24.
But the barbarians, upon perceiving the design of the Romans, sent forward their cavalry and charioteers, a class of
warriors of whom it is their practice to make great use in their battles, and
following with the rest of their forces, endeavored to prevent our men landing.
In this was the greatest difficulty, for the following reasons, namely, because
our ships, on account of their great size, could be stationed only in deep
water; and our soldiers, in places unknown to them, with their hands
embarrassed, oppressed with a large and heavy weight of armor, had at the same
time to leap from the ships, stand amid the waves, and encounter the enemy;
whereas they, either on dry ground, or advancing a little way into the water,
free in all their limbs in places thoroughly known to them, could confidently
throw their weapons and spur on their horses, which were accustomed to this kind
of service. Dismayed by these circumstances and altogether untrained in this
mode of battle, our men did not all exert the same vigor and eagerness which
they had been wont to exert in engagements on dry ground.
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