Complete Works of Frontinus

by Frontinus

  [3] The same Agesilaus, when the Thebans held a pass through which he had to march, turned his course, as if he were hastening to Thebes. Then, when the Thebans withdrew in alarm to protect their walls, Agesilaus resumed his march and arrived at his goal without opposition.

  [4] Nicostratus, dux Aetolorum, adversus Epirotas, cum ei aditus in fines eorum angusti fierent, per alterum locum inrupturum se ostendens, omni illa ad prohibendum occurrente Epirotarum multitudine, reliquit suos paucos, qui speciem remanentis exercitus praeberent; ipse cum cetera manu, quo non exspectabatur aditu, intravit.

  [4] When Nicostratus, king of the Aetolians, was at war with the Epirotes, and could enter their territory only by narrow defiles, he appeared at one point, as if intending to break through at that place. Then, when the whole body of Epirotes rushed thither to prevent this, he left a few of his men to produce the impression that his army was still there, while he himself, with the rest of his troops, entered at another place, where he was not expected.

  [5] Autophradates Perses, cum in Pisidiam exercitum duceret et angustias quasdam Pisidae occuparent, simulata vexatione traiciendi instituit reducere. Quod cum Pisidae credidissent, ille nocte validissimam manum ad eundem locum occupandum praemisit ac postero die totum traiecit exercitum.

  [5] Autophradates, the Persian, upon leading his army into Pisidia, and finding certain passes occupied by the Pisidians, pretended to be thwarted in his plan for crossing, and began to retreat. When the Pisidians were convinced of this, under cover of night he sent a very strong force ahead to seize the same place, and on the following day sent his whole army across.

  [6] Philippus Macedonum rex Graeciam petens, cum Thermopylas occupatas audiret et ad eum legati Aetolorum venissent acturi de pace, retentis eis ipse magnis itineribus ad angustias pertendit securisque custodibus et legatorum reditus exspectantibus inopinatus Thermopylas traiecit.

  [6] When Philip of Macedon was aiming at the conquest of Greece, he heard that the Pass of Thermopylae was occupied by Greek troops. Accordingly, when envoys of the Aetolians came to sue for peace, he detained them, while he himself hastened by forced marches to the Pass, and since the guards had relaxed their vigilance while awaiting the return of the envoys, by his unexpected coming he succeeded in marching through the Pass.

  [7] Iphicrates, dux Atheniensium, adversus Anaxibium Lacedaemonium in Hellesponto circa Abydon, cum transducendum exercitum haberet per loca, quae stationibus hostium tenebantur, alterum autem latus eius transitus abscisi montes premerent, alterum mare allueret, aliquamdiu moratus, cum incidisset frigidior solito dies et ob hoc nemini suspectus, delegit firmissimos quosque, quibus oleo ac mero calefactis praecepit, ipsam oram maris legerent, abruptiora tranarent, atque ita custodes angustiarum inopinatos oppressit a tergo.

  [7] When the Athenian general Iphicrates was engaged in a campaign against the Spartan Anaxibius on the Hellespont near Abydus, he had to lead his army on one occasion through places occupied by enemy patrols, hemmed in on the one side by precipitous mountains, and on the other washed by the sea. For some time he delayed, and then on an unusually cold day, when no one suspected such a move, he selected his most rugged men, rubbed them down with oil and warmed them up with wine, and then ordered them to skirt the very edge of the sea, swimming across the places that were too precipitous to pass. Thus by an unexpected attack from the rear he overwhelmed the guards of the defile.

  [8] Cn. Pompeius, cum flumen transire propter oppositum hostium exercitum non posset, adsidue producere et reducere in castra instituit; deinde, in eam demum persuasionem hoste perducto, ne ullam viam ad progressum Romanorum teneret, repente impetu facto transitum rapuit.

  [8] When Gnaeus Pompey on one occasion was prevented from crossing a river because the enemy’s troops were stationed on the opposite bank, he adopted the device of repeatedly leading his troops out of camp and back again. Then, when the enemy were at last tricked into relaxing their watch on the roads in front of the Roman advance, he made a sudden dash and effected a crossing.

  [9] Alexander Macedo, prohibente rege Indorum Poro traici exercitum per flumen Hydaspen, adversus aquam adsidue procurrere iussit suos; et ubi eo more exercitationis assecutus est, ne quid a Poro adversa ripa caveretur, per superiorem partem subitum transmisit exercitum.

