§26.38.1Hannibalem ante omnia angebat, quod Capua pertinacius oppugnata ab Romanis quam defensa ab se multorum Italiae populorum animos averterat,
What especially tormented Hannibal was the fact that Capua, having been besieged by the Romans with greater persistence than it had been defended by himself, had turned away the minds of many of the peoples of Italy.
§26.38.2quos neque omnis tenere praesidiis, nisi vellet in multas parvasque partis carpere exercitum, quod minime tum expediebat, poterat, nec deductis praesidiis spei liberam vel obnoxiam timori sociorum relinquere fidem.
He was neither able to hold all of them with garrisons, unless he wished to scatter his army into many small parts—which was least of all expedient at that time—nor, if the garrisons were withdrawn, to leave the loyalty of his allies free of hope or subject to fear.
§26.38.3praeceps in avaritiam et crudelitatem animus ad spolianda, quae tueri nequibat, ut vastata hosti relinquerentur, inclinavit.
His mind, prone to greed and cruelty, inclined him to plunder those places which he could not protect, so that they might be left devastated to the enemy.
§26.38.4id foedum consilium cum incepto, tum etiam exitu fuit.
This shameful plan was disastrous both in its inception and in its outcome.
neque enim indigna patientium modo abalienabantur animi, sed ceterorum etiam: quippe ad pluris exemplum quam malum pertinebat.
For not only were the minds of those who suffered these indignities alienated, but also those of the rest; for the precedent affected more people than the actual harm did.
§26.38.5nec consul Romanus temptandis urbibus, sicunde spes aliqua se ostendisset, deerat.
Nor did the Roman consul fail to try the cities, if any hope should show itself from any quarter.
§26.38.6Salapiae principes erant Dasius et Blattius; Dasius Hannibali amicus, Blattius, quantum ex tuto poterat, rem Romanam fovebat et per occultos nuntios spem proditionis fecerat Marcello.
At Salapia, the leading men were Dasius and Blattius; Dasius was a friend to Hannibal, while Blattius, as far as he could do so safely, favored the Roman cause and had, through secret messengers, given Marcellus hope of betrayal.
sed sine adiutore Dasio res transigi non poterat.
But without Dasius as an assistant, the matter could not be accomplished.
§26.38.7multum ac diu cunctatus, et tum quoque magis inopia consilii potioris quam spe effectus, Dasium appellabat.
After hesitating much and long, and even then moved more by the lack of a better plan than by the hope of success, Blattius addressed Dasius.
at ille, cum ab re aversus, tum aemulo potentatus inimicus, rem Hannibali aperit.
But he, being both averse to the deed and hostile to his rival for power, disclosed the matter to Hannibal.
§26.38.8arcessito utroque Hannibal cum pro tribunali quaedam ageret mox de Blattio cogniturus, starentque summoto populo accusator et reus, Blattius de proditione Dasium appellabat.
When both were summoned, while Hannibal was conducting some business from his tribunal, intending soon to hear the case of Blattius, and while the accuser and the accused were standing there, the crowd having been removed, Blattius addressed Dasius about the betrayal.
§26.38.9enimvero ille velut in manifesta re exclamat sub oculis Hannibalis secum de proditione agi.
Indeed, Dasius, as if in a clear and manifest case, cried out that under the very eyes of Hannibal a proposal of betrayal was being made to him.
Hannibali atque eis, qui aderant, quo audacior res erat, minus similis veri visa est: §26.38.10aemulationem profecto atque odium esse, et id crimen adferri, quod, quia testem habere non possit, liberius fingenti sit.
To Hannibal and to those who were present, the bolder the action was, the less likely to be true it seemed; they thought that it was surely a matter of rivalry and hatred, and that a charge was being brought which, because it could have no witness, was all the more freely invented by the fabricator.
§26.38.11ita inde dimissi sunt nec Blattius ante abstitit tam audaci incepto, quam idem obtundendo docendoque, quam ea res ipsis patriaeque salutaris esset, pervicit, ut praesidium Punicum — quingenti autem Numidae erant — Salapiaque traderetur Marcello.
Thus they were dismissed from there, nor did Blattius desist from so bold an undertaking until, by importuning and showing how advantageous this matter would be to themselves and their country, he prevailed, so that the Carthaginian garrison—which consisted of five hundred Numidians—and Salapia were surrendered to Marcellus.
§26.38.12nec sine caede multa tradi potuit.
Nor could it be surrendered without much slaughter.
longe fortissimi equitum toto Punico exercitu erant.
They were by far the bravest horsemen in the entire Carthaginian army.
itaque quamquam inprovisa res fuit, nec usus equorum in urbe erat, §26.38.13tamen armis inter tumultum captis et eruptionem temptaverunt et, cum evadere nequirent, pugnantes ad ultumum occubuerunt, nec plus quinquaginta ex ius in potestatem hostium vivi venerunt.
Therefore, although the event was unexpected, and there was no use for horses in the city, nevertheless, having seized arms in the midst of the tumult, they attempted a breakout, and when they could not escape, they fell fighting to the last; nor did more than fifty of them come alive into the power of the enemy.
§26.38.14plusque aliquanto damni haec ala equitum amissa Hannibali quam Salapia fuit; nec deinde umquam Poenus, quo longe plurimum valuerat, equitatu superior fuit.
And the loss of this squadron of cavalry was a considerably greater blow to Hannibal than that of Salapia; nor did the Carthaginian ever after have the superiority in cavalry, in which he had by far been strongest.