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.

¶ Of the peryllous battayle of Cannas, and the vyctory that Anniball had there of the Romans. Cap. xxii. (Book 22)

THe next nyght he remoued his hoste on the further side of a great hyll, nere adioyning, There he sette his footemen in aray on the left hande: on the right he set his horsmen: al the cariage he put in the middes betwene them. He left his campe stored with moche stuffe and baggage, to the intent that whan the Romans were busy in spoylyng the tentes, he wolde so∣deynly and vnwares oppresse them. And to couer his crafte the better, he made great fyres aboute the campe, before he went, that it shulde be thought, that they wolde not haue the Romans ware of theyr stealynge away, tyll they were passed farre out of their daunger. And as he thought to begyle, so had it happed in dede, had not Paulus staied his men from rū¦nyng thyther in suche haste: and also had not two prysoners, whyche were taken before by the Carthaginenses, escaped the same mornynge, who came to the Consuls, and declared vnto them, that the holle army of the Carthaginenses abode in arraye on the other syde of the hylle, redye to battayle.

Whan Anniball perceyued his diuyse to be knowen, he re∣tourned agayne to his tentes, where he taryed but a shorte space for lacke of vytailes, and for bareynnes of the cuntrey. Wherfore he retourned towarde the countrey of Naples, a more warme and plentifull cuntrey, pytchyng his campe nere vnto Cannas. In pytchyug of whyche his campe, he wysely consydered the wynde to be in the northe east, that naturally in drye grounde dryueth the powder and duste into the ayre, makyng it troublous darke and cloudy. Wherfore he soo in∣camped hym selfe, that his backe was towarde the wynde, to the intent whan he shoulde haue to do with his ennemyes, the duste shoulde blynde theyr eyes, so that they shoulde be moche hyndered therby. The consulles folowyng the Car∣thaginenses were comme to Cannas: And whan they ap∣perceyued theyr enemyes in theyr syght, they pytched their campes, euery Consull by hym selfe, and dyuyded theyr ar∣myes to euery consull his parte. There was a ryuer called Aufidus, rounnynge besyde bothe Campes, at the whyche bothe the hoostes, not without fyghtynge and skyrmysshyng as they hadde tyme and space watered theyr horses and cat∣tall. Anniball lykynge the place welle for the horsemenne to fyghte in, wherein rested his moste trust and chiefe strength, thoughte to prouoke the consulles to battayle, and to styrre theym therto, he came towarde theym in good arraye, and caused the horsemenne to rounne to and fro almooste to the tentes of the Romaynes, byddynge theym base. By reason whereof, there arose greatte dyscorde amonge the Ro∣mayne host, and the Consulles also. For Paulus, not myn∣dynge to fyghte with theym at theyr pleasures, dydde ob∣iecte vnto Varro, the foolysshe hardynesse and lacke of dis∣cretion of Sempronius and Flamminius. Varro contrarye wyse layde vnto hym the exaumple of Fabius, whome he reckened amonge the fearefull and slowe Capytayns, pro∣fessynge to the goddis, and alsoo to menne, that it oughte not to be layde vnto hym, yf Anniball shoulde take Ita∣lye, and holde it as his owne: Seynge that he, and alsoo his sowldyours, beynge mooste desyrous to fyghte, were wythholden therefrome by his felowe. Paulus lykewyse professed, yf any euyll dyd happen to them and to theyr soul∣dyours, that he wold be clere and innocent of the trespasse, saying 〈2 pages missing〉〈2 pages missing〉

