History of Rome (Ab Urbe Condita)

...he fell, severely wounded by a javelin in the front of his thigh. There was such flight and panic around him that the works and the siege sheds were nearly abandoned. VIII. After this, there was a blockade for a few days rather than an active assault while the leader’s wound was being treated. During this time, although there was a rest from fighting, there was no cessation in the preparation of works and fortifications. Therefore, the war flared up again more fiercely, and in more places—even where some areas could barely accommodate the works—siege sheds began to be moved forward, and rams were brought up. The Carthaginian had a wealth of men—it is believed he had one hundred and fifty thousand under arms—while the townspeople were stretched thin in trying to protect and attend to everything in many places at once. They were not sufficient, and so the walls were already being battered by rams and many parts had been shattered. One area was stripped bare by continuous collapses; three towers in succession, along with the wall between them, fell with a great crash. The Carthaginians believed the town was captured by that ruin, and from both sides, as if the wall had equally covered both, they rushed into battle. It was not like a skirmish, such as those that usually erupt during the sieges of cities through the opportunity of one side, but proper battle lines had formed as if on an open field between the ruins of the wall and the houses of the city, with only a moderate interval between them. On one side hope, and on the other despair, inflamed their spirits; the Carthaginian believed the city was already his if he pushed a little harder, while the Saguntines opposed their bodies for their country, now stripped of its defenses, with no one drawing back his foot lest he let the enemy into the place he had left. Therefore, the more fiercely and closely they fought on both sides, the more were wounded, as no weapon fell in vain between the arms and bodies. The Saguntines had a missile called the phalarica a large incendiary spear. The weapon had a shaft of fir, which was round except at the end where the iron head protruded. The iron was three feet long, so that it could pierce the body along with the armor. But it caused the greatest fear, even if it stuck in a shield and did not penetrate into the body, because the middle was wrapped in tow and pitch and, when fired, it carried a flame much greater than that caused by the fear of the impact itself, forcing the soldier to drop his armor and exposing the naked soldier to the following blows.

IX. When the struggle had been undecided for a long time, and the Saguntines' spirits had increased because they were resisting beyond expectations, while the Carthaginian felt defeated because he had not won, the townspeople suddenly raised a shout and drove the enemy back into the ruins of the wall. From there, they drove them out, hindered and panicking, and finally routed and chased them back to their camp.

Meanwhile, it was announced that envoys had arrived from Rome. Hannibal sent people to the sea to meet them, who were to say that they could not safely approach through the armies of so many lawless tribes, and that Hannibal did not have the time to listen to embassies in such a critical state of affairs. It was apparent that, not being admitted, they would go directly to Carthage. Therefore, he sent letters and messengers ahead to the leaders of the Barcine faction to prepare the minds of their followers, so that the opposing faction could not do any favors for the Romans. X. Thus, besides the fact that they were neither admitted nor heard, the embassy was empty and useless. Hanno alone spoke against the Senate regarding the cause of the treaty, with great silence due to his authority, though not...