Iug. 75.1Eā fugā Iugurtha impēnsius modo rēbus suīs diffīdēns cum perfugīs et parte equitātūs in sōlitūdinēs, Dein Thalam pervēnit, in oppidum magnum atque opulentum, ubi plērīque thēsaurī fīliōrumque eius multus pueritiae cultus erat.After this flight Jugurtha, now losing confidence in his fortunes even more deeply, came with the deserters and part of his cavalry into the wilderness, and then to Thala, a large and wealthy town, where most of his treasure was and the lavish establishment for his sons' upbringing. Iug. 75.2Quae postquam Metellō comperta sunt, quamquam inter Thalam flūmenque proxumum in spatiō mīlium quīnquāgintā loca ārida atque vāsta esse cognōverat, tamen spē patrandī bellī, sī eius oppidī potītus foret, omnīs asperitātēs supervādere ac nātūram etiam vincere aggreditur.When Metellus learned of this, although he knew that between Thala and the nearest river, over a space of fifty miles, the country was dry and desolate, yet in the hope of finishing the war if he could take that town, he set about surmounting all its hardships and even conquering nature. Iug. 75.3Igitur omnia iūmenta sarcinīs levārī iubet nisi frūmentō diērum decem, cēterum ūtris modo et alia aquae idōnea portārī.So he ordered all the pack animals to be relieved of their loads except grain for ten days, and that only skins and other vessels suited for water should be carried.
Iug. 75.4Praetereā conquīrit ex agrīs quam plūrumum potest domitī pecoris eōque inpōnit vāsa quoiusque modī, sed plēraque lignea collēcta ex tuguriīs Numidārum;Besides this he gathered from the fields as many domesticated beasts as he could and loaded on them vessels of every kind, though mostly wooden ones collected from the huts of the Numidians; Iug. 75.4ad hoc fīnitumīs imperat, quī sē post rēgis fugam Metellō dederant, quam plūrumum quisque aquae portāret;in addition he ordered the neighbouring peoples, who had surrendered to Metellus after the king's flight, each to bring as much water as he could; Iug. 75.5diem locumque, ubi praestō fuerint, praedīcit;he told them in advance the day and place where they were to be at hand; Iug. 75.5ipse ex flūmine, quam proxumam oppidō aquam esse suprā dīximus, iūmenta onerat: eō modō īnstrūctus ad Thalam proficīscitur.he himself loaded the animals from the river which, as I said above, was the nearest water to the town: thus equipped he set out for Thala. Iug. 75.7Deinde ubi ad id locī ventum, quō Numidīs praecēperat, et castra posita mūnītaque sunt, tanta repente caelō missa vīs aquae dīcitur, ut ea modo exercituī satis superque foret.Then, when they had come to the place he had appointed to the Numidians, and the camp had been pitched and fortified, so great a fall of rain is said to have come suddenly from the sky that this alone was more than enough for the army.
Iug. 75.8Praetereā commeātus spē amplior, quia Numidae, sīcutī plērīque in novā dēditiōne, officia intenderant.Besides, supplies were more plentiful than hoped, because the Numidians, like most people who have newly surrendered, had exerted themselves in their duties. Iug. 75.9Cēterum mīlitēs religiōne pluviā magis ūsī, eaque rēs multum animīs eōrum addidit, nam ratī sēsē dīs inmortālibus cūrae esse.But the soldiers, out of religious feeling, preferred to use the rain water, and this added much to their spirits, for they believed that they were in the care of the immortal gods. Iug. 75.9Deinde posterō diē contrā opīniōnem Iugurthae ad Thalam perveniunt.Then on the following day, contrary to Jugurtha's expectation, they arrived at Thala. Iug. 75.9Oppidānī, quī sē locōrum asperitāte mūnītōs crēdiderant, magnā atque īnsolitā rē perculsī, nihilō segnius bellum parāre;The townspeople, who had believed themselves protected by the harshness of the terrain, though stunned by this great and unusual event, prepared for war none the less vigorously; Iug. 75.9idem nostrī facere.our men did the same.