§1.67.1μένης περὶ αὐτοὺς ἐπανορθώσεως.
[...had great hopes and great expectations of what was to] come to them.
διόπερ ἅμα τῷ συλλεχθῆναι πάντας εἰς τὴν Σίκκαν, καὶ παραγενόμενον Ἄννωνα τὸν ὑπάρχοντα στρατηγὸν ἐν τῇ Λιβύῃ τότε τῶν Καρχηδονίων μὴ οἷον τὰς ἐλπίδας καὶ τὰς ἐπαγγελίας ἐκπληροῦν, ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον λέγοντα τὸ βάρος τῶν φόρων καὶ τὴν καθόλου στενοχωρίαν τῆς πόλεως ἐγχειρεῖν παραιτεῖσθαι μέρος τι τῶν ἐξ ὁμολόγου προσοφειλομένων ὀψωνίων, §1.67.2εὐθέως διαφορὰ καὶ στάσις ἐγεννᾶτο καὶ συνδρομαὶ συνεχεῖς ἐγίνοντο, ποτὲ μὲν κατὰ γένη, ποτὲ δʼ ὁμοῦ πάντων.
Therefore, as soon as all of them had assembled in Sicca, and Hanno, who was then the Carthaginian general in Libya, had arrived and, far from fulfilling their hopes and promises, on the contrary spoke of the heavy burden of the taxes and the general distress of the city, and attempted to ask them to remit a portion of the pay that was admittedly due to them, immediately dissension and mutiny broke out, and there were constant gatherings, sometimes by nationalities and sometimes of all of them together.
§1.67.3ὡς δʼ ἂν μήθʼ ὁμοεθνῶν μήθʼ ὁμογλώττων ὑπαρχόντων, ἦν ἀμιξίας καὶ θορύβου καὶ τῆς λεγομένης τύρβης πλῆρες τὸ στρατόπεδον.
Since they were neither of the same nation nor of the same language, the camp was full of discord, tumult, and what is called "turba".
§1.67.4Καρχηδόνιοι γὰρ ἀεὶ χρώμενοι ποικίλαις καὶ μισθοφορικαῖς δυνάμεσιν, πρὸς μὲν τὸ μὴ ταχέως συμφρονήσαντας ἀπειθεῖν μηδὲ δυσκαταπλήκτους εἶναι τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὀρθῶς στοχάζονται, ποιοῦντες ἐκ πολλῶν γενῶν τὴν δύναμιν, §1.67.5πρὸς δὲ τὸ γενομένης ὀργῆς ἢ διαβολῆς ἢ στάσεως διδάξαι καὶ πραῧναι καὶ μεταθεῖναι τοὺς ἠγνοηκότας ὁλοσχερῶς ἀστοχοῦσιν.
For the Carthaginians, who always employ varied and mercenary forces, successfully hit the mark in making their army consist of many nationalities, with a view to preventing them from quickly combining and becoming disobedient or difficult for their leaders to overawe; but they completely miss the mark when it comes to instructing, softening, and reclaiming those who are in ignorance, once anger, slander, or mutiny has broken out.
§1.67.6οὐ γὰρ οἷον ἀνθρωπίνῃ χρῆσθαι κακίᾳ συμβαίνει τὰς τοιαύτας δυνάμεις, ὅταν ἅπαξ εἰς ὀργὴν καὶ διαβολὴν ἐμπέσωσι πρός τινας, ἀλλʼ ἀποθηριοῦσθαι τὸ τελευταῖον καὶ παραστατικὴν λαμβάνειν διάθεσιν.
For such forces do not merely display human malice, once they have fallen into anger and suspicion against anyone, but in the end they become like wild beasts and fall into a state of frenzy.
§1.67.7ὃ καὶ τότε συνέβη γενέσθαι περὶ αὐτούς· ἦσαν γὰρ οἱ μὲν Ἴβηρες, οἱ δὲ Κελτοί, τινὲς δὲ Λιγυστῖνοι καὶ Βαλιαρεῖς, οὐκ ὀλίγοι δὲ μιξέλληνες, ὧν οἱ πλείους αὐτόμολοι καὶ δοῦλοι· τὸ δὲ μέγιστον μέρος αὐτῶν ἦν Λίβυες.
