Ch. 23 - English

But still Josephus and those with him, although they fell down dead one upon another by the darts and stones which the engines threw upon them, yet did not they desert the wall, but fell upon those who managed the ram, under the protection of the hurdles, with fire, and iron weapons, and stones; and these could do little or nothing, but fell themselves perpetually, while they were seen by those whom they could not see, for the light of their own flame shone about them, and made them a most visible mark to the enemy, as they were in the day time, while the engines could not be seen at a great distance, and so what was thrown at them was hard to be avoided; for the force with which these engines threw stones and darts made them hurt several at a time, and the violent noise of the stones that were cast by the engines was so great, that they carried away the pinnacles of the wall, and broke off the corners of the towers; for no body of men could be so strong as not to be overthrown to the last rank by the largeness of the stones.

Impact of the Catapults (Ch. 23 continued in Latin)

Sciet¹ autem aliquis, huius² machinae vis quantum valeat, ex his quae illa nocte contigerunt³. in muro cuidam⁴ ex circunstantibus Josepho, saxo⁵ percusso caput avulsum⁶ est, eiusque ad tertium⁷ stadium veluti funda excussa calvaria. Interdiu quoque praegnantis⁸ foeminae transiecto utero, ad dimidium stadium infans abactus est: tanta tormento vis fuit. Ergo⁹ machinis terribilior erat impetus, et missilium strepitus. Crebri¹⁰ autem mortui, cum per muros deiicerentur, sonabant. et acerbissimus quidem intus excitabatur mulierum clamor: extrinsecus autem occumbentium¹¹ gemitus concrepabant: totusque ambitus muri, ad quem pugnabatur, sanguine confluebat: iamque ascendi poterat congestione cadaverum. montes autem resonantes multo amplius horrorem augebant: nec quicquam¹² illi nocti defuit, quod vel¹³ auribus vel¹³ oculis terrorem posset incutere. Plurimi quidem pro Jotapata decertantes, fortiter ceciderunt, plurimi etiam sauciati sunt, et tamen vix circa matutinas¹⁴ vigilias murus assiduis machinarum ictibus cessit. Tumque illi quidem corporibus atque armis eam partem, quae deiecta fuerat, priusquam Romani pontes¹⁵ apponerent, munierunt.

1. sciet: take this as future tense, since it one of the 3rd/4th conjugation future endings ↩

2. huius machinae vis quantum valeat: the vis quantum valeat can be awkward in English, something like how strong the force was ↩

3. contigerunt: contingo, -ere means “touch,” but more commonly should be taken as “happen” ↩

4. cuidam: Dative of possession with caput ↩

5. saxo percusso: This phrase might look like an ablative absolute, it is more of an ablative of means, describing how the head was thrown off ↩

6. avulsum est: PPP + form of sum that goes with the man’s head, since caput is neuter ↩

7. tertium stadium: “Three stades” - random goofy Roman measurement that is 607 feet for one stade ↩

8. praegnantis feminae transiecto utero: Ablative absolute ↩

9. ergo machinis terribilior erat impetus: Comparative form of terribilis and translates to “more terrible” the phrase as a whole shows how the attack was more terrible than the machines ↩

10. crebri: you’ll find “thick” or “crowded” as definition, but really want to go with “constant” ↩

11. occumbentium: This is a substantive participle, meaning that you take it as a noun. Translate it as “of those dying” ↩

12. quicquam: “Anything” ↩

13. vel… vel: “Either… or” ↩ ↩²

14. matutinas vigilias: “Early watch” ↩

15. pontes: In siege context, a pons, pontis (f) is a wooden plank that allowed armies to travel over difficult areas such as marshes ↩