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WHat nedeth it, Lordes, that I make greate exhortation for to fighte valyātly, vnto youe, that be here ready to do yt. Trulye the prepara∣tion, whyche I see here, semeth to me to haue moore effycacytie for to geue youe courayge and audacytie, than all the talke, that anny man
lyuynge coulde vse, if that we were euyll appoincted. Nowe be we here, Argiues, Mantynyans and Athenyans, the moste principall aud superiours of all the Is∣landers and inhabitantes in the Islandes. Howe can we than in so great a nōber of such frends & allyes not haue certen hope of the victorie, specially hauing to do against comō people & those, which be not chosen as we be? And also thies be Sy∣ciliās yt dispyse vs afarre of, but being nighe vnto them they wyl not tary vs, in∣somuch as they haue lesse of knowlaige & experience, than of audacytie. I wol al∣so y• euery of you do bring to his remembrance, that we be here in a strange land farre from ours, and not being our frende, the whyche we cannot obteigne wtout the victorie. For his cause I will exhorte by all reasons contrary to the same, by the whych I presuppose that our enemys shalbe exhorted by their capitains. For they woll shewe thē, that they haue to fyght for defence of their owne land. And I do shewe you that we be in a strange lande, in the which we must ayther vain∣quishe, orels haue no greate hope for to retourne into ours, for they haue plenty of horses that wil oppresse vs greatly, if that we breke our aray. wherfore, as mē valyant & hardy, be willing to assaile the enemys manfully, remēbring youre an∣cyent vertue & force, & setting bifore your eyes, that the necessitie, wherin we be, is muche more to be feared, than the puissance of our ennemys. After that Nycias had thus spokē, he caused his men to marche against thennemys, who loked not yt they shulde haue so sone presented them ba••taill. For this cause, some o•• them were gone into ye citie, which was very nigh their cāpe. who, neuertheles inconti∣nently as they had knowlaige of thaffaire, issued fourth and came to ioygne thē∣self wyth their men, not in their order, for that they coulde not do. But where as they came, there they mingled themself with the other, and shewed aswel in that same battaill, as in all other affayres, that they lacked not nother harte nor bar∣dynes, more than those, that did assaille them: but rather did defende thēself va∣lyantly, so long as they perceyued any meane to be hable to do it. And whan they were cōstrayned to retire, they did it vnwillingly & slackly: but howsoeuer it was, not thinking at that present, that the Atheniās wold haue come to assaile them, & by that meane being soubdainly taken, they armed themselfe hastely and came to mete their enemys. And the Archers, slyngers and ••asters of dartes, bigan first thescarmouche by chasing and recueilling, aswel on thone syde as on ye other, for a certen shorte space, so as such people, which be lightly armed, be accustomed to do. Afterwardes the southsayers and dyuynours on both sydes, shewed aythere vnto hys nation that the significations of the sacrefyces were good. Upon which knowlaige, they caused the token o•• battaill to be geuen, and the one marched a∣gaynst the other in their order, such, as hath bene aboue said, very fyersly, and wt great couraige. For ye Syracusains cōsidered that they did fight for their cōtrey, both for their present welth, and also for their lybertie in tyme comyng. As tou∣ching their enemys the Athenyans, they did fight for to obteigne an other mans land, and not to bring dāmage to their owne, if they were vainquished. The Ar∣gyues and the other their allyes, not subiected to those Athenyans for to do thē ye saruice, for the which they were cōme to the same voiage, & yet euery of thē de∣siringe to retourne frothence victoriou••ly into his house. And ye other allyes, that were subiects of ye said Atheniās, did also fight ioyfully & with good courage, prin¦cipally for that, that except they had ye victorie they hoped not to be hable to saue thēselues. And although y• none other reasone had moued them, yet they hoped that in saruinge well & valyātly, they shuld be better intreated of their lordes, ••a∣uyng ayded them to conquere a land so farre of, as Sycille. Being than after the stroaks of shot, come hāde to hand, they did fight a good space wtout that, that ye
one or the other of the parties did recuille or geue backe. But being in the same conflicte, there soubdainly came a greate rayne wt lowde thondringes and thicke lightnynges out of heauē. Wherof the Syracusains, whych than did furst fight, were muche astonyed, for that they were not vsed nor experimentedde in warre. But they, whych were moore wonted to such thynges, did attrybute it vnto the tyme of the yeare and passed not of it. Wherby the Syracusains were yet more astonyed•• fearynge leaste their ennemyes had takene the same for a token or pro¦phecie vnto their aduantage and that it came in the dissauor of them. So it hap¦pened that the Argiues furst, and afterwards the Athenyans on the syde where they were, made a charge so sharpely vpon the Syracusains, that they dyd put them into disorder: and sone after to flight. Neuertheles they followed them not farre, for feare of the horsmen, which were in greate nomber and hadde not bene brokene or putt out of order. who, after that they parceyued somme o•• the sayde Athenyans to followe their people to farre bifore the other, they repoulsed them stourdely. For this cause the Atheniās pursued the Syracusains being in flight, somuche as they coulde, all locked togiders. Afterwards they retyred in the selfe order into their campe, and there they reised vp their trophee in signe of victorie. And the Syracusains retired the best that they could, likewise into their campe. And fourthwith sent a good nomber from them to the temple of Olympiades, whyche was therby, fearynge leaste the Athenyans wolde come to pillage it, for that, that therin was great quantyte of golde and syluer. The othere retyred in∣to the cytie. Neuertheles the sayde Athenyans wente not agaynste the said tem∣ple: but hauynge receyued and brunned the cariogns of their men that were dead at the battaill, they taryed there that same nyght. And on the morow the Syra∣cusains knowing to haue bene vainquished, they sent vnto them for to demāde their dead men, whych were in a••l aswell of theire cytezeins•• as of their allyes a∣boute two houndred and three skore, and of the Athenyans togiders with their allyes aboutes fyftie. whose boanes, after that they were burned, they dyd with∣drawe and caryed them to Catana•• togiders wyth the spoilles of the ennemyes, and by thys meane they retyred, for that, that they were already in wynter, whi∣che was no tyme to make warre. They could not also cōduct nor endure it with out horsmen: wherof they at••ended a good nomber, aswell from Athens, as from their allyes, & also monney for to fournishe necessaries. They hoped al••o duringe the wynter, for to practique and wynne, thro••gh fauoure of that same victorie, many cyties of Sycille vnto their partie, and moreouer to make prouysyon of victuailles and of all other thinges, for to come agayne to laye theire Siege to Sarragosse immediatly after the winter. Thies were in effecte the causes, why∣che mouedde theym to comme for to wynter at Catana, and at Naxe.