[19]
Thence he advanced to another place called Metulus, which is the chief town of the Iapydes. It is situated on a heavily timbered mountain, on two ridges with a narrow valley between them. Here were about 3000 warlike and well-armed youth, who easily beat off the Romans who surrounded their walls. The latter raised a mound. The Metulians interrupted the work by assaults by day and by night, and harassed the soldiers from the walls with engines which they had obtained from the war which Decimus Brutus1 had waged there with Antony and Augustus. When their wall began to crumble they built another inside, abandoned the ruined one, and took shelter behind the other. The Romans captured the abandoned one and burned it. Against the new fortification they raised two mounds and from these threw four bridges to the top of the wall. Then, in order to distract their attention, Augustus sent a part of his force around to the rear of the town and ordered the others to dash across the bridges to the walls. He ascended to the top of a high tower to see the result.
1 All the codices say, "Decimus Brutus." The Latin version of Candidus omits "Decimus." Decimus Brutus did not wage war against Antony and Octavius in Illyria. He fought against Antony in Cisalpine Gaul and was killed there, while trying to escape to Illyria, as we learn from our author (Civil Wars, iii. 98) and numerous other authorities.
Appian. The Foreign Wars. Horace White. New York. THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 1899.
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