§40.22.1Philippus Maedicam primum, deinde solitudines interiacentes Maedicae atque Haemo transgressus septimis demum castris ad radices montis pervenit.
Philip, having crossed first Maedica, then the wilderness lying between Maedica and Haemus, arrived at last on the seventh day's march at the foothills of the mountain.
ibi unum moratus diem ad deligendos, quos duceret secum, tertio die iter est ingressus.
Having delayed there one day to select those whom he would lead with him, on the third day he began the ascent.
§40.22.2modicus primo labor in imis collibus fuit.
At first the labor was moderate on the lowest hills.
quantum in altitudinem egrediebantur, magis magisque silvestria et pleraque invia loca excipiebant:
The more they ascended into the height, the more wooded and mostly impassable places received them.
§40.22.3pervenere deinde in tam opacum iter, ut prae densitate arborum immissorumque aliorum in alios ramorum perspici caelum vix posset.
Then they arrived at so shaded a path that, because of the density of the trees and of the branches shooting into one another, the sky could scarcely be seen through.
ut vero iugis appropinquabant, §40.22.4quod rarum in altis locis est, adeo omnia contecta nebula erant, ut haud secus quam nocturno itinere impedirentur.
But as they approached the ridges, a thing which is rare in high places, everything was so covered with fog that they were hindered just as if by a night march.
tertio demum die ad verticem perventum.
At last on the third day they arrived at the summit.
§40.22.5nihil vulgatae opinioni degressi inde detraxerunt, magis credo, ne vanitas itineris ludibrio esset, quam quod diverse inter se maria montesque et amnes ex uno loco conspici potuerint.
Having descended from there, they detracted nothing from the common opinion, I believe more lest the futility of their journey should be a laughingstock, than because the seas, mountains, and rivers could actually be seen in different directions from one place.
§40.22.6vexati omnes, et ante alios rex ipse, quo gravior aetate erat, difficultate viae est.
All were exhausted by the difficulty of the road, and before others the king himself, the more so as he was heavier with age.
§40.22.7duabus aris ibi Iovi et Soli sacratis cum immolasset, qua triduo ascenderat, biduo est degressus, frigora nocturna maxime metuens, quae caniculae ortu similia brumalibus erant.
When he had offered sacrifice on two altars consecrated there to Jupiter and the Sun, he descended in two days by the way he had ascended in three, fearing especially the nightly cold, which, even at the rising of the Dog Star, was similar to wintry cold.
§40.22.8multis per eos dies difficultatibus conflictatus nihilo laetiora in castris invenit, ubi summa penuria erat, ut in regione, quam ab omni parte solitudines clauderent.
Struggling during those days with many difficulties, he found nothing more joyful in the camp, where there was the greatest scarcity, as is natural in a region which wildernesses enclosed on every side.
§40.22.9itaque unum tantum moratus diem, quietis eorum causa, quos habuerat secum, itinere inde simili fugae in Dentheletos transcurrit.
Therefore, having delayed only one day for the sake of the rest of those whom he had had with him, he hastened from there into the territory of the Dentheleti by a march similar to a flight.
§40.22.10socii erant, sed propter inopiam haud secus quam hostium fines Macedones populati sunt:
They were allies, but on account of scarcity the Macedonians ravaged their borders just as if they were those of enemies.
§40.22.11rapiendo enim passim villas primum, dein quosdam etiam vicos evastarunt, non sine magno pudore regis, cum sociorum voces nequiquam deos sociales nomenque suum implorantes audiret.
For, first plundering the farms everywhere, then they devastated even some villages, not without great shame to the king, when he heard the voices of the allies imploring in vain the gods of alliance and his own name.
frumento inde sublato in Maedicam regressus, §40.22.12urbem, quam Petram appellant, oppugnare est adortus.
Having taken grain from there, he returned to Maedica and set about assaulting the city which they call Petra.
§40.22.13ipse a campestri aditu castra posuit, Perseum filium cum modica manu circummisit, ut a superioribus locis urbem adgrederetur.
He himself placed his camp at the flat approach, and sent his son Perseus around with a moderate force to attack the city from the higher ground.
§40.22.14oppidani, cum terror undique instaret, obsidibus datis in praesentia dediderunt sese: iidem, postquam exercitus recessit, obliti obsidum relicta urbe in loca munita et montes refugerunt.
The townsmen, when terror threatened from all sides, gave hostages and surrendered themselves for the present; but the same people, after the army withdrew, forgetting the hostages, abandoned the city and fled back to fortified places and the mountains.
§40.22.15Philippus omni genere laboris sine ullo effectu fatigatis militibus et fraude Didae praetoris auctis in filium suspicionibus in Macedoniam rediit.
Philip, with his soldiers fatigued by every kind of labor without any result, and with his suspicions against his son increased by the deceit of the governor Didas, returned to Macedonia.