§23.15.1sub adventum praetoris Romani Poenus agro Nolano excessit et ad mare proxime Neapolim descendit, cupidus maritimi oppidi potiundi, quo cursus navibus tutus ex Africa esset.
Upon the approach of the Roman praetor, the Carthaginian departed from the territory of Nola and went down to the sea very near Naples, desirous of gaining possession of a maritime town, so that there might be a safe passage for ships from Africa.
§23.15.2ceterum postquam Neapolim a praefecto Romano teneri accepit — M. Iunius Silanus erat, ab ipsis Neapolitanis accitus —, Neapoli quoque sicut Nola omissa petit Nuceriam.
But after he learned that Naples was held by a Roman prefect—he was Marcus Junius Silanus, summoned by the Neapolitans themselves—abandoning Naples also, just as he had Nola, he directed his course to Nuceria.
§23.15.3eam cum aliquamdiu circumsedisset, saepe vi saepe sollicitandis nequiquam nunc plebe nunc principibus, fame demum in deditionem accepit, pactus, ut inermes cum singulis abirent vestimentis.
When he had besieged it for some time, having tried in vain often by force, often by soliciting now the common people, now the leading men, he finally received it into surrender through hunger, having agreed that they should depart unarmed with a single garment each.
§23.15.4deinde, ut qui a principio mitis omnibus Italicis praeter Romanos videri vellet, praemia atque honores, qui remanserint ac militare secum voluissent, proposuit.
Then, as one who from the beginning wished to appear mild to all the Italians except the Romans, he offered rewards and honors to those who should remain and be willing to serve with him.
§23.15.5nec ea spe quemquam tenuit: dilapsi omnes, quo quemque hospitia aut fortuitus animi impetus tulit, per Campaniae urbes, maxime Nolam Neapolimque.
Nor did he hold anyone by that hope; they all dispersed through the cities of Campania, especially Nola and Naples, wherever their personal connections or a fortuitous impulse of the mind carried each of them.
§23.15.6cum ferme triginta senatores, ac forte primus quisque, Capuam petissent, exclusi inde, quod portas Hannibali clausissent, Cumas se contulerunt.
When about thirty senators, and as it happened, all the leading men, had gone to Capua, being shut out from there because they had closed their gates against Hannibal, they betook themselves to Cumae.
Nuceriae praeda militi data est, urbs direpta atque incensa.
The plunder of Nuceria was given to the soldiers, and the city was plundered and burned.
§23.15.7Nolam Marcellus non sui magis fiducia praesidii quam voluntate principum habebat; plebs timebatur, et ante omnis L. Bantius, quem conscientia temptatae defectionis ac metus a praetore Romano nunc ad proditionem patriae, nunc, si ad id fortuna defuisset, ad transfugiendum stimulabat.
Marcellus held Nola not so much through confidence in his own garrison as through the goodwill of the leading men; the common people were feared, and above all Lucius Bantius, whom the consciousness of having attempted defection and fear of the Roman praetor stimulated now to the betrayal of his country, now, if fortune should fail him for that, to desertion.
§23.15.8erat iuvenis acer et sociorum ea tempestate prope nobilissimus eques.
He was an active young man, and at that time almost the most noble horseman among the allies.
seminecem eum ad Cannas in acervo caesorum corporum inventum curatumque benigne etiam cum donis Hannibal domum remiserat.
Having found him half-dead at Cannae in a heap of slaughtered bodies and having treated him kindly, Hannibal had even sent him home with gifts.
§23.15.9ob eius gratiam meriti rem Nolanam in ius dicionemque dare voluerat Poeno, anxiumque eum et sollicitum cura novandi res praetor cernebat.
Out of gratitude for this service, he had wished to bring the state of Nola under the jurisdiction and dominion of the Carthaginian, and the praetor perceived that he was anxious and agitated by the desire for a revolution.
§23.15.10ceterum cum aut poena cohibendus esset aut beneficio conciliandus, sibi adsumpsisse quam hosti ademisse fortem ac strenuum maluit socium, accitumque ad se benigne appellat: §23.15.11multos eum invidos inter popularis habere inde existimatu facile esse, quod nemo civis Nolanus sibi indicaverit, quam multa eius egregia facinora militaria essent;
However, since he had either to be restrained by punishment or won over by kindness, the praetor preferred to gain for himself rather than take away from the enemy a brave and energetic ally; and having summoned him, he addressed him kindly: "That you have many who envy you among your fellow-citizens is easy to judge from this: that no citizen of Nola has pointed out to me how many and how remarkable your military achievements are.
§23.15.12sed qui in Romanis militaverit castris, non posse obscuram eius virtutem esse.
But for one who has served in a Roman camp, his valor cannot remain obscure.
multos sibi, qui cum eo stipendia fecerint, referre, qui vir esset ille, quaeque et quotiens pericula pro salute ac dignitate populi Romani adisset,
Many who have served with you report to me what sort of man you are, and what dangers, and how often, you have faced for the safety and dignity of the Roman people.
§23.15.13utique Cannensi proelio non prius pugna abstiterit, quam prope exsanguis ruina superincidentium virorum, equorum armorumque sit oppressus.
Especially in the battle of Cannae, you did not withdraw from the fight until, nearly bloodless, you were overwhelmed by the fall of men, horses, and weapons collapsing upon you.
§23.15.14“itaque macte virtute esto,” inquit “apud me tibi omnis honos atque omne praemium erit, et quo frequentior mecum fueris, §23.15.15senties eam rem tibi dignitati atque emolumento esse,” laetoque iuveni promissis equum eximium dono dat, bigatosque quingentos quaestorem numerare iubet; lictoribus imperat, ut eum se adire, quotiens velit, patiantur.
"Therefore, be praised for your valor," he said; "with me you shall have every honor and every reward, and the more frequently you are with me, you will perceive that this is to your honor and advantage." And to the youth, who was delighted by these promises, he gave an excellent horse as a gift, and ordered the quaestor to pay out five hundred silver coins; he also commanded the lictors to permit him to approach him as often as he wished.