§42.59.1in hunc modum maxime instructae acies, par ferme utrimque numerus equitum ac levis armaturae, concurrunt, a funditoribus iaculatoribusque, qui praecesserant, proelio orto.
Drawn up in almost this manner, with an almost equal number of cavalry and light-armed troops on both sides, the armies clashed, the battle having been begun by the slingers and javelin-throwers who had gone ahead.
§42.59.2primi omnium Thraces, haud secus quam diu claustris retentae ferae, ita concitati cum ingenti clamore in dextrum cornu, Italicos equites, incurrerunt, §42.59.3ut usu belli et ingenio inpavida gens turbaretur gladiis hastas petere pedites nunc succidere crura equis, nunc ilia suffodere.
First of all, the Thracians, no differently than wild beasts long kept in cages, rushed forward with a huge shout and charged the right wing, the Italian cavalry, so that a nation undaunted both by experience of war and by natural disposition was thrown into confusion; their infantry attacked spears with swords, now hamstringing the horses, now stabbing them in the flanks.
§42.59.4Perseus, in mediam invectus aciem, Graecos primo impetu avertit; quibus fusis cum gravis ab tergo instaret hostis, Thessalorum equitatus, qui a laevo cornu brevi spatio diiunctus in subsidiis fuerat extra concursum, primo spectator certaminis, deinde inclinata re maxumo usui fuit.
Perseus, having ridden into the center of the line, routed the Greeks at the first onset; when they were scattered and the enemy was pressing hard from behind, the Thessalian cavalry, which had been stationed in reserve at a short distance from the left wing, outside the clash, was at first a spectator of the contest, but then, when the situation took a turn for the worse, was of the greatest assistance.
§42.59.5cedentes enim sensim integris ordinibus, postquam se Eumenis auxiliis adiunxerunt, et cum eo tutum inter ordines suos receptum sociis fuga dissipatis dabant et, cum minus conferti hostes instarent, progredi etiam ausi multos fugientium obvios exceperunt.
For, retreating gradually with their ranks intact, after they joined the auxiliary troops of Eumenes, they, together with him, offered a safe retreat within their ranks to the allies who had been scattered in flight; and, when the enemy was pressing on in less compact order, they even ventured to advance and received many of the fugitives who came their way.
§42.59.6nec regii, sparsi iam ipsi passim sequendo, cum ordinatis et certo incedentibus gradu manus conserere audebant.
Nor did the king's men, who were themselves already scattered here and there in pursuit, dare to engage in hand-to-hand combat with those who were in formation and advancing with a steady step.
§42.59.7cum victor equestri proelio rex parvo momento si adiuvisset debellatum esse, et opportune adhortanti supervenit phalanx, quam sua sponte, ne audaci coepto deessent, Hippias et Leonnatus raptim adduxerant, postquam prospere pugnasse equitem acceperunt.
While the king, victorious in the cavalry battle, was thinking that with a slight impulse, if they assisted, the war would be finished, opportunely for him as he was urging them on, the phalanx arrived, which Hippias and Leonnatus had hastily brought up of their own accord, lest they should fail in so bold an enterprise, after they heard that the cavalry had fought successfully.
§42.59.8fluctuante rege inter spem metumque tantae rei conandae Cretensis Euander, quo ministro Delphis ad insidias Eumenis regis usus erat, postquam agmen peditum venientium sub signis vidit, §42.59.9ad regem accurrit et monere institit, ne elatus felicitate summam rerum temere in non necessariam aleam daret; §42.59.10si contentus bene re gesta quiesset eo die, vel pacis honestae condicionem habiturum vel plurimos belli socios, qui fortunam sequerentur, si bellare mallet.
While the king was fluctuating between hope and fear of attempting so great an enterprise, the Cretan Evander, whom the king had used as an instrument at Delphi for the plot against King Eumenes, after he saw the column of infantry advancing under their standards, ran up to the king and earnestly began to advise him not to be so elated by success as to rashly risk the supreme fortune of the state in an unnecessary hazard; saying that if, content with the successful action, he remained quiet on that day, he would either have terms for an honorable peace, or, if he preferred to continue the war, he would have very many allies in the war who would follow his fortune.
§42.59.11in hoc consilium pronior erat animus regis.
The king's mind was more inclined to this advice.
itaque conlaudato Euandro signa referri peditumque agmen redire in castra iubet, equitibus receptui canere.
Therefore, having praised Evander, he ordered the standards to be turned back and the column of infantry to return to the camp, and the signal for retreat to be sounded to the cavalry.