§I"ὅτι ἀποροῦντες Ῥωμαῖοί τε καὶ Καρχηδόνιοι χρηματων, οἱ μὲν οὐκέτι ἐναυπήγουν, τετρυμένοι διὰ τὰς ἐσφοράς, ἀλλὰ πεζὴν στρατιὰν καταλέγοντες ἐξέπεμπον ἐς Λιβύην καὶ ἐς Σικελίαν ἀνὰ ἔτος ἕκαστον, Καρχηδόνιοι δʼ ἐς Πτολεμαῖον ἐπρεσβεύοντο, τὸν Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Λάγου, βασιλέα Αἰγύπτου, δισχίλια τάλαντα κιχρώμενοι.
Since the Romans and Carthaginians were in want of money, the former no longer built ships, being exhausted by taxes, but instead enlisted land forces and sent them to Libya and Sicily year by year; while the Carthaginians sent ambassadors to Ptolemy, the son of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, king of Egypt, to borrow two thousand talents.
τῷ δʼ ἦν ἔς τε Ῥωμαίους καὶ Καρχηδονίους φιλία, καὶ συναλλάξαι σφᾶς ἐπεχείρησεν ἀλλήλοις.
He had friendship with both the Romans and Carthaginians, and tried to reconcile them with one another.
οὐ δυνηθεὶς δʼ ἔφη χρῆναι φίλοις κατʼ ἐχθρῶν συμμαχεῖν, οὐ κατὰ φίλων. "
When he was unable to do so, he said that it was necessary to be allies with friends against enemies, not against friends.
§II"ὅτι οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι δὶς ἐν τῇ γῇ τοῦ αὐτοῦ χρόνου καὶ δὶς ἐν τῇ θαλάσσῃ παθόντες, ἐν ᾗ δὴ καὶ πάνυ προύχειν ἐνόμιζον, καὶ χρημάτων ἀποροῦντες ἤδη καὶ νεῶν καὶ ἀνδρῶν, ᾔτουν ἀνοχὰς παρὰ τοῦ Λουτατίου, καὶ λαβόντες ἐπρεσβεύοντὸ ἐς Ῥώμην περὶ διαλλαγῶν ἐπὶ βραχυτέροις, συνέπεμπόν τε τοῖς πρέσβεσιν Ἀτίλιον Ῥῆγλον τὸν ὕπατον, αἰχμάλωτον ὄντα σφῶν, δεησόμενον τῆς πατρίδος ἐπὶ τοῖσδε συνθέσθαι.
The Carthaginians, having suffered defeat twice on land at the same period and twice at sea—in which indeed they believed they were far superior—and being already in want of money, ships, and men, asked for a truce from Lutatius, and having obtained it, sent ambassadors to Rome to treat for peace on easier terms; and they sent along with the ambassadors the consul Atilius Regulus, who was their prisoner, to entreat his country to agree to these terms.
ὁ δὲ ἧκε μὲν ὡς αἰχμάλωτος ἐσταλμένος φοινικικῶς, ὑπολειφθεὶς δὲ τῶν πρέσβεων ἐν τῷ βουλευτηρίῳ τετρῦσθαι τὰ Καρχηδονίων ἐδήλου, καὶ παρῄνεσεν ἢ πολεμεῖν ἐγκρατῶς ἢ ἐπὶ πλείοσι συνθέσθαι.
He came dressed as a prisoner in the Carthaginian fashion, but having been left behind by the ambassadors in the senate, he revealed that the affairs of the Carthaginians were ruined, and advised either to wage war vigorously or to agree on harder terms.
καὶ τόνδε μὲν ἐς Καρχηδόνα ἑκόντα ἐπανελθόντα ἔκτειναν οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι, κέντρα σιδήρεα σανίσιν ἐνηρμοσμένα πάντοθεν ἑστῶτι περιθέντες, ἵνα μηδαμόσε δύναιτο ἐπικλίνεσθαι, αὐτοὶ δὲ τὴν εἰρήνην ἐπὶ πλείοσι συνέθεντο.
And this man, having returned to Carthage of his own free will, the Carthaginians put to death, placing around him, as he stood, wooden planks fitted with iron spikes on all sides, so that he could lean in no direction; but they themselves agreed to peace on harder terms.
καὶ ἦν ἐφʼ οἷς συνέθεντο, τὰ μὲν αἰχμάλωτα Ῥωμαίων καὶ τοὺς αὐτομόλους, ὅσοι παρὰ Καρχηδονίοις εἰσί, Ῥωμαίοις εὐθὺς ἀποδοῦναι, καὶ Σικελίας Ῥωμαίοις ἀποστῆναι καὶ τῶν βραχυτέρων νήσων ὅσαι περὶ Σικελίαν, Συρακοσίοις δὲ ἢ Ἱέρωνι τῷ Συρακουσῶν τυράννῳ πολέμου Καρχηδονίους μὴ κατάρχειν, μηδὲ ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας ξενολογεῖν, ποινὴν δὲ τοῦ πολέμου Ῥωμαίοις ἐνεγκεῖν τάλαντα Εὐβοϊκὰ δισχίλια ἐν ἔτεσιν εἴκοσι, τὸ μέρος ἑκάστου ἔτους ἐς Ῥώμην ἀναφέροντας.
And the terms on which they agreed were: to restore immediately to the Romans all Roman prisoners and deserters who were among the Carthaginians; to withdraw from Sicily and from all the smaller islands around Sicily; not to make war against the Syracusans or Hiero the tyrant of Syracuse, nor to recruit mercenaries from Italy; and to pay to the Romans as a penalty for the war two thousand Euboic talents within twenty years, bringing each year’s portion to Rome.
