Passage 4.25.2
τὸ δὲ ἐντεῦθεν, οὐ γάρ τι τῶν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εὑρημένων ἐς πολιορκίαν οἱ Μεσσήνιοι παρίεσαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ κλίμακας προστιθέντες ἐπειρῶντο ὑπερβαίνειν ἐς τὴν πόλιν καὶ ὑπώρυσσον κάτωθεν τὸ τεῖχος, μηχανήματά τε, ὁποῖα ἐνῆν διʼ ὀλίγου παρασκευάσασθαι, προσαγαγόντες ἀεί τι ἤρειπον· δείσαντες δὲ οἱ ἔνδον μὴ ἁλούσης τῆς πόλεως αὐτοί τε ἀπόλωνται καὶ αἱ γυναῖκές σφισι καὶ οἱ παῖδες ἐξανδραποδισθῶσιν, εἵλοντο ἀπελθεῖν ὑπόσπονδοι.
And from that time forward, the Messenians omitted no device invented by men for siege warfare; employing ladders, they attempted to scale the city's walls, undermined the fortifications from below, and, bringing up whatever siege machinery could be quickly prepared, continually pulled down parts of the defenses. Those within, becoming fearful that if the city were captured they themselves would perish and their women and children would be enslaved, chose instead to depart under covenant.