following
reply: "The letter which you have written, most excellent Belisarius,
carries sound admonition, but pertinent to some other men, not to us the
Goths. For there is nothing of the Emperor Justinian's which we have
taken and hold; may we never be so mad as to do such a thing! The whole
of Sicily we claim because it is our own, and the fortress of Lilybaeum
is one of its promontories. And if Theoderic gave his sister, who was
the consort of the king of the Vandals, one of the trading-ports of
Sicily for her use, this is nothing. For this fact could not afford a
basis for any claim on your part. But you, O General, would be acting
justly toward us, if you should be willing to make the settlement of the
matters in dispute between us, not as an enemy, but as a friend. And
there is this difference, that friends are accustomed to settle their
disagreements by arbitration, but enemies by battle. We, therefore,
shall commit this matter to the Emperor Justinian, to arbitrate[17] in
whatever manner seems to him lawful and just. And we desire that the
decisions you make shall be as wise as possible, rather than as hasty as
possible, and that you, therefore, await the decision of your emperor."
Such was the message of the letter of the Goths. And Belisarius,
reporting all to the emperor, remained quiet until the emperor should
send him word what his wish was.

VI

But Pharas, having by this time become weary of the siege for many
reasons, and especially because of the winter season, and at the same
time thinking that the Moors there would not be able to stand in his
way, undertook the ascent of Papua with great zeal. Accordingly he armed
all his followers very carefully and began the ascent. But the Moors
rushed to the defence, and since they were on ground which was steep and
very hard to traverse, their efforts to hinder those making the ascent
were easily accomplished. But Pharas fought hard to force the ascent,
and one hundred and ten of his men perished in this struggle, and he
himself with the remainder was beaten back and retired; and as a result
of this he did not dare to attempt the ascent again, since the situation
was against him, but he established as careful a guard as possible, in
order that those on Papua, being pressed by hunger, might surrender
themselves; and he neither permitted them to run away nor anything to be
brought in to them from outside. Then, indeed, it came about that
Gelimer and those about