This is exactly what happened to them at that time; for there were Iberians, Celts, some Ligurians and Balearics, and not a few half-Greeks, most of whom were deserters and slaves; but the largest part of them were Libyans.
§1.67.8διόπερ οὔτʼ ἐκκλησιάσαι συναθροίσαντα πάντας ὁμοῦ δυνατὸν ἦν οὔτʼ ἄλλην οὐδεμίαν εὑρέσθαι πρὸς τοῦτο μηχανήν.
Therefore, it was neither possible to hold an assembly by gathering them all together, nor to find any other means for this purpose.
§1.67.9πῶς γὰρ οἷόν τε;
For how was it possible?
τὸν μὲν γὰρ στρατηγὸν εἰδέναι τὰς ἑκάστων διαλέκτους ἀδύνατον· διὰ πλειόνων δʼ ἑρμηνέων ἐκκλησιάζειν, ἅμα τετράκις καὶ πεντάκις περὶ ταὐτοῦ λέγοντα πράγματος, σχεδὸν ὡς εἰπεῖν ἔτι τοῦ πρόσθεν ἀδυνατώτερον.
It is impossible for a general to know the languages of each; and to hold an assembly through several interpreters, speaking four or five times about the same matter, is, so to speak, even more impossible than the former.
§1.67.10λοιπὸν ἦν διὰ τῶν ἡγεμόνων ποιεῖσθαι τὰς ἀξιώσεις καὶ παρακλήσεις· ὅπερ ἐπειρᾶτο τότε συνεχῶς ποιεῖν [ὁ] Ἄννων.
The only remaining way was to make representations and appeals through their officers; which was what Hanno was then constantly trying to do.
§1.67.11ἀκμὴν δὲ καὶ τούτους συνέβαινεν ἃ μὲν οὐκ αἰσθάνεσθαι τῶν λεγομένων, ἃ δὲ καὶ συναινέσαντας ἐνίοτε τῷ στρατηγῷ τἀναντία πρὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἀναγγέλλειν, τοὺς μὲν διʼ ἄγνοιαν, τοὺς δὲ διὰ κακίαν· ἐξ ὧν ἦν ἀσαφείας, ἀπιστίας, ἀμιξίας ἅπαντα πλήρη.
But it happened that even these officers sometimes did not understand what was said, and sometimes, after agreeing with the general, reported the opposite to the multitude, some through ignorance and others through malice; as a result, everything was full of obscurity, distrust, and discord.
§1.67.12πρὸς γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις ᾤοντο καὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἐπίτηδες τοὺς μὲν εἰδότας στρατηγοὺς τὰς γεγενημένας χρείας κατὰ Σικελίαν ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ πεποιημένους σφίσι τὰς ἐπαγγελίας οὐκ ἐξαποστέλλειν ὡς αὐτούς, τὸν δὲ μηδενὶ τούτων παρηκολουθηκότα τοῦτον ἐκπεπομφέναι.
For, in addition to other things, they also thought that the Carthaginians had purposely not sent to them those generals who knew the services they had rendered in Sicily and who had made promises to them, but had sent out this man who had been present at none of these events.
§1.67.13τέλος δʼ οὖν ἀπαξιώσαντες μὲν τὸν Ἄννωνα, διαπιστήσαντες δὲ τοῖς κατὰ μέρος ἡγεμόσιν, ἐξοργισθέντες δὲ πρὸς τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ὥρμησαν πρὸς τὴν πόλιν· καὶ κατεστρατοπέδευσαν ἀπέχοντες ὡς ἂν ἑκατὸν καὶ εἴκοσι στάδια τῆς Καρχηδόνος ἐπὶ τῷ καλουμένῳ Τύνητι, πλείους ὄντες τῶν δισμυρίων.
At last, then, having rejected Hanno, having distrusted their individual officers, and being enraged against the Carthaginians, they marched towards the city; and they encamped at a distance of about one hundred and twenty stadia from Carthage, at a place called Tunes, being more than twenty thousand in number.