§40.31.1praetor Romanus ubi satis tot dierum quiete credidit spem factam hosti nihil se priorem moturum, L Acilium cum ala sinistra et sex milibus provincialium auxiliorum circumire montem iubet, qui ab tergo hostibus erat; §40.31.2inde, ubi clamorem audisset, decurrere ad castra eorum.
When the Roman praetor believed that the quiet of so many days had sufficiently given the enemy the hope that he would make no move first, he ordered Lucius Acilius, with the left wing and six thousand provincial auxiliaries, to go around the mountain which was at the back of the enemy; and thence, when he should hear the shout, to charge down upon their camp.
nocte profecti sunt, ne possent conspici.
They set out by night so that they might not be seen.
§40.31.3Flaccus luce prima C. Scribonium praefectum socium ad vallum hostium cum equitibus extraordinariis sinistrae alae mittit; §40.31.4quos ubi et propius accedere et plures, quam soliti erant, Celtiberi conspexerunt, omnis equitatus effunditur castris, simul et peditibus signum ad exeundum datur.
At dawn, Flaccus sent Gaius Scribonius, the commander of the allies, to the enemy's rampart with the extraordinary cavalry of the left wing; and when the Celtiberians saw them approaching closer and in greater numbers than they were accustomed to, all their cavalry poured out of the camp, and at the same time the signal to march out was given to the infantry.
§40.31.5Scribonius, uti praeceptum erat, ubi primum fremitum equestrem audivit, avertit equos et castra repetit.
Scribonius, as had been ordered, as soon as he heard the first noise of the horses, turned his mounts and headed back to camp.
§40.31.6eo effusius sequi hostes. primo equites, mox et peditum acies aderat, haud dubia spe castra eo die se expugnaturos.
The enemy pursued all the more eagerly; first the cavalry, and soon the line of infantry arrived, with no doubtful hope of capturing the camp that day.
§40.31.7quingentos passus non plus a vallo aberant.
They were not more than five hundred paces from the rampart.
itaque Flaccus ubi satis abstractos eos a praesidio castrorum suorum ratus est, intra vallum exercitu instructo tribus partibus simul erumpit, clamore non tantum ad ardorem pugnae excitandum sublato, sed etiam ut, qui in montibus erant, exaudirent.
Therefore, when Flaccus thought they were sufficiently drawn away from the defense of their own camp, having drawn up his army inside the rampart, he burst out from three points at once, raising a shout not only to kindle the ardor for battle but also that those who were on the mountains might hear it.
§40.31.8nec morati sunt, quin decurrerent, sicut imperatum erat, ad castra; ubi quinque milium armatorum non amplius relictum erat praesidium.
And they did not delay in running down to the camp, just as they had been commanded; where a garrison of no more than five thousand armed men had been left.
§40.31.9quos cum et paucitas sua et multitudo hostium et improvisa res terruisset, prope sine certamine capiuntur castra.
Since their own small numbers, the multitude of the enemy, and the unexpected turn of events had terrified them, the camp was taken almost without a struggle.
captis, quae pars maxime a pugnantibus conspici poterat, iniecit Acilius ignem.
Once it was captured, Acilius set fire to the part that could be most easily seen by those who were fighting.