§22.18.1hunc tumultum sensit Fabius; ceterum et insidias esse ratus et ab nocturno utique abhorrens certamine suos munimentis tenuit.
Fabius perceived this tumult; but, thinking it was an ambush and especially dreading a nocturnal battle, he kept his men within the fortifications.
§22.18.2luce prima sub iugo montis proelium fuit, quo interclusam ab suis levem armaturam facile — etenim numero aliquantum praestabant — Romani superassent, nisi Hispanorum cohors ad id ipsum remissa ab Hannibale supervenisset.
At dawn, a battle took place under the ridge of the mountain, in which the Romans would have easily defeated the light-armed troops who were cut off from their own side—for indeed they were somewhat superior in number—had not a cohort of Spaniards, sent back by Hannibal for this very purpose, come upon them.
ea adsuetior montibus §22.18.3et ad concursandum inter saxa rupesque aptior ac levior cum velocitate corporum tum armorum habitu campestrem hostem gravem armis statariumque pugnae genere facile elusit.
That cohort was more accustomed to the mountains, and being more suited and lighter for running about among rocks and crags, both because of the swiftness of their bodies and the nature of their weapons, they easily eluded the enemy, who was accustomed to the plains, heavy with arms and stationary in his type of fighting.
§22.18.4ita haudquaquam pari certamine digressi, Hispani fere omnes incolumes, Romani aliquot suis amissis in castra contenderunt.
Having parted after an engagement by no means equal, almost all the Spaniards returned to their camp unharmed, while the Romans retreated with the loss of some of their men.
§22.18.5Fabius quoque movit castra transgressusque saltum super Allifas loco alto ac munito consedit.
Fabius also moved his camp, and having crossed the pass, he took up a position in a high and fortified place above Allifae.
§22.18.6tum per Samnium Romam se petere simulans Hannibal usque in Paelignos populabundus rediit; Fabius medius inter, hostium agmen urbemque Romam iugis ducebat nec absistens nec congrediens.
Then, pretending that he was making for Rome through Samnium, Hannibal returned, plundering all the way, into the territory of the Paeligni; Fabius marched along the ridges midway between the enemy's column and the city of Rome, neither losing sight of him nor engaging in battle.
§22.18.7ex Paelignis Poenus flexit iter retroque Apuliam repetens Gereonium pervenit, urbem metu, quia conlapsa ruinis pars moenium erat, ab suis desertam; §22.18.8dictator in Larinate agro castra communiit.
From the Paeligni, the Carthaginian turned his course, and returning backward toward Apulia, reached Gerunium, a city abandoned by its inhabitants out of fear because a part of the walls had fallen into ruins; the dictator fortified his camp in the territory of Larinum.
inde sacrorum causa Romam revocatus, non imperio modo sed consilio etiam ac prope precibus agens cum magistro equitum, §22.18.9ut plus consilio quam fortunae confidat et se potius ducem quam Sempronium Flaminiumque imitetur; ne nihil actum censeret extracta prope aestate per ludificationem hostis: medicos quoque plus interdum quiete quam movendo atque agendo proficere; §22.18.10haud parvam rem esse ab totiens victore hoste vinci desisse ac respirasse ab continuis cladibus — haec nequiquam praemonito magistro equitum Romam est profectus.
Having been recalled thence to Rome for the performance of sacred rites, he urged the master of the horse not only with authority but also with advice and almost with entreaties, that he should trust to counsel more than to fortune, and imitate himself as a leader rather than Sempronius and Flaminius; and that he should not think nothing had been achieved because the summer had been nearly spun out in baffling the enemy, for physicians too sometimes profit patients more by rest than by movement and active treatment; that it was no small matter to have ceased to be defeated by an enemy so often victorious, and to have taken breath after continuous disasters—having forewarned the master of the horse of these things in vain, he set out for Rome.