§27.15.1speculatores, qui prosequerentur agmen, missi postero die rettulerunt Bruttios Hannibalem petere.
The scouts who were sent on the following day to follow the column reported back that Hannibal was heading for the Bruttian territory.
isdem ferme diebus §27.15.2et ad Q. Fulvium consulem Hirpini et Lucani et Uolceientes traditis praesidiis Hannibalis, quae in urbibus habebant, dediderunt sese, clementerque a consule cum verborum tantum castigatione ob errorem praeteritum accepti.
About the same days, the Hirpini, Lucanians, and Volceientes also surrendered themselves to the consul Quintus Fulvius, delivering up the garrisons of Hannibal which they had in their cities; they were received leniently by the consul with only a verbal reprimand for their past error.
§27.15.3et Bruttiis similis spes veniae facta est, cum ab iis Vibius et Paccius fratres, longe nobilissimi gentis eius, eandem, quae data Lucanis erat, condicionem deditionis petentes venissent.
And a similar hope of pardon was given to the Bruttians, when Vibius and Paccius, brothers, by far the most noble of that nation, came from them, seeking the same condition of surrender as had been granted to the Lucanians.
§27.15.4Q. Fabius consul oppidum in Sallentinis Manduriam vi cepit.
The consul Quintus Fabius took Manduria, a town among the Sallentini, by force.
ibi ad tria milia hominum capta et ceterae praedae aliquantum.
There about three thousand men were captured and a considerable amount of other booty.
§27.15.5inde Tarentum profectus in ipsis faucibus portus posuit castra.
Setting out from there for Tarentum, he pitched his camp at the very mouth of the harbor.
naves, quas Laevinus tutandis commeatibus habuerat, partim machinationibus onerat apparatuque moenium oppugnandorum, partim tormentis et saxis omnique missilium telorum genere instruit, onerarias quoque.
The ships which Laevinus had held for protecting the provisions, he loaded partly with siege engines and apparatus for attacking the walls, and partly equipped with catapults and stones and every kind of missile weapons, including the transports as well.
§27.15.6non eas solum quae remis agerentur, ut alii machinas scalasque ad muros ferrent, alii procul ex navibus vulnerarent moenium propugnatores.
He equipped not only those which were propelled by oars, so that some might carry engines and ladders to the walls, while others from a distance from the ships might wound the defenders of the walls.
§27.15.7hae naves ut ab aperto mari urbem adgrederentur, instructae parataeque sunt.
These ships were equipped and prepared to attack the city from the open sea.
et erat liberum mare classe Punica, cum Philippus oppugnare Aetolos pararet, Corcyram tramissa.
And the sea was free from the Punic fleet, since it had been sent across to Corcyra when Philip was preparing to attack the Aetolians.
§27.15.8in Bruttiis interim Cauloniae oppugnatores sub adventum Hannibalis, ne opprimerentur, in tumulum a praesenti impetu tutum, ad cetera inopem, concessere.
Meanwhile, in the Bruttian territory, the besiegers of Caulonia, upon the approach of Hannibal, lest they should be overwhelmed, withdrew to a hill safe from immediate attack, but destitute in other respects.
§27.15.9Fabium Tarentum obsidentem leve dictu momentum ad rem ingentem potiundam adiuvit.
A trifling circumstance to mention aided Fabius, who was besieging Tarentum, in achieving a great enterprise.
praesidium Bruttiorum datum ab Hannibale Tarentini habebant.
The Tarentines had a garrison of Bruttians given by Hannibal.
eius praesidii praefectus deperibat amore mulierculae cuius frater in exercitu Fabii consulis erat.
The commander of this garrison was deeply in love with a young woman whose brother was in the army of the consul Fabius.
§27.15.10is certior litteris sororis factus de nova consuetudine advenae locupletis atque inter popularis tam honorati, spem nactus per sororem quolibet inpelli amantem posse, quid speraret ad consulem detulit.
