Liv. 21.46.1Apud Rōmānōs haudquāquam tanta alacritās erat, super cētera recentibus etiam territōs prōdigiīs;Among the Romans there was nothing like such eagerness, for besides everything else they were also frightened by recent portents; Liv. 21.46.2nam et lupus intrāverat castra laniātīsque obviīs ipse intāctus ēvāserat, et exāmen apum in arbore praetōriō imminente cōnsēderat.for a wolf had entered the camp and, after mangling those it met, had got away untouched itself, and a swarm of bees had settled on a tree overhanging the general's tent. Liv. 21.46.3Quibus prōcūrātīs Scīpiō cum equitātū iaculātōribusque expedītīs profectus ad castra hostium ex propinquō cōpiāsque, quantae et cuius generis essent, speculandās, obvius fit Hannibalī et ipsī cum equitibus ad explōranda circā loca prōgressō.When these portents had been expiated, Scipio set out with his cavalry and light-armed javelin-men to reconnoitre at close range the enemy's camp and their forces, how large and of what kind they were, and runs into Hannibal, who had himself also come forward with his cavalry to explore the surrounding country. Liv. 21.46.4Neutrī alterōs prīmō cernēbant;At first neither side could see the other; Liv. 21.46.4dēnsior deinde incessū tot hominum et equōrum oriēns pulvis signum propinquantium hostium fuit.then the dust rising more thickly from the movement of so many men and horses was a sign that the enemy was approaching.
Liv. 21.46.4Cōnsistit utrumque agmen, et ad proelium sēsē expediēbant.Both columns halt, and they began to make ready for battle. Liv. 21.46.5Scīpiō iaculātōrēs et Gallōs equitēs in fronte locat Rōmānōs, Romanos!Scipio places the javelin-men and the Gallic cavalry in front, the Romans — Liv. 21.46.5Sociōrumque quod rōboris fuit, in subsidiīs;and whatever strength the allies had, in reserve; Liv. 21.46.5Hannibal frēnātōs equitēs in medium accipit, cornua Numidīs firmat.Hannibal takes the bridled cavalry into the centre and strengthens the wings with the Numidians. Liv. 21.46.6Vixdum clamōre sublātō iaculātōrēs fūgērunt inter subsidia ad secundam aciem.The shout had scarcely been raised when the javelin-men fled among the reserves to the second line. Liv. 21.46.6Inde equitum certāmen erat aliquamdiū anceps;Then the cavalry fight was for some time evenly balanced; Liv. 21.46.6Dein, quia turbābant equōs peditēs intermixtī, multīs lābentibus ex equīs aut dēsilientibus, ubi suōs premī circumventōs vīdissent, iam magnā ex parte ad pedēs pugna vēnerat, dōnec Numidae, quī in cornibus erant, circumvectī paulum ab tergō sē ostendērunt.then, because the infantry mixed in among them were frightening the horses, and many riders were slipping off their mounts or leaping down whenever they saw their comrades surrounded and hard pressed, the battle had already largely become a fight on foot, until the Numidians, who were on the wings, rode round a little way and showed themselves in the rear.
Liv. 21.46.7Is pavor perculit Rōmānōs, auxitque pavōrem cōnsulis vulnus perīculumque intercursū tum prīmum pūbēscentis fīlī prōpulsātum.This panic struck the Romans, and the panic was increased by the consul's wound and by his danger, which was warded off by the intervention of his son, then just coming to manhood. Liv. 21.46.8Hic erit iuvenis, penes quem perfectī huiusce bellī laus est, Āfricānus ob ēgregiam victōriam dē Hannibale Poenīsque appellātus.This will be the young man to whom belongs the glory of finishing this war, named Africanus for his outstanding victory over Hannibal and the Carthaginians. Liv. 21.46.9Fuga tamen effūsa iaculātōrum māxumē fuit, quōs prīmōs Numidae invāsērunt;The flight, however, was most headlong among the javelin-men, whom the Numidians attacked first; Liv. 21.46.9alius cōnfertus equitātus cōnsulem in medium acceptum nōn armīs modo sed etiam corporibus suīs prōtegēns in castra nūsquam trepide neque effūsē cēdendō redūxit.the rest of the cavalry, in close order, took the consul into their midst and, shielding him not only with their arms but with their own bodies, brought him back to camp, nowhere retreating in panic or disorder.
Liv. 21.46.10Servātī cōnsulis decus Coelius ad servum nātiōne Ligurem dēlēgat;Coelius assigns the credit for saving the consul to a slave, a Ligurian by birth; Liv. 21.46.10mālim equidem dē fīliō vērum esse, quod et plūrēs trādidēre auctōrēs et fāma obtinuit.for my part I should prefer the story about the son to be true, which both more authorities have handed down and tradition has upheld.