did
he again assist one of them, though he received many requests for aid.
Tiberius consequently conceived a contempt for those still left in the
fortress and thinking that he could conquer them without loss paid no
further heed to the nature of the country but proceeded straight up the
cliff. Since there was no level ground and the enemy would not come down
against them, he himself took his seat on a platform in full view in
order to watch the engagement (for this would cause his soldiers to
contend more vigorously), and to render opportune assistance, should
there be any need of it. He kept a part of the army, inasmuch as he had a
great plenty of men, for this very purpose. The rest, drawn up in a dense
square, at first proceeded at a walk; later they were separated by the
steepness and unevenness of the mountain (which was full of gullies and
at many points cut up into ravines), and some ascended more quickly,
others more slowly. [-14-] Seeing this, the Dalmatians marshaled outside
the wall, at the top of the steep, and hurled down quantities of stones
upon them, throwing some from slings, and rolling down others. Others
set in motion wheels, others whole wagons full of rocks, others circular
chests manufactured in some way peculiar to the country and packed with
stones. All these things coming down with great noise kept striking in
different quarters, as if discharged from a sling, and separated the
Romans from one another even more than before and crushed them. Others by
discharging either missiles or spears knocked many of them down. At this
juncture much rivalry developed on the part of the warriors, one side
endeavoring to ascend and conquer the heights, the other to repulse them
and hurl them back. There was great excitement also on the part of the
rest, who watched the action from the walls, and on the part of those
about Tiberius. Each side as a body and also individually encouraged its
own men, trying to lend strength to such as showed zeal and chiding those
that anywhere gave way. Those whose voices could be heard above the rest
were invoking the gods, both parties praying for the protection of
their warriors for the time being, and one side calling for freedom
for themselves in the future, and the other for peace. Under these
circumstances the Romans would certainly have risked their lives in vain,
having to contend against two things at once,--the nature of the
country and the lines of their antagonists,--