, and the assembly ratified what had been decreed by them.
γενομένων δὲ τῶν συνθηκῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἀποσταλέντας ὑπὸ τῶν Λευκανῶν ἄνδρας οἱ πρεσβύτατοι Ῥωμαίων καὶ τιμιώτατοι προχειρισθέντες ὑπὸ τῆς βουλῆς πρέσβεις ἀπεστάλησαν ἐπὶ τὴν κοινὴν τῶν Σαυνιτῶν σύνοδον, δηλώσοντες αὐτοῖς, ὅτι φίλοι καὶ σύμμαχοι Ῥωμαίων εἰσὶ Λευκανοί, καὶ τήν τε χώραν ἣν ἔτυχον αὐτῶν ἀφῃρημένοι παρακαλέσοντες ἀποδιδόναι, καὶ μηδὲν ἔτι πράττειν ἔργον πολεμίων, ὡς οὐ περιοψομένης τῆς Ῥωμαίων πόλεως τοὺς ἑαυτῆς ἱκέτας ἐξελαυνομένους ἐκ τῆς σφετέρας.
And when the treaty was concluded with the men sent by the Lucanians, the oldest and most honored of the Romans, having been chosen by the senate as ambassadors, were sent to the common council of the Samnites, to declare to them that the Lucanians were friends and allies of the Romans, and to demand that they restore the land which they happened to have taken from them, and do no further hostile deed, on the ground that the city of the Romans would not look on while her own suppliants were being driven out of their own land.