The historie of tvvo the moste noble capitaines of the worlde, Anniball and Scipio of theyr dyuers battailes and victories, excedyng profitable to reade, gathered and translated into Englishe, out of Titus Liuius, and other authoures, by Antonye Cope esquier.

¶ Howe Anniball by a crafty deceyte escaped the strai∣tes of Formiana, wherein he was enclosed by Q. Fabius Maximus. Cap. xvii. (Book 17)

ANniball came in the meane season by Vmbria to Spoletum, distroyeng and burnyng all before hym. Than began he to lay siege to the towne but he was driuen thense with great slaughter of his men. Wherfore supposynge the citie of Rome to be of a great strength, seing that ly∣tell towne was so stronge, whose strength and power he than not very prosperously hadde assayde, he with∣drewe his armye to the plentyfull countrey of Picenus, and from thens to Pelignes, to Arpos, and to Luceria, a coun∣trey adioynyng to Apulia, styll robbynge and spoylynge the countreys abrode in the way as he went.

¶ Whan Fabius, whom the Romanes had chosen hygh offi∣cer, had set all thynge at a stay in Rome, he (takyng with him the army, that before was with Seruilius the consull, and al∣so .ii. other newe Romayn legions for the encreasyng of his army) went with the mayster of the horsemen Minutius, to mete with Anniball, and to stay hym from the destruction of the countrey. Fabius committing nothyng rashely to fortune by easy iourneis and good espies, came into the feldes of Ar∣pos, pytchyng his campe not farre from his ennemies. Anni∣ball soone after his cōminge, brought his people into the fiel∣des in good aray redy to fyght: but Fabius al that day kepte his men in their campe, whervpon Anniball rebuking the fe∣ble courage of the Romans, withdrew his people into their tentes, fearyng in his mynde the sobrenes of Fabius: whiche was a capitayne chosen, farre vnlyke to Sempronius or Flā∣minius.

Neuerthelesse to proue the fascion and conduicte of Fabius, Anniball very oftentymes remoued his campe, and euer spoyled the countreys of the frendes of the Romanes as he went: Sometyme he wolde sodeynly conuey his army: and than secretely tourne out of the way, and lye in awayte, yf by chaunce he myght take his ennemies at auantage: but Fa∣bius euer ledde his hoste by the high places of the countreis styll kepynge his ennemies in syghte, so that he wolde not be farre from theym: yet intended he not to giue them battayle, his men went neuer out of theyr campe, but only for the pro∣uisyon of thynges necessary. And whan they lacked vytailes forage, or woode, he sent a great numbre togyther, that they myght walke surely. And also those that wente therfore, he suffered not to stray farre from the hoste. He hadde euer his horsemen and lyght harneysed footemen in a redynesse and in aray, for feare of sodayne inuasions of his enemies. And also to thintent they shulde be redy to oppresse his foes, that at a∣ny tyme shulde roue abrode for spoyle or for vitailes, he myn∣ded neuer to ieoparde the hole estate of the empire in open battayl, but he remayned styl as a stay to weary his enemies. Whiche his sobrenes was no lesse displeasant to Anniball, thā it was to Minutius, the maister of the horsemen. For he be∣inge rashe, and desyrous to put all in auenture, fyrst pryuily, and than openly dyspraysed the slacknes of Fabius, callynge hym bothe slowe and fearefull. Anniball often remouing, cam from Arpos to Samnium, wastyng the fieldes of the Bene∣uentanes, and there he toke the towne of Tilesia, trustyng by the shewe of soo moche displeasure, to cause Fabius to gyue hym battayle. There camme to hym the same tyme thre gen∣tylmen of Italy, whome Anniball hadde before at the bataile of Trasimenus taken prysoners, and delyuered to lybertie without raunsome. These men shewed hym, that in case he wolde conuey his army into Campania, they wolde helpe him with smalle peyne to wynne the noble citie of Capua. To this their motion Anniball at length agreed, sendyng them to Ca∣pua before hym, to stere the myndes of the rulers and of the communes therto, and to retorne, bryngyng him the certain∣tie of their speede. Than commanded he his guyde to leade hym the next way to the fielde of Cassinus, hauyng knowlege by diuers expert men of the same countrey, that yf he were

ones mayster of the hyll and strayte there, he shulde stoppe the Romanes from bryngyng any succours to theyr men, but that he shuld at his pleasure distroy them. But the guide mi∣staking the name of the countrey, toke Casilinus for Casinus. Wherfore leadyng hym a wronge way, he conducted hym by the countreys of Alifinus, Calatinus, and Calenus, to the fieldes of Stellates. Whan Anniball behelde that countrey to be on all partes enclosed with mountaynes and ryuers, he inquired of his guyde, in what region he than was? He an∣swered agayn, that the same day he wold bring him to Casili∣nus. Wherat Anniball being displeased, caused him to be sore beaten with roddes, & after hanged for the example of other. Than seing that he was so farre frō his purpose, he thought in reuengyng of his malice, to bourne and spoile that plenty∣full countrey about the ryuer of Vulturnus.

