VIII, 26.—­When it came to be nearly winter and Hannibal could not pass that season where he was owing to a lack of the necessities of life and had been checked in many attempts to get out of Campania, he devised a plan of this kind.  He first slew all the captives, that no one of them might escape and acquaint the Romans with what was being done.  Then he gathered the cattle which were in camp, affixed torches to their horns, and went at nightfall to the mountains forming the boundary of Samnium, where he lighted the torches and threw the cattle into a fright.  They, maddened by the fire and the driving, set fire to the forest in many places and consequently rendered it easy for Hannibal to cross the mountains.  The Romans in the plain as well as those on the heights dreaded an ambuscade and would not budge.  Thus Hannibal got across and made his way into Samnium.

Fabius, ascertaining the next day what had been done, gave chase and routed those left behind on the road to hinder his men’s progress, afterward defeating also troops that came to the assistance of the first party.  He then encamped not far from the enemy, yet would not come into conflict with them.  However, he prevented them from scattering and foraging, so that Hannibal in perplexity at first started for Rome.  As Fabius would not fight, but quietly accompanied him, he again turned back into Samnium. [Sidenote:  FRAG. 56^10] AND FABIUS FOLLOWING ON CONTINUED TO BESIEGE HIM FROM A SAFE DISTANCE, BEING ANXIOUS NOT TO LOSE ANY OF HIS OWN TROOPS, especially since he could obtain necessities in abundance, whereas he saw that his foe actually possessed nothing outside of his weapons and that no assistance was sent to him from home. [Sidenote:  FRAG. 56^11] FOR THE CARTHAGINIANS WERE DISPOSED TO MAKE SPORT OF HIM IN THAT HE WROTE OF HIS SPLENDID PROGRESS AND HIS MANY SUCCESSES AND IN THE SAME BREATH ASKED SOLDIERS OF THEM AND MONEY.  THEY SAID THAT HIS REQUESTS WERE NOT IN ACCORD WITH HIS SUCCESSES:  CONQUERORS OUGHT TO FIND THEIR ARMY SUFFICIENT, AND TO FORWARD MONEY TO THEIR HOMES INSTEAD OF DEMANDING MORE.

As long as Fabius was in the field, no disaster happened to the Romans, but when he started for Rome on some public business, they met with a setback.  Rufus, his master of horse, was only a young man and therefore full of empty conceit; he was not observant of the errors of warfare and was wearied by the delays of Fabius:  hence, when he once held the leadership of the army alone, he disregarded the injunctions of the dictator and hastened to bring on a set battle, in which at first he seemed to be victorious, but was soon defeated.  Indeed, he would have been utterly destroyed, had not some Samnites arrived by chance to aid the Romans and impressed the Carthaginians with the idea that Fabius was approaching.  When for this reason they retired he thought that he had vanquished them and sent messages to Rome magnifying his exploit and also slandering the dictator; he called Fabius timorous and hesitating and a sympathizer with the enemy.