§316ὁ δὲ Φάβιος καὶ τότε τῆς αὐτῆς γνώμης ἐχόμενος εἵπετο, καὶ τῆς Γερωνίας ἀποσχὼν δέκα σταδίους ἐστρατοπέδευε, λαβὼν ἐν μέσῳ ποταμὸν Αὔφιδον.
Fabius, holding to the same opinion even then, followed, and encamped ten stades away from Gerunia, keeping the river Aufidus in the middle.
ληγόντων δὲ αὐτῷ τῶν ἓξ μηνῶν ἐφʼ οὓς αἱροῦνται Ῥωμαῖοι τοῦς δικτάτορας, οἱ μὲν ὕπατοι Σερουίλιός τε καὶ Ἀτίλιος ἐπὶ τὰς ἑαυτῶν ἀρχὰς ἐπανῄεσαν, καὶ ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὸ στρατόπεδον, καὶ ὁ Φάβιος ἐς Ῥώμην ἀπῄει, γίγνονται δέ τινες ἐν τῷδε τῷ χειμῶνι Ἀννίβᾳ καὶ Ῥωμαίοις ἀκροβολισμοὶ συνεχεῖς ἐς ἀλλήλους·
As the six months for which the Romans elect dictators were coming to an end for him, the consuls Servilius and Atilius returned to their own commands and arrived at the camp, and Fabius departed for Rome.
καὶ τὰ Ῥωμαίων ἐπικυδέστερα καὶ εὐθαρσέστερα ἦν.
During this winter, some continuous skirmishes occurred between Hannibal and the Romans; and the Romans' affairs were more successful and they were in better spirits.
ὁ δʼ Ἀννίβας ἐπέστελλε μὲν ἀεὶ τὰ γιγνόμενα Καρχηδονίοις ὑπερεπαίρων, τότε δὲ ἀπολωλότων αὐτῷ πολλῶν ἠπόρει, καὶ στρατιὰν ᾔτει καὶ χρήματα.
Hannibal always wrote to the Carthaginians, greatly exaggerating what was happening, but at that time, having lost many men, he was in difficulties and asked for an army and money.
οἱ δὲ ἐχθροὶ πάντα ἐπισκώπτοντες τὰ Ἀννίβου, καὶ τότε ὑπεκρίνοντο ἀπορεῖν ὅτι, τῶν νικώντων οὐκ αἰτούντων χρήματα ἀλλὰ πεμπόντων ἐς τὰς πατρίδας, ὁ Ἀννίβας αἰτοίη, λέγων νικᾶν.
His enemies, mocking everything of Hannibal's, pretended to wonder how it was that, while victors do not ask for money but send it to their native lands, Hannibal asked for it, claiming to be victorious.
οἷς οἱ Καρχηδόνιοι πεισθέντες οὔτε στρατιὰν ἔπεμπον οὔτε χρήματα.
Persuaded by them, the Carthaginians sent neither an army nor money.
καὶ ὁ Ἀννίβας ταῦτʼ ὀδυρόμενος ἔγραφεν ἐς Ἰβηρίαν Ἀσδρούβᾳ τῷ ἀδελφῷ, παρακαλῶν αὐτὸν ἀρχομένου θέρους μεθʼ ὅσης δύναιτο στρατιᾶς καὶ χρημάτων ἐσβαλεῖν ἐς τὴν Ἰταλίαν, καὶ πορθεῖν αὐτῆς τὰ ἐπέκεινα, ἵνα δῃῷτο πᾶσα καὶ Ῥωμαῖοι κάμνοιεν ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ἑκατέρωθεν.
Hannibal, lamenting this, wrote to Iberia to his brother Hasdrubal, urging him at the beginning of summer to invade Italy with as much army and money as he could, and to ravage the parts beyond, so that the whole land might be desolated and the Romans might be harassed by them from both sides.
§317καὶ τάδε μὲν ἦν περὶ Ἀννίβαν, Ῥωμαῖοι δὲ τῷ τε μεγέθει τῆς ἥττης τῆς Φλαμινίου καὶ Κεντηνίου περιαλγοῦντες ὡς ἀνάξια σφῶν καὶ παράλογα καὶ ἀθρόα παθόντες, καὶ τὸν πόλεμον ὅλως οὐ φέροντες ἔνδον ὄντα παρʼ ἑαυτοῖς, ἄλλα τε κατέλεγον ἐκ Ῥώμης τέλη στρατιωτῶν τέσσαρα μετʼ ὀργῆς ἐπὶ τὸν Ἀννίβαν, καὶ τοὺς συμμάχους πανταχόθεν ἤγειρον ἐς Ἰαπυγίαν.
Such was the situation concerning Hannibal. The Romans, deeply grieved by the magnitude of the defeat of Flaminius and Centenius, as having suffered things unworthy of them, unexpected, and all at once, and completely unable to bear having the war inside their own land, angrily raised four other legions of soldiers from Rome against Hannibal, and gathered their allies from all sides to Iapygia.
ὑπάτους τε αἱροῦνται ἐκ μὲν δόξης πολεμικῆς Λεύκιον Αἰμίλιον τὸν Ἰλλυριοῖς πολεμήσαντα, ἐκ δὲ δημοκοπίας Τερέντιον Οὐάρρωνα, πολλὰ αὐτοῖς ἐκ τῆς συνήθους δοξοκοπίας ὑπισχνούμενον.
As consuls, they elected, from military reputation, Lucius Aemilius, who had fought the Illyrians, and, from demagoguery, Terentius Varro, who promised them many things out of his usual popularity-seeking.
