§36.4.1περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐπιτροπῆς εἴρηται μὲν ἡμῖν καὶ πρότερον, ἀναγκαῖον δʼ ἔστιν καὶ νῦν ὑπομνῆσαι κεφαλαιωδῶς. §36.4.2οἱ γὰρ διδόντες αὑτοὺς εἰς τὴν Ῥωμαίων ἐπιτροπὴν διδόασι πρῶτον μὲν χώραν τὴν ὑπάρχουσαν αὐτοῖς καὶ πόλεις τὰς ἐν ταύτῃ, σὺν δὲ τούτοις ἄνδρας καὶ γυναῖκας τοὺς ὑπάρχοντας ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ καὶ ταῖς πόλεσιν ἅπαντας, §36.4.3ὁμοίως ποταμούς, λιμένας, ἱερά, τάφους, συλλήβδην ὥστε πάντων εἶναι κυρίους Ῥωμαίους, αὐτοὺς δὲ τοὺς διδόντας ἁπλῶς μηκέτι μηδενός. §36.4.4γενομένης δὲ τῆς ἀνθομολογήσεως τοιαύτης ὑπὸ τῶν Καρχηδονίων, καὶ μετʼ ὀλίγον εἰσκληθέντων αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ συνέδριον, ἔλεγεν ὁ στρατηγὸς τὴν τῆς συγκλήτου γνώμην ὅτι καλῶς αὐτῶν βεβουλευμένων δίδωσιν αὐτοῖς ἡ σύγκλητος τήν τʼ ἐλευθερίαν καὶ τοὺς νόμους, ἔτι δὲ τὴν χώραν ἅπασαν καὶ τὴν τῶν ἄλλων ὑπαρχόντων κτῆσιν καὶ κοινῇ καὶ κατʼ ἰδίαν. §36.4.5οἱ δὲ Καρχηδόνιοι ταῦτʼ ἀκούσαντες ἔχαιρον, δόξαντες ὡς ἐν κακῶν αἱρέσει καλῶς σφίσιν κεχρῆσθαι τὴν σύγκλητον, ἅτε τῶν ἀναγκαιοτάτων καὶ μεγίστων αὐτοῖς συγκεχωρημένων. §36.4.6μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τοῦ στρατηγοῦ διασαφοῦντος διότι τεύξονται τούτων, ἐὰν τριακοσίους ὁμήρους εἰς τὸ Λιλύβαιον ἐκπέμψωσιν ἐν τριάκονθʼ ἡμέραις τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν ἐκ τῆς συγκλήτου καὶ τῆς γερουσίας καὶ τοῖς ὑπὸ τῶν ὑπάτων παραγγελλομένοις πειθαρχήσωσιν, §36.4.7ἐπὶ ποσὸν ἠπόρησαν ποῖα τὰ διὰ τῶν ὑπάτων αὐτοῖς ἔσται παραγγελλόμενα· πλὴν τότε γʼ ἐξ αὐτῆς ὥρμησαν, σπεύδοντες ἀναγγεῖλαι τῇ πατρίδι περὶ τούτων. §36.4.8παραγενόμενοι δʼ εἰς τὴν Καρχηδόνα διεσάφουν τοῖς πολίταις τὰ κατὰ μέρος. §36.4.9οἱ δὲ διακούσαντες τἄλλα μὲν ἐνδεχομένως ἐνόμιζον βεβουλεῦσθαι τοὺς πρεσβευτάς, περὶ δὲ πόλεως μὴ γεγονέναι μνείαν εἰς μεγάλην ἐπίστασιν αὐτοὺς ἦγε καὶ πολλὴν ἀμηχανίαν.
With regard to the surrender, we have indeed spoken before, but it is necessary even now to recall it in summary. For those who surrender themselves to the Roman power of decision give up first their land and the cities in it, and besides these, all the men and women who are in the land and the cities, likewise the rivers, harbors, sanctuaries, tombs, and in a word, so that the Romans become masters of everything, and those who surrendered themselves simply possess nothing anymore. When such an agreement was made by the Carthaginians, and shortly after they were summoned into the Senate, the general declared the opinion of the Senate, that since they had deliberated well, the Senate granted them their freedom and laws, and furthermore all their land and the possession of their other property, both public and private. The Carthaginians, on hearing this, were rejoiced, thinking that, in a choice of evils, the Senate had treated them well, inasmuch as their most necessary and important rights had been conceded to them. After this, when the general made it clear that they would obtain these things on condition that they sent three hundred hostages to Lilybaeum within thirty days, being the sons of members of the Senate and the council of elders, and obeyed the commands given to them by the consuls, they were for a moment puzzled as to what the commands to be given to them by the consuls would be; however, for the time being they set out from there at once, hastening to report these things to their country. When they arrived in Carthage, they explained the details to the citizens. The citizens, after listening to everything, thought that on other points the ambassadors had acted properly, but the fact that no mention had been made of the city led them into great apprehension and complete helplessness.