1To this Sulla replied briefly and modestly on his own account, and spoke at length about peace and their common affairs. 1Finally he makes it plain to the king that the senate and people of Rome, since they had proved superior in arms, would feel no gratitude for what he was promising; 1he must do something which would appear to be more in their interest than in his own. 1This was indeed close at hand, since he had Jugurtha within his reach. 1If he handed him over to the Romans, they would owe him a very great debt; 1friendship, a treaty and the part of Numidia which he was now seeking would then come to him of their own accord.
2The king at first kept refusing: kinship, ties of marriage and besides a treaty stood in the way; 2moreover, he feared that by showing fickle faith he might alienate the minds of his people, to whom Jugurtha was dear and the Romans hateful. 3At length, worn down by repeated urging, he relents and promises to do everything according to Sulla's wishes. 4Moreover, they arrange what seemed useful for feigning a peace, which the Numidian, weary of war, very eagerly desired. 4Having thus laid their plot, they part.