§26.45.1inter haec repleverat iam Poenus armatis muros, et vis magna ex ingenti copia congesta telorum suppeditabat.
Meanwhile, the Carthaginian had already filled the walls with armed men, and a great force of missiles, supplied from a huge accumulated store, was available.
§26.45.2sed neque viri nec tela nec quicquam aliud aeque quam moenia ipsa sese defendebant.
But neither the men, nor the missiles, nor anything else defended them as much as the walls themselves.
rarae enim scalae altitudini aequari poterant, et quo quaeque altiores, eo infirmiores erant.
For rare were the ladders that could be matched to the height, and the higher each was, the weaker it was.
§26.45.3itaque cum summus quisque evadere non posset, subirent tamen alii, onere ipso frangebantur.
Therefore, since those at the top could not get over, yet others were climbing up under them, the ladders were broken by their very weight.
quidam stantibus scalis, cum altitudo caliginem oculis offudisset, ad terram delati sunt.
Some, while the ladders were still standing, when the height had cast a darkness over their eyes, were brought down to the ground.
§26.45.4et cum passim homines scalaeque ruerent, et ipso successu audacia atque alacritas hostium cresceret, signum receptui datum est; §26.45.5quod spem non praesentis modo ab tanto certamine ac labore quietis obsessis, sed etiam in posterum dedit, scalis et corona capi urbem non posse, opera et difficilia esse et tempus datura ad ferendam opem imperatoribus suis.
And when men and ladders were falling everywhere, and by their very success the boldness and eagerness of the enemy were increasing, the signal for retreat was given; this gave the besieged hope not only of present rest from so great a contest and labor, but also for the future, that the city could not be taken by ladders and blockade, and that the works were both difficult and would give time for their generals to bring assistance.
§26.45.6Vix prior tumultus conticuerat cum Scipio ab defessis iam vulneratisque recentis integrosque alios accipere scalas iubet et vi maiore adgredi urbem.
Scarcely had the former noise subsided when Scipio ordered other fresh and unwounded men to take the ladders from those who were now tired and wounded, and to attack the city with greater force.
§26.45.7ipse, ut ei nuntiatum est aestum decedere, quod per piscatores Tarraconenses nunc levibus cumbis, nunc, ubi eae slueren; , uadisperuagatos stagnum conpertum habebat, facilem pedibus ad murum transitum dari, eo secum armatos quingentos duxit.
He himself, when it was reported to him that the tide was receding—since he had discovered through the fishermen of Tarraco, who had traversed the lagoon sometimes in light boats and sometimes, when these ran aground, by wading through the shallows, that an easy passage on foot to the wall was provided—led five hundred armed men with him to that place.
§26.45.8medium ferme diei erat, et ad id, quod sua sponte cedente in mare aestu trahebatur aqua, acer etiam septentrio ortus inclinatum stagnum eodem quo aestus ferebat et adeo nudaverat vada, ut alibi umbilico tenus aqua esset, alibi genua vix superaret.
It was almost midday, and in addition to the fact that the water was being drawn off by the tide naturally receding into the sea, a fierce north wind had also arisen, carrying the inclined lagoon in the same direction as the tide and had so laid bare the shallows that in some places the water was up to the navel, in others it scarcely rose above the knees.
§26.45.9hoc cura ac ratione compertum in prodigium ac deos vertens Scipio, qui ad transitum Romanis mare verterent et stagna auferrent viasque ante numquam initas humano vestigio aperirent, Neptunum iubebat ducem itineris sequi ac medio stagno evadere ad moenia.
Turning this fact, which had been discovered by care and reason, into a miracle and the work of the gods—who, to make a passage for the Romans, were turning back the sea, removing the lagoons, and opening paths never before entered by human footstep—Scipio ordered them to follow Neptune as the leader of their journey and to make their way through the middle of the lagoon to the walls.