Liv. 21.59.1Dēgressus Appennīnō retrō ad Placentiam castra mōvit et ad decem mīlia prōgressus cōnsēdit.Having come down from the Apennines, he moved his camp back towards Placentia and, having advanced about ten miles, encamped. Liv. 21.59.1Posterō diē duodecim mīlia peditum, quīnque equitum adversus hostem dūcit;The next day he leads twelve thousand infantry and five thousand cavalry against the enemy; Liv. 21.59.2nec Semprōnius cōnsul — iam enim redierat ab Rōmā — dētrectāvit certāmen.nor did the consul Sempronius, for he had now returned from Rome, refuse battle. Liv. 21.59.2Atque eō diē tria mīlia passuum inter bīna castra fuēre;And on that day there were three miles between the two camps; Liv. 21.59.3posterō diē ingentibus animīs variō ēventū pugnātum est.the next day they fought with great spirit and with varying result. Liv. 21.59.3Prīmō concursū adeō rēs Rōmāna superior fuit, ut nōn aciē vincerent sōlum, sed pulsōs hostēs in castra persequerentur, mox castra quoque oppugnārent.At the first clash the Roman side was so far superior that they not only won in the battle line but pursued the routed enemy into their camp, and soon were even assaulting the camp. Liv. 21.59.4Hannibal paucīs prōpugnātōribus in vallō portīsque positīs cēterōs cōnfertōs in media castra recēpit, intentōsque signum ad ērumpendum exspectāre iubet.Hannibal posted a few defenders on the rampart and at the gates and withdrew the rest, packed together, into the middle of the camp, and orders them to wait, alert, for the signal to break out.
Liv. 21.59.5Iam nōna ferme diēī hōra erat, cum Rōmānus nēquīquam fatīgātō mīlite, postquam nūlla spēs erat potiundī castrīs, signum receptuī dedit.It was now about the ninth hour of the day when the Roman, having wearied his soldiers to no purpose, since there was no hope of taking the camp, gave the signal for retreat. Liv. 21.59.6Quod ubi Hannibal accēpit laxātamque pugnam et recessum ā castrīs vīdit, extemplō equitibus dextrā laevāque ēmissīs in hostem ipse cum peditum rōbore mediīs castrīs ērūpit.As soon as Hannibal learned of this and saw that the fighting had slackened and that they had withdrawn from the camp, he at once sent out the cavalry on the right and left against the enemy, and himself burst out from the middle of the camp with the core of his infantry. Liv. 21.59.7Pugna rārō magis ūlla saeva aut utrīusque partis perniciē clārior fuisset, sī extendī eam diēs in longum spatium sīvisset: nox accēnsum ingentibus animīs proelium dirēmit.Seldom would any battle have been more savage or more notable for the losses of both sides, if the daylight had allowed it to stretch over a long space: night broke off a battle kindled with immense spirit.
Liv. 21.59.8Itaque ācrior concursus fuit quam caedēs, et sīcut aequāta ferme pugna erat, ita clāde parī discessum est.So the clash was fiercer than the slaughter, and just as the fight had been nearly equal, so they parted with equal loss. Liv. 21.59.9Ab neutrā parte sescentīs plūs peditibus et dīmidium eius equitum cecidit;On neither side did more than six hundred infantry fall, and half that number of cavalry; Liv. 21.59.9sed maior Rōmānīs quam prō numerō iactūra fuit, quia equestris ōrdinis aliquot et tribūnī mīlitum quīnque et praefectī sociōrum trēs sunt interfectī.but the loss to the Romans was greater than the number would suggest, because several of the equestrian order, five military tribunes and three prefects of the allies were killed. Liv. 21.59.10Secundum eam pugnam Hannibal in Ligurēs, Semprōnius Lūcam concessit.After this battle Hannibal withdrew among the Ligurians, Sempronius to Luca. Liv. 21.59.10Venientī in Ligurēs Hannibalī per īnsidiās interceptī duo quaestōrēs Rōmānī, C. Fulvius et L. Lucrētius, cum duōbus tribūnīs mīlitum et quīnque equestris ōrdinis, senātōrum ferme līberīs, quō magis ratam fore cum iīs pācem societātemque crēderet, trāduntur.As Hannibal came among the Ligurians, two Roman quaestors, Gaius Fulvius and Lucius Lucretius, who had been seized by treachery, are handed over to him, along with two military tribunes and five of the equestrian order, mostly sons of senators, so that he might believe the more firmly that peace and alliance with them would be secure.