§26.1αὖθις οὖν καθʼ ἑτέραν ὁδὸν ἀπαντῶν ὁ Φάβιος τῷ Σκηπίωνι κατεκώλυε τοὺς ὁρμωμένους αὐτῷ συστρατεύεσθαι τῶν νέων καὶ κατεῖχεν, ἔν τε ταῖς βουλαῖς καὶ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις βοῶν ὡς οὐκ αὐτὸς Ἀννίβαν ἀποδιδράσκοι μόνος ὁ Σκηπίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ὑπόλοιπον ἐκπλέοι λαβὼν δύναμιν ἐκ τῆς Ἰταλίας, δημαγωγῶν ἐλπίσι τοὺς νέους καὶ ἀναπείθων ἀπολιπεῖν γονέας καὶ γυναῖκας καὶ πόλιν, ἧς ἐν θύραις ἐπικρατῶν καὶ ἀήττητος ὁ πολέμιος κάθηται.
So Fabius, opposing Scipio again in another way, tried to prevent and hold back those of the young men who were eager to join his campaign, shouting both in the senate and in the assemblies that Scipio himself was not only escaping from Hannibal, but was also sailing away from Italy taking the remaining force with him, courting the young men with hopes and persuading them to abandon their parents, wives, and the city, at whose gates the enemy sat dominant and undefeated.
καὶ μέντοι ταῦτα λέγων ἐφόβησε τοὺς Ῥωμαίους, §26.2καὶ μόνοις αὐτὸν ἐψηφίσαντο χρῆσθαι τοῖς ἐν Σικελίᾳ, στρατεύμασι καὶ τῶν ἐν Ἰβηρίᾳ γεγονότων μετʼ αὐτοῦ τριακοσίους ἄγειν, οἷς ἐχρῆτο πιστοῖς.
And indeed, by saying these things he terrified the Romans, so that they voted that he should employ only the forces in Sicily and take with him three hundred of those who had been with him in Iberia, whom he used as trustworthy men.
ταῦτα μὲνοὖν ἐδόκει πολιτεύεσθαι πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν ὁ Φάβιος.
These things, then, Fabius seemed to politicalize in accordance with his own nature.
ἐπεὶ δὲ Σκηπίωνος εἰς Λιβύην διαβάντος εὐθὺς ἔργα θαυμαστὰ καὶ πράξεις ὑπερήφανοι τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ κάλλος εἰς Ῥώμην ἀπηγγέλλοντο, καὶ μαρτυροῦντα ταῖς φήμαις εἵπετο λάφυρα πολλὰ, §26.3καὶ βασιλεὺς ὁ Νομάδων αἰχμάλωτος, καὶ δύο στρατοπέδων ὑφʼ ἕνα καιρὸν ἐμπρήσεις καὶ φθορά πολλῶν μὲν ἀνθρώπων, πολλῶν δʼ ὅπλων καὶ ἵππων ἐν αὐτοῖς συγκατακεκαυμένων, καὶ πρεσβεῖαι πρὸς Ἀννίβαν ἐπέμποντο παρὰ Καρχηδονίων καλούντων καὶ δεομένων ἐάσαντα τὰς ἀτελεῖς ἐκείνας ἐλπίδας οἴκαδε βοηθεῖν, §26.4ἐν δὲ Ῥώμῃ πάντων ἐχόντων τὸν Σκηπίωνα διὰ στόματος ἐπὶ τοῖς κατορθώμασι, Φάβιος ἠξίου πέμπεσθαι Σκηπίωνι διάδοχον, ἄλλην μὲν οὐκ ἔχων πρόφασιν, εἰπὼν δὲ τὸ μνημονευόμενον, ὡς ἐπισφαλές ἐστι πιστεύειν ἀνδρὸς ἑνὸς τύχῃ τηλικαῦτα πράγματα, χαλεπὸν γὰρ ἀεὶ εὐτυχεῖν τὸν αὐτόν, οὕτω προσέκρουσεν ἤδη πολλοῖς, ὡς δύσκολος ἀνὴρ καὶ βάσκανος ἢ πάμπαν ὑπὸ γήρως ἄτολμος γεγονὼς καὶ δύσελπις, περαιτέρω τε τοῦ μετρίου κατατεθαμβημένος τὸν Ἀννίβαν.
But when, after Scipio crossed over to Libya, marvelous deeds and achievements magnificent in their scale and beauty were immediately reported to Rome, and many spoils followed, bearing witness to the rumors, and the king of the Numidians was taken prisoner, and there was the burning of two camps at the same time and the destruction of many men, along with many arms and horses burned up together with them, and embassies were sent to Hannibal by the Carthaginians, calling upon and begging him to abandon those fruitless hopes and return home to help, and in Rome, while everyone had Scipio on their lips for his successes, Fabius insisted that a successor should be sent to Scipio, having no other pretext but saying that well-remembered phrase, that it is precarious to trust such great matters to the fortune of a single man, for it is difficult for the same person to be always fortunate; thus he had already offended many, as a fretful and envious man, or one who had become completely timid and hopeless through old age, and was terrified of Hannibal beyond measure.
§26.5οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκπλεύσαντος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν δυνάμεων ἐξ Ἰταλίας εἴασε τὸ χαῖρον καὶ τεθαρρηκὸς τῶν πολιτῶν ἀθόρυβον καὶ βέβαιον, ἀλλὰ τότε δὴ μάλιστα τὰ πράγματα τῇ πόλει θεούσῃ παρὰ τὸν ἔσχατον κίνδυνον ἐπισφαλῶς ἔχειν ἔλεγε βαρύτερον γὰρ ἐν Λιβύῃ πρὸ Καρχηδόνος αὐτοῖς Ἀννίβαν ἐμπεσεῖσθαι, καὶ στρατὸν ἀπαντήσειν Σκηπίωνι πολλῶν ἔτι θερμὸν αὐτοκρατόρων αἵματι καὶ δικτατόρων καὶ ὑπάτων· ὥστε τὴν πόλιν αὖθις ὑπὸ τῶν λόγων τούτων ἀναταράττεσθαι, καὶ τοῦ πολέμου μεθεστῶτος εἰς Λιβύην ἐγγυτέρω τῆς Ῥώμης οἴεσθαι γεγονέναι τὸν φόβον.
For not even when Hannibal sailed out of Italy with his forces did he allow the joy and confidence of the citizens to remain untroubled and secure, but said that then especially the affairs of the city, running as it was along the edge of extreme danger, were precarious; for he claimed that a heavier blow would fall upon them from Hannibal in Libya before Carthage, and that an army would meet Scipio still warm with the blood of many generals, dictators, and consuls; so that the city was again thrown into confusion by these words, and although the war had been transferred to Libya, they thought that the fear had come closer to Rome.