Book 17
12.3
And they run over very great distances, pursuing others or themselves turning their backs, being mounted on swift and obedient horses and leading one, or sometimes even two, to the end that an exchange may keep up the strength of their mounts and that their freshness may be renewed by alternate periods of rest.
12.4
And so, when the spring equinox was past, the emperor mustered a strong force of soldiers and set out under the guidance of a more propitious fortune; and although the river Ister was in flood since the masses of snow and ice were now melted, having come to the most suitable place, he crossed it on a bridge built over the decks of ships and invaded the savages’ lands with intent to lay them waste. They were outwitted by his rapid march, and on seeing already at their throats the troops of a fighting army, which they supposed could not yet be assembled owing to the time of year, they ventured neither to take breath nor make a stand, but to avoid unlooked-for destruction all took to precipitate flight.
12.5
The greater number, since fear clogged their steps, were cut down; if speed saved any from death, they hid in the obscure mountain gorges and saw their country perishing by the sword; and they might undoubtedly have protected her, had they resisted with the same vigour that had marked their flight.
