then to join the victors in their pursuit of the vanquished.  Thus, then, had this matter been decided upon by the barbarians.  And the Roman army came upon the Vandals encamped in Tricamarum, one hundred and fifty stades distant from Carthage.  So they both bivouacked there at a considerable distance from one another.  And when it was well on in the night, a prodigy came to pass in the Roman camp as follows.  The tips of their spears were lighted with a bright fire and the points of them seemed to be burning most vigorously.  This was not seen by many, but it filled with consternation the few who did see it, not knowing how it would come out.  And this happened to the Romans in Italy again at a much later time.  And at that time, since they knew by experience, they believed it to be a sign of victory.  But now, as I have said, since this was the first time it had happened, they were filled with consternation and passed the night in great fear.

And on the following day Gelimer commanded the Vandals to place the women and children and all their possessions in the middle of the stockade, although it had not the character of a fort, and calling all together, he spoke as follows:  “It is not to gain glory, or to retrieve the loss of empire alone, O fellow Vandals, that we are about to fight, so that even if we wilfully played the coward and sacrificed these our belongings we might possibly live, sitting at home and keeping our own possessions; but you see, surely, that our fortunes have come round to such a pass that, if we do not gain the mastery over the enemy, we shall, if we perish, leave them as masters of these our children and our wives and our land and all our possessions, while if we survive, there will be added our own enslavement and to behold all these enslaved; but if, indeed, we overcome our foes in the war, we shall, if we live, pass our lives among all good things, or, after the glorious ending of our lives, there will be left to our wives and children the blessings of prosperity, while the name of the Vandals will survive and their empire be preserved.  For if it has ever happened to any men to be engaged in a struggle for their all, we now more than all others realize that we are entering the battle-line with our hopes for all we have resting wholly upon ourselves.  Not for our bodies, then, is our fear, nor in death is our danger, but in being defeated by the enemy.  For if we lose the victory, death will be to our advantage.  Since, therefore, the case stands so, let no one of the Vandals weaken, but let him proudly expose his body, and from shame at the evils that follow defeat let him court the end of life.  For when a man is ashamed of that which is shameful, there is always present with him a dauntless courage in the face of danger.  And let no recollection of the earlier battle come into your minds.  For it was not by cowardice on our part that we were defeated, but we tripped upon obstacles interposed by fortune and were overthrown.  Now