  9aIdem, quia Indi fluminis traiectu prohibebatur ab hoste, diversis locis in flumen equites instituit immittere et transitum minari; cumque exspectatione barbaros intentos teneret, insulam paulo remotiorem primum exiguo, deinde maiore praesidio occupavit atque inde in ulteriorem ripam transmisit. Ad quam manum opprimendam cum universi se hostes effudissent, ipse libero vado transgressus omnes copias coniunxit.

  [9] When Porus, a king of the Indians, was keeping Alexander of Macedon from leading his troops across the river Hydaspes, the latter commanded his men to make a practice of running toward the water. When by that sort of manoeuvre he had led Porus to guard the opposite bank, he suddenly led his army across at a higher point of the stream. [9]aThe same Alexander, prevented by the enemy from crossing the river Indus, began to send horsemen into the water at different points and to threaten to effect a crossing. Then, when he had the barbarians keyed up with expectation, he seized an island a little further off, and from there sent troops to the further bank. When the entire force of the enemy rushed away to overwhelm this band, he himself crossed safely by fords left unguarded and reunited all his troops.

  [10] Xenophon, ulteriorem ripam Armeniis tenentibus, duos iussit quaeri aditus; et cum a vado inferiore repulsus esset, transiit ad superius, inde quoque prohibitus hostium occursu repetit vadum inferius, iussa quidem militum parte subsistere, quae, cum Armenii ad inferioris vadi tutelam redissent, per superius transgrederetur. Armenii, credentes decursuros omnes, decepti sunt a remanentibus; hi cum resistente nullo vadum superassent, transeuntium suorum fuere propugnatores.

  [10] Xenophon once ordered his men to attempt a crossing in two places, in the face of Armenians who had possession of the opposite bank. Being repulsed at the lower point, he passed to the upper; and when driven back from there also by the enemy’s attack, he returned to the lower crossing, but only after ordering a part of his soldiers to remain behind and to cross by the upper passage, so soon as the Armenians should return to protect the lower. The Armenians, supposing that all were proceeding to the lower point, overlooked those remaining above, who, crossing the upper ford without molestation, defended their comrades as they also passed over.

  [11] Appius Claudius consul primo bello Punico, cum a Regio Messanam traicere militem nequiret, custodientibus fretum Poenis, sparsit rumorem, quasi bellum iniussu populi inceptum gerere non posset, classemque in Italiam versus se agere simulavit. Digressis deinde Poenis, qui profectioni eius habuerant fidem, circumactas naves appulit Siciliae.

  [11] When Appius Claudius, consul in the first Punic War, was unable to transport his soldiers from the neighbourhood of Regium to Messina, because the Carthaginians were guarding the Straits, he caused the rumour to be spread that he could not continue a war which had been undertaken without the endorsement of the people, and turning about he pretended to set sail for Italy. Then, when the Carthaginians dispersed, believing he had gone, Appius turned back and landed in Sicily.

  [12] Lacedaemoniorum duces, cum Syracusas navigare destinassent et Poenorum dispositam per litus classem timerent, decem Punicas naves, quas captivas habebant, veluti victrices primas iusserunt agi, aut a latere iunctis aut puppe religatis suis. Qua specie deceptis Poenis transierunt.

  [12] When certain Spartan generals had planned to sail to Syracuse, but were afraid of the Carthaginian fleet anchored along the shore, they commanded that the ten Carthaginian ships which they had captured should go ahead as though victors, with their own vessels either lashed to their side or towed behind. Having deceived the Carthaginians by these appearances, the Spartans succeeded in passing by.

  [13] Philippus, cum angustias maris, quae Ϲτενὰ appellantur, transnavigare propter Atheniensium classem, quae opportunitatem loci
custodiebat, non posset, scripsit Antipatro Thraciam rebellare, praesidiis quae ibi reliquerat interceptis; sequeretur omnibus omissis. Quae ut epistulae interciperentur ab hoste, curavit. Athenienses, arcana Macedonum excepisse visi, classem abduxerunt; Philippus nullo prohibente angustias freti liberavit.

  13aIdem, quia Cherronessum, quae iuris Atheniensium erat, occupare prohibebatur, tenentibus transitum non Byzantiorum tantum, sed Rhodiorum quoque et Chiorum navibus, conciliavit animos eorum reddendo naves, quas ceperat, quasi sequestres futuros ordinandae pacis inter se atque Byzantios, qui causa belli erant. Tractaque per magnum tempus postulatione, cum de industria subinde aliquid in condicionibus retexeret, classem per id tempus praeparavit eaque in angustias freti imparato hoste subitus evasit.

