Scipio on account of his wound and because of what had taken place was inclined to wait and send for reinforcements; and Hannibal after many attempts to provoke him to battle, finding that he could not do this and that he was short of food, attacked a fort where a large supply for the Romans was stored.  As he made no headway he employed money to bribe the commander of the garrison, which thus came into his possession by betrayal.  He hoped also to attain his other objects, partly by arms and partly by gold.  Meanwhile Longus had entrusted Sicily to his lieutenant and had come in response to Scipio’s call.  Not much later influenced by ambition on the one hand and also by the fact of a victory over some marauders he presented himself in battle array.  He lost the day by falling into an ambuscade, and when Hannibal appeared upon the scene with his infantry and elephants the followers of the Roman leader turned to flight and many were put to the sword, many also heedless of the river fell in and were choked.  Only a few saved themselves with Longus.  However, Hannibal though victorious was not happy, because he had lost many soldiers and all of his elephants, except one, as a result of the winter and from wounds.

Accordingly, they arranged an armistice without any desire for peace implied and both sides retired to the territory of their allies and passed the winter in the cities there.  Plenty of provisions kept coming to the Romans, but Hannibal, not satisfied with the contributions of the allies, made frequent raids upon the Roman villages and cities and sometimes would conquer, sometimes be repulsed.  Once he was beaten by Longus with the cavalry and received a wound.  Some of the Roman settlers encouraged by this came out by themselves to oppose him when he assailed them.  These would-be warriors he destroyed and received the capitulation of the place, which he razed to the ground.  Of the captives taken he killed the Romans but released the rest.  This he did also in the case of all those taken alive, hoping to conciliate the cities by their influence.  And, indeed, many of the Gauls as well as Ligurians and Etruscans either murdered the Romans dwelling within their borders or surrendered them and then transferred their allegiance.

As Hannibal was advancing toward Etruria Longus attacked him in the midst of a great storm.  Many fell on both sides and Hannibal entered Ligurian territory and delayed some time.  He was suspicious of even his own men and was free to trust no one, but made frequent changes of costume, wore false hair, spoke different languages at different times (for he knew a number, including Latin) and both night and day he would frequently make the rounds of his camp.  He was always listening to some conversations in the guise of an entirely different person from Hannibal and occasionally he talked thus in character.

VIII, 25.—­While this was going on in Italy the other Scipio, Gaius, had sailed along the coast to Spain, and had won over, partly by force and partly without opposition, all the districts to the Iber that border on the sea and considerable of the upper peninsula.  He had also defeated Banno in battle and had taken him prisoner.  Hasdrubal, the brother of Hannibal, on learning this crossed the Iber and reduced some of the rebels, but at Scipio’s approach he fell back.