This brother, informed by his sister's letters of the new intimacy of the wealthy stranger who was so highly honored among his countrymen, and having conceived the hope that the lover could be driven to anything through his sister, reported to the consul what he hoped.
§27.15.11quae cum haud vana cogitatio visa esset, pro perfuga iussus Tarentum transire, ac per sororem praefecto conciliatus, primo occulte temptando animum, dein satis explorata levitate blanditiis muliebribus perpulit eum ad proditionem custodiae loci, cui praepositus erat.
Since this did not seem an idle thought, he was ordered to cross over to Tarentum as a deserter; and having been introduced to the commander through his sister, at first by secretly sounding his mind, and then, having sufficiently explored his instability, by womanly endearments he urged him to betray the guard of the place over which he had been set.
§27.15.12ubi et ratio agendae rei et tempus convenit, miles nocte per intervalla stationum clam ex urbe emissus ea, quae acta erant, quaeque ut agerentur convenerat, ad consulem refert.
When both the plan of execution and the time agreed, the soldier, sent out secretly from the city by night during the intervals between the guards, reported to the consul what had been done and what had been agreed to be done.
§27.15.13Fabius vigilia prima dato signo iis qui in arce erant, quique custodiam portus habebant, ipse circumito portu ab regione urbis in orientem versa occultus consedit.
Fabius, at the first watch, having given the signal to those who were in the citadel and those who had the guard of the harbor, himself, having gone around the harbor, lay in wait secretly in the region of the city facing the east.
canere inde tubae simul ab arce simul a portu §27.15.14et ab navibus, quae ab aperto mari adpulsae erant, clamorque undique cum ingenti tumultu, unde minimum periculi erat, de industria ortus.
Then the trumpets sounded simultaneously from the citadel and from the harbor, and from the ships which had approached from the open sea, and a shout arose from all sides with great confusion, intentionally started from where there was the least danger.
consul interim silentio continebat suos.
Meanwhile, the consul kept his men in silence.
§27.15.15igitur Democrates, qui praefectus antea classis fuerat, forte illo loco praepositus, postquam quieta omnia circa se vidit, alias partes eo tumultu personare, ut captae urbis interdum excitaretur clamor, §27.15.16veritus, ne inter cunctationem suam consul aliquam vim faceret ac signa inferret, praesidium ad arcem, unde maxime terribilis accidebat sonus, traducit.
Therefore Democrates, who had formerly been the commander of the fleet and happened to be in charge of that place, after he saw that all was quiet around himself, while other parts resounded with that noise, so that sometimes the shout of a captured city was raised, fearing lest during his hesitation the consul might make some attack and advance his standards, transferred his garrison to the citadel, whence the most terrifying sound was coming.
§27.15.17Fabius cum et ex temporis spatio et ex silentio ipso, quod, ubi paulo ante strepebant excitantes vocantesque ad arma, inde nulla accidebat vox, deductas custodias sensisset, ferri scalas ad eam partem muri, qua Bruttiorum cohortem praesidium agitare proditionis conciliator nuntiaverat, iubet.
Fabius, when he perceived that the guards had been withdrawn both from the lapse of time and from the silence itself, because where a little before they were making a noise and calling to arms, no voice was now heard, ordered the ladders to be carried to that part of the wall where the negotiator of the betrayal had reported that the cohort of the Bruttians was keeping guard.
§27.15.18ea primum captus est murus adiuvantibus recipientibusque Bruttiis, et transcensum in urbem est; inde et proxuma refracta porta, ut frequenti agmine signa inferrentur.
At that place first the wall was taken, with the Bruttians assisting and receiving them, and the crossing into the city was made; then the nearest gate also was broken open, so that the standards might be brought in with a crowded column.
§27.15.19tum clamore sublato sub ortum ferme lucis nullo obvio armato in forum perveniunt, omnesque undique, qui ad arcem portumque pugnabant, in se converterunt.
Then, raising a shout almost at the rise of light, they reached the forum with no armed man in their way, and turned toward themselves all those from all sides who were fighting at the citadel and the harbor.