  [13] When Philip was unable to sail through the straits called Stena, because the Athenian fleet kept guard at a strategic point, he wrote to Antipater that Thrace was in revolt, and that the garrisons which he had left there had been cut off, directing Antipater to leave all other matters and follow him. This letter Philip arranged to have fall into the hands of the enemy. The Athenians, imagining they had secured secret intelligence of the Macedonians, withdrew their fleet, while Philip now passed through the straits with no one to hinder him. [9]a The Chersonese happened at one time to be controlled by the Athenians, and Philip was prevented from capturing it, owing to the fact that the strait was commanded by vessels not only of the Byzantines but also of the Rhodians and Chians; but Philip won the confidence of these peoples by returning their captured ships, as pledges of the peace to be arranged between himself and the Byzantines, who were the cause of the war. While the negotiations dragged on for some time and Philip purposely kept changing the details of the terms, in the interval he got ready a fleet, and eluding the enemy while they were off their guard, he suddenly sailed into the straits.

  [14] Chabrias Atheniensis, cum adire portum Samiorum obstante navali hostium praesidio non posset, paucas e suis navibus praeter portum missas iussit transire, arbitratus, qui in statione erant, persecuturos; hisque per hoc consilium avocatis, nullo obstante portum cum reliqua adeptus est classe.

  [14] When Chabrias, the Athenian, was unable to secure access to the harbour of the Samians on account of the enemy blockade, he sent a few of his own ships with orders to cross the mouth of the harbour, thinking that the enemy on guard would give chase. When the enemy were drawn away by this ruse, and no one now hindered, he secured possession of the harbour with the remainder of his fleet.

  V. De Evadendo ex Locis Difficillimis

  V. On Escaping from Difficult Situations

  [1] Q. Sertorius in Hispania, cum a tergo instante hoste flumen traicere haberet, vallum in ripa eius in modum cavae lunae duxit et oneratum materiis incendit; atque ita exclusis hostibus flumen libere transgressus est.

  [1] When Quintus Sertorius, in the Spanish campaign, desired to cross a river while the enemy were harassing him from the rear, he had his men construct a crescent-shaped rampart on the bank, pile it high with timber, and set fire to it. When the enemy were thus cut off, he crossed the stream without hindrance.

  [2] Similiter Pelopidas Thebanus bello Thessalico transitum quaesivit. Namque castris ampliorem locum supra ripam complexus, vallum cervolis et alio materiae genere constructum incendit, dumque ignibus submoventur hostes, ipse fluvium superavit.

  [2] In like manner Pelopidas, the Theban, in the Thessalian war, sought to cross a certain stream. Choosing a site above the bank larger than was necessary for his camp, he constructed a rampart of chevaux-de-frise and other materials, and set fire to it. Then, while the enemy were kept off by the fire, he crossed the stream.

  [3] Q. Lutatius Catulus, cum a Cimbris pulsus unam spem salutis haberet, si flumen liberasset, cuius ripam hostes tenebant, in proximo monte copias ostendit, tamquam ibi castra positurus. Ac praecepit suis, ne sarcinas solverent aut onera deponerent neve quis ab ordinibus signisque discederet; et quo magis persuasionem hostium confirmaret, pauca tabernacula in conspectu erigi iussit ignesque fieri et quosdam vallum struere, quosdam in lignationem, ut conspicerentur, exire. Quod Cimbri vere agi existimantes et ipsi castris delegerunt locum dispersique in proximos agros ad comparanda ea, quae mansuris necessaria sunt, occasionem dederunt Catulo non solum flumen traiciendi, sed etiam castra eorum infestandi.

  [3] When Quintus Lutatius Catulus had been repulsed by the Cimbrians, and his only hope of safety lay in passing a stream the banks of which were held by the enemy, he displayed his troops on the nearest mountain, as though intending to camp there. Then he commanded his men not to loose their packs, or put down their loads, and not to quit the ranks or standards. In order the more effectively to strengthen the impression made upon the enemy, he ordered a few tents to be erected in open view, and fires to be built, while some built a rampart and others went forth in plain sight to collect wood. The Cimbrians, deeming these performances genuine, themselves also chose a place for a camp, scattering through the nearest fields to gather the supplies necessary for their stay. In this way they afforded Catulus opportunity not merely to cross the stream, but also to attack their camp.

