§24.37.1ad hanc defectionem erecti sunt et aliarum civitatium animi, praesidiaque Romana aut pellebantur arcibus aut prodita per fraudem opprimebantur.
By this defection the minds of other states also were aroused, and the Roman garrisons were either driven out of their citadels or betrayed through treachery and overwhelmed.
§24.37.2Henna excelso loco ac praerupto undique sita, cum loco inexpugnabilis erat, tum praesidium in arce validum praefectumque praesidii haud sane opportunum insidiantibus habebat.
Henna, situated in a high place and steep on every side, was not only impregnable because of its position, but also had a strong garrison in its citadel and a commander of the garrison by no means suitable for conspirators to practice upon.
§24.37.3L. Pinarius erat, vir acer et qui plus in eo, ne posset decipi, quam in fide Siculorum reponeret.
This was Lucius Pinarius, an active man, who relied more on his not being able to be deceived than on the good faith of the Sicilians.
et tum intenderant eum ad cavendi omnia curam tot auditae proditiones defectionesque urbium et clades praesidiorum.
And at that time, so many heard-of treasons and defections of cities and disasters of garrisons had tightened his attention to the care of guarding against everything.
§24.37.4itaque die ac nocte iuxta parata instructaque omnia custodiis ac vigiliis erant, nec ab armis aut loco suo miles abscedebat.
Therefore, day and night everything was equally prepared and organized with guards and sentries, nor did any soldier depart from his arms or from his post.
§24.37.5quod ubi Hennensium principes iam pacti cum Himilcone de proditione praesidii animadverterunt nulli occasioni fraudis Romanum patere, §24.37.6palam ac vi rati agendum urbem arcemque suae potestatis aiunt debere esse, si liberi in societatem, non servi in custodiam traditi essent Romanis.
When the leading men of Henna, who had already bargained with Himilco about betraying the garrison, noticed that the Roman lay open to no opportunity for treachery, thinking that they must act openly and by force, they declared that the city and the citadel ought to be under their own power, if they had been delivered to the Romans as free men into alliance, not as slaves into custody.
§24.37.7itaque claves portarum reddi sibi aequom censent: bonis sociis fidem suam maximum vinculum esse, et ita sibi populum Romanum senatumque gratias habiturum, si volentes ac non coacti mansissent in amicitia.
Therefore, they deemed it fair that the keys of the gates should be restored to them, saying that to good allies their own loyalty was the strongest bond, and that the Roman people and Senate would be grateful to them in this way, if they remained in friendship voluntarily and not by compulsion.
§24.37.8ad ea Romanus se in praesidio impositum esse dicere ab imperatore suo clavesque portarum et custodiam arcis ab eo accepisse, quae nec suo nec Hennensium arbitrio haberet, sed eius, qui commisisset.
To this the Roman replied that he had been placed in the garrison by his own commander, and from him had received the keys of the gates and the custody of the citadel, which he held neither at his own discretion nor that of the Hennese, but of him who had committed them to his charge.
§24.37.9praesidio decedere apud Romanos capital esse, et nece liberorum etiam suorum eam parentes noxam sanxisse. consulem Marcellum haud procul esse: §24.37.10ad eum mitterent legatos, cuius iuris atque arbitrii res esset.
To desert a post was a capital offense among the Romans, and parents had sanctioned that crime even with the execution of their own children; the consul Marcellus was not far off; they should send envoys to him, under whose jurisdiction and decision the matter lay.
se vero negare illi missuros testarique, si verbis nihil agerent, vindictam aliquam libertatis suae quaesituros.
But they declared that they would not send to him, and protested that, if they accomplished nothing by words, they would seek some vindication of their freedom.
§24.37.11tum Pinarius: at illi, si ad consulem gravarentur mittere, sibi saltem darent populi concilium, ut sciretur, utrum paucorum ea denuntiatio an universe civitatis esset.
Then Pinarius said that if they were reluctant to send to the consul, they should at least grant him an assembly of the people, so that it might be known whether that demand belonged to a few or to the whole state.
consensa in posterum diem contio.
An assembly was agreed upon for the following day.