¶ By this tyme was Fabius come by the hilles, to the toppe of Massicus the mountayn: where the Romayns myght be∣holde the Carthaginensis lodged in the fayre playnes vnder them, who ceassed not to spoyle the fieldes of Falernus, and to burne the houses of Simessa. This displeasure entred er∣nestly into the hart of Minutius: who aboue other maligned at the cowardise of the dictatour Fabius. And by an oration full of great inuectiues, set the hartis of the most part of the host agaynst hym. But all theyr murmurynge Fabius lyttell estemyng, contynued the reste of the sommer in his olde fas∣cion, euer kepyng Anniball from battaile, the thyng that he most desyred. Whan the wynter began to draw nere, Fabius perceiuyng the countrey not to be able to susteyne the host of his ennemies any long season, and that there was none other way for them to passe out of the fieldes of Falernus, but only by the same strayte wayes, by whych they before had entred, he sendyng sufficient power of Romans to the hyll of Calli∣cula, and the towne of Casilinus: hym selfe, with the mayster of the horsemen, kept the narowe way, by whyche Anniball must nedes passe. Anniball wylling to proue the maner of ke∣pyng of that strayt, came thyther, and there made a skirmishe with the Romanes, somewhat to his losse, and was fayne to recule backe. And he perceyuynge the Romans to haue the Samnites and the Campanes their frendes at theyr backes, redy to succour them with all necessaries, and that he and his

hoste were so enclosed, that he was like to winter among the stones of Formiana, and the sandes of Linterni: he forgatte not than to renewe his accustomed subtiltie and craft. He in∣uented a deceyte and mockery, very fearefull to mens syght, wherby he myght passe the straites by stelthe in the nyght. he caused rotten styckes and drye pieces of woode, to be gathe∣red togither in the fieldes, and fagottes of yong roddes and bowes to be made, whych he caused to be tyed to the hornes of oxen and kyne, whiche he had before taken at a pray in the countrey, some being wylde, and some tame. There were .ii. thousande beastis, that shuld be thus ordred. And the charge was committed to Hasdruball, that he shuld in the beginnyng of the darknes of the nyght, sette the faggottes on fyre, that were on the hornes of the beastes: and than to dryue theym to the hylles and straytes, specially aboue the way, which the Romans kept. Than in the begynnyng of the nyght, secrete∣ly he caused his men to remoue their campe, driuing the oxen a lytel before the standerdes. but whan they came to the fote of the hyll, and to the narowe way, he commanded the fago∣tes on the beastes hornes to be set on fyre. Whiche done, the feare of the flamyng fyre aboute theyr heades, and the heate commyng to the quicke and lower parte of the hornes of the beastes, caused them to runne, as though they had bene mad. With whyche sodeyne running the yong roddes toke a bur∣nyng, euen as though the woddes and hylles had ben on fire: and the mouing of their heades, causing the flame to sprede a∣brode, shewed like as it had ben men rūning abrode with fyre. Whan those that were set at the entryng of the passage sawe the fyre on the hygh hylles aboue them, supposyng that they had ben betrayde, lefte the place assigned theym to kepe, and fiedde to theyr succours, sekyng theyr best way by the toppe of the hylles, by whiche the great flame and blase dyd shyne, where they chaunced vpon certayne oxen strayed from theyr flocke. And whan at the fyrst they sawe as it were liuing thin¦ges, breathynge fyre and flames, they stode as astonyed with the syght. But after, perceyuynge the crafte to be made and conueyd by men, than supposing that there was treason, with great noyse and rumour they toke them to flyght. Fabius al∣so, seinge this mockery, fearynge deceyte, kepte his people within his campe tyll it was day. Thus in the nyghte, whyle

they were astonyed with this strange ••yght, Anniball passed the straite passage with his hoste without danger, and pitched his campe in the fielde of Alifanus.