§9.7.1εἰς ἣν οὐδεὶς οὐδέποτε πολέμιον ἥξειν ἤλπιζε·
into which no one had ever expected an enemy to come.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῶν ὑπάτων τολμησάντων ἐν δέκα σταδίοις ἀντιστρατοπεδεῦσαι σφίσι παραβόλως, Ἀννίβας ἅμα μὲν λείας πλῆθος ἡθροικώς, ἅμα δὲ τῆς κατὰ τὴν πόλιν ἐλπίδος ἀποπεπτωκώς, §9.7.2τὸ δὲ μέγιστον, συλλογιζόμενος τὰς ἡμέρας, ἐν αἷς ἤλπιζε κατὰ τὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπίνοιαν πυθομένους τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἄππιον τὸν περὶ τὴν πόλιν κίνδυνον ἤτοι λύσαντας τὴν πολιορκίαν ὁλοσχερῶς παραβοηθήσειν τοῖς ἐπὶ τῇ Ῥώμῃ πράγμασιν ἢ μέρος τι καταλιπόντας τῷ πλείονι βοηθήσειν κατὰ σπουδήν· §9.7.3ὧν ὁπότερον ἂν συμβῇ, δεόντως ἕξειν ὑπειληφὼς ἐκίνει τὴν δύναμιν ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ὑπὸ τὴν ἑωθινήν.
But after this, when the consuls had andaciously dared to encamp opposite them at a distance of ten stades, Hannibal, on the one hand, having collected a great amount of booty, and on the other, having fallen from his hope regarding the city, and most importantly, calculating the days in which, according to his original design, he expected that Appius and his men, on hearing of the danger threatening Rome, would either abandon the siege entirely to come to the rescue of the situation at Rome, or leave some part and hasten with the larger force to give assistance; assuming that whichever of these occurred, it would turn out to his advantage, he moved his force from the camp just before dawn.
§9.7.4οἱ δὲ περὶ τὸν Πόπλιον διασπάσαντες τὰς ἐπὶ τοῦ προειρημένου ποταμοῦ γεφύρας καὶ συναναγκάσαντες αὐτὸν διὰ τοῦ ῥεύματος περαιοῦν τὴν δύναμιν, προσέκειντο τοῖς Καρχηδονίοις περὶ τὴν διάβασιν καὶ πολλὴν παρεῖχον δυσχρηστίαν.
But Publius and his men, having broken down the bridges over the aforementioned river and forced him to transport his army through the stream, pressed upon the Carthaginians during their passage and caused them great difficulty.
§9.7.5ὁλοσχερὲς μὲν οὖν οὐδὲν ἐδύναντο πρᾶξαι διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἱππέων καὶ τὴν πρὸς πάντα τόπον εὐχρηστίαν τῶν Νομάδων· τῆς δὲ λείας ἱκανόν τι μέρος ἀφελόμενοι καὶ περὶ τριακοσίους καταβαλόντες τῶν πολεμίων τότε μὲν ἀνεχώρησαν πρὸς τὴν παρεμβολήν,
Indeed, they were unable to achieve any decisive success owing to the multitude of cavalry and the efficiency of the Numidians in every kind of terrain; yet, having recovered a considerable part of the booty and slain about three hundred of the enemy, they withdrew for the time to their camp.
§9.7.6μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα νομίσαντες τοὺς Καρχηδονίους διὰ φόβον σπουδῇ ποιεῖσθαι τὴν ὑποχώρησιν, εἵποντο κατόπιν ταῖς παρωρείαις.
But after this, imagining that the Carthaginians were making their retreat in haste out of fear, they followed behind them along the foothills.
§9.7.7Ἀννίβας δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἠπείγετο, σπεύδων ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον· μετὰ δὲ πέμπτην ἡμέραν προσαγγελθέντος αὐτῷ μένειν ἐπὶ τῆς πολιορκίας τοὺς περὶ τὸν Ἄππιον, οὕτως ὑποστὰς καὶ προσδεξάμενος τοὺς ἑπομένους ἐπιτίθεται νυκτὸς ἔτι τῇ στρατοπεδείᾳ, §9.7.8καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν αὐτῶν ἀπέκτεινε, τοὺς δὲ λοιποὺς ἐκ τῆς παρεμβολῆς ἐξέβαλε.
Hannibal at first pressed forward, hastening towards his proposed goal; but when, after the fifth day, it was reported to him that Appius and his men were remaining at the siege, he turned back and, waiting for his pursuers, attacked their camp while it was still night; and he slew many of them, and drove the rest out of the encampment.
§9.7.9τῆς δʼ ἡμέρας ἐπιγενομένης συνθεωρήσας τοὺς Ῥωμαίους πρός τινα λόφον ἐρυμνὸν ἀποκεχωρηκότας, τοῦ μὲν ἔτι προσκαρτερεῖν τούτοις ἀπέγνω, §9.7.10ποιησάμενος δὲ τὴν πορείαν διὰ τῆς Δαυνίας καὶ τῆς Βρεττίας ἐπέστη τοῖς κατὰ τὸ Ῥήγιον τόποις ἀνυπόπτως, ὥστε παρʼ ὀλίγον μὲν καὶ τῆς πόλεως κυριεῦσαι, πάντας δὲ τοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν χώραν ἐκπεπορευμένους ἀποτεμέσθαι καὶ πλείστων γενέσθαι Ῥηγίνων κύριος ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ παρουσίᾳ.
When day broke, observing that the Romans had retreated to a strong hill, he gave up the idea of continuing to press them, and making his march through Daunia and Bruttia, he appeared unexpectedly in the territory of Rhegium, so that he was within a narrow margin of master of the city itself, and cut off all those who had gone out into the countryside, making himself master of a vast number of Rhegians on that occasion.