Liv. 21.11.1Cum Hannō perōrāsset, nēminī omnium certāre ōrātiōne cum eō necesse fuit: adeō prope omnis senātus Hannibalis erat;When Hanno had finished, there was no need for anyone at all to contend with him in a speech: so nearly was the whole senate Hannibal's; Liv. 21.11.1īnfestiusque locūtum arguēbant Hannōnem quam Flaccum Valerium lēgātum Rōmānum.and they charged that Hanno had spoken with more hostility than Valerius Flaccus, the Roman envoy. Liv. 21.11.2Respōnsum inde lēgātīs Rōmānīs est, bellum ortum ab Saguntīnīs, nōn ab Hannibale esse;Then the reply was given to the Roman envoys that the war had been started by the Saguntines, not by Hannibal; Liv. 21.11.2populum Rōmānum iniūstē facere, sī Saguntīnōs vetustissimae Carthāginiēnsium societātī praepōnat.and that the Roman people were acting unjustly if they preferred the Saguntines to their very ancient alliance with the Carthaginians. Liv. 21.11.2Dum Rōmānī tempus terunt lēgātiōnibus mittendīs, Hannibal, quia fessum mīlitem proeliīs operibusque habēbat, paucōrum iīs diērum quiētem dedit statiōnibus ad custōdiam vīneārum aliōrumque operum dispositīs.While the Romans were wasting time sending embassies, Hannibal, because his soldiers were worn out by battles and siege-works, gave them a few days' rest, posting pickets to guard the sheds and other works.
Liv. 21.11.3Interim animōs eōrum nunc īrā in hostīs stimulandō, nunc spē praemiōrum accendit;Meanwhile he fires their spirits, now by spurring their anger against the enemy, now with the hope of rewards; Liv. 21.11.4ut vērō prō contiōne praedam captae urbis ēdīxit mīlitum fore, adeō accēnsī omnēs sunt, ut, sī extemplō signum datum esset, nūllā vī resistī vidērētur posse.and when he proclaimed before an assembly that the plunder of the captured city would belong to the soldiers, they were all so fired up that, if the signal had been given at once, it seemed that no force could resist them. Liv. 21.11.5Saguntīnī ut ā proeliīs quiētem habuerant nec lacessentēs nec lacessītī per aliquot diēs, ita nōn nocte, nōn diē umquam cessāverant ab opere, ut novum mūrum ab eā parte, quā patefactum oppidum ruīnīs erat, reficerent.The Saguntines, though they had had rest from battles for some days, neither provoking nor provoked, had never ceased from work by night or by day, so as to build a new wall on the side where the town had been laid open by the collapse. Liv. 21.11.6Inde oppugnātiō eōs aliquantō atrōcior quam ante adorta est, nec, quā prīmum aut potissimum parte ferrent opem, cum omnia variīs clamōribus streperent, satis scīre poterant.Then an assault considerably fiercer than before fell upon them, and they could not well tell where first or chiefly to bring help, since everything resounded with various shouts.
Liv. 21.11.7Ipse Hannibal, quā turris mōbilis omnia mūnīmenta urbis superāns altitūdine agēbātur, hortātor aderat.Hannibal himself was present to urge his men on where a movable tower, higher than all the city's fortifications, was being brought up. Liv. 21.11.7Quae cum admōta catapultīs ballistīsque per omnia tabulāta dispositīs mūrōs dēfēnsōribus nūdāsset, tum Hannibal occāsiōnem ratus quīngentōs ferme Āfrōs cum dolābrīs ad subruendum ab īmō mūrum mittit.When this had been moved up and, with catapults and ballistas placed on all its storeys, had cleared the walls of defenders, then Hannibal, thinking it his opportunity, sends about five hundred Africans with pickaxes to undermine the wall from the bottom. Liv. 21.11.8Nec erat difficile opus, quod caementa nōn calce dūrāta erant, sed interlita lutō strūctūrae antīquō genere.Nor was the work difficult, because the rubble had not been bonded with mortar but daubed with clay, in the old style of building. Liv. 21.11.9Itaque lātius, quam quā caederētur, ruēbat, perque patentia ruīnīs agmina armātōrum in urbem vādēbant.And so it collapsed more widely than where it was being cut, and through the gaps opened by the collapse columns of armed men went into the city.
Liv. 21.11.10Locum quoque ēditum capiunt, collātīsque eō catapultīs ballistīsque, ut castellum in ipsā urbe velut arcem imminentem habērent, mūrō circumdant;They also seize a piece of high ground, and bringing catapults and ballistas there, they surround it with a wall, so as to have a fort within the city itself, overhanging it like a citadel; Liv. 21.11.10et Saguntīnī mūrum interiōrem ab nōndum captā parte urbis dūcunt.and the Saguntines build an inner wall in front of the part of the city not yet captured. Liv. 21.11.11Utrimque summā vī et mūniunt et pugnant;On both sides they fortify and fight with the utmost force; Liv. 21.11.11sed interiōra tuendō minōrem in diēs urbem Saguntīnī faciunt.but by defending the inner parts the Saguntines make their city smaller day by day. Liv. 21.11.12Simul crēscit inopia omnium longā obsidiōne et minuitur expectātiō externae opis, cum tam procul Rōmānī, ūnica spēs, circā omnia hostium essent.At the same time the scarcity of everything grows through the long siege, and the expectation of help from outside diminishes, since the Romans, their only hope, were so far away, and all around was in the enemy's hands.
Liv. 21.11.13Paulisper tamen adfectōs animōs recreāvit repentīna profectiō Hannibalis in Ōrētānōs Carpetānōsque, quī duo populī dīlēctūs acerbitāte cōnsternātī retentīs conquīsītōribus metum dēfectiōnis cum praebuissent, oppressī celeritāte Hannibalis omīsērunt mōta arma.For a short while, however, their weakened spirits were revived by Hannibal's sudden departure against the Oretani and Carpetani; these two peoples, provoked by the harshness of a levy, had held back the recruiting officers and given cause to fear a revolt, but, overwhelmed by Hannibal's speed, they laid down the arms they had taken up.