Book 20
7.15
Finally the besieged, after long resisting imminent destruction, were at last with great difficulty scattered in all directions by the weight of the huge throng. After that the swords of the infuriated enemy cut down all that they could find, children were torn from their mothers’ breasts and the mothers themselves were butchered, and no man recked what he did. Amid such scenes of horror that nation, greedier still for plunder,I.e. than for bloodshed. laden with spoils of every sort, and leading off a great throng of captives, returned in triumph to their tents.
7.16
The king, however, filled with arrogant joy, and having long burned with a desire of taking Phaenicha, since it was a very convenient stronghold, did not leave the place until he had firmly repaired the shattered parts of the walls, stored up an immense quantity of supplies, and stationed there an armed force of men distinguished for their high birth and renowned for their military skill. For he feared what actually happened,See 11, 6-25, below. namely, that the Romans, taking to heart the loss of such a powerful stronghold, would strive with all their might to recover it.
