§22.43.1Hannibal postquam motos magis inconsulte Romanos quam ad ultimum temere evectos vidit, nequiquam detecta fraude in castra rediit.
Hannibal, after he saw that the Romans had been moved rather indiscreetly than driven to the ultimate rashness, returned to his camp, his trick having been discovered in vain.
§22.43.2ibi plures dies propter inopiam frumenti manere nequit, novaque consilia in dies non apud milites solum mixtos ex conluuione omnium gentium sed etiam apud ducem ipsum oriebantur.
There he could not remain for many days on account of the scarcity of grain, and new plans arose day by day, not only among the soldiers, who were a mixture of the dregs of all nations, but also in the mind of the general himself.
§22.43.3nam cum initio fremitus, deinde aperta vociferatio fuisset exposcentium stipendium debitum querentiumque annonam primo, postremo famem, et mercennarios milites maxime Hispani generis de transitione cepisse consilium fama esset, §22.43.4ipse etiam interdum Hannibal de fuga in Galliam dicitur agitasse, ita ut relicto peditatu omni cum equitibus se proriperet.
For when at first there had been a murmuring, and then an open clamor of those demanding their due pay and complaining first of the high price of provisions and finally of famine, and there was a rumor that the mercenary soldiers, especially those of Spanish origin, had formed a plan to desert, even Hannibal himself is said to have sometimes contemplated a flight into Gaul, so that he would have fled with the cavalry, leaving behind all the infantry.
§22.43.5cum haec consilia atque hic habitus animorum esset in castris, movere inde statuit in calidiora atque eo maturiora messibus Apuliae loca, simul quod, quo longius ab hoste recessisset, transfugia inpeditiora levibus ingeniis essent.
Since these plans and this state of mind existed in the camp, he decided to move from there into the warmer and therefore earlier-harvested regions of Apulia, and at the same time because, the further he withdrew from the enemy, the more difficult desertions would be for fickle minds.
§22.43.6profectus est nocte ignibus similiter factis tabernaculisque paucis in speciem relictis, ut insidiarum par priori metus contineret Romanos.
He set out by night, having made fires in a similar manner and left a few tents for appearance, so that a fear of an ambush, equal to the previous one, might restrain the Romans.
§22.43.7sed per eundem Lucanum Statilium omnibus ultra castra transque montis exploratis cum relatum esset, visum procul hostium agmen, tum de insequendo eo consilia agitari coepta.
But when, through the same Lucanian Statilius, everything beyond the camp and across the mountains had been reconnoitered and it was reported that the line of march of the enemy was seen in the distance, then they began to discuss plans for pursuing them.
§22.43.8cum utriusque consulis eadem, quae ante semper fuisset, sententia, ceterum Varroni fere omnes, Paulo nemo praeter Servilium prioris anni consulem adsentiretur, §22.43.9ex maioris partis sententia ad nobilitandas clade Romana Cannas urgente fato profecti sunt.
Although the opinion of each consul was the same as it had always been before, and almost everyone agreed with Varro, while no one except Servilius, the consul of the previous year, agreed with Paulus, they set out, impelled by fate, according to the opinion of the majority, to make Cannae famous by a Roman disaster.
§22.43.10prope eum vicum Hannibal castra posuerat aversa a Volturno vento, qui campis torridis siccitate nubes pulveris vehit.
Near that village Hannibal had pitched his camp, turned away from the Volturnus wind, which carries clouds of dust over the plains parched with drought.
§22.43.11id cum ipsis castris percommodum fuit, tum salutare praecipue futurum erat, cum aciem dirigerent, ipsi aversi, terga tantum adflante vento, in occaecatum pulvere offuso hostem pugnaturi.
This was not only very convenient for the camp itself, but was also destined to be especially salutary when they should draw up their line of battle; for they, turned away from the wind with it blowing only on their backs, were to fight against an enemy blinded by the dust poured over them.