ἔχει δὲ τὸ Εὐβοϊκὸν τάλαντον Ἀλεξανδρείους δραχμὰς ἑπτακισχιλίας.
The Euboic talent is equal to seven thousand Alexandrian drachmas.
ὁ μὲν δὴ πρῶτος περὶ Σικελίας Ῥωμαίοις καὶ Καρχηδονίοις πόλεμος, ἔτεσιν εἴκοσι καὶ τέσσαρσιν αὐτοῖς γενόμενος, ἐς τοῦτο ἐτελεύτα.
Thus the first war between the Romans and Carthaginians concerning Sicily, having lasted twenty-four years for them, came to this end.
καὶ ἀπώλοντο νῆες ἐν αὐτῷ Ῥωμαίων ἑπτακόσιαι, Καρχηδονίων δὲ πεντακόσιαι.
And in it there perished seven hundred ships of the Romans and five hundred of the Carthaginians.
Σικελίας δὲ οὕτω τοῦ πλέονος Ῥωμαῖοι κατέσχον, ὅσου Καρχηδόνιοι κατεῖχον· φόρους τε αὐτοῖς ἐπέθεσαν, καὶ τέλη τὰ θαλάσσια ταῖς πόλεσι μερισάμενοι στρατηγὸν ἐτήσιον ἔπεμπον ἐς Σικελίαν.
Thus the Romans took possession of the greater part of Sicily, as much as the Carthaginians had held; they imposed tributes on them, and having distributed the maritime taxes among the cities, they sent an annual praetor to Sicily.
Ἱέρωνα δὲ τὸν Συρακοσίων τύραννον, ἀνθʼ ὧν αὐτοῖς ἐς τόνδε τὸν πόλεμον συνεπεπράχει, φίλον καὶ σύμμαχον ἔθεντο.
And they made Hiero, the tyrant of Syracuse, a friend and ally in return for what he had done to help them in this war.
καταλυθέντος δὲ τοῦ πολέμου τοῦδε, Κελτοὶ Καρχηδονίους τόν τε μισθὸν ᾔτουν τὸν ἔτι ὀφειλόμενον σφίσιν ἐκ Σικελίας, καὶ δωρεὰς ὅσας ὑπέσχητο αὐτοῖς δώσειν Ἀμίλχας.
When this war was ended, the Celts demanded from the Carthaginians the pay still owed to them from Sicily, and all the gifts that Hamilcar had promised to give them.
ᾔτουν δὲ καὶ Λίβυες, ὑπήκοοι μὲν ὄντες οἵδε Καρχηδονίων, ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ἐν Σικελίᾳ στρατείας ἐπὶ φρονήματος γεγονότες καὶ τοὺς Καρχηδονίους ἀσθενεῖς καὶ ταπεινοὺς ὁρῶντες· ἐχαλέπαινόν τε αὐτοῖς τῆς ἀναιρέσεως τῶν τρισχιλίων, οὓς ἐσταυρώκεσαν τῆς ἐς Ῥωμαίους μεταβολῆς οὕνεκα.
The Libyans also made demands, being subjects of the Carthaginians, but having become high-spirited from the campaign in Sicily and seeing that the Carthaginians were weak and humbled; and they were angry with them for the execution of the three thousand whom they had crucified on account of their defection to the Romans.
διωθουμένων δὲ τῶν Καρχηδονίων ἑκατέρους, κατέλαβον ἄμφω Τύνητα πόλιν καὶ Ἰτύκην, ἣ μεγίστη Λιβύης ἐστὶ μετὰ Καρχηδόνα· ὅθεν ὁρμώμενοι τήν τε ἄλλην ἀφίστανον καὶ τῶν Νομάδων τινὰς ἔπειθον καὶ δούλων πολὺ πλῆθος ἀποδιδρασκόντων ὑπεδέχοντο, τά τε Καρχηδονίων πάντα ἐλεηλάτουν.
Since the Carthaginians rejected the demands of both, both seized the cities of Tunis and Utica, which is the largest city in Libya after Carthage; starting from there, they induced the rest to revolt, persuaded some of the Nomads, and received a large number of runaway slaves, and plundered all the property of the Carthaginians.
οἱ δὲ πανταχόθεν πολεμούμενοι συμμάχους ἐπὶ τοὺς Λίβυας Ῥωμαίους ἐπεκαλοῦντο.
Being attacked from all sides, the Carthaginians called upon the Romans for alliance against the Libyans.
καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι στρατιὰν μὲν αὐτοῖς οὐκ ἔπεμψαν, ἀγορὰν δʼ ἔκ τε Ἰταλίας καὶ Σικελίας ἐπάγεσθαι καὶ ξενολογεῖν ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας ἐς μόνον τόνδε τὸν πόλεμον ἐπέτρεψαν.
The Romans did not send them an army, but permitted them to import provisions from Italy and Sicily and to recruit mercenaries from Italy for this war only.
ἔπεμψαν δὲ καὶ πρέσβεις ἐς Λιβύην, εἰ δύναιντο διαλῦσαι τὸν πόλεμον· οἳ ἐπανῆλθον ἄπρακτοι.
They also sent ambassadors to Libya to see if they could end the war; but they returned without success.
καὶ Καρχηδόνιοι ἐγκρατῶς εἴχοντο τοῦ πολέμου. "
And the Carthaginians carried on the war vigorously.