e open sea, or hurl them against the
cliffs along the shore. He also called attention to the lack of water
along the coast region, and the want of means to supply food. "Only let
no one ask me, as quaestor, for anything to eat," he cried angrily. "A
quaestor who has only the office, but no bread, cannot satisfy you with
his position." He advised hastening by sea to Carthage, to occupy the
harbor of Stagnum, which could hold the entire fleet, and was at that
time entirely undefended; thence to rush from the ships upon the city,
which could be taken at the first attack, if the King and his army were
really four days' march from the coast.

But Belisarius said: "God has fulfilled our most ardent desire; He has
permitted us to reach Africa without encountering the hostile fleet.
Shall we now remain at sea, and perhaps yet meet those ships before
which our men threaten to fly? As for the danger of tempests, it would
be better to have the galleys lost when they are empty, than while
filled with our troops. We have still the advantage of surprising the
unprepared foe; every delay will enable them to make ready to meet us.
Here we can land without fighting; elsewhere and later we must perhaps
battle against the wind and the enemy. So I say, we will land here.
Walls and ditches around the camp will supply the place of a fortress.
And have no anxiety about stores: if we defeat the foe, we shall also
capture his provisions." Thus spoke Belisarius. I thought that, as
usual, his reasoning was weak, but his courage strong. The truth is, he
always chooses the shortest way to the battle.

The council of war closed. Belisarius's will was carried out.

We brought the horses, weapons, baggage, and implements of war to land.
About fourteen thousand soldiers and nineteen thousand sailors began to
shovel, to dig, to drive stakes into the hot, dry sand; the General not
only threw out the first spadeful, but, working uninterruptedly, the
last. His perspiration abundantly bedewed the soil of Africa, and the
men were so spurred by his example that they vied with each other
valiantly. Before night closed in, the ditch, the wall, and the
palisade were completed around the entire camp. Only one-fifth of the
archers spent the night on the ships.

So far all was well. Our galleys still contained an ample store of
provisions, thanks to the hospitality of the Ostrogoths in Sicily.
These simpletons, by the learned Regent's command, almost gave us
ev