§36.23.1et Romani quidem operibus magis quam armis urbem oppugnabant, Aetoli contra armis se tuebantur.
And indeed the Romans attacked the city more by siege works than by arms, while the Aetolians on the contrary defended themselves with arms.
§36.23.2nam cum ariete quaterentur muri, non laqueis, ut solet, exceptos declinabant ictus, sed armati frequentes erumpebat, quidam aggeribus inicerent, ferebant.
For when the walls were shaken by the battering ram, they did not ward off the blows by catching them with nooses, as is customary, but sallying out in large armed bodies, some carried materials to throw upon the mounds.
§36.23.3fornices quoque in muro erant apti ad excurrendum, et ipsi, cum pro dirutis reficerent muros, crebriores eos, ut pluribus erumperetur in hostem locis, faciebant.
There were also arches in the wall suitable for sallying out, and they themselves, when they rebuilt the walls in place of those that had been destroyed, made these arches more numerous, so that they might sally out against the enemy in more places.
§36.23.4hoc primis diebus, dum integrae vires erant, et frequentes et inpigre fecerunt; in dies deinde pauciores et segnius.
This they did in the first days, while their strength was unimpaired, both in large numbers and actively; then, day by day, they did so in fewer numbers and more sluggishly.
§36.23.5etenim cum multis urgerentur rebus, nulla eos res aeque ac vigiliae conficiebant, Romanis in magna copia militum succedentibus aliis in stationem aliorum, Aetolos propter paucitatem eosdem dies noctesque adsiduo labore urente.
For although they were hard pressed by many things, nothing exhausted them so much as the lack of sleep, since the Romans, with their great abundance of soldiers, succeeded one another in the guard posts, while the same Aetolians, on account of their small numbers, were consumed day and night by uninterrupted toil.
§36.23.6per quattuor et viginti dies, ita ut nullum tempus vacuum dimicatione esset, adversus quattuor e partibus simul oppugnantem hostem nocturnus diurno continuatus labor est.
For twenty-four days, so that there was no time free from fighting, against an enemy attacking from four sides at once, their nightly labor was joined continuously with that of the day.
§36.23.7cum fatigatos iam Aetolos sciret consul et ex spatio temporis et quod ita transfugae adfirmabant, tale consilium init.
When the consul knew that the Aetolians were already exhausted, both from the length of time and because deserters so affirmed, he formed the following plan.
§36.23.8media nocte receptui signum dedit et ab oppugnatione simul milites omnes deductos usque ad tertiam dici horam quietos in castris tenuit; §36.23.9inde coepta oppugnatio ad mediam rursus noctem perducta est, intermissa deinde usque ad tertiam dici horam.
At midnight he gave the signal for retreat, and having withdrawn all his soldiers from the assault at once, he kept them quiet in the camp until the third hour of the day; thence the assault, having been begun again, was carried on until midnight, and then suspended until the third hour of the day.
§36.23.10fatigationem rati esse causam Aetoli non continuandae oppugnationis, quae et ipsos adfecerat, ubi Romanis datum receptui signum esset, velut ipsi quoque revocati pro se quisque ex stationibus decedebant, nec ante tertiam dici horam armati in muris apparebant.
The Aetolians, thinking that exhaustion (which had also affected themselves) was the cause for not continuing the assault, as soon as the signal for retreat was given to the Romans, departed each from his post as if they too had been recalled, and did not appear armed upon the walls before the third hour of the day.