1Now the fact that both consuls and all the strength the Romans had were set against Hannibal made it plain enough that either the Roman empire could be defended by those forces or there was no other hope. 2Yet one consul, weakened by a single cavalry battle and by his wound, preferred to draw matters out; 2the other, fresh in spirit and therefore the fiercer, would tolerate no delay. 3The land between the Trebia and the Po was at that time inhabited by Gauls, who in the struggle between two very powerful peoples, by keeping their favour uncertain, were plainly looking to win the goodwill of the victor. 4The Romans bore this with tolerable patience, provided the Gauls made no move, but the Carthaginian with great resentment, saying again and again that he had come at the Gauls' invitation to set them free.
4Out of this anger, and at the same time to feed his soldiers on plunder, he ordered two thousand foot and a thousand horse, mostly Numidians, with some Gauls mixed among them, to ravage all the land in turn as far as the banks of the Po. 6The Gauls, in need of help, though until then they had kept their sympathies undecided, were driven by the authors of their wrongs to turn towards those who would avenge them, and sending envoys to the consuls they beg the help of the Romans for a land suffering because of its inhabitants' excessive loyalty to the Romans. 6Cornelius liked neither the reason nor the moment for action, and the people were suspect to him, both because of many treacherous deeds and, even supposing those had faded with age, because of the recent perfidy of the Boii; 8Sempronius, on the contrary, held that the strongest bond for keeping allies loyal was that the first who needed help should be defended.
9He then, while his colleague hesitated, sends his cavalry, with about a thousand foot javelin-throwers mixed among them, across the Trebia to defend the Gallic land. 10Falling unexpectedly upon the enemy, who were scattered and in disorder and most of them, besides, laden with plunder, they caused huge terror, slaughter and flight right up to the enemy's camp and outposts; 10driven back from there by the mass that poured out, they restored the battle again with the support of their own men. 11Then the fight swayed back and forth between pursuers and retreaters; 11and though in the end they had made the contest even, the enemy's losses were greater, while the credit for victory lay with the Romans.