§37.20.1per eosdem forte dies Elaeam ex Achaia mille pedites cum centum equitibus, Diophane omnibus iis copiis praeposito, accesserunt, quos egressos navibus obviam missi ab Attalo nocte Pergamum deduxerunt.
By chance during those same days, a thousand infantry with a hundred cavalry, under the command of Diophanes, arrived at Elaea from Achaea; whom, having disembarked from their ships, men sent by Attalus to meet them led by night to Pergamum.
§37.20.2veterani omnes et periti belli erant, et ipse dux Philopoemenis, summi tum omnium Graecorum imperatoris, discipulus.
They were all veterans and experienced in war, and the leader himself was a pupil of Philopoemen, then the greatest general of all the Greeks.
qui biduum simul ad quietem hominum equorumque et ad visendas hostium stationes, quibus locis temporibusque accederent reciperentque sese, sumpserunt.
They took two days at the same time for the rest of men and horses, and for observing the enemy's outposts, at what places and times they approached and retreated.
§37.20.3ad radices fere collis, in quo posita urbs est, regii succedebant; ita libera ab tergo populatio erat.
The king's men used to advance almost to the foot of the hill on which the city was situated; thus, plundering in their rear was unhindered.
nullo ab urbe, ne in stationes quidem qui procul iacularetur, §37.20.4excurrente, postquam semel, compulsi metu, se moenibus incluserunt, contemptus eorum et inde neglegentia apud regios oritur.
Since no one from the city was sallying forth, not even anyone to throw missiles from a distance against the outposts, after they had once, driven by fear, shut themselves within the walls, contempt for them and consequently negligence arose among the king's men.
non stratos, §37.20.5non infrenatos magna pars habebant equos; paucis ad arma et ordines relictis dilapsi ceteri sparserant se toto passim campo, pars in iuvenales lusus lasciviamque versi, pars vescentes sub umbra, quidam somno etiam strati.
A great part had their horses neither saddled nor bridled; with few left to guard the arms and ranks, the others having dispersed had scattered themselves all over the plain, some turned to youthful games and playfulness, some eating in the shade, some even stretched out in sleep.
§37.20.6haec Diophanes ex alta urbe Pergamo contemplatus arma suos capere et ad portam praesto esse iubet; ipse Attalum adit et in animo sibi esse dixit hostium stationem temptare.
Diophanes, having observed these things from the high city of Pergamum, orders his men to take up arms and be ready at the gate; he himself goes to Attalus and said that it was his intention to attack the enemy's outpost.
§37.20.7aegre id permittente Attalo, quippe qui centum equitibus adversus sescentos, mille peditibus cum quattuor milibus pugnaturum cerneret, porta egressus haud procul statione hostium, occasionem opperiens, consedit.
With Attalus reluctantly permitting this, since indeed he saw that he was going to fight with a hundred cavalry against six hundred, with a thousand infantry against four thousand, he went out of the gate and took up a position not far from the enemy's outpost, waiting for an opportunity.
§37.20.8et qui Pergami erant amentiam magis quam audaciam credere esse, et hostes paulisper in eos versi, ut nihil moveri viderunt, nec ipsi quicquam ex solita neglegentia, insuper etiam eludentes paucitatem, mutarunt.
And those who were in Pergamum believed it to be madness rather than boldness, and the enemy, having turned towards them for a little while, when they saw that no movement was made, did not themselves change anything of their usual negligence, moreover even mocking their small number.
§37.20.9Diophanes quietos aliquamdiu suos, velut ad spectaculum modo eductos, continuit; §37.20.10postquam dilapsos ab ordinibus hostes vidit, peditibus, quantum accelerare possent, sequi iussis ipse princeps inter equites cum turma sua, quam potuit effusissimis habenis, clamore ab omni simul pedite atque equite sublato stationem hostium improviso invadit.
Diophanes kept his men quiet for some time, as if they had been led out only for a spectacle; after he saw the enemy dispersed from their ranks, having ordered the infantry to follow as fast as they could, he himself, first among the cavalry with his own squadron, with reins as loose as possible, with a shout raised at the same time by all the infantry and cavalry, suddenly attacks the enemy's outpost.
§37.20.11non homines solum sed equi etiam territi, cum vincula abrupissent, trepidationem et tumultum inter suos fecerunt.
Not only the men but also the horses, having been terrified, when they had broken their tethers, caused panic and confusion among their own people.
§37.20.12pauci stabant impavidi equi; eos ipsos non sternere, non infrenare aut escendere facile poterant multo maiorem quam pro numero equitum terrorem Achaeis inferentibus.
Few horses stood unafraid; even these they could not easily saddle, bridle, or mount, since the Achaeans inspired a terror much greater than was proportionate to the number of their cavalry.
§37.20.13pedites vero ordinati et praeparati sparsos per neglegentiam et semisomnos prope adorti sunt.
But the infantry, organized and prepared, attacked those who were scattered through negligence and almost half-asleep.
§37.20.14caedes passim fugaque per campos facta est.
Slaughter and flight occurred everywhere across the plains.
Diophanes secutus effusos, quoad tutum fuit, magno decore genti Achaeorum parto — spectaverant enim e moenibus Pergami non viri modo sed feminae etiam — in praesidium urbis redit.
Diophanes, having pursued the scattered enemy as far as it was safe, with great glory acquired for the Achaean nation—for not only men but also women had watched from the walls of Pergamum—returned to the protection of the city.