nd
other war material, as they meant no longer to use half measures, but at
one swoop to drive the Greeks out of Sicily. Their force indeed was
sufficient for the conquest of the Sikeliot Greeks even if they had not
been weakened by their internal strife.

Hearing that their own part of the island was being ravaged, they at
once in great anger marched to attack the Corinthians, under the command
of Hasdrubal and Hamilcar. News of this quickly reached Syracuse, and
the great numbers of the enemy caused such panic among the citizens,
that, numerous as they were, Timoleon could only induce three thousand
to get under arms and follow him. Besides these, there was the paid
force, four thousand in number; and of these again about a thousand were
overcome by their fears on the march, and went back, declaring that
Timoleon could not be in his right senses, but must be insane to march
with five thousand foot and a thousand horse to attack seventy thousand
men, and to separate his force eight days' journey from Syracuse, in a
place where there was no hope of shelter for the fugitives or of
honourable burial for the dead. Timoleon treated it as an advantage that
these men disclosed their cowardice before the day of battle. He
encouraged the rest, and led them with all haste to the river Krimesus,
where he heard that the Carthaginians were concentrating.

XXVI. As he was mounting a hill, beyond which he expected to see the
camp and army of the enemy, there met him some mules loaded with
parsley. It occurred to the soldiers that this was a bad omen, for we
generally use parsley for wreathing tombs; indeed from this practice
arises the proverb, when a man is dangerously ill, that he is ready for
his parsley. Wishing to rid them from this superstition and to stop
their fears, Timoleon halted them, and made a suitable speech, pointing
out that their crown of victory had come of its own accord into their
hands before the battle, for this is the herb with which the Corinthians
crown the victors at the Isthmian games, accounting it sacred and
peculiar to their own country. For then parsley was used for the crown
at the Isthmian games, as it is even to this day at those of Nemea, and
the pine has only been lately introduced. So Timoleon, having addressed
his soldiers, as has been said, first crowned himself with the parsley,
and then his officers and men did so likewise. But the prophets
perceiving two eagles flying towards them, one of w