§8.1μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῶν ἱερέων καλούντων αὑτόν εἰς Ῥώμην ἐπί τινας θυσίας παρέδωκε τῷ Μινουκίῳ τὴν δύναμιν, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ μάχεσθαι μηδὲ συμπλέκεσθαι τοῖς πολεμίοις οὐ μόνον ὡς αὐτοκράτωρ διαγορεύσας, ἀλλὰ καί παραινέσεις καὶ δεήσεις πολλὰς αὐτοῦ ποιησάμενος· ὧν ἐκεῖνος ἐλάχιστα φροντίσας εὐθὺς ἐνέκειτο τοῖς πολεμίοις.
After this, the priests calling him to Rome for certain sacrifices, he delivered the force over to Minucius, having not only as commander forbidden him to fight or engage with the enemy, but also having made many exhortations and entreaties to him; which things Minucius, disregarding in the least, immediately set upon the enemy.
§8.2καί ποτε παραφυλάξας τὸν Ἀννίβαν τὸ πολὺ τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐπί σιτολογίαν ἀφεικότα, καί προσβαλὼν τῷ ὑπολειπομένῳ, κατήραξεν εἰς τὸν χάρακα καί διέφθειρεν οὐκ ὀλίγους καί φόβον περιέστησε πᾶσιν ὡς πολιορκησομένοις ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ.
And on one occasion, having watched for Hannibal who had sent the greater part of his army out for foraging, and having fallen upon the remainder, he drove them headlong into their camp, destroyed not a few, and brought fear upon them all as if they were going to be besieged by him.
καί συλλεγομένης αὖθις εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον τῷ Ἀννίβᾳ, τῆς δυνάμεως ἀσφαλῶς ἀνεχώρησεν, αὑτόν τε μεγαλαυχίας ἀμέτρου καί θράσους τὸ στρατιωτικὸν ἐμπεπληκώς.
And when the force was gathering back to the camp for Hannibal, he withdrew safely, having filled himself with measureless boasting and the soldiery with boldness.
§8.3ταχὺ δὲ τοῦ ἔργου λόγος μείζων διεφοίτησεν εἰς Ῥώμην.
And quickly a rumor of the deed, greater than the reality, spread to Rome.
καί Φάβιος μὲν ἀκούσας ἔφη μᾶλλον τοῦ Μινουκίου φοβεῖσθαι τήν εὐτυχίαν ἢ τήν ἀτυχίαν, ὁ δὲ δῆμος ἦρτο καί μετὰ χαρᾶς εἰς ἀγορὰν συνέτρεχε, καί Μετίλιος ὁ δήμαρχος ἐπί τοῦ βήματος καταστὰς ἐδημηγόρει μεγαλύνων τὸν Μινούκιον, τοῦ δὲ Φαβίου κατηγορῶν οὐ μαλακίαν οὐδʼ ἀνανδρίαν, ἀλλʼ ἤδη προδοσίαν, §8.4συναιτιώμενος ἅμα καί τῶν ἄλλων ἀνδρῶν τοὺς δυνατωτάτους καί πρώτους ἐπαγαγέσθαι τὸν πόλεμον ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπί καταλύσει τοῦ δήμου, τήν τε πόλιν ἐμβαλεῖν εὐθὺς εἰς μοναρχίαν ἀνυπεύθυνον, ἣ διατρίβουσα τὰς πράξεις ἵδρυσιν Ἀννίβᾳ, παρέξει καί χρόνον αὖθις ἐκ Λιβύης ἑτέραν δύναμιν προσγενέσθαι ὡς κρατοῦντι τῆς Ἰταλίας.
And Fabius indeed, having heard it, said that he feared the good fortune of Minucius more than his bad fortune; but the people were elated and ran together with joy into the forum, and Metilius the tribune, standing upon the rostra, harangued the crowd, magnifying Minucius and accusing Fabius, no longer of weakness or cowardice, but now of treason, charging at the same time also the most powerful and first of the other men with having brought on the war from the beginning for the overthrow of the people, and with having immediately cast the city into an unaccountable monarchy, which, by spinning out the actions, would establish Hannibal and provide time for another force to join him from Libya as the master of Italy.