§34.19.1difficilius bellum in Turdetania praetori P. Manlio Celtiberi mercede exciti ab hostibus, sicut ante dictum est, faciebant.
In Turdetania, the Celtiberians, who had been hired as mercenaries by the enemy, as was said before, were making the war more difficult for the praetor Publius Manlius.
itaque eo consul accersitus litteris praetoris legiones duxit.
Therefore, the consul, summoned thither by a letter from the praetor, led his legions there.
§34.19.2ubi eo venit, castra separatim Celtiberi et Turdetani habebant.
When he arrived there, the Celtiberians and the Turdetani had separate camps.
cum Turdetanis extemplo levia proelia incursantes in stationes eorum Romani facere semperque victores ex quamvis temere coepto certamine abire.
The Romans immediately engaged in skirmishes with the Turdetani, attacking their outposts, and always came off victorious from the conflict, however rashly begun.
§34.19.3ad Celtiberos in colloquium tribunos militum ire consul atque iis trium condicionum electionem ferre iubet, §34.19.4priman, si transire ad Romanos velint et duplex stipendium accipere, quam quantum a Turdetanis pepigissent; §34.19.5alteram, si domos abire, publica fide accepta, nihil eam rem noxiae futuram, quod hostibus se Romanorum iunxissent; §34.19.6tertiam, si utique bellum placeat, diem locumque constituant, ubi secum armis decernant.
The consul ordered the military tribunes to go to the Celtiberians for a conference and to offer them a choice of three conditions: the first, if they wished to go over to the Romans and receive double the pay which they had agreed upon with the Turdetani; the second, if they wished to return home, having received a public pledge that this action would bring them no harm for having joined the enemies of the Romans; the third, if they absolutely preferred war, they should appoint a day and a place where they might decide the issue with him by arms.
a Celtiberis dies ad consultandum petita.
A day for deliberation was requested by the Celtiberians.
§34.19.7concilium immixtis Turdetanis habitum magno cum tumultu; §34.19.8eo minus decerni quicquam potuit.
A council was held, with the Turdetani intermingling, with great tumult; on that account, it was the less possible for anything to be decided.
cum incerta bellum an pax cum Celtiberis essent, commeatus tamen haud secus quam in pace ex agris castellisque hostium Romani portabant, deni saepe munimenta eorum, velut communi pacto commercio, privatis indutiis ingredientes.
Although it was uncertain whether there was war or peace with the Celtiberians, the Romans nevertheless carried provisions from the fields and forts of the enemy just as in peace, often entering their fortifications in groups of ten, as if trade had been mutually agreed upon, under a private truce.
§34.19.9consul ubi hostis ad pugnam elicere nequit, primum praedatum sub signis aliquot expeditas cohortis in agrum integrae regionis ducit, §34.19.10deinde audito, Saguntiae Celtiberum omnis sarcinas impedimentaque relicta, §34.19.11eo pergit ducere ad oppugnandum.
When the consul was unable to entice the enemy to battle, he first led some light-armed cohorts under banners to plunder in the territory of an untouched region; then, having heard that all the baggage and equipment of the Celtiberians had been left at Saguntia, he proceeded to march thither to attack it.
postquam nulla moventur re, persoluto stipendio non suis modo sed etiam praetoris militibus relictoque omni exercitu in castris praetoris ipse cum septem cohortibus ad Hiberum est regressus.
After they were moved by no action, having paid the wages not only to his own soldiers but also to those of the praetor, and having left all the army in the praetor's camp, he himself returned to the Ebro with seven cohorts.