  [4] Croesus, cum Halyn vado transire non posset neque navium aut pontis faciendi copiam haberet, fossa superiore parte post castra deducta alveum fluminis a tergo exercitus sui reddidit.

  [4] When Croesus could not ford the Halys, and had neither boats nor the means of building a bridge, he began up stream and constructed a ditch behind his camp, thus bringing the channel of the river in the rear of his army.

  [5] Cn. Pompeius Brundisii, cum excedere[t] Italia et transferre bellum proposuisset, instante a tergo Caesare conscensurus classem quasdam obstruxit vias, alias parietibus intersaepsit, alias intercidit fossis easque sudibus erectis praeclusas operuit cratibus, humo aggesta, quosdam aditus, qui ad portum ferebant, trabibus transmissis et in densum ordinem structis, ingenti mole tutatus. Quibus perpetratis ad speciem retinendae urbis raros pro moenibus sagittarios reliquit, ceteras copias sine tumultu ad naves deduxit. Navigantem eum mox sagittarii quoque per itinera nota degressi parvis navigiis consecuti sunt.

  [5] When Gnaeus Pompey at Brundisium had planned to leave Italy and to transfer the war to another field, since Caesar was heavy on his heels, just as he was on the point of embarking, he placed obstacles in some roads; others he blocked by constructing walls across them; others he intersected with trenches, setting sharp stakes in the latter, and laying hurdles covered with earth across the openings. Some of the roads leading to the harbour he guarded by throwing beams across and piling them one upon another in a huge heap. After consummating these arrangements, wishing to produce the appearance of intending to retain possession of the city, he left a few archers as a guard on the walls; the remainder of his troops he led out in good order to the ships. Then, when he was under way, the archers also withdrew by familiar roads, and overtook him in small boats.

  [6] C. Duellius consul in portu Syracusano, quem temere intraverat, obiecta ad ingressum catena clausus universos in puppem rettulit milites atque ita resupina navigia magna remigantium vi concitaviAnd; levatae prorae super catenam processerunt. Qua parte superata transgressi rursus milites proras presserunt, in quas versum pondus decursum super catenam dedit navibus.

  [6] When the consul Gaius Duellius was caught by a chain stretched across the entrance to the harbour of Syracuse, which he had rashly entered, he assembled all his soldiers in the sterns of the boats, and when the boats were thus tilted up, he propelled them forward with the full force of his oarsmen. Thus lifted up over the chain, the prows moved forward. When this part of the boats had been carried over, the soldiers, returning to the prows, depressed these, and the weight thus transferred to them permitted the boats to pass over the chain.

  [7] Lysander Lacedaemonius, cum in portu Atheniensium cum tota classe obsideretur, obrutis hostium navibus ab ea parte, qua faucibus angustissimis influit mare, milites suos clam in litus egredi iussit et subiectis rotis naves ad proximum portum Munychiam traiecit.

  [7] When
Lysander, the Spartan, was blockaded in the harbour of the Athenians with his entire fleet, since the ships of the enemy were sunk at the point where the sea flows in through a very narrow entrance, he commanded his men to disembark secretly. Then, placing his ships on wheels, he transported them to the neighbouring harbour of Munychia.

  [8] Hirtuleius legatus Q. Sertorii, cum in Hispania inter duos montes abruptos longum et angustum iter ingressus paucas duceret cohortes comperissetque ingentem manum hostium adventare, fossam transversam inter montes pressit vallumque materia exstructum incendit atque ita intercluso hoste evasit.

  [8] When Hirtuleius, lieutenant of Quintus Sertorius, was leading a few cohorts up a long narrow road in Spain between two precipitous mountains, and had learned that a large detachment of the enemy was approaching, he had a ditch dug across between the mountains, fenced it with a wooden rampart, set fire to this, and made his escape, while the enemy were thus cut off from attacking him.

  [9] C. Caesar bello civili, cum adversus Afranium copias educeret et recipiendi se sine periculo facultatem non haberet, sicut constiterat, prima et secunda acie in armis permanente, tertia autem acie furtim a tergo ad opus applicata, quindecim pedum fossam fecit, intra quam sub occasum solis armati se milites eius receperunt.

  [9] When Gaius Caesar led out his forces against Afranius in the Civil War, and had no means of retreating without danger, he had the first and second lines of battle remain in arms, just as they were drawn up, while the third secretly applied itself to work in the rear, and dug a ditch •fifteen feet deep, within the line of which the soldiers under arms withdrew at sunset.