§26.46.1ab terra ingens labor succedentibus erat; nec altitudine tantum moenium impediebantur, sed quod e turribus pugnantis ad ancipites utrimque ictus subiectos habebant Romanos, ut latera infestiora subeuntibus quam adversa corpora essent.
From the landward side, those who were coming up faced immense difficulty; and they were hindered not only by the height of the walls, but also because the defenders kept the fighting Romans subjected below them, exposing them to double-sided blows from the towers, so that the flanks of those ascending were more vulnerable than the fronts of their bodies.
at parte in alia quingentis §26.46.2et per stagnum facilis transitus et in murum ascensus inde fuit; nam neque opere emunitus erat, ut ubi ipsius loci ac stagni praesidio satis creditum foret, nec ulla armatorum statio aut custodia opposita intentis omnibus ad opem eo ferendam, unde periculum ostendebatur.
But in another part, for the five hundred men, there was both an easy passage through the lagoon and an ascent onto the wall from there; for it had not been fortified with defensive works, as a place where trust had been sufficiently placed in the protection of the location itself and the lagoon, nor was there any post of armed men or guard stationed there, since everyone was intent on bringing aid to the point from which the danger was visible.
§26.46.3ubi urbem sine certamine intravere, pergunt inde, quanto maximo cursu poterant, ad eam portam, circa quam omne contractum certamen erat.
When they entered the city without a struggle, they proceeded from there at the greatest possible speed to that gate around which the whole conflict had been concentrated.
§26.46.4in quod adeo intenti omnium non animi solum fuere, sed etiam oculi auresque pugnantium spectantiumque et adhortantium pugnantis §26.46.5ut nemo ante ab tergo senserit captam urbem, quam tela in aversos inciderunt et utrimque ancipitem hostem habebant.
Upon this struggle, not only the minds but also the eyes and ears of all those fighting, watching, and encouraging the combatants were so intent that no one perceived that the city had been captured from behind until missiles fell upon their backs and they found themselves with a hostile enemy on both sides.
§26.46.6tunc turbatis defensoribus metu et moenia capta, et porta intus forisque pariter refringi coepta; et mox caedendo confectis ac distractis, ne iter impediretur, foribus armati impetum fecerunt.
Then, with the defenders thrown into confusion by fear, both the walls were taken, and the gate began to be broken down from inside and outside alike; and soon, after the doors had been cut to pieces and torn apart by hacking so that the path would not be blocked, the armed men made an assault.
§26.46.7magna multitudo et muros transcendebat, sed ii passim ad caedem oppidanorum versi; illa, quae portam ingressa erat, iusta acies cum ducibus, cum ordinibus media urbe usque in forum processit.
A great multitude was also scaling the walls, but they turned everywhere to the slaughter of the townsfolk; that other body, which had entered through the gate, a regular army with its commanders and in ranks, marched through the middle of the city right into the forum.
§26.46.8inde cum duobus itineribus fugientis videret hostis, alios ad tumulum in orientem versum, qui tenebatur quingentorum militum praesidio, alios in arcem, in quam et ipse Mago cum omnibus fere armatis, qui muris pulsi fuerant, refugerat, partim copiarum ad tumulum expugnandum mittit, partim ipse ad arcem ducit.
From there, when Scipio saw the enemy fleeing by two routes—some to the hill facing the east, which was held by a garrison of five hundred soldiers, others to the citadel, into which Mago himself had fled with almost all the armed men who had been driven from the walls—he sent part of his forces to storm the hill, and part he himself led to the citadel.
§26.46.9et tumulus primo impetu est captus, et Mago, arcem conatus defendere, cum omnia hostium plena videret neque spem ullam esse, se arcemque et praesidium dedidit.
And the hill was captured at the first onset; and Mago, having attempted to defend the citadel, when he saw everything full of enemies and that there was no hope, surrendered himself, the citadel, and the garrison.
§26.46.10quoad dedita arx est, caedes tota urbe passim factae, nec ulli puberum, qui obvius fuit, parcebatur; tum signo dato caedibus finis factus; ad praedam victores versi, quae ingens omnis generis fuit.
Until the citadel was surrendered, slaughters were carried out everywhere throughout the city, nor was any adult male who was met spared; then, on a signal being given, an end was made to the killings; the victors turned to the plunder, which was immense and of every kind.