Iug. 79.1Sed quoniam in eās regiōnēs per Lepcitānōrum negōtia vēnimus, nōn indignum vidētur ēgregium atque mīrābile facinus duōrum Carthāginiēnsium memorāre;But 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; Iug. 79.1eam rem nōs locus admonuit.the place has reminded me of it. Iug. 79.2Quā tempestāte Carthāginiēnsēs plēraque Āfricā imperitābant, Cȳrēnēnsēs quoque magnī atque opulentī fuēre.At the time when the Carthaginians ruled over most of Africa, the people of Cyrene too were great and wealthy. Iug. 79.3Ager in mediō harēnōsus, ūnā speciē;The land between them was sandy and all of one appearance; Iug. 79.3neque flūmen neque mōns erat, quī fīnīs eōrum discerneret.there was neither river nor mountain to mark the boundary between them. Iug. 79.3Quae rēs eōs in magnō diūturnōque bellō inter sē habuit.This kept them in a great and long war with each other. Iug. 79.4Postquam utrimque legiōnēs, item classēs saepe fūsae fugātaeque et alterī alterōs aliquantum adtrīverant, veritī, nē mox victōs victōrēsque dēfessōs alius aggrederētur, per indūtiās spōnsiōnem faciunt, utī certō diē lēgātī domō proficīscerentur: quō in locō inter sē obviī fuissent, is commūnis utrīusque populī fīnis habērētur.After 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.
Iug. 79.5Igitur Carthāgine duo frātrēs missī, quibus nōmen Philaenīs erat, mātūrāvēre iter pergere.So two brothers were sent from Carthage, whose name was Philaenus, and they made haste to press on with their journey. Iug. 79.5Cȳrēnēnsēs tardius iēre.The men of Cyrene went more slowly. Iug. 79.5Id sōcordiāne an cāsū accidit, parum cognōvī.Whether this happened through sloth or by chance, I have not found out for certain. Iug. 79.6Cēterum solet in illīs locīs tempestās haud secus atque in marī retinēre.But in those parts a storm often holds men back just as at sea. Iug. 79.6Nam ubi per loca aequālia et nūda gignentium ventus coortus harēnam humō excitāvit, ea magnā vī agitāta ōra oculōsque inplēre solet: ita prōspectū impedītō morārī iter.For 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. Iug. 79.7Postquam Cȳrēnēnsēs aliquantō posteriōrēs sē esse vident et ob rem corruptam domī poenās metuont, crīminārī Carthāginiēnsīs ante tempus domō dīgressōs, conturbāre rem, dēnique omnia mālle quam victī abīre.When 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.
Iug. 79.8Sed quom Poenī aliam condiciōnem, tantummodo aequam, peterent, Graecī optiōnem Carthāginiēnsium faciunt, ut vel illī, quōs fīnīs populō suō peterent, ibi vīvī obruerentur, vel eādem condiciōne sēsē quem in locum vellent prōcessūrōs.But 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. Iug. 79.9Philaenī condiciōne probātā sēque vītamque suam reī pūblicae condōnāvēre: ita vīvī obrutī.The Philaeni accepted the condition and gave up themselves and their lives to their country: so they were buried alive. Iug. 79.10Carthāginiēnsēs in eō locō Philaenīs frātribus ārās cōnsecrāvēre, aliīque illīs domī honōrēs īnstitūtī.The Carthaginians consecrated altars to the Philaeni brothers on that spot, and other honours were established for them at home. Iug. 79.10Nunc ad rem redeō.Now I return to my subject.