left them, and sought to run upon the Parthians to fight at hand with them, they suffered none the less, and were no nearer to effecting anything. For the Parthians, in retreating, yet cease not from their shot, which no nation but the Scythians could better do than they. And it is an excellent contrivance that they do fight in their flight, and thereby shun the shame of flying. The Romans still defended themselves, and held it out so long as they had any hope that the Parthians would leave fighting when they had spent their arrowes, or would joyne battel with them. But after they understood that there were a great number of camels laden with quivers full of arrowes, where the first that had bestowed their arrowes fetched about to take new quivers; then Crassus, seeing no end to their shot, began to faint, and sent to Publius his son, willing him to charge upon the enemies before they were compassed in on every side. For it was on Publius’ side that one of the wings of the enemies battell was nearest unto them, and where they rode up and down to compasse them behind. Whereupon Crassus’ sonne, taking thirteene hundred horsemen with him (of the which a thousand were of the men of armes whom Julius Cæsar sent) and five hundred shot, with eight ensignes of footmen having targets, wheeling about, led them unto the charge. But they seeing him coming, turned straight their horses and fled, either because of the steadiness of his array, or else of purpose to beguile this young Crassus, inticing him thereby as far from his father as they could. Publius Crassus seeing them flie, cryed out, ‘These men will not abide with us;’ and so spurred on for life after them. Now the horsemen of the Romans being trained out thus to the chase, the footmen also were not inferior in hope, joy, or courage. For they thought all had been won, and that there was no more to do but to follow the chase: till they were gone far from the army, and then they found the deceit. For the horsemen that fled before them suddenly turned again, and a number of others besides came, and set upon them. Whereupon they stayed, thinking that the enemies, perceiving they were so few, would come and fight with them hand to hand. Howbeit the Parthians drew up again them their men at armes, and made their other horsemen wheele round about them, keeping no order at all: who gallopping up and down the plain, whirled up the sand–hills from the bottom with their horses’ feet, which raised such a wonderful dust, that the Romans could scarce see or speak to one another. For they being shut up into a little roome, and standing close one to another, were sore wounded with the Parthian arrowes, and died of a cruell lingering death, crying out for anguish and paine they felt; and being still harassed by the shot thereof, they died of their wounds, or striving by force to pluck out the forked arrow–heads that had pierced farre into their bodies through their veines and sinewes, thereby