s in mind and despising the enemy, observe silence and order;
for by taking thought for these things we shall win the victory over the
disorder of the barbarians more easily and with less labour." Thus spoke
Solomon.

And the commanders of the Moors also, seeing the barbarians terrified at
the orderly array of the Romans, and wishing to recall their host to
confidence again, exhorted them in this wise: "That the Romans have
human bodies, the kind that yield when struck with iron, we have been
taught, O fellow-soldiers, by those of them whom we have recently met,
the best of them all, some of whom we have overwhelmed with our spears
and killed, and the others we have seized and made our prisoners of war.
And not only is this so, but it is now possible to see also that we
boast great superiority over them in numbers. And, furthermore, the
struggle for us involves the very greatest things, either to be masters
of all Libya or to be slaves to these braggarts. It is therefore
necessary for us to be in the highest degree brave men at the present
time. For it is not expedient that those whose all is at stake should be
other than exceedingly courageous. And it behoves us to despise the
equipment of arms which the enemy have. For if they come on foot against
us, they will not be able to move rapidly, but will be worsted by the
agility of the Moors, and their cavalry will be terrified both by the
sight of the camels, and by the noise they make, which, rising above the
general tumult of battle, will, in all likelihood, throw them into
disorder. And if anyone by taking into consideration the victory of the
Romans over the Vandals thinks them not to be withstood, he is mistaken
in his judgment. For the scales of war are, in the nature of the case,
turned by the valour of the commander or by fortune; and Belisarius, who
was responsible for their gaining the mastery over the Vandals, has now,
thanks to Heaven, been removed out of our way. And, besides, we too have
many times conquered the Vandals and stripped them of their power, and
have thus made the victory over them a more feasible and an easier task
for the Romans. And now we have reason to hope to conquer this enemy
also if you shew yourselves brave men in the struggle."

After the officers of the Moors had delivered this exhortation, they
began the engagement. And at first there arose great disorder in the
Roman army. For their horses were offended by the noise made by the
cam