Iug. 54.1Metellus in īsdem castrīs quatriduom morātus sauciōs cum cūrā reficit, meritōs in proeliīs mōre mīlitiae dōnat, ūnivorsōs in contiōne laudat atque agit grātiās, hortātur, ad cētera, quae levia sunt, parem animum gerant: prō victōriā satis iam pugnātum, reliquōs labōrēs prō praedā fore.Metellus remained four days in the same camp, carefully restored the wounded, rewarded those who had served well in the battles according to military custom, praised them all in an assembly and thanked them, and urged them to keep an equal spirit for what remained, which was easy: enough fighting had been done for victory; the remaining labours would be for plunder. Iug. 54.2Tamen interim trānsfugās et aliōs opportūnōs, Iugurtha ubi gentium aut quid agitāret, cum paucīsne esset an exercitum habēret, ut sēsē victus gereret, explōrātum mīsit.Nevertheless, meanwhile he sent deserters and other suitable men to find out where in the world Jugurtha was or what he was doing, whether he was with a few men or had an army, and how he was behaving in defeat. Iug. 54.3At ille sēsē in loca saltuōsa et nātūrā mūnīta recēperat ibique cōgēbat exercitum numerō hominum ampliōrem, sed hebetem īnfirmumque, agrī ac pecoris magis quam bellī cultōrem.But he had withdrawn into wooded country fortified by nature and was there gathering an army larger in number of men, but sluggish and weak, more used to farming and herding than to war.
Iug. 54.4Id eā grātiā ēveniēbat, quod praeter rēgiōs equitēs nēmō omnium Numida ex fugā rēgem sequitur.This came about for this reason, that apart from the royal cavalry not one of the Numidians follows his king after a rout. Iug. 54.4Quō quoiusque animus fert, eō discēdunt, neque id flāgitium mīlitiae dūcitur: ita sē mōrēs habent.Wherever each man's inclination takes him, there they go, and this is not considered a military disgrace: such are their customs. Iug. 54.5Igitur Metellus, ubi videt etiam tum rēgis animum ferōcem esse, bellum renovārī, quod nisi ex illīus lubīdine gerī nōn posset, praetereā inīquom certāmen sibi cum hostibus, minōre dētrīmentō illōs vincī quam suōs vincere, statuit nōn proeliīs neque in aciē sed aliō mōre bellum gerundum.So Metellus, when he saw that the king's spirit was still defiant, that the war was being renewed, which could only be waged at that man's pleasure, and moreover that the contest with the enemy was unequal for him, since they lost less in being beaten than his men did in winning, decided that the war must be waged not with battles nor in the line, but in another way.
Iug. 54.6Itaque in loca Numidiae opulentissuma pergit, agrōs vāstat, multa castella et oppida temerē mūnīta aut sine praesidiō capit incenditque, pūberēs interficit, iubet alia omnia mīlitum praedam esse.So he marched into the richest parts of Numidia, laid waste the fields, captured and burned many forts and towns that were carelessly fortified or without a garrison, killed the grown men, and ordered everything else to be the soldiers' plunder. Iug. 54.6Eā formīdine multī mortālēs Rōmānīs dēditī;Through this terror many people surrendered to the Romans; Iug. 54.6obsidēs, frūmentum et alia, quae ūsuī forent, affatim praebita;hostages, grain and other things which would be of use were furnished in abundance; Iug. 54.6ubicumque rēs postulābat, praesidium inpositum.wherever the situation required, a garrison was installed. Iug. 54.7Quae negōtia multō magis quam proelium male pugnātum ab suīs rēgem terrēbant;These measures frightened the king far more than the battle his men had fought badly; Iug. 54.7quippe, quoius spēs omnis in fugā sita erat, sequī cōgēbātur et, quī sua loca dēfendere nequīverat, in aliēnīs bellum gerere.for he whose every hope lay in flight was forced to follow, and he who had been unable to defend his own territory was forced to wage war in that of others.
Iug. 54.9Tamen ex cōpiā quod optumum vidēbātur cōnsilium capit: exercitum plērumque in īsdem locīs opperīrī iubet, ipse cum dēlēctīs equitibus Metellum sequitur, nocturnīs et āviīs itineribus ignōrātus Rōmānōs pālantīs repente aggreditur.Nevertheless, out of the possibilities he adopted the plan which seemed best: he ordered the army for the most part to wait in the same area, while he himself followed Metellus with picked cavalry, and by night marches and pathless routes, unobserved, suddenly attacked the Romans as they straggled. Iug. 54.9Eōrum plērīque inermēs cadunt, multī capiuntur, nēmō omnium intāctus profūgit, et Numidae, prius quam ex castrīs subvenīrētur, sīcutī iussī erant, in proxumōs collīs discēdunt.Most of them fell unarmed, many were captured, not one of them got away untouched, and the Numidians, before help could come from the camp, withdrew to the nearest hills, as they had been ordered.