καὶ αὐτοὺς παραπέμποντες ἐξιόντας ἐδέοντο κρῖναι τὸν πόλεμον μάχῃ, καὶ μὴ τὴν πόλιν ἐκτρύχειν χρόνῳ τε καὶ στρατείαις συνεχέσι καὶ ἐσφοραῖς καὶ λιμῷ καὶ ἀργίᾳ τῆς γῆς δῃουμένης.
Escorting them as they went out, they begged them to decide the war by battle, and not to wear the state out with time, continuous campaigns, taxes, famine, and the idleness of the land being ravaged.
οἱ δὲ τὴν στρατιὰν τὴν ἐν Ἰαπυγίᾳ προσλαβόντες, καὶ τὸ σύμπαν ἔχοντες πεζοὺς μὲν ἑπτακισμυρίους ἱππέας δʼ ἑξακισχιλίους, ἐστρατοπέδευον ἀμφὶ κώμῃ τινὶ καλουμένῃ Κάνναις.
They took over the army in Iapygia, and having in total seventy thousand infantry and six thousand cavalry, they encamped around a certain village called Cannae.
καὶ ὁ Ἀννίβας αὐτοῖς ἀντεστρατοπέδευεν.
Hannibal encamped opposite them.
φύσει δὲ ὢν φιλοπόλεμος ὁ Ἀννίβας καὶ οὔ ποτε φέρων ἀργίαν, τότε μάλιστα τῆς ἀπορίας αὐτὸν ἐνοχλούσης ἐξέτασσε συνεχῶς ἐς μάχην, δεδιὼς μὴ οἱ μισθοφόροι μετάθοιντο διὰ τὴν ἀμισθίαν ἢ σκεδασθεῖεν ἐπὶ συλλογὴν ἀγορᾶς.
Being by nature fond of war and never able to bear inactivity, and at that time especially harassed by want of provisions, Hannibal constantly drew up his army for battle, fearing lest his mercenaries should desert due to lack of pay or scatter to gather provisions.
καὶ ὁ μὲν οὕτω προὐκαλεῖτο τοὺς πολεμίους.
Thus he challenged the enemy.
§318γνώμη δὲ τῶν ὑπάτων ἦν, Αἰμιλίου μὲν ὑπομένειν ἐκτρύχοντας Ἀννίβαν οὐ δυνησόμενον ἀντέχειν ἐπὶ πολὺ διὰ τὴν ἀπορίαν, μηδὲ διὰ χειρὸς ἔρχεσθαι γεγυμνασμένῳ πολέμοις καὶ εὐτυχίαις ἀνδρὶ καὶ στρατῷ, Τερεντίου δʼ, οἷα δημοκόπου, μνημονεύειν ὧν ὁ δῆμος ἐξιοῦσιν ἐνετέλλετο, καὶ κρῖναι τὴν μάχην ὀξέως.
The opinion of the consuls was divided: Aemilius thought they should wait and wear out Hannibal, who would not be able to hold out for long due to want of provisions, and not come to blows with a man and army trained in wars and successes; but Terentius, like a demagogue, thought they should remember what the people commanded them as they went out, and decide the issue by battle quickly.
τούτοιν Αἰμιλίῳ μὲν προσετίθετο Σερουίλιος ὁ πέρυσιν ὕπατος ἔτι παρών, Τερεντίῳ δὲ ὅσοι τε ἀπὸ βουλῆς καὶ τῶν καλουμένων ἱππέων ἡγοῦντο τῆς στρατιᾶς.
Of these two, Aemilius was joined by Servilius, the consul of the previous year who was still present, and Terentius by all those from the senate and of the so-called knights who led the army.
ἀντεχόντων δʼ ἔτι τῶν ἑτέρων, ὁ Ἀννίβας τοῖς χορτολογοῦσιν αὐτῶν ἢ ξυλευομένοις ἐπιτιθέμενος ὑπεκρίνετο ἡττᾶσθαι, καὶ περὶ ἐσχάτην ποτὲ φυλακὴν ἐκίνει τὸ πλῆθος ὡς ἀναζευγνύς.
While the others were still holding out, Hannibal, attacking those of them who were foraging or gathering wood, pretended to be defeated, and once around the last watch, he moved his forces as if retreating.
ὁ δὲ Τερέντιος ἰδὼν ἐξῆγε τὴν στρατιὰν ὡς ἐπὶ φεύγοντα τὸν Ἀννίβαν, ἀπαγορεύοντος αὐτῷ καὶ τότε τοῦ Αἰμιλίου.
Terentius, seeing this, led the army out as if against the fleeing Hannibal, though Aemilius forbade him even then.
ὡς δὲ οὐκ ἔπειθεν, οἰωνίζετο ὁ Αἰμίλιος ἐφʼ ἑαυτοῦ, καθάπερ εἰώθασι, καὶ πέμψας ὁδεύοντι ἤδη τῷ Τερεντίῳ τὴν ἡμέραν ἀπαίσιον ἔλεγεν εἶναι.
When he could not persuade him, Aemilius took the auspices by himself, as is their custom, and sent to Terentius, who was already on the march, saying that the day was ill-omened.
ὁ δʼ ἐπανῄει μέν, αἰδούμενος οἰωνοῖς ἀπειθῆσαι, τὰς δὲ κόμας ἐν ὄψει τῆς στρατιᾶς ἐτίλλετο καὶ χαλεπῶς ἔφερεν ὡς τὴν νίκην ἀφῃρνμένος ὑπὸ ζηλοτυπίας τοῦ συνάρχου.
Terentius returned, fearing to disobey the omens, but he tore his hair in sight of the army and was angry, as if robbed of victory by the jealousy of his colleague.
καὶ τὸ πλῆθος αὐτῷ συνηγανάκτει.
And the multitude joined in his anger.