§38.5.1consul iam munimentis, quibus saepienda urbs erat, iam operibus, quae admovere muris parabat, perfectis quinque simul locis moenia est adgressus.
The consul, having now completed both the fortifications with which the city was to be enclosed and the engines which he was preparing to bring up to the walls, attacked the walls in five places at once.
§38.5.2tria paribus intervallis, faciliore aditu a campo, adversus Pyrrheum, quod vocant, admovit, unum e regione Aesculapii, unum adversus arcem.
Three of these he brought up at equal intervals against the place they call the Pyrrheum, where the approach from the plain was easier, one opposite the temple of Aesculapius, and one against the citadel.
§38.5.3arietibus muros quatiebat; asseribus falcatis detergebat pinnas.
He battered the walls with battering rams and scraped off the battlements with hooked beams.
oppidanos primo et ad speciem et ad ictus moenium cum terribili sonitu editos pavor ac trepidatio cepit; §38.5.4deinde, ut praeter spem stare muros viderunt, collectis rursus animis in arietes tollenonibus libramenta plumbi aut saxorum stipitesve robustos incutiebant; falces ancoris ferreis iniectis in interiorem partem muri trahentes asserem praefringebant;
At first, the townsmen were seized with fear and panic, both at the sight and at the blows delivered against the walls with a terrifying sound; then, when they saw the walls standing contrary to their expectation, recovering their courage, they used cranes to drop heavy masses of lead or stones or stout logs upon the rams; casting iron anchors, they dragged the hooks toward the inner side of the wall and broke the beam.
§38.5.5ad hoc eruptionibus et nocturnis in custodias operum et diurnis in stationes ultro terrorem inferebant.
In addition to this, by making sorties, both by night against the guards of the works and by day against the outposts, they actively spread terror.
§38.5.6in hoc statu res ad Ambraciam cum essent, iam Aetoli a populatione Acarnaniae Stratum redierant.
While things were in this state at Ambracia, the Aetolians had already returned to Stratus from the devastation of Acarnania.
inde Nicander praetor spem nactus solvendae incepto forti obsidionis, Nicodamum quendam cum Aetolis quingentis Ambraciam intromittit.
From there, the praetor Nicander, conceiving a hope of raising the siege by a bold enterprise, sent a certain Nicodamus with five hundred Aetolians into Ambracia.
§38.5.7noctem certam tempusque etiam noctis constituit, quo et illi ab urbe opera hostium, quae adversus Pyrrheum erant, adgrederentur, et ipse ad castra Romana terrorem faceret, posse ratus ancipiti tumultu et nocte augente pavorem memorabilem rem geri.
He appointed a specific night and even a time of the night, at which they should attack the enemy's works opposite the Pyrrheum from the city, and he himself should cause terror at the Roman camp, thinking that in the double confusion, with the night increasing the fear, a memorable exploit could be performed.
§38.5.8et Nicodamus intempesta nocte, cum alias custodias fefellisset, per alias impetu constanti perrupisset, superato brachio in urbem penetrat, animique aliquantum ad omnia audenda et spei obsessis adiecit et, simul constituta nox venit, §38.5.9ex composito repente opera est adgressus.
And Nicodamus, having eluded some guards in the dead of night and broken through others with a steady charge, penetrated into the city after scaling the connecting wall; he gave the besieged a great deal of courage to dare anything and of hope, and as soon as the appointed night arrived, he suddenly attacked the works according to the plan.
id inceptum conatu quam effectu gravius fuit, quia nulla ab exteriore parte vis admota est, §38.5.10seu metu deterrito praetore Aetolorum, seu quia potius visum est Amphilochis nuper receptis ferre opem, quos Perseus, Philippi filius, missus ad Dolopiam Amphilochosque recipiendos, summa vi oppugnabat.
This undertaking was more serious in its attempt than in its result, because no force was applied from the outside, whether because the praetor of the Aetolians was deterred by fear, or because it seemed better to bring aid to the newly received Amphilochians, whom Perseus, the son of Philip, who had been sent to recover Dolopia and the Amphilochians, was attacking with all his might.