on fote, the wynge of the Numidian horsemen, wherof Has∣druball was capytayne, ioyned also with the Romans ryghte wynge of horsemen. The battayle was stronge on both par∣tes, but the Carthaginenses vsed greate subtyltie, for at the first encounter about .v. C. of the Numidian horsmen, hauing swerdes secretely hydde vnder theyr harneys, besydes those that they dyd vse to occupy, tourning theyr targettes behind theyr backes, makyng as though they had forsaken their host and fledde from theyr company, ranne to theyr ennemies, and leapynge besydes their horses, caste theyr swerdes and other apparant weapons at the fete of the Romans, as yelded per∣sons, whervpon they were receyued first into the myddell of the Romane hoste, and anone they were brought to the vtter and hyndermost warde, and there cōmanded to stande tyll the ende of the batayle. And whan the battayle began on all par∣tes, they stode styll without fyghtynge, but after whan they sawe that euery man was busyed and occupied with fighting, than drawyng forth theyr swerdes from vnder theyr harneys, they toke the sheldes of them that were slayn in the field, and russhed on the backes of the Romaynes, and so hewynge on theyr backes and hammes behinde, they made a great slaugh∣ter. And whyles that some parte conceyued feare and fledde, and some other maynteyned the batayle with smal hope of vi∣ctory, Hasdruball sente a greatte parte of the Numidians to chace and distroy the Romanes as they fled. Paulus the con∣sull, althoughe he was deadly wounded before, yet many ty∣mes with his company restored and renewed the battayles, with the helpe of the Romane horsemen, who at length aligh¦ted from theyr horses, and foughte on foote, the Consulle for feblenes and bledynge, beinge not able to gouerne his horse. Than the Carthaginenses, seinge that theyr enemies had ra∣ther dye in the fielde, than flee: incontinent slewe those that they coulde not make to flee: some they toke, and the other that were ouercome, being than sparkeled abrode, toke suche horses as they coulde get, and beganne to flee. C, Lentulus a Tribune, leadyng an empty horse in his hande, as he fled sawe Paulus the consull, fyttyng on a stone, all couered with blud, to whome he sayde: Lucius Aemilius, whome the goddis shoulde take and esteeme as innocent of this cruell slaughter, take this horse, whyles any strengthe is lefte within the, And

I beinge thy frende, shall lyfte the vp, and kepe the on, leste thou make this battayle dolefull and sorowfull throughe the deathe of a consull, without whyche veryly there is cause of weping and mournyng inough. Whervnto the consull answe∣red: C. Cornelius, be thou increased in vertue, but beware lest whyles thou doest bewaile this chaunce, thou haue smalle tyme to escape thy selfe: Go thou therfore, and bydde the se∣nate, that they make strong the walles of Rome, and strength it with succours, before the conquerour come: And secretly shewe vnto Quintus Fabius, that Lucius Aemilius Paulus doth fyrmly remembre his preceptes, ye and lyueth in them, and fynally dyeth in them. And I pray the, suffer me to passe the lyfe amonge these companye of my deade knyghtes, lest by lengar lyuynge, I become an accuser of my felowe, defen∣dynge myne innocency by the trespas of an other, and yet at length dye, taken as fauty of this dede.

¶The company of them whych fled, trode the Consull vn∣der foote, and after his enemise, not knowynge who he was, dyd ouerpresse hym. There was slayn at that battayle fortye thousande footemen, and two thousande and seuen hundred horsemen, in whyche company was slayne one of the consul∣les, with foure score Senatours, and such as had borne great offyce in the cytie, whyche voluntaryly gaue theym selues to that battaile. Furthermore .xxi. that had borne office of Tri∣bunes, besydes that in that batayle were taken .iii. thousande footemen, and .iii. hundred horsemen. Of the Romans that escaped by fleinge .vii. thousande came into the smaller campe, and .x. M. fledde to the greater campe. And whan the bataile was fynyshed, those Romaynes that were retourned to the greatter campe, sente to the other, whyche were in the lesse campe, to repayre vnto theym in the nyghte, whyle theyr en∣nemies, beinge weary of trauayle, and ioyfull of theyr victo∣ry, were gyuen to take theyr reste, but they doubted to take on theym that enterpryse, sayinge, that it were as meete that they of the greatte campe shoulde come to theym: but that for the daunger of passynge the hoste of theyr ennemies they were afearde so to doo. Thus the most refused to goo out of the campe, not withstandyng such as were hardy and valiant, by the great & noble exhortatiō of P. Sēpronius Tuditanus, a tribune, issued out, & came through their enmies in the night

with their sheldes on the ryght syde towarde the host of the Carthaginenses: wherby they passed by them, receyuing the arowes and dartes that were shotte at them, vpon theyr saide shieldes: and so came to the great campe, to the noumber of iii. M. vi. C. and from thens, takyng with them mony of the other of that company, escaped at theyr pleasure to Cannu∣sium. The other consul, with .l. horsemen, fledde to Venusia.