77. Sed pariter cum capta Thala legati ex oppido Lepti ad Metellum venerant orantes, uti praesidium praefectumque eo mitteret; Hamilcarem quendam, hominem nobilem, factiosum, novis rebus studere, adversum quem neque imperia magistratuum neque leges valerent; ni id festinaret, in summo periculo suam salutem, illorum[402] socios fore. Nam Leptitani jam inde a principio belli Jugurthini ad Bestiam consulem et postea Romam miserant amicitiam societatemque rogatum. Deinde, ubi ea impetrata, semper boni fidelesque mansere et cuncta a Bestia, Albino Metelloque imperata nave[403] fecerant. Itaque ab imperatore facile, quae petebant, adepti. Emissae eo cohortes Ligurum quatuor et G. Annius praefectus. [402] _Illorum_; that is, _Romanorum_. Respecting the situation of Leptis magna, see chap. 19. [403] _Nave_ or _naviter_ ('actively') is the correct orthography, for which other editions have _gnave_. See Zumpt, S 12. Its case is the same as that of _natus_, which in composition takes the _g_--as _cognatus_, _agnatus_; and also _narus_, _ignarus_. 78. Id oppidum ab Sidoniis conditum est, quos accepimus profugos ob discordias civiles, navibus in eos locos venisse; ceterum situm inter duas Syrtes, quibus nomen ex re inditum. Nam duo sunt sinus prope in extrema Africa, impares magnitudine, pari natura; quorum proxima terrae praealta sunt, cetera, uti fors tulit, alta,[404] alia in tempestate vadosa. Nam ubi mare magnum esse et saevire ventis coepit, limum arenamque et saxa ingentia fluctus trahunt; ita facies locorum cum ventis simul mutatur: Syrtes ab tractu nominatae.[405] Ejus civitatis lingua modo[406] conversa connubio Numidarum, legum cultusque pleraque Sidonica, quae eo facilius retinebant, quod procul ab imperio regis aetatem agebant. Inter illos et frequentem Numidiam multi vastique loci erant. [404] _Alta_; supply _in alia tempestate_, 'sometimes deep, and sometimes shallow.' [405] 'They have been called Syrtes from this current, which draws other things along with it;' for the Greek [Greek: surein] signifies 'to draw,' or 'drag along.' [406] It was only the language of the inhabitants of Leptis that had experienced a change, in consequence of their matrimonial connections with the Numidians, otherwise they had for the most part preserved their Sidonian, that is, Phoenician, laws and habits, being separated from the inhabited part of Numidia by extensive deserts, which was also the reason of the Numidian king's seldom residing at Leptis, although the town belonged to his kingdom.