Meanwhile the remnant of the senators, who had escaped by flight the power of Cinna, the cruelty of Marius, the madness of Fimbria, and the audacity of Sertorius, crossed over into Greece and with their entreaties compelled Sulla to bring aid to his country, which was in peril — nay, already almost lost.
1 Interea residui senatorum, qui potentiam Cinnae, Marii crudelitatem, insaniam Fimbriae Sertoriique audaciam fuga euaserant, transuecti in Graeciam coegere precibus Syllam, ut periclitanti immo iam paene perditae patriae opem ferret.
So Sulla, as soon as he reached the Campanian shore, crushed the consul Norbanus in battle: 7,000 Romans were then killed by Romans, 6,000 of the same were captured by the same, and 124 fell on Sulla’s side.
2 igitur Sylla mox ut Campanum litus attigit, Norbanum consulem proelio oppressit: septem milia tunc Romanorum Romani interfecerunt, sex milia eorundem ab isdem capta sunt, centum uiginti et quattuor de Syllana parte ceciderunt.
Fabius Hadrianus, however, who held command as propraetor, aspiring to the kingship of Africa with a band of slaves, was burned alive at Utica by their masters on heaped-up brushwood, together with his whole household.
3 Fabius uero Hadrianus, cui imperium pro praetore erat, regnum Africae seruorum manu adfectans, a dominis eorum apud Uticam congestis sarmentis cum omni familia uiuus incensus est.
The praetor Damasippus, at the instigation of the consul Marius, most cruelly killed Quintus Scaevola, Gaius Carbo, Lucius Domitius, and Publius Antistius, who had been summoned to the senate-house as if for consultation. The bodies of the slain were dragged by the executioners with a hook and thrown into the Tiber.
4 Damasippus praetor incentore Mario consule Q. Scaeuolam C. Carbonem L. Domitium P. Antistium in curiam quasi ad consultandum uocatos crudelissime occidit. corpora interfectorum per carnifices unco tracta atque in Tiberim missa sunt.
At the same time Sulla’s generals fought very many battles against the Marian party with a most unhappy good fortune. For Quintus Metellus both cut down the forces of Carrinas and overran his camp, and Pompey inflicted heavy slaughter on the cavalry of Carbo.1
5 eodem tempore Syllae duces plurima proelia aduersum Marianas partes infelicissima felicitate gesserunt. nam et Q. Metellus Carrinatis copias cecidit et castra peruasit et Cn. Pompeius Carbonis equitatum grauiter trucidauit.
1This is Pompey the Great (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus), son of the Pompeius Strabo whose death is told at 5.19.18; he was then in his early twenties.
There was also at that time a very great battle between Sulla and the young Marius at Sacriportus, in which twenty-five thousand of the army of Marius were slain, as Claudius writes.
6 Syllae etiam et Marii adulescentis maximum tunc proelium apud Sacriportum fuit, in quo de exercitu Marii caesa sunt XXV milia, sicut Claudius scribit.
Pompey also stripped Carbo of his camp and, pursuing him as he fled, deprived him of the greater part of his army, now by slaughter, now by forcing surrender. Metellus crushed the column of Norbanus, where nine thousand of the Marian party were killed.
7 Pompeius Carbonem etiam castris exuit fugientemque insecutus, nunc caedendo nunc ad deditionem cogendo plurima exercitus parte priuauit. Metellus Norbani agmen oppressit: ubi nouem milia Marianae partis occisa sunt.
Lucullus, when he was besieged by Quintius, broke out and in a sudden battle destroyed the besieging army; for more than ten thousand are reported to have been slain there on that occasion.
8 Lucullus cum a Quintio obsideretur, erupit et repentina pugna obsessorem deleuit exercitum. nam plus quam decem milia ibi tunc caesa referuntur.
Then Sulla joined battle with Camponius, leader of the Samnites, and the remaining forces of Carrinas before the very City and the Colline Gate at the ninth hour of the day, and in a most grievous battle at last conquered. Eighty thousand men are said to have been routed there: twelve thousand surrendered, and the rest of the multitude, turned to flight, was consumed by the insatiable anger of the victorious citizens.2
9 Sylla deinde cum Camponio Samnitium duce et Carrinatis reliquis copiis ante ipsam urbem portamque Collinam ad horam diei nonam signa contulit grauissimoque proelio tandem uicit. octoginta milia hominum ibi fusa dicuntur: duodecim milia sese dediderunt, reliquam multitudinem in fugam uersam insatiabilis uictorum ciuium ira consumpsit.
2The Samnite leader at the Colline Gate (82 BC) was Pontius Telesinus; Orosius’s “Camponius” is a corrupt form of his name.