1But since the affairs of the people of Leptis have brought us into these regions, it does not seem unfitting to recount a remarkable and wonderful deed of two Carthaginians; 1the place has reminded me of it. 2At the time when the Carthaginians ruled over most of Africa, the people of Cyrene too were great and wealthy. 3The land between them was sandy and all of one appearance; 3there was neither river nor mountain to mark the boundary between them. 3This kept them in a great and long war with each other. 4After armies and fleets on both sides had often been routed and put to flight, and each had considerably worn the other down, fearing that someone else might soon attack both conquered and conquerors in their exhaustion, they made an agreement during a truce that envoys should set out from home on a fixed day: the place where they met each other should be regarded as the common boundary of the two peoples.
5So two brothers were sent from Carthage, whose name was Philaenus, and they made haste to press on with their journey. 5The men of Cyrene went more slowly. 5Whether this happened through sloth or by chance, I have not found out for certain. 6But in those parts a storm often holds men back just as at sea. 6For when a wind has risen over the level ground, bare of vegetation, and stirred up the sand from the ground, the sand, driven with great force, usually fills the mouth and eyes: so, with the view blocked, the journey is delayed. 7When the men of Cyrene saw that they were well behind and feared punishment at home for having ruined the business, they accused the Carthaginians of having left home before the time, threw the matter into confusion, and in short were ready to do anything rather than go away beaten.
8But when the Carthaginians asked for some other terms, provided only they were fair, the Greeks gave the Carthaginians a choice: either they should be buried alive at the spot they claimed as the boundary for their people, or on the same condition the Greeks would advance to whatever place they wished. 9The Philaeni accepted the condition and gave up themselves and their lives to their country: so they were buried alive. 10The Carthaginians consecrated altars to the Philaeni brothers on that spot, and other honours were established for them at home. 10Now I return to my subject.